The most ancient cities in the world. The oldest city in the world: what is it
The question of "The most ancient city of Russia" has long been debatable for scientists and historians. The fact is that they single out several settlements at once, as the most ancient city in Russia.
Among them is Old Novgorod
Derbent
.
Derbent is located in Dagestan and it was built many years before our era, and, accordingly, long before the founding of Kievan Rus itself and the Russian Empire in general.
Now Derbent is part of the Russian Federation and on this basis, a huge number of scientists attribute it to the status of "The Most Ancient City of Russia". Critics of this theory, no less distinguished scientists and historians, point out that this city cannot be considered the most ancient city of Russia, even because it was when there was no reminder about Russia or Russia. In addition, this region is significantly different from ancient Russia and, in general, from the culture of the Russian people, so it is difficult to attribute it to a Russian city. Like it or not, it is up to each individual to decide. It remains only to say that a true patriot of his country should know at least a little the history of his fatherland.
Adding fuel to the fire, I would like to note that the dispute over the status of the most ancient city in Russia also enters
If Ancient Novgorod was founded in 859, then Murom marked its formation in 862,
but this date cannot be considered 100% true, since the only source of its mention is the Tale of Bygone Years.
Research is being carried out in this city, according to the results of which, it is already becoming known that even before 862 there were settlements of the Finno-Ugric peoples, who called this city by its current name (Murom). The Finno-Ugric people themselves appeared in these parts as early as the 5th century AD, respectively, the city may well claim the title of the oldest in Russia, since it may already be about 1500 years old at the moment
It is also worth mentioning one of the oldest cities in Russia, which is called
Bryansk .
It is officially believed that it was founded in 985. Over the years of its formation, the city has undergone minor changes in the name, since initially it was called Debriansk. The first mention of the city is in the Hypatian Chronicle, which dates back to 1146.
As we can see, the question of the most ancient city in Russia remains debatable to this day. It is extremely difficult to find the true truth, but knowing the facts about the cities of your country is necessary and interesting.
Smolensk
is one of the first cities of Russia. In the dated part of The Tale of Bygone Years, it was first mentioned under 862 as the center of the Krivichi tribal union. 
According to the Ustyuzhensky (Arkhangelsk) vault in the record under 863, when Askold and Dir, on a campaign from Novgorod to Tsargrad, bypassed the city, since the city was heavily fortified and crowded. In 882, the city was captured and annexed to the Old Russian state by Prince Oleg, who handed it over to Prince Igor, from whose infancy power in the city was exercised by governors and squads, and general administration was carried out from Kyiv.
Staraya Russa is an ancient provincial town in the Novgorod region. His exact age is not known, since Karamzin had a hand in history, who confused many events in ancient Russia.
Veliky Novgorod appears on a paper five-ruble banknote, and Staraya Russa on an iron ten-ruble coin.
So judge who is older.
The city of Staraya Russa is mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years, the fundamental book of the history of Russia. The city stands on museum values. The area of the ancient settlement is 200 hectares, and excavations were carried out carelessly on one thousandth of this territory. Staraya Russa is an ideal springboard for those who want to make a historic discovery.
Temple of the Miraculous Icon of the Old Russian Mother of God
Velikiy Novgorodconsidered to be the oldest.
At least that's what almost every resident of the city thinks. The date of reckoning is 859. The grandiose city, washed by the waters of the Volkhov River, became the progenitor of Christianity in Russia, the Kremlin and numerous architectural monuments remember the rulers of the early period of our state. This version is also supported by the fact that Novgorod has always been a Russian city and there is a starting age calculation (not something blurry, such and such a century ...).
Another version that also has the right to exist is the one that most historians insist on.
Staraya Ladoga- the most ancient city of Russia. Now Staraya Ladoga has the status of a city and the first mention of it comes to us from the middle of the VIII century. Tombstones have been preserved that date back to 753 year . Not so long ago, when visiting Staraya Ladoga, V.V. Putin decided to conduct additional studies of the city's environs in order to nominate it for the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, and this will serve as an impetus for studying its history.
In Staraya Ladoga, a church has been preserved in which, according to legend, the descendants of Rurik were baptized.
The debate on this subject will not cease for a long time, until irrefutable evidence is found:
Belozersk (Vologda region) - 862
From the name of Lake Beloe and happenedBelozersk city name.
