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49-460: The Convent is situated in the south-western part of the historic town of Moscow. The Convent territory is enclosed within walls and surrounded by a park, which forms the buffer zone. The park is limited by the urban fabric of the city on the north and east sides. On the west side, it is limited by the Moscow River , and on the south side there is an urban freeway. The buildings are surrounded by

98-527: A Polish unit under the command of Aleksander Gosiewski captured the Novodevichy Convent. Once Russian forces had retaken the convent, tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich supplied it with permanent guards (100  Streltsy in 1616, 350 soldiers in 1618). By the end of the 17th century, the Novodevichy Convent possessed 36 villages (164,215  desyatinas of land) in 27  uyezds of Russia. In 1744, it owned 14,489  peasants . In

147-586: A high masonry wall with 12 towers. The entrances are from the north (town side) and the south. The layout of the convent territory is an irregular rectangle stretching from the west to east. The oldest structure in the convent is the six-pillared five-domed Smolensky Cathedral, dedicated to the icon Our Lady of Smolensk . It is situated in the centre of the axes between the two entrance gates. Extant documents date its construction to 1524–1525; yet its lofty ground floor, magisterial proportions, and projecting central gable are typical of monastery cathedrals built at

196-516: A number of other monasteries. Upon its founding, the Novodevichy Convent was granted 3,000  rubles and the villages of Akhabinevo and Troparevo . Vasili's son, tsar Ivan the Terrible (reigned 1533–1584), would later grant a number of other villages to the convent . The Novodevichy Convent housed many ladies from the Russian royal families and boyar clans who had been forced to take

245-536: A season campaigning meant loss of income. The streltsy and their families lived in their own neighborhoods or districts settlements and received money and bread from the State Treasury. In certain locations, the streltsy were granted strips of land instead of money. The streltsy settlement in Moscow was located near where the main campus of Moscow State University now stands. Military commanders deployed

294-616: Is a fleet of river ice-breaker cruisers which ply routes from moorings at the Hotel Ukraine and Gorky Park to the Novospassky Monastery and back. Duration of trips ranges from 1.5 to 3 hours. "Moskva"  . Encyclopedia Americana . 1920. Streltsy The streltsy ( Russian : стрельцы , IPA: [strʲɪlʲˈt͡sɨ] , lit.   ' shooters/firearm troops ' ; sg. стрелец , strelets , IPA: [strʲɪˈlʲet͡s] ) were

343-635: Is a river that flows through western Russia . It rises about 140 km (90 mi) west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts , passing through central Moscow. About 110 km (70 mi) southeast of Moscow, at the city of Kolomna , it flows into the Oka , itself a tributary of the Volga , which ultimately flows into the Caspian Sea . According to recent studies,

392-816: Is a surname, most common in Russia, Bulgaria , Ukraine and North Macedonia . Additionally, there are similarly named places in Poland like Mozgawa . According to one of the Finno-Ugric hypotheses, the Merya and Muroma people, who were among the several pre-Slavic tribes which originally inhabited the area, called the river Mustajoki "Black river", and the name of the river derives from this term. Various other theories (of Celtic , Iranian , Caucasic origins), having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. To distinguish

441-802: Is also buried in the grounds. In 1898–1904, the so-called Novodevichy Cemetery was established outside the south wall. Anton Chekhov was one of the first notables to be interred at the new cemetery, and Nikolai Gogol was later reburied there too. During the Soviet epoch, it was turned into the most high-profile cemetery in the Soviet Union, with Peter Kropotkin , Nikita Khrushchev , Sergei Prokofiev , Dmitri Shostakovich , Konstantin Stanislavski , Boris Yeltsin , and Mstislav Rostropovich being interred there. Moscow River The Moskva ( Russian : река Москва, Москва-река , Moskva-reka )

490-553: Is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root * mŭzg -/ muzg - from the Proto-Indo-European * meu - "wet", so the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or a marsh. Its cognates include Russian : музга , muzga "pool, puddle", Lithuanian : mazgoti and Latvian : mazgāt "to wash", Sanskrit : májjati "to drown", Latin : mergō "to dip, immerse". In many Slavic countries Moskov

539-533: The Bulavin Rebellion of 1705–1706 in Astrakhan . At the same time, those streltsy who had been on top of the hierarchy enjoyed their social status and, therefore, tried to hold back the regular streltsy forces and keep them on the government’s side. In the late 17th century, the streltsy of Moscow began to actively participate in a struggle for power between different government groups, supporting

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588-545: The Moscow Canal (1932–1937), the Moskva River has also collected a share of Upper Volga water. This has enabled reliable commercial shipping, which was previously interrupted by summer droughts (older dams built in 1785, 1836 and 1878 were not effective). The average discharge , including Volga waters, varies from 38 m /s (1,300 cu ft/s) near Zvenigorod to 250 m /s (8,800 cu ft/s) at

