Foundation
of Moscow
Prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, is considered to be the
founder of Moscow. His name relates to the first written mention of
Moscow, which dates back to 1147. That was there, on the banks of Moskva
River, where Yuri Dolgoruky arranged a sumptuous feast in the
honour of his ally Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich. In 1156 Yuri
Dolgoruky ordered wooden walls to be built round Moscow. That was how
the small settlement turned into a wooden town. During that time the town
occupied the southeast area of the modern Kremlin
Being located in deep woods, which hindered the movement of
Mongol-Tatar cavalry, Moscow had soon turned out to be a town situated
right in the centre of many major trade routes. The town had been quickly
developing; it had managed to unite the forces of many separate
principalities for the final battle against Mongol-Tatar yoke. Three
famous Princes of Moscow contributed to the victory over Mongol-Tatar
oppression. Those were Ivan Kalita (ruled in Moscow from 1325 to
1340), who turned the small town into the capital of the Great Moscow
Principality. During his rule the residence of the Russian
Metropolitan was moved to Moscow. The first stone structures were ordered
by Ivan Kalita to be built in Moscow. Dmitry Donskoy, the
grandson of Ivan Kalita and the Great Prince of Moscow Principality
(1359-1389), had strengthened the influence of Moscow and won the first
military victory over Mongol-Tatar army in the history of ancient Rus.
Dmitry Donskoy was the first to order the stone wall to be built
round Moscow. Ivan the Third (1462-1505) the grand-grand son of Dmitry
and the Great Prince of Moscow and All Rus managed to complete the
unification of Russian principalities round Moscow and to throw off the
yoke of Mongol-Tatar Golden Horde. Ivan the Third initiated the
construction of stone town of Moscow that was the time, when the famous
Kremlin cathedrals Uspensky (Dormition), Blagoveshchencky (Annunciation),
Arkhangelsky (Archangel Michael) were built. The Kremlin was
surrounded by a new stonewall, which is currently remained in Moscow. The
towers were also built (during that time there were no tent roofs on
towers). A bit later one more stonewalls was built around the trade area
called "Kitai-Gorod". The remains of this wall are still
there in Moscow, not far from Nikolskaya Street.
Moscow in 16th Century
In 16th century new streets and small settlements were built
round the Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod and during the period between
1583 and 1593 the new area of Moscow was also surrounded by a white wall
of 9 km length (the construction was supervised by Fedor Kon, the
famous Russian architect). The white walls gave the name to this area of
the ancient town, which was called Bely Gorod (White Town). At
present Bulvarnoye Koltso, a kind of a street, replaces the walls of White
Town which envelopes the city centre by its boulevards. These boulevards
are as follows: Prechistensky, Nikitsky, Tverskoi, Strastnoi, Petrovsky,
Rozhdestvensky, Sretensky, Chistoprudny, Pokrovsky and Yauzsky. The
names of several squares located in the area of Bulvarnoye Koltso
("Nikitskyie Vorota" "Pokrovskiye Vorota")
still keep the memory about the ancient gates of the old White Town. The
beautiful and ancient ensemble of the Moscow's Kremlin stands high on the
hill towering over the left bank of Moskva-River. The Kremlin has always
been perceived as a symbol of power and mighty of the Russian state, the
national idea expressed in stone. Each era in the history of Russia left
its significant architectural trace in the Kremlin.
Late in the evening the brightly illuminated Kremlin ensemble
presents a fantastic, majestic and sophisticated
harmony. The story says that Moscow stands on seven hills. It was there,
on Borovitsky Hill, where the first walls of the Kremlin were built long
time ago.
By the end of 16th century the town expanded far away from the old
walls of White Town. A ground bank with a wooden wall on top was built
round the new living areas of Moscow to protect citizens against Tatar
raids. This part of Moscow, encircled by proper ground bank, got the name
of Zemlyanoi Gorod (Ground Town). At present one of the main city
streets - Sadovoye Koltso passes along the line of the ancient
ground bank. The names of some of the streets remind of the ancient Zemlyanoi
Gorod: Zemlyanoi Val, Krymski Val, etc.
In the same 16th century the chain of Tsar dynasty was broken, the
event, which took Russia to the long seven years of the Time of Troubles.
