870 years ago - in April 1147 for the first time in the chronicle sources the word "Moscow" was mentioned. We are talking about information about Moscow from the Ipatiev Chronicle, one of the oldest Russian annalistic collections, which is considered to be the main one for the numerous works of historians of different eras.
A mention of Moscow is given in the text of the invitation of Svyatoslav, Prince of Novgorod-Seversky, Rostov-Suzdal and the Great Kiev Prince Yuri (Vladimirovich) Dolgoruky (adapted version):
Come to me, brother, to Moskov '.
A variant closer to the original source:
And he sent Gyurga to Svyatoslav, speech: my brother will come to Moskov '. Svyatoslav, on the other hand, was going to him with his child Olga in a small squad, we captured Vladimir Svyatoslavich with us.
The very fact that the Ipatiev Chronicle reports on the invitation of Yuri Dolgoruky to Moscow (Moscow) suggests that the settlement at this place could have appeared clearly earlier than April 1147. However, it was the chronicle, as the main source, that gave reason to consider the year of foundation of Moscow in 1147, and the founder of the city was precisely Yuri Dolgoruky.
Approximately 9 years later, according to chronicle sources, Prince Yuri, being in Kiev, ordered to strengthen Moscow (Moscow) with wooden walls and a moat.
A settlement on the banks of the Moskva River - at the place of its confluence with the Neglinnaya River - under Yuri Dolgorukom appeared on Borovitsky Hill - in the possession of the local boyar Stepan Kuchka. In the birch bark letter of the second half of the XII century, these places are called Kuchkov - by the "surname" of the boyar. At the same time, linguists believe that the boyar's surname, like the concept "Moscow", is of Finno-Ugric origin. So, according to one version, the surname Kuchka comes from the Mari dialect "kuchkizh" - "eagle", or from "kuchk", "kuchyk" - short, short.
The term "Moscow" has even more versions of its origin. Supporters of the idea of a Finno-Ugric name are inclined to the version that "Moscow" comes from the Finno-Ugric word "curved", which characterizes the river at the place of the city's foundation. According to another version, the word "Moscow" can be translated as "currant" - and also from one of the languages of the Finno-Ugric group.
Slavs argue with supporters of the Finno-Ugric version of the name, stating that Moscow has nothing to do with either the “currant” or the “curved” one. A version is proposed that compares the modern Russian-language concept "dank" with the Proto-Slavic dialectical formations "mosk" and "brain", which were translated as "raw". Supporters of this version defend their position, citing data that there are many rivers with similar names in various Slavic states. So, in the modern Rakhiv district of the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, there is also Moscow (only about 1.5 km long) - a tributary of the Tisza. In addition, in modern Poland, Germany, Belarus, Bulgaria there are both rivers and settlements, the names of which have a similar root - Moskava (Mozgava), Moskovets, Moskovitsa and are associated precisely with the concept of "raw", "dampness".
In turn, supporters of the Finno-Ugric theory of the origin of the name state that the fact that the Moskva River also flows in Transcarpathia only proves the fact that the name is associated with the Ugric languages. The fact is that today tens of thousands of ethnically Hungarians live on the territory of the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, whose language belongs to the Finno-Ugric family. Moreover, the Finno-Ugric "proofs" of the names of other rivers and settlements of the Moscow region - Iksha, Kurga - are given.
There are also those who attribute the appearance of the name to the Baltic group of languages. And each at the same time stands on his own.
However, whatever the origin of the word "Moscow", today it does not really matter. And it is of great importance that this word is known all over the world and is perceived in the world not as a tributary of the Tisza or a town in one of the Eastern European countries, but as the capital of the Russian Federation - the country's largest city in terms of population. - A city of various historical events and eras: periods of prosperity, conquests, major fires, opposition to the Nazi hordes, bright military parades, construction booms, creativity and military labor of truly outstanding people.
In 2017, Moscow celebrates not only the 870th anniversary of the first mention in the chronicle, but also another kind of anniversary. 120 years ago - in 1897, Moscow became a city with a population of 1 million people. Official data on the permanent population of Moscow at the beginning of 2017 - 12 million 400 thousand inhabitants. If the indigenous population, as encyclopedic sources say, is considered to be the inhabitants of the city in the third or fourth generation, then there is a "problem" with the real indigenous Muscovites. Mosstat says that at the moment there are no more than 3.5-4% of such people in the capital. There is also a decline in the Russian population of Moscow. If in the early 90s about 91% of Russians lived in Moscow, today it is no more than 86%. At the same time, the downward trend in Russian Muscovites continues. It is noteworthy that the second largest population in the Russian capital is occupied by Ukrainians (about 1.5% of the population). The Tatars are quite a bit behind them (1, 4%).
However, the official data on the demographic indicators of Moscow are disputed by many experts. The latter propose to refer to the permanent population of Moscow also those who, within the framework of the “rotation”, come to the capital to earn money and live at least six months before leaving. This is primarily about the citizens of the countries of Central Asia. Official statistics show that 36,000 Uzbeks, 28,000 Tajiks and up to 20,000 Kyrgyz live in Moscow on a permanent basis. In reality, according to the most conservative estimates, representatives of these ethnic groups, including those living in Moscow with foreign passports, are at least 1.8 million people.
The founder of Moscow must have been surprised by many things:
how many residents are in the city today, the fact that there is a certain strange for Yuri Dolgoruky nation - "Ukrainians", and the fact that there are many times more guests from sunny Asia in a number of city districts than native Muscovites.
