The White House (Russian: Белый дом Byely dom)

The White House Белый дом Byely dom Russian White House

The White House (Russian: Белый дом Byely dom), also known as the Russian White House, is a government building in Moscow. It was designed by the architects Dmitry Chechulin and P. Shteller. Construction started in 1965 and ended in 1981. Overall design follows Chechulin's 1934 draft of the Aeroflot building.

The building housed the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic's Congress of People's Deputies and Supreme Soviet until the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, when an uprising led to a siege and artillery bombardment on the building that caused a major fire.

The building stood damaged for some time after the coup was overthrown, and the black burns became famous, so much so that it became tradition for newlyweds to be photographed in front of its damaged facade. It was shown in the seventh Police Academy movie, 'Mission to Moscow'. It was also pictured on a 50 kopeck stamp from 1991.

More than 300 million dollars (US) were spent renovating the building.

The reformed parliament, known thereafter by its Tsarist era title of Duma, was elected in 1994 and moved to another building on Moscow's Okhotny Ryad.

The renovated White House now houses the Russian government. An inscription at the base of the tower reads, 'House of the Government of the Russian Federation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House,_Moscow
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Moscow - Москва - Moskva

Moscow Russian: Москва, Moskva, is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a global city. It is also the seventh largest city proper in the world, a megacity. Population of Moscow (as of 1 June 2009) is 10,524,400.

It is located on the Moscow River in the Central Federal District, in the European part of Russia. Historically, it was the capital of the former Soviet Union, Russian Empire, Tsardom of Russia and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. It is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, one of the World Heritage Sites in city, which serves as the residence of the President of Russia. The Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) and the Government of Russia also sit in Moscow.

Moscow is a major economic centre and is home to one of the largest numbers of billionaires in the world; in 2008 Moscow was named the world's most expensive city for foreign employees for the third year in a row. However, in 2009, Moscow moved to third after Tokyo and Osaka came in first and second, respectively.

It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system, that includes 3 international airports, 9 railroad terminals, and the world's second busiest (after Tokyo) metro system which is famous for its architecture and artwork. Its metro is the busiest single-operator subway in the world.

Over time, the city has earned a variety of nicknames, most referring to its pre-eminent status in the nation: The Third Rome (Третий Рим), Whitestone (Белокаменная), The First Throne (Первопрестольная), The Forty Forties (Сорок Сороков.)

A person from Moscow is called a Muscovite in English, Moskvich in Russian.