"Stranger in Moscow" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The song was released worldwide in November 1996, but was not released in the United States until August 1997 by Epic Records. The track was written by Jackson in September 1993, at the height of the highly publicized child abuse accusations made against him, while on the Dangerous World Tour stop in Moscow. It was originally written as a poem by Jackson, then adapted into a song.

The song's music video depicts the lives of six individuals, including Jackson, who are left isolated and disconnected from the world around them. This is Jackson's lowest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 91. The song was performed on the HIStory World Tour in 1996–97. It was covered a few times by other artists.

In the book The Many Faces of Michael Jackson, author Lee Pinkerton, like many other reviewers, noted that HIStory's album tracks like "Stranger in Moscow" were Jackson's response to recent events in his personal life. In 1993, the relationship between Jackson and the press soured entirely when he was accused of child sexual abuse. Although never charged with a crime, Jackson was subject to intense media scrutiny while the criminal investigation took place. Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines to draw in readers and viewers when the content itself did not support the headline, accepting stories of Jackson's alleged criminal activity in return for money, accepting leaked material from the police investigation in return for money paid, deliberately using pictures of Jackson's appearance at its worst, a lack of objectivity and using headlines that strongly implied Jackson's guilt.

At the time, Jackson said of the media reaction, "I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions". A few months after the allegations became news, Jackson had lost approximately 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in weight and had stopped eating. Jackson's health had deteriorated to the extent that he canceled the remainder of his Dangerous World Tour and went into rehabilitation. Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic, and was put on a Valium IV to wean him from painkillers. The singer's spokesperson told reporters that Jackson was "barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level". While in the clinic, Jackson took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.

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