637-482: The Northern Wars in the early 17th century, and military operations in Poland and Crimea , in the second half of the 17th century, the streltsy started to display their backwardness compared to the regular soldier or reiter regiments (see Imperial Russian Army ). Military service hardships, frequent salary delays, abuse on the part of local administration and commanders led to regular streltsy, especially

686-535: The Old Believers and showing hostility towards any foreign innovations. The streltsy became something of a "praetorian element" in Muscovite politics in the late 17th century. In 1682, they attempted to prevent Peter I from coming to the throne in favor of his half-brother, Ivan V . After the fall of Sophia Alekseyevna in 1689, the government of Peter I engaged in a process of gradual limitation of

735-775: The Russian Orthodox Church during World War II , he sanctioned opening the Moscow Theological Courses at the convent. Next year the program was transformed and became the Moscow Theological Institute . In 1945, the Soviets returned Assumption Cathedral to the believers. The residence of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna has been located in the Novodevichy Convent since 1980. In 1994, nuns returned to

784-475: The veil , such as Ivan the Terrible's daughter-in-law Yelena Sheremeteva (in residence 1581–1587), Feodor I 's wife Irina Godunova (in residence 1598–1603; she was there with her brother Boris Godunov until he became a ruler himself), Sofia Alekseyevna ( Peter the Great 's half-sister; in residence 1689–1704), Eudoxia Lopukhina (Peter the Great's first wife, in residence 1727–1731), and others. In 1610–1611

833-421: The 16th century, there were 20,000 to 25,000 streltsy. In 1681, there were 55,000, including 22,500 in Moscow alone. The engagements of the streltsy in handicrafts and trade led to a significant proprietary inequality among them and their blending with tradesmen. Even though the streltsy demonstrated their fighting efficiency on several occasions, such as during the siege of Kazan in 1552, the war with Livonia ,

882-574: The Filatyev brothers donated money for a shelter-school for the orphans of "ignoble origins". Also, the convent housed two almshouses for nuns and lay sisters. In early 1900s, the Cathedral was surveyed and restored by architect and preservationist Ivan Mashkov . By 1917, there were 51 nuns and 53 lay sisters residing in the Novodevichy Convent. In 1922, the Bolsheviks closed down

931-583: The Moskva River and from the Upper Volga reservoirs (north and north-west of the city). Canals, built within Moscow city limits, have created a number of islands. Some of them have names in Russian, some have none. Major, permanent islands (west to east) are: One of the most famous is an unnamed artificial island in the center of the city between the river proper and the Bypass Canal There

980-510: The Moskva and Oka — Kolomna . As of 2007, there are 49 bridges across the Moskva River and its canals within Moscow city limits; the first stone bridge, Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge , was erected in 1692. Within the city, the river is 120–200 metres (390–660 ft) wide, the narrowest point being under the Kremlin walls. Drinking water for the city of Moscow is collected from five stations on

1029-546: The Novodevichy Convent (the cathedral was the last to be closed, in 1929) and turned it into the Museum of Women's Emancipation. By 1926, the monastery had been transformed into a history and art museum. In 1934, it became affiliated with the State Historical Museum . Most of its facilities were turned into apartments, which spared the convent from destruction. In 1943, when Stalin started to make advances to

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1078-453: The Oka inlet. The speed of the current, depending on the season, varies from 0.1 m/s (0.33 ft/s) (winter, dams closed) to 1.5–2.0 m/s (4.9–6.6 ft/s) (May, dams open). Moscow ( Москва́ ), the capital of Russia, is situated on its banks. The river also flows through the towns of Mozhaysk , Zvenigorod , Zhukovsky , Bronnitsy , Voskresensk , and — at the confluence of

1127-606: The Terrible as part of the first Russian standing army. The streltsy were under the administration of the Streletsky prikaz from 1571. The first streltsy units were created by Ivan the Terrible sometime between 1545 and 1550 and armed with arquebuses. During his reign, Russia was fighting wars almost continuously, including the Livonian War against Scandinavia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in

1176-578: The behest of Ivan the Terrible . Most scholars agree that the cathedral was rebuilt in the 1550s or 1560s. It was formerly ringed by four smaller chapels, in an arrangement reminiscent of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kremlin. Its frescos are among the finest in Moscow. The cathedral may be a focal point of the convent, but there are many other churches. Most date from the 1680s, when

