Staraya Ladoga beginning of Russia. Ancient cities of Russia

Staraya Ladoga is one of the oldest villages in Russia, "the first capital of Russia". Today it is a fairly large village, located 120 kilometers from St. Petersburg. However, in terms of the number of historical and architectural monuments, it surpasses many cities in the country.

In our article we will talk about the history and main attractions of Staraya and Novaya Ladoga.

Staraya Ladoga - a village with a thousand-year history

Today, Staraya Ladoga is just a village on the banks of the Volkhov River with a population of 2,000 people. But once it was an important city-outpost of Russia, which held back the ferocious attacks of ill-wishers. The main reason to visit Staraya Ladoga is the numerous natural, historical, cultural and architectural monuments dating back to the 9th-19th centuries.

Almost all the sights of the village of Staraya Ladoga are interesting and unique in their own way. And there are an incredible number of them! But tourists come here not only for the sake of monuments, but also in order to feel, to feel the spirit of antiquity, to enjoy incredibly picturesque landscapes.

To further captivate the reader with Staraya Ladoga, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the ten most interesting historical facts about this village:

Staraya Ladoga is one of the oldest settlements in Russia (the first mention of it dates back to 862);
until 1703, Staraya Ladoga had the status of a city and was simply called Ladoga;
the city was one of the most important points on the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks";
according to one version, the ancient Russian prince Oleg was buried in Ladoga;
Ladoga became the first city in Northern Europe, all the walls of which were built exclusively of stone;
already in the 8th century, the Ladoga residents traded with the help of money (glass beads acted as their role);
for just one Ladoga bead in the 10th century, you could buy a slave;
the architecture of the Staraya Ladoga fortress is unique for Russian architecture; there is no other similar monument on the territory of the whole of Russia;
The Old Ladoga stronghold is included in the hundred of the most beautiful places in the country;
a real treasure of silver Arab coins was found on the territory of the village (the find was dated by historians to the 8th century).

Novaya Ladoga and its history

If you go up the river from Staraya Ladoga, then after 15 kilometers you will find yourself in Novaya Ladoga. This small town was founded in 1704 by decree of Peter the Great to serve the shipyard established two years earlier. Many old Ladoga residents were ordered to move to a new city. During the Second World War, Novaya Ladoga played a significant role in providing besieged Leningrad along the so-called Road of Life.

It is a sin not to visit this small town if you are heading to Staraya Ladoga. There are plenty of attractions here too. Novaya Ladoga is a beautifully planned city, ancient buildings and magnificent views of the Volkhov River and Lake Ladoga.

The main monuments and interesting places in Novaya Ladoga:

Nikolo-Medvedsky Monastery.
Gostiny yard.
Old Ladoga Canal.
Nikolsky Cathedral.
Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin.
Temple of Clement of Rome (dilapidated).
George Church.
Novoladozhsky Museum of Local Lore.
Memorial complex "Road of Life".

List of sights of Staraya Ladoga

However, let's return to the settlement from which our story began - Staraya Ladoga. Inspection of the monuments of this village, as a rule, begins with a fortress. This is the main and most valuable attraction of Staraya Ladoga, which is under the protection of UNESCO. Inside the fortress there is an old church of the XII century, which is excellently preserved.

A complete list of historical monuments and interesting places to visit in this unique village is as follows:

Old Ladoga fortress.
Assumption Monastery.
Varyazhskaya street.
Oleg's grave.
Nikolsky Orthodox Monastery.
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist.
House of the merchant Kalyazin.
Manor "Uspenskoye".
Tanechkin and Staraya Ladoga caves.
Gorchakovsky waterfall.

A map of the sights of Staraya Ladoga will help you navigate the village (see photo below).

Old Ladoga fortress

The main attraction of Staraya Ladoga is a fortress founded at the end of the 9th century. What we can see today was rebuilt almost from scratch in the 2000s.

The fortress is located on a narrow cape, in the place where the Ladozhka River flows into the Volkhov. It was originally wooden. During the reign of Prince Oleg, a powerful stone stronghold was erected here. For a long time the fortress protected the northern borders of Ancient Russia, then - Russia. It lost its defensive significance only at the beginning of the 18th century.

Assumption Monastery

To the north of the fortress is another important monument of the village - Staroladoga Holy Assumption Monastery. It was founded in the middle of the XII century.

Behind the walls of the monastery hides the northernmost of the ancient Russian churches of the pre-Mongolian period - the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has been standing here since 1156! The temple is quite miniature: its width is 14 meters and its height is 19 meters, however, it can accommodate several dozen people. The walls of the Assumption Church were generously painted, but the painting has practically not survived to this day.

It is known that from 1718 to 1725 it was in this monastery that the first wife of Peter the Great Evdokia Lopukhina stayed, who took the vows of a nun.

Varyazhskaya street

It is unacceptable to visit Staraya Ladoga and not take a walk along Varyazhskaya Street. Indeed, according to historians, this is the oldest street in Russia! The earliest mention of it dates back to the 15th century.

Today, on Varyazhskaya Street, you can see old one-story wooden houses that once belonged to local merchants. It's quiet and very comfortable here. At the beginning of the ancient street there is a bronze sculpture of a falcon. It is this bird that is considered the symbol of Staraya Ladoga. All tourists make a wish near this sculpture and leave coins in the beak of a bronze falcon.

Gorchakovsky waterfall

Very few people know about the Gorchakovshinsky waterfall, but in vain, because it is the highest waterfall in the Leningrad region. This is an amazing natural corner where you can calmly relax your thoughts and enjoy nature. It is located in the village of Gorchakovshchina, on the opposite bank of the river from Staraya Ladoga.

The height of the waterfall is only four meters. It is located in a river canyon and falls into a shallow bowl with sandstone walls. It is not long to go to the waterfall, a forest path leads directly from the village to it.

Tanechkina Cave

In the past, Tanechkina Cave was a place where white quartz was mined. It stretches for seven kilometers in length. There are many passages and labyrinths in the cave, and in its central gallery there is a shallow lake.