The first mention of the city refers to 862 in the Tale of Bygone Years under the name Beloozero. This date is also the date of foundation of the current Belozersk.Initially, the city was located on the northern shore of the White Lake, in the Ⅹ century it was moved to the southern shore, where it stood until 1352.
From 1238, the city became the center of the Belozersky Principality, and from 1389 it passed into the Principality of Moscow. The city was devastated by epidemics in 1352 and revived again, flourished in the ⅩⅥ century and fell into decay at the end of the ⅩⅦ century.
At the beginning of the 2nd century, the development of the city was promoted by the Belozersky bypass canal (construction of the Mariinsky water system). Timber industry materials are transported to St. Petersburg with the help of the canal Belozersk. With the opening of the Volga-Baltic waterway, Belozersk established links with other industrial cities.
The current coat of arms of the city was approved on October 12, 2001 and is: "In a shield wavy-crossed with azure and silver, at the top there is a broadened cross over a silver crescent, at the bottom there are two silver sterlets with scarlet fins, thinly bordered with azure." The former coat of arms was approved under Soviet power in 1972.
Former and current coat of arms of Belozersk
The architecture of Belozersk is a complex of one-story buildings built in 1846 along the embankment of the Belozersk Canal. Five of its buildings are arranged symmetrically
* The Kremlin and the Transfiguration Cathedral - a ring of earthen rampart surrounded on all sides by a moat. The earthen rampart and the moat amaze with their scale. A three-span stone bridge leads across the moat to the territory of the Kremlin. In the center of the Kremlin rises the five-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior.
* Church of the All-Merciful Savior (1716-1723) - the five-domed church is one of the first stone churches in the city.
* Church of Elijah the Prophet (1690-1696) - a wooden three-tier one-domed church in the western part of the city
* The Church of the Assumption (1553) is the oldest building in Belozersk. This five-domed temple together with the Church of the Epiphany make up an architectural complex. At the moment, these churches are active.
* Belozersky Museum of Art and History - the museum is divided into 8 parts, for example
- "Museum Russian hut"
- "Museum of the History of the Region"
- "Museum of Nature"
* A monument created on the 1112th anniversary of the city (pay attention to the date) boat, symbolizing that the history of the city is closely connected with waterways.
Rostov (Yaroslavl region) - 862
Smolensk - 862
Speaking about the antiquity of the city, scientists are based on the first written references in the annals and chronicles about the emergence of the settlement. But archaeological finds allow us to push the city back a few centuries further into history. The deeper the history of the existence of the settlement, the more hardships befell the city. Therefore, many of them were often recreated practically from scratch after various pogroms, raids, conquests and epidemics. For example, in the west of the country, the ruins of ancient cities are found, which will be “older” than Pskov, Suzdal or Bryansk. We will consider the historical prescription of the currently existing cities of Russia.
The oldest cities in Russia. List
If we put all the current Russian cities on a time scale, taking into account their foundation, it turns out that about 56 cities were built before the arrival of the Tatar-Mongols to Russia, 111 settlements were founded during the Time of Troubles and the organization of a single state. The oldest cities in Russia are Novgorod, which in ancient times had the same status as Kyiv; Smolensk - connecting the trade, economic, military and political hub between Northern and Southern Russia; Murom, Rostov-Veliky, Beloozero and, of course, Derbent.
Velikiy Novgorod
The capital of the Novgorod Republic from the beginning of the 12th to the middle of the 15th century. The name of the city confirms the Old Norse sagas, which called Russia the "country of cities" - Gardarika. According to some reports, Novgorod was preceded by Staraya Ladoga, which was founded by Rurik before ascending the throne of Novgorod.
The location of the city was very advantageous from the economic point of view, as it connected the financial and trade flows of the West with the East. Crafts and trade actively developed in Novgorod, and its inhabitants were considered the most educated among the European population. This is evidenced by multiple birch bark letters dated 11-16th centuries.
Glorious Smolensk
This city is also included in the group "The Oldest Cities of Russia". There is an authoritative scientific assumption that Smolensk, which is mentioned in the chronicles in 862, located in the present place, was founded only in the 11th century, and before that it was located 12-15 km to the west, in the area of the present Gnezdovoye village.
