1.
Religious order
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The order is composed of initiates and, in some traditions, ordained clergy. Religious orders exist in many of the worlds religions, in Buddhist societies, a religious order is one of the number of monastic orders of monks and nuns, many of which follow under a different school of teaching, such as Zen. A well-known Chinese Buddhist order is the ancient Shaolin order in Chan Buddhism, a Catholic religious institute is a society whose members pronounce vows that are accepted by a superior in the name of the Church and who live a life of brothers or sisters in common. Catholic religious orders and congregations are the two categories of Catholic religious institutes. Religious institutes are distinct from secular institutes, another kind of institute of consecrated life, in the Catholic Church, members of religious institutes, unless they are also deacons or priests in Holy Orders, are not clergy, but belong to the laity. Several religious orders evolved during the Crusades to incorporate a military mission thus became religious military orders, hence they cannot move – nor be moved by their abbot or abbess – to another abbey. An independent house may occasionally make a new foundation which remains a dependent house until it is granted independence by Rome, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, there is only one type of monasticism. The profession of monastics is known as tonsure and is considered by monks to be a Sacred Mystery, the Rite of Tonsure is printed in the Euchologion, the same book as the other Sacred Mysteries and services performed according to need. Religious orders in England were dissolved by King Henry VIII upon the separation of the English church from Roman primacy, with the Catholic Revival in the Church of England and worldwide Anglicanism in the middle of the nineteenth century, several orders appeared. In 1841, the first order for women was established, there are presently thirteen active religious orders for men, fifty-three for women, and eight mixed gender. The Methodist Church of Great Britain, and its ancestors, have established a number of orders of Deaconesses, the Methodist Diaconal Order currently admits both men and women to the Order. Since the functions of a deacon are primarily pastoral, the MDO may therefore be regarded as an order of Regular clerics, the Order of Saint Luke is a religious order in the United Methodist Church dedicated to sacramental and liturgical scholarship, education, and practice. While Martin Luther had concerns with the value of monastic life, there are Lutheran religious orders in the United States. This order has strong ties to Lutheran Benedictine orders in Sweden, in 2011, an Augustinian religious order, the Priestly Society of St. Augustine was established by the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church. Its headquarters is at Christ Lutheran Church ALCC, jens Bargmann, Ph. D. is the Grand Prior. Among their corporations, the Religious Order of Jehovahs Witnesses cares for matters specific to Jehovahs Witnesses special full-time servants, in a particular branch, traveling overseers, special pioneers, and branch staff are considered members of the Order of Special Full-time Servants and the Bethel Family. Globally, their order is the Worldwide Order of Special Full-Time Servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses, male and female members of such religious orders typically make a formal vow of poverty and are granted certain status and exemptions by many governments. Jehovahs Witnesses do not have a separate class, but consider an adherents qualified baptism to constitute his ordination as a minister
2.
Russian Orthodox Church
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The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates. The Primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus and it also exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the autonomous Church of Japan and the Orthodox Christians resident in the Peoples Republic of China. The ROC branches in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine since the 1990s enjoy various degrees of self-government, in Ukraine, ROC has tensions with schismatic groups supported by the current government, while it enjoys the position of numerically dominant religious organisation. The ROC should also not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, headquartered in New York, New York, the two Churches reconciled on May 17,2007, the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to one of the legends, Andrew reached the location of Kiev. The spot where he erected a cross is now marked by St. Andrews Cathedral. By the end of the first millennium AD, eastern Slavic lands started to come under the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire. There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios, by the mid-10th century, there was already a Christian community among Kievan nobility, under the leadership of Byzantine Greek priests, although paganism remained the dominant religion. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus′ to convert to Christianity and her grandson, Vladimir of Kiev, made Rus officially a Christian state. The Kievan church was a metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical patriarch appointed the metropolitan, who usually was a Greek. The Metropolitans residence was located in Kiev itself, the capital of the medieval Rus state. Following the tribulations of the Mongol invasion, the Russian Church was pivotal in the survival, despite the politically motivated murders of Mikhail of Chernigov and Mikhail of Tver, the Mongols were generally tolerant and even granted tax exemption to the Church. Such holy figures as Sergius of Radonezh and Metropolitan Alexis helped the country to withstand years of Tatar oppression, the Trinity monastery founded by Sergius of Radonezh became the setting for the flourishing of spiritual art, exemplified by the work of Andrey Rublev, among others. The followers of Sergius founded four hundred monasteries, thus extending the geographical extent of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. However, the Moscow Prince Vasili II rejected the act of the Council of Florence brought to Moscow by Isidore in March 1441, Isidore was in the same year removed from his position as an apostate and expelled from Moscow. The Russian metropolitanate remained effectively vacant for the few years due largely to the dominance of Uniates in Constantinople then. In December 1448, Jonas, a Russian bishop, was installed by the Council of Russian bishops in Moscow as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia without the consent from Constantinople. Subsequently, there developed a theory in Moscow that saw Moscow as the Third Rome, the successor to Constantinople
3.
Sergius of Radonezh
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Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, also transliterated as Sergey Radonezhsky or Serge of Radonezh, was a spiritual leader and monastic reformer of medieval Russia. Together with Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, he is one of the Russian Orthodox Churchs most highly venerated saints, the date of his birth is unclear, it could be 1314,1319, or 1322. His medieval biography states that he was born to Kiril and Maria, a family, near Rostov the Great. It is considered that it is the village Varnitsa near Rostov, the future saint received the baptismal name of Bartholomew in honor of the Apostle Bartholomew. Although an intelligent boy, Bartholomew had great difficulty learning to read and his biography states that a starets met him one day and gave him a piece of prosphora to eat, and from that day forward he was able to read. Orthodox Christians interpret the incident as being an angelic visitation, upon his parents death, Bartholomew went to Khotkovo near Moscow, where his older brother Stefan was a monk. He persuaded Stefan to find a secluded place to live the ascetic life. In the deep forest at Makovets Hill they decided to build a small cell, thus started the history of the great Trinity-St. In time, Stefan moved to a monastery in Moscow, varfolomei took monastic vows, taking the name Sergius, and spent more than a year in the forest alone as a hermit. Soon, however, other monks started coming to him and building their own cells, after some time, they persuaded him to become their hegumen, or father superior, and he was ordained to the priesthood. Following his example, all the monks had to live by their own labor, over time, more and more monks and donations came to this place. Nearby, there appeared a posad, which grew into the town of Sergiev Posad, when the news of Sergiuss accomplishments reached Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople, he sent to him a monastic charter. During the reign of St. Dmitri Donskoi, his disciples started to spread his teaching across central and they settled intentionally in the most impracticable places and founded numerous monasteries, of which Borisoglebsky, Ferapontov, Kirillo-Belozersky and Vysotsky monasteries could be mentioned. St. Sergius was also connected with the foundation of two communities in Moscow, Andronikov and Simonov monasteries. All in all, the disciples of Sergius founded about 40 monasteries, thus extending the geographical extent of his influence. However, when Metropolitan Alexius asked him to become his successor, Sergius declined, as an ascetic, Sergius did not take part in the political life of the country. Some historians interpreted his political stance as aspiring to make peace, Sergius died on September 25,1392, and was glorified in 1452. His incorrupt relics were found in 1422 and placed in the new Trinity Cathedral of the lavra which he founded, the church commemorates him on September 25, the day of his death, and on July 5, the day his relics were uncovered
4.
Sergiyev Posad
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Sergiyev Posad is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Sergiyev Posad grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, town status was granted to Sergiyev Posad in 1742. The towns name, alluding to St. Sergius, has religious connotations. Soviet authorities changed it first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, the original name was restored in 1991. Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sergiyev Posad serves as the center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-six rural localities, as a municipal division, the City of Sergiyev Posad is incorporated within Sergiyevo-Posadsky Municipal District as Sergiyev Posad Urban Settlement. Tourism associated with the Golden Ring plays a role in the regional economy, there is also an important toy factory. The Moscow–Yaroslavl railway and highway pass through the town, Sergiyev Posad Bus Terminal is located in the city. Andrey Rublev, artist of the Church icons, 14th century, «Об учётных данных административно-территориальных и территориальных единиц Московской области», в ред. Постановления №252-ПГ от26 июня2015 г, «О внесении изменения в учётные данные административно-территориальных и территориальных единиц Московской области». Опубликован, Информационный вестник Правительства МО, №10,30 октября2010 г, Закон №60/2005-ОЗ от28 февраля2005 г. «О статусе и границах Сергиево-Посадского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований», Закона №161/2011-ОЗ от14 октября2011 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Московской области О статусе и границах Сергиево-Посадского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований», Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Подмосковье, №42,10 марта2005 г, international Dictionary of Historic Places, Northern Europe. Official website of Sergiyev Posad Unofficial website of Sergiyev Posad Official website of the Sergiyev Posad State History and Art Museum-Reserve Official website of the Holy Trinity-St
5.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
6.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
7.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
8.
