Yaroslavl

 "Yaroslavl is a town of unsurpassed beauty; everywhere is the Volga and everywhere is history."  - 19th century poet Apollon Grigoryev

Yaroslavl is one of the oldest cities in Russia, as well as the largest and most modern of the Golden Ring cities. It dates back to 1010 and was originally an outpost of the powerful principality of Rostov Veliky, but became an independent principality in 1218. Today it is a mid-sized city with 600,000 inhabitants.

Eight hundred years ago, no one would have believed that Yaroslavl would lose its political power. Yaroslavl, not Moscow, was once Russia’s political, economic, cultural, and scientific center. But it was Yaroslavl’s immense importance that predetermined its fall. More than once, the Mongols invaded the city and burned it to the ground, destroying much of its unique architecture, art, and science. Because of the invasions, many refugees fled north and settled in Moscow, Tver, and Nizhny Novgorod.

Despite its sordid history, much of the city has remained intact. The oldest and the most appealing part sits at the junction of two beautiful rivers: the Volga and the Kotorosl. One of the most famous sites in the city is the Yaroslavlskiy Art Museum, recognized as the Russian Museum of the Year in 1998. Its collection includes sixty thousand pieces of icon painting, graphics, sculpture, and handcrafts dating from the 13th to the 21st century. The most picturesque of its churches are the Church of Iliya Prophet, the Church of Mikhail Archangel, and the Aleksander Nevsky Chapel. Yaroslavl was also the birthplace of the first woman astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova.