After decades of hardship and austerity, Europe's most populous city is enjoying an unprecedented period of luxury and self indulgence. In 2006, Forbes magazine ranked Moscow (Moskva) as having the highest number of billionaires in the world, though much of this money was plundered from the nation during the collapse of communism. Today, well-heeled Muscovites sip champagne with sushi at extravagant 'elitny' restaurants and stock up on brand names at eye-wateringly expensive boutiques - it's a far cry from the days of queuing for bread at state-owned department stores. 

The arts
As well as being Russia's richest city, Moscow is also one of its most culturally sophisticated, helped by world-class artistic institutions like the Bolshoi Theatre, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Moscow is also proud of its great writers, playwrights, composers, choreographers, and film-makers, and their works are still regularly presented to the public at venues around the city. Due to Stalin's architectural make-over, Moscow doesn't quite have the Baroque perfection of St Petersburg, but the streets drip with Soviet iconography. 

The landmarks 
Based around the star-topped towers of the Kremlin, Moscow is one of the most instantly recognisable cities in the world. From St Basil's Cathedral and Red Square to Stalin's Seven Sisters and Gorky Park, the city swims with landmarks, and even the stations of the Moscow Metro are an architectural tour de force. The city's pre-revolutionary past lives on in its icon-filled Orthodox churches and cathedrals, which are enjoying a renaissance after the restrictions of the Soviet era were lifted. 

The history
For nearly eight centuries, the Kremlin has been the seat of power for great and terrible grand princes and tsars, totalitarian dictators and, most recently, elected presidents. Moscow has faced down waves of invaders, from Napoleon to Hitler, and always emerged victorious, though often at a terrible cost. Today, Muscovites are looking forwards rather than backwards to a brave new world of consumer goods, fine dining, luxury automobiles and extravagance. Visitors should be prepared for the fact that Moscow is the world's most expensive city and budget accordingly!