Great, Amazing, Awesome! | MOSCOW, Russia

Great, Amazing, Awesome! | MOSCOW, Russia

Today we will take a ride
in one of the best cities of the world in the capital of Russia – Moskva!
Moscow! My name is Sergey Baklykov.
This is “All of Russia” channel on Baklykov.Live.
Hello everybody! And now as Yuri Gagarin
would say “Poyekhali”! So, we are starting a truly amazing journey
through the center of Moscow! It begins now on one of the 
central streets – Tverskaya St., then around the Kremlin,
later we will turn at Christ the Savior Cathedral onto the Boulevard Ring,
and finally make a full circle on the Garden Ring!
Get ready for a long and beautiful journey!
Ok, Moscow! Moskva! is the capital of Russia.
A megacity! The largest city in Russia by population
13,2 million people in 2025. Moscow is the largest city in Europe by area and population.
Moscow is located in the west of Russia,
on the Moskva River, in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga rivers.
It is 680 km southeast of St. Petersburg. Moscow has long been built
using a radial-ring layout. Thus, the city consists of several streets
radiating from the center, including Tverskaya, and rings (3 transport rings –
the Moscow Ring Road (MKAD), the Garden Ring, the Third Transport Ring,
and the smallest Boulevard Ring). The Moscow Metro was built on the same principle
the Circle Line, the Big Circle Line, and the Moscow Central Circle
have connections to radial lines that link the center of Moscow with the outskirts. Moscow is the historical capital
of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire,
Soviet Russia, the USSR and Russian Federation. Archaeological data indicate
the existence of an urban settlement in the area of the future Kremlin
since the 11th century. The city’s history spans at least 878 years:
the first written mention of Moscow dates back to 1147
and exactly the year 1147 is considered the year of Moscow’s birth.
The Ipatiev Chronicle mentions that on April 4, 1147,
Yuri Dolgoruky, the Prince of Rostov-Suzdal, received his friends and allies
in a town named Moskov, led by Svyatoslav Olgovich,
the Prince of Novgorod-Seversky. In 1237–1238, during
the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus (Old Russia), Moscow was looted and burned,
but it was soon restored. The Moscow principality was separated
from the Grand Duchy of Vladimir in 1263 according to the will of 
Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky and given to his younger 
son, Daniil Alexandrovich. Initially, the Moscow principality,
after its formation in 1263, included only lands along
the middle course of the Moskva River. Its capital, Moscow, was the 
only city of the principality. The city’s location at the 
intersection of trade routes contributed to its growth and rise.
In the early 14th century, Moscow’s territory expanded
to include the Kolomna and Mozhaisk principalities.
In the 14th century, Moscow’s rise as a new center for all of Russia began.
Starting with Yuri Danilovich, the princes of Moscow bore
the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir, which was considered supreme
within Northeastern Rus (Old Russia) and Novgorod. Under Prince Ivan I Danilovich Kalita,
large-scale construction began in Moscow, and the first stone buildings appeared
(before that, the city was entirely wooden). In the 14th to early 15th centuries,
Moscow was a major trade and craft city. In 1325, Metropolitan Peter of Raten
moved the metropolitan see from Vladimir (where it had been since 1299) to Moscow.
After his death, Metropolitan Peter was canonized as a saint and miracle worker.
Moscow, having become the spiritual capital of Old Russia,
contributed to the unification of lands around the spiritual center
and later the transfer of the de facto capital from the 
city of Vladimir to Moscow. In 1448, the Russian Church
became de facto autocephalous, and in 1589, the Moscow 
Patriarchate was established. In 1613, in Moscow Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov
was anointed Tsar, marking the beginning of more than 300 years of the 
Dynasty of Romanovs rule. His reign ended the more than 700-year rule
of the dynasty of Ruriks. In 1712, the status of the capital of Russia
was transferred to St. Petersburg. However, Moscow continued to develop
and retained its significance. In 1755, Mikhail Lomonosov and Ivan Shuvalov,
at the order of Empress Elizabeth (the daughter of Peter The Great
and Catherine the First), founded Moscow University.
During the Patriotic War of 1812 (in the World more known as 
“French Invasion of Russia), Moscow was captured by Napoleon’s forces
and suffered greatly from fire. According to various estimates,
up to 80% of the city’s buildings were destroyed in the fire.
The process of rebuilding Moscow took more than thirty years,
and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was constructed.
