World record progression 100 metres backstroke
Women -- Long course
Table:
Time

Swimmer

Date

Meet

Place

1:07.7

Cathy Ferguson

October 14, 1964

Olympic Games

Tokyo, Japan

1:07.4

Ann Farlie

July 23, 1966

Béziers, France

1:07.3

Elaine Tanner

July 27, 1967

Winnipeg, Canada

1:07.1

Elaine Tanner

July 30, 1967

Winnipeg, Canada

1:06.7

Karen Muir

January 30, 1968

Kimberley, South Africa

1:06.4

Karen Muir

April 6, 1968

Paris, France

1:06.2

Kaye Hall

October 23, 1968

Olympic Games

Mexico City, Mexico

1:05.6

Karen Muir

July 6, 1969

Utrecht, Netherlands

1:05.39

Ulrike Richter

August 18, 1973

Utrecht, Netherlands

1:04.99 (r)

Ulrike Richter

September 4, 1973

World Championships

Belgrade, Yugoslavia

1:04.78

Wendy Cook

January 31, 1974

Christchurch, New Zealand

1:04.43

Ulrike Richter

July 8, 1974

Rostock, East Germany

1:04.09

Ulrike Richter

August 22, 1974

Vienna, Austria

1:03.30

Ulrike Richter

August 23, 1974

Vienna, Austria

1:02.98

Ulrike Richter

September 1, 1974

Concord, California, USA

1:02.60

Ulrike Richter

March 14, 1976

Tallinn, USSR

1:01.62

Kornelia Ender

June 3, 1976

Berlin, East Germany

1:01.51 (r)

Ulrike Richter

June 5, 1976

Berlin, East Germany[7]

1:01.51 (e)

Rica Reinisch

July 20, 1980

Olympic Games

Moscow, USSR

1:01.50

Rica Reinisch

July 22, 1980

Olympic Games

Moscow, USSR

Considering the following table together with the supporting text below.

Provide an answer to this question: Which South African province contains the city where Karen Muir swam 100 m in 1:06.7 using the backstroke ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

