Hospitality in the Capital: How to be a Good Guest

In general, Muscovites invite their close friends to their homes and prefer to meet their coworkers and colleagues somewhere outside of the home, for example, in a cafe or restaurant. With that being said, you can consider it to be a sign of sincere friendship if you are invited to the home of one of your colleagues.

Invitations can be spontaneous and may occur on the same day as the event. In this case, it's not necessary to worry much about what to wear. Visits in the home are always ― open collar ‖. Feel free to wear what's comfortable for you.

An invitation to someone's home does not mean that they expect an invitation in return, and you are not obliged to host them in the future. You are simply there to enjoy the food and conversation.

Traditionally, hosts prepare a meal for their guests. If it is a holiday or a special occasion, the table will be filled with salads, hot dishes and desserts. Of course the food will be more modest on a usual Friday evening but, in any case, you will not leave hungry.

Be prepared to eat. If you want to please your host, come with an appetite. Older people may be seriously offended if their guests don't eat much of the food they prepared.

The tradition is still alive and well in hospitable (гостеприимный) Moscow families to invite friends, especially those who aren't familiar with Russian cuisine, to try special dishes such as ―borscsh‖ (beet soup), ―plov‖ (rice with meat) or ―manty‖ (dumplings). Guests are warned in advance, which dish will be the ―main attraction‖. If you are not familiar with the dish's name, don't be afraid to ask about its ingredients. Such culinary occasions are the best way to get to know the local cuisine.

Be sure to bring a nice bottle of wine or alcohol for the host. For men who are visiting someone's home for the first time, it's a good idea to bring a small bouquet of flowers for the hostess.

Don't be surprised if your hosts ask you to remove your shoes. The reasons for this rule are not as relevant in the summer, however, in spring, autumn and winter it is absolutely not acceptable to wear street shoes in the house. This tradition is a tribute (дань) to Moscow's unfriendly climate with regular rainfall, snow, and puddles (лужа) of rain and mud (грязь) on the streets. Upon entering someone's home you will surely be offered slippers, but if you feel they won't go well with your outfit, bring a change of shoes with you.

It is not usually acceptable to stay the night even if the visit lasts quite late. If your host lives in their own detached house in the country, this may be an exception to the rule. Ask the host to help you call a taxi if you don't feel comfortable navigating the city.

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History of Moscow

Lecture 8 A Gaze Through the Centuries - 1

Prehistory

The oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic (Schukinskaya site on the Moscow River).

Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered (the burial ground of the Fatyanovskaya culture, the site of the Iron Age settlement of the Dyakovo culture), on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc.

In the 9th century, the Oka River was part of the Volga trade route, and the upper Volga watershed became an area of contact between the indigenous Uralic peoples such as the Merya and the expanding Volga Bulgars (particularly the second son of Khan Kubrat who expanded the borders of the Old Great Bulgaria), Germanic (Varangians) and Slavic peoples.

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 AD 1100, a minor settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River.

The etymology of the name Moskva (originally Moskha, later when Slavic tribes conquered the city transformеd to Moscow because of the specificity of the Slavic languages) is probably Uralic, perhaps Volga-Finnic (Mordvinic or Merya).

Moscow‘s history goes back for centuries. In fact, settlements ( поселения )

existed in the location of the present day capital during the Middle Ages.

No later than the 11^th century, an old fortress (крепость) existed where today the Kremlin stands. The remains of an ancient defensive ditch (оборонительный ров) were discovered at the corner of the Grand Kremlin Palace during an excavation expedition (раскопки) from 1959-1960. A six-meter footbridge made of rubble

(щебень) was uncovered in the courtyard of the Armory (оружие). Subsequently, several roads leading down to Neglinnaya River were also revealed (обнаружить). There, a lead seal (свинцовая печать) popular in the Kiev Metropolis between the years 1091 – 1096 was found. On the other side of the Kremlin Hill, one road led to the wharf (пристань) near what is now the Moskvoretskaya Embankment. Another wooden bridge north of the Church of Dormition (Церковь успения) was built sometime during the 1080s – 1090s.