The city was the capital of the Smolensk Principality, it is located in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, the famous route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed through it.
At all times, Smolensk was a major center that controlled a large territory. It was one of 8 provinces formed by Peter the Great in 1708. In the future, the city remained the main regional settlement during the formation of regions in the Soviet era.
Legendary Murom
The first written information about the city is found in the Laurentian Chronicle of 862. It got its name from the Finno-Ugric tribes living nearby - Murom. We know the city from such a legendary hero as Ilya Muromets.
Nowadays, Murom is one of the main industrial centers of Russia, where the machine-building industry plays an important role.
Rostov Veliky
This city is not only one of the most ancient settlements of Russia, but also the oldest city of the Golden Ring of Russia. He is mentioned in the same Laurentian Chronicle of 862. Rostov used to be the capital of the Rostov Principality. Since the 15th century it has been part of Muscovy. In the 17th century, the city became the largest religious center, in which many churches, monasteries and the Kremlin were built.
Since the 1970s, the city has had the status of a reserve.
Ancient Belozersk
This city was called Beloozero until the end of the 18th century. It is one of those settlements that have changed their original location. Its history is buried in centuries, which is why it is on the list of "the oldest cities in Russia." Initially, the ancient settlement was located on the shore of Lake Beloe. And only in the 10th century it was moved to the coast of the Sheksna River. For more than a hundred years the city was the capital of the principality of the same name, after which it became part of the Moscow kingdom. After a devastating epidemic (plague), the city moved 20 km to the west.
Nowadays, Belozersk is an ordinary regional center with a small industrial potential. Architectural monuments, numerous monasteries and temples have turned it into a tourist town.
What is the oldest city in Russia?
Derbent is listed as the oldest urban-type settlement built on the territory of the Russian Federation. It was founded in 438 as a fortress guarding the Russian state at the crossroads of Europe and Asia in the Caucasus. For a long time it served as a border town, to which many Decembrists objectionable to the government were often sent into exile.
The famous writer A. Dumas spoke about Derbent in his memoirs as “the most beautiful and delightful place”.
At the present time, Derbent is the second most important and by the number of inhabitants among the settlements of Dagestan.
Thanks to historical monuments of antiquity and various sights, the town is one of the mass tourist centers of southern Russia. But in addition to tourism, woolen and canning industries are well developed in Derbent.
One of the oldest cities in the world
Recent events on the political map of the world have made some adjustments to the category of "the oldest cities in Russia." For a long time, the ancient territories of the once unified state were cut off from each other. It happened historically, following the political will of certain politicians, leaders and just traitors. But the "wheel of time" turned the other way, and another ancient city returned to its "native shores", built when Russia still did not really exist.
We are not now interested in which is the oldest city in the world. In Russia, this is Kerch, which is located on the eastern coast of the Crimean peninsula. According to various sources, it was founded 2.5-2.6 thousand years ago. On the territory of the modern city there were already settlements of the Cimmerians in the 17-15th centuries BC. But the story is better known, when in the 7th c. BC e. in these places the ancient Greeks organized their colony, whose goal was to resist the indigenous settlers of these lands - the Scythians. In the 4th c. BC e. the city is part of the Bosporan kingdom.
Kerch became a Russian city in 1783, entering the structure of the newly formed Taurida province.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the city received administrative self-government.
The oldest port in Russia
The Russian state, wishing to break through to sea trade routes, not only conquered certain coastal territories, but also built cities - ports on the coast of the Black, Caspian and Baltic Seas. Which city is the oldest port in Russia? Any student will answer that Arkhangelsk, and he will be right.
On the founding of a port city on the shores of the White Sea and the river. Dvina is mentioned in 1584 in the "Dvina Chronicle".
Three years later, its first inhabitants were resettled in Arkhangelsk - 130 peasants from the surrounding villages. Through this port, goods of Russian and foreign origin were transported along the White Sea. Also, the center of trade with overseas merchants was moved to the city.
With the advent of the reign of Peter the Great, Arkhangelsk is rapidly developing not only in terms of trade, but also in the construction of new modern marine ships.
Nowadays, this city seems to be one of the main ports of Russia, through which there is a trade turnover with dozens of countries of the world.
