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This article was about how the Russian president Vladimir Putin was talking about the past economy of the country.

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A map of Moscow

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There are many positive effects on Moscow, Russia.

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The 'Moscow experiment' has seen the city undergo renewal efforts over the last five years to improve liveability. But what do Moscow's residents really think about the changes? We asked you to share your stories of life in the Russian capital, and reflect on whether Moscow is changing for better or worse.

The city centre may be seeing improvements in infrastructure and public space, but what about the suburbs? How involved have local citizens been in the changes? And what does the future hold for Moscow? We've rounded up a selection of your GuardianWitness contributions, comments and emails, which reveal the everyday experiences of Moscow's transformations:

Change in attitude changes people

As a born-and-raised Muscovite, I can say that this experiment succeded halfly, only because it has not finished yet. And it is not only about change in infrastructure which made Moscow a better place, it also brought a new generation of young people interested in the better future. For example from my own experience, I find more and more of my friends interested in programming and urban planning due to their visits to lectures provided by Gorky Park and Strelka. At the same time we see a rise in creativity in terms of services, such as "анти-кафе" ( anti-cafes) where you pay for time spent there rather than for coffee, hipster barbershops which are also popular among general population, affordable lunch places and so on. One of the most popular cafes "Циферблат" even opened one more cafe, not in Moscow but in Manchester, and it shows that there is a big change of service business, which became more oriented at people, rather than just their money.

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By Маша Кобзарева

It's changing for better

Moscow is definitely changing for better now. As I see it, the authorities are trying to make a city a better place to live in, especially in remote residential neighborhoods, which is very good. Many parks were renovated, cycle lanes appeared. Moscow has become a nice place for long walks and cycling. The city has a lot to offer now including museums, and different events like exhibitons, summer outside activities and others.

It's a pity that it takes so long but taking into account the size of the city and its population I can say the situation has changed even if compared to what it was like 4-6 years ago.

I grew up in Moscow and lived here until two years ago. My general impression is that the people making the decisions are trying to copy some European practices like bike rental, parks, etc, but the general success is limited.

The streets still belong to drivers, not to pedestrians, to an unbelievable extent. Another thing is that street retail was banned in an attempt to improve the city. It works for the city centre, where retailers really spoiled the overall impression of the scene, but 80% of Moscow is not a city centre. And there, this removal makes your life more difficult.

The positive trend is all these multiple festivals, exhibitions, etc, but the best of all these events were initiated by citizens, so I would say that it is due to improving integration of Muscovites into the global world. Overall, I should admit that I love my homeland, but there is still a far way to go to make the city as comfortable as it could be, and the incentives of the people in charge in many cases do not have a lot to do with the wellbeing of Muscovites.

- Ekaterina Ivanova

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By Katya Uryupova

Better, definitely.

I was born in Moscow, emigrated to the UK ten years ago, and have been coming back at least once a year ever since. Although it's hard to tell from only a short visit, I can definitely see improvement in the capital: public transport operates better, local government services are better organised, the streets are cleaner... in my old neighbourhood (a very working-class, high-immigrant community), there are more 'high-street' shops appearing, less potholes on the roads, new playgrounds, new trees being planted and even the occasional fountain being built. These things may seem little and shallow, but I can certainly see improvement in this sense, at least.

It's better on the surface, but still has inclusion and institutional issues. What do I mean? I mean that no one really asked us, Moscow residents, about the changes being made in the city (although we really welcome a big part of them). And lack of inclusion and mutual trust between the residents is in the end the main problem of Moscow as a city and a community (in my opinion).

You can build as much fancy stuff as the money allows you to but if the Muscovites do not trust each other and don't consider this city to truly belong to them, it will never become a real city and will continue to exist as "a big village" with fancy parks, craft beer and bicycle service.
- Sergey Kurakov

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By ThePointOfView

I was born in Moscow and truly love it. And this city inspired me to take an urban planning course: I honestly just couldn't figure out how one of the wealthiest cities in the whole world could experience such a plethora of problems ranging from car invasion to banal low visual and urban design culture.

Many things have changed for the better. A lot of new creative things emerged, such as anti-cafes, high-quality bars and famous Moscow art-clusters. These all influence the city and make it somewhat more democratic. On top of that, there are more direct influences on its physical fabric due to new urban design studios like StrelkaKB, Wowhaus and many others. However, the overall system is still underdeveloped.