Lavra
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A lavra or laura is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern Christian traditions, the term in Greek initially meant a narrow lane or an alley in a city. The Greek term lavra was employed from the century on specifically for the semi-eremitical monastic settlements of the Judean desert. The first lauras of Palestine were founded by St. Chariton, the Laura of Pharan, Saint Euthymius the Great founded one of the early Lavras in fifth-century Palestine. The Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, known as Mar Saba, is one of the most ancient, weekdays were spent in the cells, accompanied only by a rush mat, a small amount of food and palm blades with which to make ropes and baskets. On Saturdays they would bring their handiwork to the coenobium and receive communion together, cells were left open, and those in need could take whatever they wished from the cell if it were found empty. The lavra had a priest, the contact with the outside world. Unless proven otherwise by future scholarship, this seems to be theirs alone. It was a community of 600 hermits who lived scattered over the area, reliant on the town of Nitria for bread, the Great Lavra founded by Athanasius the Athonite in 963 is the oldest monastery on Mount Athos. The largest and the most important Russian Orthodox monasteries have been called lavras and have been subordinated directly to the Patriarch of Moscow, in 1721, they became subordinated to the Holy Synod. Sabbas Polish Orthodox Church, Supraśl Lavra Romanian Orthodox Church, Neamț Lavra Russian Orthodox Church, sergius Lavra Alexander Nevsky Lavra St. The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity, the Archaeology of Ancient Judea and Palestine. Sergius Lavra Photo of Holy Mountain Lavra in Ukraine Herbermann, Charles, ed. Laura
9.
Russian language
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Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
10.
Monastery
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A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone. A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, a monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary. These may include a hospice, a school and a range of agricultural and manufacturing such as a barn. In English usage, the monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics, historically, a convent denoted a house of friars, now more commonly called a friary. Various religions may apply these terms in specific ways. The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, in England the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular, however, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster. Westminster Abbey was for a time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation. They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St Georges Chapel, in most of this article, the term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism, there is a more specific definition of the term. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara, viharas may be occupied by males or females, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple, in Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a monastery is called a wat, in Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung. A Christian monastery may be an abbey, or a priory and it may be a community of men or of women. A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order, in Eastern Christianity, a very small monastic community can be called a skete, and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra. The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the life of an anchorite. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha, mandir, koil, or most commonly an ashram, jains use the Buddhist term vihara
11.
Moscow
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Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city, Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth and it is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe, the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the Moscow International Business Center. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, the city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basils Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament also sit in the city and it is recognized as one of the citys landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. In old Russian the word also meant a church administrative district. The demonym for a Moscow resident is москвич for male or москвичка for female, the name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the name of the river and its cognates include Russian, музга, muzga pool, puddle, Lithuanian, mazgoti and Latvian, mazgāt to wash, Sanskrit, majjati to drown, Latin, mergō to dip, immerse. There exist as well similar place names in Poland like Mozgawa, the original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky, hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. From the latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, in a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From it as well came English Muscovy, various other theories, having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. The surface similarity of the name Russia with Rosh, an obscure biblical tribe or country, the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic. Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered, on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc. The earliest East Slavic tribes recorded as having expanded to the upper Volga in the 9th to 10th centuries are the Vyatichi and Krivichi, the Moskva River was incorporated as part of Rostov-Suzdal into the Kievan Rus in the 11th century. By AD1100, a settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a place of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the time it was a town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality
12.
Yaroslavl
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Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and it is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities northeast of Moscow that have played an important role in Russian history. The city lies in the portion of Yaroslavl Oblast. The nearest large towns are Tutayev, Gavrilov-Yam, and Nerekhta, the historic center of Yaroslavl lies to the north of the mouth of the Kotorosl River on the right bank of the larger Volga River. The citys entire urban area covers around 205 square kilometers and includes a number of south of the Kotorosl. With over 600,000 residents, Yaroslavl is, by population and it is a large transport node, and a great number of important national and regional roads, railways, and waterways pass through the city. In fact many of the roads that connect Yaroslavl to Moscow, typical for this region, the area in and around Yaroslavl is rich in mixed and coniferous forests. In addition to these, there are large areas of swampland. Yaroslavl and its area have a typical temperate continental climate, in comparison to central. This makes for a climate with more snowy, colder, but dry winters and typically temperate, the winter weather in Yaroslavl begins in about November and usually goes on for five months, into spring. The coldest month of the year is typically January, with a temperature of −12.0 °C. However, at time it is not uncommon for temperatures to drop below −20 °C. In some cases, temperatures of −35 to −40 °C can be experienced, on the other hand, Yaroslavl can also experience positive temperatures during this time of the year. Typically the Volga freezes over during the winter, snow cover is usually 35–50-centimeter thick, but can in some cases be up to 70 centimeters in depth. The springtime months are best characterized by a lack of precipitation. From the end of March into April, there is often a thaw and it is not uncommon for temperatures in April to reach +20 °C. Summers in Yaroslavl are typically wet with heavy rainstorms. The summer often reaches its hottest point during the months of June/July, with a daily temperature of +23.3 °C
13.
Trinity
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The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is three consubstantial persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—as one God in three Divine Persons. The three persons are distinct, yet are one substance, essence or nature, in this context, a nature is what one is, whereas a person is who one is. Reflection, proclamation, and dialogue led to the formulation of the doctrine that was felt to correspond to the data in the Bible. The simplest outline of the doctrine was formulated in the 4th century, further elaboration continued in the succeeding centuries. Scripture contains neither the word Trinity, nor an expressly formulated doctrine of the Trinity, rather, according to the Christian theology, it bears witness to the activity of a God who can only be understood in Trinitarian terms. The doctrine did not take its shape until late in the fourth century. During the intervening period, various solutions, some more. Trinitarianism contrasts with nontrinitarian positions which include Binitarianism, Unitarianism, Oneness Pentecostalism or Modalism, the word trinity is derived from Latin trinitas, meaning the number three, a triad. This abstract noun is formed from the adjective trinus, as the word unitas is the noun formed from unus. The corresponding word in Greek is tριάς, meaning a set of three or the number three, the first recorded use of this Greek word in Christian theology was by Theophilus of Antioch in about 170. He wrote, In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man. The Ante-Nicene Fathers asserted Christs deity and spoke of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinitarians view these as elements of the codified doctrine. Ignatius of Antioch provides early support for the Trinity around 110, exhorting obedience to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit. Justin Martyr also writes, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the first of the early church fathers to be recorded using the word Trinity was Theophilus of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century. He defines the Trinity as God, His Word and His Wisdom in the context of a discussion of the first three days of creation, the first defence of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early 3rd century by the early church father Tertullian. He explicitly defined the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, St. Justin and Clement of Alexandra used the Trinity in their doxologies and St. Basil likewise, in the evening lighting of lamps. The highly allegorical exegesis of the Valentinian school inclined it to interpret the relevant scriptural passages as affirming a Divinity that, the Valentinian Gospel of Phillip, which dates to approximately the time of Tertullian, upholds the Trinitarian formula
14.
Dmitry Donskoy
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He was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol authority in Russia. His nickname, Donskoy, alludes to his victory against the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo. He is venerated as a Saint in the Orthodox Church with his feast day on 19 May, Dmitry ascended the throne of the Principality of Moscow at the age of 9. During his minority, Russias Metropolitan Aleksey ran the government, in 1360 Khizr-khan, Khan of the Golden Horde, transferred the title most prized among Russian princes, that of Grand Prince of Vladimir, to Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhniy Novgorod. In 1363, after that prince was deposed, Dmitry Ivanovich was crowned at Vladimir, three years later, he made peace with Dmitriy Konstantinovich and married his daughter Eudoxia. In 1376 their joint armies ravaged Volga Bulgaria, the most important event during Dmitrys early reign was start of building the Moscow Kremlin, it was completed in 1367. Thanks to the new fortress, the city withstood two sieges by Algirdas of Lithuania during the Lithuanian–Muscovite War, the war ended with the Treaty of Lyubutsk. In 1375, Dmitry settled, in his own favor, a conflict with Mikhail II of Tver over Vladimir, other princes of Northern Russia acknowledged his authority and contributed troops to the impending struggle against the Horde. By the end of his reign, Dmitry had more than doubled the territory of the Principality of Moscow, Mongol domination of parts of what is now Russia began to crumble during Dmitrys thirty-year reign. The Golden Horde was severely weakened by war and dynastic rivalries. Dmitry took advantage of this lapse in Mongol authority to challenge the Tatars. While he kept the Khans patent to collect taxes for all of Russia, Mamai, a Mongol general and claimant to the throne, tried to punish Dmitry for attempting to increase his power. In 1378 Mamai sent a Mongol army, but it was defeated by Dmitrys forces in the Battle of Vozha River, two years later Mamai personally led a large force against Moscow. Dmitry met and defeated it at the Battle of Kulikovo, the defeated Mamai was presently dethroned by a rival Mongol general, Tokhtamysh. That khan reasserted Mongol rule over parts of now is Russia. Dimitry, however, pledged his loyalty to Tokhtamysh and to the Golden Horde and was reinstated as Mongol principal tax collector, upon his death in 1389, Dimitry was the first Grand Duke to bequeath his titles to his son Vasiliy without consulting the Khan. He was married to Eudoxia of Nizhniy Novgorod and she was a daughter of Dmitry of Suzdal and Vasilisa of Rostov. They had at least twelve children, Daniil Dmitriyevich, married Fyodor Olegovich, Prince of Ryazan
15.
