>>2036802The "official" borders are bogus. Moscovites usually don't consider anything beyond the ring road Moscow (or even habitable).
The big exclave to the top left is the OG soviet one, Zelenograd. It's a university town and the center of Russia's semiconductor manufacturing, and as such, in the soviet days was mostly populated by either very smart people or people who are about to become very smart. These smart people wanted the benefits and prestige of having Moscow residency, so Zelenograd is still kinda Moscow but also kinda isn't.
The little tumors all around the city are all residential areas that kinda got assmiliated over years, to be given public transport unified with Moscow's system. All but two of them have metro stations nowadays. There are more residential areas that didn't get assimilated (note the smooth top right), but for the most part the ring road is lined with either forests or industrial land.
The big tumor is the "New Moscow". Mostly forest. Exists because Sobyanin started running out of Moscow to build real estate on, and also to claim that Moscow's ecological situation has, on average, improved. The few towns that were in the area were not amused by Moscow's arrival tho.
Note that the big tumor is flanked on both sides by older small tumors, you can see their thinner district borders- on the top left that's Skolkovo, another university town, now 100% more post-soviet, and lower right is Butovo, which has uniquely elevated metro (picrelated).
The squiggly exclave to the left is owned by a big banker who lobbied for it to be a part of Moscow. Probably some tax thing. Don't pay attention.