In 1851, a railway connection was established between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In mid-August 1917, Moscow hosted the All-Russian State Conference
managed by the Provisional Government. In 1918, after the Great October Revolution,
when power passed from the Romanov family to the Bolsheviks,
the Bolshevik government moved to Moscow from St Petersburg
(which at that year was called Petrograd), and Moscow became
the capital of Soviet Russia. In the early 1920s,
Moscow rapidly developed. In 1922, Moscow became
the capital of the USSR. During this time, rapid 
industrial growth took place, with new factories and 
institutions created in the city. During the years of industrialization,
Moscow quickly developed a network of higher and middle technical educational institutions.
In the 1930s, a whole network of scientific research
and project institutes in technical fields was created in Moscow.
The vast majority of these were part of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
At this time, the city’s media also grew rapidly, with many newspapers being published,
and regular television broadcasting was organized in 1939.
The population grew rapidly: from 1,8 million in 1917,
it reached 4,2 million in 1939. During the Great Patriotic War,
Moscow housed the State Defense Committee and the General Staff of the Red Army,
and a people’s militia was formed (more than 160,000 people).
In the winter of 1941–42, the famous Battle of Moscow took place,
in which Soviet troops achieved their first major victory
over the Wehrmacht since the beginning of World War II.
In October 1941, German troops advanced to Moscow;
many industrial enterprises were evacuated, and the evacuation of government institutions
to the city of Kuibyshev (now called Samara) began.
On October 20, 1941, martial law was introduced in Moscow.
However, despite this, on November 7, a military parade took place on Red Square,
with the troops heading directly to the front. In December 1941,
the advance of the German Army Group called “Center”
near Moscow was halted; as a result of a successful 
Soviet counteroffensive, German troops were pushed away from the capital.
On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place on Red Square.
From 1952 to 1957, the construction of high-rise buildings
was carried out, which later became known
as the “Stalinist skyscrapers” and became one of the symbols of Moscow
in the Soviet era. In 1960, a new boundary of Moscow
was formed along the Moscow Ring Road (MKAD), beyond which the city did not extend until 1984.
From August 19 to 22, 1991, the city saw the August Coup
organized by the State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP).
By 1993, the constitutional and political crisis, arising from the confrontation
between President Boris Yeltsin and the parliament,
reached its peak. On October 3-4, 1993,
there were attempts to seize the Ostankino television center
and the shelling of the building of the Supreme Soviet
(“The Russian White House”). The early 2000s were marked
by major architectural transformations. The city underwent significant reconstruction
multi-story office buildings were built, modern transportation infrastructure developed,
elite housing appeared, and a new business district
“Moskva City/Moscow-City” was created. A major issue was the underdeveloped
transportation infrastructure, leading to traffic jams
and overcrowded public transport. Measures such as the creation 
of dedicated bus lanes, the construction of new 
overpasses and interchanges, increased traffic control
(automatic video recording of violations, use of tow trucks),
and the organization of parking spaces, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin,
resulted in a 12% improvement in traffic speed in 2016
compared to five years earlier. Since the 1990s, the project of merging Moscow
with the Moscow region had been actively discussed.
In the summer of 2011, a more specific project for 
expanding Moscow’s territory and decentralizing it
by adding southwestern territories was proposed. This project (called “New 
Moscow” or “Greater Moscow”) was implemented in the summer of 2012.
In 2018, Moscow, along with 11 other cities, hosted the FIFA World Cup.
For this event, several important sports and infrastructure facilities 
were built in the city. In 2022, Moscow was named
the best megacity in the world in terms of quality of life
and infrastructure development, according to UN experts.
Moscow is home to the federal government bodies of the Russian Federation
(except for the Constitutional Court, which is located in St. Petersburg),
foreign embassies, and the headquarters of most of Russia’s
largest commercial organizations and public associations.
Moscow is a popular tourist destination. The Moscow Kremlin, Red 
Square, Novodevichy Convent, and the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye
are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Moscow is an important transport hub:
the city is served by 6 airports, 10 railway stations,
and 3 river ports (it has river connections with the Atlantic
and Arctic Ocean basins). The Moscow Metro has been operating since 1935.
Moscow is the sports center of the country. In 1980, Moscow hosted the 
22nd Summer Olympic Games, and in 2018, the city was one of 
the hosts of the FIFA World Cup. In terms of green spaces,
Moscow is comparable to some of the “greenest” cities
in the world, such as Sydney and Singapore. The city has 436 parks and green spaces.
Green areas occupy 55% of the city’s total area. Moscow boasts forest and park areas
like Izmaylovsky Park, Timiryazevsky Park, Fili forest Park, Moskvoritsky Park,
Lyublinsky Park, Butovo Forest Park, the Botanical Garden, Neskuchny Garden,
Bitsevsky Forest Park, the Tsaritsyno and Kolomenskoye museum-reserves,
Kuzminki Forest Park, Kuskovo Forest Park, and more.