So, the top ten includes: in Russia - this. Date of foundation - the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. Now this city is part of the Republic of Dagestan. The citadel, the old town and fortifications are included in the UNESCO Heritage List. (photos from the sites http://proffi95.ru and http://ru-tour.com)
It is followed by a village, - 753. Until 1703, the village was a city. The village is positioned as the "ancient capital of Northern Russia". Leningrad region. 
Date of foundation - 859 year. The historic center of the city and the monuments of the surrounding area are included in the UNESCO Heritage List. Novgorod region. 
Year of foundation - 862. Vladimir region. 
Year of foundation - 862. Included in the list of cities of the Golden Ring. Yaroslavl region. 
Year of foundation - 862. Now a village, used to be a city. Pskov region. 
Year of foundation - 862. In the "Tale of Bygone Years" it is referred to as Beloozero. Vologodskaya Oblast. (photo from http://nesiditsa.ru) 
The year of foundation is 862. Center of the Smolensk region. 
The year of foundation is 903. Center of the Pskov region. 
It was first mentioned in the annals in 1148, but some local sources provide other information: 937, 947, 952 and other years. Yaroslavl region. 
And 55 more cities:
Trubchevsk. Year of foundation - 975. Bryansk region.
Bryansk. The year of foundation is 985. Center of the Bryansk region.
The year of foundation is 990. The white-stone monuments of Vladimir are included in the UNESCO Heritage List. Included in the list of cities of the Golden Ring. Center of the Vladimir region.
Founded in 999. The white-stone monuments of Suzdal are included in the UNESCO Heritage List. Included in the list of cities of the Golden Ring. Vladimir region.
Kazan. The year of foundation is 1005. The Kazan Kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Yelabuga. Year of foundation - 1007. Republic of Tatarstan.
Founded in 1010. The historic center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Included in the list of cities of the Golden Ring. Center of the Yaroslavl region.
Kursk. Year of foundation - 1032. The center of the Kursk region.
Azov. Year of foundation - 1067. Rostov region.
Rybinsk. Year of foundation - 1071. Yaroslavl region.
Toropets. Year of foundation - 1074. Tver region.
starodub. Year of foundation - 1080. Bryansk region.
Year of foundation - 1095. The center of the Ryazan region.
Year of foundation - 1135. The center of the Tver region.
Volokolamsk. Year of foundation - 1135. Moscow region.
Roslavl. Year of foundation - 1137. Smolensk region.
Bezhetsk. Year of foundation - 1137. Tver region.
Mikhailov. Year of foundation - 1137. Ryazan region.
Onega. Year of foundation - 1137. Arkhangelsk region.
Olonets. Year of foundation - 1137. Republic of Karelia.
Totma. Year of foundation - 1137. Vologda region.
Torzhok. Year of foundation - 1139. Tver region.
Year of foundation - 1146. The center of the Tula region.
Dace. Year of foundation - 1146. Lipetsk region.
Mtsensk. Year of foundation - 1146. Oryol region.
The year of foundation is 1146. Moscow region.
Kargopol. Year of foundation - 1146. Arkhangelsk region.
Karachev. Year of foundation - 1146. Bryansk region.
Kozelsk. Year of foundation - 1146. Kaluga region.
Moscow. The year of foundation is 1147.
Veliky Ustyug. Year of foundation - 1147. Vologda region.
Belev. Year of foundation - 1147. Tula region.
Vologda. Year of foundation - 1147. Center of the Vologda region.
Dorogobuzh
Yelnya. Year of foundation - 1150. Smolensk region.
Year of foundation - 1152. Included in the list of cities of the Golden Ring. Yaroslavl region.
Year of foundation - 1152. Vladimir region.
Lgov
Rylsk. Year of foundation - 1152. Kursk region.
Kasimov. Year of foundation - 1152. Ryazan region.
Zvenigorod. Year of foundation - 1152. Moscow region.
Year of foundation - 1152. Included in the list of cities of the Golden Ring. Center of the Kostroma region.
Gorodets. Year of foundation - 1152. Nizhny Novgorod region.
Year of foundation - 1154. Moscow region.
Novosil. Year of foundation - 1155. Oryol region.
Kovrov. Year of foundation - 1157. Vladimir region.
Year of foundation - 1158. Vladimir region.
Galich. Year of foundation - 1159. Kostroma region.
Velikiye Luki. Year of foundation - 1166. Pskov region.
