December is the last month of the year and the first month of the winter season. At this time, Moscow usually submerges in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, with millions of residents preparing to celebrate the upcoming New Year. But every December in the Russian capital was unique.
© Sputnik / Ivan Shagin / Go to the mediabankConstruction workers of the Moscow metro become its first passengers in 1935.
Construction workers of the Moscow metro become its first passengers in 1935.
© Sputnik / Anatoliy Garanin / Go to the mediabankMoscow prepares to celebrate the New Year in 1939.
Moscow prepares to celebrate the New Year in 1939.
People at a skating rink in Moscow, 1939.
Moscow in November/December of 1941.
© Sputnik / David Sholomovich / Go to the mediabankIce hockey on the Moscow State University campus, 1959.
Ice hockey on the Moscow State University campus, 1959.
© Sputnik / Lev Polikashin / Go to the mediabankThe ashes of the Unknown Soldier buried at the ceremony in Moscow's Mayakovsky Square in 1966.
The ashes of the Unknown Soldier buried at the ceremony in Moscow's Mayakovsky Square in 1966.
Moscow’s Old Arbat Street, 1967.
A woman carries a Christmas tree, 1972.
© Sputnik / Yuryi Abramochkin / Go to the mediabankBoney M's concert tour in Moscow. From left: Maizie Williams, Marcia Barrett, Liz Mitchell and Bobby Farrell during a walk in December 1978.
Boney M's concert tour in Moscow. From left: Maizie Williams, Marcia Barrett, Liz Mitchell and Bobby Farrell during a walk in December 1978.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Fedorenko / Go to the mediabankFather Frost and Snow Maiden congratulate a little girl on the New Year, 1985.
Father Frost and Snow Maiden congratulate a little girl on the New Year, 1985.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Vyatkin / Go to the mediabankThe funeral of Russian nuclear physicist and activist Andrei Sakharov in 1989.
The funeral of Russian nuclear physicist and activist Andrei Sakharov in 1989.
© Sputnik / Yuriy Tutov / Go to the mediabankRally of democratic forces against the establishment of a dictatorship on Sovetskaya Square in Moscow, December 23, 1990.
Rally of democratic forces against the establishment of a dictatorship on Sovetskaya Square in Moscow, December 23, 1990.
© Sputnik / Alexander Polyakov / Go to the mediabankDancers perform on the New Year eve on Red Square in 1993.
Dancers perform on the New Year eve on Red Square in 1993.
© Sputnik / Alexander Polyakov / Go to the mediabankThe Guard of Honor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin Wall, 2002.
The Guard of Honor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin Wall, 2002.
© Sputnik / Dmitry Korobeinikov / Go to the mediabankParticipants of the international contest for professional models "Best of the Best" on Red Square, 2004.
Participants of the international contest for professional models "Best of the Best" on Red Square, 2004.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Vyatkin / Go to the mediabankA traffic jam on the Garden Ring, Moscow, December 20, 2006.
A traffic jam on the Garden Ring, Moscow, December 20, 2006.
© Sputnik / Sergey Sergeev / Go to the mediabankPlacing snow from Russia's Kemerovo Region on a ski ramp on Moscow's Vorobyovy Gory [Sparrow Hills] for the Mountain Slalom World Cup in 2008.
Placing snow from Russia's Kemerovo Region on a ski ramp on Moscow's Vorobyovy Gory [Sparrow Hills] for the Mountain Slalom World Cup in 2008.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankA pedestrian walks in rainy weather on the Crimean bridge, Moscow, in 2011.
A pedestrian walks in rainy weather on the Crimean bridge, Moscow, in 2011.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankA reindeer on the site of the Snow Queen festival in the center of Moscow, 2014.
A reindeer on the site of the Snow Queen festival in the center of Moscow, 2014.
A Christmas tree decoration lies in the snow, 2015.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankNew Year's decorations representing the Kremlin outside Yevropeisky Mall in Moscow, 2016.
New Year's decorations representing the Kremlin outside Yevropeisky Mall in Moscow, 2016.