Golden-domed Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation, is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in our country. Although the city is considered relatively young, it has a rich history.
Who built Moscow
The founder of Moscow is Yuri Dolgoruky, the sixth son of Vladimir Monomakh and the daughter of the English king Harold. It was the Grand Duke who built the wooden walls of the Kremlin. In fact, Dolgoruky didn’t visit the city he built so often; there are rare references to his visits in the annals. The people of Kiev did not like the prince and after his death in Suzdal Zalesse plundered his possessions and became a real misfortune for local residents, who, in turn, respected the Grand Duke. According to the annals, Yuri was tall, plump, on his white face he could see small eyes and a large nose “long and crooked”, a beard grew. The biography of the prince indicates that he was a great hunter for women, loved to eat and drink, and generally thought more about fun and feasts than about reprisals and wars. Because the latter, he could trust the nobles, his close and trusted persons. It is also known that Yuri was repeatedly married: first to the daughter of the Polovtsian khan, and then to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor.
The reasons for the rise of Moscow in Ancient Russia. Geography. Attempts to keep up with Europe
There are various hypotheses about the reasons for the centralization of Russian lands and the rise of Moscow. Klyuchevsky believed that the role of the Moscow principality increased due to its favorable geographical position. When Moscow became the capital of Russia, its advantages lay in its remoteness from the Golden Horde, and the Moscow River also became a link to the main trade routes of that time. The new capital occupied an advantageous position, which was strategically better than that of Tver, Uglich or Nizhny Novgorod. She accumulated fighting skills and traditions of the culture of Russia, mixing them with European ones. When we talk about why Moscow became the capital of Russia, the influence of Europe is not the last in this matter. Despite the socio-economic differences, similar processes took place in our country and abroad: cities developed and the influence of the third estate strengthened. Europe and Russia played a mutually active role in each other's political life. It is difficult to say exactly in which year Moscow became the capital of Russia, but it happened in the XIV century. In the status of the capital, Moscow held out until the reign of Peter I.
Major fires in the history of Moscow
Many events have happened since Moscow became the capital of Russia. The city was repeatedly engulfed by destructive fire. Information about the largest of them has been preserved after many centuries. In 1365, from the very spring, there was a drought. The rivers were shallow, an insignificant amount of precipitation fell. In such a dry period, a fire can happen very easily. So from one lamp a wooden church broke out. A strong wind carried the fire, which reached the wooden walls of the Kremlin, thereby Muscovites lost a reliable refuge from destructive raids. Not always fires occurred by the will of nature. When Moscow became the capital of Russia, it attracted the attention of enemies. So the city was set on fire by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, Khan Tokhtamysh, the Ryazan prince Gleb and many others, it was the military arsons that were especially detrimental to the capital. Mentioning major fires, one cannot ignore the fire in the midst of the war of 1812, when Napoleon and his army settled in the city. Flames swept the whole city. People, out of a sense of duty, set fire to Moscow so that the city would not go to the enemy.
Moscow was not built in a day
If you try to imagine how many times the Kremlin has changed its appearance, it’s enough to recall in what century Moscow became the capital of Russia. Initially, the city was wooden and remained so until the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, who decided to replace the Kremlin’s oak walls with white stone, towers were rebuilt from the same white stone. The cause of such a serious change was the fires that often swept the city, but this did not add strength to the Kremlin walls, because the white stone deteriorated quite quickly, and soon the structures “floated”. In 1485, together with Italian architects, they managed to build the Kremlin from burnt bricks; this reconstruction took decades. It was during this period that the Kremlin increased its area and took the shape of an irregular triangle. The buildings inside have also undergone a number of changes. Something was reconstructed and rebuilt from another material, something was ruthlessly demolished, something was built and imprinted as a symbol of a particular era. During the reign of Peter the Great, the Moscow Kremlin lost its former importance, so it was not affected by change for a long time.
Moscow since the USSR
When Moscow became the capital of Russia again, it was already 1918. The government moved to this city during the Great Russian Revolution due to the threat of a German attack on St. Petersburg. It was planned to move the capital only for a while, so that the population in Petrograd would decrease. Some were against it, considering such actions desertion and cowardice, and not caution and foresight. The transfer of the capital was accompanied by a split within the Bolshevik party, the leaders disagreed, but the heated debate, which never led to anything, ended thanks to Lenin's cunning and enterprise. When Moscow became the capital of Russia, the government was already moving, but there were still many dissatisfied with this decision, so the Latvian arrows were sent to the defense. Near Malaya Vishera, the train in which Lenin was located collided with an echelon of armed deserters; the number of the latter exceeded the number of shooters. But the Latvians managed to disarm the enemy and block the train. After this incident, for the purpose of conspiracy, information was circulated that the government was moving not to Moscow, but to Nizhny Novgorod.
Modern Moscow
Currently, Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation. It is in this city that the centers of the political and economic spheres are concentrated. Since then, when Moscow became the capital of Russia again, its role has increased markedly. The city can be called the mind and heart of our country. Modern Moscow is a large-scale metropolis of twelve metropolitan areas; the capital is one of the ten largest cities in the world. The economy of Moscow is closely connected with the world economy, the capital keeps pace with developed countries, it was in this city that international embassies of different countries found their place, most of all banks in Russia are concentrated here. If you recall the time when the emperor Moscow became the capital of Russia, you can imagine what value its culture and history are, what buildings you can find, how attractive the city is for tourists from all over the world. Moscow represents the strength and power of our country, it is respected by other states.
Moscow Orthodox
The modern capital has been considered a religious center since ancient times. Metropolitan Peter moved his residence from Vladimir to Moscow, which became the center of Orthodoxy. If we recall in what year Moscow became the capital of Russia, then we can understand what role faith played in those days. Such a status was important for the capital; it raised its authority in the eyes of the population. Someone calls Moscow the Third Rome. In this city you can find many churches and cathedrals. A certain symbol of the capital of Russia is St. Basil's Cathedral (known until the seventeenth century as Trinity), located on Red Square in the city center. It is an association of nine churches dedicated to the holidays, which coincided with the days of decisive battles for Kazan. Tourists from many countries come to see the object from the UNESCO World Heritage List in Russia, built back in the time of Ivan the Terrible. Restorations more than once changed the appearance of the cathedral, because it became a victim of fires in wooden Moscow, but did not lose its significance and status.
Moscow of the future
The city does not stand still and continues to develop. At the moment, there are many projects, known prospects. If you think about what year Moscow became the capital of Russia, just look around. The capital is built up with new, modern buildings, but the historical appearance of the city is preserved. Building projects are developed not only by our compatriots, but also by the Irish, British and Swedes, that is, Europeans are also involved in the development of the city. The plans not only increase the territory, now five main projects are outlined, affecting for the most part landscaping, expanding leisure opportunities. The changes will affect the Moscow River. There are plans to use the territory of the embankments for entertainment complexes, to equip a separate area with limited traffic there, to create the largest area - the “ecological islands”, which would help make the water cleaner. Architects also propose to introduce a holiday dedicated to the river. This is just one of the projects, but it impresses with the scale of what was planned and makes us believe that in only thirty years Moscow will change its appearance and truly become the city of the future.