In 1918 Moscow again became the national capital of Russia. However, the origins of the city go back more than 850 years, when settlers on the north bank of the Moskva River built a "kreml", a walled fortress. Inside the walls were the most important buildings, such as churches, arsenals and a palace. Several Russian cities began as kremlins (the English form of "kreml").
The Moscow Kremlin is the seat of the Russian President and his administration. Here, there are magnificent ancient domed churches and cathedrals, a former royal palace and museums. The Kremlin Palace of Congresses, built in 1961 to be the meeting place of the Communist Party, is now the biggest concert hall in Moscow.
Moscow is a city of theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and libraries. Muscovites think of themselves as the most cultured people in Russia, though the people of Russia's former capital of St.Petersburg challenge this claim.
In the north-east of the Kremlin is Red Square, where parades are held on special occasions. Landmarks in Red Square include St. Basil's Cathedral, which is made up of nine chapels each with its own elaborately decorated roof. Beneath the Kremlin's eastern wall, there is a mausoleum where visitors could see the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Communist Russian Revolution in 1917.
There are a lot of other sights in Moscow, both old and modern. For example, the Arbat, in the older part of Moscow, was the first street in the city for pedestrians only. In fair weather, it is full of tourists and shoppers.
The Moscow Metro is considered to be the most elegant underground rail line in the world. Its stations, often called underground palaces decorated with marble, granite and crystal, are kept spotless by armies of cleaners. It carries millions of passengers a day and is the most important means of transport in Moscow.
Muscovites eat 170 tonnes of ice-cream every day, even when winter temperatures drop to -20°C. They are also animal lovers who keep thousands of cats, dogs and birds as peiu