Origin of the names of Russian cities. Origin of the names of Russian cities

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I hope this will be of interest to those who study Russian.
I wanted to talk about the origin of the names of Russian cities.
Over the centuries-old history of our country, the structure of the language has changed. Many names, simple and understandable to contemporaries of cities, remain for us just a set of sounds. But unearthing the truth is not so difficult. Especially if you know the history of our country. During their resettlement, the Russians met with many peoples, gradually assimilating them. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the names of many ancient cities contain borrowings from the languages ​​of those peoples who lived on the territory of future settlements before their lands were annexed to Rus'.

Moscow - founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. The city received its name from the Moscow River, near which it was founded. The origin of the name of the river, according to the modern version, is derived from the ancient Slavic root “mosk”, which means a wet, swampy place. The ancient version of the name is Moskov.
There is a legend about the biblical origin of the name of the city, according to which the name of the river of the same name comes from the name of the biblical Mosoh, the grandson of Noah and the son of Yaphet, and his wife Kva - according to biblical legend Mosoch's descendants settled the lands from the Vistula to the White Lake.
This legend is connected with the famous medieval theory of the monk Philotheus “Moscow - the Third Rome”: “That for Mosoch, after the flood of the summer of 131, walking from Babylon with his tribe, Abiye in Asia and Europe, over the shores of the Pontic or Black Sea, the people of the Moskhovites in their name and besiege: and from there I multiplied to the people, going day by day into the midnight countries beyond the Black Sea, over the Don and Volga rivers... And so from Mosoh the forefather of Slavenorossiysk, after his succession, not only Moscow was a great people, but all of Rus' or the above-named Russia came ..."

St. Petersburg - the name of the city was given by its founder, Tsar Peter the Great, in honor of his heavenly patron, the Apostle Peter. Peter I was baptized on June 29, 1672, on Peter’s Day, therefore the desire to call new town in honor of his saint is quite understandable for a great king. However, initially this name was given to the fortress founded on Hare Island, from which the construction of the city began in 1703. After the construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the fortress began to be called Peter and Paul, and the name Petersburg became the name of the city built around it. In the correspondence of Peter the Great, another variant of naming the city is found - St. Petropolis. There is still an engraving depicting early St. Petersburg, signed with this name. But this option did not take root, giving way to the well-known name St. Petersburg.
On August 18, 1914, in the wake of anti-German sentiment, the city was renamed Petrograd.
On January 26, 1924 the city was renamed Leningrad
On June 12, 1991, it was renamed again, receiving the name St. Petersburg.

Ancient cities of Rus':

Vladimir - named after Prince Vladimir Monomakh, the founder of the city.

Yaroslavl - the city is named after its founder, Prince Yaroslav the Wise. What does the name mean - old possessive form from the word Yaroslav. Although, judging by the finds of archaeologists, settlements existed on the site of the city earlier.

Szudal - the ancient form of the name is Suzhdal, the spelling Souzhdal is also found. The name comes from the word old Slavic word“to build”, that is, to build.

Velikiy Novgorod– Novgorod, a new city founded by Slavic settlers in 859, but some researchers, based on archaeological finds, date the foundation of the city to the middle of the 8th century AD. Novgorod has not changed its name since then. For a long time was one of the centers of trade. There are names of the city in other languages, of which the most famous are Holmgard, as Novgorod was called by the Scandinavians, Ostrogard from German sources and Nemogard, as the city was called in Byzantium.
Since 1999, Veliky Novgorod has been officially named.

Nizhny Novgorod - founded in 1221 by Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich at the confluence of the two great rivers Volga and Oka as a stronghold for the defense of the borders of the Vladimir principality from the Mokshans, Erzyans, Mari and Volga Bulgars. The town was named Novgorod of the Nizovskaya land (the Vladimir principality was called the Nizovskaya land by the Novgorodians) - later this name was transformed into Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1932, the city received the name Gorky in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky (Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov)
In 1990, the city again began to be called Nizhny Novgorod.

Cities founded after the overthrow of the yoke:

Voronezh is a city whose appearance is associated with the organization of the protection of Russian territories from steppe nomads. The archive contains the order of the boyar Nikita Romanovich Yuryev dated March 1, 1586 on the reorganization of the guard service on the southern outskirts of the Moscow state, in which it is written: “By the sovereign Tsarev and Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich of All Russia, by decree and by the verdict of the boyars, Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky with his comrades on The city of Livny was ordered to be built on Pine, before reaching Oskol, and the city of Livny was ordered to be built, and on the Don on Voronezh, before Bogatovo was sunk, two bottoms were ordered to be built on Voronezh...” However, the entry in the Discharge Order of 1585 “about the assignment of Ryazan boarding and fishing grounds to the new city of Voronezh” proves that Voronezh already existed in 1585. Nevertheless, 1586 is officially considered the year of Voronezh’s founding. According to one of the most likely versions, the name “Voronezh” comes from possessive adjective“Voronezh” is the ancient Slavic name “Voroneg”. Subsequently, the name “Voronezh” ceased to be associated with the name, and the emphasis moved to the second syllable. Voronezh began to be called the place, and then the river. The city built on it became known as Voronezh.

