The Reconstruction of Moscow

Moscow, which had a population of 1,600,000 before the Revolution, has 3,600,000 inhabitants at the present time. The decision of the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the C.P.S.U. proposes to increase the population of Moscow to 5,000,000. This means that Moscow's industry, municipal enterprises, Soviet institutions and institutes of higher education will be in a position to provide work, for a number of people such as, together with the juvenile population and the people who are unable to work, will amount to about 5,000,000. We must bear in mind that capitalist countries with a considerably smaller population than the Soviet Union usually have capitals with a larger number of inhabitants an proportion to the total population of the country. For example, the population of Moscow will represent not more than 2 to 2.5 per cent of the entire population of the country while in France the percentage of the popula- tion in the capital to the total population is 9, and in England more than 15. When we speak of a 5,000,000 population in Moscow, this does not mean that there will be any barriers to the natural growth of the population of the city. On the contrary, the natural growth of the population of the Soviet Union, including the population of Moscow, pro- ceeds under the most favourable conditions. The Com- munist Party and the Soviet government take the utmost care of mothers and the rising generation. When a 5,000,000 population in Moscow is spoken of, it is' bearing in mind that the excess engineers, doctors, architects, teachers, workers— all those who perform manual or brain labour— will move to other cities of the U.S.S.R., bringing with them examples of Moscow ^ work and Moscow culture.

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