Moscow is not really clean, it is over-reliant on cars and it seems not much action is taken to improve that; it's incredibly unfriendly to wheelchairs and people of similar mobility. We still get enormous unnecessary shopping malls planted close to the centre.

Moscow is a wonderful city and sure enough it is gradually developing, however, only in a discrete, tactical way, largely and mostly driven by private interests. The public sector, in turn, seems to provide no clear strategic policy to turn Moscow in a healthy modern democratic city with all its problems tackled in one way or another.
- dmitryBooM

Moscow - is a big village. Moscow - is a big playground

With each new decade, Moscow changes its appearance. In the eighties - the Olympics, with stadiums and Pepsi, in the 90s - advertising and kiosks, in the 2000s - the terrifying statues and shopping centers. What can I say about our time? ... I would have united all in one word: REFINEMENT .

"Live not survive" - the main task of urban planners today.

Some of the most notable changes are: The renovation of parks, which is now not so bad for a walk, especially in the evening. Playgrounds became the favorite place of kids, not homeless people and alcoholics. Also, fitness trainers and horizontal bars right on the street, enhanced pedestrian road in the center, bicycle parking system. Moreover, greatly improved the situation on the roads, that can please many motorists, which sit half of life in a traffic jams, and, of course, wi-fi in underground, this innovation was the most pleasurable one.

Moscow has long ceased to have a certain aesthetic. It shuffled so many different epochs and ideologies, that with such a level of disharmony and diversity can be compared only Berlin. Living in a city like this becomes normal to see the temple of the 18th century standing near panel building of Khrushchev era. However, our current mayor with all forces, is trying to find harmony in the this chaos. Is this Sisyphean task or not, only future will tell.

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By IlyaKarev

I have lived in Moscow for nearly 11 years. It's obvious to anyone who knows the city well that the centre of Moscow, within the Garden Ring, has changed for the better. Initiatives like paid parking have made it a better place for both drivers and pedestrians. The parks like Gorky and Sokolniki provide an environment for all year round relaxation and entertainment.

However, life in the very centre Is like a fairytale. Someone said Moscow is not Russia and Russia is not Moscow. Within the Garden Ring there is a third country and what happens there cannot be compared to what happens in the suburbs of Moscow.

Moscow seems a city out of control despite the efforts of some well intentioned people to improve it. But excessive development without the necessary investment in infrastructure is just creating further issues and pushing the problems away from the very centre but into the sleeping districts where the majority of Muskovites live.
- Keith Smith, via email

Longponds

08 June 2015 9:19am

This comment has been chosen by Guardian staff because it contributes to the debate

I live in the suburbs (Dolgoprudny) and have to say that in the last three years things have started to improve. Greener spaces, greater emphasis on people clearing up after themselves (one local park by the canal used to just resemble a rubbish tip, but now is a great place and hugely popular). Of course it's relative - the starting point was very low and there is still much that needs to be done. However, I have actually witnessed a change taking place.

Brian Lee

09 June 2015 5:20pm

This comment has been chosen by Guardian staff because it contributes to the debate

I lived in Moscow between 2003 and 2014. The fact that it hasn't changed dramatically is the good news. There have been some large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the building of Moscow City. But for the most part, they've managed to leave the essence of the city in tact. Anyone who's lived in the city, understands the concepts of 'communal yards' and the local 'produktiy,' can speak to the charm of Moscow. One huge change, however, has been the investment in urban renewal. The city parks have been completely transformed in the past 5-6 years alone. Gorky Park, Ismailova, Sokolniki, VDNK and others are forested, clean and all have free WiFi. Even smaller parks have seen big improvements. Moscow is a great city, and it's doing an amazing job at retaining its essence while improving the basics that matter.

frustratedartist

08 June 2015 4:08pm

This comment has been chosen by Guardian staff because it contributes to the debate

I've been in Moscow for 15 years, and some things are getting better. The state of the parks in the centre is improving, a number of city centre streets have been pedestrianised, there is at last some attempt to discourage parking on the pavements, and all bills can now be paid on line, for example, so it's no longer necessary to queue up at Sberbank to pay your utilities bill. However, generally the traffic and air pollution is getting worse, there is a lot of litter in the streets and in public parks, and the Moscow metro, while it can be beautiful, is extremely overcrowded. The city government has made no attempt to encourage sorting of rubbish or to reduce dependance on cars. There were speculations about a congestion charge or about limiting HGV traffic during the hours of daylight, but they never came to anything. It's a pity, if it wasn't for the exhaust fumes and the rubbish it could be a very beautiful city.

