Description and History of the City of Kursk

One of the elements of the knowledge of the past of the country is the history of the city. Kursk is quite interesting in this regard, since it was founded a long time ago and can represent the events of the Russian state from the prince's times to the present day. In addition, the city is also interesting because it is located near the borders of our homeland. So, how did Kursk live during its existence? The history of the city, summarized in this article, will help to find the answer to this question.

Geographical location

Let's find out where the given locality is located, before moving on to such an interesting topic as the history of the city. Kursk is located in the west of the European part of the Russian Federation, at a distance of 450 kilometers south-west of the capital of our homeland of Moscow. The city is located in a temperate climatic zone with a temperate-continental type of climate. It is the administrative center and the largest city of the Kursk region.

The territory occupied by the settlement is about 190 square meters. Km. The height of the center of Kursk above sea level is 250 m. The largest river of the city is the Seim. In addition, according to Kursk, there are a number of tributaries of this waterway.

Population

The total population of Kursk is about 443.2 thousand people, which is the 41st indicator among all settlements in Russia. Density - 2,3 thousand people. Per sq. M. Km.

Starting from 2012, the population change demonstrates exceptionally positive dynamics. The overwhelming majority of residents are ethnic Russians.

Foundation of the city

Where does the history of the city begin? Kursk is one of the oldest settlements of the Russian Federation. It was founded in the first half of the 10th century. There is no exact date for the formation of this settlement, but the first mention of it is found in the biography of Theodosius of Pechersky. True, and there is not specified the exact date of life of this saint, with whom one could compare the education of Kursk. But this event was to happen no later than 1032. Even then it was a large settlement with developed trade, so its actual basis should have occurred much earlier.

At the same time archaeological data allow us to say that the first settlement in place of modern Kursk arose not later than the 8th century. It is possible that from this date people here lived continuously.

origin of name

What is the history of the name of the city of Kursk? It is named after the name of the river Kur. This is a small river, which is the tributary of the Tuskari River, which, in turn, flows into the Seim on the territory of a modern city. In ancient times the core of the settlement was formed precisely near the Kur River, from where the Kursk got its name.

Linguists have not established the exact meaning of the name of the river, but there is an assumption that it originated from the word "kurya", which means the backwater or the river bay. True, there is another version in the people, which says that the name of the city came from the name of partridge or chicken.

Some scientists try to derive the name from the Turkic languages. In their opinion, Kursk is translated as a "security city".

Princely times

Kursk becomes the center of the specific principality until 1095, when Vladimir Monomakh, at that time Prince Chernigov, and later Great Kiev, appointed his son Izyaslav Vladimirovich to reign in this city. But already in 1095 Izyaslav by order of his father retired to rule in Moore. In 1096 the prince died in one of the internecine battles. Despite his short reign, Izyaslav managed to erect a fortress in Kursk.

The history of the city of Kursk for children is most interesting when it comes to Prince Vsevolod Svyatoslavovich, nicknamed Bui-tour. He is one of the main characters of "The Lay of Igor's Host". This prince became famous for his incredible strength and courage. Even before his reign, Kursk turned into one of the main serf lines, designed to protect Rus from the raids of Polovtsy and other nomads.

In 1180, Vsevolod became Prince of Kursk and Trubetskoi. During his reign, he became famous for participating in numerous campaigns along with other princes against the Polovtsians. The most famous is the march of 1185, sung in the "Lay of Igor's Host", when he was captured by the Polovtsians together with his brother Igor Svyatoslavovich, Prince Novgorod-Seversky. Vsevolod returned from captivity only in 1188. In 1196 he died.

Participating in the infamous battle of Kalka against the Mongols in 1223, Kursk residents also sent their garrison to the Russian army. In 1238 during the Baty's invasion the city was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars. After that, Kursk was rebuilt, but again was ruined in 1285.

In 1362, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Olgerd, managed to wrest the city from Tatar power and annexed it to his lands.

As part of the Russian state

In 1508, the history of the city changed radically. Kursk was included in the Grand Duchy of Moscow under Vasily III. He became one of the links in the defense of the resurgent Russia on its south-western borders simultaneously against the Commonwealth and the Crimean Khanate.

