_Origin and Early History_
"Away in the depths of the primeval forest, where one heard the low
chanting of the solitary hermit in his retreat, arises the glorious
Kremlin of Moscow town."
M. DMITRIEV.
It is generally believed that the word Moscow is of Finnish origin; in
an old dialect _kva_ means water, the exact significance of _Mos_ is
undecided, probably Moskva implies "the-way," simply--the water-route to
some trading point reached by this river from the Volga and Oka. It was
the name by which the river was known, and from time immemorial there
have been villages on the banks of the stream near the present town of
Moscow.
In the ninth century the hill which the Kremlin now covers was virgin
forest. According to tradition Bookal, a hermit, was living there in
882, when Oleg, on his return to Novgorod from Kief, paused there and
laid the first stone of the city. Sulkhovski, who had access to the
archives of Moscow prior to their removal on the French invasion,
asserts that there was documentary proof of this then in existence, but
his statement lacks confirmation.
The chroniclers make no mention of Moscow until 1147. Between the
foundation of the Rurik dynasty and this date the dominion of the
Northmen had extended, and, divided and subdivided as generation
succeeded generation, was split up into many districts, each ruled by a
descendant of Rurik. These princes all claimed kinship, admitted the
rights of their elders and the rule of the head of the house in Kief. In
addition to the residences of the princes, their _drujni_, that is "war
companions" or friends, had "halls," and held, subject to their prince,
one or more villages. In the twelfth century one Stephen Kutchko had his
hall near the Chisty Prud in Moscow, and the villages between the Moskva
and the Yauza, with others, were within his lordship.
In 1147 Yuri Dolgoruki, the Prince of Suzdal, in whose country Moscow
was situated, agreed to meet his kinsmen Sviatoslaf and Oleg of Novgorod
on the banks of the Moskva river, and thither they came with their
_drujni_, and others, all of whom were so sumptuously entertained by
Yuri, that the fame of Moscow and of Yuri was noised abroad.
As the river Moskva was a highway for traffic between Suzdal, Vladimir
and the Volga in the east, with Smolensk in the west and Kief in the
south, the villages on its banks were important. The hill on which the
Kremlin stands appeared to Yuri a point of vantage, and, as it was near
the boundary of his territory, he there constructed a fortress and also
built, or rebuilt or enlarged, the church which served for the
inhabitants of the village of Kutchkovo hard by, and for those of other
villages in the neighbourhood.
All chroniclers agree that Yuri was the first to make a stronghold of
the hill on the Moskva; most state further that he put to death Stephen
Kutchko, but attribute this act to different causes. One story has it
that Yuri wished to wed the wife of Stephen, so put him out of the way.
As Yuri was but recently married to a kinswoman of Mstislaf, and so
allied to the dominant house in Novgorod, this story is improbable.
Another legend is to the effect that Kutchko, proud
[Illustration: THE KREMLIN, FROM THE MOSKVA]
of his village, refused due homage to his superior lord, and so
suffered; and another that a village was taken from Kutchko to endow
Andrew Bogoloobski, a son of Yuri's wedded to the daughter of a
neighbouring boyard, whence the trouble. This last story is supported by
the fact that later the sons of the killed Kutchko conspired against the
enriched Andrew Bogoloobski; one was killed in attacking him, whilst the
other succeeded in avenging a wrong done. Later historians are of
opinion that Kutchko was an interloper from Black Russia or Podolia,
trespassing on the territory of Yuri, who treated him as a usurper.
It was in 1156 that Moscow became a town--just a cluster of dwellings on
the Kremlin hill with a fence extending from the narrow stream
Neglinnaia (now a covered sewer under the Alexander Gardens), from the
Troitski Gate to the Moskva at, or near, the Tainitski Gate. The chief
house was built on the spot now covered by the Orujnia Palata. A church,
_Spass na Boru_, St Saviour of the Pines, is supposed to have existed
where the church of that name, the oldest building in the Kremlin, now
stands. Another church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, once existed
nearer the foot of the hill, and its altar was removed to the chapel
adjoining the Borovitski Gate when a later erection was demolished. Both
of these churches were known as "In the Wood," and the name still
preserves the memory of the thick forest that once covered the hill, and
probably extended far and near on both sides of the Moskva.
The founder of Moscow, Kniaz Yuri Dolgoruki Vladimirovich, or, as the
English call him, Prince George Long-ith'-arm, Vladimir's son, was a son
of that Prince of Kief who married Gyda, the daughter of Harold II. of
England. Yuri, like his father, was a man of great energy and did much
to strengthen and improve the towns within his territory. He is
described as "above the middle height, stout, fair complexioned, with a
large nose, long and crooked; his chin small; a great lover of women,
sweet things and liquor; great at merry-makings, and not backward in
war."
For a century or more Moscow remained in obscurity, an insignificant
appanage of the younger sons of the princes of Suzdal. It was long
before any of the reigning house made it a place of residence. In the
meantime, a stronghold, it attracted traders and the attention of
enemies. Gleb of Riazan has the distinction of being the first to set
fire to the town, but the earliest enemy of importance was the Tartar.