As a city endowed with capital functions under the Russian Constitution,
Moscow is home to the legislative, executive, and judicial federal government bodies
of the country, with the exception of the Constitutional 
Court of the Russian Federation, which has been located in 
St. Petersburg since 2008. The highest executive body of power,
the Government of the Russian Federation, is located in the Government House
on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in the center of Moscow.
The State Duma meets at Okhotny Ryad. The Federation Council is located
at the building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
is also based in Moscow. The Senate Palace is the working residence of the President of Russia in the Kremlin.
Moreover, the Moscow Kremlin serves as the official residence of the 
President of the Russian Federation. As mentioned earlier, the population 
of Moscow is 13 million residents. Therefore, about 8.6% of Russia’s 
population lives in Moscow. The most significant migratory increase
is occurring not in Moscow itself, but in the belt of cities and districts
surrounding Moscow in the Moscow region. Experts debate whether this process is
the beginning of suburbanization or, conversely, an extensive expansion of Moscow
into new territories. Moscow is the largest city in Russia
by population and the most populous city located entirely within Europe.
The continuous growth of Moscow’s population is primarily due to
the influx of people from other regions. Moscow is the largest engineering center
in the country, where a significant portion of Russian products
(especially aviation, space, nuclear, and military technologies)
are designed, production technologies are developed,
and materials are researched. Moscow is the country’s largest transport hub.
The city is at the center of a web of railways and federal highways.
Moscow’s railway network includes ten main directions 
with ten railway stations. The total length of railways 
within the city is 395 km. Suburban trains linking Moscow’s stations
with settlements in the Moscow and neighboring regions play a significant role
in citywide transport. A major development project
in passenger rail communication within Moscow is the organization of the 
Moscow Central Circle (MCC), which is partially integrated 
with the metro system. Moscow is home to the 
international airports of Vnukovo and Ostafyevo.
Residents and visitors of the city also use other international airports 
located in the Moscow region: Domodedovo, Chkalovsky, 
Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky. From 1933 to 2010, the Bykovo 
Airport served civil aviation, but it is now used only as a 
departmental helicopter port. On September 6, 2023,
the metro station “Vnukovo Airport” was opened, making Vnukovo the first airport
to be directly accessible by metro. Moscow is the center of a 
network of federal highways in various directions, connecting the capital with
the administrative centers of Russia’s regions and neighboring countries.
Moscow has an extensive network of street public transport,
including bus, electric bus, tram, and marshrutka (commercial bus taxi) routes,
which transport about 12 million passengers daily. Some routes also operate during the night.
Until August 2020, Moscow had a network of trolleybuses,
which for many years was the largest in the world. Trolleybus transport has been partially replaced
by electric buses and buses. The formal reason for the closure
was to free up streets from the overhead contact network,
physical wear of the trolleybus fleet, and the moral obsolescence 
of the trolleybus concept. Currently, only one museum 
route remains in the city. Since May 15, 1935,
the Moscow Metro has been in operation, serving as the main mode of 
transportation within the capital. As of 2025, the total length 
of the Moscow Metro lines is approximately 470 km, with most of the route
and stations located underground. In terms of the length of the lines,
the Moscow Metro ranks fourth in the world. As of February 2025,
the Moscow Metro has 271 stations and 15 lines. Many of the metro stations 
are architectural landmarks. Since the 2000s, metro lines have begun
to extend beyond the MKAD (Moscow Ring Road). On September 10, 2016,
passenger traffic was launched on the Moscow Central Circle (MCC),
which had been used only for freight and transit transport since 1934.
The line is a railway ring consisting of 31 stations,
but it is positioned as a full-fledged 14th metro line.
The movement on the Moscow Central Circle represents a city commuter 
train, partially integrated with the Moscow Metro
(transfers and unified fare payment system). The Moscow Central Circle
also integrates with suburban train directions, for which some railway stations have been
relocated directly to the Moscow Central Circle stations.
On February 26, 2018, the first (northwestern) section of the Big 
Circle Line was opened — the second underground ring of the Moscow Metro.
The line was closed into a circle on March 1, 2023.
Moscow operates a car-sharing system, a short-term car rental service
with per-minute or per-hour pricing. Car-sharing serves as an 
alternative to personal cars, helping to reduce road traffic density
and parking space congestion. According to the transport department,
one car in the car-sharing system can replace 10 private cars.