Saratov - the city was founded on July 2, 1590 by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich Grigory Zasekin and boyar Fyodor Turov, as a fortress to protect against raids by nomads. However, settlements on the site of the city have been known since much more ancient times. The generally accepted hypothesis of the origin of the name is this moment No. In the recent past, it was believed that Saratov got its name from Sokolova Mountain, which was called in Tatar “sary tau” - “yellow mountain”. However, now this hypothesis has been refuted, since Sokolovaya was never yellow, and forest always grew on it. There is an assumption that the name of the city comes from the words “sar atav” - “low-lying island” or “saryk atov” - “hawk island”. There is an assumption that Saratov got its name from the Scythian-Iranian hydronym “sarat”.
Samara - the city is named after the Samara River, on the banks of which in 1586, by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, under the leadership of Prince Grigory Zasekin, the Samara Town fortress began to be built. The name of the river that gave the city its name has been known since earlier times as “Samur” and in 922 was mentioned in the travel notes of the secretary of the Arab embassy to the Volga Bulgars Ahmed Ibn Fadlan and comes from the ancient Iranian samur, meaning “beaver”. Russian and Turkic names of rivers in the Samara basin based on this animal are not isolated at present (such as Konduzla, Bobrovka). According to another version, the name comes from the Greek word “samar”, that is, merchant. V. F. Barashkov associated the name of the river with the Mongolian word Samar with the meaning “nut, nutty”. The name of the river is also derived from the combination of the Iranian root “sam” or “sham” or the Hungarian “semar” (desert, steppe) and the Hungarian root “ar” - that is, steppe river (I. Nikolsky); from the Mongolian “samura, samaura” - to mix, stir; from the Arabic “surra min raa” - “he who sees will rejoice”; on behalf of the son of Noah Shem (Sama), who allegedly owned lands from the Volga and Samara banks to the southeast, including the countries of Asia; from biblical Samaria; from the old Russian “samara”, “samarka” - long-skirted clothing (E. Bazhanov).
In 1935, Samara was renamed Kuibyshev.
On January 28, 1991, the name Samara was returned to the city.

Volgograd - the name is based on the Volga River, on which the city stands.
The first name of the city, Tsaritsyn, was first mentioned by the English traveler Christopher Barro in 1579, but did not refer to the city, but to an island on the Volga. The origin of the name is usually traced to the Turkic “sary-su” (yellow water), “sary-sin” (yellow island) or to the name of the old Khazar city of Saracen, destroyed by a river flood. The founding date of the city is considered to be July 2, 1589, when the name of the Tsaritsyn fortress was first mentioned in the royal charter, but excavations have shown that primitive settlements existed on this site long before the formation of the Russian state. The fortress was located slightly above the confluence of the Tsarina River with the Volga on the high right bank. The settlement was located at the site of the crossing of the Itil River (now the Volga) and the intersection of many trade routes, including the main Great Silk Road from China to Europe.
On April 10, 1925, the city was renamed Stalingrad.
On November 10, 1961, the city was named Volgograd.

Izhevsk is a city named after the Izh River, on the banks of which it is located. It grew out of the Izhevsk ironworks, founded in 1760, and the adjacent village.

Rostov-on-Don - founded as a customs post on December 15, 1749. Later, in 1760-1701, to protect against attacks by nomads, a fortress was built in the settlement that arose near the customs house, named in honor of St. Dmitry of Rostov. The name of the city of Rostov comes from the name of this fortress. To distinguish it from Rostov the Great, the city is called Rostov-on-Don.

Arkhangelsk - the first Russian settlements on Cape Pur-Navolok, on the bend of the swampy right bank of the Northern Dvina, were founded by Novgorodians back in the 12th century. At the same time, according to legend, the emergence of the Archangel Michael Monastery, named after the Archangel Michael, dates back to this place. However, the monastery was first mentioned in the chronicle only in 1419. Near the monastery there were Pomeranian villages of the Nizovsky volost - Lisostrov, Knyazhostrov, Uyma, Lyavlya and others. In 1583, due to the danger of attack from Sweden, Ivan IV the Terrible decided to strengthen the defense of Pomerania. The following year, 1584, according to the plan received from the tsar, governors Pyotr Afanasyevich Nashchokin and Alexei Nikiforovich Zaleshanin-Volokhov built a fortified city around the monastery and adjacent settlements, named Arkhangelsk City in honor of the monastery. This name was officially approved on August 1, 1613, after the city gained independence in governance.