In the XV and in the first half of the XVI century the raids of the Tatars increased, which caused the desolation of the Kursk. But the city was reborn again in 1586. It is this date that is considered to be the second base of the Kursk. Under Ivan the Terrible, rebels and unreliable people were sent to this border town. In 1596 a new fortress was built, which became the guarantee of the security of the borders and the population of the city.

Throughout the first half of the 17th century, Poles, Nogais and Crimean Tatars repeatedly attacked Kursk, but they never managed to take this impregnable fortress.

Soon residents of the Eagle were moved to Kursk. By 1678, he already numbered about 2,800 people, which for the border fortress of that time was not so little. This was explained by the rather favorable economic and geographical situation. Through Kursk there was a road from Moscow to the Crimean Khanate, and there was a fork in Kiev, which provided a developed trade.

In connection with the fact that Kursk at that time had rather strong ties with Little Russia, in 1708 it was included in the composition of the Kiev province.

Kursk of the Russian Empire

However, already in 1727 Kursk was included in the Belgorod province. But in 1779 under Catherine the Great this province was disbanded, and the city became the center of the Kursk governorship. His first head was the famous Field Marshal Rumyantsev. In 1781 in the city there was a big fire, after which he began to rebuild. In 1797, vice-governorship was transformed into a province. Since then, Kursk has become a provincial city.

With the expansion of the borders of the Russian Empire, Kursk loses the significance of the border city, but trade is intensively developing in it. The city grew and expanded, it began to actively develop industry, in 1808 the gymnasium was opened. With the expansion of the Kursk River, the history of Zarechnaya Street is connected. The city of Kursk has become a fairly large regional center. In the second half of the XIX century a centralized water supply system appeared, and a tramway was opened.

Soviet times

In the first quarter of the twentieth century, the history of the Kursk proudly changed. The brief content of the events of those times is that at the end of 1917 Soviet power came to the city. However, this was only the beginning of the Civil War. In September 1919, Kursk was captured by the white army of General Denikin, but already in November he was repulsed by the Red Army. Since then, the city became part of Soviet Russia, and then the USSR.

In 1928 the Kursk province ceased to exist. Kursk has become the administrative center of one of the three districts of the Central Black Earth region, and since 1934 the central city of the Kursk region.

During the Great Patriotic War, the city was occupied by German fascist troops in November 1941, although it was defended not only by the army, but also by the militia. The liberation of the city occurred in a year and a half - in February 1943. In July-August, near Kursk, one of the most large-scale battles of World War II took place - the Battle of the Kursk Bulge.

A year after liberation, the Kursk began to recover, although the war continued. In 1953, trams began to run along the streets of the city. The city was rebuilt factories and factories.

Modernity

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the severity of the transitional period affected all the cities of Russia. Kursk, too, was no exception. In the 90s many enterprises were closed here, there was a high level of unemployment of the population.

In the 2000s, in connection with the general rise of the Russian economy, life gradually began to improve in this regional center. Industry, production, provision of services and trade began to develop, which means that new jobs have appeared.

In 2012, the 980-year anniversary of the city was solemnly celebrated. Currently, the head of Kursk is Olga Germanova. The city is divided into three districts: Seim, Zheleznodorozhny and Central. Today Kursk is a modern Russian regional center.

The meaning of the history of Kursk

To understand the modern residents of a particular locality, you need to study its history. The past and the present constantly flow into each other, forming a continuous chain of events. All that happened today was erected on the foundation laid yesterday. Therefore, the history of the city of Kursk is so important. The summary for children and adults of those historical events that occurred in this city is set out above. But, of course, this is not enough, if you want to learn more about the Kursk. The article contains only the main historical milestones. And for closer examination, it is required to use primarily primary sources.

According to the educational program, the history of the city of Kursk for grade 2 is included in the lessons of the surrounding world. Of course, this helps to familiarize the children with the past of their native city. But adults should not forget about the history of their land. Moreover, residents of other cities of Russia should also be interested in events that occurred in the past in different settlements of the country. After all, from such parts of the mosaic the history of our entire homeland is formed into a single whole.