Red Square (1801). Picture F. Alekseyev. The history of Moscow - the largest city and the capital of Russia - has at least 870 years. The first written mention of Moscow dates back to 1147. Moscow, because of its position on the Moscow River, played an important historical role as an economic and political center. Archaeological settlements A scraper of the Mesolithic Age was found in Moscow on Pokrovsky Boulevard, and a flint cutter of the Neolithic Age was found on Sretenka [1]. In the Tsaritsynsky Park a settlement of the middle Bronze Age of the Fatyanovo culture was discovered. This is the first Fatyanovo settlement discovered on the territory of the Volga-Oka interfluve. The carriers of Fatyanovo culture are the Indo-European population, who first became engaged in farming and cattle breeding in this territory [2]. The burial grounds of Fatyanovo culture are also found in the former villages of Spas-Tushino and Davydkovo, and some stone tools and weapons were found in Krylatskoye, Zyuzino, Chertanovo [3]. On the territory of Moscow, several fortifications of the Diakovo culture dating back to the 7th century BC were found: the Djakovo settlement, where such a settlement was first discovered, in the area of the Neskuchny Garden, the Lower Kotels, on the territory of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in the Samotyoka area, on Potylikha. Many settlements were located on the headlands between the rivers [4]. In the first millennium AD. e. in the city lived Finno-Ugric tribes, mostly deacons [5]. Slavic villages appeared on the territory of Moscow not later than the IX century. It was the northern edge of the settlement of Vyatichi, on the border with the lands of Krivichi [5] [6]. NamePresent Main article: Etymology of the oikonym "Moscow" The appearance of the name of the city, as well as the names of many cities in the world, is connected with the name of the river of Moscow, which bore this name long before the appearance of the settlement. Who is given the name, and what it means, is not exactly known. To date, there are three main versions: the Baltic, Slavic and Finno-Ugric. The Baltic and Slavic versions indicate that the root mosk means "sticky, marshy" or "swamp, dampness, moisture, liquid". The Baltic name of the river could leave the tribe of Golyad, and the Slavic name - the Vyatichi who lived here. According to the Finno-Ugric version, the word Moscow comes from some kind of Volga-Finnish language, and means "River-Medveditsa" or "Cow River" [7]. There are other versions of the origin of the name of the city, but they are less prosperous and convincing. In particular, the popular comparison of Moscow's name with the Prikam hydronyms to -va (Kolva, Yaiva, Sylva) is untenable, since the word "wa" with the meaning "water" is only in the Komi language, which never even lived close to Moscow. The appearance and formation of Moscow Main article: Founding of Moscow
Appearance and formation of Moscow
The Moscow River was a link between important trade routes. Its upper course almost adjoined the northern part of the Volga trade route, which further led through Lake Seliger and Veliky Novgorod (or through the Western Dvina and Polotsk) to the Baltic. From the upper Volga down the Dnieper through Smolensk and Kiev it was possible to get to the Black Sea (the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks"). When moving to the east through the sources of the Klyazma located near Moscow or down the Moscow River itself, one could get to the Oka and down its stream to the Volga, the Bulgar and the Caspian Sea. When moving from the mouth of the Moscow River up the Oka, to the south, one could get to the upper reaches of the Don and through it to the Azov and Black Seas or to the Lower Volga and the Caspian. The age of Moscow is not exactly known. According to Alexander Veksler, chief archaeologist of the city, her age can exceed 1000 years, as evidenced by coins and things found during archaeological excavations [8]. A. V. Kuza believed that the fortified ancient Russian settlement arose at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, and the material found (including the lead seal of the Metropolitan of Kiev) indicates an even earlier settlement [9]. The first reliable chronicle mention of Moscow is the indication of the Ipatiev Chronicle for a meeting in the town called Moscow of the Rostov-Suzdal prince Yury Dolgoruky with friends and allies led by Prince Novgorod of Novgorod Svyatoslav Olgovich on the day "Heel to the Praise of the Theotokos" [10], that is, on Saturday, April 4, 1147 [11]. According to the chronicle "On the Conquest of the Moscow Prince", retold by V. N. Tatishchev, villages in the territory of modern Moscow (Vorobyevo, Simonovo, Vysotsky, Kulishki, Kudrino, Suschevo) belonged to the Suzdal boyar Kuchka. For some reason, the boyar fell out of favor with Yuri Dolgoruky, who executed Kuchka and seized his lands (according to an unfinished chronicle, which Tatishchev used - Kuchka wanted to flee to Kiev with his wife, who was the mistress of Dolgoruky, but the prince overtook and killed him in Moscow, returning from the campaign on Torzhok in the winter of 1146-47 Many historians, however, consider this news to be untrue. [12] [13] Therefore Moscow at first had the second name "Kuchkovo", and the area between Lubyanka and Sretensky gates until the 15th century was is known as the Kuchkovo field [ The Kiev chronicle mentions that in 6655 (1147 from the Nativity of Christ) the Suzdal