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Episode 227, The Great Cities of Old Russia Part 2

Last time we covered the history of Kiev, Novgorod, Biskov, Smolensk, Ryazen, Vladimir,

Uzdolensvhear. Today we will take a tour of the following cities – Chernogov, Rostov,

Halic, Kolomna, Turov, Pereslav, Polotsk, Yuglitsch, and finally Moscow.

Our first stop is Chernahiv, a city that is in the northwestern part of Ukraine. It was previously

known by its Russified name of Chernogov, but we will use its Ukrainian pronunciation.

The word Chernahiv is a compound word with the first part, Chernny, meaning black and

Slavic, and the heavis believe to be related to the worship of the Chernabog or Black God.

Chernabog is the God of bad luck, so you would think that this would be a terrible name

for a city. But in actuality, the old Slavic people believe that you had to pray in a

piece both the good and bad gods to make it through life safely.

We first hear mention of Chernahiv in 907 and the Rus Byzantine Treaty. When the city

was actually founded, we really have no idea, but there is archeological evidence that

it existed in the early 9th century. It was in the early 10th century that the Black grave,

known as the Chernimolia, was created. It is the largest burial mound found in Kiev

in Rus and is now a national treasure. Viking remains, likely princes of Chernahiv, were

found during excavations. Next to Kiev, Chernahiv was the second wealthiest town in the

11th century. Not only that, but was also the largest principality during the time period.

Its grand princes would vie with those of Kiev for control of the land of the Rus. Frequently,

they would overthrow their rivals many times due to armed conflict. This would all come

to an end, and 1239 were enshrined to heave with sacked and burned to the ground by the

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