Staraya Russa. Year of foundation - 1167. Novgorod region.
Gorokhovets. Year of foundation - 1168. Vladimir region.
Year of foundation - 1177. Moscow region.
Livny. Year of foundation - 1177. Oryol region.
Kirov. Year of foundation - 1181. The center of the Kirov region.
Kotelnich. Year of foundation - 1181. Kirov region.
I'll probably stop there. Travel around your country, there are so many interesting things here!
Before naming the most ancient cities of Russia, it is necessary to clarify what is meant, a primordially Russian city that originally arose on the lands of Russia, or a settlement located on the territory of modern Russia. In the second case, the answer will be unequivocal - this is Derbent. It has been known about him since the 6th century BC, when there was no Russia at all.
Inhabited since time immemorial territory
Of course, the ancient settlements were, as excavations show, everywhere and on the territory of Moscow too. And in the Crimea, on the White Rock, a skeleton of a mother with a child, who is 150,000 years old, was found.
Later, during the Copper Age (Eneolithic), the settlements were already protected in every possible way, a prototype of fortresses appeared - the settlement was erected on a high place, a fence was built near the river. Archaeologists still have a lot of work to do - already now on the territory of our country there are hundreds of excavated settlements belonging to various temporary cultures. Herodotus mentions the wooden city of Gelon, which, according to some scientists, could be located on the territory of present-day Saratov. Much is known about the existence, especially in the Crimea, of ancient cities such as Tiras and Olbia, Tanais and Phanagoria. These cities and many others shaped medieval Russia. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that Rurik did not come from scratch.
One of many
There are many lists of ancient Russian cities, and they all differ. In some, some settlements are indicated, in some others, the dates of formation do not always coincide. Scientists argue, and new data appear. Below is one of the lists.
Founding dates |
||
Velikiy Novgorod | ||
Rostov the Great |
||
Belozersk |
||
Great Izborsk |
||
Smolensk | ||
Vladimir | ||
Yaroslavl |
Several Yet
Novgorod is the oldest
Most often, the list is headed by Veliky Novgorod, first mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 859. The mention is connected with Rurik, who came to Russia from Ladoga (based on this information, in some lists this settlement is indicated under the first number). By the middle of the 9th century, the advantageous location makes Novgorod the center of the northwestern lands and the first capital of Ancient Russia. The city is a major cultural, political and commercial center, leading the exchange of goods with many foreign countries.
But in 882, Prince Oleg conquers Kyiv and makes it his capital and leaves Novgorod. The city continued to develop quite successfully, becoming the first "window to Europe" for Russia. It can be noted that the first bishop arrived in Veliky Novgorod in 989.
Construction boom year
The second number in some list of "The most ancient cities of Russia" is Belozersk, founded in 862. I wonder whose efforts so many cities were founded this year? Beloozero (the second name of the city) was transferred several times - either it would flood it, or a pestilence would destroy half of the population. Trade routes along the Sheksna and Mologa rivers to the Volga and beyond passed through it. Both Novgorod and Belozersk are cities with a rich history, they still exist, but in this article they are interesting precisely as the ancient cities of Russia.
The list continues with the well-known, thanks to the great inmate Ilya, Moore. The history of this outpost originates from the settlement of the Oka by the Finnish Muroma tribe. The city was the capital of the Muromo-Ryazan principality. Due to the fact that he was in the border zone, the city was constantly subjected to raids. In 862, at the mouth of the Polota River, at its confluence with the Western Dvina, Polotsk (Polotesk) was founded. Polotsk became part of the Old Russian state in 907, there is documentary evidence of this. At the same time, the city of Rostov, which later became part of the Rostov-Suzdal Principality, was being built on the shores of Lake Nero.
Next on the list
Smolensk was founded a year later in 863. It is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. The favorable position on the Dnieper contributed to the rapid formation of the capital of the Krivichi. Smolensk is part of Kievan Rus as a strong principality. Pskov and Uglich, Bryansk and Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Kursk and Ryazan, Vladimir, Kostroma and Tver are also ancient cities of Russia. The list is supplemented by Moscow. But these are younger formations. So, Tver was founded in 1208. Initially, the city was part of the Novgorod principality, and then was annexed to the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. All these cities are the historical heritage of our country.