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Krymskaya embankment, Moscow. Photograph: Wowhaus Archive

За пару лет ситуация в городе заметно изменилась в лучшую сторону. Велосипедистов стало намного больше. Люди постепенно начинают воспринимать велосипед как средство передвижения, а не как активный отдых. Не хватает адекватных велодорожек. Как и автомобилям, велосипедам было бы удобнее перемещаться по городу по отдельным маршрутам с минимальным количеством светофоров, пересечений с другими улицами. Ещё один минус - запрет провоза велосипедов в метро. Но в целом, мне кажется, что у Москвы есть все шансы стать если не велосипедным городом, то, по крайне мере, городом, где на байке можно без страха и серьёзных неудобств доехать из пункта А в пункт Б.

(In the last couple of years the situation has changed for the better. There are a lot more cyclists around, and people are starting to see a bicycle as a means of transport and not just recreation. There are no adequate bike lanes. It would be far easier both for cars and bikes to have separate lanes with minimum traffic lights or crossovers with other roads. Bikes are not permitted on the metro, and it's another drawback. But, on the whole, Moscow stands ever chance to become if not a cycling city but, at the very least, a city where you can get from A to B on your bike without fear or serious discomfort.)
- Deaddy Punk, via email

Vladimir Kumov (@vkumov)
@guardiancities there is no space already on some bike racks in Moscow. pic.twitter.com/BGscKp5m8j
June 12, 2015

Сейчас, после 5 лет нового мэра на посту, самое время посмотреть, что произошло за этот период. Начнем с главного символа Собянинской эпохи - парка Горького. Велодорожки, кафе, субботники, концерты и другие мероприятия - все это было сделано членом новой мэрской команды Сергеем Капковым, который превратил прежде загибающийся парк аттракционов в подобие Лондонского Гайд-парка. Велосипедных дорожек, несмотря на громкие заявления, сделали всего несколько, и выполняют они скорее декоративную функцию. Еще одно нововведение нового правительства Москвы - приложение "Активный гражданин", девизом которого является "напрямую влиять на принимаемые властями решения", предлагает пользователям выбрать названия новых парков или цвет сидений стадиона, игнорируя такие важные моменты, как расширение зоны платной парковки, уменьшение количества больниц и поликлиник, введение платного въезда в город, необходимость выделенных полос для чиновников. И в этом вся "новая" Москва. За пышными цветами, новыми бордюрами и разноцветными сиденьями стадионов скрываются истинные проблемы города, которые со временем становятся только хуже ... Москва - это в какой-то мере отражение всей страны, и елси мы хотим что-то изменить, начинать стоит именно здесь.

(Now, after 5 years of the new mayor's ruling, it's the perfect time to review what happened during that period. We start with a main symbol of Mr Sobyanin's era - Gorky Park. Bicycle lanes, cafés, outdoor yoga, concerts and other activities - everything was brought to life under the Mayor's new team member Sergey Kapkov, who turned a once-depressing amusement park into something more like London's Hyde Park. Despite all the loud announcements, there are only a few bicycle lanes in the city, and they are mostly for decorative purposes. Another initiative of the new government team, a website and smartphone application called "Active citizen", billed as letting user "directly influence government decisions", asks users to choose names for new parks or the color of new stadium seats, ignoring such important problems as widening of toll parking zones, closure of hospitals, toll city entrance for private transport, and the need for special car lanes for state lawmakers. And this is what the "new" Moscow is about. Behind opulent vegetation, new pavement and colorful stadium seats, there are problems which are getting worse as time goes ... Moscow is, in a sense, a mirror of Russia, and if we want to change the country we have to start with the capital.)
- Olga Platunova, via email

Transportation has been partly improved for the last few years. But in some ways the situation is far from ideal. The positive thing is implementing reserved lanes for public transport. Buses and trolleybuses have gone faster. As a pedestrian I dislike that pavements have become narrower to give space for car parking.

