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Moscow City (Russia)

Москва - Moskva

Last modified: 2021-07-24 by valentin poposki
Keywords: moscow | moskva | mockba | dragon | knight | saint george |
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Flag of Moscow City image by Tomislav Šipek, 6 April 2020
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Presentation of Moscow City

(Note: You need an Unicode-aware software and font to correctly view the Cyrillic text on this page. See here transliteration details).

  • Name (English): Moscow City • (Russian, short form): Москва | Moskva • (russian, long form): Город Федерального Подчинения Москва | Gorod Federalhnogo Podĉineniâ Moskva
  • Capital (Russian): Москва | Moskva • (english): Moscow
  • Area: 1 000 km² (~400 sq.mi.) • Population: 8 638 100 inhabitants in 2000
  • Status: Federal city (Город Федерального Подчинения | Gorod Federalhnogo Podĉineniâ) within the Russian Federation
  • Federal District: Central Region • Economic region: Center (central European Russia)
  • License plate code: 77 • Ham radio code: MA • ISO 3166-2 code: MOW
  • Flag adopted on 1995.02.01 • Coat of arms adopted on 1995.02.01

"MOCKBA" is how the Russian name "Moskva" looks like in upper case Cyrillic script — it sounds "mahsskvah".
António Martins, 25 Oct 1997


Description of the flag

The official description is: In red field the main element of the Moscow coat of arms (St. George) is placed. The background is dark red with proportions 2:3, and the length of horseman is 2/5 of flag’s length. This flag adopted in February 1st 1995. Source: Law on the Coat of Arms and Flag of Moscow City, N.o 4-12.
Nicolay Khimenkov, 23 Feb 1999 and 01 Mar 1999, and Michael Simakov, 21 and 23 Jul 1998

It’s 2:3 red with the city coat of arms’ charges (a silver St. George riding a silver horse and dressed with a blue coat, slaying a green dragon with a golden spear, all lined in black) placed in the middle of the flag but with no shield border all around. The Moscow’s arms background is a red Samnitic shield.
António Martins, 21 Oct 1997

This law states that the flag of the city of Moscow can be used by the Mayor as a car flag for official events and also on his official residence.
Pascal Vagnat, 13 Oct 1998

Horseman became the arms of Moscow in 1780. In XVII cent. heraldic books the arms of Moscovia were double-headed eagle with breast-shield (horseman killing a dragon), not horseman alone.
Victor Lomantsov, 14 Apr 2000

There’s an interesting analogy linking Moscow’s patron saint (St. George, as seen on the arms) and [Soviet Army General] Georgiy Zhukov, the latter-day savior of Moscow, riding a white horse through Red Square over the captured Nazi regalia [in 1944]. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional on Stalin’s part, but I’ve been told the Muscovites certainly caught the association of images.
Joe McMillan, 11 Nov 2000

The coat of arms of the duchy of Moscow, was red with Saint George, wearing white armor and a blue cape, riding a white horse, holding a blue shield, defeating the dragon.
Anton Sherwood, s.d.

The colours of Moscow coat of arms were settled in the 18th century. Before 1730 various colours were used. After 1730 the shield became red, the dragon — black, the cape of St. George — yellow. Only in 1856 the cape became blue! I think colours of the coat of arms of Moscow are based on national flag, and not the other way around.
Victor Lomantsov, 10 Nov 1999

The rider is said to be St. George from 1730. The dominant colors are in effect red, blue and white.
Giuseppe Bottasini, s.d.

This one is a mirror image — the horse and knight usually face dexter (viewer’s left hand). But it lacks wreath, ribbon and imperial crown — or maybe today’s coat of arms doesn’t have them…
Santiago Dotor, 17 Dec 1998

The colour (dark red) of Moscow flag is established by the law. Chuvashian red is purpurniy (dark red). Concerning to other Russian flags I can tell that they usually use red colour.
Nicolay Khimenkov, 02 Mar 1999

Four 1st level Russian subdivisions use dark red as a major color of its flags: Moscow City, Mordovia, Chuvashia and Mariy El.
António Martins, 08 Dec 2006

Some web sites (e.g. in the usually well-informed Pascal’s AGM), the dark red of Moscow has been changed to bright red, probably on the basis of some other info. But the flag of the Federal City of Moscow should be dark red — this is why emphasized the real coloration of the flag in that photo.
Jan Zrzavy, 02 Nov 2002


Variations of the flag

In 1997.09.04 I found two variations of the city flag.
António Martins, 21 Oct 1997

Alternate Moscow city flag #1 image by António Martins, 21 Oct 1997

This is like the normal one, but there is a black shield lining around St. George and the dragon. This I found by one of the doors of Belarusskaâ subway station.
António Martins, 21 Oct 1997

It is variation of cities flag.
Michael Simakov, 23 Jul 1998

Alternate Moscow city flag #2 image by António Martins, 21 Oct 1997

This is like the previous, but this time the shield (black lined) has a white background, definitely wrong. This I found in the Ŝeremethevo2 airport Taj Mahal (Lowenbrau) restaurant, along with the flags of India, Germany, Russia and the European Union… Inside that same restaurant, a table flag set featured all these flags (but not Moscow’s) and also a Bavarian flag
António Martins, 21 Oct 1997


Flag in 1994-1995

Flag of Moscow City image by Tomislav Šipek, 6 April 2020


Kremlin tower top vexilloid

Kremlin tower top vexilloid image by António Martins, 25 Oct 1997

This is something I spotted atop of one of Kremlin’s (not “onion”-shaped) towers, in the roof of krasnoe krylhco, near the spasskaâ clock tower: It is a metal piece at the very top of the tower, shaped like a flag… It has four “swallow tails” and a Swiss cross shaped hole on it. I’m not sure it this qualifies for a “real” flag; I draw it golden because it’s made of some kind of yellow metal.
António Martins, 25 Oct 1997