Moscow City and Oblast

Abstract

Moscow in many ways occupied a unique position in Soviet politics, and as the capital it was highly visible domestically and internationally. For the Soviet leadership Moscow was a showcase, a demonstration of the regime’s competence and of its control. On account of its proximity to the centres of power it enjoyed a position of unique advantage vis-à-vis other local authorities. In the 1920s it was still overshadowed in many ways by the former imperial capital Leningrad (St Petersburg). By the late 1920s the regime faced the problem of defining the role of the capital city within the USSR and the form of urban development appropriate to a socialist state. The Moscow authorities had to deal with a rapidly growing population, which placed enormous strain of on supplies, housing, social amenities and transport.¹ Moscow and its surrounding oblast was also one of the country’s most important industrial regions, it formed the central hub of the country’s transport and communications network, and was the USSR’s main cultural and educational centre. The development of Moscow in the 1930s casts important light on the nature of the Stalinist state and the way that that state determined its policy priorities.