This article is dedicated to the history of Moscow — the capital of Russia and the biggest city in the country.

Those who get to the Russian capital on business or en route try to schedule some time to have a look at the city. Moscow is often called the ‘most Russian’ of all Russian cities. According to the great Russian writer and historian Karamzin, "Who visits Moscow, knows Russia".

The other people think that Moscow is not a typical Russian city as the capital differs greatly from ‘provincial’ Russian cities. People living in Moscow are considered to be the ones who look down on others. They say that modern Moscow culture differs greatly from the culture of other Russian cities towns and smaller villages. Well, tastes differ. However, there is no doubt that the history and the culture of Moscow — the Russian capital and one of the oldest cities in the country — is worth studying.

The history of the city shows that, although it had been conquered and destroyed by foreign invaders, people rebuilt it again and again. At present Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world. The exceptionally favorable location of Moscow gave it advantages over other cities emerging in Russia.

First settlements

It was in the late Stone Age period when the first tribes appeared on the territory where the future city of Moscow would be built. The oldest settlements discovered within the area are about five thousand years old. In the second half of the first millennium AD Slavic tribes called "vjatichi" came to the Moscow area. They are considered to be the ‘predecessors’ of the Muscovites. One of the most mysterious finds was made on the left bank of the Skhodnya River in 1936. It was here that the scull of an ancient man was found. Scientists still argue about the epoch to which it belongs, as the scull resembles both that of a Neanderthal man and a modern man. Excavations in the city of Zarayskh in the Moscow province gave evidence that some inhabitants lived in the territory of Moscow about 20 000 years ago. The first time Slavic tribes came to Moscow land dates about VI or VII centuries A.D. But archaeologists found no evidence of their stay in this land through the VII century. Only in the XI century did the Slavonic tribes of the Vyatiches and the Radimiches come to this territory. These people were engaged mostly in agricultural works; growing cereals and vegetables, fishing and cattle-breeding and wore flax clothes with embroideries and ornaments. They were pagans and so believed in several gods, such as the god of Sun, the god of rain and others.

Foundation of the city

It is believed that the city is eight and a half centuries old. The first mentioning of Moscow dates back to 1147. The same year is considered to be the year of its foundation. It is generally accepted that Prince of Suzdal Yuri Dolgorukiy was the founder of Moscow. A monument to Yury Dolgoruky now stands on one of the central squares, opposite the Moscow city hall.

The history of Moscow starts with a legend — Prince Dolgoruky invited his neighboring Prince Sviatoslav to a council and in honour of the event the dinner was organized in Moscow. The meeting took place on April 4, 1147. They agreed to support each other. The successors of the Prince — Princes and Czars Andrey Bogolubskiy, Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan the Third, Boris Godunov, Mikhail Romanov and many others contributed to establishing the well-being of Moscow.

Tatar invasion

From the very beginning the territorial development of Moscow was determined by the need for reliable defense. There were constant threats from nomadic hordes from the East and South and from Poland from the West. The sad pages in early Moscow history date back to 1237, when as the result of the Tatar invasion, Moscow was destroyed. It was the time when the fortresses like the Spaso-Andronikov and Novodevichiy were built not far from Moscow. After the famous victory on the Kulikovskoye field in 1380 and so-called “Standing on the Ugra river” in 1480 the Tartar governance had been ceased. Fortunately Moscow recovered rapidly and soon became the capital of the independent Moscow principality. In the 15th century the territory and population of Moscow exceeded the ones of London, Prague and other largest cities of Europe.

Strengthening of Moscow

During the 14 and the first half of 15 centuries Moscow became a relatively large city with powerful industrial and trade spheres. At the end of 15th century, Moscow became the capital of Russia under Ivan III. Moscow Kremlin was built in the beginning of the 15-century and is a benchmark of that period. For the purpose of improving the defense of Moscow and of its inhabitants, a number of defense buildings and big cloisters were built. Development of commerce and trade led to the development of science and arts. This period saw the emergence of the number of fundamental manuscripts, like "Domostroy" and "Stoglav" and the first Russian printed book called "Apostol" by Ivan Fedorov.

Polish and Lithunian Invasion

In the beginning of the 17th century, Polish and Lithunian army invaded Moscow. Then people joined under the guidance of the salesman Minin and prince Pozharsky, who organized the people’s militia and attacked the invaders. They set Moscow free in 1612.