Battle of Kulikovo
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The battle took place on 8 September 1380, at the Kulikovo Field near the Don River and was won by Dmitri, who became known as Donskoy after the battle. Although the victory did not end the Mongol domination over Russia, it is regarded by Russian historians as the turning point when Mongol influence began to wane. This process eventually led to Muscovite independence and formation of the modern Russian state, according to the Russian historian Lev Gumilev, Russians went to the Kulikovo field as citizens of various principalities and returned as a united Russian nation. After the Mongol-Tatar conquest, the territories of the disintegrating Kievan Rus became part of the region of the Mongol Empire. The numerous Russian principalities became the Hordes tributaries, during this period, the small regional principality of Moscow was growing in power and was often challenging its neighbors over territory, including clashing with the Grand Duchy of Ryazan. The intrigues between Moscow and Ryazan pre-date the Mongol-Tartar conquest, having arisen during the ascent of regional powers within the Kievan Rus. A civil war had arisen in the falling Golden Horde and new powers were appearing, such as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Moscow. After the mysterious death of Khan Abdulla the Tartar in 1370, Mamai was not a Genghisid, and as such his grip on power was tenuous, as there were blood-descendants of Genghis Khan with potential claims to the rulership of the Horde. In 1362, the Prince of Moscow, Dmitri Donskoi, came into possession of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. He sought a jarliq from Mamai granting him formal possession of the Duchy, instead, in 1371, Mamai passed its title to the Prince of Tver. Prince Dmitri refused to accept Mamais decision, conflict ensued in 1377, when a friend of Mamai Arpash defeated the united armies of Suzdal and Moscow, led by Prince Dmitri, at the Battle of Pyana River. The victors then began to raid Nizhniy Novgorod and Ryazan, after the victory, Mamai sought to re-affirm his control over the tributary lands of the Golden Horde. In 1378, he sent forces led by the warlord Murza Begich to ensure Prince Dmitris obedience, the Hordes army was defeated at the Battle of the Vozha River and Murza Begich was killed. Meanwhile, another khan, Tokhtamysh, arose in Middle Asia to challenge Mamai for the throne of the Golden Horde, although initially unsuccessful, khan Tokhtamysh slowly began to solidfy support for his challenge to the rulership of the Horde. In 1380, against this backdrop, Mamai chose to lead the Hordes forces against the forces of Moscow. In preparation for the invasion, he negotiated with both Prince Jogaila of Lithuania and a Russian prince Oleg II of Ryazan, who struggled against Dmitry. The armies of Lithuania and Ryazan marched to join the Hordes army, while Mamai camped, Prince Dmitry mobilized his troops and allies in Kolomna to resist the invasion. The army of Moscow was joined there by armies from most of other Russian principalities, including Tver, Suzdal, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Polotsk, Murom and Beloozero
16.
Refectory
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A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools, and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries and it derives from the Latin reficere to remake or restore, via Late Latin refectorium, which means a place one goes to be restored. Communal meals are the times when all monks of an institution are together, diet and eating habits differ somewhat by monastic order, and more widely by schedule. The Rule of St Benedict orders two meals, dinner is provided for year-round, supper is also served from late spring to early fall, except for Wednesdays and Fridays. The diet originally consisted of simple fare, two dishes, with fruit as a course if available. The food was simple, with the meat of mammals forbidden to all, moderation in all aspects of diet is the spirit of Benedicts law. Meals are eaten in silence, facilitated sometimes by hand signals, a single monk might read from the Scriptures or writings of the saints aloud during the meals. Refectories vary in size and dimension, based primarily on wealth and size of the monastery, monks eat at long benches, important officials sit at raised benches at one end of the hall. A lavabo, or large basin for hand-washing usually stands outside the refectory, in England, the refectory is generally built on an undercroft on the side of the cloister opposite the church. Benedictine models are generally laid out on an east–west axis. Norman refectories could be as large as 160 feet long by 35 feet wide, even relatively early refectories might have windows, but these became larger and more elaborate in the high medieval period. The refectory at Cluny Abbey was lit through thirty-six large glazed windows, the twelfth-century abbey at Mont Saint-Michel had six windows, five feet wide by twenty feet high. In Eastern Orthodox monasteries, the Trapeza is considered a sacred place, some services are intended to be performed specifically in the Trapeza. There is always at least one Icon with a lampada kept burning in front of it, the service of the Lifting of the Panagia is performed at the end of meals. During Bright Week, this service is replaced with the Lifting of the Artos, in some monasteries, the Ceremony of Forgiveness at the beginning of Great Lent is performed in the Trapeza. All food served in the Trapeza should be blessed, and for that purpose and this usage is particularly prevalent in Church of England buildings, which use the takings to supplement their income. Many universities in the UK also call their student cafeteria or dining facilities the refectory, the term is rare at American colleges, although Brown University calls its main dining hall the Sharpe Refectory. Refectory table Adams, Henry, Mont Saint-Michel and Chartres, living and Dying in England, 1100-1450
17.
Kitchen
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A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. Many households have an oven, a dishwasher and other electric appliances. The main function of a kitchen is serving as a location for storing, cooking and preparing food, commercial kitchens are found in restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, hospitals, educational and workplace facilities, army barracks, and similar establishments. These kitchens are generally larger and equipped with bigger and more heavy-duty equipment than a residential kitchen, for example, a large restaurant may have a huge walk-in refrigerator and a large commercial dishwasher machine. Commercial kitchens are generally subject to public health laws and they are inspected periodically by public-health officials, and forced to close if they do not meet hygienic requirements mandated by law. The evolution of the kitchen is linked to the invention of the range or stove. Food was cooked over an open fire, technical advances in heating food in the 18th and 19th centuries changed the architecture of the kitchen. Before the advent of modern pipes, water was brought from a source such as wells. The houses in Ancient Greece were commonly of the atrium-type, the rooms were arranged around a courtyard for women. In many such homes, a covered but otherwise open patio served as the kitchen, homes of the wealthy had the kitchen as a separate room, usually next to a bathroom, both rooms being accessible from the court. In such houses, there was often a small storage room in the back of the kitchen used for storing food. In the Roman Empire, common folk in cities often had no kitchen of their own, some had small mobile bronze stoves, on which a fire could be lit for cooking. Wealthy Romans had relatively well-equipped kitchens, the fireplace was typically on the floor, placed at a wall—sometimes raised a little bit—such that one had to kneel to cook. Early medieval European longhouses had a fire under the highest point of the building. The kitchen area was between the entrance and the fireplace, in wealthy homes there was typically more than one kitchen. In some homes there were upwards of three kitchens, the kitchens were divided based on the types of food prepared in them. In place of a chimney, these buildings had a hole in the roof through which some of the smoke could escape. Besides cooking, the fire served as a source of heat
18.
Bakery
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A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises, baked goods have been around for thousands of years. The art of baking was developed early during the Roman Empire and it was a highly famous art as Roman citizens loved baked goods and demanded for them frequently for important occasions such as feasts and weddings etc. Due to the fame and desire that the art of baking received, around 300 BC, baking was introduced as an occupation, the bakers began to prepare bread at home in an oven, using mills to grind grain into the flour for their breads. The oncoming demand for baked goods vigorously continued and the first bakers guild was established in 168 BC in Rome and this drastic appeal for baked goods promoted baking all throughout Europe and expanded into the eastern parts of Asia. Bakers started baking breads and goods at home and selling out on the streets. This trend became common and soon, baked products were getting sold in streets of Rome, Germany, London and this resulted in a system of delivering the goods to households, as the demand for baked breads and goods significantly increased. This provoked the bakers to establish a place people could purchase baked goods for themselves. Therefore, in Paris, the first open-air bakery of baked goods was developed and since then, bakeries became a place to purchase delicious goods. By the colonial era, bakeries were commonly viewed as places to gather, world War II directly affected bread industries in the UK. Baking schools closed during this time so when the war did eventually end there was an absence of skilled bakers and this resulted in new methods being developed to satisfy the world’s desire for bread. Methods like, adding chemicals to dough, premixes and specialised machinery, unfortunately these old methods of baking were almost completely eradicated when these new methods were introduced and became industrialised. The old methods were seen as unnecessary and financially unsound, during this period there were not many traditional bakeries left, some bakeries provide services for special occasions or for people who have allergies or sensitivities to certain foods. Bakeries can provide a range of cakes designs such as sheet cakes, layer cakes, tiered cakes. Grocery stores and supermarkets, in countries, sell prepackaged or pre-sliced bread, cakes. They can also offer in-store baking and basic cake decoration
19.
