KIEV HISTORY

The ancient chronicle The Tale of Temporal Years says, “There were three brothers, one called Kiy, another Schek, the third one Khoryv, and they had a sister Lybid. Kiy sat on the mount where is now Borychiv Descent, Schek sat on the mount which is now called Schekavitsa and Khoryv sat on the third mount now called Khoryvytsa. And they created a city in honor of their eldest brother and called it Kiev”...

Historians have different opinions as to the time where and by whom Kiev was grounded. It is known that the first settlements in the place of contemporary Kiev appeared 20 thousand years ago. There is a legend that in 55 year A.D. apostle Andrew visited Scythia and placed his cross on a hill where later Kiev appeared.

Chroniclers have different versions of Kiy’s occupation. Nestor (the author of The Tale of Temporal Years) wrote that Kiy had been a ferryman, because ancient ferry was called Kiev. He also mentions that Kiy “was the main person in his tribe, went to Constantinople and got great honor by the Greek Czar”. Other historians think that Kiy belonged to Khorvat tribe and was their commander. Another version is that Kiy was the counselor of gunn leader Attila. After Kiy’s death his descendants ruled in Kiev and surrounding lands. Today most historians date Kiev back to the 5th century AD and celebrate Kiev’s day the last Sunday of May.

The place for the city was chosen very well: high hills above Dnepr protected the city from the attacks of nomadic tribes. Kiev princes built their palaces on high Starokievskaya mount. Merchants and craftsmen lived near Dnepr where today’s Podol is located. At the end of the 9th century AD Kiev princes united separated tribes into their power and Kiev became the center of Eastern Slavic tribes, the capital of Kievan Rus, ancient state. Due to its location on trade routes “from Varyags to Greeks” Kiev had strong political and economic relations with the countries of Central and Western Europe.

Rapid development

Kiev reached the peak of its power under the prince Vladimir the Great (980-1015) who baptized Kievan Rus in 988. Then the first stone temple was created – Desyatinnaya Church. In the 11th century under the rule of Yaroslav the Wise Kiev became one of the most civilized and progressive cities in the world. St Sofia Cathedral and the first library on Kievan Rus were built. Besides, in that time Kiev had about 400 churches, 8 markets and more than 50000 inhabitants. Just to compare the cities: in that time the population of London, Hamburg and Gdansk was about 20000 each. Kiev belonged to the most prosperous crafts and trade centers of Europe. But after the death of Prince Vladimir Monomakh (1125) Rus dissolved into separate princedoms.

External enemies took advantage of this situation. In the autumn 1240 numerous Mongol-Tatar warriors of Batyi Khan appeared near Kiev walls. They managed to occupy the city only after long and bloody battle. The siege lasted for 10 weeks and 4 days. Finally, Tatar-Mongols found a week place in Kiev defense – Lyad Gate. But even after they got inside the city, they didn’t occupy it at once. Resistance of Kiev inhabitants was so stubborn that Batyi had to give his warriors a break. Kiev fell only on 4 December 1240. Fierce Tatar-Mongols killed more than a half of Kiev’s population and enslaved craftsmen. Out of 50000 population only 2 thousand remained. Most of the buildings were greatly damaged or destroyed.

Under foreign rule

In the 13th-14th centuries Kiev gradually revived. At that time the life moved from the Upper city to the craftsmen regions Podol and Pechersk. At the beginning of the 15th century Lithuania began to suppress the Orthodoxy and only Catholics could hold important government posts. More and more people went in summer to earn money down Dnepr river and came back in winter only. They were later called Cossacks. In the middle of the 15th century voevode prohibited Kiev Cossacks to live inside the city, that’s why they built their houses or kureniy on a free territory not far from Kiev. Now this region in Kiev is called Kurenevka.

Many protests arose after the so called “dark law” which prohibited Kiev city-dwellers light their houses after the darkness. City rulers explained such law by the necessity to save the city from fires, but the actual reason was to prevent craftsmen work after the darkness. After the armed conflict, this law was cancelled.

Lithuanian and Polish rich men bought out most of Kiev’s lands. One of the greatest parts of Kiev lands belonged to Biskup. Podol inhabitants separated Biskup’s lands by a ditch to protect their territory of possible takeover by foreigners. In the 15th century Kiev got Magdeburg Right which provided the city with the greater independence in trade and granted its craftsmen numerous rights. In 1569 Poland and Lithuania united into one state called Rech Pospolitaya and gradually established their rule under Ukraine. Cruelness and despotism of numerous rulers led to conflicts and revolts of Ukrainian people.

