R EADERS of the modern histories of Russia may wonder by what right Moscow is included among MEDIÆVAL TOWNS , for it is the fashion of recent writers to ignore the history of the mighty Euro-Asian empire prior to the eighteenth century and the reign of Peter the Great. It is at that period this story of the old Muscovite capital ends. To many, then, this account of the town and its vicissitudes during the preceding five centuries may have the charm of novelty; perchance to others, who have wrong

T HE mediæval pilgrim to Moscow, getting his first glimpse of the Holy City from Salutation Hill, saw before him much the same sight as the tourist of to-day may look upon from the same spot. Three miles away a hill crowned with white-walled buildings, many towers, gilded domes and spires topped with Cross-and-Crescent; outside the wall that encircles this hill, groups of buildings, large and small; open fields, trees—singly, in rows, clumps and thickets—separate group from group; ever and anon

“Away in the depths of the primeval forest, where one heard the low chanting of the solitary hermit in his retreat, arises the glorious Kremlin of Moscow town.” M. Dmitriev. I T is generally believed that the word Moscow is of Finnish origin; in an old dialect kva means water, the exact significance of Mos is undecided, probably Moskva implies “the-way,” simply—the water-route to some trading point reached by this river from the Volga and Oka. It was the name by which the river was known, and fr

T HE first real prince of Moscow was Ivan I., surnamed “Kalita” (the Purser), who of his own right inherited Moscow from his father, Daniel, and by the grace of the Khan, was also Grand Prince of Vladimir in succession to his brother George. He made alliances, matrimonial and other, for himself and his, so adding to his possessions, and by purchase acquiring also Uglitch, Galitch and Bielozersk. Like his brother he kept on good terms with the Khan. At the command of Usbek he made war on Tver, No

V ASILI III. succeeded his father and reigned in Moscow for nearly thirty years. From the historical point of view, he is unfortunate, as he followed a sovereign recognised as “Great,” whose conquests and innovations changed the destiny of Moscow, and was succeeded by a ruler, who, by his barbarities, won for himself the surname of “Terrible.” Vasili III. was not a warrior, and when he made war it was by preference against Slavonic peoples in the west. His chief delight was in building: churches

“A right Scythian, full of readie wisdom, cruell, bloudye, mercilesse.”— Horsey. M OST conspicuous of all the monuments of the past Moscow contains, is the great weird building familiarly known as the church of Vasili Blajenni; as monstrous and impressive is the era that produced it. The half century during which Ivan the Terrible reigned over Muscovy is a unique period in the history of Russia. And not that of Russia only, for in no country at any time have so many and diverse outrages been per

The new dynasty was founded, but quite early, if the tradition be true, was likely to have been extinguished. The Poles on learning the news endeavoured to put the young Romanof to death; an attempt to waylay him was frustrated by the heroism of the peasant Sussanin who, in the district of Kostroma, gave his “life for the Tsar” by leading astray in the forest the murderous band searching for him. Historians now say that he had no opportunity of so doing, but the fact remains that for some servic

W RITERS in the west still ignore the history of Russia previous to the reign of Peter the Great, attributing to that monarch reforms he did not initiate, and a policy of which he was not the author and followed but indifferently. The real makers of the Russian nation were the wise Romanofs who preceded the tyrant Peter. The history of the period may be briefly recounted, apart from the story of the construction of the great town—the Moscow of the Tsars. It was under the Tsar Michael that the re

“The Kremlin is our Sanctuary and our Fortress; the source of our strength and the treasury of our Holy Faith.” Viazemski. R USSIANS very rightly regard the Kremlin as their Holy of Holies. All that Moscow is to Russia, the Kremlin is to Moscow. Nowhere else are so many and diverse relics grouped in so small a space; no place of its size is so rich in historical associations. It contains what is best worth seeing in Russia, it is what is best worth knowing. The people know this; know that—as the

“Among the objects of greatest antiquity are the sacerdotal robes of the high clergy. They are in the case near the altar; the ‘Omophorium of the sixth Œcumenical Council’ of the catalogue, is said to have belonged to St Nicholas the wonder-worker, Archbishop of Mirliki, and worn by that saint at the Council at Nice: Sabas thinks that it was presented to Alexis by Gregory of Nicea who visited Moscow in 1655, with letters from the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople testifying to its genui

P ETER “THE GREAT” who is credited with having created the history of Russia did little for Moscow, a town he, after his travels abroad, always despised and constantly distrusted. He evicted the last private owners from the Kremlin, and spoiled its palaces and treasures, but took no measures to enhance its beauty or increase its wealth. It is customary to date progress and civilisation from his reign; an anonymous Russian poet has even written: but, so far as Moscow is concerned, his coming woul

R USSIAN monks all belong to one order, that based on the rule of St Basil the Great, practically the only order of “black” clergy recognised by the Eastern Church. The first monastery in Russia was founded by St Anthony, a Russian who, after living some time on Mount Athos, returned to Kiev, and there, in 1055, conjunctly with St Theodosius, established the Pecherski Monastery, on the same rule as that of the Studemi—one of the strictest of the clerical institutions in Constantinople. The Peche

“O, how glad was I that the Tsar took notice of those few Englishmen.”— Horsey. M OSCOW still bears witness to the thoroughness of English handicraft just as it shows the unmistakable impress of the French heel. When the discovery of the new world by Columbus had awakened England to enterprise and adventure, among the expeditions fitted out to find new markets for English manufactures was one of three ships sent on the advice of Sebastian Cabot, to the Arctic seas in 1553. Sir Hugh Willoughby wa

N OT unfrequently Russia has been treated by the powers of western Europe with less consideration for justice than they have observed in their dealings with each other, but on no occasion has a civilised country more grossly outraged the sense of right than did France by its memorable campaign of 1812. It is possible that Napoleon still felt piqued because his offer to enter the Russian army had been declined by Zaborovski in 1789—a rejection which the old general had many times keenly regretted

“Some few particulars I have set down fit to be known of your crude traveller.”— Ben Jonson. T O many Moscow seems so far distant, and Russia so unknown, that a few hints to intending travellers may be welcome. In the first place as to the best season for the journey; notwithstanding all the claims advanced in favour of winter—and they are not inconsiderable—for a first visit, or an only visit, the summer is preferable. Moscow, the brilliant and gorgeous is seen at its best in the bright sunligh