Ignorance, lack of interest in science, sodomy, drunkenness, slavish self-consciousness - this is an incomplete list of characteristics of Muscovites of the 16th-17th centuries, given to them by French travelers. Among the positive characteristics, the French note the strength of the power, “saving Europe from the hordes of Asians,” and the abundance of fish and game.
The historian Maxim Kolpakov talks about how the French described Rus' from the 13th to the beginning of the 17th century in the article “Muscovy” of French intellectuals and “Russia” of French travelers: transformation of the image of Russians at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries” (Metamorphoses magazine history", No. 6, 2015).
Part of the "Tartar Empire"
The emergence of interest in Rus' is associated with the events of the mid-13th century, when Pope Innocent IV and the French King Louis IX the Saint attempted to establish diplomatic contacts with the Mongol power. It was in the middle of the 13th century that “Russia” for the French acquired a clear geographical localization - a country covered with forests, stretching from Poland and Hungary in the west to the Tanaid (Don) River in the east, bordering on Prussia in the north. Fur is the main wealth of the Russian land. The formation of the image of Rus' as a land of harsh winters also begins.
The Russian state is no longer perceived by the French as a serious military adversary. This is a weak country, conquered and plundered by the Tatars. Russian princes are subordinate to the khans and are constantly forced to go to the court of the Great Khan to resolve various issues. Now Rus' is part of the “Tartar Empire”.
In the 13th-15th centuries, the image of “Russian barbarians”, a people related to the Vandals, Huns and Tatars, was finally formed: they are poorly dressed, vicious (gluttons and drunkards) savages, buying and selling themselves women in the markets “for a piece or two of silver” (Ghillebert de Lannoy).
Mighty despotism
In the early modern period, there was an increased interest in Muscovite Rus' in Western European countries. However, in France, until the end of the 16th century, this image was formed not on the basis of information from French travelers, but under the influence of old stereotypes and foreign writings.
Marshall Poe, in his monograph “A People Born to Slave: Russia in the Ethnography of Early Modern Times,” formulated the idea of Russia as a country whose basis and justification for its existence is authoritarian statehood. Stefan Mund, the author of the fundamental study “Orbis Russiarum: the emergence and development of ideas about the “Russian world” in the Renaissance West,” stated that Europeans, people of a different culture, coming to Rus', were amazed at the kingdom of wild nature, royal tyranny, the wealth of the unenlightened church, the lack of educational institutions, ignorance of ancient languages, bad manners and depravity of the common people.
The first French intellectual of the 16th century to provide some information about "Muscovy" was Guillaume Postel, professor of oriental languages (from 1537) at the College de France. In the three-volume work “De la republique des Turcs” he wrote in the 1540s, he mentions “Muscovites” and “Tatars” several times, arguing that “the Christian state of the Muscovites has been preventing these Tatars from raiding Europe for more than two hundred years.”
The first of the main features of the image of Muscovite Rus' in French historical, political and ethnographic literature of the 1560-90s is despotism. In 1570, the famous translator and historian Francois de Bellefore published the “General History of the World,” which included a chapter on Muscovy. The author was critical of the political order of the Muscovites, believing that they were no different from those of the Turks: subjects servilely and unquestioningly obey their all-powerful ruler.
The French humanist Louis Le Roy (1510-1577) included the Muscovites among the “first and most glorious peoples of the world” on the basis of “power.” Muscovy is one of the strongest and largest modern powers, which has forced its neighbors to fear itself, and a vivid example of despotic rule based on the sacralization of the personality of the monarch and the lack of rights of its subjects.
In 1576, the philosopher and politician Jean Bodin published a fundamental work on political theory, “Six Books on the State.” He evaluates the Moscow state not as tyranny, but as an example of “seignorial” monarchy or despotism (according to Aristotle), a legal form of government, the most ancient and natural of all.
The royal historiographer and cosmographer Andre Theve (1516-1592) in one of his works talks about Muscovy and gives a biography of Vasily III. He writes that the Muscovites are under the rule of “tyrants” similar to the tyrants of Africa and Ethiopia. The “Dukes” of Muscovy, be it Vasily III or Ivan IV, enjoy “absolute power, both over bishops and over others, disposing of the property and life of everyone according to their whim.” At the same time, “the Muscovites love and honor their dukes so much that they claim that the will of their sovereign is the will of God, and everything that he does comes from God, and therefore they call him the bed-man of God and the arbiter of his justice and will.” The subjects of the Russian ruler, “no matter how great they are, call themselves serfs, that is, slaves, of the duke.”
