Moscow | |
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Population | 0 |
Moscow (, ; Russian: Москва, tr. Moskva, IPA: [mɐˈskva] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 12.4 million residents within the city limits, while over 17 million residents in the urban area, and over 20 million residents in the Moscow Metropolitan Area. The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometres (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometres (2,275 sq mi), and the metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities, being the most populous city entirely within Europe, the most populous urban area in Europe, the most populous metropolitan area in Europe, and also the largest city by land area on the European continent.Originally established in 1147, Moscow grew to become a prosperous and powerful city that served as the capital of the Grand Duchy that bears its namesake. When the Grand Duchy of Moscow evolved into the Tsardom of Russia, Moscow still remained as the political and economic center for most of the Tsardom's history. When the Tsardom was reformed into the Russian Empire, the capital was moved from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, diminishing the influence of the city. The capital was then moved back to Moscow following the Russian Revolution and the city was brought back as the political centre of the Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union dissolved, Moscow remained as the capital city of the contemporary and newly established Russian Federation.
As the northernmost and coldest megacity in the world, and with a history that dates over eight centuries, Moscow is governed as a federal city that serves as the political, economic, cultural, and scientific centre of Russia and Eastern Europe.
Birmingham | |
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State | Alabama |
Country | United States of America |
Capital | |
Population | 212107 |
Birmingham ( (listen) BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest city, urban area and metropolitan area in England and the United Kingdom, with roughly 1.1 million inhabitants within the city area, 2.9 million inhabitants within the urban area and 4.3 million inhabitants within the metropolitan area and lies within the most populated English district. Birmingham is commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom.Located in the West Midlands county and region in England, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Central London, Birmingham, as one of the United Kingdom's major cities, is considered to be the social, cultural, financial, and commercial centre of both the East and West Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre.
A market town of Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew in the 18th-century Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw advances in science, technology, and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society. By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century.