1225-575: The control of the Streletsky prikaz ( стрелецкий приказ ). In times of war, they came under their superiors. The municipal streltsy were also under the jurisdiction of the local voivodes (local governors or semi-independent rulers). The largest military administrative unit of the streltsy forces was the body responsible for the issuing of gear or kit ( прибор ). This body was later renamed prikaz ( Russian : приказ , romanized :  prikaz , lit.   'office, department'), and in 1681, regiments ( полк ). The commanders of

1274-467: The convent housed 84 nuns, 35  lay sisters , and 78 sick patients and servants. Each year, the state provided the Novodevichy Convent with 1,500 rubles, 1,300 quarters of bread, and 680 rubles and 480 quarters of bread for more than 250 abandoned children. In 1812, Napoleon 's army made an attempt to blow up the convent, but the nuns managed to save the cloister from destruction. In Tolstoy 's War and Peace , Pierre

1323-449: The convent is itself closely related to Russian Orthodoxy and the Russian history of the 16th and 17th centuries. On March 15, 2015, a fire engulfed the convent's tallest bell tower, which pinnacles at a height of 72 meters. The monastery had been undergoing major repair work and was covered in scaffolding. It took firefighters almost three hours to put out the fire. The blaze reportedly affected an area of three hundred square metres, but it

1372-436: The convent is the most outstanding example of the so-called "Moscow Baroque". Apart from its fine architecture and decorative details, the site is characterised by its town-planning values. The team also pointed out that the convent is an outstanding example of an exceptionally well preserved monastic complex, and that it integrates the political and cultural nature of the existing World Heritage site of Moscow Kremlin . Moreover,

1421-624: The convent was thoroughly renovated at the behest of the regent Sofia Alexeyevna , who was later incarcerated there. The blood-red walls and crown-towers, two lofty over-the-gates churches, a refectory, and residential quarters were all designed in the Muscovite Baroque style, supposedly by a certain Peter Potapov. In the old cathedral, a new bowl for holy water and gilded carved iconostasis were installed in 1685. Its four tiers contain 16th-century icons endowed by Boris Godunov ;

1470-602: The convent, which is currently under the authority of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna. Some of the churches and other monastic buildings are still affiliated with the State Historical Museum. In 1995, religious services resumed in the convent on patron saint 's days. In 2004, the Novodevichy Convent was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In the UNESCO team evaluation, it was affirmed that

1519-516: The current riverbed of the Moscow River was occupied about 12 thousand years ago. In addition to Finnic tribes, the Moskva River is also the origin of Slavic tribes such as the Vyatichi tribe. The name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the river. Several theories of the origin of the name have been proposed. The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted

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1568-588: The ensemble into one harmonious whole. Vasili III , the Grand Prince of Moscow , founded the Novodevichy Convent in 1524 in commemoration of his conquest of Smolensk in 1514 . The structure began as a fortress at a curve of the Moskva River three versts to the south-west of the Moscow Kremlin . It became an important part of the southern defensive belt of Moscow, which had already included

1617-584: The fifth tier displays icons by leading 17th-century painters, Simeon Ushakov and Fyodor Zubov . An arresting slender belltower , also commissioned by tsarevna Sofia, was built in six tiers to a height of 72 metres (236 ft), making it the tallest structure in 18th-century Moscow (after the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Kremlin). This light octagonal column seems to unite all major elements of

1666-571: The mid-17th century, nuns from other monasteries in the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands were transferred to Novodevichy Convent, the first of whom was named Yelena Dyevochkina. In 1721, some of the aged nuns, who renounced the Old Believers movement , were given shelter. In 1724, the convent also housed a military hospital for the soldiers and officers of the Imperial Russian Army and an orphanage for female foundlings . By 1763,

1715-399: The north and wars against the khanates of the south. They first saw combat at the siege of Kazan in 1552. Tsar Ivan passed a decree on 1 October 1550 "on the stationing in Moscow and surrounding districts of one thousand service people," which is considered to be the formal founding of the streltsy regiments. Initially, streltsy were recruited from among the free tradespeople and from

1764-520: The poorest ones, to participate in anti- serfdom uprisings in the 17th and early 18th centuries. These included the peasant wars in the Time of Troubles and after the last Rurikids were replaced by the Romanov tsars at the beginning of the 17th century and in 1670–1671 (such as by the cossacks of Stenka Razin ), urban uprisings such as the Moscow uprising of 1682 , the streltsy uprising of 1698, and

1813-541: The rebellion. The corps was technically abolished in 1689. After having suffered a defeat at Narva in 1700, the government stopped their disbandment. The most efficient streltsy regiments took part in the most important military operations of the Great Northern War and in Peter’s Pruth River Campaign of 1711. Gradually, the streltsy were incorporated into the regular army. At the same time,