In the 16th-17th centuries Kiev’s population rose. In 1571 there were more than 40 thousand houses in Kiev. The territory grew too, but the city was still separated into 3 historic parts: Upper City, Podol and Pechersk. Trade turnover and the number of professions grew, the reconstruction of the Upper city began. Many churches and monasteries were rebuilt.

Kiev Metropolitan (Orthodox church leader) Petro Mohyla became famous for his role in Kiev cultural raise. It was he who initiated the reconstruction of St Sofia and Uspensky Cathedrals. He also founded the first higher education establishment – Kiev Mohyla Academy situated on Podol.

In 1648 the revolt against Polish rulers started. It was headed by the hetman of Ukrainian Cossacks Bogdan Khmelnitskiy. After it the agreement of Russian lands reunion was signed, Ukraine became the part of Russian Empire.

Kiev Renovation

The end of 17th and the 18th centuries were the time when building outburst took place. New streets and numerous churches were built, mostly for the money of rich Cossacks. Even the architectural style of new buildings was called Cossacks Baroque. Rule of Peter the Great (Russian Czar) was the time of economic raise. Peter considered Kiev to be an important strategic city and built Pechersk fortress there. In 1709 there was an army of about 5 thousand people.

In the 18th century finally Pechersk and the rest of Kiev were united by new streets. The region of Lipki was built up with new houses and became the elite part of the city. In 1797 the first building on Khreschatik appeared. Since the end of the 19th century it became the central street in Kiev.

One of city’s greatest problems was fires. They appeared most often in Podol and Pechersk, because their wooden houses standing wall to wall were an easy prey for the fire. The last large fire in Kiev happened in 1811 and lasted for 3 days, the smoke was visible at the distance of 130 km from Kiev. After the fire only two streets in Podol remained. Despite those troubles the region rebuilt quickly.

After the social reforms of 1861 and the abolition of serfdom there were further improvements in Kiev life. The number of hospitals, asylums and schools grew. Railway from Odessa to Kursk was built. The auctions at Kiev bread and sugar bourses defined world prices for those goods. Electric tram started functioning between Podol and the Upper city. In 1871 the first bridge over Dnepr was built, it was the longest bridge in Europe. At the end of the 19th century Kiev was one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities in Europe, “the pearl in the czar crown”.

Kiev of the 20th century

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a severe economic crisis due to Russian-Japan war and failure of crops in 1902 and 1903. There was unrest in the layer of workers, but less than in Moscow or St Petersburg. After the revolution of 1917 and the Civil War of 1918-1922 power in Kiev changed several times. Central Council government was deposed by the Red Army, afterwards Hetman Skoropadskiy came, then Directory, Petlyura, White Army, Germans, batka Makhno... Finally USSR was established and Ukraine became its part.

Large industrial buildings changed the face of the city, empty spaces in central streets were built up. New plants and factories appeared. Kiev built and rigged out river and sea vessels, produced electric cable, photo reagents, and scientific devices.

On the 22 June 1941 the city was bombed by German planes and the Great Patriotic war began. In the battles of 1941 which lasted for 72 days the city was seriously damaged. 100 thousand Kiev city-dwellers were driven away to Germany for works. Fascists disassembled more than 60 km of tram rails for their purposes. Kiev’s main street Khreschatik was totally demolished. The attack of Soviet army in November 1943 liberated Kiev. After the Great Victory Kiev restored the damage and became the third important city in the USSR. For the courage Kiev city-dwellers displayed during the war, Kiev was granted City-Hero status.

After the war massive building started in Kiev. During 15 year three new Kiev regions appeared: Pervomayskiy, Otradnoye, Nivki. After 1960 the third Kiev water-pipe appeared, 7 bridges over Dnepr were built.

Kiev Today

Today Kiev is a large city with population close to 3 million. Half of the city territory consists of water reserves and parks which makes Kiev cozy and fresh. The city has 2 airports, a railway station, about 40 museums and theatres. Kiev has direct airline connection with most world capitals. After Ukraine introduced visa-free regime with most European countries, USA, Canada and Japan, the number of tourists to Kiev increased. Read more about Kiev today at Kiev city guide!

(c) While preparing this article on Kiev history we used information from http://schools.keldysh.ru/sch444/projekts/2005-1/Kiev/history.htm.

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