Kiev is the capital of Ukraine, one of its largest cities. Its history numbers no less than one thousand two hundred years. According to the annals, it was founded by three brothers and a sister. We are talking about Kiev, Cheek, Horeb, as well as Lybed. The article will tell about the early period in the history of Kiev. From its foundation to the period of fragmentation of Russia. And also the question of who said: “Kiev is the mother of Russian cities” will be considered.
Historical and etymological reference
Before explaining why Kiev is the mother of Russian cities, one should start with its foundation and versions of the origin of the name. As archaeological excavations show, in the territory of the present Kiev region settlements existed already about fifteen to twenty thousand years ago. As for the year of foundation of Kiev, the exact date is unknown to historians.
If we talk about the origin of the name, then its unambiguous explanation does not exist. As stated in the annals, the name of the city is associated with the name of its founder. The Tale of Bygone Years, dating back to the 12th century, claims that three brothers and a sister founded a settlement, which was the center of the Polyana tribe, named after the eldest - Kiya. Then the city consisted of a tower and a princely court.
Kuar and Kiyans
The essay History of Taron, written by the Armenian writer Zenob Glack, describes the formation of Quar (that is, Kiev) in the country of the polun tribe (that is, glade) by three brothers. Their names are Quar, Mentei, Herean.
There is also a popular version. She reduces the etymology of the name to the word “kiyans,” or “kiyans.” These are the first residents who worked at the crossing of the Dnieper River. It, in fact, was a wooden flooring on poles driven into the bottom. These pillars were called cues.
Archaeological excavations
Studying the question of why Kiev is the mother of Russian cities, we continue to consider its early annals. This is necessary to give a detailed answer. As mentioned above, in the history of Kiev, scientists count no less than 1200 years, and the exact date of its formation has not been established.
Archaeological excavations suggest that on the right bank of the Dnieper in the 6-7 centuries. there were already settlements that could be considered urban. Researchers found the remains of dwellings, fortifications, ceramics, Byzantine coins, jewelry. In the 9th century Kiev was in a zone of conflict between the Hungarians and the Khazars, which was characterized by instability.
Prince Oleg
In the second half of the 9th century representatives of the Varangian tribe, Askold and Deer, ruled on Kiev land. Most likely, they were members of the Rurik squad and freed the glades from Khazar dependence. While he himself ruled on Novgorod land until his death in 879. After that, power passed to Oleg, who was regent under Igor, his young son and heir to Rurik.
In 882, Oleg from Novgorod went on the offensive on Kiev. He seized power, killing Dir and Askold. After this, the unification of Kiev and Novgorod by Prince Oleg took place. According to the annals, the first of these cities became the main in the united principalities. And now we turn directly to the answer to the question of why Kiev is the mother of Russian cities.
Chronicler Certificate
Let us again turn to the Russian annals "The Tale of Bygone Years." As already mentioned, it was compiled in the 12th century. She has other names. In one case we are talking about the "Original Annals", another option is the "Nestorov Annals." It is believed that it was composed by Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersky monastery.
According to his testimony, the 822nd is the year that Kiev was proclaimed the mother of Russian cities. This phrase was uttered by Prince Oleg after he seized power in him. According to the assumption of academician D. S. Likhachev, it is a semantic tracing-paper, that is, borrowing by literal translation of the word “mother country” - “mother city”. From the ancient Greek language μήτηρ is translated as “mother”, and πόλις means nothing more than “city”.
Thus, according to the testimony of Nestor, Oleg announced that Kiev had become the capital of the possessions that went to his reign. The author of the chronicle belonged to the school of the Kiev Pechersky Monastery. His novices were followers of the Byzantine tradition, which they strictly adhered to. Therefore, the learned monk used the term “metropolis”, which was literally translated as “mother of cities”.
Today, this word is understood as a state that has colonies, settlements located outside their borders. They depend on the metropolis and are exploited by it. The ancient Greeks had metropolises policies, that is, city-states that had their own settlement territories in foreign lands, among barbarians.
As for the date of utterance of the expression in question, it causes controversy among historians. However, they all agree that the unification of the two largest cities among the tribes of the Eastern Slavs was an important step for them. It gave an impetus to create a strong state in Eastern Europe.
Land accession
At the same time, an increase in the scale of construction work in the territory of Kiev was also necessary. Evidence of this are archaeological excavations made on Podil, in the Upper Town, Pechersk, on Kirillovskaya Hill. This was due to the fact that the urban population was growing rapidly. This was due to people arriving from various regions of Russia. During Oleg’s reign, the territories on which the Drevlyans, Northerners, Tivertsy, streets, Radimichi, Krivichi and Novgorod Slavs lived were annexed to the lands of Kievan Rus.
