9781422283622

THE PEOPLE OF MOSCOW

People of about 100 different nationalities live in Moscow. Most are Russians, but there are also many people from republics that were once part of the USSR, particularly the Ukraine, Belarus, and Armenia. There are also many Tatars, descendants

of the Mongols who invaded Russia in the thirteenth century (see page 9). Moscow has a large Jewish community, too.

Here's a living room of one of Moscow's wealthiest, though few people in the city can live like this.

⌂ Thousands of Russia’s 6 million Tatars live in Moscow. Most of the rest, like these women, live in the republic of Tatarstan, to the south.

A growing population Since World War II the number of people in Moscow has risen steadily. In the past 45 years, it has grown by more than 5 million to about 12 million (see page 5). Most of the city’s new inhabitants moved there from the countryside in the hope of finding factory, office, or shop work. Many have not settled in central Moscow, but in suburbs such as Babushkin, where new industries provide jobs.

Wealth and power There is a huge division between rich and poor in modern Moscow. Now that there is more economic freedom, a few fortunate businesspeople have grown rich. On a 2013 list of the world's richest people, Moscow had more billionaires (76) than any other city in the world.

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Major World Cities

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