Hundreds of bats live inside. This is the largest, but also the most dangerous cave in Staraya Ladoga. Collapses and floods often occur here, however, this rarely stops cavers.

How to get to the sights of Staraya Ladoga?

The village is located in the Volkhov district of the Leningrad region, ten kilometers from the city of Volkhov and 120 km from St. Petersburg. How can I get to the sights of Staraya Ladoga? By car, this will be the easiest to do. But you can also get there by public transport.

By car, you need to move from St. Petersburg along the Murmansk highway (M18). Immediately after the village of Kiselnya, you need to turn off the road to the right (pointer to the city of Volkhov). After another two kilometers, turn left. This road will lead to a crossroads on the banks of the Volkhov River. Here you need to turn left again and drive another four kilometers to Staraya Ladoga.

The second way to get to the village is by public transport. The city of Volkhov can be reached by electric train (from Moskovsky or Ladozhsky railway station). In Volkhov, you can take a regular bus to Staraya Ladoga. After some 20 minutes, he will bring you to an ancient village.

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History of Staraya Ladoga

Another (Swedish) name for Ladoga is Aldeigja (Aldeigjuborg, earlier - Aldeigja, supposedly from the ancient Finnish Alode-jogi - "lower river" or "lower river", from where the other Russian Ladoga comes from). According to dendrochronology, the oldest known buildings - production and ship repair workshops at Zemlyanoy Gorodishte - were erected from logs cut down before 753 and were probably built by people from Northern Europe. Excavations show that the first settlement in Ladoga was founded and originally inhabited presumably by the Scandinavians (according to E. Ryabinin, by the Gotlanders).

The first settlement consisted of several buildings of a pillar structure, which has analogues in Northern Europe. In the 760s. it was destroyed by the Slovenes and built up with log houses. The lack of continuity between the first inhabitants of Ladoga and the subsequent population with different cultural traditions is noted. During this period, the settlement is already trading with local tribes. The Slovenian settlement existed until the 830s. and was captured by the Vikings.

Further, Ladoga was a trade and craft settlement, which was once again destroyed in the 860s as a result of internecine wars. Around the 870s. in Staraya Ladoga, the first fortress was built, similar in design to the neighboring Lyubsha fortress, which was abandoned in the same years. As a result, Ladoga develops from a small trade and craft settlement into a typical ancient Russian city.

In one of the interpretations of the “Tale of Bygone Years” of the Ipatiev List of the Old Russian Chronicle, in 862, in order to protect their lands from raids, the Ladoga residents invited the Varangian Rurik to reign:

"And having come to Slovenia first and cut down the city of Ladoga and gray elders in Ladoga Rurik."

Although in other versions of the reading it is said that he sat down to reign in Novgorod (Rurik's settlement). Hence the version that Ladoga was the first capital of Russia (more precisely, the place of Rurik's reign from 862 to 865). Archaeological research conducted in Staraya Ladoga (headed by Kirpichnikov, Anatoly Nikolaevich) proves close contacts between Slovenes, Finno-Ugric peoples and Normans (Urmans) in this area in the 9th-10th centuries.

The Tale of Bygone Years is not the only source to lean towards, such as B.D. Grekov writes that Ladoga is not a Varangian state, but a Slavic state, and namely Krivichi.

The city was known as part of the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks".

According to the Novgorod Chronicle, the grave of the Prophetic Oleg is located in Ladoga (according to the Kyiv version, his grave is located in Kyiv on Mount Shchekovitsa).

In 997, Varangian Eric Haakonsson, the future Norwegian king, attacked Ladoga. The first Ladoga fortress, which existed for over 100 years, was destroyed. There is a mention in the sagas that when the daughter of the Swedish king Olaf Schötkonung, Princess Ingegerda, married the Novgorod prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1019, she received the city of Aldeigaborg (Staraya Ladoga) with the surrounding lands, which have since received the name Ingermanlandia, as a dowry (veno). (the lands of Ingegerda), and Regnvald Ulvson, the jarl of Vestra Götaland (Ingegerda's maternal relative), was appointed posadnik (jarl) of Ladoga. Ulf (Uleb) and Eiliv are the sons of Regnvald. According to Scandinavian sources, Eiliv became a jarl (posadnik) in Ladoga after the death of his father, and Uleb is mentioned in the annals under 1032 as a Novgorod governor.

In 1116 the Ladoga posadnik Pavel founded a stone fortress.

The ancient Staraya Ladoga fortress, which has become the "heart" of today's Staraya Ladoga, stands at the confluence of the Elena / Ladozhka River into the Volkhov. During the times of Novgorod Rus, it was a strategically important place, because it was the only possible harbor where ships could stop, unable to sail along the rapids of the Volkhov.

In 1142, "the prince of Svei and Biskup came in 60 augers" - the Swedes attacked Ladoga.

After the end of the Russian-Swedish war of 1590-1595, according to the Tyavzinsky peace, Ladoga was recognized as belonging to Russia and according to the Stolbovsky peace, which ended the Russian-Swedish war of 1613-1617, Sweden returned Ladoga to Russia.

In 1703, Peter I founded Novaya Ladoga at the mouth of the Volkhov and renamed Ladoga into "Staraya Ladoga", depriving it of the status of a city and the right to have its own coat of arms, and ordered many Ladoga residents to move to Novaya Ladoga to live. Prior to this event, Ladoga was the center of the Ladoga district of the Vodskaya Pyatina of the Novgorod Land.

In 1718, the first wife of Peter I, Evdokia Lopukhina, was transferred from Suzdal to the Ladoga Assumption Monastery.

In 2003, the celebration of the 1250th anniversary of Staraya Ladoga was held, which was covered by the press and attracted the attention of the authorities (Russian President Vladimir Putin visited it twice).

