Basic information about Moscow. History of Moscow. Modern Moscow

Moscow is one of the largest megacities of the world, a city where decisions have been made many times, which prove to be fateful for the population of whole countries and even continents. Every year it is visited by 4-5 million foreign tourists. And for most of them the words "Russia", "Moscow" and "Kremlin" are in a sense synonymous, and they do not try to go beyond the traditional excursion program, see the little-known and modern sights of our capital, and also get acquainted with its history. But the past of this city is incredibly interesting, as well as the events that take place there every day.

Basic information about Moscow

According to the data of 2014, the population of Moscow is 12,108,257 people, 91% of which are Russian. The city is located on the bank of the river of the same name, in the central part of the East European Plain. At the same time, Moscow is a city of federal significance, where practically all the most important authorities of our state are located, except for the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

The beginning of Moscow's history

Although it is commonly believed that the city was founded in 1147, archaeological finds suggest that it is at least 1,000 years old. Also, there are reasons to believe that the first residents of these places were Vyatichi. Thus, the exact date of the formation of Moscow is not known. Why on September 6, 2014 in the Russian capital celebrated the 867th anniversary of the city? The fact is that the main information about Moscow concerning the first centuries of its existence is contained in the famous Ipatiev Chronicle. In particular, it is there that you can read the first entry about the village with this name, located on the site of the modern Pottery Street. This monument of ancient Russian literature mentions the meeting in the town of Moscow of the princes Yury Dolgoruky, Svyatoslav Olgovich, and their friends in 1147 on the day "Heel on the praise of the Virgin", which, according to the calculations of the researchers, means Saturday, April 4.

In addition, it is known from the chronicles that nine years later the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei Bogolyubsky, founded a small wooden fortress on Borovitsky Hill , where the prince's squadron was stationed. Around this consolidation, Moscow began to develop. The history of the city also contains information that in 1177 the old fortress was burned by Prince Gleb, the ruler of Ryazan, and a new one was built in its place.

Further history of Moscow

In the 13th century the city became the center of the specific principality and for the next 100 years survived the Horde invasion, the plague epidemic, as well as the treacherous attack and plunder by the army of the Khan Tokhtamysh. Despite all these events, Moscow gradually turned into one of the most important economic, cultural, religious and political centers of Russia. Especially much for the development of the city at that time made princes Ivan Kalita and Dmitry Donskoy. In particular, the basic information about Moscow at the time show that the first of them built an oak, and the second - a white-stone Kremlin.

The next important events in the history of Moscow were the proclamation of Ivan the Terrible as the tsar of Moscow and all Russia and the establishment of the patriarchate there in 1589.

Moscow from the 17th to the 20th century

The role of the city in the life of Russia with the first tsars from the Romanov dynasty, when it was the capital of a state with a huge territory, grew inexpressibly. That's what pre-Petrine Moscow was! The history of the city in the following centuries is also not devoid of interesting events. True, since 1712 the capital was St. Petersburg, but all the monarchs who ascended the throne of the Russian Empire continued to be crowned in Moscow. Moreover, in 1812 the city became a huge fire trap for Napoleon and defended the country.

Moscow in the 20th century

After the revolution of 1917, the city regained the status of the capital and began to change before our eyes. In particular, in Moscow there was a subway, MKAD was built, active development of former suburbs began. At the same time, many monuments of religious architecture were destroyed, including the Passion Monastery, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Church of the Assumption, and others.

So began to become a "Soviet" Moscow. The history of the city of this period also contains a tragic page connected with its heroic defense during the Great Patriotic War, when hundreds of thousands of inhabitants sacrificed their lives to prevent the enemy from entering their beloved capital. All the more joyful was the day when the famous Victory Parade took place on Red Square , marking the end of the most terrible war in the history of mankind. As for the post-war period, in 1947 the 800th anniversary of Moscow was celebrated, which marked the beginning of the formation of a tradition that is still alive, and in the 1950s so-called "Stalin skyscrapers" appeared in the city. Among the significant events that occurred in the capital of the USSR, one can not help mentioning the Olympics-80, for which 15 new sports facilities and the same number of hotels were built in the city.

The beginning of the post-Soviet period of the history of Moscow

As is known, the USSR disintegrated in 1991, and Russia appeared on the political map of the world, or, as it is more often called in the world, Russia. Moscow has become the capital of a federal state with the largest territory in the world, consisting of 85 entities. In 1995, such new official symbols of the Russian capital as its flag, emblem and hymn were approved.

A little earlier, the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, blown up by the Bolsheviks, as well as other religious shrines that were destroyed in the years of God-fighters, began. Thus, modern Moscow began to be formed, based on the traditions of the previous centuries.

The most significant new architectural structures of the capital

Since the beginning of the 2000s, many skyscrapers have been built in Moscow that have changed the face of the city. Among such objects, the buildings of the international business center "Moscow City", which are located on the territory of a total area of about 100 hectares, are especially noteworthy. In addition, were built and other skyscrapers, intended for housing and offices. Thus, modern Moscow is gradually turning into a city where multi-storey buildings-towers made of glass and concrete are no longer a rarity. However, such structures sometimes "grew up" in historical areas and disfigured their appearance, since they were not at all in harmony with the surrounding urban landscape. Fortunately, since 2008, this method of construction, called "spot development", was banned.

New monuments of the capital

In the last two decades, a number of new monuments and tourist sites have been added to the Moscow sights. For example, the sculptural composition "Children - victims of adult vices" is very interesting. Also guests of the city should see the sculptural portraits of the heroes of the stories of Conan Doyle, the monument to Nikulin, the fountain "Pushkin and Natali", Luzhkov Bridge. And, of course, we can not fail to mention the giant monument to Peter the Great, who, despite contradictory opinions about its artistic value, has already become one of the most recognizable modern sights of the capital. In addition, it is necessary to see a monument to the heroes of the First World War, established in 2014 year.

From this article you received basic information about Moscow, its history and modern sights. This city is proud of Russia. Everyone must see it with their own eyes.