Welcome to Russian History Retold, Episode 226, The Great Cities of Old Russia, Part 1.

Last time we covered the end of the Siege of Leningrad. Today our journey takes us back

in time to Old Russia. Well, not exactly. As this time period we will be moving into, there

was no Russia. It was the land of the Rus, but it was mostly principalities and cities that

were at war with each other at one time or another. We will begin with the presumptive capital

of the land of the Rus, Kiev. From there we will travel to Novgorod, Pyskov, Smolensk, Ryazen,

Vladimir, Suzdal and Tviyar. Then next episode we will cover Chernehov,

Rostov, Halic, Kolonna, Turov, Perislav, Polotsk, Uglic and finally Moscow.

Located on the hilly shores of the Danper River, Kiev has a long and rich history.

They celebrate its founding as the year 482, but humans have lived there for over 25,000 years.

The city itself likely existed for around 2000 years. Before we get into its history, I want to

situate you into the city's location and the importance of the Daniper River. As the fourth

largest river in Europe, it begins in the north near the city of Smolensk and travels down to

the Black Sea, some 1,400 miles or 2,200 kilometers away. It was an important trading river

bringing raw materials such as fur, wax, honey and slaves to the markets and Constantinople

and other trading posts in the Byzantine Empire.

Legend has it that the city was founded by three brothers, Kiev, Chek and Koryev. They were

members of the Polesynian tribe and East Slavic people who inhabited the land surrounding Kiev

between the 6th and 9th centuries. One of the more interesting and likely false legends surrounding

the city is that Saint Andrew, a disciple of Jesus, visited the region, predicting the eventual

construction of a great city by the banks of the Danper River. The majority of the early peoples

who lived in the region were agriculturalists with a minority being traders. The elite members of

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