Khabarovsk - founded in May 1858 as a military post, called Khabarovka - in honor of the 17th century explorer Erofey Khabarov. The founding date is considered to be May 31, 1858. In 1880, Khabarovka received city status. On November 2 (October 21, old style), 1893, the city was renamed Khabarovsk.
Kirov is a city that was “lucky” to change its names. The first name by which he was known was the name Khlynov. There are several versions of the origin of the name Khlynov. The first is based on the cry of the khly-khly birds that lived in the area where the city was formed: ... A kite flies by and shouts: “Kylno-kylno.” So the Lord himself indicated how to name the city: Kylnov...According to the second, the city was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river, which flows nearby into Vyatka, which, in turn, was so named after a breakthrough at a small dam: ...water poured through it , and the river was given the name Khlynovitsa... The third theory connects the name with the word khyn (ushkuynik, river robber), although most experts attribute a later appearance to this word.
The second name of the city was the name Vyatka. Some researchers are inclined to believe that it came from the name of the territorial group of Udmurts Vatka, who lived in these territories, which was traced back to the Udmurt word vad “otter, beaver.” However, such an etymology is completely unrealistic from a linguistic point of view. The name Vatka itself was formed from the hydronym Vyatka. According to another version, it is associated with the Vyada people, who had close relationships with the Udmurts. Some sources mistakenly associate the word Vyatka with the Vyatichi tribes who lived on the banks of the Oka. However, the word Vyatchans is recognized as the correct self-name; it has established itself as an ethno-funeral for the inhabitants of the Vyatka region. Moreover, historically such a correlation is completely unjustified: the Vyatichi did not go so far to the east. Nowadays, the most relevant version is L. N. Makarova - she considers the original toponym to be the name of the river (Old Russian in origin) with the meaning “larger” (cf. . other Russian vyache “more”).
The city received the name Kirov after the murder in 1934 of a native of the city of Urzhum, Vyatka Territory, Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov (Kirov).
The chronology of the renaming of the city is extremely complex and ambiguous, since few historical documents have been preserved confirming the very fact of the renaming. Usually, when talking about the old names of Kirov, they use a simplified chain of transformations Khlynov - Vyatka - Kirov, and indeed, when founded in 1181, the city was named Khlynov. Starting from 1374 (the first mention of Vyatka), the word Khlynov does not appear in any official document or chronicle; on the contrary, Vyatka was found on maps of that time, and was even included in the “List of all Russian cities near and far,” where it was included section of the so-called “Zalessky” cities after Nizhny Novgorod and Kurmysh. In 1455, in Vyatka, for defensive purposes, a wooden Kremlin with an earthen rampart was built, which was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river flowing nearby. Subsequently, the name Khlynov spread to the township part of the city, and from 1457 the whole city began to be called Khlynov. In 1780, by the highest decree of the Empress of All-Russia Catherine II, the name Vyatka was returned to the city, and the Vyatka province was transformed into the Vyatka governorate and transferred from the Siberian province part of Kazan. On December 5, 1934, by decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, Vyatka was named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov.
The city is located in a region with a large representation of national minorities, so names in other languages ​​have historically been assigned to it. In Mari it is called “Ilna” or “Ilna-Ola” (“ola” means “city” in Mari). In the Udmurt language it is called “Vatka” and “Kylno”. In Tatar, the name of Kirov sounds like “Kolyn”. All these names are outdated and are not used in modern speech.

Cities of the Urals

Ekatirinburg - the construction of the city began in the spring of 1723, when, by order of Emperor Peter I, the construction of the largest ironworks in Russia began on the banks of the Iset River. The date of birth of the city was November 7 (18), 1723, the plant-fortress was named Yekaterinburg - in honor of Empress Catherine I, wife of Peter I. “... a new fortress, which was built in the Ugric province near the Iset River, and in it factories with various factories and manufactories were named after Yekaterinburg, for the memory of eternal generations and for the eternal glory of Her Majesty, the most merciful empress; ..." On October 14, 1924, the Yekaterinburg City Council made a decision to rename the city Sverdlovsk in honor of Yakov Sverdlov, a leader Communist Party and the Soviet state. On September 4, 1991, the city returned the name Yekaterinburg. The name "Ekaterinburg" was returned to the railway station on March 30, 2010.
Chelyabinsk - the city was founded in 1736; on September 13, Colonel A.I. Tevkelev “founded a city in the Chelyabi tract from the Miyas fortress, thirty miles away.” The origin of this toponym is ambiguous. The oldest explanation, which existed among the descendants of the first settlers and old-timers, says that the name of the fortress “Chelyaba” goes back to the Bashkir word “Silebe”, that is, “depression; a large, shallow hole." It was given by the name of the tract. This version is supported by the notes of the German traveler I. G. Gmelin, who visited the Chelyabinsk fortress in 1742. Today, this version can be considered the most widespread. Subsequently, various alternative versions appeared: According to researcher A.V. Orlov, the Chelyabinsk fortress was named after the village of Selyaba, which stood on the river. Selyabka. V. A. Vesnovsky also spoke in favor of this version, who wrote in his reference book in 1909 that according to legend, at the time of the founding of Chelyabinsk, the Bashkir village of Selyaba was in this place. According to some scientists (U.K. Safiulin, G.F. Satarov, Yu.G. Podkorytov), ​​the village was founded by the legendary Turkic hero Selyambey.G. A. Turbin believed that this was the village of the Bashkir Tarkhan Taimas Shaimov, who had honorary title“Chelyabi”. It is likely that on the site of modern Chelyabinsk there were the patrimonial lands of the Turkic hero Selyabi-Chelebi. Some researchers derive the name from the Turkic root “chelyabi” (“selyabi”), that is, “noble”.
Perm - the founding day of the city is considered to be the official date of the start of construction of the Yegoshikha (Yagoshikha) copper smelter - May 4 (15), 1723. Until now, the origin of the name Perm has three interpretations: either it is the Finno-Ugric expression “pera maa” - “distant land”, or it is the Komi-Permyak “parma”, which means “taiga”. Often a connection is found in the name Perm and ancient land Biarmies from Viking legends. According to another hypothesis, the origin of the word is connected with the name of the hero of the Komi-Permyak epic Pera - the hero. In some Finno-Ugric languages, “peri” means spirit (Udmurt “peri” - evil spirit, Mordovian “peri” - spirit of the winds). Perhaps the Kama Komi were called Permyaks because they were patronized from ancient times by the omnipotent spirit - the god Pera.