The first capital of Russia Staraya Ladoga

The artist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich compared the historical values of Russia with “an undrunk cup”, and this comparison fully applies to Staraya Ladoga, now a small village in the Volkhov district of the Leningrad region, the land of which holds many mysteries and secrets. Archaeologically, they are inexhaustible, they have attracted and, I am sure, will attract more than one generation of scientists, since an extraordinary number of historical and cultural monuments of Russia and other countries are concentrated here.

Now Staraya Ladoga is a village located twelve kilometers above the mouth of the Volkhov River. Even before 1704, it retained its status and name - Ladoga. The first mention of it is found in the annals for 862. Archaeological research in Staraya Ladoga began in 1708. Military historian, lieutenant general N.E. Brandenburg (1839–1903), St. Petersburg archaeologist N.I. Repnikov (1882–1940), corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V.I. Ravdonikas (1894–1976) worked here at different times , employee of the Hermitage O. I. Davidan (1921-1999). Their works became the forerunner of archaeological research begun in 1972 by the Staraya Ladoga Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (initially LOIA of the USSR Academy of Sciences) under the leadership of the author of this article.

The historical and cultural heritage of Staraya Ladoga is represented by more than 160 monuments of archeology, history, architecture and art, as well as a variety of written and graphic sources. The rarest works of architecture and fortification, the ancient settlement planning dating back to the 10th-12th centuries, have been preserved here.

Over the years of work, the Staraya Ladoga expedition made important discoveries and put forward a number of new scientific hypotheses related to the study of Ladoga and, more broadly, Old Russian and Scandinavian-Finnish antiquities. The expedition was not limited to purely academic tasks. On her initiative (together with the Leningrad regional branch of the Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments), after almost a decade of efforts, in 1984, by decision of the Russian government, the Staraya Ladoga Historical, Architectural and Archaeological Museum-Reserve was created. This prevented the destruction of historical sites, including the cultural layer of the ancient city. The territory of the village with the size of 190 hectares with architectural monuments located here, buildings of the 19th - early 20th centuries and the cultural layer of the Middle Ages was taken under special protection.

Historical and archaeological research was carried out at Zemlyanoy settlement, the wood-and-earth fortifications of which were built in the 80s of the 16th century and hide the layers of the Ladoga Posad of the 8th-16th centuries, and in other parts of the ancient city. Today, 1 building horizons of the settlement of the 8th-10th centuries have been dendrodated, which made it possible for the first time to determine the true date of the founding of Ladoga: it arose no later than 753, earlier than all other ancient Russian cities! This was established as a result of the analysis of tree cuts of the building found in the excavation (the analysis was carried out by N.B. Chernykh at the Dendrochronology Laboratory of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow). Not a single city in Russia and Baltic Europe can boast of such antiquity, or such a precisely defined date of origin.

At the same time, it is possible that the age of Ladoga may turn out to be even older, because during the excavations we came across objects of the 6th-8th centuries, which, of course, is not accidental and indicates the existence of settlement life here until 753. For example, according to the research of soil scientists, Ladoga could have arisen in the 7th century and even earlier.

In the appearance of Ladoga in the lower reaches of the Volkhov, an advantageous transport and geographical location and a number of other factors played a role. By the second half of the 8th century, trade along the Great Volga Route 2 noticeably intensified, handicraft activity arose, first the local and then the international market took root here.

The founders of the city were representatives of the Slavic tribes, apparently, the Krivichi and Slovenes of Novgorod, which is confirmed by the abundant ethno-determining finds of ceramics, lead-tin jewelry, temporal rings with a spiral curl. Perhaps among the first settlers could be representatives of Scandinavians and Finns.

Archaeological research has opened up new possibilities for the historical understanding of the Ladoga phenomenon. This city, especially in the first centuries of its development, plays a fundamental role in the creation of Russian statehood, Russian urban civilization, the establishment of trade, transport, interethnic ties between the peoples of Europe and Asia, and the protection of the northern borders of Russia.

Eight centuries before the founding of St. Petersburg, Ladoga ensured the entry of Slavs and Russians into the arena of international history; this is their first "window to Europe", a key port city on the great transcontinental Eurasian trade routes - the Great Volga and Balto-Dnieper. The creation of Ladoga embodied the "Baltic idea" of the Slavs to get access to the open sea, to free ties with Western Europe, Scandinavia, and West Slavic Pomorie. Therefore, in accordance with the location, structure and organization of Ladoga, its entire economy was focused on external relations, transportation of goods, intermediary and local trade, the production of jewelry and some household items that were sold. In the first centuries of Russian history, Ladoga significantly influenced the processes of economic and cultural integration of the peoples of Eurasia, the development of trade and shipping here.

Archaeological studies have clearly shown that the opinions that the inhabitants of Ladoga were mainly engaged in agriculture, and that Ladoga itself was supposedly only a farm with several houses in the initial period, are unfounded: a thousand years ago Ladoga was an economically prosperous city, port and harbor multilingual merchant fleets, a fair of the best northern furs in Europe, a craft center that produced high-level household products, jewelry, weapons, which were exported to neighboring regions.

In the critical period of the creation of European states and cities, Ladoga turned out to be a kind of "silver bank" of Europe. Through it, the West received the bulk of the international currency of that time, which was the silver Islamic dirham coins. This contributed to the unprecedented enrichment of entire countries and peoples of the Old World, which accelerated the development of the economy, culture and technology. It is characteristic that six hoards of Kufic coins were discovered in Ladoga and its environs, and among them is the oldest hoard in Eastern Europe dated to 786. The monetary influence of Ladoga in the early Middle Ages is record-breaking: according to an authoritative American scientist, numismatic specialist Thomas Noonen, during the 10th century, 125 million silver dirhams were exported from Central Asia to Northern Europe, mainly through Ladoga.

In the era of the early Middle Ages, Ladoga demonstrated the model of interethnic peace that is popular today, cooperation between the peoples of the West and the East, representing a multilingual Babylon, striking with the harmonious coexistence of the Slavs with the Finns, Scandinavians, Frisians, Arabs, Bulgars and representatives of other peoples, between whom a strong inter-confessional relationship was established. a world based on intercommunal tolerance, freedom of enterprise, openness to all kinds of trade.