It is good that for the last few years Moscow has got many new metro stations. It is good that new stations have got an elevator for disabled people. Unfortunately, old stations don't have such an option.
- Sergey Solomonov, via email

Obviously, the changes have been positive, the last city mayor has done a lot to improve the quality of life. For example, you see bikes everywhere now for rent. Parks are worth mentioning too. Unfortunately, Moscow is the only city in Russia where quality of life has been improved.

I believe that if we keep moving in the right direction, Moscow will keep improving. This year is rough though, with all the sanctions imposed on Russia. Moscow used to be a city fully of opportunities until recently. Now it's not easy to find a job and prices are very high on food, clothes etc. All in all, I hope that Moscow 2020 and further will be a better place to live in, economically stable and thriving.
- Ani Martirosyan, via email
Topics

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'Things have started to improve': Moscow residents share thoughts on the city's changes

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The 'Moscow experiment' has seen the city undergo renewal efforts over the last five years to improve liveability. But what do Moscow's residents really think about the changes? We asked you to share your stories of life in the Russian capital, and reflect on whether Moscow is changing for better or worse.

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Time lapse of Moscow

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A map of Moscow, Russia

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Birds-eye view of Moscow.

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There are many negative elements of Russian athletics.

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This article is about the possibility of Moscow being over populated

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Despite the concerns raised by the critics of the plan, Russia is not left with many options other than expanding the largest city in Europe.

Russia's population has declined by 1.2%, according to its 2010 census. However, the population in Moscow rose from 10.4 million to 11.5 million-more than a 10% increase.

( PHOTOS: Happy 450th Birthday, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Moscow Icon)

As a solution to the city's overcrowding and notorious traffic jams, President Medvedev approved the plan to stretch Moscow's southern and southwestern borders, as well as relocating the government offices and major businesses to the new territory. After complete remodeling, which will take 20 years, the size of the city will more than double, going from 264,000 acres to 620,000 acres.

Though the change is vital, there are environmental and human rights concerns voiced by residents and NGOs.

"They don't care at all about the people," Alexei Yaroshenko of Greenpeace Russia told the Guardian, referring to the central government. "The officials decide and then start to build and what people think makes no difference to them."

( PHOTOS: Suicide Bombing Strike Moscow Metro)

The urban extension will stamp on forestland and small towns, as well as displacing thousands of the locals. Critics say the forests, which are federal property, will be razed off first. The government estimates 250,000 people will have to relocate, but experts think there are more. Also, the exact borders aren't defined yet, but where it settles may affect thousands more.

Nevertheless, even Greenpeace's Yaroshenko acknowledges the dire need for a solution. Mere overpopulation isn't the core of the problem, but imbalance in resource distribution is. "The country is emptying and Moscow is growing," Yaroshenko said. "All resources are going to Moscow-first money and then people follow."

PHOTOS: Flying Day in Moscow

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Moscow's Solution for Overcrowding? Expand the Capital

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Despite the concerns raised by the critics of the plan, Russia is not left with many options other than expanding the largest city in Europe. Russia's population has declined by 1.2%, according to its 2010 census. However, the population in Moscow rose from 10.4 million to 11.

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This article shows you some of the best architectures to see in Russia.

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Not only Moscow, but the entire present-day Russia is filled with historical buildings and monuments of unique architectural style and technique. Every one of them carries its own stories and legends, reminding the viewer of various glorious eras. Emphasizing the characteristics of all periods that Russia has been through, from Tsardom Empire and the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union and the today's Russian Federation, each of the following buildings and monuments is an important part of Moscow history.

Cathedrals and Museums

1. Assumption Cathedral

Dedicated to the Assumption of the Mother of God, this stunning Kremlin Cathedral should not be missed out during your own exploration of the city or your Moscow walking tour. It dates back to the early Muscovite period, being built somewhere in the second half of the 15h century. The Assumption Cathedral (also known as the Dormition Cathedral Moscow) is regarded today as the mother church of Muscovite Russia. Its architecture was modeled after the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, making use of groin vaults, transverse arches, Corinthian columns, fresco painting and vast iconostasis - all contributing to the feeling of a spacious interior.