Cities that became part of Russia after the annexation of other lands.

Kazan - there are several versions and legends about the origin of the name Kazan. The generally accepted version is the boiling cauldron: the sorcerer advised the Bulgars to build a city where a cauldron of water dug into the ground would boil without any fire. As a result, a similar place was found on the shore of Lake Kaban. This is where the name of the city of Kazan came from - “kazan” in ancient Bulgarian, as well as in modern Tatar, means “cauldron”. Other versions connect the name of the city with the landscape, Tatar words“kaen” (birch) or “kaz” (goose), Prince Hassan and other options. According to official version As currently accepted, the city was founded at least 1000 years ago. The basis for this dating is a Czech coin found during excavations on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin, dated to the reign of St. Wenceslas (presumably minted 929-930)

Astrakhan - The history of Astrakhan dates back to the 13th century. We find the first mention of it in the Italian traveler Francesco Pegalotti, who visited Gitarkhan (as Astrakhan was called in the first quarter of the 14th century) and wrote a description of his journey from Tana (Azov) to China. The city was located on the right bank of the Volga, 12 km from modern Astrakhan and in different times was called: Adzhitarkhan, Ashtrarkhan, Tsitrakhan. Over the years, disputes have flared up every now and then about the origin of the name Astrakhan. One theory explains the name of the city by the fact that the descendants of warlike Sarmatian tribes - the Ases - lived in these parts. For their military merits, they received from Batu Khan a letter - tarkhan, exempting them from duties in favor of the state. It was a great honor. To commemorate this event, the Ases gave the name to the city “As-Tarkhan”. But there is a written source - a description of the Arab traveler Ibn Batuta in 1334: “This city received its name from the Turkic haji (pilgrim to Mecca), one of the pious people who settled in this place. The Sultan gave him this place duty-free (that is, he made it a Tarkhan), and it became a village, then it expanded and became a city. This is one of the best cities with large bazaars, built on the Itil River.” In “Walking beyond the Three Seas,” Afanasy Nikitin in 1466 confirms that “Aztorkhan, Khoztoran, Astrakhan is a Russified form of Khadzhi - Tarkhan.”

Ufa - According to one version, initially, ancient city, located on the territory of modern Ufa, bore the name Bashkort. This is indicated by a number of sources: Western European cartographers (Catalan Atlas, Mercator, Pitsigani brothers, etc.), eastern historians (Ibn Khaldun, “Kunkh al-akhbar”), Bashkir sources themselves (“Bashkir History” by Kidryas Mullakaev, "Usargan Tarihi"). Modern name the city - Ufa, was obviously a later name. Thus, in the Bashkir chronicle of the 16th century. The “Daftar-i-Chingiz-name” palace at the mouth of the Ufa River appears under the name Ulu Oba. Here “ulu” is the eldest, ancient, “both” is a high place, mound. Obviously, the term “Oba” became the progenitor of the modern “Ufa”. In a memorial book of the Orenburg province, published in 1865, the following version of the origin of the city’s name is given: “On the right elevated banks of the Belaya is the city of Ufa, (a Bashkir word meaning “dark water”), so called long ago by the Bashkirs.”

Cities of Siberia

Novosibirsk - the emergence of the first Russian settlement on the territory of modern Novosibirsk dates back to the last decade of the 17th century - the beginning of Peter's reign. Named Krivoshchekovskaya (after the nickname of the Tomsk serviceman Fyodor Krenitsyn, who was called Krivoshchek for the saber scar on his face), this village, at least until 1712, served as shopping center between the Russians and the Teleuts, who were the owners of the lands on the other side of the Ob. This circumstance determined the nature of the settlement of the territory of the future Novosibirsk: the right bank of the Ob was not popular among Russian colonists, since there, even after the departure of the Teleuts, a fortress of one of the tribes subordinate to them continued to stand. Apparently, the representatives of this tribe (the Russians called them “chatami”) were not friendly, so the pioneers of Russian colonization preferred to settle on the left bank, where a conglomerate of two dozen villages and villages huddled together formed. In any case, to end of the XVIII century, the territory of modern Novosibirsk Left Bank was completely populated. The history of the right bank of the future capital of Siberia developed on April 30, 1893, when the first batch of bridge builders arrived here. This moment is considered to be the official date of birth of Novosibirsk. A workers' settlement grew up not far from the remains of the Chat fortress, near the mouth of the Kamenka River. This place was notorious and was called "Devil's Settlement", but the workers still built their barracks, to the north of which the Ob railway station and the village near it were built. Soon both settlements were united. On December 28, 1903, Emperor Nicholas II issued an imperial decree, according to which the “settlement of Novo-Nikolaevsk at the Ob station” was elevated to the status of a county-free city with an area of ​​881 dessiatinas 2260 square fathoms.
On November 17, 1925, the city was renamed Novosibirsk.

