So it is Moscow’s birthday, supposedly 860 years old. First of all, Moscow is younger than she pretends to be. Of course, it is vanity that pushes this huge middle-aged “tiotka” (hag) to lie about her age — she wants to be admitted to the respected high-class club of ancient cities. To be in one crowd with such old gentlemen as Signor Rome, Sir London and Monsieur Paris, and such old ladies as Madame Athens.
In reality Moscow was born not in 1147, but much later, in 1382, when Dmitry Donskoi built the Kremlin fortress after his victory over Khan Mamai on Kulikov Field. So, Moscow is faking her years, pretending to be older because she suffers from an inferiority complex.