Celebrating the day of the city of Moscow: date, events

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Speaking of the day of the city of Moscow, one cannot but recall its long and glorious history. It has existed for at least 870 years. Moscow was first mentioned in written sources in the middle of the 12th century. Favorable geographical position played a big role in its formation as the center of the Russian state. Everything that happened before and is happening to her now is interesting not only to Muscovites, but also to many other residents of our country. About the day of the city in Moscow and how it is celebrated, will be discussed in the article.

Ipatiev Chronicle about the origin of Moscow

For the first time, scientists learned such a name as "Moscow" from the Ipatiev Chronicle. This is one of the oldest and most authoritative sources covering ancient Russian history. It dates back to the beginning of the 15th century and was originally located in the Ipatiev Monastery near Kostroma.

According to chronicles, the year of foundation of the city of Moscow is 1147, and its founder is Yuri Dolgoruky, who at that time headed the Rostov-Suzdal Principality. the dateDay of the City of Moscow is focused on the time when the following events occurred.

Building a wooden city

Initially, on the site of the future capital was the city of Kuchkov, whose name comes from the name of the boyar Stepan Kuchka, who owned local lands. He was executed by Yuri Dolgoruky, allegedly because he did not want to give his lands to the prince. After that, having looked around the surroundings, Dolgoruky ordered the construction of a city made of wood to begin. It was named after the Moskva River, at the confluence of which with the Neglinnaya River it is located.

Construction began with the erection of the Kremlin walls, which served to protect local settlers and newcomers to live. And also from the erection of the princely courtyard and several other buildings. At the same time, Yuri Dolgoruky spread Christianity among the people who were under the influence of paganism and sorcery. The origin of the name "Moscow" has not been established today.

Slavophile Initiative

The celebration of Moscow City Day dates back to 1847. Then it was dedicated to the glorious anniversary - the city turned 700 years old. The idea to celebrate this event was expressed by two public figures, historians and writers - M. P. Pogodin and K. S. Aksakov. Both of them were spokesmen for the ideas of such a philosophical trend as Slavophilism, which promoted the identity of Russia and its special political and cultural path. At the same time, the European peoples were condemned by him for atheism and falling into heresy.

In 1846 by K. S. Aksakova discussion was started about the role of the city in historical events. The idea of Russia celebrating the Day of the City of Moscow was supported by the Moscow Metropolitan and Governor General. It was decided to start the celebrations in the spring of 1847 and celebrate for three days. The event plan looked like this:

• Day 1: Celebrations related to church traditions.
• Day 2: Festive meeting within the walls of Moscow University and a ball organized by the mayor.
• Day 3: Folk fun with gift distribution.

The first celebration in the Russian Empire

However, these plans were not destined to come true. This was due to the prejudice of Tsar Nicholas I towards the initiators of the celebration - the Slavophiles, since they represented one of the opposition movements. By his order, the Day of the City of Moscow was postponed to January 1, 1847 and limited to one day.

The first celebration in the Russian Empire was different from what was originally intended and looked like this:

• Metropolitan Philaret in one of the churches of the Chudov Monastery, located on the territory of the Kremlin, said a prayer in honor of the City Day of Moscow. Prayers were also held in many temples praising the ancient capital.
• In the evening, an attempt was made to arrange illumination with oil lamps, lighting up the Kremlin, the university, the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, the mayor's house and the Novodevichy Convent. However, almost immediately a strong wind blew up, andmost of the lights were out. At this, events in honor of Moscow ended, and more in the era preceding the revolutionary events in Russia were not held.

Resumption of City Day in the USSR

After the revolution, the Day of the City of Moscow, although periodically celebrated, did not have a large scale. The very first celebration, characterized by a large scale, was held after the war, in 1947, in connection with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. This time the initiator was G. Popov, the chairman of the Moscow City Executive Committee. His proposal was approved by I. V. Stalin, who issued a decree on holding celebrations in September.

An organizing committee was set up at the government level, which included such prominent figures of that era:

• L. P. Beria - as a representative of the Central Committee of the Politburo of the Bolshevik Party.
• A. Y. Vyshinsky - Deputy. head of the USSR Foreign Ministry.
• S. I. Vavilov - President of the Academy of Sciences.
• S. V. Bakhrushin is a historian.
• A. V. Shchusev - architect.

Events dedicated to the celebration

On the eve of the holiday, the following events were held:

• The monument to Yuri Dolgoruky was laid, which was erected later, in 1954. He stands in front of the Moscow City Hall.
• The medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" was established. It was awarded to Muscovites and residents of the suburbs who lived in Moscow for at least five years and took part in its reconstruction.
• The Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art was opened. Hisplaced in the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery and named after Andrei Rublev, the great icon painter who painted the Spassky Cathedral.
• The Moscow-Volga Canal, which bore the name of Stalin, was given a new name - the Moscow Canal.

Celebrating 7 September 1947

As planned, the holiday took place in September, the 7th. It was dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the battle near the village of Borodino, located 125 kilometers west of the capital. By this date, the city has been renovated, roads and facades of houses have been repaired.

