As far back as 1150, the Kremlin what was once a lodge overlooking
the Moskva river, was the power centre of the newly formed Russian
state and the area evolved into one of the worlds great cities.
During the 13th century, the Mongols decimated the area up until
the 15th century Moscow was strategically placed on the confluence
of the trade routes and the Orthodox church was built here. The Mongols
lost their grip on power of this area in the 15th century when Ivan
the Great took charge and commissioned Italian architects to design
the Kremlin which was now the centre of the city. He died in 1584
and along came the Romanov dynasty which remained in place up to
1917.
Peter the Great travelled all of Europe and returned to his native
Russia with grand ambitions to transform St. Petersburg area into
one of the most beautiful cities in all of Europe. The Axis of power
transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg up until the Revolution
in 1917 where Moscow was re- instated as the Capital of Russia.
In 1812, along came Napoleon and burnt down Moscow. With several
circumstances arising, the French were later chased the whole way
back to Paris. Much of the present day Moscow dates from this period.
The Borodina Panorama Museum commemorates this period of Moscows
history.
During World War I, there were many underground revolutionary movements
which left the ruling Romanov’s in an untenable position and
the last tsar, Nicholas II abdicated. 1917 was the start of the Bolshevik
Revolution which brought with it 70 years of Communism. When Lenin
died in 1924, Stalin took over and enforced severe repression on
its people.
The second World War, which was known as the Great Patriotic War
in Russia, where the Germans invaded Russia. 450,000 people were
helping out digging trenches around Moscow to keep out the Germans.
The Germans were defeated, but 30 million Soviets died for the cause.
Stalin died in 1953 and next up was Krushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev
and then Yeltsin brought Russia in 1993 into the new world of Capitalism
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