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 King Harold of England. It was the Grand Duke who built the wooden walls of the Kremlin. In fact, Dolgoruky did not come to the city he built so often; in the annals there are rare references to his visits. The people of Kiev did not like the prince, and after his death in Suzdal Zalesye, they plundered his possessions and became a real misfortune for the locals, who, in turn, respected the Grand Duke. According to the chronicle, Yuri was tall, overweight, small eyes and a large nose “long and crooked” were visible on his white face, a beard grew. The biography of the prince indicates that he was a great hunter of women, loved to eat and drink deliciously, and generally thought more about fun and feasts than about reprisals and wars. Because the last he couldto entrust to the nobles, their entourage 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. Trying 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 were its remoteness from the Golden Horde, and the Moscow River became a link with 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 the 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, not least in this matter is the influence of Europe. Despite socio-economic differences, similar processes took place in our country and abroad: cities developed and the influence of the third estate grew stronger. Europe and Russia played a mutually active role in each other's political life. It is difficult to say exactly in what year Moscow became the capital of Russia, but it happened in the XIV century. In the status of the capital, Moscow lasted until the reign of Peter I.
Major fires in the history of Moscow
Many events have happened sincesince Moscow became the capital of Russia. The city was repeatedly engulfed in destructive fire. Information about the largest of them has been preserved after many centuries. In 1365, there was a drought since the very spring. The rivers were shallow, and the rainfall was negligible. In such a dry period, it is very easy for a fire to happen. So from one lamp a wooden church broke out. A strong wind spread the fire, which reached the wooden walls of the Kremlin, thereby losing Muscovites a safe haven from devastating 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 military arson that had a particularly detrimental effect on the capital. Mentioning large fires, one cannot ignore the fire at the height of the war of 1812, when Napoleon and his army settled in the city. The flames engulfed the entire city. Out of a sense of duty, people set fire to Moscow so that the city would not fall into the hands of the enemy.
Moscow was not built right away
If you try to imagine how many times the Kremlin has changed its appearance, just remember 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 oak walls of the Kremlin with white stone, towers were rebuilt from the same white stone. The reason for such a serious change was the fires that often engulfed the city, but this did not add strength to the walls of the Kremlin, becausethe white stone deteriorated rather quickly, and soon the structures “floated”. In 1485, together with Italian architects, they managed to build the Kremlin from baked bricks, such a reconstruction took decades. It was during this period that the Kremlin increased its area and took on the shape of an irregular triangle. The buildings inside also underwent a number of changes. Something was reconstructed and rebuilt from other material, something was mercilessly 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 changes for a long time.
Moscow during 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 because of 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 this, considering such actions to be desertion and cowardice, rather than caution and farsightedness. The transfer of the capital was accompanied by a split within the Bolshevik Party, the leaders disagreed, but a heated discussion, which did not lead to anything, ended thanks to the cunning and enterprise of Lenin. When Moscow became the capital of Russia, the relocation of the government had already begun, but there were still many dissatisfied with this decision, so Latvian riflemen were sent to protect it. Under Malaya Vishera, the train in which Lenin was, collided with the echelonarmed 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 secrecy, information was spread 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 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 agglomerations, 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 is in this city that international embassies of different countries have found a place, most of all Russian banks are concentrated here. If you remember under which emperor Moscow became the capital of Russia, then you can imagine how valuable 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.
Orthodox Moscow
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 you remember in what year Moscow became the capital of Russia, you can understand what role faith played in those days. This 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 as the Trinity Cathedral until the seventeenth century), located on Red Square in the city center. It is an association of nine churches at once, dedicated to the holidays that coincided with the days of the 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 have repeatedly changed the appearance of the cathedral, because it fell victim to fires in wooden Moscow, but has not lost 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, prospects are known. 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 at the same time 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 include not only an increase in the territory, now five main projects have been identified, affecting mostly landscapingareas, expanding leisure opportunities. The changes will affect the Moscow River. There are plans to use the embankment areas for entertainment complexes, to improve a separate area with limited traffic there, to create the largest area - "ecological islands" that would help make the water cleaner. The 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 the plan and makes us believe that in just thirty years Moscow will change its appearance and truly become the city of the future.