Solovetsky Monastery
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The Solovetsky Monastery is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Christian citadels in northern Russia before it was converted into a Soviet prison and labor camp in 1926–39, the monastery has experienced several major changes and military sieges. Its most important structures date from the 16th century, when Filip Kolychev was its hegumen, zosima later became the first hegumen of the monastery. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the extended its commercial activities, becoming an economic. This included saltworks, trapping, fishing, mica works, ironworks, pearl works, archmandrites of the monastery were appointed by the tsar himself and the patriarch. By the 17th century, the Solovetsky Monastery had about 350 monks, 600-700 servants, artisans, in the 1650s and 1660s, the monastery was one of the strongholds of the Old Believers of the Raskol in the Russian Orthodox Church. The Solovetsky Monastery Uprising of 1668–1676 was aimed at Patriarch Nikons ecclesiastic reform, in 1765, the monastery became stauropegic, i. e. it was subordinated directly to the Synod. Together with the Sumskoy and Kemsky stockades, the Solovetsky Monastery served as an important frontier fortress with dozens of cannons, in the 16th to 17th centuries, the monastery succeeded a number of times in repelling the attacks of the Livonian Order and the Swedes. During the Crimean War, the Solovetsky Monastery was attacked by three British ships, after nine hours of shelling on the 6 and 7 July 1855 the vessels left with nothing. Between the 16th and the early 20th centuries, the monastery was also a place of exile for the opponents of autocracy and official Orthodoxy, the monastery also had a large library of manuscripts and books. The monastery garden also had some exotic flora, such as the Tibetan wild roses presented to the monks by Agvan Dorzhiev, the camp main activity was logging, and when most of the surrounding area had been deforested, the camp was closed. Before the Second World War, a cadet school was opened on the island. A small brotherhood of monks has re-established activities in the monastery after the end of the communism, the monastery has also recently been extensively repaired, but remains under reconstruction. The Solovetsky Monastery is also an historical and architectural museum and it was one of the first Russian sites to have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Solovetsky Monastery is located on the shores of the Prosperity Bay on Solovetsky Island, the monastery is surrounded by massive walls with a height of 8 to 11 m and a thickness of 4 to 6 m. The wall incorporates 7 gates and 8 towers, made mainly of huge boulders up to 5 m in length, there are also religious buildings on the monasterys grounds with the principal structures interconnected with roofed and arched passages. Solovki, Architectural Heritage in Photographs ASIN B002P5OP1I OCLC255613915
20.
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery
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Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, translated into English as White Lake St. Cyrils Monastery, used to be the largest monastery in Northern Russia. The monastery was consecrated to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, by the 20th century, the town of Kirillov had grown nearby. The monastery was founded in 1397 on the bank of Lake Siverskoye, to the south from the town of Beloozero, in the present-day Vologda Oblast. Its founder, St. Cyril or Kirill of Beloozero, following the advice of his teacher, St. Sergius of Radonezh, first dug a cave here, then built a wooden Dormition chapel and a loghouse for other monks. Shortly before the creation of the monastery, the area fell under control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, being a member of the influential Velyaminov clan of boyars, Kirill relinquished the office of father superior of the greatest cloister in medieval Moscow—the Simonov monastery. His ties with the elite were still close, however. It seems that the Muscovite rulers regarded Kirills monastery as an important strategic point, by 1427, when Kirill died, the prince of Belozersk-Mozhaisk was the monasterys patron and the monastery was administratively subordinate to the Archbishop of Rostov. Under Hegumen Trifon, social and administrative reforms were undertaken, including the adoption of an Athonite cenobitic rule, a Byzantine-style secondary school was established at which translations of textbooks on grammar, semantics, geography, and history were used. A lasting legacy of the school were bibliographical studies, exemplified by the elder Yefrosin, Nil also founded a skete on the Sora River near the monastery. In the 16th century, the monastery was the second richest landowner in Russia, after its model, Ivan the Terrible not only had his own cell in the cloister, but also planned to take monastic vows here. The cloister was also important as a political prison, among the Muscovite politicians exiled to Kirillov were Vassian Patrikeyev, Tsar Simeon Bekbulatovich, Patriarch Nikon, and the prime minister Boris Morozov. In December 1612, the monastery was besieged by Polish-Lithuanian vagabonds, the Lisowczycy, the vast walled area of the monastery comprises two separate priories with eleven churches, most of them dating to the 16th century. Of these, nine belong to the Uspensky priory by the lake, the Dormition cathedral, erected by Rostov masters in 1497, was the largest monastery church built in Russia up to that date. Its 17th-century iconostasis features many ancient icons, arranged in five tiers above a silver heaven gate endowed by Tsar Alexis in 1645, a lot of valuable objects kept in the sacristy are personal gifts of the tsars who visited the monastery. The smaller Ivanovsky priory is dedicated to St. John the Precursor, the oldest church of the priory was commissioned by Ivans father, for the benefit of the mendicant brethren, soon after his visit to the monastery in 1528. Subsequently, the monks incurred the tsars displeasure by constructing St. Vladimirs Chapel over the grave of the exiled Prince Vorotynsky, the monastery walls,732 meters long and 7 meters thick, were constructed in 1654-80. They incorporate parts of the citadel, which helped to withstand the Polish siege in 1612. At first construction works were supervised by Jean de Gron, a French military engineer known in Russian sources as Anton Granovsky, after the monastic authorities denigrated his Western-style design as alien to Russian traditions, Granovsky was replaced by a team of native masters
21.
Simonov Monastery
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Simonov Monastery in Moscow was established in 1370 by monk Feodor, a nephew and disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh. The monastery land formerly belonged to Simeon Khovrin, a boyar of Greek extraction and he took monastic vows in the cloister under the name Simon, many of his descendants are also buried there. In 1379, the monastery was moved half a mile to the east and its original location, where bodies of the warriors killed in the Battle of Kulikovo had been buried, is still commemorated by the old Simonov church. During the 15th century, the cloister was the richest in Moscow, among the learned monks who lived and worked there were Vassian Patrikeyev and Maximus the Greek. A white stone cathedral was erected in 1405, it was enlarged by order of Ivan the Terrible. As the monastery defended southern approaches to Moscow, it was fortified in the 1640s. The last addition to the complex was a huge multi-storied bell-tower, the monastery was abolished by the Bolsheviks in 1923, and soon thereafter most of its buildings were demolished to make way for an automobile plant. Surviving structures all date back to the 17th century and include three towers of cannon-like appearance and auxiliary buildings in the Naryshkin baroque style, recently the Moscow government announced plans for a full-scale reconstruction of the famous cloister. The first service here after the restoration was held in 1992
22.
Tatars
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The Tatars are a Turkic people living in Asia and Europe who were one of the five major tribal confederations in the Mongolian plateau in the 12th century CE. The name Tatar first appears in form on the Kul Tigin monument as
23.
Alexander Peresvet
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He is believed to have hailed from the Bryansk area and took the monastic habit at the Rostov Monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb. Later he moved to the Monastery of Pereslavl-Zalessky under the service of Dmitri Donskoi and he later moved to the Trinity Abbey where he became a follower of Sergius of Radonezh. Alexander and his friend Rodion Oslyabya joined Russian troops approaching to fight against Mamai invasion, the battle of Kulikovo was opened by single combat between the two champions. The Russian champion was Alexander Peresvet, the champions killed each other in the first run, though according to a Russian legend, Peresvet did not fall from the saddle, while Temir-murza did. Peresvets body, together with that of his brother-in-arms Oslyabya, were brought to Moscow, pereswetoff-Morath, a bayor family, claimed to be Peresvets descendants. 33rd Special purpose unit of Internal Troops In Russian Language Титов А, М.1885 Описание Свято-Димитриевского монастыря в г. История церкви Рождества Пресвятые Богородицы на Старом Симонове в Москве
24.
