MOSCOW, (Russian Moskva), the second capital of the Russian empire, and chief town of the government of the same name, in 55° 45′ N. and 37° 37′ E., on both banks of the river Moskva, a tributary of the Oka. It is by rail 400 m. from St Petersburg, 1017 from Odessa, and 814 from Warsaw. It lies to the north of the most densely peopled parts of Russia (the “black-earth region”), whilst the country to the north of it is rather thinly peopled as far as the Volga, and very sparsely beyond that. The space between the middle Oka and the Volga, however, was the cradle of the Great-Russian nationality (Novgorod and Pskov excluded); and four or five centuries ago Moscow had a quite central position with regard to that region. The present city covers an area of 32 sq. m. (about 40 when the suburbs are included). In the centre, on the left bank of the Moskva, stands the Kreml or Kremlin, occupying the Borovitsky hill. To the east of the Kremlin is the Kitay-Gorod, formerly the Great Posad, the chief centre of trade. The Byelyi-Gorod, which was formerly enclosed by a stone wall (whence the name), surrounds the Kremlin and the Kitay-Gorod on the west, north, and north-east. A line of boulevards now occupies the place of its wall (destroyed in the 18th century), and forms a first circle of streets round the centre of Moscow. The Zemlyanoy-Gorod (earthen enclosure) surrounds the Byelyi-Gorod, including the Zamoskvoryechie on the right bank of the Moskva. The earthen wall and palisade that formerly enclosed it no longer exist, their place being taken by a series of broad streets with gardens on both sides—the Sadovaya, or Gardens Street. The fourth enclosure (the Kamer College earthen wall) was made during the reign of Catherine II.; it is of irregular shape, and encloses the outer parts of Moscow, whilst the suburbs and the villages which have sprung up on the highways extend some miles beyond. The Kremlin is an old fort of pentagonal (nearly triangular) shape, about 100 acres in extent, occupying a hill 130 ft. above the level of the Moskva. It is enclosed by a high stone battlemented wall 2430 yds. in length, restored during the 19th century, and having nineteen towers. Its five gates are surmounted by towers and are all noteworthy. The Spaskiya (Saviour's) Gate was erected in 1491 by a Milanese architect; the Gothic tower (203 ft.) that surmounts it was added in 1626 by the English architect, Holloway. A sacred picture of the Saviour (the “palladium of Moscow”) was placed upon it in 1647, and all who pass through the gate uncover. The towers surmounting the other four gates were erected by order of Ivan III. Of the sacred buildings of the Kremlin the most venerated is the Uspenskiy cathedral. The former church of this name was erected in 1326 by the tsar, Ivan Kalita, but, on its falling into disrepair, a new one was built on the same place in 1475–1479, by the Bolognese architect, Fioraventi, in the Lombardo-Byzantine style, with Indian cupolas. It was restored each time after being pillaged or burnt in 1493, 1547, 1682 and 1812. It contains the oldest and most venerated holy pictures in Russia, one of which is attributed to the metropolitan Peter, another to St Luke. The cathedral possesses also the throne of Vladimir I., and numerous relics of saints, some of which date from the 14th century. The Russian metropolitans and patriarchs were consecrated in this cathedral, as well as the tsars after Ivan IV. The Arkhangel cathedral, on the opposite side of the square, was originally built in 1333, and a new one was erected in its place in 1505–1508. It contains the tombs of the tsars from Ivan Kalita (1340) to Ivan Alexeivich (1696), and possesses vast wealth. The Blagovyeshchensk cathedral, recalling the churches of Mount Athos (in Turkey), was first built in 1397, rebuilt in 1484–1489, and restored in 1883–1896; the remarkable pictures of Rublev (1405) are still preserved. It was the private chapel of the tsars, and in it they are baptized and married. Vestiges of a very old church, that of the Saviour in the Wood, contemporaneous with the foundation of Moscow, still exist in the yard of the palace. A stone church took the place of the old wooden structure in 1330, and was rebuilt in 1527. The Voznesensky convent, erected in 1389–1393, and restored in the end of the 19th century, is the burial-place of wives and sisters of the tsars. The Chudov monastery, erected in 1358–1365 and rebuilt in 1771, was the residence of the metropolitans of Moscow and a state prison. Close by, the great campanile of Ivan Veliky, erected in the Lombardo-Byzantine style by Boris Godunov, in 1600, rises to the height of 271 ft. (318 ft. including the cross), and contains many bells, one of which weighs 64⅓ tons. Close by is the well-known Tsar-Kolokol (king of the bells), 65 ft. in circumference round the rim, 19 ft. high, and weighing 198⅓ tons. It was cast in 1735, and broken during the fire of 1737 before being hung. The treasury of the patriarchs in the campanile of Ivan Veliky contains not only such articles of value as the sakkos (episcopal robes) of the metropolitan with 70,000 pearls, but also very remarkable monuments of Russian archaeology. The library has 500 Greek and 1000 very rare Russian MSS., including a Gospel of the 8th century. The great palace of the tsars, erected in 1838–1849, is a fine building in white stone with a gilded cupola. It contains the terems, or rooms erected by Tsar Michael Feodorovich for the young princes his sons in 1636 (restored in 1836–1849, their former character being maintained), a remarkable memorial of the domestic life of the tsars in the 17th century. In the treasury of the tsars, in the Orujeynaya Palata, now public museums, the richest stores connected with old Russian archaeology are preserved—crowns, thrones, dresses, various articles of household furniture belonging to the tsars, Russian and Mongolian arms, carriages, &c. The Granovitaya Palata, another wing of the great palace, consists of a single-vaulted apartment built in 1473–1490, and is used as a state banqueting hall. The four sides of the Senate Square are occupied by buildings of various dates, from the 15th century onwards. Among them is the imposing senate, now the law courts, erected by Catherine II. (1771–1785). Facing it is the arsenal (1701–1736). The temple of the Saviour, begun in 1817 in commemoration of the events of the French campaign of 1812, was abandoned in 1827, and a new one was built during 1838–1883 on a hill on the bank of the Moskva, at a short distance from the Kremlin. Its style is Lombardo-Byzantine, with modifications suggested by the military taste of Nicholas I.