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Russia's barometer shows a country fast coming in from the cold.
Moscow is the barometer and nucleus of the changes sweeping through Russia. Nowhere are Russia's contrasts more apparent than here - ancient monasteries and ultra-modern monoliths stand side by side, and 'New Russian' millionaires and poverty-stricken pensioners walk the same streets.
'Moscow has changed. I was here in 1982, during the Brezhnev twilight, and things are better now. For instance, they've got litter. In 1982 there was nothing to litter with.' - PJ O'Rourke
Moscovites now prefer international name brands to monolithic department stores, and the beautiful churches vandalised or abandoned during the Soviet era of hardline atheism are being lovingly restored. But the real flavour of this city is in its nooks and crannies, each of them unique.
Moscow lies in the centre of what is known as European Russia. The border between Europe and Asia runs down the west side of the Ural Mountains, 1300km (805mi) east of Moscow. To the east of Moscow is the south-flowing Volga River, one of Russia's historic highways.
The Kremlin, a north-pointing triangle with sides 750m (2460ft) long, is at the heart of Moscow in every way - symbolically, historically and geographically. Red Square lies along its east side, the Moscow River flows past its south side. From here, Moscow spreads out in four distinctive rings of development. Each area has its own collection of monasteries, museums and elegant buildings. Most of the city's sights are within the first circle - an area that can easily be covered on foot. Otherwise, Moscow is flat, flat, flat and has few useful landmarks for getting your bearings from a distance: probably the most prominent buildings are Stalin's imposing 'Seven Sisters' skyscrapers.
Moscow's five airports are all beyond the outer ring road, 30 to 40km (19 to 25mi) from the city centre. Sheremetevo-2, where you'll arrive if you fly in from outside the former Soviet Union, is to the northwest.
