Moscow, Russian Federation

Moscow before 1917

The region of Moscow was inhabited at least since Neolithic times. In the eleventh century, the region was populated by several Slavic ethnic groups, prominently Viatichi and Krivichi. The first record of Moscow (as Moscov) in church chronicles is dated 1174. Moscov was mentioned as an outpost in the domain of Suzdal Prince Yuri Dolgoruki, who is popularly held to be the founder of the city. However, archaeological research shows that a small fortified settlement already existed at the inflow of the Neglinnaya River into the Moskva River. It specialized in trade and handicrafts and enjoyed merchant connections extending at least as far as Kiev (at that time the center of Kyivan Rus).

The political position of the Moscow Principality strengthened during the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. By the fourteenth century, Moscow emerged as the center of the Grand Duchy (Knyazhestvo) of Moscow. In the late fifteenth century, Moscow became the capital of the centralized Russian state. Its symbolic status was crystallized under the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1547–1584), the first tsar of the Tsardom of Russia. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, three fortification lines were constructed, the Kitai-Gorod (Trade City, the ancient territory of Moscow), the Belyi Gorod (White City, named after the white plastering of intricate fortifications roughly corresponding to contemporary Boulevard Ring roads), and the Zemlyanoi Gorod (Earth City, an earthen rampart that later became the Garden Ring roads). These fortifications essentially created the Moscow center region and its structure as we know it today.

[Page 518]Despite the decision of Tsar Peter I the Great to move the capital to the newly established Saint Petersburg in 1712, Moscow retained its importance and continued its growth. A modern education system started to focus on Moscow in the late seventeenth century. In 1755, the Decree of Empress Elizabeth established Moscow State University. In 1812, when Napoleon's army entered the city, Moscow suffered a devastating fire. French forces held Moscow for less than 40 days and were routed to leave the smoldering ruin of city buildings that had been mostly wooden. Moscow was swiftly rebuilt, and the fire opened the way for the first massively implemented urban planning effort.

The Scotsman William Hastie developed the first postfire plan in 1813, but it was rejected and a more feasible project plan was approved in 1817, written by the Commission for the Construction of Moscow led by famed architect Osip Bove. The plan was largely implemented under Moscow Governor-General Fyodor Rostopchin. Landmark developments included dismantling the obsolete Earth City and White City fortifications as well as many other defensive structures and constructing several prominent buildings such as the Manezh (Riding Arena) near the Kremlin.

...