Moscow

Moscow (/ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva]) is the capital and the largest city of Russia, with 12.2 million residents within the city limits and 16.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a federal city in Russia.

Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. By broader definitions Moscow is among the world's largest cities, being the 14th largest metro area, the 17th largest agglomeration, the 16th largest urban area, and the 10th largest by population within city limits worldwide. According to Forbes 2013, Moscow has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city in the world by Mercer and has one of the world's largest urban economies, being ranked as an alpha global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth. It is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe; the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe; and the Moscow International Business Center. By its territorial expansion on July 1, 2012 southwest into the Moscow Oblast, the area of the capital more than doubled; from 1,091 square kilometers (421 sq mi) up to 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), and gained an additional population of 233,000 people.

Moscow Canal

The Moscow Canal (Russian: Кана́л и́мени Москвы́), named the Moskva-Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal that connects the Moskva River with the Volga River. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast. The canal connects to the Moskva River in Tushino (an area in the north-west of Moscow), from which it runs approximately north to meet the Volga River in the town of Dubna, just upstream of the dam of the Ivankovo Reservoir. The length of the canal is 128 km.

It was constructed between 1932 and 1937 by Gulag prisoners during the early to mid Stalin era, under the direction of Matvei Berman. During the process, about 22,000 prisoners died.

Thanks to the Moscow Canal, Moscow has access to five seas: the White Sea, Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea. This is why Moscow is sometimes called the "port of the five seas" (порт пяти морей). Apart from transportation, the canal also provides for about half of Moscow's water consumption, and the shores of its numerous reservoirs are used as recreation zones.

Canal

Canals and navigations are human-made channels for water. In the vernacular both are referred to as 'canals'. The main difference between them is that a navigation parallels a river and shares its drainage basin, while a canal cuts across a drainage divide.

Types of artificial waterways

A navigation is a series of channels that run roughly parallel to the valley and stream bed of an unimproved river. A navigation always shares the drainage basin of the river. A vessel uses the calm parts of the river itself as well as improvements, traversing the same changes in height.

A true canal is a channel that cuts across a drainage divide, making a navigable channel connecting two different drainage basins.

Most commercially important canals of the first half of the 19th-century were a little of each, using rivers in long stretches, and divide crossing canals in others. This is true for many canals still in use.

Structures used in artificial waterways

Both navigations and canals use engineered structures to improve navigation:

Moskva River

Coordinates: 55°05′N 38°50′E / 55.083°N 38.833°E / 55.083; 38.833

The Moskva River (Russian: река Москва, Москва-река, Moskva-reka), also known as the Moscow River, is a river of western Russia. It rises about 140 km (90 mi) west of Moscow, and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About 110 km (70 mi) south east of Moscow, at the city of Kolomna, it flows into the Oka River, itself a tributary of the Volga, which ultimately flows into the Caspian Sea.

Etymology

Moskva and Moscow are two different renderings of the same Russian word Москва. The city is named after the river. The origin of the name is unknown, although several theories exist.

Hydrology

The river is 503 km (313 mi) long, with a vertical drop of 155 m (509 ft) (long-term average). The area of its drainage basin is 17,600 km² (6,800 sq mi). The maximum depth is 3 metres above Moscow city limits, and up to 6 metres below it. Normally, it freezes in November–December and begins to thaw around late March. In Moscow, the river freezes occasionally; during an unusually warm winter in 2006–2007, ice began melting on January 25. The absolute water level in downtown Moscow is 120.0 metres above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after World War II); a historical maximum of 127.25 metres above sea level was set by the 1908 flood.

Natalia Oreiro

Natalia Marisa Oreiro Iglesias (Spanish pronunciation: [naˈtalja oˈɾejɾo]; born May 19, 1977) is a Latin Grammy-nominated Uruguayan singer, actress and fashion designer, who developed most of her career in Argentina. Oreiro began her career in telenovelas. Since 2008 she has switched to work primarily in films. Oreiro has worked on social awareness shows and events for organizations like Greenpeace and UNICEF, the latter of which designated her as ambassador for Argentina and Uruguay in September 2011. She has been included in Esquire magazine's "The Sexiest Woman Alive Atlas" list. In 2012, La Nación named her the queen of telenovelas.

Life and career

1977–2000: Early life and career beginnings

Natalia Oreiro, daughter of Carlos Florencio Oreiro Poggio and Mabel Cristina Iglesias Bourié, was born on May 19, 1977. Natalia studied drama at the age of eight and at twelve started auditioning for advertisements. During her teens she appeared in more than 30 television commercials for such trade marks as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Johnson & Johnson. At the age of 16 she moved to Argentina to work there and unleash her ambition to be a star. She worked as an MTV VJ and in 1995, she landed a role in the soap opera Dulce Ana. She was then cast in the TV series 90-60-90 modelos (1996) and next in Ricos y famosos (1997, playing Valeria). Next, she starred in the Argentinian film Un Argentino en New York (1998). After the movie, Natalia launched her first album, Natalia Oreiro and the single "Cambio Dolor" became the opening theme for her next acting project, the prime time show Muñeca Brava (1998–1999). For her performance in Muñeca Brava, Natalia was nominated twice (1998 and 1999) for a Martín Fierro Award as best actress in a leading role. In January 2000, Natalia was named "Celebrity of the Year" by E! Entertainment Television. She became popular in Russia due to the success of Muñeca Brava in that country and was even invited to star in a Russian telenovela.