The advantage of car-sharing is that you don’t have to spend money on parking, fuel,
car washing, or maintenance. As of 2020, eight operators are part 
of the Moscow car-sharing system. According to statistics,
there are more than 3.5 million bicycles in Moscow.
However, the first bicycle lane appeared in the capital only in 2011.
By 2013, the length of the cycling routes reached 100 kilometers,
including several long routes such as from Barklay Street through Fili Park
to the Krylatskoye metro station (8 km) and from Museon Park to Victory Park (16 km).
City bike rental stations operate in the summer,
as well as private rental services. The unified city bike rental system
started operating in Moscow in 2013. At that time, 79 stations were organized
along the Boulevard Ring and on the Frunzenskaya Embankment.
Each year until 2019, 50 new stations and 500 bicycles were added to the network.
As of 2018, there were 430 stations in Moscow, with 4,300 bicycles and 260 electric bikes.
Moscow is the center of the Russian Orthodox Church,
the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, the Russian Ancient Orthodox Church,
the Russian Evangelical Christian-Baptist Union, and other denominations.
All major world religions are represented in Moscow.
Officially, there are more than 1,000 religious associations
and organizations in the city, representing more than 50 
different religious denominations. The largest of these religious organizations
is the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) —
it includes about 500 associations and organizations,
711 Orthodox churches and chapels, 6 male and 6 female monasteries
Moscow is a major cultural and tourist center in Europe and the world,
with one of the richest historical and cultural potentials in Russia.
The city has many interesting places, both historical-cultural
and architectural monuments, as well as modern entertainment infrastructure.
Modern Moscow has more than 100 theaters. The most famous among them 
are the Bolshoi Theatre, the Maly Theatre, the Moscow Art Theatre,
Sovremennik, Lenkom, the Taganka Theatre, and the Peter Fomenko Theatre.
There are more than 60 museums in the city. With the participation of Moscow 
State University, the Polytechnic, Historical, Zoological Museums, the Museum of Anthropology,
the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Botanical and Zoological Gardens 
(Moscow Zoo) were established. Among the many museums of the capital,
the Tretyakov Gallery, founded by the Russian philanthropist
whose name is immortalized in the museum’s title, should also be noted.
There are large exhibition spaces such as the Central House of Artists,
the Manege exhibition hall, and others. In addition to state museums,
there are many private art galleries in Moscow, many of which specialize in contemporary art.
There are more than 400 libraries in the city, including the national Russian State Library.
Moscow has many different night venues clubs, bars, restaurants, and cabarets.
The main establishments are concentrated within the Boulevard Ring, along Tverskaya Street,
in the Ostozhenka area, the New Arbat, and Kutuzovsky Avenue.
Moscow has 9 establishments that have been awarded Michelin Stars
one of the highest culinary awards in the world. There are numerous opportunities
for children’s recreation in Moscow. The most famous places visited 
by Muscovites and guests with children are the Moscow 
Zoo, the Moscow Planetarium, the Experimentanium Museum 
of Entertaining Science, the K. A. Timiryazev Biological Museum.
In 2015, the Moscow Oceanarium “Moskvarium” was opened at VDNH (All Russia Exhibition of People’s Archievents)
and the largest in Europe indoor entertainment park of world-class “Island of Dreams”.
Moscow is one of the most important educational centers in Russia.
Since the establishment of the first higher educational 
institution in the country the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy
the city has become home to a significant number of 
educational institutions. In 1755, Moscow University was founded
on the initiative of Ivan Shuvalov and Mikhail Lomonosov,
making it the oldest and most famous university in Russia.
As of late 2009, Moscow had 264 higher education institutions,
including 109 state or municipal and 155 non-state institutions.
The student population was nearly 1.3 million. Eleven Moscow universities
have the status of National Research Universities. In 2018, Moscow hosted 12 of the 
64 matches of the FIFA World Cup, including the opening match
and the final match. The matches were held at two stadiums:
“Luzhniki” (7 matches) and “Spartak” (5 matches). Moscow has a large and growing network of hotels
and accommodations, with major international hotel brands represented.
Recently, Moscow’s parks have undergone modernization
and reconstruction, becoming more child-friendly due to improved infrastructure.
Many parks offer bike and roller rentals. In 2015, as part of a beautification program,
over 12,000 children’s playgrounds were renovated. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Sergey Baklykov, 
“All of Russia” channel on Baklykov.Live

Riding around unbelievable city of Moscow, the capital of Russia!
Amazing route driving through Tverskaya street, around Kremlin, Boulevard Ring and Garden Ring

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