There are historical reasons to consider Ladoga in the second half of the 7th - the first half of the 9th century one of the main, if not the main center of the union of Slavic and Finnish tribes - the predecessor of the early Russian state. Even before 839, Ladoga was the center of the Russian Khaganate - an early state formation in the northern part of Eastern Europe. At that time, Ladoga Rus, along with Khazaria, emerged as a trading leader in Eurasian ties along the Great Volga Route.

According to the most reliable version of the chronicle "The Tale of the Calling of the Varangians", a federation of Slavic and Finnish tribes consisting of Slovenes, Krivichi, Meri, Vesi, Chud, in some lists - Rus, in 862 invited a noble Scandinavian (or a half-Scandinavian-semi-Slav or encourage 3) Rurik with his brothers. “And having come to the Slovenian first and cut down the city of Ladoga and the oldest city (i.e. the oldest. A.K.) in Ladoza Rurik. It was Ladoga, and by 862 it had existed for at least a hundred years, that became the residence of the ruler, the capital of the princely city, that is, the capital of the Rurik dynasty that was taking shape in Eastern Europe. In 864, the capital was moved to Prednovgorod, the predecessor settlement of Novgorod (Rurik's settlement), and then to Kyiv, but Ladoga was the first in this series.

The status of the main city of the northern part of Russia, which Ladoga originally became during the reign of Rurik, was indicated by the fact that a “row” was adopted here, that is, an agreement on the legitimacy of the calling and further activities of the new ruler. The city emerged as the military and economic center of Northern Russia. The new government took vigorous action to expand international trade. At the same time, contracts were concluded for long-distance trade transportation to the countries of the West and East, and road transportation of goods was established. This was facilitated by peaceful relations established by the new government in the northern part of Eastern Europe. Viking raids against Russia stopped for a long time.

Thus, the successful construction of a new Russian state began in Ladoga. The initiative to consolidate the state was put forward by Northern Russia under the leadership of the first Rurikovichs - far-sighted collectors of the lands of the Eastern Slavs. The new leaders of the state managed to fulfill the fundamental tasks: to expand the territory, develop trade, start building and strengthening cities, unite the north and south of the country. Ladoga archeology confirmed the real foundations of the chronicle "Tale of the Calling of the Varangians", as well as the reports of the Joachim Chronicle about the existence of a pre-Varangian "great city" in the north of Russia, which with a high degree of probability can be identified with Ladoga.

As for the personality of Rurik, the fierce dispute about the place of his origin (turning into cave anti-Normanism in some publications), in my opinion, is not productive. The main thing is that a man of statesmanship became the head of the country, who laid the foundation for its political and economic unification. The first dynast is the founder of the Russian state building, according to the fair conclusion of the historian E.F. Shmurlo: “This is Theseus of the Athenians, Romulus of the Romans, Premysl of the Czechs, Piast of the Poles, Clovis of the Franks” 4 .

An analysis of written sources also shows that Ladoga was the original place for Rurik in Russia. This is confirmed by the most reliable annalistic news. Other notable cities in the north-west of Russia, tied to the main waterways of Eastern Europe, did not exist at that time, or they were insignificant. Ladoga in the middle of the 9th century turned out to be a natural center, the residence of a new ruler, a capital city. It was no accident.

The idea that the original Ladoga was a small settlement island, almost isolated from the Slavic world, lost in the swamps and forests of the Southern Ladoga region, is also unfounded. Its populated district, as evidenced by archaeological and retrospective sources, stretched in a continuous strip in the lower reaches of the Volkhov River and, in terms of total area, was not inferior, for example, to the Ilmen Poozerie, the core of the Novgorod Slovenes. The unequal importance of the original Ladoga and Novgorod, in my opinion, is obvious. According to E.N. Nosov, it is a trade and craft center in the first case and a military-administrative center in the second 5 .

Archaeological research has reinterpreted the house-building of the city in the lower reaches of the Volkhov, which combined the technical traditions developed in the forest zone of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Since 1972, archaeologists have discovered about a hundred remains of residential, industrial and utility buildings, which made it possible to present housing construction in a new light, including the construction of huts, five-wall houses, special “public” (possibly “guest” or religious) and other structures. Houses of different types - log and frame-pillar appeared in Ladoga at the same time. If the huts by their origin point to the forest belt of Eastern Europe, then the five-wall houses with a hearth in the center of the heated rest (preserved in Russian ethnography until today) do not yet have an exact address of their origin; they were built by the farmers of Scandinavia, but the earliest they were recorded in Ladoga, where they prevailed in the period of the 8th-9th centuries. Moreover, the "log" house-building technique is typical for the Slavs, and the frame-and-pillar technique is typical for Northern Europe. In Ladoga, their mixed use is observed.

In the remains of the Ladoga houses of the 8th-10th centuries, along with numerous household items, pieces of amber, beads, unfinished processing, glass drops, brass blanks, crucibles, lyacs, molds, sawn bone, and some craft tools are often found. It is obvious that in these buildings not only lived, but also worked universal craftsmen who made amber, glass, bronze or brass, bone things. All these products were intended for sale and exchange in local and out-of-town markets.

Judging by the ship's rivets and their blanks, the details of the rooks, in the lower reaches of the Volkhov River, the construction of ships and their repair were established. Ladoga artisans were both seafarers and merchants. At the same time, it is possible to admit the existence of merchant associations common for their era, consisting of both local and alien people.

Of particular importance is the discovery of the oldest in early medieval Europe jewelry-locksmith and foundry workshop of the 750s with a set of 28 tools, discovered by the expedition member, Doctor of Historical Sciences E.A. Ryabinin during excavations in 1997. The expedition discovered for the first time the remains of a bronze foundry of the last quarter of the 9th century with the rarest highly artistic decorations (finished and unfinished) of the Scandinavian appearance, related to women's and men's costumes. Also, for the first time in the layer of the second half of the 9th century, residential and industrial, parcels of standard width 6 were revealed, which made it possible to reimagine the beginning of a regularly planned development of European cities.

