Kiev – is one of the most ancient cities of the world. It appeared in the epoch when the Slavonic nation was founded. In a few centuries later, when Kiev became the political center of the powerful country in medieval Europe – Ancient Russ, it played a very important role in the political and spiritual life of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and other Slavonic nations. It made a great contribution into the world civilization.

The first settlements on the territory of the city which refer to Kiev in fact are found on the Starokievskaya mountain. This was particularly the place where Kiy has founded the city and who was to become the “mother of Russian cities”. In the 9th century the process of transferring the city into the huge trade-commercial and administrative center of the Eastern Europe took place. Kiev is becoming the political center of the powerful east Slavonic state – Kiev Russ and lullaby of the Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian nations.

In 882 there is a dynasty change in Kiev. Oleg (Veshchyi) is entering the city together with his army. He kills the princes Askold and Dir and starts ruling in Kiev. It was Oleg who conquered the surrounding territories of Kiev and subdued the tribes living on those areas. In the beginning of the 10th century almost all of the east Slavonic tribes have resigned to him. The successor of Oleg became the son of the Scandinavian prince Riurika – Igor. The prince’s policy was directed on the strengthening of nation’s exploitation by raising the amount of levied taxes. So such policy faced a strong resistance. It was Igor’s breach of the traditional levied tax norm what caused a rebellion in the Ancient land in 945 the consequence of which Igor was killed. Igor’s widow Olga became the regent since their son was under age. She cruelly stifled the rebellion. While Olga’s being in power Kiev Russ supported close trade and diplomatic relations with Byzantium and German Empire. Olga herself accepted Christianity and tried to baptize Russ but it turned to be unsuccessful. In the period of her son Sviatoslav being in power the uniting of all east Slavonic lands was finished. The time after Sviatoslav’s ruling was considered to be the golden age of Kiev Russ. Volodymyr Velikiy is becoming the prince. He managed to do what the previous princes failed to – baptizing Kiev Russ and confirming the Orthodoxy as the official religion in the country. Volodymyr built the first stone church in the Kiev Russ – Desiatynna church. In the XI century the total area of the city is being exceedingly enlarging. This is the age of the building boom in the Russ. About 400 churches and 8 markets were functioning in the city. More than 50 000 of population have been living during that period. During that time Kiev-Pechersk and Klovskyi Monasteries were founded. The fortification around Kiev, Sophia Cathedral and Zoloti Vorota are being built in that period as well. XI – XIII centuries are considered to be the most flourishing time of the city, not considering the fact that Kiev Russ itself was having not good times then.

After Volodymyr Monomah died in 1125 the process of disintegration of the unified state Kiev Russ has begun. There were several principalities that appeared on his territory and they couldn’t resist to the foreign invaders by themselves. Mongol-Tatar khan Batyi (grandson of Chingis Khan) used such situation and in 1240 his hordes approached the walls of the city. Kiev citizens have courageously risen to defend it. Anyway, Kiev citizens’ resistance has rather weakened the army of Mongol-Tatar invaders. But on the 4th of December 1240 Kiev fell. Being infuriated with such a strong resistance the Tatar Mongols have beaten more than a half of the population. Almost all of the craftsmen were made slaves. All this have detained Kiev’s growth almost for the next century. Only some minor facts were saved about Kiev in the period of the end of XIII century. The administrative center in that period has moved to Podol. Here the new blocks of buildings for craftsmen were built together with fortification around them.

In XIV century Kiev began to reappear. Ukrainian nationality started to rebirth. In 1362 the army of Great prince Litovskyi has invaded Kiev. In the XV century Kiev was presented the Magdeburg Right. From that time the city council ruled all the matters and affairs in the city. Magdeburg Right gave rather vast independency to Kiev in its international trade affairs. The Greek, Armenian and Genoese colonies appeared in the city. The Turkish, Moscow and Polish traders had their courts. Market square appeared on Podol which became the main square in the city. In 1569 Latvia and Poland have united into one state Rech Pospolita. According to the Lublinskaya Union of 1569 the polish feudal lords started to rule over the major part of Ukrainian lands including Kiev. Cruel Catholic propagation period has started among the Ukrainian population. At the end of the XVI – first half of the XVI century the Ukrainian people are starting to rebel against enslavement. In 1648 – 1654 the people’s liberation war against polish pressure has continued. But the largest rebellion took place in the period of Bohdan Hmelnytskyi being in power which in the long run has led to the foundation of independent kozack republic. The civil war has started. In December 23 after several brilliant victories over the Poles hetman Bohdan Hmelnytskyi in the head of the kozack army solemnly entered Kiev through Zoloti Vorota. However, Bohdan Hmelnytskyi had to wage war in different fronts – with Poles and Lithuanians, with the Crimean khan and Turkish sultan. After the meeting with Kiev higher priesthood Hmelnytskyi is openly stating about Ukraine’s going out of the Rech Pospolita. The second stage of the war is starting. During this war the kozacks had to appeal to the Russian tsar for military help. In 1654 there was concluded a union with Russia in Pereyaslav. Ukraine came upon the power of Russian Empire for the very long time.

