Moscow

Moscow is the capital of Russia. First tribes appeared on the territory of future Moscow in the neolithic period. The oldest settlements, dated as 3,000 BC, were discovered within the area of the present-day city. In the second half of the first millennia of our era, Slavic tribes occupied areas near Moscow. These were "vyatichi," regarded as a core element of Moscow`s future population. Reference to Moscow, as being a town, is registered in an ancient manuscript of 1147. In 1156, Prince Yury Dolgoruky erected timber walls around Moscow, and a moat. He is generally regarded as a founder of Moscow, and his monument is among the most honoured in the city. The Tatar-Mongolian invasion in 1237-38 brought massive destruction to Moscow. But it recovered rapidly in the second half of the 13th century and became capital of the independent Moscow principality. During the 14th- and the first half of the 15th-centuries, Moscow was a relatively large city with a sizeable industrial and trading population. At the end of the 15th century, during Ivan III`s princedom, Moscow became capital of Russia. The Kremlin, built at the beginning of the 15th century, is a structure of that epoch. For the purposes of improving the defence of Moscow and its inhabitants, a number of fortified structures such as Novodevichy in the south-west, Donskoy and Danilovsky in the south, Simonov and Novospassky in the south-east, and Andronnikov in the east, were built.

Development of commerce and trade gave new impetus to advances in science and the arts. A number of fundamental manuscripts, such as "Domostroy" and "Stoglav," great architectural buildings such as the "Kremlin" and "Pokrovsky Church," and the first Russian printed book, "Apostol" by Ivan Feodorov, were created. Moscow was attacked by the Polish-Lithuanian army in the 17th century and was conquered. But a people`s militia was organised, and Moscow was liberated in 1612. During the reign of Peter the First, science and the arts both in Moscow and all over Russia progressed strongly. In 1755, Moscow University was opened, and in 1703, the first printed newspaper ("Vedomosti") appeared. Moscow architecture reached its peak of perfection in the second half of the 18th century due to advanced Russian architects V.I. Bazhenov (Pashkov`s house), and M.F. Kazakov (the Senate building.) In the 19th century, Moscow remained an important political, goverment and business centre. During the French invasion, Napoleon said: "If I capture Kiev, I take Russia by the feet, if I capture Petersburg, I take it by its head and if I capture Moscow, I`ll destroy its heart."

A people`s army was organised in 1812 to withstand the French invasion, and the famous Borodino battle took place in August, not far from Moscow. This is thought to have been essential for victory, though the clash itself was more failure than triumph. Moscow was left to Napoleon`s troops, but not before it was torched by Moscovites themselves. Fires and hunger compelled the French army to leave, and Russian troops entered soon after, in October. After liberation, a commission was appointed for the city`s reconstruction. Talented architects Beauve and Grigoriev were among its members.

The present-day appearance of Moscow`s centre was founded in those times. Thus, Alexandrov Garden and Theatre Square appeared alongside the Bolshoi and Maly theatres, as well as the buildings of Manezh and the First Gradskaya Hospital. The 19th century is known as a "golden age" for science and the arts, and Moscow was a birthplace for many famous artists, writers, painters and scientists. A number of outstanding politicians were also from the city. The world is familiar, of course, with figures whose talents and ideas made the glory of Russia: Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Herzen, Pirogov, Sklifosofsky, Vasnetsov, Serov, Levitan and many others. Communist ideas of Karl Marx became popular in Moscow, studied in secret meetings by workers and the intelligentsia. They became enthusiastic and organised revolutionary groups. Their activities resulted in a series of rebellions, one of them - the Krasnaya Presnya rebellion of 1905 - said to have been the most successful. July strikes of 1914 were the next conspicuous stage in a revolutionary process finalised by the February, and the "Great October" Revolution of 1917. The new government was headed by Lenin and the capital was again transferred from Petersburg-Petrograd to Moscow.

Today, Moscow is the largest economic, political and scientific centre of Russia. The capital houses enterprises from various sectors: black and nonferrous metals, mechanical engineering, metal-working, building materials, light industry and food-processing, defense complexes and more. Other sectors include automobile manufacturing, aviation, machine-building, textiles and construction. Moscow is the largest transport centre of Russia and Eastern Europe. The "opening" of Russia to the West and changes in the political climate are driving optimism about the future of this great city.