The history of the famous route
About 40 years ago, the newspaper "Soviet Russia" published a number of articles about ancient Russian cities, concentrated on the territory of several nearby regions. The golden-domed churches of these cities, located along a closed ring, gave the name to the new tourist route. The "Golden Ring of Russia" was born from newspaper essays, the term was coined by the writer Yuri Bychkov. Initially, this route included only eight of the most ancient Russian cities - Moscow and Sergiev Posad, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and Rostov the Great, Uglich and Yaroslavl, Kostroma and Ples, Suzdal and Vladimir, between them there is one more point - Bogolyubovo. These cities were selected according to a certain principle. For example, they represent all types of ancient Russian architecture, the development of which can be traced in stages.
unofficial center
The route gained popularity, it became a cult, but many ancient settlements were not covered. And now, the "Golden Ring of Russia" already includes 20 cities, special routes are being created in order to visit something else famous points.
There are cruises on the Volga under this name. The unofficial, but generally recognized capital of the entire "Golden Ring" is Vladimir - a city located 193 km from Moscow, where the route begins and ends. The Pearl of the Ring was founded in 1108. Vladimir Monomakh, who was actively engaged in urban planning, laid and surrounded the wooden fortress with an earthen rampart. His grandson Andrei Bogolyubsky, the city owes its flourishing. The famous Vladimir icon was brought to the city by him, and he also built for it the amazing church of the Assumption of the Mother of God. In 1157, Vladimir became the capital of the Old Russian state. The city continues to develop further. Since that time, many monuments have been preserved, and this center of ancient architecture impresses with its beauty preserved in its original form. The main attractions of the city are the Golden Gate, built in 1164, the Assumption Cathedral, painted by Andrei Rublev in the 12th century, the Dmitrievsky Cathedral, famous for its white stone carvings. These are far from all the historical and architectural monuments that Vladimir is rich in.
Glorified by warriors
All cities of the Golden Ring amaze and fascinate with primordially Russian beauty. Some occupy special niches. So, the city of Murom, instead of which Ivanovo sometimes appears in the list of 8 cities, is the oldest city in Russia. He, mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, remained pagan for a very long time. After the murder of the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise Mikhail in Murom, his father, the namesake of his grandfather, Prince Yaroslav laid siege to the city, and, taking it, baptized the inhabitants by force in 1097. Murom was destroyed by Batu, later ruined by the Tatars three times, it was plundered in the Time of Troubles, but his soldiers were always in the forefront of the defenders of the Motherland. City of Murom
gave Russia the most famous hero Ilya Muromets.
Handsome Suzdal
Even a page is not enough to list the monasteries, churches and bell towers of Suzdal, the open-air museum. Ancient monastery walls, belfries and gate churches - dozens of the most beautiful objects represent Russian architecture from the 12th to the 19th century. The city of Suzdal has a special attraction. White-stone churches and ancient monuments, of which there are up to 200 units in the city-museum, are under the protection of UNESCO. For the first time this beautiful city is mentioned in chronicles from 1024. Now everything is being done to attract more tourists. Street vendors of souvenirs and mead, buffoons and horse teams created an atmosphere of an endless holiday in the city.
Veliky Novgorod, due to its remoteness, is not included in the Golden Ring of Russia.
The data is still controversial, but at the moment this information is official.
At the moment, the population is 602,000 people.
Judging by the date of the first mention in the annals, Yaroslavl is the oldest existing city on the Volga. It was founded by Prince Yaroslav the Wise during his Rostov reign (988-1010) on a cape above the Strelka at or near the pagan settlement of Medvezhiy Ugol. On a site naturally protected from three sides (the steep high banks of the Volga and Kotorosl and the Medveditsky ravine, along which a stream flowed), the Yaroslavl Kremlin was built. The first mention of Yaroslavl - the “uprising of the Magi” caused by famine in the Rostov land - is dated 1071. The name of the city is traditionally associated with the name of its founder: "Yaroslavl" is a possessive form meaning "Yaroslavov".
In the XII century, the Yaroslavl Peter and Paul and Spassky monasteries already existed - then they were located outside the city. During the first two centuries of its existence, Yaroslavl remained a small border town of the Rostov-Suzdal land.
Kazan is the regional center, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The date of foundation is 1005. (The data is still not accurate, there is a version that the city was founded much earlier)
At the moment, the population is 1,206,100 people.