Judging by archaeological data, in the 8th-11th centuries the townspeople of Ladoga were a class of self-sufficient, free, socially equal people, which, of course, did not exclude the existence of dependent members of the urban community and slaves. In Ladoga, there were no estates of the nobility characteristic, for example, for Novgorod. City dwellers seem to have formed a kind of "free" city.

At the time under review, there was no feudal ownership of land, antagonistic classes had not yet formed, common issues were resolved jointly at the people's council, and entrepreneurship developed. It can be said that Russia began with the freedom of estates, which included townspeople, rural owners, and the military merchant elite. This explains the phenomenal speed of the political creation of the state according to the annals in 862-882. The people adopted the unifying system of tribes and ethnic groups. The construction of the power of the Rurikovich mostly took place peacefully.

The field season of excavations in Staraya Ladoga in 2002 turned out to be very productive in obtaining new information. So, in the layer of the second quarter of the 10th century, parts of a merchant's hostel house measuring 10x16 meters in plan were found. In the center of the building there was a hearth, and the main hall-rest was surrounded by an external gallery. In the remains of the house, 140 various items, mostly glass beads, were found. At the end of the house, a cluster of 2,500 green beads was discovered - clearly a trading party. A slate mold was found, possibly for casting rod-shaped payment silver ingots. Finally, an insert of a rock crystal signet ring with an Arabic inscription was found there: “My help is only with Allah, I relied on him and turn to him.” These finds are clear evidence of the long-distance trade relations of Ladoga, a city where not only locals, but also foreigners, including eastern merchants, lived.

Confirmation that the open "big house" was, apparently, a merchant's hotel (and not the palace of a prince or boyar) is found in the message of the Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan, who visited the Volga with the Bulgarians in 921-922. “Rus merchants,” the author writes, “arrive from their country and moor their ships at Atil 7 ... and build large wooden houses on its banks, and gather them in one (such) house 10 and (or) 20 - less or more, and each of them has a bench on which he sits, and girls (slaves. - A.K.) is a delight for merchants” 8 .

Only in Staraya Ladoga such structures were first discovered by archaeologists (another similar house dating back to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century was excavated in 1973 and 1981 by a detachment of the Staraya Ladoga archaeological expedition led by E.A. Ryabinin), although it is possible that similar houses were built during the period of world "silver" trade (VIII-X centuries), apparently, in different places on the great rivers of Eastern Europe.

All archaeological finds are transferred to the Hermitage and the Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve, they are available for inspection and study. During the entire period of excavations, hundreds of objects from various materials were found. Unique examples of applied art stand out. An office (laboratory) study of certain categories of finds is being carried out: beads, ceramics, wooden products, weapons, shipbuilding accessories, costume jewelry. Archaeologists have developed a scale for the evolution of urban dishes. A special work is devoted to the cataloging of Arab and other coins found in Staraya Ladoga and its environs in different years. It has been established that oriental coinage silver appeared in Ladoga no later than the 50s–60s of the 8th century.

Differentiation of the finds by ethnicity made it possible to single out a series of Scandinavian, Slavic, Finnish and other items. Particular attention is drawn to the ethno-determining elements of the women's headdress. This made it possible to identify not only the things of the Krivichi, but also, possibly, Slovenian.

One of the main results of the research turned out to be the put forward position on the existence of a special Ladoga land - the predecessor of Novgorod, the core of which was the city volost, stretching for about 65 km along the lower reaches of the Volkhov, including the multi-row Gostinopol and Pchev rapids, serving their fortified stations and riverine rural settlements. In the east, south and west of Ladoga, fortified outposts were discovered, located at a distance of an ancient day's march (43–50 km), covering the distant approaches to the city. Behind them stretched vast lands occupied by the Finnish and Lappish population, who were in relation to the metropolis in tributary dependence. The zone of influence of Ladoga, not limited to the Volkhov region, extended at least to Lake Onega in the east and the Izhora plateau in the west. Under the control of Ladoga were the Ladoga Chud, the whole, the Izhora, and also the Lop.

The settlements closest to Staraya Ladoga near the village of Novye Duboviki and at the mouth of the Lyubsha River in their culture, which is natural, turned out to be synchronous with Ladoga, which was their metropolis. An archaeological expedition led by E.A. Ryabinin discovered in the settlement of Lyubsha perhaps the most ancient stone and earthen fortress of Russia, built, apparently, in the 9th century. Similar structures, which had a stone shell, sprinkled with earth from the inside, are known among the Western Slavs.

Expedition member V.P. Petrenko excavated 12 hills in Staraya Ladoga - high, steep-sided grave mounds - collective tombs of the first generations of citizens. The ambiguous results of this now published study allowed archaeologists to assume that burial structures of this type originally appeared in the Lower Volkhov region, and then spread to large areas of Slavic settlement. The pronounced riverine location of the hills may indicate that they were created by people associated with river navigation.

Since its foundation, Ladoga has become a fortress that defended the northern borders of the country, including the Southern Ladoga region. Wooden and stone fortifications were successively erected here in the 9th, 12th and 16th centuries. According to their engineering solution, these fortifications are innovative, one of the earliest in Russia, made of wood, earth and stone. Nowadays, a kind of museum of fortifications has been formed in Staraya Ladoga, each of which has become a special stage in the history of architecture and engineering. Such are the tower and flagstone walls of the late 9th - early 10th centuries, which claim to be the first all-stone fortifications within the boundaries of the ancient Russian state. The construction of the fortress of 1114–1116 has been preserved in places almost to its full height (at least 8.5 m). This fortress anticipated the spread of stone strongholds in Russia, which began mainly a century later, and until the end of the 15th century ensured the safety of the townspeople and the protection of the northern borders of the country. Segments of the wall with the only trade arch known in Russia for lifting goods and water were promptly mothballed for museum display.