Cathy Jane Ferguson ( born July 22 , 1948 ) is an American former competition swimmer , Olympic champion , and former world record-holder . She competed at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo , Japan , where she received the gold medal for winning the women 's 100-meter backstroke , and another gold as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the women 's 4×100-meter medley relay . Cathy Ferguson was one of six world record holders in the 100m backstroke final at the 1964 Olympics . She proved to be the best of this distinguished field by taking the gold medal with a new record of 1:07.7 . Having set a world record over 200m the previous month , she thus became the record holder at both backstroke distances . She also set two world records in the medley relay the second of these coming at the Tokyo Olympics where she was a member of the winning U.S. team . Ferguson was a student at Burbank High School in Burbank , California , when she became an Olympic champion . Ferguson was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in 1978 .
Tokyo ( 東京 , Tōkyō , English : /ˈtoʊkioʊ/ , Japanese : [ toːkʲoː ] ( listen ) ) , officially Tokyo Metropolis ( 東京都 , Tōkyō-to ) , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan . The capital of Japan , it houses the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government . Tokyo forms part of the Kantō region on the southeastern side of Japan 's main island , Honshu , and includes the Izu and Ogasawara Islands . Originally a small fishing village named Edo ( 江戸 ) , the city became a prominent political center of Japan when Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters in 1603 . When Emperor Meiji moved the imperial seat to the city from Kyoto in 1868 , Edo was renamed Tokyo , literally the Eastern Capital . The Tokyo Metropolis formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture ( 東京府 , Tōkyō-fu ) and the city of Tokyo ( 東京市 , Tōkyō-shi ) . While commonly referred to as a city , Tokyo is a collective entity of multiple smaller municipalities , including 23 special wards and various bed towns in the western area . Modern Tokyo is categorized as an alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . As of 2019 , the population of Tokyo was estimated to be over 13.9 million , making it Japan 's most populous prefecture . The metropolitan area is the world 's most populous with over 40 million people as well as the world 's largest urban agglomeration economy . As of 2011 [ update ] , Tokyo hosted 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies , the highest number of any city in the world at that time . The city ranked sixth on the Global Financial Centres Index of 2019 .
Béziers ( French pronunciation : ​ [ bezje ] ; Occitan : Besièrs ) is a town and commune in the Occitanie region of Southern France ; it is a subprefecture of the Hérault department . In 2014 , it had a population of 75,701 . [ citation needed ] Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers , centred on bullfighting , every August . A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event . Béziers is also a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network .
Elaine Tanner-Watt , OC ( born February 22 , 1951 ) is a Canadian former competition swimmer . Olympic medallist , and former world record-holder in two events .
Winnipeg ( /ˈwɪnɪpɛɡ/ ( listen ) ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada . It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers , near the longitudinal centre of North America . The city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg ; the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water . The region was a trading centre for Indigenous peoples long before the arrival of Europeans . French traders built the first fort on the site in 1738 . A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812 , the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873 . As at 2016 [ update ] , Winnipeg is the seventh-most populated municipality in Canada , with a resident population of about 778,500 . Being far inland , the local climate is extremely seasonal even by Canadian standards with average January lows of around −21 °C ( −6 °F ) and average July highs of 26 °C ( 79 °F ) . Known as the Gateway to the West , Winnipeg is a railway and transportation hub with a diversified economy . This multicultural city hosts numerous annual festivals , including the Festival du Voyageur , the Winnipeg Folk Festival , the Jazz Winnipeg Festival , the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival , and Folklorama . Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games . It is home to several professional sports franchises , including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers ( Canadian football ) , the Winnipeg Jets ( ice hockey ) , Manitoba Moose ( ice hockey ) , Valour FC ( soccer ) , and the Winnipeg Goldeyes ( baseball ) .
Karen Muir ( 16 September 1952 - 1 April 2013 ) was a South African competitive swimmer . Born and raised in Kimberley , she attended the Diamantveld High School , where she matriculated in 1970 .
Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa . It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers . The city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War . British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley , and Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town . On September 2 , 1882 , Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia , Pennsylvania in the United States to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure . The first Stock Exchange in Africa was built in Kimberley , as early as 1881 .