 

Kievan Rus

Endemic in-fighting between the Slavic tribes was quelled when Rurik, a Varangian chief, assumed power in the region. Rurik settled in Novgorod, but his successor (приемник) Oleg took Kiev and made it his capital.

In 988 Grand Prince Vladimir I, a descendant (потомок ) of Rurik, was baptized (креститься) into Orthodox Christianity and married the sister of the Byzantine emperor. Vladimir‘s conversion (обращение вхристианство) deeply affected the future of Russia, which remained an Orthodox country right into the 20th century.

Early History (1147-1283)

The first reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a meeting place of Yuri Dolgorukiy and Sviatoslav Olgovich.

At the time it was a minor town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality.  ―Voice  of  Russia‖  claims  that  archaeologists  have  discovered  artifacts pushing the history of the city back a century.

In 1156, Knjaz Yury Dolgoruky fortified the town with a timber fence and a moat. In the course of the Mongol invasion of Rus, the Golden Horde burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants.

Yuri Dolgorukiy, Prince of Rostov-Suzdal and Grand Prince of Kiev, can be considered the historical founder (основатель) of Moscow. It is in fact his name that is associated with the first mentions of the city in the Russian Chronicles (летопись). According to the Hypatian Chronicle (ипатьевская летопись ), Dolgorukiy first brought his friends and allies (союзники) with Novgorod-Severskiy Prince Svyatoslav Olegovich to a town by the name of ―Moscov‖ on Saturday April 4, 1147. Legend has it that until this point, Moscow had belonged to a Suzdal boyar named Stepan Kuchko. Dolgorukiy‘s presence on Kuchko‘s territory led to a conflict between the two men. In the end, the boyar lost his property (имущество) and his head to Dolgorukiy.

There are many theories as to the origin (происхождение) of the word

―Moscow‖  (including  Slavic,  Baltic,  and  Finno-Ugric  versions).  The  only  thing known for certain is that the city owes its name to the Moscow River, which played an integral role in the city‘s foundation.

Established at the convergence of trading routes (пересечение торговых путей) and waterways, the city of Moscow appeared in a strategically important location. Land routes stretched from north to south – from Novgorod through Volokolamsk to Ryazan – and west to southwest – connecting the Chernigov and Smolensk principalities to the Vladimir principality through Moscow. The Yauza and Klyazma Rivers lead the way to Vladimir, which was at the time one of the most prominent (выдающийся) cities in the historical Rus region. The Mytishchi village was located on the watershed in between the two rivers. The city was named for the

travel tax (дорожный налог ) that merchants ( купцы ) passing through were charged, known in Russian as ―myt.‖

In an effort to better protect the western borders of his principality, Yuri Dologrukiy built fortress (крепость) cities. And so, the towns of Gergev (Yuryev- Polsky) and Dmitry were founded in 1152 and 1154 respectively. At the direction of his father, Dolgorukiy‘s son Andrei Bogolyubsky erected (воздвигнуть) a new wooden fortress on Borovitsky (Kremlin) Hill in 1156. Later in 1177, Prince Gleb Rostislavich of Ryazan burned Moscow during the civil war, but the fortress was quickly rebuilt.

The timber fort na Moskvě ―on the Moscow river‖ was inherited by Daniel, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, in the 1260s, at the time considered the least valuable of his father's possessions.

Daniel was still a child at the time, and the fort was governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by Daniel's paternal uncle, Yaroslav of Tver.

Daniel came of age in the 1270s and became involved in the power struggles of the principality with lasting success, siding with his brother Dmitry in his bid for the rule of Novgorod.

From 1283 he acted as the ruler of an independent principality alongside Dmitry, who became Grand Duke of Vladimir. Daniel has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's Epiphany and to Saint Daniel.