In the 16th century, on the site of the fortress of 1114–1116, a new one was erected, adapted for firearms. As it was established, elements of the Italian defensive architecture of the Renaissance were used in its structure, expressed, for example, in the practical equal height of the walls and individual towers. An earthen settlement adjoins the stone fortress from the south. This building, the so-called Earthen City, was first identified and dated as a bastion fortification, built in 1584–1585, during the time of Ivan IV, using the data of category books and field studies.

The indications of the scribe books of the end of the 15th-16th centuries, correlated with the area, made it possible to determine the settlement topography of the Ladoga Posad, the location of courtyards, churches, monasteries and roads. The data obtained by the expedition made it possible for the first time to reconstruct the plan of a medieval city with its districts - "ends" and monumental structures. The location and name of some churches that have not survived have been clarified. Excavations, pitting and evidence from written sources determined the approximate distribution of the medieval cultural layer and, therefore, the area of the settlement, which reached 12 hectares in the 8th-10th centuries, and 16-18 hectares in the 16th century.

In the second quarter and the middle of the 12th century, six cross-domed, four-column, three-apse stone churches were built for the first time in Ladoga (which was unprecedented for the then ancient Russian cities), located in a certain city-forming system. According to their typological and constructive features, they are considered an innovation in Russian architecture in the first half of the 12th century. It is possible that the customers of most of these buildings were princes, bishops, artels of merchants, the posad elite, city posadniks. And although, with the exception of the Church of St. Clement, built in 1153 by Bishop Nifont, the time of the creation of the churches of Ladoga is unknown, more and more evidence is accumulating that they were built according to a single urban plan proposed by the government of Prince Mstislav the Great.

The urban transformation of Ladoga was marked by the construction of a stone fortress (1114-1116), and after that - the construction of stone churches, apparently begun with the Assumption Cathedral, then the churches of St. Savior, St. Ascension, St. Nicholas, St. George. Such a large-scale plan, a record for town planning in the 12th century, could have been carried out, most likely, at the initiative of the state. Undoubtedly, Ladoga was considered as an outpost, a large land center and a defense center on the northern borders of the country.

Until the 18th century, Ladoga was a port city, trade, craft, spiritual center and an important fortress on the northern borders of the country. In terms of its functions, the city in the lower reaches of the Volkhov was the first predecessor of St. Petersburg. On the example of Ladoga, we see how more than a thousand years ago, through the efforts of its inhabitants and the aliens who inhabited these places, a single Europe was created, with international technology and culture, with common routes of movement and a single currency. The model of such a society is still relevant today.

The experience of studying Staraya Ladoga gives reason to believe that archaeological research should be continued. To preserve the monuments of the ancient city, it is necessary to raise the status of the museum-reserve to the level of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is also important to deepen humanitarian cooperation between the countries of the Baltic Sea region on the basis of the museum-reserve. At the insistence of the expedition leadership, supported by the petition of D.S. Likhachev, in 1988 Staraya Ladoga was opened for foreigners to enter, field research became widely available, several generations of students and scientists, including those from Europe and the USA, took part in the study of Ladoga who worked in the Staraya Ladoga archaeological expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. To all of them, as well as to the sponsors who subsidized the excavations, we are deeply grateful. Items from the excavations of Staraya Ladoga began to represent the national cultural heritage at the international level, they were shown in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and other countries. In Staraya Ladoga itself, which has become a museum village, a number of informative archaeological, historical and ethnographic expositions have been created. After the restoration in 1997, the world-famous frescoes of the 12th century became available to the Church of St. George. Since 2003, a special exposition "Archaeology of Staraya Ladoga" has been operating.

Staraya Ladoga was included in the list of the most ancient Russian cities, in which the 1150th anniversary of the creation of the Russian state was celebrated last year. This, however, is only the beginning. The members of the expedition made proposals for the conservation and promotion of the Old Ladoga historical sites. In particular, in Staraya Ladoga it was proposed to erect a monument to the outstanding founders of state Russia - princes Rurik and Oleg, as well as a memorial sign about the first annalistic mention of Ladoga in 862. There is an idea to museumify some of the churches that were destroyed in antiquity; to restore the so-called grave of Oleg the Prophet; to restore, according to the discovered drawings, the country house of the Tomilov-Shvartsev patrons, in which there were thousands of paintings by Russian artists of the late 18th-19th centuries (now they are in the Russian Museum), etc. Let's hope that a new period begins in the development of Staraya Ladoga and the Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve, connected with the recognition and respect for the past of eternal Russia 9 .

The editors express their gratitude to the leadership of the Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve for providing illustrative materials.

Notes

1 The method of dating archaeological finds and ancient objects based on the study of tree growth rings of wood - a section of science: dendrochronology.

2 The Volga or Volga-Baltic trade route is the earliest of the great river routes that connected Scandinavia with the Caliphate in the early Middle Ages.

3 The Baltic Slavs (according to Joachim Herrmann) are divided into three large groups: the Ruyans (inhabitants of the island of Rügen), the encouragers and the Lutichi Wilts. The Obodrites are a large Slavic tribe that settled off the coast of the Baltic, possibly in the 6th century. By the 8th century, they lived on the territory between the Oder and Elbe rivers. In the VIII century, the neighboring Slavic and non-Slavic tribes subjugated themselves. There is a double terminology: the obodrites-bodrichs (they are called so) include both a separate tribe and an alliance of tribes, headed by a tribe of obodrites.

4 Shmurlo E.F. Russian history course. The emergence and formation of the Russian state. St. Petersburg; Aletheia, 1998. P.73.

5 Noso in E.N., Goryunova V.M., Plokhov A.V. Settlement near Novgorod and the settlements of the Northern Priilmenye (New materials and research). St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin, 2005.

6 Parcel - a certain urban land plot. As a rule, this is a historically developed household, which has access to the roadway of the quarter or the river bank.

7 In the scientific literature, two equal forms of the ancient name of the Volga River are accepted - Itil(b) and Atil(b).

