Central Administrative Okrug

Year established: 1991.

Districts. Arbat, Basmanny, Khamovniki, Krasnoselsky, Meshchansky, Presnensky, Tagansky, Tverskoy, Yakimanka, Zamoskvorechye, Kitai Gorod (special status) — 11 districts.

Area. 66.2 square kilometers (6.1% of the total area of Moscow).

Population. 693,700 people (6.5% of the total population of Moscow).

Manufacturing. An active process of relocating mass-production industrial enterprises beyond the city’s borders is underway in the Central Administrative Okrug, as many of the buildings of these industrial producers contribute to the city’s original look and feel. Consequently, the historic building of the Krasny Oktyabr confectionery factory now houses the Moscow Chocolate Museum. The same may be said of Tryokhgornaya Manufaktura on Krasnaya Presnya, whose office building, experimental production facilities, and design shop will remain in their historic location.

Consumer market and services. The number of enterprises and organizations registered in  the Central Administrative Okrug is many times greater than that in other okrugs. According to statistical data, the okrug is home to 7,300 construction, 1,450 transport, and over 6,500 consumer market companies. Furthermore, over 700 banks and other financial and lending organizations are registered in the okrug, which represents more than 50% of the total number of lending institutions in the city. The environment that the Okrug Prefecture and District Upravas have created gives an impetus to the development of retail and food service companies. Hence, 40% of the city’s retailers and 60% of restaurants and cafes are accumulated here.

Arts and sports. Virtually repeating the borders of the historic central part of Moscow, the Central Administrative Okrug is the historical and cultural heart of the capital and the country as a whole. Situated here are such prized national heritage sites as the Moscow Kremlin, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Maly Theatre, the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory, the Russian State Library, the Russian Academy of Arts, the Lomonosov Moscow State University (old building), the State Historical Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Tretyakov Gallery, and many others. Some 1,500 public and private art and cultural organizations are located within the okrug’s limits, accounting for nearly 45 percent of their total number in Moscow.

More than 350 educational institutions are also situated in the okrug.