At the end of XVII – beginning of the XVIII centuries a new boom of churches building is starting. They were mostly built for the funds of rich kozacks. The architectural style of these buildings started to be called – “kozatskoe baroque”. Especially many churches in Ukraine were built during the powering of hetman Mazepa. Unfortunately, most of these buildings (basically these were not religious buildings) were demolished by order of Peter1, when after the Poltavska battle everything connected with Mazepa was destroyed. In the XVIII century Kiev becomes to be the symbol of Orthodoxy of the whole large Russian Empire. Kiev still attracted dozens thousands of palmers annually. The city was a Mecca for Orthodox Christians. It greatly impressed by its abundance of churches and monasteries. But still the most important sacred place of orthodoxy was considered to be the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and Sophia’s Cathedral. Great amount of holy relics were kept in Lavra, there were more of them than in any other country of the world. But the pearl of Kiev-Pechersl Lavra and the entire city’s architecture in the whole was Uspenskyi Cathedral. Just from this Cathedral most of the palmers started their acquaintance with the sightseeing places in the city.

After the social reforms in 1861, serfdom the cultural and social life of the city has changed into better. The number of hospitals and enlightening organizations has greatly increased. The industry started to develop very well. After the October revolution and the czarism crush in 1917 the power in Kiev has been changing a few times. During the period of 1917 – 1921 there were three powers that changed in the independent Ukraine which was under the burden of civil war. In 1918 on 22 of January the Ukrainian Central Council in the head of the famous historian and a professor – Myhailo Grushevskyi proclaimed the independence of Ukraine. In 1919 the Ukrainian Peoples’ Republic in the head of Simon Petlura solemnly united with the Western People’s Republic. But unfortunately this lasted not for long. After the defeat of West Ukrainian and East Ukrainian armies, capture by the Soviet Russia of Kiev Ukraine has entered the Soviet Union. There is much written about the bloody powering of bolshevik. Taking only the artificial starvation in 1933!

The Kiev population suffered most of all from the bolsheviks in the 30-s years. The mass repressions started just at that period. The best representatives of the Ukrainian intelligence: scientists, writers, artists, engineers and military people all died in Gulaga camps. At that time the city itself suffered much as well. Large amount of churches have been destroyed. Desiatynna and Nikolskaya churches, Florovskyi monastery and the buildings of Vydubetskyi monastery were entirely demolished. The total number of the lost religious buildings is about one hundred. Now Kiev city is far from what a palmer used to see in the XIX century. Counting only the churches and subsidiary buildings. Most of the beautiful houses were mercilessly disfigured. Many of them were simply destroyed.

During the Second World War Kiev was almost totally destroyed. The heroic defense of Kiev lasted for 72 days. On the 19th of September the German-fascistic armies entered the city. On the 29th of September 1941 the shooting of many thousands of Jews in the Babiy Yar became the world known tragic paper in the history of Kiev. The nazis have built two more camps near the city. During the war years there have been murdered about 200 000 of people, both military and civil population. On the 6th of November 1943 the city was freed. In the years after war Kiev was very quickly built up. But the conditions for people were unbearable again: arrests, denunciations, demonstrating court processes. . . After Stalin died the situation has changed a little bit, but during the times of Khrushchev and Brezhnev the main pressure from Kremlin was directed on the Ukrainian language and culture. There has started a mass russification of Ukraine. The Chernobyl catastrophe in the 26th of April 1986 has changed the life of Ukraine and its capital Kiev in particular. Chernobyl has brought dozens thousands of deaths to Ukraine, hundreds thousands people have lost their health, ecology and economy of the country suffered greatly.

After the USSR broke down, on the 24th of August 1991 the Supreme Council of Ukraine (Verhovna Rada) proclaimed the Declaration of Independency. Ukrainians like other people of the past Soviet Union and like the whole world have vividly saw that one more historical epoch came to its end. Since that time Kiev is the capital of an independent state.

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