Moscow
Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, scientific, historical, architectural and business centre, from which power and might of the Russian state developed. Moscow is a city of superlatives. It boasts the most billionaires, the most expensive cups of coffee and – coming soon – the most colossal building in the world.
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth (but not the coldest), the most populous city in Europe, and the sixth largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the results of the 2010 Census, is 11,503,501. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow had 79 billionaires, displacing New York City as the city with the greatest number of billionaires.
Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
The city is served by an extensive transit network, which includes four international airports, nine railroad terminals, and one of the deepest underground tubes in the world, the Moscow Metro, second only to Tokyo in terms of ridership and recognized as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich and varied architecture of its 185 stations.
Moscow has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, and sometimes hot, somewhat humid summers and long, cold winters. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around comfortable 23 °C (73 °F), but during heat waves (which can occur between May and September), daytime high temperatures often top 30 °C (86 °F)—sometimes for a week or a two at a time. In the winter, temperatures normally drop to approximately -10 °C (14 °F), though there can be periods of warmth with temperatures rising above 0 °C (32 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) at the VVC weather station and 39.0 °C (102.2 °F) in the center of Moscow and Domodedovo airport on 29 July 2010 during the unusual 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat wave. At the new averages 1981–2010 mean temperature of July is 19.2 °C (66.6 °F). The lowest ever recorded was -42.2 °C (-44.0 °F) in January 1940. Snow cover (present for 3–5 months a year) typically begins at the end of November and melts by mid-March.
Monthly rainfall totals vary minimally throughout the year, although the precipitation levels tend to be higher during the summer than during the winter. Due to the significant variation in temperature between the winter and summer months as well as the limited fluctuation in precipitation levels during the summer, Moscow is considered to be within a continental climate zone.
The average annual temperature in Moscow is 5.8 °C (42.4 °F) (1981–2010), but for the last two years (2007–2008) the annual temperature has averaged above 7 °C (45 °F). In contrast, during the first half of the 20th century, Moscow experienced light frost during the late summer months.
On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying between a low of 8% in December to 52% in May–August. In 2004–2010, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours with tends to more sunshine in summer months