Starodub-on-the-Klyazma
Encyclopedia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Opolye from the 12th until the 14th century. Like so many towns in the vicinity, it was named by migrating population for a southern city they came from, in this case, for Starodub
Starodub
Starodub is a town and the administrative center of Starodubsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Babinets River , southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 .-History:...
in Severia
Severia
Severia or Siveria is a historical region in present-day northern Ukraine and southwestern Russia, centered around the city of Novhorod-Siverskyi in Ukraine.-Severians:...
. The town was located on the bank of the Klyazma River
Klyazma River
The Klyazma River is a river in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo and Vladimir Oblasts in Russia, a left tributary of the Oka River. The length of the river is 686 kilometres. The area of its drainage basin is 42,500 km². The Klyazma River freezes up in November and stays under the ice...
about twelve kilometres from the modern-day Kovrov
Kovrov
Kovrov is a city and the administrative center of Kovrovsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated on the right bank of the Klyazma River . Kovrov's population as of the preliminary results of the 2010 Census was 145,492; down from 155,499 recorded in the 2002 Census, and further down from...
. Nowadays, the village of Klyazminsky Gorodok stands on the spot.
During the Mongol invasion of Russia, the youngest of Vsevolod III's sons, Ivan, made Starodub his seat (1238). His descendants ruled the tiniest of Russian principalities for more than a century, desperately trying to fend off attacks by two powerful neighbours—Muscovy and Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
. Their ephemeral power came to an end in the 1370s, when the town was eventually annexed by Dmitry Donskoy. Thereupon numerous scions of Starodub
Starodub
Starodub is a town and the administrative center of Starodubsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Babinets River , southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 .-History:...
dynasty moved to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where they formed the families of Princes Gagarin
Gagarin family
thumb|right|250px|The Gagarin Coat of ArmsGagarin is a Rurikid princely family descending from sovereign rulers of Starodub-on-the-Klyazma.-Origins:...
, Khilkoff, Romodanovsky, Pozharsky
Pozharsky
Pozharsky , Pozharskaya , or Pozharskoye may refer to:*Dmitry Pozharsky , Rurikid prince who helped bring the Time of Troubles to an end...
, and many others.
During the Time of Troubles
Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles was a period of Russian history comprising the years of interregnum between the death of the last Russian Tsar of the Rurik Dynasty, Feodor Ivanovich, in 1598, and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613. In 1601-1603, Russia suffered a famine that killed one-third...
, the town was completely burnt to the ground by the Polish warlord Alexander Jozef Lisowski, who ravaged the area in March of 1609. Some historians believe that Prince Dmitry Pozharsky
Dmitry Pozharsky
For the ship of the same name, see Sverdlov class cruiserDmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky was a Rurikid prince, who led Russia's struggle for independence against Polish-Lithuanian invasion known as the Time of Troubles...
, who helped Russia to survive those turbulent times, lies buried in Starodub, the demesne of his forefathers.