2. Iberian Gate and Chapel

The Iberian Gate and Chapel (also known as the Resurrection Gate and Chapel), situated between Red Square and Manege Square, are wonderful examples of the 16th century Moscow architecture. Destroyed during the Soviet period and fully restored in the 1990s, today the Gate and Chapel meet everyone entering Russia's most iconic place - Red Square. Their architectural characteristics are in strict connection with the epoch during which they were built. The tented roof similar to the Kremlin towers, the star-splattered cupola, the Resurrection icon and the statue of the angel bearing a cross are only some of the amazing elements that make the Iberian Gate stand out.
There is a plenty of places in Moscow that absorbed the rich Russian culture as time went by Cultural Attractions in Moscow
3. State Historical Museum

Founded in 1872, the State Historical Museum Moscow bears the architectural characteristics of the Imperial Russia that was still dominated by elements belonging to the luxurious Moscow baroque style. However, the Sate Historical Museum's structure also has elements of neo-Russian design. The best thing is that, unlike other important buildings, the Museum's unique architectural style is easy to observe even if you are not familiar with technical notions - its astonishing exterior will definitely take your breath away.

Monuments and Sculptures

4. Monument to the Emperor Alexander II, the Liberator Tsar

Situated very close to the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Monument was created in 2005, but the style is inspired from the 1898 monument that was placed above Kremlin's Taynitsky Gardens. Alexander II is mostly remembered for his social, judicial and military reforms. The architecture of the Monument is extremely fascinating because from one side, the Emperor seems to stand directly on the ground, and, from the other side, it looks like he is on a pedestal. The truth is that no painting or photography can replace the feeling of greatness that this monument offers.

5. Monument to the Conquerors of Space

The 110-meter tall monument to the Conquerors of Space was erected in 1964 with the precise purpose of celebrating the success of the Soviet Union in space exploration. The Monument resembles the trajectory of a rocket towards space and it contains the titanium rocket, at the top, and an inclined obelisk that connects it with the ground.

The world famous Space Museum Moscow is located beneath the moument. If the space exploration is something you are interested in, consider visiting the museum with an expert English-speaking guide during your Moscow walking tour.

6. Worker and Kolkhoz Woman

Created from stainless steel by Vera Mukhina, the famous soviet sculptor, this monument marks an important milestone in the history of the Soviet Russian art. First presented during the 1937 World's Fair in Paris, the monument depicts a mixture of styles, combining elements of Art Deco with Socialist Realism. The worker and the kolkhoz woman ("kolkhoz" means collective farm) holding together, in glory, the famous hammer and sickle symbol were especially created to boost the confidence and energy of the socialist regime.
If you're eager to feel the atmosphere and learn about Soviet times in Moscow, we'll be glad to arrange Stalin Bunker Tour
Buildings of Modern Architecture

7. Golden Ring Hotel

Built in 1970 with the precise purpose of serving tourists coming from the communist countries of the Eastern Bloc, Golden Ring Hotel is today a luxurious five-star hotel. Even though it was reconstructed and rehabilitated after the fall of the communist Empire, the hotel preserves some of the initial architectural elements. Together with the modern skyscraper building appertaining to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is situated right next to it, this hotel is probably a major architectural representative of the final years of the Soviet period.

8. Triumph Palace

Triumph Palace was inaugurated in 2007 as the tallest apartment building not only in Moscow, but in the whole European continent. The stunning residential skyscraper has no less than 264 meters and includes more than one thousand modern and luxurious apartments. The architectural style of this massive building is similar, to some extent, to that of Stalin's Seven Sisters - the 1950 Moscow skyscrapers.

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Moscow Architecture - Buildings and Monuments

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Not only Moscow, but the entire present-day Russia is filled with historical buildings and monuments of unique architectural style and technique. Every one of them carries its own stories and legends, reminding the viewer of various glorious eras.

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The journey of the revolution of Russian architecture.

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To be a tourist in Russia is to wallow in the glorious imperial past: the stupendously-sized Hermitage in St Petersburg, the onion domes of St Basil's in Red Square, Moscow.

To even think this could be the case in the 21st century would have been anathema to Russia's revolutionary artists and architects. One hundred years on, the Revolution of 1917 - and the birth of the Soviet Union - is bringing forth a slew of exhibitions and activities that seek to understand and interpret the Revolution and its aftermath through its art and architecture, and there's an elegiac quality to them.