Bogatyr
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A bogatyr or vityaz is a stock character in medieval East Slavic legends, akin to a Western European knight-errant. In modern Russian, the word is used to describe a knight, a warrior or, figuratively, bogatyr is derived from baghatur, a historical Turco-Mongol honorific title. The etymology of word is uncertain, although the first syllable is very likely the Iranian word *baγ god. Many Rus epic poems, called Bylinas, prominently featured stories about heroes, as did several chronicles. Some bogatyrs are presumed to be figures, while others, like the giant Svyatogor, are purely fictional. Many of the stories about bogatyrs revolve around the court of Vladimir I of Kiev, there served the most notable bogatyrs or vityazes, the trio of Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. Most of those bogatyrs adventures are fictional, and often included fighting dragons, giants, however, the bogatyrs themselves were often based on real people. Historical prototypes of both Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets are proven to have existed, the Novgorod Republic produced a specific kind of hero, an adventurer rather than a noble warrior. The most prominent examples were Sadko and Vasili Buslayev, later notable bogatyrs also include those who fought by Alexander Nevskys side and those who fought in the Battle of Kulikovo. Although based on history, the film also shows a strong bylina influence. Knight-errant Slavic mythology Beckwith, Christopher I, empires of the Silk Road, A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Богатыри и витязи Русской земли, По былинам, сказаниям и песням
25.
Trinity (Andrei Rublev)
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The Trinity is an icon created by Russian painter Andrei Rublyov in the 15th century. It is his most famous work, and the most famous of all Russian icons, scholars believe that is it one of only two works of art that can be attributed to Rublyov with any sort of certainty. The Trinity depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre, but the painting is full of symbolism and is interpreted as an icon of the Holy Trinity. At the times of Andrei Rublëv the Holy Trinity was the embodiment of unity, peace, harmony, mutual love. The icon was commissioned to honour the saint Sergius of Radonezh of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius near Moscow, little is known about The Trinitys history, art historians can only make suggestions based on few known facts. Even the authorship of Rublev is questioned sometimes, various authors suggest different dates, such as 1408-1425, 1422-1423 or 1420-1427. The official version states 1411 or 1425-27, the Trinity is currently held in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The Trinity was painted on a vertically aligned board and it depicts three angels sitting at a table. On the table, there is a cup containing the head of a calf, in the background, Rublev painted a house, a tree, and a mountain. The figures of angels are arranged so that the lines of their bodies form a full circle, the middle angel and the one on the left bless the cup with a hand gesture. There is no action or movement in the painting, the figures gaze into eternity in the state of motionless contemplation. There are sealed traces of nails from the icons riza on the margins, halos, the icon is based on a story from the Book of Genesis called Abraham and Sarahs Hospitality or The Hospitality of Abraham. When he saw them, Abraham ran from the tent door to meet them, Abraham ordered a servant-boy to prepare a choice calf, and set curds, milk and the calf before them, waiting on them, under a tree, as they ate. One of the angels told Abraham that Sarah would soon give birth to a son, art critics believe that Andrei Rublevs icon was created in accordance with this concept. He did not paint Abraham, Sarah, the scene of calfs slaughter, the angels were depicted as talking, not eating. The gestures of angels, smooth and restrained, demonstrate the nature of their conversation. The silent communion of the three angels is the centre of the composition, in Rublevs icon, the form that most clearly represents the idea of the consubstantiality of the Trinitys three hypostases is a circle. It is the foundation of the composition, at the same time, the angels are not inserted into the circle, but create it instead, thus our eyes cant stop at any of the three figures and rather dwell inside this limited space
26.
Iconostasis
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In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church, the iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon, a process complete by the fifteenth century. A direct comparison for the function of the iconostasis can be made to the layout of the great Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was designed with three parts, the holiest and inner-most portion was that where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This portion, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the larger part of the buildings interior by a curtain. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the third part was the entrance court. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition only men can enter the altar portion behind the iconostasis, the word comes from the Greek εἰκονοστάσι, which means icon stand. The nave is the body of the church where most of the worshippers stand. The sanctuary is one to three steps higher than the nave. The Iconostasis does not sit directly on the edge of the sanctuary and this forms a walkway in front of the iconostasis for the clergy, called a soleas. In the very center of the soleas is an extension, often rounded, called the ambon, on which the deacon will stand to give litanies during the services, the iconostasis, though often tall, rarely touches the ceiling. Acoustically, this permits the ekphoneses of the clergy to be heard clearly by the faithful, in small, modern churches the iconostasis may be completely absent, in such cases it is replaced by a few small icons on analogia, forming a virtual divide. The iconostasis typically has three openings or sets of doors, the Beautiful Gates or Holy Doors in the center, and the North and South Doors to either side. The Beautiful Gates are sometimes called the Royal Doors, but that more properly belongs to the central doors connecting the narthex, or porch. They remain shut whenever a service is not being held, modern custom as to when they should be opened during services varies depending upon jurisdiction and local custom. The North and South Doors are often called Deacons Doors because the use them frequently. Icons of sainted deacons are often depicted on these doors, alternatively, they may be called Angels Doors, and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel are often depicted there. The South Door is typically the entrance door, and Michael is depicted there because he is the Defender, the North Door is the exit and these doors may also be casually referred to as the side doors
27.
Serbs
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The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the state of Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. They form significant minorities in Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia, there is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia. The Serbs share many traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion, the Serbian language is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the majority in Montenegro. The modern identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions, in the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs. The tradition of slava, the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, the origin of the ethnonym is unclear. Serbia has among the tallest people in the world, after Montenegro and Netherlands, Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries. Up until the late 560s their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, the Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today central Serbia was an important geo-strategical province, through which the Via Militaris crossed and this area was frequently intruded by barbarians in the 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population, numerous small Serbian states were created, located in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it, prince Stefan Nemanja conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo, Duklja and Zachlumia. The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century, over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire, the medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included Macedonia, northern Greece, Montenegro, when Dušan died, his son Stephen Uroš V became Emperor. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo on the plain of Kosovo Polje, both Lazar and Sultan Murad I were killed in the fighting
28.
Battle of Kosovo
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The army under Prince Lazar consisted of his own troops, a contingent led by Serbian nobleman Vuk Branković, and a contingent sent from Bosnia by King Tvrtko I, commanded by Vlatko Vuković. The battle was fought on the Kosovo Field, in the territory ruled by Branković and its site is about 5 kilometers northwest of the modern city of Prishtina. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce, the bulk of both armies were wiped out in the battle, both Lazar and Murad lost their lives in it. Although Ottomans managed to annihilate the Serbian army, they suffered high casualties which delayed their progress. The Serbs were left too few men to effectively defend their lands. Consequently, one after the other, the Serbian principalities that were not already Ottoman vassals became so in the following years. Prince Lazar, ruler of the part of the former empire, aware of the Ottoman threat, began diplomatic. After the defeat of the Ottomans at Pločnik and Bileća, Murad I, from there, the party traveled across Velbužd and Kratovo. Though longer than the route through Sofia and the Nišava Valley. From Kosovo, Murads party could attack the lands of either Prince Lazar or Vuk Branković, having stayed in Kratovo for a time, Murad and his troops marched through Kumanovo, Preševo and Gjilan to Pristina, where he arrived on June 14. While there is information about Lazars preparations, he gathered his troops near Niš. His party likely remained there until he learned that Murad had moved to Velbužd and this was the best place Lazar could choose as a battlefield, as it gave him control of all the routes that Murad could take. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce, however, a comparison with historically contemporaneous battles enables reliable reconstruction. Murads army numbered from 27,000 to 40,000 fighters. These 40,000 included no more than 2,000 Janissaries,2,500 of Murads cavalry guard,6,000 sipahis,20,000 azaps and akincis, marko and Dragaš, although Ottoman vassals, did not participate in the battle. The Ottoman army was supported by the forces of the Anatolian Turkoman Beylik of Isfendiyar, Lazars army numbered from 12,000 to 30,000. Also present were Knights Hospitaller led by the Croatian knight John of Palisna, the armies met at the Kosovo Field. Murad headed the Ottoman army, with his sons Bayezid on his right, one of the Ottoman commanders was Pasha Yiğit Bey
29.
