Moscow hotels   1. "METROPOL"   2. "NATIONAL"   3. "MARRIOTT GRAND HOTEL"   4. "MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL"   5. "SAVOY"   6. "BALTCHUG KEMPINSKI"   7. "AEROSTAR"   8. "MEZHDUNARODNAYA-1"   9. "SHERATON PALACE" 10. "NOVOTEL" 11. "MARRIOTT TVERSKAJA" 12. "RADISSON SLAVYANSKAYA          HOTEL" 13. "MARCO POLO PRESNJA" 14. "RENAISSANGE MOSCOW" 15. "DANILOVSKAYA" 16. "COSMOS" 17. "UKRAINA" 18. "BELGRAD" 19. "ROSSIA" 20. "IZMAILOVO GAMMA-DELTA" 21. "MOSKVA"

Moscow

If St. Petersburg is Russia's imperial crown, Moscow is its amilial heart. It is a city in which one comes face to face with all that is finest and all that is most frustrating in Russia. The gregarious geniality of its people is as evident as the extreme tensions of a city coming to terms with the confusions of rapid social change. More than anywhere else in the country, it is in Moscow where the Soviet past collides with the capitalist future. Lenin's Mausoleum remains intact, but today it faces the newly chic GUM, which is becoming ever more akin to Macy's or Harrod's. Yet, as the new Moscow emerges, it is becoming increasingly clear that any move into the future will be marked by a strong appreciation of the city's rich and varied heritage. Indeed, the most striking aspect of the city today is not Moscow's much-publicized embrace of Western culture but its self-assured revival of its own traditions. Ancient cathedrals are being restored and opened for religious services, innovative theaters are reclaiming leadership in the arts, and traditional markets are coming back to life. Moscow is once more assuming its position as the capital and mother city of the ancient state of Russia.

Moscow's origins as a symbol of Russian spiritual and political power goes back 850 years, so it's no surprise that today the city is the barometer and nucleus of the changes sweeping through Russia. Its vitality and chaos are a direct result of the collapse of Communism and the efforts of its citizens to reinvent their lives. The populace now prefers impromptu street markets to the huge state department stores, and churches which were destroyed or abandoned during the Soviet era are being lovingly restored. But the real flavor of this city is in its small nooks and crannies, each of them unique.

Area: 1035 sq. km (405 sq. mi.) Population: 10 million
Time Zone: GMT/UTC plus 3 hours from October-March;
plus 4 hours April-September
Telephone area code: 095