In the Moscow category for this year's Travel Awards, from a very long initial list each blog was discussed and evaluated by our panel of experts using strict criteria. They were marked, among other things, on their content, presentation and tone.

After participating in World War One, Russia's army is severely damaged and the ensuing drop in morale leads to a revolution. The Bolsheviks, under Lenin, move the capital to Moscow and assassinate Czar Nicholas a year after he abdicates. In the following three years under Lenin's communism, at least five million die of famine. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics forms then follows decades of Red Army rule and Stalin's Great Purge. Millions more die. By the time Stalin dies in 1953, Russia dominates half of Europe and has the bomb. Historians note that more happened in Moscow in forty years than happened in Paris in four hundred. Whether this is factually accurate (or even provable) remains to be seen, but it is fair to say that Moscow has a more significant and more brutal history than most others on the continent.

With one of the richest and most confusing histories of any city on the planet, Moscow has certainly got a lot to talk about. That's why we've listed the best blogs about the city below - whether you're planning on travelling there or are just interested in the settlement's history, these blogs deserve awards for the work they've done.