To Counter Congestion and Crowding, Moscow Expands

"The plan to increase Moscow's size from the current 264,000 acres to 620,000 acres was given initial approval on Monday by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, in a meeting with the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, and Boris Gromov, governor of the surrounding Moscow region. The plan will see Moscow expanding to the south and south-west, taking in forestland, small communities and dachas or summerhouses.

It foresees much of the heart of Moscow – its government offices and big businesses – moving to the new neighbourhood, forever changing the spirit of the city's historic centre."

The city has faced large increases in population recently, with an additional 200,000 people in the city every year since 2002.