Moscow[a] is the capital and largest city of Russia.

The city stands on the Moskva

River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million residents
within the city limits,[6] over 18.8 million residents in the urban area,[7] and
over 21.5 million residents in the metropolitan area.[14] The city covers an area
of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square
kilometers (2,275 sq mi),[7] and the metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square
kilometers (10,000 sq mi).[14] Moscow is among the world's largest cities, being
the most populous city entirely in Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan area
in Europe,[7][14] and the largest city by land area on the European continent.[15]

First documented in 1147, Moscow grew to become a prosperous and powerful city that
served as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. When the Tsardom of Russia was
proclaimed, Moscow remained the political and economic center for most of its
history. Under the reign of Peter the Great, the Russian capital was moved to the
newly founded city of Saint Petersburg in 1712, diminishing Moscow's influence.
Following the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Russian SFSR, the
capital was moved back to Moscow in 1918, where it later became the political
center of the Soviet Union.[16] In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, Moscow remained the capital city of the newly established Russian
Federation.

The northernmost and coldest megacity in the world, Moscow is governed as a federal
city,[17] where it serves as the political, economic, cultural, and scientific
center of Russia and Eastern Europe. As an alpha world city,[18] Moscow has one of
the world's largest urban economies.[19] The city is one of the fastest-growing
tourist destinations in the world,[20] and is one of Europe's most visited cities.
Moscow is home to the sixth-highest number of billionaires of any city in the
world.[21] The Moscow International Business Center is one of the largest financial
centers in Europe and the world, and features the majority of Europe's tallest
skyscrapers. Moscow was the host city of the 1980 Summer Olympics, and one of the
host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[22]

As the historic core of Russia, Moscow serves as the home of numerous Russian
artists, scientists, and sports figures due to the presence of its various museums,
academic and political institutions, and theaters. The city is home to several
UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is well known for its display of Russian
architecture, particularly its historic Red Square, and buildings such as the Saint
Basil's Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin, of which the latter serves as the seat of
power of the Government of Russia. Moscow is home to many Russian companies in
numerous industries and is served by a comprehensive transit network, which
includes four international airports, ten railway terminals, a tram system, a
monorail system, and most notably the Moscow Metro, the busiest metro system in
Europe, and one of the largest rapid transit systems in the world. The city has
over 40 percent of its territory covered by greenery, making it one of the greenest
cities in the world.[15][23]

Etymology
The name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River.
[24][25] Several theories of the origin of the name of the river have been
proposed.

The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted is from the Proto-Balto-
Slavic root *mŭzg-/muzg- from the Proto-Indo-European *meu- "wet",[25][26][27] so
the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or a marsh.[24] Its cognates
include Russian: музга, muzga "pool, puddle", Lithuanian: mazgoti and Latvian:
mazgāt "to wash", Sanskrit: májjati "to drown", Latin: mergō "to dip, immerse".[24]
[26] In many Slavic countries Moskov is a surname, most common in Russia, Bulgaria,
Ukraine and North Macedonia.[28] Additionally, there are similarly named places in
Poland like Mozgawa.[24][25][26]
According to one the Finno-Ugric hypotheses, the Merya and Muroma people, who were
among the several pre-Slavic tribes which originally inhabited the area, called the
river Mustajoki "Black river", and the name of the river derives from this term.
[29] Various other theories (of Celtic, Iranian, Caucasic origins), having little
or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists.[24]
[25]

The original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky,[24]
[25] hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. As with other nouns of that
declension, it had been undergoing a morphological transformation at the early
stage of the development of the language, as a result, the first written mentions
in the 12th century were Московь, Moskovĭ (accusative case), Москви, Moskvi
(locative case), Москвe/Москвѣ, Moskve/Moskvě (genitive case).[24][25] From the
latter forms came to the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, which is a result of
morphological generalization with the numerous Slavic ā-stem nouns.

However, the form Moskovĭ has left some traces in many other languages, including
English: Moscow, German: Moskau, French: Moscou, Georgian: მოსკოვი, Latvian:
Maskava, Bashkir: Мәскәү, Tatar: Mäskäw, Portuguese: Moscovo, Chuvash: Мускав, and
Spanish: Moscú.

In a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a
colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From
it as well came English Muscovy and muscovite.[30][failed verification]

Other names
Moscow has acquired several epithets, most referring to its size and preeminent
status within the nation: The Third Rome (Третий Рим), the Whitestone One
(Белокаменная), the First Throne (Первопрестольная), the Forty Soroks (Сорок
Сороков) ("sorok" meaning both "forty, a great many" and "a district or parish" in
Old Russian). Moscow is also one of the twelve Hero Cities. The demonym for a
Moscow resident is "москвич" (moskvich) for male or "москвичка" (moskvichka) for
female, rendered in English as Muscovite. The name "Moscow" is abbreviated "MSK"
(МСК in Russian).[citation needed]

History
Main article: History of Moscow
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Moscow.
Prehistory
Archaeological digs show that the site of today's Moscow and the surrounding area
have been inhabited since time immemorial. Among the earliest finds are relics of
the Lyalovo culture, which experts assign to the Neolithic period, the last phase
of the Stone Age.[31]

They confirm that the first inhabitants of the area were hunters and gatherers.
Around 950 AD, two Slavic tribes, Vyatichi and Krivichi, settled here. Possibly the
Vyatichi formed the core of Moscow's indigenous population.[32]

Early history (1147–1284)

Further information: Kievan Rus' and Vladimir-Suzdal

Vladimir-Suzdal, a principality on the northeastern periphery of Kievan Rus', grew

into the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a meeting place of Yuri
Dolgoruky and Sviatoslav Olgovich. At the time it was a minor town on the western
border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. The chronicle says, "Come, my brother, to
Moskov" (Приди ко мне, брате, в Москов).[33]
In 1156, Knyaz Yuri Dolgorukiy fortified the town with a timber fence and a moat.
In the course of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus', the Mongols under Batu Khan
burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants.[citation needed]

The timber fort na Moskvě "on the Moscow River" was inherited by Daniel, the
youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, in the 1260s, at the time considered the least
valuable of his father's possessions. Daniel was still a child at the time, and the
big fort was governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by Daniel's paternal uncle,
Yaroslav of Tver.[citation needed]

Daniel came of age in the 1270s and became involved in the power struggles of the
principality with lasting success, siding with his brother Dmitry in his bid for
the rule of Novgorod. From 1283 he acted as the ruler of an independent
principality alongside Dmitry, who became Grand Duke of Vladimir. Daniel has been
credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's
Epiphany and to Saint Daniel.[34]