NORTH EASTERN EUROPE 119The Russian Federation, or Russia as
it is commonly known, stretches from
the Baltic to the Pacific and is the
world’s largest country. Moscow, the
capital, lies at the heart of European
Russia, while St Petersburg is situ ated
at its northwest corner. Till the end of
1991, Russia was part of the Soviet
Union, but Mikhail Gorbachev’s pol-
icies of glasnost (open ness) and pere-
stroika (re struc tur ing) led to changes
that saw the end of the USSR. There
have been social problems over the
years, however the stan dard of living
is improving. Today, Russia is a
member of the CIS, a common-
wealth of former Soviet republics.HISTORY
First mentioned in the Ipatievskaya
Chronicles of 1147, when Kiev was
the capital of Russia, Moscow has
endured wars, revolutions and drastic
social changes. Over four centuries it
was transformed from an isolated
kremlin (fortress), built in 1156, into a
thriving capital. Ironically, Moscow’s
pre-eminence in Russia came about
as a result of the 250-year dom ination
by the Mongols, who invaded in- In the 14th century they chose
Moscow’s grand prince, Ivan I, to
collect tribute from sub jugated princi-
palities. However, this sealed their
fate and they were defeated in the
MOSCOW AND
ST PETERSBURG
F
rom her 12th-century origins as an obscure defensive
outpost, Moscow has come to govern one sixth of the globe.
The story of her rise is laced with glory and setbacks,
including the two cen turies when St Petersburg was the cap-
ital of Russia and Moscow lived as a dignified dowager.
Today, both cities symbolize the “New Russia”.
Monument to Minin and Pozharskiy near St Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow
The ornate interior of the Church on Spilled Blood, St Petersburg