MOSCOW 



THE ancient capital of Russia and the chief city of the 

 government (province) of Moscow is situated in almost 

 the centre of European Russia. It lies on both sides 

 of the River Moskva, from which it derives its name; another 

 small stream, called the Yauza, flows through the eastern part 

 of the city. Moscow was the fourth capital of Russia — the 

 earlier ones being Novgorod, Kiefif, and Vladimir — and was 

 the residence of the Tsars from 1340 until the time of Peter 

 the Great in 171 1. It is the holy city of Russia, almost sur- 

 passing in that respect the city of Kiefif, and is celebrated in 

 song and story under its poetic name Bielokamennaya, the 

 "White-Walled." The population, according to the latest 

 (1907) available statistics, is 1,335,104, and it is the greatest 

 commercial and industrial city of Russia. It is the see of a 

 Russian Orthodox metropolitan with three auxiliary or vicar 

 bishops, and has 440 churches, 24 convents, over 500 schools 

 (with high schools, professional schools, and the university 

 besides), some 502 establishments of charity, mercy, and hos- 

 pital service, and 23 cemeteries. The population is composed 

 of 1,242,090 Orthodox, 26,320 Old Ritualists, 25,540 Catholics, 

 26,650 Protestants, 8,905 Jews, and 5,336 Mohammedans, to- 

 gether with a small scattering of other denominations. 



Historically, the city of Moscow, which has grown up grad- 

 ually around the Kremlin, is divided into five principal parts 

 or concentric divisions, separated from one another by walls, 

 some of which have already disappeared and their places been 

 taken by broad boulevards. These chief divisions are the 

 Kremlin, Kitaigorod (Chinese town), Bielygorod (white 

 town), Zemlianoigorod (earthwork town), and Miestchansky- 

 gorod (the bourgeois town). The actual municipal division 

 of the city is into seventeen chasti or wards, each of which 

 has a set of local officials and separate police sections. The 

 city hall or Duma is situated on Ascension Square near the 

 Kremlin. The Kremlin itself is a walled acropolis and is the 



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