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About Russia

     Russia (IPA: /ˈrʌʃə/) (Russian: Росси́я, Rossiya; pronounced [rʌˈsʲi.jə]), also the Russian Federation (Росси́йская Федера́ция, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; [rʌˈsʲi.skə.jə fʲɪ.dʲɪˈra.ʦɨ.jə], (Russian language) listen (help·info)), is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia (Europe and Asia). With an area of 17,075,400 km², Russia is by far the largest country in the world, covering almost twice the total area of the next-largest country, Canada, and has enormous mineral and energy resources. Russia has the world's ninth-largest population. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from northwest to southeast): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It is also close to the United States (the state of Alaska), Sweden, and Japan across relatively small stretches of water (the Bering Strait, the Baltic Sea, and La Pérouse Strait, respectively).

     Formerly the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russia became the Russian Federation following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. After the Soviet era, the area, population, and industrial production of the Soviet Union (then one of the world's two Cold War superpowers, the other one being the United States) that were located in Russia passed on to the Russian Federation.

    After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the newly-independent Russian Federation emerged as a great power and is also considered to be an energy superpower. Russia is considered the Soviet Union's successor state in diplomatic matters and is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is also one of the five recognised nuclear weapons states and possesses the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Russia is the leading nation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a member of the G8 as well as other international organisations.

About Moscow

     Moscow (Moskva) (Russian: Москва́, romanised: Moskva, IPA: [mʌsk'va] (help·info) see also other names) is the capital of Russia and the country's economic, financial, educational, and transportation centre. It is located on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District, in the European part of Russia. The metropolitan area of Moscow (Moskva) is the largest in Europe, whose population constitutes about 7% of the total Russian population.  Historically, it was the capital of the former Soviet Union and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the pre-Imperial Russian state. It is the site of the Kremlin, which now serves as the ceremonial residence of the President of Russia.

     Moscow also remains a major economic centre and is home to a large number of Russian billionaires; it was recently named as the most expensive city in the world for expatriate employees. It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system that includes the world's busiest metro system, which is famous for its architecture.

     In 2006, Mercer Management Consulting named Moscow the world's most expensive city for expatriate employees, ahead of perennial winner Tokyo, due to the stable Russian ruble as well as increasing housing prices within the city. Some prices are considerably higher for the foreign visitor than for locals. For locals, small apartments bought or given by the state in the Soviet era, coupled with extremely low utility costs and a low income tax of 13% serve to lower the cost of living greatly.

    A significant portion of Russia's profits and development is concentrated in Moscow as many multi-national corporations have branches and offices in the city. The plush offices and the lifestyles of the typical corporate employee in Moscow are often indistinguishable from any Western European city, although the average salary for the Muscovite is a bit lower. Since the Russian financial crisis in late 1998, various business sectors in Moscow have shown exponential rates of growth. Many new business centres and office buildings have been built in recent years, but Moscow still experiences shortages in office space. As a result, many former industrial and research facilities are being reconstructed to become suitable for office use.

    However, while the overall stability has improved in the recent years, crime and corruption continue to remain a problem hindering business development.

    The Cherkizovskiy marketplace, controlled by the Azeri diaspora is the largest marketplace in Europe with daily turnover of about thirty million dollars and about ten thousand sellers from different countries (including the China, Turkey, Azerbaijan and India). It is administratively divided into twelve parts and covers a wide sector of the city.

    Moscow is one of the top cities in the world for billionaires; in 2006, Forbes ranked Moscow second in highest number of billionaires, surpassed only by New York City. In 2004, Russia's thirty-six billionaires (of whom only three did not live in Moscow) held the equivalent of twenty-four percent of Russia's gross domestic product. The nouveau riche, also called the "New Russians", often pejoratively, have a reputation for flaunting their wealth; the avenues for doing so, and subtly, have also increased in recent times - a sense of fashion and self-consciousness has instilled itself through the many haute couture and haute cuisine spots in Moscow.