Omsk - named after the Omka River. The first Omsk fortress was founded in 1716 by a Cossack detachment under the command of I. D. Buholts, who set out to expand and strengthen the borders Russian Empire by personal decree of Peter I. Omsk served as a border fortress to protect against raids by nomads, and until 1797 it was a fort. By folk legend, the name comes from an abbreviation of the phrase “a remote place of exile for convicts,” however, this version remains simply folklore.

Krasnoyarsk - the city was built as a stockade (fortress). According to the plan, the name was to be Verkhneiseisky fort, or Kachinsky fort. At first, in documents the fort was called New Kachinsky fort. It is likely that there was previously a winter hut, or yasak collection point, on the Kach River. N.V. Latkin wrote that in 1608 there was already a fort in the valley of the Kachi River, built by people from the Ket fort. G. F. Miller in “History of Siberia” uses the names “New Kachinsky fort” and “New Kachinsky Red fort”. From the middle of the 17th century, the name “Krasny Yar” began to be used. “Red Yar” - from the name of the place of its construction - “Khyzyl char”, which in the Kachin language meant “Yar (high bank or hill, cliff) of red color.” In Russian, “red” at that time also meant “beautiful”: “The place is nice, high and red. It is possible to build a sovereign prison in that place,” Andrei Dubensky wrote in a letter to the Tsar. The name "Krasnoyarsk" was given when receiving city status.

You can truly know yourself only through knowledge of the world around you. Travel helps a person with this. Everyone is free to choose their own path: someone, tired of the noise of the metropolis, goes to nature - to test themselves and return to the roots of human life. Someone, on the contrary, rushes to places with a developed information space, where every little thing is important, where the brain works to its fullest. Many begin to study the surrounding reality from their small homeland, delve into the history of the region or region, and study the surrounding area. As a rule, the next stage of understanding the world is a real journey through home country.

What were the names of cities in Russia

The centuries-old history of Russia is filled with many significant further development events. These include the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Ermak’s campaign against Siberia and its annexation to the territory of the Russian state, the window cut through to Europe by Peter the Great, and so on. These facts are reflected in the Russian language. For example, the words “caravan”, “watermelon”, “noodles”, “fog”, to which today’s people are so accustomed, were borrowed from Tatar language. The "camp" and "resort" were once imported from modern-day Germany. "Marmalade" and "actor" came from France in the nineteenth century. All of the above belongs to the category of ordinary ones, often used in colloquial speech words We don’t think about their origin, just as we don’t think about the origin of city names.

Similar historical situations influenced place names. So, “Derbent” is the Persian word for “narrow gate”. “Chita” is understood in the same way as “read”; it is translated from Sanskrit as “comprehend” or “know”. "Murom" comes from the Cheremis "murom", which means "place of fun and songs." "Perm" translated from Vepsian means "distant land". “Ufa” literally means “dark water” from Bashkir. Similar examples there are many, and, digging a little deeper, you begin to understand how connected the names of cities are and the history, culture and traditions of the peoples who lived in this place.

Other countries can also boast of an eventful history - their toponyms have a special sense of humor. In America, for example, there is a town whose name translates as “why”. In Canada, you can stumble upon “an abyss of bison falling to their death.” The name of the German commune seems to call tourists to action - it translates as “kissing”. It is worth noting that names of cities named after the founder also exist abroad. In America, you can stumble upon the small town of Quincy, named after John Quincy Adams, who serves as Secretary of State of the United States of America.

“Mother Russia is wide and vast” - that’s what our ancestors said. The newly-made tourist is convinced of this. Quantity settlements, small and large, number in the thousands. This is where the real discoveries begin regarding uncommon place names. What are the villages of Taz and Bolshiye Pupsy, the Tukhlyanka River, the village of Takoye worth... Often geographical names reflect the history of a place. So, the name (Kharkov region) comes from the Tatar “guzun” - crossing. Knowing this, you can understand that much earlier there was an important crossing over the local river in this place. However, only linguists can draw such conclusions. More interesting for ordinary people are the names of cities named after the founder, because they indicate a specific historical figure.

People's love

Geographical names always carry some specific meaning. Like the names of important city streets, cities named after a specific person include recognition of that person's merits. Sometimes you have to sacrifice historical place names. This fact demonstrates the deep respect of the residents of the locality for the bearer of the name donated small homeland. In this regard, a reasonable question arises: which cities are named after people?

Long live the revolution!

Most of the renaming of cities and towns dates back to the twentieth century. The leaders were most respected at that time revolutionary movement, and, according to popular opinion, it was their surnames that should adorn the names of settlements. A wave of changes in toponyms swept the RSFSR; in this regard, it is appropriate to respond to the earlier asked question(which cities are named after people) with a list:

• Leningrad (formerly St. Petersburg);
• Ulyanovsk (formerly Simbirsk);
• village of Karl Marx (located in the Tver region);
• Sverdlovsk (previously and currently - Yekaterinburg);
• Kuibyshev (previously and currently - Samara);
• Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg);
• Dzerzhinsk (formerly Rastyapino, Chernoe);
• Frunze (currently Bishkek);
• Makhachkala (formerly Anzhi-Kala).