Andrei Rublev
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Andrei Rublev is considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox icons and frescos. Little information survives about the life of Andrei Rublev and it is not known where he was born. He probably lived in the Trinity-St, Sergius Lavra near Moscow under Nikon of Radonezh, who became hegumen after the death of Sergii Radonezhsky in 1392. The first mention of Rublev is in 1405 when he decorated icons and frescos for the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Moscow Kremlin in company with Theophanes the Greek and his name was the last of the list of masters as the junior both by rank and by age. Theophanes was an important Byzantine master who moved to Russia, and is considered to have trained Rublev. Chronicles tell us that together with Daniil Cherni he painted the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir in 1408 as well as the Trinity Cathedral in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius between 1425 and 1427. After Daniils death, Andrei came to Moscows Andronikov Monastery where he painted his last work and he is also believed to have painted at least one of the miniatures in the Khitrovo Gospels. The only work authenticated as entirely his is the icon of the Trinity and it is based on an earlier icon known as the Hospitality of Abraham. Rublev removed the figures of Abraham and Sarah from the scene, in Rublevs art two traditions are combined, the highest asceticism and the classic harmony of Byzantine mannerism. The characters of his paintings are always peaceful and calm, after some time his art came to be perceived as the ideal of Eastern Church painting and of Orthodox iconography. Rublev died at Andronikov Monastery on 29 January 1430, Rublevs work influenced many artists including Dionisy. The Stoglavi Sobor promulgated Rublevs icon style as a model for church painting, since 1959 the Andrei Rublev Museum at the Andronikov Monastery has displayed his and related art. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Rublev as a saint in 1988, the liturgical of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America remembers Rublev on January 29. In 1966, Andrei Tarkovsky made a film Andrei Rublev, loosely based on the artists life, western painting Andrei Rublev, a 1966 film by Andrei Tarkovsky loosely based on the painters life. Mikhail V. Alpatov, Andrey Rublev, Moscow, Iskusstvo,1972, gabriel Bunge, The Rublev Trinity, transl. Andrew Louth, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York,2007, Sergius Golubtsov, Voplosh’enie bogoslovskih idey v tvorchestve prepodobnogo Andreya Rubleva. Viktor N. Lazarev, The Russian Icon, From Its Origins to the Sixteenth Century, priscilla Hunt, Andrei Rublev’s Old Testament Trinity Icon in Cultural Context, The Trinity-Sergius Lavr in Russian History and Culture, Readings in Russian Religious Culture, vol. 3, ed. Deacon Vladimir Tsurikov, 99-122, zur 600–Jahrfeier des grossen russischen Malers, vol
30.
Fresco
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Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
31.
Grand Duchy of Moscow
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The Grand Duchy of Moscow, or Grand Principality of Moscow, was a late medieval Rus principality centered on Moscow and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia. The state originated with Daniel I, who inherited Moscow in 1283, eclipsing and it later annexed the Novgorod Republic in 1478 and the Grand Duchy of Tver in 1485. After the Mongol invasion of Rus, Muscovy was a vassal to the Mongol ruled Golden Horde until 1480. By his marriage to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, he established Muscovy as the state of the Roman Empire. Ivans successor Vasili III also enjoyed success, gaining Smolensk from Lithuania in 1512. Vasilis son Ivan IV was an infant at his fathers death in 1533 and he was crowned in 1547, assuming the title of tsar together with the proclamation of Tsardom of Russia. As with many states the country had no particular official name. The Duke of Moscow or the Sovereign of Moscow were common short titles, in rivalry with other duchies Moscow dukes also designated themselves as the Grand Dukes, claiming a higher position in the hierarchy of Russian dukes. During the territorial growth and later acquisitions, the title became rather lengthy. Since the 14th century various Moscow dukes added of all Rus to their titles, after the title of Russian metropolitans, Dmitry Shemyaka was the first Moscow duke who minted coins with the title the Sovereign of all Rus. Under the Polish-Lithuanian influence the country began to be called Muscovy in Western Europe, the first appearances of the term were in an Italian document of 1500. Initially Moscovia was the Latinized name of the city of Moscow itself, not of the state, later it acquired its meaning and has been used alongside of the older name. The term Muscovy persisted in the West until the beginning of the 18th century and is used in historical contexts. When the Mongols invaded the lands of Kievan Rus in the 13th century, the first ruler of the principality of Moscow, Daniel I, was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky of Vladimir-Suzdal. He started to expand his principality by seizing Kolomna and securing the bequest of Pereslavl-Zalessky to his family, daniels son Yuriy controlled the entire basin of the Moskva River and expanded westward by conquering Mozhaisk. He then forged an alliance with the overlord of the Rus principalities, Uzbeg Khan of the Golden Horde, the Khan allowed Yuriy to claim the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal, a position which allowed him to interfere in the affairs of the Novgorod Republic to the north-west. Yuriys successor, Ivan I, managed to retain the title of Grand Duke by cooperating closely with the Mongols and by collecting tribute and taxes from other Rus principalities on their behalf. This relationship enabled Ivan to gain regional ascendancy, particularly over Moscows chief rival, the city of Tver
32.
Ivan III of Russia
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Ivan III Vasilyevich, also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus. He was one of the longest-reigning Russian rulers in history, Ivans rule is marked by what subsequent Russophile historians called the Gathering of the Russian Lands. Ivan brought the independent duchies of different Rurikid princes under the control of Moscow, leaving the princes. His first enterprise was a war with the Republic of Novgorod and these wars were waged over Moscows religious and political sovereignty, and over Moscows efforts to seize land in the Northern Dvina region. Ivan visited Novgorod Central several times in the several years, persecuting a number of pro-Lithuanian boyars. In 1477, two Novgorodian envoys, claiming to have been sent by the archbishops and the entire city, Ivan dispossessed Novgorod of more than four-fifths of its land, keeping half for himself and giving the other half to his allies. Subsequent revolts were punished by the en masse of the richest and most ancient families of Novgorod to Moscow, Vyatka. Archbishop Feofil was also removed to Moscow for plotting against the Grand Prince, the rival republic of Pskov owed the continuance of its own political existence to the readiness with which it assisted Ivan against its ancient enemy. The other principalities were eventually absorbed by conquest, purchase, or marriage contract, The Principality of Yaroslavl in 1463, Rostov in 1474, Tver in 1485, the eldest, Iurii, died childless on 12 September 1472. He only had a draft of a will that said nothing about his land, Ivan seized the land, much to the fury of the surviving brothers, who he placated with some land. Boris and Andrei the Elder signed treaties with Vasily in February and they agreed to protect each others land and not to have secret dealings with foreign states, they broke this clause in 1480, fleeing to Lithuania. It is unknown whether Andrei the Younger signed a treaty and he died in 1481, leaving his lands to Ivan. In 1491 Andrei the Elder was arrested by Ivan for refusing to aid the Crimean Tatars against the Golden Horde and he died in prison in 1493, and Ivan seized his land. In 1494 Boris, the only brother able to pass his land to his sons, however, their land reverted to the Tsar upon their deaths in 1503 and 1515 respectively. There was one semi-autonomous prince in Muscovy when Ivan acceded, Prince Mikhail Andreevich of Vereia, in 1478 he was pressured into giving Belozersk to Ivan, who got all of Mikhails land on his death in 1486. The character of the government of Moscow changed significantly under Ivan III and this was a natural consequence of the hegemony of Moscow over the other north-eastern Rus lands, but also to new imperial pretensions. Ivan himself appeared to welcome the idea, and he began to style himself tsar in foreign correspondence, fennell emphasizes Ivans success in centralizing control over local rulers, he adds, however, that his reign was also a period of cultural depression and spiritual barrenness. Freedom was stamped out within the Muscovite lands, by his bigoted anti-Catholicism Ivan brought down the curtain between Muscovy and the west
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Pskov
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Pskov is a city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located about 20 kilometers east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia, the name of the city, originally spelled Pleskov, may be loosely translated as of purling waters. Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, Pskovians sometimes take this year as the citys foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskovs 1, 100th anniversary. The first prince of Pskov was Vladimir the Greats youngest son Sudislav, once imprisoned by his brother Yaroslav, he was not released until the latters death several decades later. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the Novgorod Republic, in 1241, it was taken by the Teutonic Knights, but Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later during a legendary campaign dramatized in Sergei Eisensteins 1938 movie Alexander Nevsky. Having fortified the town, Daumantas routed the Teutonic Knights at Rakvere and his remains and sword are preserved in the local kremlin, and the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears the name of Dovmonts town. By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de facto sovereign republic and its most powerful force was the merchants who brought the town into the Hanseatic League. Pskovs independence was recognized by Novgorod in 1348. Several years later, the veche promulgated a law code, which was one of the sources of the all-Russian law code issued in 1497. For Russia, the Pskov Republic was a bridge towards Europe, for Europe, the importance of the city made it the subject of numerous sieges throughout its history. The Pskov Krom withstood twenty-six sieges in the 15th century alone, at one point, five stone walls ringed it, making the city practically impregnable. A local school of icon-painting flourished, and the masons were considered the best in Russia. Many peculiar features of Russian architecture were first introduced in Pskov, finally, in 1510, the city fell to Muscovite forces. The deportation of families to Moscow is a subject of Rimsky-Korsakovs opera Pskovityanka. As the second largest city of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, most famously, it withstood a prolonged siege by a 50, 000-strong Polish army during the final stage of the Livonian War. The king of Poland Stephen Báthory undertook some thirty-one attacks to storm the city, even after one of the city walls was broken, the Pskovians managed to fill the gap and repel the attack. Its amazing how the city reminds me of Paris, wrote one of the Frenchmen present at Báthorys siege, as a consequence, the citys importance and well-being declined dramatically, although it has served as a seat of separate Pskov Governorate since 1777. During World War I, Pskov became the center of much activity behind the lines, Pskov was also occupied by the Estonian army between 25 May 1919 and 28 August 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence when Bułak-Bałachowicz became the military administrator of Pskov
34.