Moral character of Muscovites
In oppressive Muscovy, according to the French intellectuals of the 16th century, real barbarians live. It is the savagery and barbarism of the “Muscovites” that can be called the second leading component of the image of Muscovite Rus'.
The components of the moral character of Russians according to F. de Belleforet are very unattractive: warlike savages, drunkards, libertines, deceivers, bribe-takers, ill-treating women, poorly educated, adherents of slavery, misguided Christians. Andre Theve "remove" the accusations of drunkenness from the Muscovites, but adds new touches to the moral character of the Russians: prone to sodomy, orthodox. The author, talking about the first Russian printing house, claims that “following the example of the Greek sectarians, some of them, through subtle deceit and dummies, found the opportunity to burn their fonts for fear that printed books might bring any changes to their beliefs and religion.”
Teve names the residents of Novgorod the Great, which until recently was a “free city,” as the only exception among Russians. But the morals of the Novgorodians have already begun to deteriorate under the influence of the Moscow authorities: “The people are the most honest and courteous, but thanks to constant contacts they begin to dress in the wild nature of those who command them.”
Rus' through the eyes of French travelers
A new stage in the evolution of the image of Russia and Russians in the French public consciousness is associated with the appearance of testimonies from travelers.
The story of Captain Jean Sauvage of Dieppe about his visit to Arkhangelsk in 1586 repeats two already known characteristics: the severity of the climate and the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Around the same time, instead of “Muscovy,” the French began to pronounce “Russia.”
The main characteristics of Russia and Russians, the first French travelers include: Russian folk musical culture, different from French, lack of great interest in sciences, simpler trade specialization, greater dependence of economic activity and lifestyle on harsh natural conditions, the presence of spaces of uncivilized, wild nature, animals , fish, the predominance of wooden architecture, the tradition of drinking alcohol in large quantities.
It is curious that several articles involve communication between travelers and their trading partners on topics of ancient history that are well known to the Russian reading audience - about “Alexander the Great”, “Caesar”, “Pompey”, “Hannibal and the city of Carthage”, “voivode Scipio La Africanus” .
The essay “The State of the Russian Empire” (1607) by Captain Jean Margeret, who served Boris Godunov and False Dmitry I, contains a volume of information about Russia and the Russians (from 1590 to September 1606) previously unknown to the French reader.
In her “Advice to the Reader,” Margeret explains that the correct name for the country is “Russia,” and the people of Russia are called Russians, not Muscovites; Only residents of the capital can be called Muscovites.
Describing the geographical location of the country, its nature and people, the author points out stereotypical features - large spaces, but suitable for agriculture; pressure from forests and swamps; an abundance of game and fish; a very harsh climate (winter in some places lasts six months) in the most populated parts of the “Empire” (Northern and Western); “Greek” Christianity (however, freedom of religion was granted by the “emperors” to everyone, with the exception of “Roman Catholics and Jews”).
The captain consistently debunks the myth of Russian military weakness and calls Russia “the most reliable redoubt of the Christian world,” well armed and protected against “Scythians and other Mohammedan peoples.” When covering the political structure of Russia and the moral character of Russians, we encounter traditional characteristics - despotism of power, savagery and ignorance of the people.
Margeret argues that “the absolute power of the sovereign in his state inspires fear and respect in his subjects, and within the country good order and governance protect it from constant barbarian raids.” The Privy Council under the sovereign consists of the closest relatives. Church hierarchs are invited to its meetings, but the opinion of the clergy is asked for form. “They have no other law or advice than the will of the Emperor, be it good or bad - to give everything to fire and sword, right and wrong.” All residents of the country, noble and ignoble, even the ruler’s brothers, call themselves slaves of the Sovereign, that is, slaves of the Emperor.
The moral image of the Russian person is very impartial: “If you take into account their morals and way of life, they are rude and uneducated, without any courtesy, a deceitful people, without faith, without law, without conscience, sodomites and tainted with other vices and rudeness.” On top of that, “this is the most suspicious and distrustful nation in the world.” In this unfree, closed country, only some rulers (Boris Fedorovich Godunov and False Dmitry), who hated the vices of their subjects, tried to correct these vices, but they had little success.
The most terrifying vices of Russians are drunkenness and ignorance. The Frenchman notes the variety of alcoholic drinks. Everyone indulges in the vice of drunkenness (without gender or age differences). Commoners drink only on holidays, until the booze runs out, and "nobles are free to make any booze and drink whenever they want."
