A Tour of Moscow [antikvár]

Moscow is the capital of the Soviet Union, the first socialist multinational state in history and one of the biggest historical, political, economic and cultural centres in the world today. Moscow is situated in the centre of the East-European Plain. The landscape here is hilly, alternating with wide river plains. The shape of the city is largely determined by the Moskva River, which crosses its territory from northwest to south-east for a distance of nearly 80 kilometres. The climate of the city is moderately Continental, with annual temperature fluctuations of 28 °C. The average temperature is - 10.2°C in January and 18.1 °C in July. The average daily humidity is 76 per cent. The sun shines on the average 1,597 hours every year. Moscow covers an area of 878.7 square kilometres and has a population, according to the figures for 1 January 1982, of 8,030,000 inhabitants representing a hundred different nationalities. About a millión visitors come to Moscow every day. The city is bounded by the Circular Motorway, 109 kilometres long. It is often said that Moscow, like Romé, grew up on seven hills, although there are now many more within the city limits. 3