A new history of Moscow, at once scholarly and impressionistic, traces the city’s rise from medieval backwater to imperial metropolis https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/05/07/the-history-of-moscow-helps-explain-russias-pathologies?taid=69fcc2ba2129c40001748047&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=voante