First mention of Moscow
Moscow is mentioned for the first time in the Hypatian Chronicle, when Prince Yuri Dolgoruky holds a meeting there.
Construction of the first Kremlin
Under Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, a wooden fort (kremlin) is built on Borovitsky Hill.
Destruction by the Mongols
Moscow is completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion led by Batu Khan.
Moscow becomes the capital of a principality
Moscow becomes the seat of its own principality under Daniil Alexandrovich, son of Alexander Nevsky.
Construction of stone walls around the Kremlin
Under Prince Dmitri Donskoi, the first stone defensive walls of the Kremlin are built.
Ivan III unites the Russian lands
Ivan III the Great makes Moscow the center of a unified Russian realm and throws off the Mongol yoke.
Ivan IV becomes the first tsar
Ivan IV (the Terrible) has himself crowned as the first tsar of all Russia in Moscow.
Great Fire and reconstruction after the Polish Intervention
After years of chaos during the Time of Troubles, Moscow is recaptured and a period of reconstruction begins.
Loss of capital status to Saint Petersburg
Peter the Great moves the Russian capital to the newly founded Saint Petersburg.
Moscow once again becomes the capital of Russia
After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks move the capital back to Moscow.
Destruction by the Mongols
The invasion of the Mongol Golden Horde brought enormous devastation to Russia. Moscow, then still a small wooden town, was burned to the ground and its population was slaughtered or enslaved. This destruction marked the beginning of nearly two centuries of Mongol rule, which paradoxically later contributed to Moscow's rise as a centre of power, as the city functioned as tax collector for the Horde.