Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1610-12
The army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupies Moscow, until the arrival
of a Cossack army, led by Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, which expels the Poles.
1613
The Zemsky Sobor, a sort of parliament, elects Mikhail Romanov tsar. He is rescued
from his exile in Kostroma and crowned, inaugurating the Romanov dynasty.
1600s
In the first half of the 17th century, the capital's population doubles to approximately
200,000 as settlements grow up outside the ramparts.
1654-62
Wars with Poland and Sweden spur financial crisis. The production of copper coinage
causes further economic hardship, sparking a massive uprising of 10,000 people on
the streets.
1682
A power struggle between two clans stirs up unrest among the Kremlin guard, which
spreads to the Moscow mobs. Sofia Alekseyevna is installed as regent for her two
brothers.
1712
Peter I (the Great) surprises the country by moving the Russian capital from Moscow
to St Petersburg.
1700s
Moscow falls into decline in the first half of the century, when bureaucrats and aristo-
crats relocate to the north. By mid-century the population has dropped to 130,000.
1746
The road to Tver becomes the road to St Petersburg, or Peterburskoye shosse, con-
necting the two capitals.
1755
