Reports said there were between eight and 12 crew on board the Red Wings Tupolev-204, flight number RWZ9268, which was landing at Vnukovo airport.
Images of the scene show the aircraft split into several pieces, with the cockpit on the road.
Four people were severely injured, emergency officials said.
The dead were two pilots, a flight engineer and an air stewardess.
The plane's tail and cockpit had broken off but the fuselage was largely intact.
Mobile phone video showed people being helped from the wreckageThere were fire engines at the scene and smoke could be seen rising from parts of the wreckage.
The plane had arrived in Moscow from the Czech Republic, government officials said.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.
There was light snow in the area on Saturday afternoon, though it was not known if that played any role.
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, in Moscow, says investigators are looking into three possible causes - bad weather, technical failure and pilot error.
The Tupolev-204 is a modern Russian passenger jet with a good safety record and a capacity to hold more than 200 passengers.
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