During one of the trips to neighboring territories, the prince died. Igor, who began to rule after him, carried out a campaign against the Drevlyans, who sought to secede from Kiev. In 941, he, in trade interests, organized a campaign against Byzantium. Large-scale and numerous military operations required the consumption of large resources. This led to an increase in tribute from conquered lands. As a result, in 945 there was an uprising of the Drevlyans who killed Igor.
Kiev as a capital in the 9-12 centuries
From the moment of capture by Prince Oleg of Kiev until the second half of the 13th century. this city was the capital of Russia. Traditionally, the princes “sitting” in it held supremacy over the rulers of other Russian lands. At the same time, the Kiev table acted as the main goal of rivalry within dynasties. In 968, the city survived the siege by the Pechenegs, and the well-fortified outposts helped. The largest of them was Vyshgorod.
In 988, at the direction of Prince Vladimir, the city population was baptized in the Dnieper River. Russia has become a Christian state. The Kiev Metropolis was organized, which lasted until 1458. In 990, the first stone church was built. In 1240, it was destroyed by the hordes of Batu, who attacked Kiev. As the Tale of Bygone Years testifies, in the 1st half of the 10th century In the city there was a Christian cathedral church dedicated to the prophet Elijah.
Under the reign of Prince Vladimir, urban construction continued, including residential buildings. Kiev almost a third consisted of lands belonging to the prince. The palace was located on them. The city of Vladimir, with an area of about 10 hectares, was surrounded by an earthen rampart and a moat. Then Kiev had extensive international relations. Its partners include the Byzantine Empire, and the Eastern and Scandinavian countries, and Western Europe.
The murder of Boris and Gleb
After the death of Vladimir in 1015, an internecine war broke out for the Kiev throne. According to the official version, his sons Boris and Gleb were killed by Svyatopolk the Accursed, who was his older brother. They became the first of the Russian saints to be the patrons of Russia and Russian princes.
However, Svyatoslav was defeated by his fourth brother, who was Yaroslav the Wise. Having lost the battle that took place near Lyubech, he (Svyatoslav) lost his reign in Kiev. At the request of the exiled prince, the Polish king Boleslav I moved to the capital and defeated the army commanded by Yaroslav the Wise on the Bug River. However, the Kiev did not accept the new prince. As a result of the uprising that broke out in 1018, the throne was returned to Yaroslav. Studying why Kiev is the mother of Russian cities, it is necessary to say about its “golden age”.
Yaroslav city
Under him, the "golden age" came. At the beginning of the 11th century Kiev was a fairly large entity, the size of which increased. It had 400 temples and 8 stakes. Towards the end of the century, he was already called the rival of Constantinople. In addition to the court of the prince himself, about ten courtyards of other dignitaries were built.
From the "Tale of Bygone Years" it is known that the city of Yaroslav had an area of more than sixty hectares. He was surrounded by a moat, flooded with water and having a depth of twelve meters. A high shaft approached him, the length of which was three and a half kilometers. Its width at the base is thirty meters. The height along with the picket fence reached sixteen meters.
Spiritual affairs
It was at the time that Yaroslav the Wise ruled that the St. Sophia Cathedral was built, decorated with many frescoes and mosaics. The most famous is the image of the Virgin Oranta. In 1051, the Prince of Kiev gathered bishops in St. Sophia Cathedral, where Metropolitan Hilarion was elected from among the local natives. Thus, confessional independence from Byzantium was demonstrated.
In the same year, the monk Anthony Pechersky and his disciple Theodosius founded the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The son of Yaroslav the Wise, Prince Svyatoslav II, granted the monastery a plateau above the caves. Later, stone temples, richly decorated with paintings, were built on it. And also here are the fortress towers, cells, other buildings. The names of such historical figures as the chronicler Nestor and the artist Alipy are closely connected with the laurel.
There was also such a part of old Kiev, which was called the city of Izyaslav-Svyatopolk. By time of occurrence, it is in third place. Its center was Golden-Domed Mikhailovsky Monastery. In 1068, after Izyaslav lost the battle with the Polovtsy on the Alta River, a veche speech was organized against him. He was forced to hide in Polotsk. After him, Vseslav Bryachislavich temporarily ascended the throne.
At the end of the consideration of the question of why Kiev is the mother of Russian cities, it should be noted that in the 12th century. the process of the collapse of the Old Russian state and the onset of feudal fragmentation began.