The anthropogenic CO column content in the atmosphere is derived from measurements with infrared grating spectrometers in Beijing, China, and Moscow, Russia, during 1992–2012. Some specific variation characteristics and long-term variation trends of the CO column content in the atmosphere in these regions are discussed. An evident variation trend of anthropogenic CO in the atmosphere for the Beijing region is not observed during 1992–2012, while for the Moscow region, it decreases yearly by about 1.4% for the same period. High CO concentrations appear quite frequently in Beijing, but much less frequently in Moscow, except during the natural fire events in summer 2010. From back trajectory analysis, the high CO concentration observed in Beijing can be attributed to the intensive CO emission sources in its surrounding areas.