8 Journey of Ibn -Fadlana on the Volga. M.; L.: Ed. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1939. [Translation and comments by A.P. Kovalevsky.]

9 Kirpichnikov A.N., Sarabyanov V.D. Staraya Ladoga is the first capital of Russia. St. Petersburg; Ed. "Slavia", 2012.

Staraya Ladoga- until 1704 - the city of Ladoga. A village in the Volkhovsky district of the Leningrad region. One of the oldest settlements in Russia, with a history of more than 1250 years, the ancient capital of Northern Russia. Situated on the left bank of the river. Volkhov. From Moscow - in a straight line - 567 km.

The population for 2016 is 2,008 people.

Founded in 753.

The only one among the oldest Russian cities, whose history goes far into the past, even before the appearance of Russia itself.

According to dendrochronology, the oldest known buildings - production and ship repair workshops at Zemlyanoy Gorodishche - were erected from logs cut down before 753.

Since the 780s, beads have been brewed in Ladoga using Arab low-temperature technology. "Eyes", that is, eye beads, are the first Russian money. For them, the Ladoga residents bought furs. And the furs were sold to Arab merchants for full-weight silver dirhems.

Ladoga was the original residence of Rurik and Oleg, was for several years, and then the official political center of Northern Russia was transferred by them to the predecessor of Novgorod - Rurik's settlement.

When the daughter of the Swedish king, Princess Ingigerda, married the Novgorod prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1019, she received the city of Aldeygyuborg (Staraya Ladoga) with the surrounding lands, which have since received the name Ingermanlandia, as a dowry.

In 1116 the Ladoga posadnik Pavel founded a stone fortress.

Among the frequent attacks of the Swedes on Ladoga, the heroic defense of the siege of 1164 was remembered. Then the townspeople themselves burned their houses in the settlement and locked themselves in the fortress. The Ladoga residents repulsed the assault and, when help arrived from Novgorod, they drove the enemy.

The Ladoga residents had a particularly hard time during the Time of Troubles. In 1610, Ladoga was captured by a French mercenary, who was in the Swedish service, Pierre Delaville. The following year, the French were driven out, but in the autumn of 1611 the Swedes occupied it. Apparently, the population left the city en masse, because in the source of 1614 it was noted that "there are no Russian people in Ladoga."
In 1617, under the terms of the Stolbovsky peace treaty, the Swedes left Ladoga, but by that time it had been completely devastated.

In 1704, Peter I founded Novaya Ladoga at the mouth of the Volkhov and renamed Ladoga into "Staraya Ladoga", depriving it of the status of a city and the right to have its own coat of arms, and ordered many Ladoga residents to move to Novaya Ladoga to live. It is difficult to say what Pyotr Alekseevich was guided by, perhaps the dislike for the Swedes had an effect.

The only historical event of a political nature happened only in 1718, when the Ladoga Assumption Monastery became a place of imprisonment (until 1725) for the former tsarina and first wife of Peter I, Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina.

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Scandinavian name for Ladoga - Aldeigya, Aldeiguborg(Old-Scand. Aldeigja, Aldeigjuborg), the first written mention of which in the original form of Old-Scand. Aldeigjar is found in the poem "Bandadrapa" by Eyolf Dadaskald (Swedish), composed around 1010 in honor of Jarl Eirik.
Name Ladoga bears the river, the lake and the city. At the same time, until recently it was not quite clear which of the names is primary. The name of the city was derived from the name of Lake Ladoga (from Finnish *aaldokas, aallokas "wavering" - from aalto"wave"), or from the name of the river Ladoga(now Ladozhka, from Finnish * Alode-joki , where alode, aloe- "low terrain" and jok(k)i- "river").