prince Yury Dolgoruky invited his ally, Prince Novgorod-Seversky Svyatoslav Olgovich to Moscow for negotiations: "Come to my brother in Moscow." Stoslov, "15 This meeting, accompanied by a sumptuous feast (" dinner was strong ") and the exchange of gifts, took place on April 4. From this event, as from the first written mention, it is customary to count down the history of Moscow, although in fact the settlement already existed to to at least a few decades, if not centuries, while the fortress (the actual "city" in the prevailing views) was cut down a few years later. In the Ipatiev Chronicle under the year 1176 [16] and in the birch bark of the 12th century, not Moscow, but Kuchkov [17]. According to the later tradition, the town was initially located on the Red Hill (another name is Shvivaya Gorka), at the beginning of the present Pottery Street, that is, at the confluence of the Yauza River into the Moscow River. Here, in the XVII century, the remains of the (Djakovo?) Fortress were seen, and there was a settlement that existed not later than the eleventh century, but the study of this place by archaeological methods is problematic because of the strong destruction of the ancient cultural layer [18]. Dyakovskoe ancient settlement of the end of I millennium BC. e. - Beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. it was at the confluence of Neglinnaya to the Moscow River; its cultural layer was found in 1969 during excavations in the Borovitsky gates area - Cathedral Square [19]. At the end of the first millennium BC. e. The site of the site was abandoned, no later than the eleventh century. This place was once again inhabited by Slavs-vyatichi. As a result of earthworks in 1959-1960. It was established the presence of the ancient Russian "cape" fortification in the territory of the modern Kremlin as early as the end of the XI century, the remains of an ancient defensive moat at the corner of the Grand Kremlin Palace were found. In the courtyard of the modern building of the Armory Chamber, during the restoration of the Kremlin walls, a pavement was opened in a pit at a depth of six meters - a faint trace of an ancient street that descended to Neglinnaya. On it was found a lead seal, inscribed in the Kiev Metropolitanate between 1091 and 1096 years (according to VL Yanin). On the other side of the Borovitsky Hill, the street leading to the pier, in the area of the modern Moskvoretskaya embankment (near the c / t "Zaryadye"), descended to the low bank of the Moscow River. North of the modern Uspensky Cathedral was another street, a wooden pavement created at the end of the XI century (according to dendrochronology in about 1080-1090's). Traces of ironwork, blacksmith and leather handicraft production of an unfortified part of the early city - the settlement, which existed at the end of the XI century, were found in different places [20]. The discovery of the metropolitan press shows that as early as the eleventh century,
Rise of Moscow
The rise of Moscow in the first half of the fourteenth century is directly connected with the Mongol-Tatar rule in Russia. The Golden Horde collected tribute from the Russian principalities, from time to time waves of devastating raids by the Horde raided Russia, the princes were to receive permission for the reign of the Horde - a label. For a long time, the princes of Tver held the Grand Duke's name, until, as a result of intrigues, the Moscow prince Yury Daniilovich (1303-1325) received him from the hands of the Horde Khan, who became the first Moscow prince to receive a label for the great reign of Vladimir. However, the prince did not long celebrate the victory - he was hacked right in the Horde by the son of the agreed Prince of Tver. But the label was preserved for the heirs of the Moscow prince and Ivan Kalita supported the Grand Duke's right to collect tribute from the Russian lands for the transfer of the Golden Horde, this circumstance became one of the serious factors strengthening the position of the Moscow principality. Another factor was the remoteness and relative security of the Moscow lands, sheltered by dense forests, thanks to which people were drawn here, seeking shelter and protection from foreign troops. In 1325, the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia Peter moved from Moscow to Moscow from Vladimir, after which Moscow became one of the main centers of Orthodoxy. Collecting tribute to the Horde, Ivan Kalita (1325-1340) was able to accumulate significant wealth, which he used to expand the influence of Moscow. He bought a number of lands: Uglich, Galich Mersky, Beloozero; supported the grand prince's control over many other territories. The main rival of Moscow at that time was the Tver principality. Ivan Kalita used the power of the Horde to establish his own domination and victory over the Tver princes, although rivalry with Tver continued for many decades. At Kalita in Moscow, large-scale construction began, the first stone buildings appeared (until then the city was completely wooden) [21]. In 1329 the church-belltower of John Climacic was erected, in 1330 the construction of the Church of the Savior on Bor was completed, the oldest Moscow church that survived until the 20th century and was destroyed in 1933; in 1326 and 1333 instead of wooden churches were built white-stone Uspensky and Archangel cathedrals, the last of which became the burial vault of the Moscow rulers. In 1339, the Moscow Kremlin was surrounded by new walls and oak towers.