Ignorance is especially nurtured in Russia, since it is “the mother of their piety.” “They hate learning and especially the Latin language. They do not have a single school or university. Only priests teach young people to read and write, which attracts few people.”
Among the 150 peoples inhabiting the Krasnoyarsk Territory today, Russians, of course, are in first place in terms of numbers. But just 500 years ago there were only a few of them. Fugitive peasants, rebel Cossacks, sovereigns - many were attracted by the Siberian land.
Most modern residents, with wrinkled foreheads, can name at most three or four names of the conquerors of the richest land in the world: Ermak, Khabarov, Dezhnev and the Laptev brothers. Unfortunately, this is where the knowledge of today's Siberians ends. Krasnoyarsk residents will be able to add Andrei Dubensky to this list. Meanwhile, knowledge of your roots and skillful handling of this knowledge is simply necessary. Including so as not to lose your homeland. AiF-Krasnoyarsk correspondent found out why the descendants of the first settlers of Siberia differ from us anthropologically.
Mokchons, Kerzhaks and Chipmunks
“Currently, several old-time settlements have survived on the territory of the region, which have preserved a way of life close to the pioneer one,” says the archaeologist Yuri Grevtsov.- They were preserved only where harsh life dictated the correctness of those life positions in which they were formed. The difficulties of survival and the need for support from the team became the determining factors. People accept the principles of pioneers where there is no other way to survive. The same effect is observed among the American Aleuts and the Eskimos of Canada, although there is a gradual replacement of traditional crafts with commercial shows.”
On the territory of the region, several old-time settlements have survived, which have preserved a way of life close to the pioneer one. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family
Old-timer settlements also retained the family names of the peoples inhabiting them: Mokchons, Kerzhaks and Chipmunks. The inhabitants of Kezhma were called Mokchons. The very first Cossacks took wives from the Tungus from a clan whose totem (ancestor) was “mokchon” - a gudgeon. Hence the family nickname for all descendants. It is clear that it was strictly forbidden to eat the totem animal for food, and this custom persisted until the last years of the 20th century. At the same time, this taboo served as a source of endless jokes from neighbors. For a long time, dozens of jokes like “feed Mokchon a minnow” circulated around Kezhma for a long time. “Chipmunks” were the name given to the inhabitants of the areas bordering the Irkutsk region. Also a totem. Well, the name “Kerzhaks” originally belonged to the residents of the Motyginsky region and only in the 19th century it became a collective name for the entire Russian indigenous population of Siberia.
Cossacks vs settlers: who is cooler?
The first mention of the appearance of Russians in Siberia does not have an exact date. Nevertheless, it is known for certain that this penetration had a fairly massive nature and two traditional directions: the northern, associated with the development of river mouths by the Arkhangelsk residents, and the more dangerous southern one, which was used mainly by serfs due to the active opposition of the nomads. In any case, active development of the Krasnoyarsk Territory began from the north in the 17th century. But the serving Cossacks sent by the sovereign after Ermak mention in their notes the presence of Russians in Siberia.
The development of the Krasnoyarsk Territory began from the north in the 17th century. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family
Archaeological monuments have been preserved on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, proving the penetration of Russians into these lands in the 16th century. In Taimyr, the winter hut of Khariton Laptev is still preserved, which is recognized as an object of archaeological heritage and is protected by the state. The issue of museumification of the monument and its further research is now being decided. So the Russians began the development of Siberia at least a hundred years before it became the sovereign's will. All scientists unanimously note that the Russians’ path to the east, to the Pacific Ocean, cannot be compared with the American race to the West.
The appearance of Siberian villages has not changed for centuries. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family
The Cossacks were opposed by no less independent tribes than the Indians. In Siberia at that time there was also a developed practice of scalping and ritual cannibalism. So here, too, America does not stand out in any way. Now multiply the fear of wild cannibals (where do you think the name “Samoyeds” came from?) by temperature changes from plus 50 to minus 50 degrees. Complete isolation from administrative and government centers and structures. There won't be any support for less than a year (at best). Add the daily responsibilities of preparing firewood, catching fish, and killing game. With any attempt to settle down, it is necessary to immediately sow grain, if it sprouts at all and can ripen, and it would be nice to also defend yourself and get a wife. Well, do you want to explore a new land?
Old-timer settlements have preserved a lifestyle close to that of the pioneers. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family
Don't want Alaska back?