About to open in the new and improved Design Museum in London is Imagine Moscow: Architecture, Propaganda, Revolution - looking back at all the unrealised post-revolutionary plans to recreate Moscow in the 1920s and 30s. The Royal Academy is currently showing Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 while in November, Tate Modern's Red Star over Russia looms over Bankside - a collection of "early experiments and diverse practices that formed a new visual culture for a nation that covered one sixth of the Earth".

A serious interest in revolutionary architecture has come out of the shadows. "The period has been recognised in art but not so much in design and architecture," says curator Eszter Steierhoffer of the Design Museum. "That's changing as people see that there were new ways of living that are radical and relevant today." As the revolution developed, the old dachas, palaces and domes were supplanted as a generation state set about the transformation of the cities, enabled by a series of motivating "isms": Suprematism, Futurism, Productivism and, most importantly, Constructivism.

Some you can't see - the Lenin Tribune by El Lissitzky and Tatliflan's Monument to the Third International, which would have been particularly stupendous - a proposed 400m tower to rotate on four planes: a cube once a year, a pyramid once a month, a cylinder daily, plus a hemisphere for radio equipment (if you went to the Royal Academy's Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture ... in 2011 you'll have seen a model).

But some can still be seen in situ. The most notable is Vladimir Shukhov's Shabalovka Radio Tower - Russia's "Eiffel Tower", and a technological milestone. The Narkomfin Communal House by Moisei Ginzburg in Moscow is still there: an edifice that just about stands today, but was once a highly influential slice of mass communal architecture with shared kitchens, crèche, and a laundry - sort of "co-housing" avant la lettre. There's the Zuev Workers' Club, now a theatre, and the 1929 house of Konstantin Melnikov, made in cylinders with hexagonal windows.

And if this built legacy is remarkable, then the unbuilt "paper architecture" is an audacious display of "blue sky" thinking - with flying cities, you name it (you'll see some of this stuff in the Design Museum). Boris Mihailovich Iofan's The Palace of the Soviets hoped to be the world's tallest building. El Lissitzky's Cloud Iron was eight cantilevered horizontal skyscrapers, predicated around the idea that humans wished to move horizontally (there was lots of emphasis on mass movement and transit). All were motivated by the Soviet Union's own Bauhaus: the avant-garde Vkhutemas college.

Indeed, as the architecture is being rediscovered, it is making inroads into the tourist's consciousness. Recently a Constructivist Moscow Map was released, including 50 Soviet structures to be ticked off by the travelling archi-nerd. It fits, after all, into a taste for charismatic ruins, for utopian dreams, for Brutalism, for extraordinary collective dreams. Just not so much in Russia itself.

Jonathan Charley, an architectural historian at the University of Strathclyde and author of the collection Memories of Cities, is an expert in Russian modernism and has observed its growing interest. "I lived in Moscow in the 1980s and they were more interested in bread and maintaining power than maintaining these revolutionary buildings," he says. "They're still not a widespread interest."

Back then, there was one key advocate: Yuri Volchok of the Moscow Architectural Institute. Then came the important 1987 book Pioneers of Soviet Architecture by Selim Khan-Magomedov, and the prescient documentary photographs of Richard Pare, who has built a visual archive of Russian modernism in the last couple of decades. However, in the early 1990s, these buildings held scant interest in the buccaneering new capitalist world. Even now, says Charley, the interest in conservation comes mainly from the West. The Shukhov Tower, for example, has been on the World Monuments Fund "watch list" of endangered buildings as "an icon of modern Russian history" - for once, the word "icon" is apposite.

Will Strong of Calvert 22 Foundation - a non-profit set up in 2009 by Russian London-based economist Nonna Materkova to improve the understanding of Russian and Soviet art and culture - finds a deep interest in post-revolutionary architecture at the moment. "Within the last year it has even become fashionable," he says. "The revolutionary legacy of architecture is particularly poignant as much wasn't built and much has been destroyed." As programme manager of Calvert 22 Foundation, Strong is overseeing a season on the Russian Revolution, and identifies a "nostalgia for the future" and a fascination with the lost spirit of social utopianism in the age of market forces.

