On the score of distance of Norilsk from other cities and absence of land communication, citizens call the rest of Russia “mainland”.

This north city was founded in 1935 by political prisoners. The first house was built by the members of Urvantsev’s expedition in 1921. It still exists as the museum “The first Norilsk house”. In 1953 north Norilsk got a status of a city. Nowadays, according to the census of 2008, the population is about 206 thousand people. Because of different reasons a lot of thousand people leave the city.

The weather is very changeable and harsh. Winter is cold and long. If you like snow it is the best place for admiring it. Land can be covered with snow about 240 days a year. Summer is short. Usually there are two or three weeks of summer. The warmest months are July and August. The average temperature of January is 10 degrees below zero. The average temperature of July is 14 degrees above zero. It is only average temperatures and it doesn’t sound like something unbelievable. But sometimes people, waking up in the morning and going to work or study, listen to a weather forecast and understand that it is better to put warmer clothes on. The reason is that the temperature can be even 60 degrees below zero. Just that temperature was registered like the most minimum one. So, going to Norilsk, don’t forget to take warm clothes and … steady shoes! Imagine you walking in the slick street. It is getting windy and speed of wind can reach 40 km/h. You can’t keep walking; you simply slide as on skates.

If you have ever been in Sankt Petersburg, you can represent the architecture of Norilsk. It is similar, especially the main street, Leninskii prospect. It is also the longest street in Norilsk; its length is about 2 kilometers. It is enough about one hour to walk around the city, because it is very small and compact.

Nowadays there are a lot of places where people go to have a rest. The young population chooses clubs, cinemas, bowling and billiards, the older population goes to the only drama theater in the center of the city. If the weather remains pretty well, fans of winter sport go to countryside. There are a lot of mountains in tundra with beautiful small waterfalls. When these mountains are covered with snow, sportsmen use some of them for descent on alpine skis and snowboards. Have you ever done it with a swimsuit or shorts on? Imagine, today it is 30 below zero and in three days it is going to be 30 degrees above zero!  And it is not a joke.

However, the climate is very severe and it is the main reason why people spend more time indoors. So, if you go to a club, you know that you’ll say “hi” heaps of times. You can meet people from your school, university, job or sport club there. It always happens with every citizen of the city.

Norilsk is famous for its metallurgical complex “Norilsk nickel”, the main center of non-ferrous- metals industry. Nickel, copper, cobalt, gold, silver, iridium and other non-ferrous and precious metals are produced there. The Taimyr tundra is very rich in minerals. You can also find here the “Nadezhda” Metallurgical Plant, one of the biggest in Europe.

With this city names of famous people are connected, such as Vladimir Potanin, Michael Prohorov and many others.

By the 15^th century Moscow turned into a wealthy city. In the 16^th century, under Ivan III, Moscow became the capital of the State of Moskovy.

At that time the Kremlin was rebuilt and the largest Kremlin Cathedrals were erected. Under Dmitriy Donskoy the Kremlin was built of white stone. During the reign of Ivan III the walls of white stone were replaced by new redbrick walls and towers. The Prince invited Italian architects to construct the Cathedrals. The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1475-79. The Russian Tzars and Emperors were crowned there. The Archangel Cathedral was the burial place of the Russian Princes ad Tzars. The Annunciation Cathedral was erected in 1484. It is famous for the icons painted by Andrei Rublev and his apprentices.

On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old Cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Canon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world.

The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It is the oldest historical and architectural center of Moscow.

One of the favorite places of tourists in Moscow is Red Square. You can see there a monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Red Square. During the Troubled Times Moscow was occupied by the Polish invaders, but they were routed by the popular levy headed by Minin and Pozharsky. St. Basil’s Cathedral was built in the mid-16^th century in memory of the victory over Kazan.

Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the main target of Napoleon’s attack. Three-quarters of the city were destroyed by fire during Napoleon’s occupation, but by the mid-19^th century Moscow had been completely restored.
Moscow became the capital again after the Great October Revolution.
Now Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural center, one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometers.

According to the Census of 2009 year the population of the city is about 10 500 000 people.

Moscow was one of the most expensive cities in the world from 2006 to 2008. In 2009 because of the crisis it gave up the place to Japan’s cities like Tokyo and Osaka.

Moscow is a port of five seas, as the Moscow-Volga Canal links Moscow with the Baltic, White, Caspian and Black seas and the Sea of Azov.

It is necessary to mention such famous monuments as monuments to the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and to the first printer Ivan Fedorov.

Visiting the capital of Russia a lot of foreigners from all over the world come to see these monuments.

One of the highest buildings in Moscow is the State Moscow University. It was founded in 1755 by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov.

Nowadays in the center of the capital (Krasnopresnenskaya station) Moscow International Business Center (MIBC) “Moscow City” is built. The project of creation of this center is the biggest of the existent and being realized at present Projects of Russia and Europe, the decision of creation of which was made by the Government of Moscow in the beginning of 90-s.

Because Moscow is a very big city, its transport must be comfortable and fast.
You can see a lot of cars (about 3.5 millions cars), trolley-buses, and trams in the streets of our city. The Moscow subway began its work on the 15^th of May, 1935. There were 13 stations at that time. Now it has 190 stations. Moscow’s subway is very beautiful and convenient.
There are nine railway stations in Moscow and five airports around the city.

Moscow is a city of students. There are over 80 higher educational institutes in it, including several universities.