Recent studies of the population of the Asian region highlight a special type of person - Paleo-Asian. These include people who inhabited Asia back in the Stone Age. They had the so-called Central Asian type of face. Simply put, they were similar to the Mongols, but were not their relatives or ancestors. At the moment, there are three peoples left in the world that trace their origins from them. The Ketos (Keto), living in our region, the Ainu, who were almost completely destroyed by the Japanese in the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido, and part of the Aleuts in Alaska. All three of these peoples, according to genetics, are relatives. And having these relatives opens up interesting possibilities.Science has already proven that humans and a significant part of the animal world (including mammoths) of North America are aliens. They started from Asia (including from the territory of our region - keto!) and reached America through the isthmus of the Bering Strait. So it turns out that their first population is ours, the indigenous ones. So it is still unknown who lives on foreign land.”
Who owns Siberia?
More than once, the main claim against Russia has slipped through the foreign media - sole ownership of Siberia and its riches. And many countries are trying to find scientific grounds for redistributing the existing situation.
In order to declare wild lands as property, it is necessary to prove the presence of several basic characteristics. On this land there must be signs of authority (a judge or tax collector), coins of a certain state, a common letter and account (from whom it was received) and, finally, to whom the oath of local leaders was taken. And here Russia does not always have an advantage. The Chinese have made their mark in this regard in many areas of Asia. This applies more to the Tien Shan and Sayan steppe corridor. Between Abakan and Sayanogorsk there were, and this has been proven, the palaces of Chinese governors. The peoples of the Baikal region (late Scythians) paid tribute to China.
The danger of such a historical redistribution of land was recognized even under the USSR. By order of the government, Academician Okladnikov went on an expedition and, with anthropological material in his hands, proved that the Amur and Transbaikalia did not belong to the Chinese. At the same time, we had to debunk the myth about the common roots in the origin of the Buryats and the peoples of the Middle Empire.
“So we can and should argue here,” says archaeologist Grevtsov. - And in the meantime strengthen your position. Russia has strong trump cards in this regard. Yes, the Russians came to these places, but they did not torture anyone. Unlike the conquest of the Indians by the United States, not a single people was destroyed in Siberia! And it’s impossible to dispute this.”At the beginning of the 16th century, Muscovite Rus' was at enmity with almost all its neighbors. Crimean Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (which included the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the current lands of Belarus and Ukraine), Livonia, Sweden. Russian squads did not get out of campaigns and battles - not always successful. One of the major defeats was the Battle of Orsha. After him before the King of Poland Sigismund the Old the road deep into Muscovy opened.
The king went so far as to mortgage several of his cities and use the proceeds to hire detachments of heavy infantry and military specialists: gunners and fortifiers in Hungary, the German lands and Bohemia. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (gentry militia) was convened, giving the king perhaps the best cavalrymen in Europe. Those nobles who could not march under the royal banners “on horse and in arms” had to pay a special tax for military needs.
The blow was supposed to be delivered to Pskov and the lands of the Pskov principality. The booty was supposed to cover all expenses, and a new victory would force the Moscow Grand Duke VasilyIII make serious land concessions when concluding peace. In particular, to return Smolensk, which was recently taken from the Polish crown.
On the path of the army stood the small border Russian fortress of Opochka. Having learned about it, Sigismund contemptuously called the Muscovite fortification a pork trough. He was probably depressed by the thought that the regiments, led by the three main military leaders who distinguished themselves at the Battle of Orsha, would have to linger at such an insignificant obstacle. But there was still hope that Opochka would surrender without a fight. What can a tree-earth fortification oppose to the triumvirate of the famous leaders of Polish, Lithuanian, Czech, Serbian, Hungarian, Tatar and many other armies - the prince Konstantin Ostrogsky, his associates and assistants Yuri Radziwill And Janusz Swierczowski?
Triumvirate at the Pork Trough
On September 20, 1517, the army of Prince Ostrozhsky approached the “heroic outpost”. Never before have the walls of Opochka seen so many uninvited guests. While the garrison of the border fortress, numbering about a hundred soldiers, looked at the strangers, the enemy leaders assessed the “pork trough” and came to disappointing results. Opochka was indeed small - elongated into an ellipse, only 750 meters along the perimeter of the walls. A shaft made of limestone quarried right there and covered with earth, three blind towers, a pair of driveway gates. On one side is the water of the Velikaya River, on the other there is a deep ditch connected to it. The resulting island is reached by a single suspension bridge. The fortress is made of wood, but between two rows of logs it is covered with tightly compacted earth, so you can’t break it with a cannonball. Moreover, the battery cannot be placed closer than one hundred and twenty meters from the fortress, and at such a distance the core is already exhausted. And the fortress itself stands on an embankment hill 20-25 meters high. The barrel of a cannon cannot be lifted like that, and battering rams cannot fail.