Paris ( French pronunciation : ​ [ paʁi ] ( listen ) ) is the capital and most populous city of France , with a population of 2,148,271 residents ( official estimate , 1 January 2020 ) in an area of 105 square kilometres ( 41 square miles ) . Since the 17th century , Paris has been one of Europe 's major centres of finance , diplomacy , commerce , fashion , science and the arts . The City of Paris is the centre and seat of government of the Île-de-France , or Paris Region , which has an estimated official 2020 population of 12,278,210 , or about 18 percent of the population of France . The Paris Region had a GDP of €709 billion ( $ 808 billion ) in 2017 . According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018 , Paris was the second most expensive city in the world , after Singapore , and ahead of Zürich , Hong Kong , Oslo and Geneva . Another source ranked Paris as most expensive , on a par with Singapore and Hong Kong , in 2018 . The city is a major railway , highway and air-transport hub served by two international airports : Paris-Charles de Gaulle ( the second busiest airport in Europe ) and Paris-Orly . Opened in 1900 , the city 's subway system , the Paris Métro , serves 5.23 million passengers daily ; it is the second busiest metro system in Europe after the Moscow Metro . Gare du Nord is the 24th busiest railway station in the world , but the first located outside Japan , with 262 million passengers in 2015 . Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks : the Louvre was among most visited art museums in the world in 2019 , with 9.6 million visitors . The Musée d'Orsay , Musée Marmottan Monet , and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art , the Pompidou Centre Musée National d'Art Moderne has the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe , and the Musée Rodin and Musée Picasso exhibit the works of the two noted Parisians . The historical district along the Seine in the city centre is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site , and popular landmarks in the city centre included the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris , now closed for renovation after the 15 April 2019 fire .
Kaye Marie Hall ( born May 15 , 1951 ) , later known by her married name Kaye Greff , is an American former competition swimmer , two-time Olympic champion , and former world record-holder in two events . Hall was born in Tacoma , Washington , and attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma . She trained with the Tacoma Swim Club with coach Dick Hannula . Hall made her international debut at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg , where she won a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke behind Canadian gold medalist Elaine Tanner . In December 1967 , she became the first woman to swim the 100-yard backstroke in under one minute .
Mexico City , or the City of Mexico ( Spanish : Ciudad de México , American Spanish : [ sjuˈða ( ð ) ðe ˈmexiko ] ( listen ) ; abbreviated as CDMX , Nahuatl languages : Āltepētl Mēxihco ) , is one of the 32 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico and the capital of Mexico and the most populous city in North America . It is one of the most important cultural and financial centres in the world . It is located in the Valley of Mexico ( Valle de México ) , a large valley in the high plateaus in the center of Mexico , at an altitude of 2,240 meters ( 7,350 ft ) . The city has 16 alcaldías , formerly known as boroughs . The 2009 population for the city proper was approximately 8.84 million people , with a land area of 1,485 square kilometers ( 573 sq mi ) . According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments , the population of Greater Mexico City is 21.3 million , which makes it the second largest metropolitan area of the Western Hemisphere , the eleventh-largest agglomeration ( 2017 ) , and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world . Greater Mexico City has a GDP of $ 411 billion in 2011 , making Greater Mexico City one of the most productive urban areas in the world . The city was responsible for generating 15.8% of Mexico 's GDP , and the metropolitan area accounted for about 22% of total national GDP . If it were an independent country , in 2013 , Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America , five times as large as Costa Rica and about the same size as Peru . Mexico 's capital is both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by indigenous people , the other being Quito , Ecuador . The city was originally built on an island of Lake Texcoco by the Aztecs in 1325 as Tenochtitlan , which was almost completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan and subsequently redesigned and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish urban standards . In 1524 , the municipality of Mexico City was established , known as México Tenochtitlán , and as of 1585 , it was officially known as Ciudad de México ( Mexico City ) .
Utrecht ( /ˈjuːtrɛkt/ YOO-trekt , also UK : /juːˈtrɛxt/ yoo-TREKHT , Dutch : [ ˈytrɛxt ] ( listen ) ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands , capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht . It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation , in the very centre of mainland Netherlands ; it had a population of 357,179 as of 2019 . Utrecht 's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures , several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages . It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century . It lost the status of prince-bishopric but remains the main religious centre in the country . Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age , when it was surpassed by Amsterdam as the country 's cultural centre and most populous city . Utrecht is host to Utrecht University , the largest university in the Netherlands , as well as several other institutions of higher education . Due to its central position within the country , it is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport ; the busiest train station in the Netherlands , Utrecht Centraal , is in the city of Utrecht . It has the second highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands , after Amsterdam . In 2012 , Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world 's unsung places .
Ulrike Richter ( later Schmidt , born 17 June 1959 ) is a German former swimmer who competed for East Germany in the 1970s . At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal she won three gold medals . She received two gold medals at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships , and two in 1975 . Richter set fourteen world records during her career , in 100 m backstroke , 200 m backstroke , and medley relay . She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale , Florida in 1983 .
