Moscow is the capital of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world. Moscow is the most populous city on the continent of Europe and the seventh largest city proper in the world. The population as of  January 2010 was 10,562,099. Since the collapse of communism in 1989 many people have become mega-rich and millions of others have become mega-poor.