All the men who lived in the settlement on the river bank, taking simple weapons, joined the garrison and prepared to fight to the end. Voivode Vasily Saltykov, who commanded the defense of the fortress, did not even want to think about surrender. Prince Ostrozhsky, having besieged the fortress, was still waiting for people to come from there to surrender. He stood there for two weeks and two more days - and finally gave the order to launch an assault.
Unexpected rebuff
The beginning of the assault instilled optimism in the attackers - the cannons and arquebuses fired from the fortress infrequently and did not cause any significant losses. Having safely crossed to the island, the mercenaries, or, as they were then called, the fellows of Pan Janusz Swierczowski, climbed up the slope. And it turned out that they were rejoicing too early. Stones and specially prepared knotty logs – “rollers” – were thrown onto their heads. And heavy oak logs - “elephants” - fell on the scholarship holders, hiding at the foot of the hill. They were hung over the wall on long slings, and then the ropes holding them were cut. Not too fancy, but very effective.
An attempt to attack the fortress gates across the bridge also ended in failure - in the literal sense of the word. The defenders of the fortress cut the ropes connecting the bridge ahead of time, and they fell apart under the attackers. Then it turned out that sharpened stakes and gouges were densely spaced in the water under the bridge. The fate of the enemies who collapsed on them was deplorable. The total losses of the royal troops were estimated at 60 killed and 1,400 wounded out of ten thousand personnel.
The wounded were a much bigger problem for the army than the dead. The priest and gravediggers were enough for the dead, but the wounded had to be taken out of the battle, risking their heads. In addition, the beaten and maimed soldiers not only required constant care - with their groans and screams they demoralized the already not very resilient Polish-Lithuanian army. The commander of the fellows, Janusz Świerczowski, was even accused of giving orders while drunk. Despondency spread among the besiegers.
God help you!
After this assault, there were certain problems in the fortress. The defenders of Opochka had run out of stones, and the city could remain practically defenseless against a numerically superior enemy. And then, as the legend says, one woman in the fortress dreamed Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who told her that behind the altar of the local church St. Nicholas the Wonderworker there is a secret passage to a large cellar full of stones. The news was told to the governor Saltykov. In the indicated place, he indeed discovered a “gift from holy men.” The fortress was again ready for defense.
The brave defense of Opochka was only part of the Russian plan. The fact is that the timing of the attack by the troops of King Sigismund the Old was not chosen by chance. The main forces of the Muscovites were thrown against the Crimean Khan at this time. To protect the exposed flank, a small army remained under the command of the experienced commander of the prince Alexander Rostovsky. However, it was difficult to guess which way the enemy would go. Intelligence reported that the king was considering the option of attacking Velikiye Luki. But standing there meant leaving other directions without cover.
As soon as it became clear that the invading army was bogged down under the walls of Opochka, detachments of light commanders - commanders of individual mobile detachments - the prince were sent to help the border fortress Fyodor Lopata-Obolensky And Ivan Lyatsky. Without getting involved in battle with the main forces of the enemy, they began to actively gut the rear of the Polish-Lithuanian army, depriving it of convoys, intercepting messengers, destroying reinforcements, suddenly attacking and quickly disappearing. During one of the forays of the besieged garrison, light commanders attacked the army from three sides. Many were killed, many were taken prisoner.
Meanwhile, Prince Ostrozhsky, already quite exhausted by the unsuccessful siege, was informed that the army of the prince’s governor was moving towards the Lithuanian lands Vasily Shuisky. There was no point or possibility to hang around further under the impregnable Opochka. It was necessary to take care of our own lands. Having abandoned most of the convoy and all the siege weapons at the walls of the unconquered fortress, Ostrozhsky rushed headlong back to Lithuania.
Sigismund's "victory"
The failure of the operation, which cost the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth more than five thousand soldiers, did not prevent the king from announcing a certain victory and huge losses for the Muscovites - as many as twenty thousand people! How the king counted so many killed Russian soldiers is a mystery. He never redeemed the mortgaged cities, and he was no longer able to dictate his will to Grand Duke Vasily III. And when he remembered Opochka, he invariably muttered through clenched teeth: “The Demon’s Village!”
Moscow through the eyes of an engineer:
Engineering historian Ayrat Bagautdinov talks about how Muscovites lived five centuries ago and whether they scolded their utility workers.