Belgrade ( /ˈbɛlɡreɪd/ BEL-grayd ; Serbian : Beograd / Београд , lit . 'White City ' , pronounced [ beǒɡrad ] ( listen ) ; names in other languages ) is the capital and largest city of Serbia . It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula . The urban area of Belgrade has a population of 1.23 million , while nearly 1.7 million people live within the administrative limits of the City of Belgrade ( which encompasses almost all of its metropolitan area ) , a quarter of the total population of Serbia . One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe , the Vinča culture , evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC . In antiquity , Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region and , after 279 BC , Celts settled the city , naming it Singidūn . It was conquered by the Romans under the reign of Augustus and awarded Roman city rights in the mid-2nd century . It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s , and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire , the Frankish Empire , the Bulgarian Empire , and the Kingdom of Hungary before it became the seat of the Serbian king Stefan Dragutin in 1284 . In 1521 , Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo . It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule , which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars . Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841 . Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918 , when it was attached to the city , due to former Austro-Hungarian territories becoming the part of the new Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes after World War I .
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( SFRY ) , also known as SFR Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia , was a country located in Central and Southeastern Europe that existed from its foundation in the aftermath of World War II until its dissolution in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars . Covering an area of 255,804 km² ( 98,766 sq mi ) , the SFRY was bordered by the Adriatic Sea and Italy to the west , Austria and Hungary to the north , Bulgaria and Romania to the east , and Albania and Greece to the south . The nation was a socialist state and a federation governed by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and made up of six socialist republics - Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Macedonia , Montenegro , Serbia , and Slovenia - with Belgrade as its capital . In addition , it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia : Kosovo and Vojvodina . The SFRY 's origin is traced to 26 November 1942 , when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II . On 29 November 1945 , the Federal People 's Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed after the deposition of King Peter II , thus ending the monarchy . Until 1948 , the new communist government originally sided with the Eastern Bloc under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito at the beginning of the Cold War , but after the Tito-Stalin split of 1948 , Yugoslavia pursued a policy of neutrality . It became one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement , and transitioned from a command economy to market-based socialism . The SFRY maintained neutrality during the Cold War as part of its foreign policy . It was a founding member of CERN , the United Nations , Non-Aligned Movement , OSCE , IFAD , WTO , Eutelsat , and BTWC . Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980 , the Yugoslav economy started to collapse , which increased unemployment and inflation . The economic crisis led to a rise in ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s and early 1990s ; dissidence resulted among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics .
Wendy Elizabeth Hogg née Wendy Cook ( born on September 15 , 1956 ) is a female retired Canadian swimmer .
Christchurch ( /ˈkraɪstʃɜːrtʃ/ ; Māori : Ōtautahi ) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region . The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island 's east coast , just north of Banks Peninsula . The urban area is home to 377,200 residents , and the territorial authority has 385,500 people , which makes it the second-most populous city in New Zealand after Auckland and before Wellington . The Avon River flows through the centre of the city , with an urban park located along its banks . Archaeological evidence has indicated that people first settled in the Christchurch area in about 1250 . Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856 , making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand . The Canterbury Association , which settled the Canterbury Plains , named the city after Christ Church , Oxford . The new settlement was laid out in a grid pattern centred on Cathedral Square ; during the 19th century there were few barriers to the rapid growth of the urban area , except for the Pacific to the east and the Port Hills to the south . Agriculture is the historic mainstay of Christchurch 's economy . The early presence of the University of Canterbury and the heritage of the city 's academic institutions in association with local businesses has fostered a number of technology-based industries . Christchurch is one of five 'gateway cities ' for Antarctic exploration , hosting Antarctic support bases for several nations . The city suffered a series of earthquakes between September 2010 and January 2012 , with the most destructive of them occurring at 12.51 p.m. on Tuesday , 22 February 2011 , in which 185 people were killed and thousands of buildings across the city collapsed or suffered severe damage .
Rostock ( /ˈrɒstɒk/ ROST-ok , German : [ ˈʁɔstɔk ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Hanseatic City of Rostock ( German : Hansestadt Rostock ) , is the largest city in the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state , close to the border with Pomerania . [ a ] With around 208,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city on the German Baltic coast after Kiel and Lübeck , the eighth largest city in the area of former East Germany , as well as the 39th largest city of Germany . Rostock was the largest coastal and most important port city in East Germany . Rostock stands on the estuary of the River Warnow into the Bay of Mecklenburg of the Baltic Sea . The city stretches for about 16 km ( 10 mi ) along the river , that flows into the sea in the very north of the city , between the boroughs of Warnemünde and Hohe Düne . The city center lies further upstream , in the very south of the city . While most of Rostock 's inhabitants live on the western side of the Warnow , the area east of the river is dominated by the port , industrial estates and the forested Rostock Heath . The city 's coastline east and west of the river mouth is relatively undeveloped , with long sandy beaches prevailing . The name of the city and of the river are of Slavic origin . Rostock is the economic center of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the state 's only regiopolis . The port of Rostock is the fourth largest port in Germany after the North Sea ports of Hamburg , Bremen/Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven , and the largest port on the German Baltic coast . The ferry routes between Rostock and Gedser in Denmark as well as Trelleborg in Southern Sweden are among the busiest between Germany and Scandinavia .