There are several versions and legends about the origin of the name of Kazan. Most often they appeal to the version of a boiled cauldron: the sorcerer advised the Bulgars to build a city where a cauldron of water dug into the ground would boil without any fire. As a result, a similar place was found on the shore of Lake Kaban. From here came the name of the city of Kazan - cauldron in ancient Bulgarian, as well as in modern Bulgarian and Tatar, means "cauldron". Other versions associate the name of the city with the landscape, the Tatar words kaen ("birch") or kaz ("goose"), Prince Hassan and other variants. I. G. Dobrodomov’s version is presented: “The primary name was the reconstructed Alanian-Burtas name Khadzang, associated with the location of the city at a sharp bend in the Volga channel. On Chuvash soil, it turned into Khuzan, and in Russian use, into Kazan"
Suzdal is a small city, which is part of the Vladimir region. Date of foundation - 999, or 1024.
At the moment, the population is 10,061 people.
In the annals, Suzdal is first mentioned when it speaks of the uprising of the Magi in 1024. According to A. A. Zaliznyak, Suzdal is mentioned in the oldest known Russian book, called the Novgorod Codex. The so-called "hidden texts" say that in 999 a certain monk Isaac was made a priest in Suzdal in the church of St. Alexander the Armenian.
Vladimir - Regional center. The date of foundation (one of the versions) is 990.
At the moment, the population is 350,087 people.
In the ancient form (used in oral speech to this day) - Volodymyr - the princely name Volodymyr is combined with the possessive suffix -јь-, that is, "the city of Vladimir". Toponyms in -јь- are the most ancient types characteristic of the names of Slavic cities. Over time, the name of the city, first in sound, and then in spelling, coincided with the personal name Vladimir.
In the past, the variants Vladimir-on-Klyazma and Vladimir-Zalessky were also used, which was associated with the existence of the city of the same name in Southwestern Russia - this is Vladimir-Volynsky in modern Ukraine, in the Volyn region. (The first mention of the southwestern city in the annals dates back to 988; Vladimir Svyatoslavich is considered the founder. Unlike Vladimir-on-Klyazma, the second component of the name Vladimir-Volynsky was officially fixed.)
Bryansk is a regional center. The city was founded in 985.
At the moment, the population is 408,472 people.
The city was first mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle as "Dbryansk" under 1146, later - in the Resurrection, Laurentian, Trinity Chronicles and other sources. The name of the city of Bryansk comes from the Old Russian word "Dbryansk", derived from the word dbr. The Old Russian word dbr / debr means "mountain slope, gorge, ditch, valley or lowland, overgrown with dense forest and shrubs." According to the law of falling weak er, the er between d and b fell out, and the complex combination of db was simplified to b.
Trubchevsk - Small town in terms of population. Bryansk region. The year of foundation is 975.
At the moment, the population is 14,073 people.
In early sources, the city is called Trubech, Trubezh, Trubetskoy, Trubchesky or Trubezhskoy. Initially, the settlement was located 10 km downstream of the Desna, near the modern village of Kvetun. The thickness of the cultural layer in the settlement was 60 - 80 cm. The lower layers belong to the Yukhnovskaya archaeological culture of the Early Iron Age. Dwellings and metallurgical furnaces have been explored in the Old Russian layers. Among the finds of the Old Russian period are brooches, glass bracelets and beads, coins (including the Byzantine Constantine VII). Judging by the finds of thin plinths and fragments of the golosnik, at the settlement in the 11th-12th centuries. there was a stone temple.
Uglich - First mentioned in the annals in 1148, however, some local sources provide other information: 937, 947, 952 and other years.
Uglich is a city in Russia, the administrative center of the Uglich district of the Yaroslavl region.
At the moment, the population is 32,766 people.
It got its name, in all likelihood, because the Volga makes a corner here. In addition, there are two opinions of probable versions: because coals were burned in this place, and because here, solely according to this hypothesis, the Uglich people were resettled from the Ugla River, a tributary of the Dnieper.
According to archaeological research, a settlement on the site of the Uglich Kremlin existed approximately from the beginning of our era with a short break in the region of the 5th-6th centuries.
Pskov is a small regional center. The year of foundation is 859.
At the moment, the population is 206,730 people.