Thus, the origin of the names of Russian cities is not always purely etymological in nature. There are also known renamings associated with the life and activities of significant persons. For example, the names of V. G. Belinsky and A. S. Pushkin were assigned to cities to which the data are directly related. Khabarovsk is named after the seventeenth-century explorer who discovered the city. The name of the Ukrainian city of Pereyaslav was later added to the surname of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, who contributed to the reunification of Ukraine and the Russian Empire.

Names of cities after the name of the founder

As mentioned above, while traveling around the Russian Federation, you can discover some incredible, at first glance, geographical names. In addition to funny and vaguely familiar toponyms, formed from borrowed words or from the names of famous historical figures, there are also proper names. It is logical to assume that they were named after their founder. Obviously, the origin of the names of Russian cities can have very different backgrounds.

Yuriev-Polsky

This provincial town in the north Vladimir region- a treasure trove of Russian cultural and historical heritage. It was founded in the middle of the twelfth century by the great Moscow prince - Yuri Dolgoruky. The name of the city came from the name of the founder. An example of a description of the area surrounding the town is “Russian pole-field,” because this original Russian settlement has a rare compound name. One of the main attractions of Yuryev-Polsky is St. George's Cathedral - unique monument architecture Ancient Rus', the date of construction dates back to the second quarter of the thirteenth century. Of no less importance is the Archangel Michael Monastery, on whose territory there are ancient churches.

The churches of Nikita the Martyr and the Intercession also deserve close attention. Holy Mother of God. The construction of the complex of two buildings dates back to the end of the eighteenth century, which is what distinguishes the churches from other architectural monuments. And if the Church of the Intercession was built in the image of traditional Russian cathedrals, then the Church of Nikita the Martyr is a building designed in the Empire style, with a red brick bell tower that towers over the entire city.

Vladimir

Like the previous one, it is part of the Golden Ring of Russia. It is named after Vladimir Monomakh, whose reign dates back to the eleventh century. Vladimir is located in the region of two hundred kilometers east of Moscow. He faced many trials that predetermined the course of the history of the entire country. The fact is that Vladimir was one of the most influential cities of Rus' during the period feudal fragmentation. In those days, large administrative centers fought with each other for power in the state. In the end, Moscow won. However, this majestic city also lay claim to the title of capital.

The centuries-old history of Vladimir is reflected in rich culture cities. Now thousands of tourists come here to see with their own eyes the Assumption Cathedral, built back in the twelfth century, the Golden Gate, which is rightfully considered a masterpiece of architecture of Ancient Rus', the Patriarchal Gardens, the Water Tower... The list of attractions in Vladimir is not limited to this, the city has something to show the whole world !

Saint Petersburg

The list of city names named after the founder also includes the cultural capital of Russia - St. Petersburg. The first stone on the site of the future city was laid by Peter the Great himself; now the majestic Peter and Paul Fortress rises on that very spot. It is worth noting that the first emperor of the Russian Empire named the city not by his own name, but by the name of his patron, the Apostle Peter. Nevertheless, everyone who meets St. Petersburg understands the city’s connection with the great reformer Russian state. And listing even a small part of St. Petersburg’s attractions will take more than one page - it’s better to see everything with your own eyes.

Temryuk

This small city is located at the mouth of the Kuban, not far from Krasnodar, on the shore Sea of ​​Azov. This settlement was founded by Prince Temryuk, the son-in-law of Ivan the Terrible. IN currently Temryuk is famous for its breathtaking landscapes and mud volcanoes. Many travelers go to this town to find peace of mind: fields, sea, forests - what else does a person need to feel truly free?

Yaroslavl

There are many names of cities named after the founder in Russia. Yaroslavl is not the last on this list. It was founded back in the eleventh century by Yaroslav the Wise, who was so nicknamed for his significant contribution to the culture of the country. In terms of reputation, the city is in no way inferior to its founder - countless attractions clearly demonstrate how old and majestic Yaroslavl is. Travelers from all over the world come here to see the Church of Peter and Paul, the “House with Lions”, Peter and Paul Park, which carefully preserves the legacy of the great Emperor Peter Alekseevich.

But in Yaroslavl, modernity is in no way inferior historical heritage. So, here you can see the unique Yaroslavl Zoo - the only landscape type zoo in Russia. The Yaroslavl station building is an architectural complex - a monument of modern monumental art. The Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve is rightly called the heart of the city. Located in the very center, it carefully protects the oldest Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery and several churches. Antiquity side by side with modernity - this is what real Yaroslavl is.

Everywhere you look there is discovery

The variety of geographical names in Russia is amazing. A person who goes on a trip to his native country for the first time constantly discovers something new. Here are funny toponyms, whose meaning can only be understood by looking in an etymological dictionary or a historical reference book, and a settlement whose name changed depending on the course of modern history, and the name of a city after the name of its founder... The list is long. It’s better to take the time and see it all with your own eyes.

Where did the name Moscow come from? December 11th, 2016

We recently had a hotly discussed topic about... Let's touch on the story of one more everyone famous name- MOSCOW.