Vasili III of Russia
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Vasili III Ivanovich was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil. He had three brothers, Yuri, born in 1480, Simeon, born in 1487 and Andrei, born in 1490, as well as five sisters, Elena, Feodosiya, another Elena, another Feodosiya and Eudoxia. Vasili III continued the policies of his father Ivan III and spent most of his reign consolidating Ivans gains, Vasili annexed the last surviving autonomous provinces, Pskov in 1510, appanage of Volokolamsk in 1513, principalities of Ryazan in 1521 and Novgorod-Seversky in 1522. Vasili was equally successful against the Crimean Khanate, although in 1519 he was obliged to buy off the Crimean khan, Mehmed I Giray, under the very walls of Moscow, towards the end of his reign he established Russian influence on the Volga. In 1531–32 he placed the pretender Cangali khan on the throne of Khanate of Kazan, regarding internal policy, Vasili III enjoyed the support of the Church in his struggle with the feudal opposition. In 1521, metropolitan Varlaam was banished for refusing to participate in Vasilis fight against an appanage prince, rurikid princes Vasili Shuisky and Ivan Vorotynsky were also sent into exile. The diplomat and statesman, Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev, was executed in 1525 for criticizing Vasilis policies, maximus the Greek, Vassian Patrikeyev and others were sentenced for the same reason in 1525 and 1531. During the reign of Vasili III, the landownership of the increased, while authorities actively tried to limit immunities and privileges of boyars. By 1526 when he was 47 years old, Vasili had been married to Solomonia Saburova for over 20 years with no heir to his throne being produced, conscious of her husbands disappointment, Solomonia tried to remedy this by consulting sorcerers and going on pilgrimages. When this proved unsuccessful, Vasili consulted the boyars, announcing that he did not trust his two brothers to handle Russias affairs, not many of the boyars approved of his choice, as Elena was of Catholic upringing. Vasili was so smitten that he defied Russian social norms and trimmed his beard to appear younger, after three days of matrimonial festivity, the couple consummated their marriage, though initially it appeared that Elena was as sterile as Solomonia. The Russian populace began to suspect this was a sign of Gods disapproval of the marriage, however, to the great joy of Vasili and the populace, the new tsaritsa gave birth to a son, who would succeed him as Ivan IV. Three years later, a son, Yuri, was born. According to a story, Solomonia Saburova also bore a son in the convent where she had been confined, whilst out hunting on horseback near Volokolamsk, Vasili felt a great pain in his right hip, the result of an abscess. He was transported to the village of Kolp, where he was visited by two German doctors who were unable to stop the infection with conventional remedies. Believing that his time was short, Vasili requested to be returned to Moscow, by 25 November 1533, Vasili reached Moscow and asked to be made a monk before dying. Taking on the name Varlaam, Vasili died at midnight,4 December 1533, rulers of Russia family tree Bain, Robert Nisbet
35.
Ivan the Terrible
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Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Fearsome, was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, then Tsar of All the Russias until his death in 1584. The last title was used by all his successors, during his reign, Russia conquered the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan and Sibir, becoming a multiethnic and multicontinental state spanning approximately 4,050,000 km2. Ivan exercised autocratic control over Russias hereditary nobility and developed a bureaucracy to administer his new territories and he transformed Russia from a medieval state into an empire, though at immense cost to its people, and its broader, long-term economy. In one such outburst, he killed his son and heir Ivan Ivanovich and this left his younger son, the pious but politically ineffectual Feodor Ivanovich, to inherit the throne. Ivan was a diplomat, a patron of arts and trade. He was popular among Russias commoners, except possibly the people of Novgorod and surrounding areas, the English word terrible is usually used to translate the Russian word grozny in Ivans nickname, but this is a somewhat archaic translation. The Russian word grozny reflects the older English usage of terrible as in inspiring fear or terror, dangerous, powerful and it does not convey the more modern connotations of English terrible, such as defective or evil. Vladimir Dal defines grozny specifically in archaic usage and as an epithet for tsars, courageous, magnificent, magisterial and keeping enemies in fear, other translations have also been suggested by modern scholars. Ivan was the first son of Vasili III and his wife, Elena Glinskaya. When Ivan was three years old, his father died from an abscess and inflammation on his leg that developed into blood poisoning, Ivan was proclaimed the Grand Prince of Moscow at the request of his father. His mother Elena Glinskaya initially acted as regent, but she died of what many believe to be assassination by poison, the regency then alternated between several feuding boyar families fighting for control. According to his own letters, Ivan, along with his younger brother Yuri, on 16 January 1547, at age sixteen, Ivan was crowned with Monomakhs Cap at the Cathedral of the Dormition. He was the first to be crowned as Tsar of All the Russias, prior to that, rulers of Muscovy were crowned as Grand Princes, although Ivan III the Great, his grandfather, styled himself tsar in his correspondence. Two weeks after his coronation, Ivan married his first wife Anastasia Romanovna, a member of the Romanov family, who became the first Russian tsaritsa. By being crowned Tsar, Ivan was sending a message to the world and to Russia, he was now the one and only ruler of the country. The new title symbolized an assumption of powers equivalent and parallel to those held by former Byzantine Emperor, the political effect was to elevate Ivans position. The new title not only secured the throne, but it also granted Ivan a new dimension of power and he was now a divine leader appointed to enact Gods will, as church texts described Old Testament kings as Tsars and Christ as the Heavenly Tsar. The newly appointed title was passed on from generation to generation
36.
Dormition Cathedral, Moscow
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The Cathedral of the Dormition, also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. It is located on the side of Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. Southwest is Ivan the Great Bell Tower, separately in the southwest, also separated by a narrow passage from the church, is the Palace of Facets. The Cathedral is regarded as the church of Muscovite Russia. In its present form it was constructed between 1475–79 at the behest of the Moscow Grand Duke Ivan III by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti, from 1547 to 1896 it is where the Coronation of the Russian monarch was held. In addition, it is the place for most of the Moscow Metropolitans. This was replaced by a structure built around 1326, which is mentioned in historical records. In the 14th century, Metropolitan Peter persuaded Ivan I that he should build a cathedral to the Theotokos in Moscow like the Cathedral of the Dormition in the capital city Vladimir. Construction of the cathedral began on August 4,1326, at that time Moscow became the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. By the end of the 15th century the old cathedral had become dilapidated, two years later, in May 1474, the building was nearing completion when it suddenly collapsed as the drum of main cupola was being placed. The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was once taken as a model for the building. He designed a light and spacious masterpiece that combined the spirit of the Renaissance with Russian traditions, the foundation for the new cathedral was laid in 1475, and in 1479 the new cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Geronty. The interior was painted with frescoes and adorned with icons, including the Theotokos of Vladimir. The design of the new church, with its five domes proved immensely popular, in 1547 the coronation of the first Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible, took place in this cathedral. From 1721 it was the scene of the coronation of the Russian emperors, the ritual installation of metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church also took place in this cathedral, and their tombs are to be found here. During the French occupation of Russia, it was looted and used as a horse stable and it was thoroughly restored in 1894-1895 and from 1910-1918. On November 21,1917 the cathedral was the setting for the installation of Tikhon, however, following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the new Bolshevik government closed all churches in the Moscow Kremlin, and converted the cathedral into a museum. By special permission from Vladimir Lenin, the last Pascha was held in 1918, the final moments of this Paschal service was the subject of an unfinished painting by Pavel Korin entitled Farewell to Rus
37.
