Vladimir, Russia

Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, 200 kilometers (120 mi) to the east of Moscow. It is served by a railway and the M7 motorway.

History

Vladimir was one of the medieval capitals of Russia, with significant buildings surviving from the 12th century. Two of its Russian Orthodox cathedrals, a monastery, and associated buildings have been designated as among the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The founding date of Vladimir is disputed between 990 and 1108. In the Novgorod First Chronicle, Vladimir is mentioned under the year 1108, and during the Soviet period, this year was established as its foundation date with the view that attributes the founding of the city, and its name, to Vladimir Monomakh, who inherited the region as part of the Rostov-Suzdal Principality in 1093.

In the 1990s, a new opinion developed that the city was instead founded in 990 by Vladimir the Great, with local historians supporting the alternative foundation date and citing various chronicle sources. Scholars reinterpreted certain passages in the Hypatian Codex, which mentions that the region was visited by Vladimir the Great, the "father" of Russian Orthodoxy, in 990, so as to move the city foundation date to that year. The Charter of Vladimir, the basic law of the city passed in 2005, explicitly mentions 990 as the date of the city's foundation. The city administration officially recognizes 990 as the foundation date.

The city's most historically significant events occurred after the turn of the 12th century. Serving its original purpose as a defensive outpost for the Rostov-Suzdal Principality, Vladimir had little political or military influence throughout the reign of Vladimir Monomakh (1113–1125), or his son Yury Dolgoruky ("Far-Reaching") (1154–1157).

Under Dolgoruky's son, Andrey Bogolyubsky (1157–1175) (also known as Andrew the Pious), the city became the center of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. It had a Golden Age, which lasted until the Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1237. During this time, Vladimir enjoyed immense growth and prosperity. Andrey oversaw the building of the city's Golden Gates and the Dormition Cathedral.

Modern Vladimir is a part of the Golden Ring of ancient Russian cities and a popular tourist destination. Its three chief monuments,