Many Russian cities got their names from the rivers on which they were built. In this case, the names of rivers were usually acquired subsequently, in order to avoid ononymy, diminutive form. So, let’s say, the Kolomna River became Kolomenka, and the Orel River became Orlik. With the Moscow River it turned out differently: in its name, instead of a diminutive suffix, the word river was fixed: Moscow-river. It is also curious that in some written monuments the city of Moscow is mentioned using a descriptive expression in Moscow, that is, “a city on the Moscow River.”

Now let's try to consider the most well-known and reasoned hypotheses about the origin of the hydronym Moscow. What people, what tribe gave its name to the Moscow River?

The interpretation of the name Moscow as a word belonging to one of the languages ​​of the Finno-Ugric language family was one of the first hypotheses and had many supporters. The appeal of researchers to the languages ​​of this family is logical, since archaeologically (as a result of excavations of settlements, in particular, settlements and settlements of the Dyakovo culture of the Early Iron Age, which is basically Finno-Ugric) quite objectively proves that at a certain historical stage they lived in the Moscow River basin tribes who spoke the language of the Finno-Ugric language family.

There is no agreement among historians even on the question of whether the river gave its name to the city or vice versa. According to one version, the name of the city arose earlier and consisted of the roots “mosk” (in the ancient Slavic language - “flint”) and “kov” or “khov” (from the verb “khovsya”, i.e. “to hide”). This means that the word “Moscow” meant “stone shelter,” and from the city it spread to the river.

Etymological myths still wander - the term MOSCOW in its meaning can be identified with many similar foreign words expressing the concepts of “moisture”, “puddle”, “wash”, “dive”, “muddy water”, “swamp”. There are also all sorts of wise versions, but I personally liked this one:

Confused me for a long time the last part words MOSCOW: according to the majority of “breakers”, the ancient word “va”, added to the name of their rivers by the Komi people (the rivers Obva, Kolva, Sylva, Neiva, etc.) should play main role in the name of the Moscow River, since in the Komi language “va” means “water”.

The abundance in the territories of the Volga-Oka basin of clearly non-Slavic hydronyms on “-khra” (the Pakhra river, lakes Selikhra and Konchikhra in the Klyazma river basin), on “-ksa”, “-ksha”, “-ur”, “-us” ( the rivers Padoxa, Koloksha, Bachur, Kistrus, etc.) only emphasized the strangeness of the appearance here of two territorially close hydronyms with “-va” - Moscow, Protva (in the ancient pronunciation of Protova).

The Proto-Indo-European word “va” did not mean “water” (as in the modern Komi language), but quite definitely corresponded to the concepts of “coverage”, “capture”, “occupy”, “place”, “container”. The archaeomorph VA is easily distinguished in the words uhVAt, VAZ, VAL, OVAL, VAanna, SeVan (lake), VATA, woo, etc. And if the archaeomorph VA is preserved at the beginning or at the end of the words VArvar, head, cow, then this does not mean at all that the head or cow is filled with water, and barbarians are necessarily inhabitants of swampy places.

Some kind of strange hydronym... Where else have you come across such a name for a river, at the end of which a constant reminder is required that it is a river: Moscow River, on the Moscow River, near the Moscow River!.. Imagine that in a conversation you constantly explain the names of the rivers: Danube River, on the Don River, near the Volga River, to the Yenisei River, on the Lena River, Desna River, and so on.

In the word “Moscow” there are pairs of sound abbreviations: MO = MA + O = “People inside (or “People in”) and a pair SK, the meaning of which can be guessed, but still needs clarification. And at the end of the word there is an archaeomorph BA, which, during the era of the domination of the relic language, expressed the concepts of “coverage”, “capture”, “container”, “place”, “occupy”.

In 1147, for the prince invited to visit, and the prince of the host, the term MOSCOW served not as the name of a river, not a city that did not yet exist, and not a locality in general, but a very local area, fortified with a ditch and rampart on Borovitsky Hill - an ancient stronghold of the Kyiv metropolis.

The civilian population called professional soldiers the word “mosiki,” which is equivalent to the modern Russian word “power.” The word “power” and the word “Mosiki” trace their origins to the ancient expression “ma o si ki”, which when translated from the relic language into the modern one literally means: “ People inside the military iron"(that is, people in military armor are meant).

Subsequently, the location of the garrison (the cape between the rivers, where Borovitsky Hill is located) became known under several variants of slightly different names: “in Moscow” (Ipatiev Chronicle under 1147), “in Moscow” (Suzdal let. according to Laurentian list under 1175), “On Moskvi” (Ipatiev Chronicle under 1175), “on Moscow” (Suzdal let. according to Lavra. sp. under 1177). It is also appropriate to add derivatives from these names: “Moscow” and the variant “Moscow” (Ipat. years under 1176), “Moscow” (Suzd. years according to Lavra. sp. under 1362), “Moskovsky” ( there). This is the linguistic base on which they appeared modern terms MOSCOW, MOSCOW, MUSCOVITES.