1862-690: The river and the city, Russians usually call the river Moskva-reka (Moskva river) instead of just Moskva . The river is 473 km (294 mi) long (or 502 km (312 mi)), and the area of its drainage basin is 17,600 km (6,800 sq mi). It has a vertical drop of 155 m (509 ft) (long-term average). The maximum depth is 3 metres (9.8 ft) above Moscow city limits, and up to 6 metres (20 ft) below it. Normally, it freezes in November–December and begins to thaw around late March. During an unusually warm winter in 2006–2007, ice began melting on January 25. The portion of

1911-495: The river running through Moscow only freezes occasionally on account of contamination. The absolute water level in downtown Moscow is 120 metres (390 ft) above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after World War II ); a historical maximum of 127.25 metres (417.5 ft) above sea level was set by the 1908 flood. The main tributaries of the Moskva are, from source to mouth: Sources of water are estimated as 61% thaw, 12% rain and 27% subterranean. Since completion of

1960-476: The rural population. Later, military service in this unit became lifelong and hereditary . While earlier in the 16th century they had been an elite force, their effectiveness was reduced by poor training and lack of choice in recruiting. Streltsy were subdivided into "select" ( Russian : выборные , romanized :  vybornyje ), later "Muscovite" ( Russian : московские ); and "municipal" ( городские , in different Russian cities). The streltsy came under

2009-754: The streltsy ( стрелецкие головы ) and colonels in charge of regiments served as senior officers of the prikazy . They had to be nobles and were appointed by the government. Regiments were subdivided into "Hundreds" ( сотни ) and "Decades" ( Russian : десятки , romanized :  desyatki , lit.   'tens'). They could be dragoons or cavalry ( Russian : стремянные , lit.   'with stirrups') or footsoldiers ( пешие ). The streltsy had uniforms that were similar in cut but in different colours according to regiment. These uniform coats were red, yellow, blue or green ( kaftans ) with orange or natural leather coloured boots. Training and weapons were also standardised. Their primary weapon

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2058-405: The streltsy in static formations, often against set formations or fortifications. They often fired from a platform and employed a mobile wooden "fortification" known in Russian as a " gulyay-gorod " (literally a "walking fort"). They reportedly fired in volley or caracole fashion, the first line firing and then stepping back to reload while the second line stepped forward to fire. At the end of

2107-583: The streltsy's military and political influence. Eight Moscow regiments were removed from the city and transferred to Belgorod , Sevsk , and Kiev . In spite of these measures, the streltsy revolted yet again during the Grand Embassy of Peter the Great in Europe. Although the revolt was put down by the Scottish general Patrick Gordon who had entered Russian service under Alexis I in 1661 even before

2156-643: The territory of the convent and the bell tower had been disconnected from the mains power supply. The Necropolis of the Novodevichy Convent was initiated already in the 16th century. Like other Moscow monasteries (notably the Danilov and the Donskoy ), the Convent was coveted by the Russian nobility as a place of burial. Sergey Solovyov and Alexei Brusilov are only two of the many prominent Muscovites buried within convent walls. The Napoleonic hero Denis Davydov

2205-469: The tsar's return to Russia, Peter cut short his embassy and returned to crush the streltsy with reprisals, including public executions and torture. Tortures included roasting the bare back, tearing flesh with iron hooks, and crushing feet in wooden presses called butuk s. Executions included being broken on the wheel and being buried alive. Many of the bodies were hung around Novodevichy Convent where Sophia Alekseyevna and Eudoxia were confined for aiding

2254-423: The units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively known as streletskoye voysko (стрелецкое войско, firearm troops). These infantry troops reinforced feudal levy horsemen or pomestnoye voysko (поместное войско). The first units were established by Ivan

2303-541: Was an arquebus or musket , and they carried pollaxes or bardiches , and sabres for defense. Some units used pikes . The longer weapons were also used to support the arquebus or musket while firing. The Russian government was chronically short of cash and so often did not pay the streltsy well. While "entitled" to an estimated four rubles a year in the 1550s, they were often allowed to farm or trade in order to supplement their incomes. This reduced their combat effectiveness and often their desire to go on campaigns, since

2352-404: Was restricted to the scaffolding and did not do any damage to the historical building itself. The speculated cause of the fire was a short circuit caused by heat guns used for drying the facade. The press service for the Moscow cultural heritage department blamed the fire on the firm doing the restoration work. However, Russian Deputy Culture Minister Grigory Pirumov said heat guns were not in use on

2401-539: Was to be executed under the convent walls. In another novel of his, Anna Karenina , Konstantin Lyovin (a main character) meets his future wife Kitty ice-skating near the monastery walls. Indeed, the Maiden's Field (as a meadow in front of the convent came to be known) was the most popular skating-rink in 19th-century Moscow. Tolstoy himself enjoyed skating here when he lived nearby, in the district of Khamovniki . In 1871,

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