Airat Bagautdinov
Today, Muscovites often criticize the city's housing and communal services: either the water will be turned off in the summer, or prices will once again be raised. Complete draconian laws and the dark Middle Ages. However, it is there, in the Middle Ages, that the history of Moscow housing and communal services goes.
Water pipes
Without water, as you know, you can’t go there or go here. The water pipeline is the first infrastructure facility to appear in Moscow. True, at first he did not provide for all Muscovites, but only for residents of the Kremlin.
In 1485, a large-scale reconstruction of the main Moscow fortress began - it acquired a modern appearance. The first tower to be built is on the Moskvoretsk side, which will later be called Taynitskaya. Why is it called that? As the chronicle writes, “a hiding place was built under it,” that is, a secret well in case of a siege.
The Sviblova (current Vodovzvodnaya) and Sobakina (Corner Arsenal) towers were equipped with the same hiding places. “But a well is not a water supply,” you say. So: in the Arsenal Tower, underground galleries extended from the well, through which water flowed, providing for the needs of the inhabitants of the fortress - both chronicles and archaeological excavations speak about this. Thus, even during the construction of the Kremlin more than 500 years ago, a gravity (that is, flows by itself) water supply system appeared in Moscow.
Proposed diagram of the structure of the secret well of the Tainitskaya Tower. Reconstruction by N. Falkovsky
Two centuries later, either this water supply system had become dilapidated, or its volume was not enough - they began to pump water from the Moscow River. In 1621, the architect and mechanic Christopher Galovey came to us from Scotland and installed a water-lifting machine in the Sviblova Tower, after which it became known as the Vodovzvodnaya Tower.
Pressure water supply by Christopher Galovey. Reconstruction by N. Falkovsky
How did this first Moscow artificial water supply system work? Water from the Moscow River flowed through a pipe into a well at the base of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower. The water-lifting mechanism was an endless loop with buckets suspended from it, which drew water from the well and lifted it into a tank at the top of the tower. The mechanism was driven, apparently, by a horse-drawn drive, that is, the horses walked in a circle all day long, turning the wheel.
But the first water supply for city residents will appear in Moscow only at the beginning of the 19th century. But that's a completely different story! We'll talk about it in other issues of our column.
Pavements
Moscow roads were the talk of the town back in the Middle Ages. Foreign travelers in their notes compete in the expressiveness of their descriptions of Moscow dirt.
“In order to get to our horses and go home, we had to wade through mud that was knee-deep,” writes Raphael Barbarini in 1565. A hundred years later, Pavel Aleppo complains: “We could not go from home to the market, because the mud and slush were as deep as a man.” A little later - Baron Korb: “The streets in the German Settlement have become impassable: they are dotted with carts deeply stuck in the swamp, from which the horses cannot pull them out.”
To be fair, already in the Middle Ages the streets began to be paved: “Most of the streets are paved with round logs placed side by side; They walk along them as if on footbridges,” German Adam Olearius shares his impressions.
Sigismund's plan. Fragment. Wooden pavements on the main streets are clearly visible
Apparently this didn't help much after all. As another foreign tourist, Yakov Reintfels, notes, these pavements “are, however, always covered with mud or a thick layer of dust, and are quite smooth only in winter, when snow and ice level everything.”
Apollinary Vasnetsov. At the Myasnitsky Gate of the White City in the 17th century. The artist depicted a wooden pavement
Fire safety
Until recently, Moscow was a city predominantly made of wood, and therefore was in constant danger of burning down. The German Adam Olearius coolly notes: “Not a month or even a week goes by without several houses, and at times, if the wind is strong, entire alleys not being destroyed by fire... Shortly before our arrival, a third of the city burned down and, they say, four years ago it was the same thing again."
The issue of fire safety was one of the most pressing issues facing city authorities in those days. The best treatment, as we know, is prevention. To be safe, in the summer it was simply forbidden to light the stoves, for which purpose special services went to the huts and sealed them. It was allowed to open the ovens only once a week, on Thursday, to bake bread - apparently for the week ahead.
The ubiquitous stands with hooks and buckets also trace their origins back to the Middle Ages. The “Order on City Decoration” of 1649 prescribes: “All mansions would be ordered, to protect against fire time, to keep measuring cups and large cauldrons with water, and brooms, and brooms.”
In the middle of the 17th century, a fire department was established in Moscow. However, this responsibility, even if now centralized, still falls on the shoulders of the townspeople themselves. The “Order” orders people to be recruited for service “from ten households, one person at a time, with spears, and with axes, and with water pipes... day and night, incessantly.”