East Germany , officially the German Democratic Republic ( GDR ; German : Deutsche Demokratische Republik [ ˈdɔʏtʃə demoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʁepuˈbliːk ] , DDR ) , was a state that existed from 1949 to 1990 , the period when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War . Commonly described as a communist state in English usage , it described itself as a socialist workers ' and peasants ' state . It consisted of territory that was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the end of World War II - the Soviet occupation zone of the Potsdam Agreement , bounded on the east by the Oder-Neisse line . The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it ; as a result , West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR . The German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet zone , while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones . East Germany was a satellite state of the Soviet Union . Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948 , and the GDR began to function as a state on 7 October 1949 . However , Soviet forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War . Until 1989 , the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party ( SED ) , though other parties nominally participated in its alliance organisation , the National Front . The SED made the teaching of Marxism-Leninism and the Russian language compulsory in schools . The economy was centrally planned and increasingly state-owned . Prices of housing , basic goods and services were set by central government planners rather than rising and falling through supply and demand ; and were heavily subsidised .
Vienna ( /viˈɛnə/ ( listen ) ; German : Wien [ viːn ] ( listen ) ) is the national capital , largest city , and one of nine states of Austria . Vienna is Austria 's most populous city , with about 1.9 million inhabitants ( 2.6 million within the metropolitan area , nearly one third of the country 's population ) , and its cultural , economic , and political centre . It is the 6th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union . Until the beginning of the 20th century , it was the largest German-speaking city in the world , and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I , the city had 2 million inhabitants . Today , it is the second-largest German-speaking city after Berlin . Vienna is host to many major international organizations , including the United Nations , OPEC , and the OSCE . The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of Czechia , Slovakia , and Hungary . These regions work together in a European Centrope border region . Along with nearby Bratislava , Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants . In 2001 , the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger . Additionally to being known as the City of Music due to its musical legacy , Vienna is also said to be the City of Dreams , because of it being home to the world 's first psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud .
Concord ( /ˈkɒŋkərd/ KON-kerd ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County , California . At the 2010 census , the city had a population of 122,067 making it the 8th largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area . Founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco , the name was changed to Concord within months . The city is a major regional suburban East Bay center within the San Francisco Bay Area , and is 29 miles ( 47 kilometres ) east of San Francisco .
Tallinn ( /ˈtɑːlɪn , ˈtælɪn/ ; Estonian : [ ˈtɑlʲˑinˑ ] ; names in other languages ) is the capital , primate and the most populous city of Estonia . Located in the northern part of the country , on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea , it has a population of 434,562 . Administratively a part of Harju maakond ( county ) , Tallinn is the main financial , industrial , cultural , educational and research centre of Estonia . Tallinn is located 80 kilometres ( 50 mi ) south of Helsinki , Finland , 320 kilometres ( 200 mi ) west of Saint Petersburg , Russia , 300 kilometres ( 190 mi ) north of Riga , Latvia , and 380 kilometres ( 240 mi ) east of Stockholm , Sweden . It has close historical ties with these four cities . From the 13th century until the first half of the 20th century Tallinn was known in most of the world by its historical German name Reval . Tallinn , first mentioned in 1219 , received city rights in 1248 , but the earliest human settlements date back 5,000 years . The first recorded claim over the land was laid by Denmark in 1219 , after a successful raid of Lyndanisse led by king Valdemar II , followed by a period of alternating Scandinavian and Teutonic rulers . Due to its strategic location , the city became a major trade hub , especially from the 14th to the 16th century , when it grew in importance as part of the Hanseatic League . Tallinn 's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Tallinn has the highest number of start-ups per person among European countries and is a birthplace of many international high technology companies , including Skype and Transferwise . The city is to house the headquarters of the European Union 's IT agency .
The Soviet Union , [ b ] officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR or СССР ) , [ c ] was a federal sovereign state in northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991 . Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics , [ d ] in practice its government and economy were highly centralized . The country was a one-party state , governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR ) . Other major urban centers were Leningrad , Kiev , Minsk , Tashkent , Alma-Ata , and Novosibirsk . It spanned over 10,000 kilometers ( 6,200 mi ) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometers ( 4,500 mi ) north to south . Its territory included much of Eastern Europe , as well as part of Northern Europe and all of Northern and Central Asia . It had five climate zones : tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The Soviet Union had its roots in the 1917 October Revolution , when the Bolsheviks , led by Vladimir Lenin , overthrew the Russian Provisional Government which had replaced the autocratic regime of Tsar Nicholas II during World War I . In 1922 , after a civil war ending in the Bolsheviks ' victory , the USSR was formed by a treaty which united the Russian , Transcaucasian , Ukrainian and Byelorussian republics . Following Lenin 's death in 1924 and a brief power struggle , Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s . Stalin formalized the Communist Party 's ideology of Marxism-Leninism and replaced the market economy with a command economy which led to a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization . During this period , rapid economic development resulted in dramatic improvements in the average standard of living , particularly in urban areas .