The name of the city is connected with the hydronym - the river Pskova. There are various versions of the origin of the name of the city and the river. According to one of them - of Slavic origin - the name Pskov (Pleskov, Plskov) comes from the Old Russian word "ples" - part of the river between two bends, or from the word "sand". According to another version - of Baltic-Finnish origin - the name comes from the word piskava (in Liv), piskva, pihkva (in Estonian), meaning "resinous water" and reflects the polyethnicity of the early population of the city. Other interpretations of the hydronym are “splash”, “shine”, “fish river”, “sand”. Archaeologists have established that in Pskov X-XI centuries. the ancestors of the Slavs lived - Pskov Krivichi, representatives of the Baltic-Finnish, Baltic and Scandinavian tribes
Smolensk - Large city, regional center of the Smolensk region. The date of foundation is 863.
At the moment, the population is 330,961 people.
There are several versions of the origin of the city's name. So, for example, there are versions that it goes back to the name of the Smolnya River (Old Slavonic "smol" - black soil), or to the ethnonym Smolensk. The most common version of origin mentions "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks." The city was located at the end of the place where ships were dragged from the Western Dvina to the Dnieper. This portage passed through the original place of origin of Smolensk (now Gnezdovo), where local artisans tarred merchants' boats.
Belozersk (first name - Beloozero). The same age as Rostov the Great. Small town. Year of foundation - 862. Volgograd region.
At the moment, the population is 9,380 people.
Belozersk is one of the oldest cities in Russia. First mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years under 862 as the city of Beloozero, which participated in the calling of the Varangians. Archaeological evidence of the existence of the city at that time has not yet been found, although there are suggestions that it could be located on the northern shore of the White Lake.
Rostov the Great is the same age as the city of Murom, a small city included in the Yaroslavl region. In 1995, the Rostov Kremlin Museum-Reserve was included in the collection of especially valuable objects of the cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia.
At the moment, the population is 30,923 people.
The name of the city is traditionally, although not very confidently, associated with the Slavic personal name Rost (cf. Rostislav), from which the possessive adjective is formed with the help of the suffix -ov.
Rostov is mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. In the entry for 862, it is referred to as an existing city, which was owned by Rurik and where the "first inhabitants" belonged to the Merya tribe
Murom is a medium-sized city. It is part of the Vladimir region. Year of foundation - 862.
At the moment, the population is 111,474 people.
Murom was first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years under 862 among the cities subject to Prince Rurik after the calling of the Varangians.
Gleb Vladimirovich is considered the first specific prince of Murom. In 1088 the city was captured by the Volga Bulgars.
Veliky Novgorod is a small regional center in terms of population. The date of foundation is 859.
At the moment, the population is 219,971 people.
Veliky Novgorod is one of the oldest and most famous cities in Russia (in 2009 it officially celebrated its 1150th anniversary). The place of calling of the annalistic Rurik and the birth of Russian statehood. In the Middle Ages - the center of Novgorod Russia, and then the center of the Novgorod land as part of the Old Russian and Russian states. At the same time, in 1136 it became the first free republic on the territory of feudal Russia (from that moment, when Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich fled the battlefield after the battle at Zhdana Mountain, the powers of the Novgorod prince were sharply limited). For the period of time from 1136 to 1478, when Novgorod lost (as a result of the victory of the Moscow prince Ivan III the Great over the Novgorodians in the Moscow-Novgorod war of 1477-1478) political independence, it is customary to use the term “Novgorodskaya republic" (the government of the latter used the designation Mr. Veliky Novgorod).
Derbent - A city of average size, which is part of the Republic of Dagestan, the Russian Federation .. Date of foundation - the end of the 4th millennium BC. e.
At the moment, the population is 120,470 people.
Derbent is considered one of the oldest "living" cities in the world. The first settlements arose here in the early Bronze Age - at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e.. The first mention of the Caspian Gates - the most ancient name of Derbent - refers to the VI century. BC e., it is given by the famous ancient Greek geographer Hecateus of Miletus.
The modern city was founded in 438 AD. e. as a Persian fortress, consisting of a citadel (Naryn-kala) located on a hill and two stone walls going from it to the sea, which blocked a narrow (3 km) passage between the sea and the Caucasus mountains and protected the territory of the city from the north and south. Thus, Derbent is the oldest city in Russia[
