Vologda is an old Russian city located in the north -west of Russia, known for its architectural monuments, rich history, natural beauties and developed industry.
under a certain set of circumstances, Vologda could become the capital of Russia.
Vologda’s foundation is considered 1147, which is also considered the year of the foundations of Moscow.
For centuries, the geographical location of Vologda saved her from destruction during foreign raids to the country.
By the 16th century, Vologda became one of the most important transit centers of Russia’s foreign trade with England, Holland and other Western countries.
In 1555, England opened a trading office in the city, and the first Russian ambassador sent to England for negotiations was the native of the Osip Nepei.
In 1564, Tsar Ivan IV Grozny in the face of a threat of foreign invasion and internal turmoil went to Vologda. The king brought with him a family, treasury, the most revered icons and symbols of power. According to the monarch, the northern city was to become the capital of the country. First of all, because Vologda had a strategically important location, since the Northern Sea Route began here. The city even had a coat of arms in the form of an open gate, which could be understood as a symbolic invitation to Europe.
“Ivan the Terrible ordered to build a majestic cathedral and a huge fortress in Vologda, which, according to the idea, could have competed even with the Moscow Kremlin. Nobility, following the aspirations of the tsar, began to buy land in Vologda and equip their life here,” said in an interview in a conversation with “Anadol” the head of the excursion and educational department of the Vologda Museum-Reserve Larisa Gulnev.
, however, fate ordered otherwise. In 1571, on Ivan the Terrible, who personally inspected the construction of the grandiose Sofia Cathedral, a brick fell from the arch of the temple, a piece of plaster according to another version. According to the chronicler Ivan Slobodsky, the king interpreted this as a bad omen. He left the city and did not return anymore, ”Gulneva continued.
In 1918, Vologda became the “diplomatic capital of Russia” for a short time: fearing the seizure of Petrograd by German troops, representatives of a number of embassies and other diplomatic agents are evacuated to the city.
According to statistics, Vologda is the most mononational of the large cities of Russia. Over 96% of the population here are Russians.