Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug is located 457 km from the city of Vologda at the confluence of two large rivers the Sukhona and the Yug which merge into a third - the Northern Dvina. The city was founded at the beginning of the 12th century and was originally meant to be a military outpost for strengthening Russia's might and the security of its northern borders. It is a contemporary of Moscow and Vologda. It seems in some ways miraculously untouched by time. In some areas one gets a sense of what the city might have looked like in the 18th century. In fact it is an open-air museum.

Veliky Ustyug's history is also the story of many exceptional people. Such outstanding explorers and navigators as Semyon Dezhnyov, Erophei Khabarov, Nikita Shalaurov and Vasily Shilov come from Veliky Ustyug. The residents of the city are remembered for Siberia exploration and exploration of the islands in the Pacific Ocean. They were the first ones to discover new lands in Russian America and to circumnavigate the world. Veliky Ustyug lived through numerous forays and civil intestine wars. It contributed to the unification of the Russian lands, at one moment grew rich, at another - poorer. The city saw some of its darkest days. It was hit by floods and flames. The entire city was in ruins. It took many years to restore it.

Spirit of the times can be heard in the city name up to now. The white stone cathedrals, belfries and mansions located on the Sukhona river and reflected in it seem to be sprung up from a fairy-tale. This magnificent view opens up for visitors to the city. On the left bank of the river is the Church of the Ascension (1648), which is the oldest structure in the city to survive in its original form, Cathedral of St. Procopius (1668), Church of the Epiphany (1689), the Monastery of Transfiguration of our Lord with hipped-roof belfry (1696), Church of the Transfiguration and Purification (1739), and a stately structure of the main city temple - the Assumption Cathedral with a double belfry (18th century). The Church of St. Demetrius of Salonae (1708) and the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1739-1747) stand on the other side of the river at the site of the earliest settlement of Ustyug. Further down the river is the Trinity Gleden Monastery. One gets an impression that it hovers above the earth. The iconostasis of the Monastery is considered to be a world masterpiece.

Veliky Ustyug is one of the ancient Russian cities. The cornerstone was laid by the princes from Rostov and Suzdal. They founded the first settlement in the 12th century on the highest hill, 4 km off today's city location at the confluence of the Sukhona and the Yug. The old name of the city - Gleden - speaks for itself ("glyadet" means "to see"). Standing on this hill one could see all the outskirts. However the city could not boast a long history. Now and then foreign tribes besieged the city and burnt it down. And the waters of the two busy rivers washed it away several times. That is why in the 12th century the inhabitants moved to the left bank of the Sukhona river, to the Black Yar (steep bank) and founded a new settlement there - Ust'-Yug or Ustyug (by the name of the estuary of the Yug river).

The history of the city dates back to 1212 and 1218. Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Monastery was founded in 1212.

Stretching out to the north-east into the Novgorodian land, Ustyug was initially meant to be an outpost for Rostov and Suzdal princes. A heated fight for the North developed in the 14-15th centuries did not lay aside the city of Ustyug. Since the residents spoke in favour of unification of the Russian lands they took the side of Moscow princes and repulsed the uninvited guests. In the late 14th century in the reign of Grand Duke Vasily I, Ustyug became a member of the Moscow princedom.

In the mid-16th century the city lost its force as a military outpost. However, owing to the favourable geographical location it went on thriving. The network of navigable rivers connecting Ustyug with Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk and Pomoriye (along the Dvina), with Vologda, Yaroslavl and Moscow (along the Sukhona), with Vetluga, Vyatka and Kazan (along the Yug and the Luza), with Mezen and Pechora (along the Vychegda) was a major transportation route in the north of Russia. No one knows what fate the city would have if it were not for the junction of the rivers. It is not by chance that the old coat of arms of Ustyug did justice to Aquarius, the master and patron of the city. Breaking away from the jugs the strained streams merge into a torrent. The streams symbolize the Sukhona and the Yug, and the torrent - the Northern Dvina.

In 1553 an English ship was cast up in the estuary of the Northern Dvina. Having no access to the Baltic Sea the Moscow State got a chance to trade with foreign countries via the White Sea. The new route passing from Moscow to Vologda by land and then along the Sukhona and the Northern Dvina was profitable for merchants. As history annals say, Ustyug witnessed a trade boom in the 16th century. In the reign of Ivan IV Ustyug became an oprichny city (special administrative élite under the tsar). Namely at this time the name Veliky Ustyug was officially approved.

Trade development boosted artistic handicrafts. Ustyug's painters were famous all over Russia. Many of them were asked to come to Moscow and some other Russian cities to work there. There were 25 such painters known in the 60-70s of the 17th century. They created works of art of great interest. Fyodor Zubov, the talented local craftsman, painted the cathedrals and churches of the Moscow Kremlin together with some other Russian embroiderers.

At the beginning of the 17th century the residents of Ustyug decided "not to kiss the cross of tsar Dmitry, but to stand firm and assemble people of the whole Ustyug district". With the help of the home guard they drove away the Poles from Tot'ma and Vologda. And in 1611 at the call of Minin and Pozharsky a special array headed for Moscow. In summer of 1612 the main forces of the invaders were defeated near Moscow.

As St.Petersburg developed and navy routes were laid through the Baltic Sea, the commercial role of Veliky Ustyug gradually diminished. Its administrative status was also changing. In 1708 Peter the Great split the country into 8 provinces. Veliky Ustryug which was not of primary importance in Russia at that time became one of the provincial cities. In the 19th century it was a chief city of the Vologda province.

The city of Veliky Ustyug has preserved intact its uniqueness and has been awarded the status of a reserve city.

Now Veliky Ustyug is an industrial centre, leading branches being light, food and timber industries. It is famous for its handicraft products made of silver, metals, flax and wood. Unique and charming are niello adornments produced by Severnaya Chern of Veliky Ustyug and the products of Velikoustyugskiye Uzory factory.