In 1224 the Golden Horde defeated the Slavs in South Russia, destroyed
Kief, marched towards Novgorod Sverski, then, "without ostensible
reason," returned to Bokhara, to the camp of their leader, Khingiz Khan.
In 1237 Baati, a grandson of Khingiz, crossed the Volga and laid the
country waste. On the march of this horde westward Moscow was burnt;
Vladimir was first taken. There the princess and other persons of
distinction took refuge in a church, where they were burnt alive. Yuri
II., the reigning prince, absent at the time, then attempted revenge and
was slain in battle. There was little resistance; the Tartars subdued
many towns and reduced whole provinces; marched within sixty miles of
Novgorod Sverski, then again "without ostensible cause" turned eastward
and left Russia.
The Tartar was not driven from his own country; he raided because it was
his nature so to do. The object of these early incursions, as of
subsequent raids into Russian territory, was "to get stores of captives,
both boys and girls, whom they sell to the Turks and other neighbouring
Mahometan countries." Rich towns, therefore, could buy the Tartar off; a
fact
[Illustration: DANILOVSKI MONASTYR]
which influenced the later policy of the Muscovites. Poor towns and
ill-protected districts were, until a comparatively recent period,
liable to "slave-raids" from Tartars and others. The Sultan Ahmed I. of
Constantinople asked of Osman, his eldest son and heir, "My Osman, wilt
thou conquer Crete for me?" "What have I to do with Crete? I will
conquer the land of the white Russian girls," answered the boy. And as
he thought to do, so many of his race did. It was not until the present
century that the exchange of prisoners of war became the practice of
Turks and Russians. The Tartars, with their enormous crowd of captives,
could not winter in Russia, hence their timely withdrawal "without
ostensible cause" on several occasions.
Moscow was soon rebuilt after this Tartar invasion. A few years later
Michael Khorobrit, a brother of the successful Alexander Nevski, ruler
of Novgorod, succeeded to Moscow, and became its first actual prince;
but during the war the Lithuanians commenced against Novgorod in 1242,
Michael was killed. Tradition has it that this Michael was the builder
of the first cathedral of the Archangel in the Kremlin.
He was succeeded in Moscow by Daniel, the fourth son of Alexander
Nevski, and thenceforward the fortunes of Novgorod and Moscow were more
in common. Moscow was chief of the few villages Daniel received as his
portion. He made the most of it. In 1293 the Tartars, under Dudenia,
fired the town and destroyed the churches, monastery, and all buildings
on the Kremlin hill. Daniel set energetically to work to build a larger
and stronger town. He re-erected the church Spass na Boru; built the
cathedral of the Archangel, and that of the Annunciation; founded the
Danilof monastery, and incorporated the one known as Krutitski. He so
added to the town that it quickly became prosperous, and when he died in
1303 his son, George, succeeded to a position of wealth and power.
Daniel was of the line of Rurik, and from him were descended the
subsequently mighty race of Moscow Tsars. George acquired Mojaisk; then
began a struggle with Tver, which continued from father to son, lasted
eighty years. The quarrel arose from a disputed succession. Andrew,
Prince of Suzdal, died in 1304; George of Moscow, his nephew, wished to
succeed him. His right to do so was questioned by Michael of Tver, who
was cousin-german of the deceased. Michael, the eldest, was accepted by
the boyars, and his election was confirmed by the Tartars, who claimed
the right of appointing the sovereign. George then caused himself to be
recognised as a Prince of Novgorod, and still disputed. Michael besieged
him in Moscow, and for a time there was peace. Then George again
attempted to obtain Tver, and a second time he was forced to take refuge
in Moscow, which was again besieged by Michael.
Tokhta, Khan of the Golden Horde of Tartars on the Volga, died; he was
succeeded by Usbek, to whom George of Moscow at once repaired to do
homage and obtain favours. He so represented affairs to Usbek that he
obtained from him his sister Kontchaka in marriage, and was adjudged
rightful successor to Andrew of Suzdal. George returned to Russia
accompanied by a Mongol army under a _baskak_, one Kavgadi. The boyards
still supported Michael, who was a great fighter. Michael, refusing to
submit to Kavgadi, was accused of having drawn sword against an envoy of
the Khan, and later, when Kontchaka died, of having poisoned her. To
arrange this matter Michael, busy in defending his province against
other enemies, sent his twelve-year old son to the Horde; George went
himself and compassed the fall of his rival. The Khan reluctantly
complied with George's request for a sentence of death upon Michael; it
was no sooner granted than George hastened away to give it effect, and
Michael was done to death in his tent by George's servants. Michael
became a saint; George the all-powerful ruler of Moscow, Suzdal and
Novgorod.
Dmitri, of the "terrible eyes," son of Michael, succeeded to Tver and
determined upon revenge. When at last he met George of Moscow he slew
him, but for thus going against his superior prince was himself put to
death, and his brother, Alexander, succeeded him in Vladimir in 1325.
Such is the story of the little wooden town. Its rulers--with, possibly,
the exception of Daniel--regarded it merely as a property, the
possession of which might lead to the acquisition of a more important
capital. It flourished because it was in the midst of a country that was
self-supporting, as well as being conveniently situated as a mart for
the interchange of products from north and south, east and west. Its
disasters were such as other towns suffered; its advantages of site they
did not possess.