Moscow is the capital, the most populous city of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world. Moscow is the most populous city on the continent of Europe and the seventh largest city proper in the world.

Moscow's architecture is world-renowned. Moscow is also well known as the site of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, with its elegant onion domes, as well as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Seven Sisters.

For a long time, the view of the city was dominated by numerous Orthodox churches. The look of the city changed drastically during Soviet times, mostly due to Joseph Stalin, who oversaw a large-scale effort to modernize the city. He introduced broad avenues and roadways, some of them over ten lanes wide, but he also destroyed a great number of historically significant architectural works. The Sukharev Tower, as well as numerous mansions and stores lining the major streets, and various works of religious architecture, such as the Kazan Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, were all destroyed during Stalin's rule. During the 1990s, however, both the latter were rebuilt amid criticism due to the high costs and lack of historical perspective.

One of the most notable art museums in Moscow is the Tretyakov Gallery, which was founded by Pavel Tretyakov, a wealthy patron of the arts who donated a large private collection to the city. Another art museum in the city of Moscow is the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, which was founded by, among others, Marina Tsvetaeva's father. The Pushkin Museum is similar to the British Museum in London in that its halls are a cross-section of world civilisations, with many plaster casts of ancient sculptures.

Besides buildings there are lots of parks and gardens in Moscow. It is a very green city if compared to other cities of comparable size in Western Europe and America.