Theatre of Nations

The 1942 Aeroflot Li-2 Krasnoyarsk crash was an aviation accident that occurred on November 17, 1942, at Krasnoyarsk Airport. The Li-2, operating on the ALSIB route (also known as the Krasnoyarsk Air Route or KVT) as part of the fifth ferry regiment, was tasked with transporting a group of military pilots to receive new aircraft. However, immediately after takeoff, the aircraft crashed on the airfield grounds, killing all thirty people on board (other sources report twenty fatalities based on the number of identified names). At the time, this was the second-largest aviation disaster on the territory of the USSR (after the ANT-20bis crash earlier that year, with 36 fatalities).

The Moscow tramway network, which is divided into two sub-networks, is a key element of the public transport system in Moscow, the capital city of Russia. Opened in 1872, it has been operated since 1958 until 2021 by Mosgortrans, a state-owned company.

Moscow has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, sometimes hot, somewhat humid summers and long, cold winters. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around 23 °C (73 °F), but during heat waves, which can occur anytime from May to September, daytime temperature highs often top 30 °C (86 °F) for sometimes one or two weeks. 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). Summer lasts from mid-May to the beginning of September. Winter lasts from the beginning of November to the end of March. More extreme continental climates at the same latitude- such as parts of Eastern Canada or Siberia- have much colder winters than Moscow, suggesting that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean despite the fact that Moscow is far from the sea.

Central Administrative Okrug, or Tsentralny Administrativny Okrug (Russian: Центра́льный администрати́вный о́круг, Tsentralny administrativny okrug), is one of the twelve administrative okrugs of Moscow, Russia. Population: 741,967 (2010 Census); 701,353 (2002 Census). It is the core of the city that includes its oldest, historical parts: Kremlin and the former Bely Gorod and Zemlyanoy Gorod; with certain churches and fortifications as old as from XIV-XV centuries. It is also the site of Russia's highest government institutions, such as the Government house, the State Duma, the Federation Council, and most ministries. A large part of the territory is occupied by office buildings, especially in the “Moscow-City” business district on the west side of the Okrug.

Zemlyanoy Gorod (Russian: Земляной город, IPA: [zʲɪmlʲɪˈnoj ˈɡorət] "Earthworks City") in 17th-century Moscow was the outer ring of the city, surrounded by ramparts and a moat. It surrounded the older moat built by Aloisio the New in the early 16th century which delimited Bely Gorod. Historical Zemlyanoy Gorod corresponds to the area now in between the Boulevard Ring and the Garden Ring roads.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Moscow, Russia.

The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Russian: Благовещенский собор, or Blagoveschensky sobor) is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Annunciation of the Theotokos. It is located on the southwest side of Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin in Russia, where it connects directly to the main building of the complex of the Grand Kremlin Palace, adjacent to the Palace of Facets. It was originally the personal chapel for the Muscovite tsars, and its abbot remained a personal confessor of the Russian royal family until the early 20th century. Now it also serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums.

The Palace of the Facets (Russian: Грановитая Палата, Granovitaya Palata) is a building in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia, which contains what used to be the main banquet reception hall of the Muscovite Tsars. It is the oldest preserved secular building in Moscow. Located on Kremlin Cathedral Square, between the Cathedral of the Annunciation and the Dormition Cathedral. Currently, it is an official ceremonial hall in the residence of the President of the Russian Federation and thus admission is limited to prearranged tours only.

The Red Porch or Red Staircase (Russian: Красное крыльцо, Krasnoe Kryltso), decorated with stone lions, leads into the Palace of Facets in the Kremlin, Moscow. In old Russian the word krasny meant "beautiful", but today it means "red". This is the same word used for "Red Square". On the morning of his coronation, the Tsar was met at the Red Porch, where he took his place beneath a large canopy held by thirty-two Russian generals, with other officers providing additional support. Accompanied by his consort (under a separate canopy) and the imperial regalia, he proceeded slowly toward the Cathedral of the Dormition, where his crowning and anointing would take place. After the service, the Emperor and Empress proceeded under canopies back to the Red Porch of the Kremlin, where they rested and prepared for a great ceremonial meal at the Kremlin's Hall of Facets. During their procession back to their Kremlin palace, later rulers (starting with Nicholas I) stopped on the Red Staircase and bowed three times to the assembled people in the courtyard, symbolizing what one historian has called "an unspoken bond of devotion" between ruler and subjects. In the 1930s the porch was destroyed, and its place was taken by an unimpressive Kremlin canteen. In 1994 the Red Porch was the first of Moscow’s monuments to be restored. .

The Church of the Deposition of the Robe (Russian: Церковь Ризоположения) is a church which stands on Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin. It was begun in 1484 by masters from Pskov, most likely by the same group of architects who built the adjacent Cathedral of the Annunciation. It serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums. The church was built on the site of a previous church, built by Jonah Metropolitan of Moscow in 1451. The name of the church, variously translated as the Church of the Virgin's Robe, The Church of Laying Our Lady’s Holy Robe, The Church of the Veil or simply Church of the Deposition, is said to refer to a festival dating from the 5th century AD, celebrating when the robe of the Virgin Mary was taken from Palestine to Constantinople, where it protected the city from being conquered. For example, tradition says that during the Rus'-Byzantine War of 860 the patriarch placed the Virgin's Robe into the sea, causing a storm that destroyed the invading Rus' ships. A four-level iconostasis, created by Nazary Istomin Savin in 1627, has been preserved in the church, and has frescoes painted by Ivan Borisov, Sidor Pospeev and Semyon Abramov in 1644. The church itself was built in the traditional Early Russian style, characterized by "a noticeable tendency towards more elevated proportions, the overall structure being extended by being placed on raised foundations, and the drum supporting the single dome also being raised." As with the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the intricate interior detail and ornamentation were characteristic of the Russian architecture of this period.Originally, the church served as the private chapel of the Patriarch of Moscow, but during the mid-17th century it was taken over by the Russian royal family. The church was badly damaged in a fire in 1737 (the same fire that cracked the Tsar Bell). Today, the church also houses a display of wood sculpture from the 14th to 19th century.

The Cathedral of the Savior of the Holy Face (Russian: Собо́р Спа́са Нерукотво́рного О́браза, tr. Sobor Spasa Nerukotvornogo Obraza), commonly known as Verkhospassky Cathedral (Russian: Верхоспасский собор), is an Orthodox church and the cathedral of the Grand Kremlin Palace. It was built from 1635 to 1636 by Bazhen Ogurtsov, Antip Konstantinov, Trefil Sharutin and Larion Ushakov. It is part of the complex of house churches of Russian tsars at the Terem Palace. The church is closed for free visits and services are not performed there.

The Moscow Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognisable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156. The Kremlin walls, like many cathedrals in the Kremlin, were built by Italian architects.