This architecture seems like a new discovery: a recherché taste for urban trendies and the rise of interest in the "historic avant-garde", to use the term used in museum circles. But at the time it was highly influential, says Charley. "There was a lot of cultural traffic between Moscow, Berlin and Paris." Indeed, Melnikov designed the Soviet Pavilion at the ground-breaking Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts in 1925, with rooms designed by Alexander Rodchenko. Western architects based in the west pitched for work including Erich Mendelsohn, whose great legacy in the UK is the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, who created the Red Banner Textile Factory in St Petersburg.

Charley is concerned that the current wave of interest might divorce these buildings from their context. "It tends to be depoliticised," he says. "Sometimes, the things that motivated these people are forgotten. It was an explosive and progressive cultural revolution - a mixture of aesthetics and politics and a revolution to transform every part of everyday life."

As Eszter Steierhoffer adds, "They were trying to create new blueprint for life: a new society, a new architecture and a 'new man'." And "woman" - for one of the themes of the orginal Narkomfin was the lack of domestic kitchens, which was a kind of female serfdom. "Eating was a communal activity, and food prepared in 'kitchen factories'," she says. "Children were raised in communal nurseries." Ginzburg wanted to express a Constructivist idea: that of the "social condenser": a kind of radical communalism.

When the 1930s came along, the Constructivists and their avant-garde ideas were effectively kaput. Stalinism took hold and the "wedding cake" neo-classical architecture that you can still find across the Soviet world started to take hold, the analogue to the Socialist Realism that produced pictures of flaxen-haired maidens and smiling pioneers happily toiling in collective farms. "It's mostly grotesque," adds Charley, who prefers to use the term "the realism of socialist deception" to describe this "ideological slop". The citizens retired to their "sleeping districts", as they call the identikit residential tower blocks that house Russia's city dwellers.

In Russia today, there's still a certain unsettled quality to the centenary and its cultural florescence.

Will Strong recently went to Russia and found that, in five big cities, there was little to no interest in commemorating the Revolution and its culture. Why? "I'd imagine it hasn't been a clean enough break," he says. "It's politically complicated and painful. The revolution's aftermath didn't end in 1989, or 91, or 93, or whenever each state or region went down." It turns out that the Design Museum did not find it easy to borrow work either - although whether that's because of overweening bureaucracy, or lassitude, or difficulty with the subject matter, it is not specified.

And in Putin's kingdom, is there much take-up of this architectural patrimony, from a time when Russia really did lead the way? Not really. "If you thought that the architecture of neo-liberalism was bad in the UK, then come to Moscow," says Charley. Developers are looking at some of the sites - although there was a groundswell of interest in the country to preserve the Shukhov Tower. But as interest grows in what some are calling the "New East", and as Russian money increasingly engages with its history in auction houses and salerooms, the taste for revolution may yet come home.
Imagine Moscow: Architecture, Propaganda, Revolution is at the Design Museum, London, from 15 March-4 June: designmuseum.org Calvert 22 Foundation's 2017 season, The Future Remains: Revisiting Revolution, presents a series of events and talks. The next will be Russian Art and the 20th Century on Thursday 9 March, 19:00: calvert22.org Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 is at the Royal Academy until 17 April: royalacademy.org.uk Red Star Over Russia is at Tate Modern, London from 8 November 2017-18 February 2018: tate.org.uk
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To be a tourist in Russia is to wallow in the glorious imperial past: the stupendously-sized Hermitage in St Petersburg, the onion domes of St Basil's in Red Square, Moscow. To even think this could be the case in the 21st century would have been anathema to Russia's revolutionary artists and architects.

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This Is The Saint Basil Cathedral In Moscow

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The population of Russia in 1960-2018

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Russia Population | 1960-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News

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The total population in Russia was estimated at 146.8 million people in 2017, according to the latest census figures. Looking back, in the year of 1960, Russia had a population of 119.9 million people. The population of Russia represents 2.06 percent of the world´s total population which arguably means that one person in every 49 people on the planet is a resident of Russia.

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This article explains the inspiration for Russian architecture.

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rom icons and onion domes to suprematism and the Stalin baroque, Russian art and architecture seems to many visitors to Russia to be a rather baffling array of exotic forms and alien sensibilities.