Those were the years of civil war, uprisings, murder, foreign aggression
and national disaster. The Russian state had reached the edge of downfall
and again like many times before, it was saved by Moscow. Prince Dmitry
Pozharsky and rural council elder Kuzma Minin managed to
unite the opposing forces and the people's volunteers won decisive victory
over foreign invaders. The monument to Minin and Pozharsky
was erected at the Red Square, close to Cathedral of the Intercession.
Next to the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed stands the
monument to Minin and Pozharsky,
the leaders of the people's volunteers of the war of 1612.
Lobnoye Mesto,
a round stoned pedestal, faces the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed. It was
built as a symbol of Calvary. Some people believe that Lobnoye Mesto was
used for executions, but instead, it was used to proclaim tsar's edicts
and to hold various religious ceremonies.
Senatskaya
(Senate) Tower rises high over the Kremlin wall. It received its name from
the building of Senate, which now accommodates the Government of Russia.
The colours of the Russian Federation are there on the top of Senate
building.On the opposite side of the wall Lenin Mausoleum stands right in
front of Senatskaya Tower.
The next tower is called Nikolskaya (St. Nicholas). The tower got its name from
the icon of St. Nicholas, which was displayed on the tower wall in the
past. During the time of the Soviet rule the icon was removed. The mosaic
created by the modern masters and displaying St. Nicholas was recently put
on the wall to replace the icon.
Opposite to the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed stands the State
Historical Museum with its halls in the building of the
19th century. Voskresenskiye Gates and Iverskaya
Chapel, destroyed in the 30-ties of the 20th century, have
been recently built anew to the right from the Museum. The structure of Kazan
Cathedral, rebuilt a bit earlier, is also located close to
Iverskaya Chapel.
 Moscow
During the Rule of Romanov Dynasty
In 1613 Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1596-1651) was elected
the Tsar of Russia. His ancestors ruled the country up to the October
Bolshevik's revolt of 1917.
In 1713 Peter the Great (1672-1725) transferred the capital of
Russia to St. Petersburg, which he had founded. But Moscow remained the
heart of Russia and "the First Capital"; all Russian tsars were
crowned in Moscow, in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin. On the
whole, the life in Moscow was more quiet and free, if compared to that in
St. Petersburg, and more patriarchal. However, the construction works in
Moscow, in 18th and 19th centuries were conducted in compliance with
common European baroque and classic styles. Once introduced in Russia,
those architect styles were interpreted by the Russian architect in a
peculiar way and contributed to the creation of fine pieces of architect
art.
During the years of 17th and 18th centuries Moscow had greatly
expanded its borders. Tsarina Elizaveta Petrovna ordered a so
called "Kamer-Kollezhski" Bank to be built round the new
living areas of Moscow. The bank remained the border of Moscow up to the
beginning of 20th century. The bank purpose was not a military one; it was
built to restrict smuggling of goods to Moscow (vodka, mainly), which were
subject to high duty. The bank got its name from the state organization,
which was in charge of taking duties: "Kamer-Kollegia"
(Chamber Board).
In the beginning of the 19th century all patriotic forces
of Russia were united by Moscow during the Patriotic war of 1812. That's
what Napoleon Bonaparte understood quite well. He said: "If I
take Kiev, I would bind the legs of the Russian state. If I capture St.
Petersburg, I would take it by the head, but when only capturing Moscow I
would be able to seize its heart".
 Looking into the Future
After the October revolt of 1917 great drastic changes took place in
Russia. During the years of Soviet rule the town-planning history of
Moscow experienced many dramatic events. The life of Moscow was mostly
determined by views and tastes of ruling Communist leaders. On the whole,
the Soviet government ordered four general reconstructions of Moscow.
However, these reconstructions didn't change the structure of Moscow
town-planning and many unique projects were carried out, new highways,
bridges, metro stations and sky rises, etc. were built, but at the same
time, many ancient buildings, churches, monasteries, convents were
destroyed. As a result, Moscow has lost a lot of its integrity, ancient
beauty and charm. Eventually, things have started to become better. Many
destroyed buildings and monuments are being built anew. For example, a new
dome of fantastic Saviour Cathedral - the symbol of spiritual
revival of Russia is already seen from many places of Moscow.
Last year Moscow celebrated its 850th anniversary. This is one more
significant reason to look back to the past years; to the history rich
with dramatic events, to the treasure-house of arts, literature and high
spiritual heritage, which keeps the secret of undefeated power of Moscow,
which has always helped Russia in the most severe and crucial periods of
its development.
|