A fire alarm was also developed - analogue, of course. It is described with delight by a traveler from the Orthodox East, Pavel Alepsky: “If a fire happens at night or during the day, from that quarter (where the fire is) they let you know about it: they rush to the bell tower and ring the bell on one edge so that the watchmen who are constantly on the Kremlin can hear wall." There was a fire tower on each of the Kremlin walls. The watchmen, seeing the fire or hearing the alarm from one of the districts, rang the bell on their tower to gather the entire district to fight the fire.
How did you fight? Despite the constant mention in the “Nakaz” of tubs and water pipes, most often they extinguished the fire differently. Let us give the floor to the witness of this strange action, our eternal informant Adam Olearius: “They never extinguish it with water, but they immediately break down the houses closest to the fire so that the fire loses its strength and goes out. For this need, every soldier and guard at night must have an ax with him.”
Fire extinguishing. Miniature from the Facial Chronicle. It is clearly visible that they are fighting the fire with axes
God forbid you become the culprit of a fire in medieval Moscow. The measure of punishment is the highest: “Whose carelessness causes a fire: and that person will be executed by death from the Sovereign.”
However, despite all these draconian measures and the developed fire-fighting infrastructure, fires occurred frequently. Therefore, Muscovites have developed mechanisms in case of disaster. On modern Trubnaya Square there was a kind of first Moscow “IKEA” - a market of ready-made houses: “Here you can buy a house and get it ready to be built for installation in another part of the city in two days: the beams are already fitted to each other, and all that remains is to fold them and caulk them the cracks are covered with moss.”
Apollinary Vasnetsov. Bast trading on Truba in the 17th century
Law enforcement
The Moscow police can also trace their history back to the distant past. Even at the beginning of the 16th century, city authorities began to think about public safety. At first, preventive measures are used - all streets in Moscow have been locked with bars at night since 1504, and guards stand at the bars. Well, the current side streets of Varvarka are completely closed for all nights and weekends!
Grates on Moscow streets. Miniature from the Facial Chronicle vault
However, the strictness of laws in our country has always been compensated by the non-compulsory nature of their implementation. Ivan the Terrible's guardsman, the German Heinrich Staden, cites an interesting fact in his notes - during off-hours it was possible to pass through the bars... “unless by acquaintance with the watchman.”
Punishments for violations of such “public order” were very severe. As one of the first foreign tourists in Moscow, Sigismund Herberstein, notes: “If anyone is caught after this time, then he is either beaten and robbed, or thrown into prison, unless he is a famous and eminent person: such people are usually escorted to their place by guards.” home." The thing is clear - the law is not written for the elites!
Today, traffic rules require us to always drive with our headlights on. It turns out that this tradition also goes back to ancient times. The Polish expat Maskevich, who served in the intervention forces in Moscow during the Time of Troubles, recalls in his memoirs: “At night, or after sunset, the servant standing in front holds a large lantern with a burning candle, not so much to illuminate the road, but for personal safety : there, everyone riding or walking at night without fire is considered either a thief or a spy.”
In the middle of the 17th century, along with the fire department, a patrol service was established. Its goals and objectives are succinctly described by the already mentioned “Order on the City Deanery”: “Walk through the streets and alleys day and night and take care of it so that in the streets and alleys there is no theft in battles and robbery and taverns and tobacco and other things.”<…>did not have".
Airat Bagautdinov specially for RBC Real Estate
500 YEARS AGO
It was 69 days after they set sail from Palos, and during that time they sailed west, except for a brief stop to resupply supplies in the Canary Islands. Now they have arrived in India.
Pablo Diego reproaches himself for not trusting the captain. It was impossible to say for sure whether the voyage was truly reckless. They just kept sailing west - in exactly the wrong direction for India - to the ends of the earth, perhaps to get stuck in seaweed or eaten by sea monsters. They could tell how far north or south they were by measuring the angles of the stars, but they had no way of telling how far west they had sailed. Several times he and the team were on the verge of mutiny.
However, they were wrong, and now they are here, safe under the palm trees on a warm beach, while offshore three majestic ships sit motionless at anchor. This is India, which has become a mystery to Pablo. It is quite obvious that this is not the Asian mainland, but one of the islands located further away, possibly Japan.
But where are the incredible treasures, gold and precious stones that were promised? Friendly or not, the gifts that the Indians bring are rubbish: beads and birds of strange colors. However, they do have gold nose rings; so there is riches somewhere.
