It would seem that the answer to this question has long been known, as well as the date of the founding of the capital of Russia. But is everything so simple and how reliable are the data on who founded Moscow?
Despite the rather strong discrepancies and dissimilarity of some annals, which indicate the date when the city was founded (it ranges between 1147 and 1156), the first documentary mention of this city, which dates back to 1147, is considered to be an official reference point. According to the same generally accepted theory, the founder of Moscow is Suzdal Prince Yuri Dolgoruky.
But if we approach the analysis of existing historical documents, then this harmonious and simple theory begins to literally burst at the seams. First of all, with a careful reading of the very chronicle, which tells about the invitation received by Prince Svyatoslav to come to Moscow to Yuri Dolgoruky, one can notice a curious detail. Describing a journey to a new city, the author never mentions that he is in some new place - the prince goes along a well-known road and safely sends his son in front of him. In addition, upon arrival Dolgoruky arranges a luxurious feast, which also suggests that the infrastructure around the settlement was more than well developed.
So who actually founded Moscow, and what is the role of the famous prince to this day?
For a long time in Russia there were legends about the fabulously rich boyar who bore the name of Stefan Ivanovich Kuchka. About him is mentioned in at least two stories telling about the birth of Russian statehood and the emergence of a city called Moscow. According to these legends, it was he who owned the very lands on both banks of the Moskva River, on which the future Russian capital was later laid. Moreover, these lands are described as rich and well-equipped, with "red villages" and good roads.
In other words, Dolgoruky did not lay the city in a new place, most likely he simply developed the boyar’s existing estate to the scale of the city, and at the same time gave him a new name. As a result, a city appeared on the map of Kievan Rus, which played a huge role in the formation and development of Russian statehood. In other words, Moscow is based on the site of several ordinary villages that have existed there for many decades.
Earlier, before the Suzdal prince came to the northern lands, this place was named after the boyar who owned it - Kuchkovo. For some time it even bore a peculiar “double” name and was called “Moscow Kuchkovo rekshi”, which can be translated “Moscow, called Kuchkovo”. This, by the way, is more than a serious argument in favor of the fact that the data on who founded Moscow in fact is quite approximate.
But in any case, even taking into account that the current capital was founded not on an empty place, but on an already habitable territory, this does not detract from the merits of Yuri Dolgoruky. He not only laid the foundation of a great city, but also created the prerequisites for the formation of the state. Thanks to his efforts, Moscow eventually managed to unite all scattered principalities around itself and become the center of the strongest state in Europe. Being a powerful enough man, Dolgoruky was able to succeed that nobody had succeeded before - he strengthened and enriched his principality of Suzdal (which included Moscow as the westernmost point of his possessions) that it minimized the importance of the Kiev princedom, which was the leader so far. . From the moment of the reign of Yuri Dolgoruky, the power of the Kiev princes gradually faded away, and its western regions pulled its significance. Therefore, the question of who founded Moscow can be confidently answered by “Yuri Dolgoruky” - after all, he not only laid the city walls, he created the foundation of statehood.