Moscow's position continued to strengthen with the heirs of Ivan Kalita: Simeone Gord (1340-1353), Ivan Krasny (1353-1359) and, especially, Dmitri Donskoi (1359-1389). With them, the title of Grand Dukes finally became established behind the Moscow rulers: with the exception of a brief period in the early childhood of Dmitry Donskoy, Moscow firmly retained the Grand Prince of Vladimir table. In 1353, Moscow suffered a terrible disaster - an epidemic of plague, swept away many thousands of lives, including the Grand Duke Simeon and his sons. In 1365, Moscow burnt out during the terrible Vsesvjatskogo fire (named for the Church of All Saints, from which the fire spread). This fire was not the first, Moscow before fading in 1331, 1337, 1343 and 1354 years. After the fire of 1365, Prince Dmitry with the boyars decided to set up a stone fortress. It was erected with exceptional rapidity in 1367-1368, and the area of the protected area has expanded significantly. Perimeter walls increased, according to the calculations of N. N. Voronin, to 1979 meters [21]. At the same time a stone bridge was built across the Neglinnaya River. Since that time, Moscow is beginning to be called white stone. In addition to the fortifications of the Kremlin, the most powerful fortress in North-Eastern Russia at that time, the defensive system of Moscow in the times of Dmitry Donskoy and his successor Vasili Dmitrievich (1389-1425) was supplemented by a ring of monasteries on the outskirts of the city: reinforced Andronikov (founded around 1357), Zachatievsky (about 1360), Simon (about 1370), Petrovsky (about 1377), Christmas (about 1386) and Sretensky (1397) monasteries. In the reign of Dmitry Donskoy Moscow, having withstood a series of clashes with its rivals - the Tver princes and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, took upon itself the role of the unifier of the Russian lands in the struggle against the Mongol-Tatars. In 1368 and in 1370, Moscow was besieged by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd. Dmitry managed to inflict two serious defeats on the Horde: in the Battle of Vozha (1378) and in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). However, he failed to save Moscow from ruin. In 1382 Khan Tokhtamysh deceived the city, looted it and burned it. Dmitry renewed the payment of tribute, and the khan secured the great reign over Dmitri and his descendants (1383). In subsequent years, the destruction was eliminated, the city was rebuilt and strengthened. During the long 36-year rule of Vasily Dmitrievich, relatively calm times have set in for Moscow. The real danger threatened her at this period only once, in 1408, when the army Yedigei besieged Moscow, but to take it and failed. The result of the reign of Basil was a new expansion of the lands under Moscow's control - the Nizhny Novgorod and Murom principality and other lands were annexed to his possessions. At the end of the 14th - the first years of the 15th century, Theophanes the Greek worked in Moscow, who kept his workshop and performed church and secular orders, having painted the prince's towers and the cathedrals of the Kremlin. The second quarter of the 15th century became for Moscow a restless and destructive time for a great feudal war, the winner of which was Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Tzarny (1425-1462, with interruptions). Strengthening his power in the years to come, Basil eliminated most of the inheritance within the rose principality of Moscow, put in dependence on him a number of contiguous lands. In 1439, the Moscow villages were burned by the Tatars of Ulu-Muhammad. In 1451, again under the walls of Moscow appeared Tatars Nogai prince Mazovshi. After the fall of Constantinople (1453), Moscow's importance as a religious center grew. In 1448, for the first time, the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia (with a residence in Moscow) was raised not by the Patriarch of Constantinople, but by the cathedral of Russian bishops, which marked the beginning of the independence of the Russian church.