The events for the City Day of Moscow were as follows:

• The center of the capital is illuminated with bright illumination.
• A large number of buffets and outdoor cafes have been opened for the period of popular fun.
• Brass bands performed on the festive streets, the largest among them was located between the Maly and Bolshoi Theaters.
• The tanks that were in service with the Russian army even before the Great Patriotic War were put up on the sites.
• The end of the holiday was marked by a grandiose salute.

At that time, the Nobel Prize winner, the famous American prose writer John Steinbeck, the author of the famous novel The Grapes of Wrath, was in Moscow. He recalled the holiday with childish delight, describing the procession of elephants and merry clowns through Moscow streets. Steinbeck said that the grand show at the Dynamo stadium lasted all day. There was a real pandemonium in theaters, and in museums there was such a darkness of people that it was impossible to get into them.

AfterThis City Day has not been celebrated in the capital for 39 years.

City Day in 1986-1987

In 1986 Boris Yeltsin headed the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party. It was he who decided to revive the tradition of celebrating the City Day in September. In the same autumn, in honor of this event, food fairs began to operate in the metropolitan areas.

September 19, 1987 was appointed as the next day of the city of Moscow. The celebration went like this:

• The day began with a solemn demonstration, at which Yeltsin and Chairman of the Moscow City Executive Committee V. T. Saikin spoke from the rostrum of Lenin's mausoleum.
• A parade of old cars passed along the Garden Ring, platforms with carnival participants were moving.
• Numerous barges were launched along the Moscow River, the decoration of which corresponded to the Moscow theme.
• Brass bands, singers and actors congratulated Muscovites in parks and squares.
• Festivals glorifying working Moscow were held at the exhibition of the national economy and in Kolomenskoye near Moscow.

Holidays 1988-1990

During this period, the tradition of the annual September celebration of the Day of the City of Moscow was supported by the authorities. Here's how they went:

• Usually, the holiday began with a rally, which was held on Sovetskaya Square, where the monument to Prince Yuri Dolgoruky is located. On it, Muscovites were greeted by the first persons of the city and guests of honor.
• The streets were dressed in holiday decorations, infairs were organized in different places of the city, where products from many regions of the country were presented.
• Muscovites and visitors could watch concerts taking place everywhere, various theatrical performances, athletics competitions.

Moscow Day in Russia is celebrated annually

In 1991, City Day in Moscow was celebrated on August 31st. Although there were no official events, folk festivals were still held, and there were also sports competitions. This time, the Moscow government did not finance the event, sponsors took care of it.

A big celebration was organized in connection with the 850th anniversary of the city. Boris Yeltsin, who by that time had been elected President of Russia, issued a decree on November 9, 1994 on the establishment of a state commission to organize preparations for the anniversary celebrations. The then mayor Yu. M. Luzhkov was appointed its head. The celebration was supposed to be held on the first autumn weekend - September 6, 7. Since 1997, Moscow City Day has been a public holiday every year.

On the eve of the 850th anniversary of Moscow

To this significant date, large-scale restoration work was carried out in Moscow. In particular, this affected such cultural and historical sites as the Tretyakov Gallery, the Historical Museum, the Alexander Garden, as well as temples and park areas.

Plans were put into practice: to open a park in the metropolitan area of Maryino, an archaeological museum on Manezhnaya Square; for the construction of a new bridge, which was named after the hero of the war of 1812, general frominfantry (infantry) P. I. Bagration. The bridge connected two embankments of the Moscow River - Krasnopresnenskaya and T. Shevchenko.

In the Kremlin, on Cathedral Square, just before the holiday, 1997-05-09, the City Day was officially opened. President B. N. honored him with his presence. Yeltsin, Head of the Russian Diplomatic Department E. M. Primakov, Patriarch Alexy II.

Celebration of 6 and 7 September 1997

These days the celebrations were in full swing. They were marked by the following events:

• Folk festivals, fairs, concerts, festivals.
• Singer and composer O. Gazmanov wrote the song "Moscow, the bells are ringing", which was very fond of Muscovites and became the anthem of the City Day.
• On City Day, the famous Italian lyric tenor Luciano Pavarotti visited Moscow's Red Square with his song congratulations.
• A grandiose laser show by Frenchman J. M. Jarre took place on one of the buildings of Moscow University.
• The famous traveler F. Konyukhov made a number of high- altitude ascents in honor of the 850th anniversary of the capital.

Day of the 870th anniversary of the capital

This celebration took place in 2017. The round date was also celebrated on a large scale on weekends in September, the 9th and 10th. The main theme of the holiday was the slogan saying that Moscow is a city where history is being made. Here are some statistics about this celebration:

• About 430 major events were held in urban areas over the course of two days.
• In theirabout 4.5 thousand people took part in the organization.
• Fireworks were lit at 13 sites in central Moscow and 17 parks.

The opening of the Zaryadye Natural Park and the restored Luzhniki Sports Complex were tied to the celebrations.