Kornelia Ender ( later Matthes now Grummt , born 25 October 1958 in Plauen , Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt ) is a former East German swimmer who at the 1976 Summer Olympics became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games , all in world record times . It was later proven that the East German team doctors had systematically administered steroids to their athletes ( albeit without the athletes ' knowledge ) . As she had exhibited symptoms of steroid use in 1976 ( deep voice , overdeveloped body ) , strong suspicion was cast on the validity of Ender 's accomplishments . Ender trained from a young age and won her first Olympic medals as a 13-year-old at the 1972 Olympics in Munich : three silver medals , including one in the 200 m individual medley , finishing behind Australia 's Shane Gould . Over the following years she broke 32 world records in individual events , including the four at the Montreal Games . In 1991 , she addressed the long-held suspicions about her physical condition at the 1976 Games , acknowledging that team doctors and coaches had given her numerous injections of drugs over the preceding months ( cf . doping in East Germany ) . Ender said that she did not know at the time , nor had she ever subsequently found out , exactly what the drugs were . She said she was told only that the drugs would help her regenerate and recuperate and therefore , although she was surprised by the muscle mass she added , she nonetheless attributed it simply to her rigorous training . When she became suspicious and refused to take chlorodehydromethyltestosterone in 1977 she was banned from the team by the Marxist authorities . Ender was married for four years to East German backstroke swimmer and multiple Olympic champion Roland Matthes . She is now married to former East German - German track and field athlete and bobsledder Steffen Grummt .
Berlin ( /bɜːrˈlɪn/ ; German : [ bɛʁˈliːn ] ( listen ) ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population . Its 3,748,148 ( 2018 ) inhabitants make it the most populous city proper of the European Union . The city is one of Germany 's 16 federal states . It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg , and contiguous with Potsdam , Brandenburg 's capital . The two cities are at the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region , which is , with about six million inhabitants and an area of more than 30,000 km² , Germany 's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions . Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree , which flows into the River Havel ( a tributary of the River Elbe ) in the western borough of Spandau . Among the city 's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree , Havel , and Dahme rivers ( the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee ) . Due to its location in the European Plain , Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate . About one-third of the city 's area is composed of forests , parks , gardens , rivers , canals and lakes . The city lies in the Central German dialect area , the Berlin dialect being a variant of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects . First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes , Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg ( 1417-1701 ) , the Kingdom of Prussia ( 1701-1918 ) , the German Empire ( 1871-1918 ) , the Weimar Republic ( 1919-1933 ) , and the Third Reich ( 1933-1945 ) . Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world .
Rica Reinisch ( later Assmann then Neumann ; born 6 April 1965 in Seifhennersdorf , Saxony ) is a retired swimmer from East Germany . She was a specialist in backstroke , setting four world records in the Moscow Games ( three in 100 m backstroke : 1:01.51 , 1:01.50 and 1:00.86 ; one in 200 m backstroke 2:11.77 ) , at the age of fifteen . She won gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and as a member of the 4 x 100 medley relay team .
Moscow ( /ˈmɒskoʊ/ , in US mainly : /ˈmɒskaʊ/ ; Russian : Москва , tr . Moskva , IPA : [ mɐˈskva ] ( listen ) ) is the capital and most populous city of Russia , with approximately 12.6 million residents within the city limits , 17 million within the urban area and 20 million within the metropolitan area . Moscow is one of Russia 's federal cities . Moscow is a major political , economic , cultural , and scientific centre of Russia and Eastern Europe . It is the second-most populous city in Europe , the most populous city entirely within Europe , as well as the largest city ( by area ) on the European continent . By broader definitions , Moscow is among the world 's largest cities , being the 24th largest metropolitan area , the 16th largest urban area , and the 10th largest by population within city limits worldwide . Moscow has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city in the world and has one of the world 's largest urban economies , being ranked as an alpha global city , and is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world . Moscow is home to the third-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world , and has the highest number of billionaires of any city in Europe . Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity on the Earth . It is home to the Ostankino Tower , the tallest free standing structure in Europe ; the Federation Tower , the second-tallest skyscraper in Europe ; and the Moscow International Business Center . Moscow is the largest city on the European continent by area . Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia , it is well known for its architecture , particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basil 's Cathedral in Russian architectural style with a richly decorated and multicolored facade .