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There are many  athletes in Moscow Russia that are key players. Some of the key players in Moscow Russia is Artem Dzyuba, Sergei Ignashevich and Igor Akinfeev.

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Soccer Politics / The Politics of Football

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Artem Dzyuba was born August 22, 1988 in Moscow, Russia. He joined Spartak's youth academy when he was 8. He has played there for 19 years until 2015, when after multiple conflicts with Spartak's head coaches and failure to extend a contract, Dzyuba left to Zenit on a free transfer. We now see that it was a right decision as he helped Zenit make it to the play-offs of the Champions League. Surprisingly enough, being one of the most talented Russian strikers, Dzyuba has only made his debut in the UCL this season. Despite that fact, his goal + pass statistics is astonishing: 6 goals and 2 assists in 8 games of the hardest football tournament.

Even though Artem is an example of a typical poacher (a striker who nets teammates' crosses and passes from the penalty box), he became a more diverse player at Zenit. Unlike in Rostov and Spartak, where he was the main star and everyone supplied him with unlimited passes, Dzyuba has to provide his teammates with more passes and opportunities, as Hulk, Danny and Shatov have an amazing shot. Also, he has to play with his back towards the goal more often, because each of the three aforementioned players has an outstanding acceleration and supplying them with through balls always leads to potential threats to the opposition (Vorob'ev, 1). Thus, in the following table, we can see that in his previous teams he could dribble and wait for the ball in the final third, and in Zenit, he has to participate in the creation of attacks (and of course, finish them).

*source: statistics from WhoScored.com

**passes for shots means passes after which his teammates would shoot the ball

Dzyuba is a star of the national team, but with great speedsters, like Shatov, Kokorin, Smolov and Bystrov, Slutsky can alternate between Dzyuba's roles: as a pure poacher or a creating one.
Sergei Ignashevich
Sergei Ignashevich was born on July 14, 1979 in Moscow, Russia. Ignashevich has played in three of the "Big Four" teams throughout his career: Spartak, Lokomotiv and CSKA. He grew up in Spartak, first shined in Lokomotiv, and became a top-class defender in CSKA.

"The Wall" made his debut for Russia in 2002. He started his international career playing with Viktor Onopko, one of the best players in the Russian football history. It is interesting that Ignashevich broke Onopko's record for the most caps (115). Unfortunately, Euro2016 will most likely be the last Euro for Ignashevich.

*source: statistics from WhoScored.com

One of his greatest strengths is passing. For a defender with an average of 60.4 passes per game, out of which almost 10 are long balls, his accuracy is very high (82.3%). Russians will need his ability of first pass to quickly counter-attack the opponents.
Igor Akinfeev
Igor Akinfeev is a 30-year-old goalkeeper for CSKA and Russia. Being relatively young for a goalkeeper, he is one of the most experienced players of Russia (86 caps). Igor is a part of a very respected and honored One-Club list, having spent his whole career at CSKA. Also, he broke a very impressive record last year: he has the most clean sheets (230 as of October 12, 2015) for a Russian goalkeeper (Yokhin, 1), beating Rinat Dasaev (one of the best goalies in the history of football).

Akinfeev made his professional debut for CSKA at the age of 16. He made his international debut in a match against Norway (2:3) in 2004 when he was only 18 years old. He has been protecting CSKA and Russian goals ever since.
BONUS
There was a dark moment in the Russian football history and Akinfeev's career: his horrible mistake in a World Cup game against South Korea cost Russia 2 points. Russians blamed Akinfeev for team's failure to qualify to the play-offs (although they wouldn't have qualified regardless of his mistake, because Algeria, which had a 2-point advantage over Russia, also had a better goal difference). Nevertheless, if Igor does not make silly mistakes and plays his regular games, Russian goals will be well protected by one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
How to cite this page: "Russia: Key Players", Written by Alikhan Mukhamedi(2016). European Cup 2016 Guide, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University, http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/european-cup-2016-guide/underrated-teams-of-euro-2016/russia/russia-key-players/ (accessed on (date)).

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Artem Dzyuba was born August 22, 1988 in Moscow, Russia. He joined Spartak's youth academy when he was 8. He has played there for 19 years until 2015, when after multiple conflicts with Spartak's head coaches and failure to extend a contract, Dzyuba left to Zenit on a free transfer.