Moscow Kremlin
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It is the best known of the kremlins and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. Also within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace, the complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. It had previously used to refer to the government of the Soviet Union. Kremlinology refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics, the site has been continuously inhabited by Finno-Ugric peoples since the 2nd century BC. Vyatichi built a structure on the hill where the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moskva River. Up to the 14th century, the site was known as the grad of Moscow, the word Kremlin was first recorded in 1331. The grad was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1156, destroyed by the Mongols in 1237, dmitri Donskoi replaced the oak walls with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1366–1368 on the basic foundations of the current walls, this fortification withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh. Dmitris son Vasily I resumed construction of churches and cloisters in the Kremlin, the newly built Annunciation Cathedral was painted by Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, and Prokhor in 1406. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitris tutor, Metropolitan Alexis, while his widow, Eudoxia and it was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, and the Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, built in 1505–08, the Kremlin walls as they now appear were built between 1485 and 1495. Spasskie gates of the wall bear a dedication in Latin praising Petrus Antonius Solarius for the design. After construction of the new walls and churches was complete. The Kremlin was separated from the merchant town by a 30-meter-wide moat. The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfathers palaces, added a new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinity metochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by the Trinity Monastery and boasted the graceful tower church of St. Sergius, during the Time of Troubles, the Kremlin was held by the Polish forces for two years, between 21 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlins liberation by the army of prince Dmitry Pozharsky. During his reign and that of his son Alexis, the eleven-domed Upper Saviour Cathedral, Armorial Gate, Terem Palace, Amusement Palace, following the death of Alexis, the Kremlin witnessed the Moscow Uprising of 1682, from which czar Peter barely escaped. As a result, both of them disliked the Kremlin, three decades later, Peter abandoned the residence of his forefathers for his new capital, Saint Petersburg
38.
Simon Ushakov
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Simon Fyodorovich Ushakov was a leading Russian icon painter of the late 17th-century. Together with Fyodor Zubov and Fyodor Rozhnov, he is associated with the reform of the Russian Orthodox Church undertaken by Patriarch Nikon. We know almost nothing about the years of Simon Ushakov. His birth date is deduced from his inscription on one of the icons, In the year 7166 painted this icon Simon Ushakov son, at 22 he became a paid artist of the Silver Chamber, affiliated with the Armory Prikaz. The bright, fresh colours and exquisite, curving lines of his proto-baroque icons caught the eye of Patriarch Nikon and he became a great favourite with the royal family and was eventually assigned to the Kremlin Armoury, run by an educated boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. Ushakov had a lot of pupils and associates and even published a treatise on icon-painting entitled A Word to Loving-Meticulous Icon Painting. Some of the more conservative Russian priests, such as archpriest Avvakum, regarded his icons as lascivious works of devil, Avvakum, in particular, alleged that Ushakov painted his fleshly saints after his own portly appearance. Ushakov also executed commissions and produced engravings for book illustrations. In other words, he was one of the first secular painters in Russia, some of his icons, transported to Western Europe, were instrumental in fomenting interest for nascent Russian painting. He died on 25 June 1686 in Moscow, biography of Simon Ushakov by Archimandrit Avgustin – in Russian Chapter on Ushakov and his school from Igor Grabars History of Russian Art V
39.
Boris Godunov
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Boris Fyodorovich Godunov ruled the Tsardom of Russia as de facto regent from c.1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles, Boris Godunov was the most noted member of an ancient, now extinct, Russian family of Tatar origin, which came from the Horde to Kostroma in the early 14th century. This legend is written in the annals dating from early 17th century and he was descended from the Tatar Prince Chet, who went from the Golden Horde to Russia and founded the Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma. Boris was the son of Feodor Ivanovich Godunov Krivoy and his wife Stepanida Ivanovna and his older brother Vasily died young and without issue. Godunovs career began at the court of Ivan the Terrible and he is mentioned in 1570 for taking part in the Serpeisk campaign being an archer of the guard. The following year, he became an oprichnik – a member of Ivans personal guard, in 1570/1571, Godunov strengthened his position at court by his marriage to Maria Grigorievna Skuratova-Belskaya, the daughter of oprichniks head Malyuta Skuratov-Belskiy. In 1580, the Tsar chose Boris Godunovs sister Irina Godunova to be the wife of his son and eventual heir. On this occasion, Godunov was promoted to the rank of Boyar, on 15 November 1581, he was present at the scene of the Tsars murder of his own eldest son, the crown prince Ivan. Godunov tried to intervene, but received blows from the Tsars sceptre, the elder Ivan immediately repented and Godunov rushed to get help for the Tsarevich, who died four days later. Upon his death, Ivan also left the three-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich, from his seventh, since the Orthodox Church recognized legitimate only his first three marriages, and any offspring thereof, Dmitri had no claim to the throne. Still, taking no chances, shortly after Ivans death the Council had both Dmitri and his mother Maria Nagaya moved to Uglich, some 120 miles north of Moscow and it was there in 1591 that Dmitri died at the age of ten. An official commission headed by Vasili Shuiski was sent to determine the cause of death, the official verdict was that the boy had cut his throat during an epileptic seizure. Ivans widow claimed that her son had been murdered by Godunovs agents, Godunovs guilt was never established and shortly thereafter Dmitris mother was forced to take the veil. Dmitry Ivanovich was laid to rest and promptly, though temporarily, when Nikita died in 1586, Boris had no serious rival for the regency. A conspiracy of other boyars and of Dionysius II, Metropolitan of Moscow, the attempt proved unsuccessful, and the conspirators were banished or sent to monasteries. After that, Godunov remained supreme in Russia and he corresponded with foreign princes as their equal and his policy was generally pacific and always prudent. In 1595, he recovered from Sweden some towns lost during the former reign, five years previously he had defeated a Tatar raid upon Moscow, for which he received the title of Konyushy, an obsolete dignity even higher than that of Boyar. He supported a faction in the Crimea and gave the emperor subsidies in his war against the sultan
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Posad
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A posad was a settlement in the Russian Empire, often surrounded by ramparts and a moat, adjoining a town or a kremlin, but outside of it, or adjoining a monastery in the 10th to 15th centuries. The posad was inhabited by craftsmen and merchants and was its own distinct community, some posads developed into towns, such as Pavlovsky Posad and Sergiev Posad. During the 1920s administrative territorial reform in the Soviet Union, posads were converted into urban-type settlements, the posad was the center of trade in Ancient Rus. Merchants and craftsmen resided there and sold such as pottery, armor, glass and copperware, icons, and clothing, as well as food, wax. Most large cities were adjoined by a posad, frequently situated below the main citadel, posads were sometimes fortified with earthen walls. As posads developed, they became like villages, membership in the community became hereditary, and posad residents were expected to pay taxes and perform other duties to the state. Leaving the posad required the permission of an elected official, a number of posads evolved into towns. Those by a kremlin often gave rise to local toponyms, such as Nagorny Posad and those by a monastery often gave rise to cities named after the monastery, e. g. Sergiev Posad is named after the nearby Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra
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Siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra
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The Siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra was an abortive attempt of the Polish-Lithuanian irregular army supporting False Dmitri II to capture the Trinity Monastery. The siege lasted for 16 months, from 23 September 1608 until 12 January 1610, in December 1608, the Polish army of some 15,000 men laid siege to the fortress of the Trinity monastery, which had been protecting the northern approaches to Moscow. The Russian garrison consisted of dvoryane, streltsy, monastic servants, monks, in the early October 1608, the attackers began shelling and mining the monastery. Numerous assaults in October and November were repelled by the Russians, there had been no significant military activity from late November 1608 until May 1609, but the besieged garrison suffered many casualties due to an outbreak of scurvy. In May through July 1609, the Russians repelled a number of enemy attacks, on 19 October 1609, and 4 January 1610, auxiliary detachments under the command of David Zherebtsov and Grigory Voluyev managed to make their way into the fortress. Under the threat of the army of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, the Polish forces raised the siege on 12 January 1610. Time of Troubles Sigismund III of Poland
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Peter the Great
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Peter the Great, Peter I or Peter Alexeyevich ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V. Through a number of successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a larger empire that became a major European power. He led a revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, westernized. Peters reforms made an impact on Russia and many institutions of Russian government trace their origins to his reign. From an early age, Peters education was put in the hands of tutors, most notably Nikita Zotov, Patrick Gordon. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peters elder half-brother and this position changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family and Naryshkin family over who should inherit the throne, Peters other half-brother, Ivan V, was next in line for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the Boyar Duma chose the 10-year-old Peter to become Tsar with his mother as regent and this arrangement was brought before the people of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, and was ratified. Sophia Alekseyevna, one of Alexis daughters from his first marriage, in the subsequent conflict some of Peters relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence. The Streltsy made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys and their allies, to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, Sophia acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat, a large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and this throne can be seen in the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow. Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name and he engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with his toy army. Peters mother sought to force him to adopt a conventional approach. The marriage was a failure, and ten years later Peter forced his wife to become a nun, by the summer of 1689, Peter planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns. When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with the leaders of the Streltsy, Sophia was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name, still, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother, Natalya Naryshkina and it was only when Nataliya died in 1694 that Peter became an independent sovereign