Peter the Great

After Peter the Great came to the throne Russian cities and towns were organized into provinces headed by the province Governors. Till 1917 governors of Moscow faithfully served the city and the Russian state. During the reign of Peter the Great, arts and science in Moscow, as well as in Russia in general, was developing very rapidly. In 1755 the Moscow University was opened, in 1703 the first printed newspaper ("Vedomosti") was firstly published. In the second half of 18th century Moscow architects built many beautiful buildings, such as the Bazhenov’s Pashkov House, Kazakov’s Senate Building and others. At that time the Moscow centre (Alexandrov Garden, Theatre Square appeared with Bolshoi and Maly theatres) was founded and it still appears as it did at the time.

XIX century – Golden Age of Moscow

The XIX century is known as a "golden age" for arts and science, and Moscow was a birthplace for many famous artists, writers, painters and scientists. A number of outstanding politicians, artists, doctors and writers like Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoi, Chekhov, Herzen, Pirogov, Sklifosofsky, Vasnetsov, Serov, Levitan and many others were Muscovites.

After the 1812 the city had turned from the aristocratic town to a bourgeois city. Till the end of the 19th century it remained the second most important industrial centre in Russia following closely by Saint Petersburg. This period saw the rapid growth of railway communication. The first telephone lines were organized between Moscow and Petersburg in the late 1890s.

After the abolition of serfdom in 1861 the rates of Moscow growth increased and the city became the largest commercial and industrial center of the country. By the end of the 19th century over 20 thousand new commercial and industrial enterprises specializing in textile, building, woodworks and food production started production. The textile and food gave way to the machine-building and electrical engineering and Moscow became a powerful industrial center.

Revolution

In the beginning of the XX century, communist ideas of Marx and his colleague Engels became popular in Moscow. Workers and intelligentsia secretly discussed them and later organized revolutionary groups. Their activities resulted in a series of assaults (the major ones in January 1905 and July 1914) that finally led to the February and the Great October Revolution of 1917. The new government headed by Vladimir Lenin came into power and the capital moved from Petersburg (renamed Petrograd) to Moscow. The Soviet Union was announced December 30, 1922 by the Communist Party and Moscow officially became the capital of the new state called Soviet Union.

Moscow as a capital of Soviet Union

The new life exposed new requirements to the capital. Many new buildings were being built during the Stalin rule. There was need to house the new Soviet authorities as well as the intensive flow of peasants coming to live in Moscow and to work on Moscow factories and plants. Many new plants had been built producing machinery and metals and other kinds of goods which were really needed by the new country. Hence, Moscow architecture changed: the proportion of blocks inhabited by workers increased drastically, the city sprawled outside, many churches were destroyed or transformed into so-called Palaces of Culture, clubs, stores for vegetables or for building materials. The most active construction of living blocks was initiated by Niklita Khruschev in the 60-ies, and many families moved from extremely overcrowded multi-family apartments, where more than 5 people were living in one small room meant for an individual. They were constructed quickly to meet the urgent demands, and, therefore, they are far from being convenient.

Turning to the West

The "opening" of Russia to the West and changes in the political situation caused many changes in the attitude of people to their town, its ecology and nature, national and cultural traditions. Many plants ceased to work and did not produce anything in the course of the 1990s, but now new owners are coming to rebuild them and make them profitable (More on this below in the Modern Moscow section)

Moscow Today

Moscow is now the capital of Russia. The Federal government works in Moscow. It is one of the world’s biggest metropolises with a population of more than 8.5 million people. It spreads more than 40 km to the North and South and about 30 from East to West. Including the suburbs, it has more than 10 million inhabitants, which makes it the fifth largest city in the world. Besides, every day more than one million visitors come to Moscow. Some of them come as tourists, but many foreigners now have business in the capital. The territory of Moscow is about 900 square km. There are 5 airports, 9 railway stations and 2 river ports in Moscow.

Moscow has been the center of the Russian national culture for centuries. One can find the most interesting historical places, buildings, church and museums here: the Kremlin, Novodevichiy Convent, Church of Pokrov, Moscow State University, Triumphal Arch, Memorial complex of Victory on the Poklonnaya Gora. Many historical buildings were reconstructed or even rebuilt, including the Temple of Christ the Savior, the Kremlin’s Voskresenskiye Gates together with the Iverskaya Chapel and Temple of Icon of Kazan Mother of God. A lot has been done to make Muscovites and visitors to the capital feel comfortable in the cities streets. Pedestrian zones are set up, new hotels, cafes and restaurants are opened. Moscow regularly hosts major festivals, Olympiads, sports competitions and various international contests. Moscow is famous for its museums and such exhibition halls as the Tretyakov Art Gallery, Pushkin Museum, Manege and others. For more information about Moscow museums, see articles on Russian Courier.

Evgeniya Stroganova