If so, why don't the Indians use them? They seem to have nothing, living in grass huts and growing strange plants for food. Pablo doesn't care. The captain said that after a short rest they would sail around many of these islands. He must be sure that further to the west lies a continent - a civilized continent of civilized people who know what to do with their wealth.
From the book Our Familiar Strangers author Volovnik Semyon VeniaminovichKnees back As you know, this is the strange position that a sitting grasshopper takes. However, only the “knees” of the rear pair are directed back; it’s simply difficult to position themselves differently: they are twice as long as the rest of the legs, and the hips are thick. Similar data have the legs of loved ones
From the book Seeds of Destruction. The secret behind genetic manipulation author Engdahl William Frederick“Two steps forward, then one step back...” By the late 1980s, the transgenic seed corporations, with the new influence of the WTO and the full support of the White House, were becoming increasingly fascinated by the possibility of seizing control of the world's food supply. They all
From the book Man After Man [Anthropology of the Future] by Dixon Dougal8 MILLION YEARS AGO Her ancestors lived in the treetops that once covered this area. Of course, her relatives still live in the forests of the damp valleys, climbing branches, eating soft fruits and beetle larvae; her way of life, however, is completely different from theirs. U
From the book Journey to the Past author Golosnitsky Lev Petrovich3 MILLION YEARS AGO The climate is now much drier and the landscape has changed significantly. The continent moved, gradually splitting the landscape with faults, when extended sections of the lithospheric plate slowly sank, forming long and deep rift valleys with chains
From the book Human Evolution. Book 1. Monkeys, bones and genes author Markov Alexander Vladimirovich2.5 MILLION YEARS AGO Volcanoes are still active; grassy plains still stretch along the rift valleys, but now only a few umbrella-shaped trees and low-growing thorny thickets break the monotonous yellowness of the landscape. Closer to the lake shore there is a flock of large
From the author's book1.5 MILLION YEARS AGO This appears to be the same place as the landscape has changed quite a bit; although the climate is now much colder. Large, chimpanzee-like creatures are still feeding on berries among the bushes. These creatures are, however, larger than earlier eaters
From the author's book500,000 YEARS AGO She is a member of the first group of humanoid creatures that dispersed from Africa and spread throughout Europe and Asia. She crouched at the entrance to a cave in what would be known as China; but far from here, in places that will be called Spain,
From the author's book5000 YEARS AGO A river valley has always produced the best plants, and since most food comes from one plant or another, the river valleys of northern Europe are densely populated. Knowing that plants grow from seeds, the people of the settlement collected the seeds and planted them in fertile soil
From the author's book2000 YEARS AGO Lucius Septimus chews a cracker at the entrance to his tent, cleaning his iron weapons and armor. Outside, in the rain, the swell of gray sea that washes the northern borders of Gaul is an unattractive sight. The wild Britons from the lands in the north were
From the author's book1000 YEARS AGO Empire after empire emerged around the Mediterranean and spread across Europe, Africa and Asia, clashing with other empires that already existed there. Then they fell apart; usually the culture and technology created by each
From the author's book500 YEARS AGO Sixty-nine days had passed since they set sail from Palos, and all that time they had been sailing west, except for a brief stop to resupply in the Canary Islands. Now they have arrived in India. Pablo Diego reproaches himself for not trusting the captain. It was impossible
From the author's book100 YEARS AGO The train rumbles through the narrow paper houses, raising thick clouds of black smoke that settles like soot on the ornate carvings of the eaves, then chugs along the low embankment between the flooded rice fields to the distant cotton mills.
From the author's bookForty million years ago Corals and sponges similar to modern ones live in the seas. Ammonites and belemnites disappeared, and brachiopods greatly decreased in number. Nummulites appeared in large numbers - small organisms equipped with a flat, coin-like shell (“nummulus”
From the author's bookSix million years ago Centuries and millennia go by. Countless generations of living beings replace each other. Every morning a chorus of bird voices greets the dawn, flowers open their corollas to meet the sun's rays, and the time when there was no
From the author's bookBack to the childhood? We said above that the reduction of canines in males of early hominids can be considered “feminization.” Indeed, the reduction of one of the characteristic “male” ape characteristics made male hominids more similar to females. Perhaps it was
From the author's bookBack to Africa Extra-African humanity appears to be descended mainly from a group of sapiens who emerged from Africa through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These people were carriers of the M and N mitochondrial lineages. As for Africans (especially those living south of the Sahara),