Although archaeological evidence indicates that the site has been occupied since Neolithic times, the village of Moscow was first mentioned in the Russian chronicles in 1147. In 1271 Moscow became the seat of the grand dukes of Vladimir-Suzdal, who later assumed the title of grand dukes of Moscow (see Moscow, grand duchy of ). During the rule of Dmitry Donskoi in 1367 the first stone walls of the Kremlin were built.

Moscow, or Muscovy, achieved dominance through its location at the crossroads of trade routes, its leadership in the struggle against and defeat of the Tatars, and its gathering of neighbouring principalities under Muscovite suzerainty.

By the XV^th century Moscow had become the capital of the Russian national state, and in 1547 Grand Duke Ivan IV the Terrible became the first to assume the title of tsar. Moscow was also the seat of the Metropolitan (later Patriarch) of the Russian Orthodox Church from the early XIV^th century.

It has been an important commercial centre since the Middle Ages and the centre of many crafts. Burned by the Tatars in 1381 and again in 1572, the city was taken by the Poles during the Time of Troubles.

Old Moscow Red Square

In 1611 the Muscovites, under the leadership of butcher Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitri Pozharsky (see Minin and Pozharsky), attacked the Polish garrison and forced the remaining Polish troops to surrender in 1612.

The large-scale growth of manufacturing in XVII^th-century Moscow, which necessitated an outlet to the sea, was instrumental in Peter I 's decision to build St. Petersburg on the Baltic. The capital was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1712, but Moscow's cultural and social life continued uninterrupted, and the city remained Russia's religious centre.

Built largely of wood until the XIX^th century, Moscow suffered from numerous fires, the most notable of which occurred in the wake of Napoleon I's occupation in 1812 (see Napoleon invasion). Count Rostopchin denied accusations that he had ordered the blaze ignited to drive out the French.
The fire was most likely accidentally begun by French looters and was fanned by fanatic patriots among the few Russians who had remained behind when Napoleon entered the city. Whatever the cause, the fire sparked an anti-French uprising among the peasants, whose raids, along with the cruel winter, helped force Napoleon's retreat.

Rebuilt, Moscow developed from the 1830s as a major textile and metallurgical centre. During the XIX^th and early XX^th century it became a principal centre of the labour movement and of social democracy. In 1918 the Soviet government transferred the capital back to Moscow and fostered spectacular economic growth in the city, whose population doubled between 1926 and 1939 and again between 1939 and 1992. During World War II Moscow was the goal of a two-pronged German offensive. Although the spearheads of the German columns were stopped only 20 to 25 miles from the city's centre, Moscow suffered virtually no war damage.
The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1980.

Due to inadequate public funds, Moscow's infrastructure suffered after the 1991 demise of the Soviet Union. Also, an increase in automobile ownership brought traffic congestion and worsened air pollution. The city, however, began to attract foreign investment and became increasingly westernized. In the 1990s its energetic mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, launched many ambitious reconstruction projects and by the end of the decade Moscow was experiencing a real-estate boom.

See also:

• Sightseeing