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This is kind of a random one, I took these two from the fact they are both featured in the BBC's "World's Busiest Cities series, and I felt that neither would probably do well vs. the other two (Mexico City and Hong Kong, as both those are more popular on here generally)
These are both important world cities that I consider it high on my list to visit eventually, in spite of them not having the best reputation. I understand that one in particular (Moscow), would feel a lot more comfortable, advanced, etc. than the other at this point, but I still think they each have unique things going for them.
Categories to Consider (and my thoughts) Are:
Parks/Scenery: Moscow is going to win here IMO. Much more significant green spaces, in and around.
Transit: Delhi seems to have a pretty good metro now, but Moscow's is too. Moscow has fewer challenges.
History: Considering the cities themselves, Moscow by a little bit. 3 hr. region: Delhi by a little bit. Tie.
Food: Delhi, being perhaps the street food capital of India, one of the most exciting cities for food in world.
Urbanity: Delhi has about as hectic/fast paced of urbanism as there is in world. Not perhaps in the inviting sense of Moscow or some cities, still I want to see what it's about, so I'll give it points here.
Weather: Moscow has brutal winters, but beautiful summers, and Delhi's summers are more brutal than Moscow winters, so Moscow wins this IMO.
Entertainment (misc.): Moscow has more global/varied options (sport, a Universal Studios opening, etc.)
Safety: Not certain, if I had to say, Moscow, though it does have one of the higher murder rates in Europe.
Location: Delhi hasn't had a great time so far. I'll give this one to them as it's not super far to Asia-Pacific or Europe, and the Himalayas and Maldives are even have potential to combine with a visit there.
Overall: In the categories for me, it was 6 (Moscow) 3 (Delhi) 1 (Tie), and I'd have to imagine that Moscow could have more victories were I considering more things. That said, I still might rank Delhi higher on my global visit list just because it seems like such a unique place with a global level of spiritual/political/economic importance that might already trump Moscow, and will only continue to be bigger, even though had I been to both, I almost certainly would rather return to Moscow than Delhi.
Edit: Ugh, I really meant to make this a poll. Is it possible to do that somehow?
Looks like it is just you and me! I've never been to these places either and also recently watched the BBC series on Netflix. Quite honestly neither has really been on my radar in terms of personal desirability, certainly they are intriguing and I would love to visit both, but they are simply not a priority, nor do I imagine I would ever choose to live in either one.
So that said, with a very superficial impression of both cities, augmented solely by the aforementioned BBC show, I pretty much agree with all of your points. Interesting to note that Moscow apparently has been transforming rapidly in your first category, with an emphasis on public gathering spaces a rather new phenomenon. And unlike you, I would rather visit Moscow first.
Visitor Appeal is Moscow by far. The big downside to Moscow is racist thugs beating you up if you're brown. Delhi is a place that only experienced travellers should go to for the culture shock, extreme poverty, crime, and sprawled nature of the city, even if it does have famous landmarks like the Red Fort.
I'm assuming the reason many haven't commented on it is because they have visited only one or in many cases neither. Delhi is increasingly on tourists radar, but that's only because the Taj Mahal is nearby and they probably go to the Taj Mahal from there in some cases without even looking around the city. I'll even say, the Taj Mahal is really the primary motivating factor that elevates Delhi for me (Agra/Jodhpur in general seem like more tourist friendly cities than Delhi itself). Moscow I think would have a bigger tourist draw, but it seems like Russia in general is still more restrictive on tourist entries than most countries. I don't think either is necessarily an immediate priority for me either, but at same time, I would very much like to eventually say I have been to both. It seems generally that Moscow would win a poll if there was one here, pretty handily too haha.
Manitopia: Have you been to Delhi? Just how bad does it feel compared to some other places in India or in the developing world? I guess the biggest question would be the crime factor, less personal crime and such but how common is violent crime or an atmosphere of fear or danger on the streets? I've been to a fair number of major cities within Latin America and just about every major city in the US at some point. I've been fortunate to only once be directly threatened by crime (in Bradenton, FL of all places, where I live around lol).. They don't necessarily release murder or assault statistics for Indian cities that I know of. That said, I'm not sure they have the means to. More people around generally makes me feel safer from violent crime so long as I don't do something stupid like get in a cab I don't know of first, etc. but again, having not really been to that region of the world (and I consider the country of India a region of the world culturally, etc. in of itself), I really am not certain.
Having spent considerable time in both (though much more time in Moscow), and biased towards Moscow due to who I am and family, Moscow wins out.
Moscow feels like just any large, European city. Delhi feels like some third world/developing country city. It is dirty, very dirty, the people though plenty of cool dudes, has a huge number of those who fit every negative stereotype of an Indian. It was a relief to get out of Delhi and into other parts of India.
I'd pick Pyongyang or Aleppo over Moscow. The only people who say Moscow are ultranationalist americans or far-right western europe a'la farage/wilders fans. And even if you somehow don't care about russia's politics then you'd freeze there even in the summer.
Parks/Scenery: Moscow
Transit: Moscow
History: Tie
Food: Delhi
Urbanity: Delhi, for being more interesting
Weather: Delhi. I've never experienced a monsoon, but I'd take that over Moscow's extreme cold
Entertainment: Tie. I can't imagine one would get bored in either city
Safety: Assuming Moscow, but not really sure
Location: Tie. Delhi is closer to SE Asia. Moscow is closer to the rest of Europe
Moscow probably has more sights to see but Delhi interests me a lot more. It's crowded and chaotic which automatically makes it more exciting to me than Moscow. To be fair though, I love cities like that (Mexico City being my favorite). Being a few hours away from a world wonder also doesn't hurt.
Parks/Scenery: I don't know enough about either city's greenspaces, though I am more interested in hot climate foliage
Transit: Moscow's system is longer and has higher ridership so I assume it's better. I know Delhi's has been expanding pretty rapidly and the two aren't too far apart in regards to lengths of track, though Moscow's is also expanding.
History: Delhi has a much longer run of human civilization and is more interesting to me
Food: Delhi, though I love Uzbek and Georgian cuisine and I'm guessing Moscow has a ton of both
Urbanity: Delhi seems more urban overall
Weather: Delhi? I mean, I can choose which time I go as a visitor, right? I think I'd take Delhi in late winter over Moscow in summer.
Entertainment (misc.): Don't know enough--sort of would depend on if I have a friend who knows the area to take me around
Safety: Probably Moscow? I don't know.
Location: Delhi seems closer to a lot of other places I'd be interested in seeing
Overall: Delhi though the air pollution is a concern. Supposedly the air pollution is moderate from January to September and February seems nice and cool, so I think I'd take a visit to Delhi in February or March over a visit to Moscow though I'd be interested in visiting both.
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