It is significant that there are correspondences to the hydronym Moscow in other Slavic lands, cf. R. Moskovitsa (Moskovka), r. Berezina; the Moskovets stream in Ukraine, the Mozgava and Moskava rivers in Poland and Germany, etc. In these territories, the Baltic substrate is noted in hydronymy. In recent decades, a particularly popular hypothesis traces the name Moscow to the ancient Baltic forms Mask-uva or Mazg-ava from roots with the meaning of either “swamp, mud” or “winding (river).” This hypothesis is not contradicted by the explanation of the name Moscow from the related Baltic Slavic word moska, associated with the concept of “moisture”; the meaning of the hydronym is one way or another established as “swampy, swampy, wet (river).” It is assumed that the common noun underlying the hydronym belonged to the vocabulary that arose in early period intensive Balto-Slavic linguistic interaction.

There is also an interesting version according to which the name Moscow (river) was not created on the spot, but was transferred by the Vyatichi from their western (Polish) ancestral home. But the Slavs certainly were not the first inhabitants of the banks of the Moscow River. Therefore, it can be assumed that under “their” familiar river name they adjusted the similar-sounding name of the river, given to it by the aborigines of the area - the Balts or Finns. The “Baltic” hypothesis has already been discussed above. Among the “Finnish” ones, we can note those that connect the name of the river with the hypothetical Meryan mosk “hemp” (in the Mordovian moshko - “hemp”; in the upper reaches the river was called Konopelka) and with the Baltic-Finnish-Sami mosk “bend, turn”). Thus, the issue of the name Moscow remains unresolved.

Which version have you heard yet?

Who missed the answer to the question and what does it mean?

Russia has a great variety of different cities. Some are well known to everyone, but not everyone knows about the existence of some. But here we will not discuss those cities that no one knows about. Here we will try to talk about the origin of the names of some cities in Russia.

1. Moscow- The capital of our Motherland. The name of the capital comes from the Moscow River, and not vice versa, as many people think. But why the river was named Moscow is still under debate. The most common opinion is that the word comes from the ancient Slavic root “mosk” - a wet or marshy place.

2. St. Petersburg — The city was named by Peter I in honor of the Holy Apostle Peter, and not in honor of himself, as many people think.

3. Yaroslavl— The city was named after its founder Yaroslav the Wise.

4. Khabarovsk— The city is named after Yerovei Khabarov, an explorer.

5. Ufa— translated from Bashkir means “Dark Water”.

6. Ekaterinburg — The city is named after Empress Catherine I.

7. Smolensk— there are several versions of the origin of this city. The most common one is from the name of the river Smolnya (Chernozem). The second version comes from the ethnic group - Smolyan.

8. Penza- just like Moscow was named after the river, respectively Penza. The word itself is translated as “Fire water”.

9. Omsk- the same. The name comes from the river Om.

10. Perm- comes from the Vespian word “Pera Maa”, which translates as “Far Land”.

11. Murmansk- a city on Murman. Initially, the Norwegians were called Murmans, and later they began to call the coast of the Barents Sea.

12. Kolomna— there are several versions of the origin of the names of this city. The first version is that the name comes from the Kolomenka River. This river was located near the market (at that time it was called menok), that is, it turned out to be “a river near menok.” The second version says that there was a quarry nearby, after which the city was named. From the Latin "columna", which means "Column", which is depicted on the city's coat of arms.

13. Yoshkar-Ola - Red City (from Mari).

14. Gelendzhik — translated from Arabic (Helenj) means “Polar”.

15. Vorkuta- translated from German as “Bear Country”.

16. Vologda- “river with white (clean) water” translated into Old Vespic.

17. Vladimir- everything is clear here. The city is named after the ruler Vladimir Monomakh.

18. Barnaul— There are two versions of the origin. According to the first version, the name came from a camp called “Aul Barna” (Barn is one of the nomads of the Khanate of Siberia). The second version says that the name comes from the “Barnaulka” river, which means “Wolf River” or “Muddy River”.

19. Arkhangelsk — the name of the city was given in honor of Archangel Michael.

20. Chelyabinsk - comes from the name of the fortress “Chelyaba”, which translates as “Depression” or “Deep Pit”.

21. Bryansk— the name of the city comes from the word D’bryansk, which in turn comes from the word D’br, which means cliff, ditch, slope.

22. Irkutsk— translated from Buryat means “Capricious”.

23. Kaliningrad - as you already understood, in honor of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin.

24. Kemerovo- from the Turkic “Kemer” - slope, cliff. (Essentially the same as Bryansk).

25. Kursk- the name comes from the popular term “Kurya”, which means “river bay” or “backwater”.

26. Lipetsk— like many old cities, this city was named after the river. In this case it was the Lipovka River.

27. Ryazan- here again there is no commonality and consensus. One opinion says that the name of the city is derived from the word “Ryasa” - swamp, or from the word “Duckweed” - river algae. Another opinion says that the name is derived from the word “Erzya” - the name of the Mordovian ethnic group.

28. Ulyanovsk - the city is named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov).

29. Krasnoyarsk — the city is named from the phrase “Red Yar”. Yar in the Kachin language meant a high bank or hill. That is, Krasnoyarsk can be translated as “Red Coast” or “Red Coast”.

30. Stavropol - the name is formed by the merger of two words - “Stavros”, which is translated as “Cross”, and “Polis”, which is translated as a city, that is, “City of the Cross”.

For today, this is all that concerns the origin of the names of Russian cities. In future posts we will look at the names of other cities.