Story

On the territory of the village in 2015 was found the site of an ancient man of the Neolithic era, dating back to the third millennium BC.
After drilling in Zemlyanoy gorodishche, under a 4 m thick cultural layer, a thin peat bog and deposits of the Ladoga transgression were revealed. About 2000 years ago, the water level in Volkhov dropped below 10 m abs. height. The territory of the future Staraya Ladoga became suitable for settlement after a further decrease in the water level no earlier than the middle of the 1st millennium.
Under Zemlyanoy settlement, the surface was plowed at excavation 4 not later than or somewhat earlier than the 6th century, and at excavation 3 - starting from the second half of the 7th century - the first half of the 8th century. The agriculture of the first Ladoga residents is confirmed by the finds of grains of wheat, rye, barley, millet and hemp. Presumably, the crest of the Merovingian era, found in Staraya Ladoga in 2013, dates back to the 7th century. A rudimentary settlement could have appeared on Zemlyanoy settlement around the year 700 or even earlier.
In the first tier, three dwellings of a frame-pillar structure (the so-called "big houses") with a hearth in the center have the oldest dendrodata dated 753. Production and ship repair workshops on Earthen settlement probably built by people from northern Europe. Excavations show that the first settlement in Ladoga was founded and originally inhabited presumably by the Scandinavians (according to E. A. Ryabinin - by the Gotlanders).
In the first half of the 750s, Scandinavian settlements appeared in the lower reaches of the Volkhov, but at the turn of the 760-770s, the Vikings were forced out by the Slavs.
The first settlement consisted of several buildings of a pillar structure, which has analogues in Northern Europe, and was placed 2 km south of the Lyubsha fortress, founded by representatives of the original Slavic culture of Central European origin. The area of the original Staraya Ladoga settlement did not exceed 2-4 hectares. It was then that the interests of the ancient Slavs, the ancient Germans and the local Finno-Balts intersected in the region. During excavations, a whole industrial complex was discovered in the layers of the 8th century. During this period, the settlement is already trading with local tribes. Wheat grains were found in a burnt barn from the layers of the 8th century: 80% is two-grain wheat (spelt), 20% is soft wheat. Spelled was never grown in Scandinavia, besides, the Old Ladoga spelled differs sharply from the European one, but is morphologically close to the Volga spelled.
In the 760s, the Ladoga settlement was destroyed by representatives of the early Slavic culture from the South-West: the Dnieper Left Bank or the Dniester region, the Danube region, the upper reaches of the Dnieper, the Western Dvina or the Volga (similar to the Prague, Penkovsky or Kolochinsky cultures) and built up with houses of log construction. The lack of continuity between the first inhabitants of Ladoga and the subsequent population with different cultural traditions is noted. In Ladoga, as in other places in the north-west of Russia (Izborsk, Kamno, Ryug, Pskov), in the 8th-9th centuries, limestone casting molds became widespread as a result of the revival of fashion for such decorations developed in the Prague culture of the early Slavs at the turn of the 6th -VII centuries.
Judging by the available data on the diversity and scope of ties, Ladoga was on a par with such trade and craft centers of Scandinavia as Hedeby and Ribe in Jutland, Kaupang in Norway, Paviken on Gotland, Birka in Sweden, Ralsvik, Wolin (city) and others in the south of the Baltic.
As archaeological evidence shows, most Ladoga residents were not engaged in trade, but in agriculture and crafts.
Since the 780s, beads have been brewed in Ladoga using Arab low-temperature technology. "Eyes", that is, eye beads, are the first Russian money. For them, the Ladoga residents bought furs. And the furs were sold to Arab merchants for full-weight silver dirhams. The first hoard of Arab dirhams found in Ladoga dates back to 786. An Arab traveler of the 10th century claims that one glass "peephole" could buy a slave or a female slave.
In the VIII-IX centuries, the population of Ladoga ranged from a few dozen to 200 people. In the 9th century, Staraya Ladoga was located on a small area of Zemlyanoy Gorodishche. This settlement existed until the end of the 830s and was captured by the Varangians, possibly under the leadership of the Svei king Eirik (died around 871).
From horizon E2, a casting mold of a two-horned pendant in the form of a pelt (840-855) is known. Similar decorations come from Great Moravia and have also been found in Chernihiv, on Knyazhy Gora near Kyiv, in Galicia, in Slovakia and Bulgaria.
Around 840, the settlement suffered a catastrophe as a result of an enemy invasion. In the period around 840 - around 865, a significant part of the settlement turns into a wasteland. The other part is rebuilt in the Scandinavian traditions of the northern European halle. The Norman population brings their own traditions (Thor's hammers, etc.).
Further, Ladoga was a trade and craft settlement, which was once again destroyed in the 860s as a result of internecine wars, which are mentioned by PVL. After the total fire recorded at the junction of the Ladoga horizons E2-E1, which occurred approx. 860, for about a decade, the flow of silver to the island of Gotland and Sweden is interrupted. Not later than 865, the settlement was again completely destroyed. Among the finds of this period (865-890s) there are both things from the northern European circle of antiquities of the Viking Age, and objects from the circle of antiquities of the forest zone of Eastern Europe. It can be confidently stated that at that time different ethno-cultural groups lived in Ladoga, among which the Scandinavians clearly stand out. .
Approximately in the 870s, the first wooden fortress was built in Staraya Ladoga at the confluence of the Ladoga River with the Volkhov. The remains of a bronze casting workshop were found in the layers of the last quarter of the 9th century. As a result, Ladoga develops from a small trade and craft settlement into a typical old Russian city with an area of 12 hectares. From the beginning of the 870s, the flow of silver from Eastern Europe to Scandinavia was steady and uniform, while until the end of the 10th century there was no information about Viking attacks on Ladoga.
The building density of Zemlyanoye Gorodishche at the level VI (c. 865-890) and VII (890-920) tiers is significantly lower than in previous decades. At the turn of the 9th-10th centuries, instead of wooden fortifications, a stone fortress was erected, similar to the Western European fortifications of that time. According to dendrochronology, the so-called “big house” was built in 881, this house (like a number of other similar houses) as such is not a big house in the northern European and Scandinavian sense, it’s just a manor larger than all the others, which is one of the first buildings of this kind. type typical for the entire ancient Novgorod land.
According to craniometric features, anthropologists have revealed the morphological similarity of the Ladoga residents with material from 5 Liv burial grounds located in the basins of the Gauja and Daugava rivers and from the Siksali burial ground in southeastern Estonia. The supposed similarity of those buried at the Zemlyanoy settlement and in the Shestovits mounds is not confirmed according to the Student's t-test. The ethnic affiliation of medieval population groups cannot be determined by anthropological methods.

... and having come to the first word · and cut down the city of Ladoga and the elder Rurik in Ladoz ...

Although other versions of the story say that he sat down to reign in Novgorod. Hence the version that Ladoga was the first capital of Russia (more precisely, the place of Rurik's reign from 862 to 864). Archaeological research conducted in Staraya Ladoga (headed by A.N. Kirpichnikov) proves close contacts between the Ilmen Slovenes, Finno-Ugric tribes and Normans (Urmans) in this area in the 9th-10th centuries.
On Varyazhskaya Street, in the layers of the first quarter of the 10th century, fragments of ceramics with lusgro painting were found, belonging to the earliest (Mesopotamian (Samarr)) stage of the production of this Middle Eastern dishware. A birch bark scroll depicting a boat was discovered in the layers of the 10th century.
The city was an important point on the trade route “from Varangian to Greeks”. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, the grave of the Prophetic Oleg is located in Ladoga (according to the Kyiv version, his grave is located in Kyiv on Mount Schekavitse).

In summer · ҂ѕ҃ · х҃ · k҃ · d҃
[…]
In the same summer Pavel · mayor of Ladoga · lay Ladoga city of stones

As a result of a change in the system of urban land use and planning work, the construction of the stone Cathedral of St. Clement in 1153, in the 11th-12th centuries, the frequency of fires in Ladoga significantly decreased and the area of ruderal habitats (weeds) decreased.
In 1718, the first wife of Peter I, Evdokia Lopukhina, was transferred from Suzdal to the Ladoga Assumption Monastery.
In 1719, Staraya Ladoga became part of the Novgorod province (it was formed as part of the St. Petersburg province).
In 1727, the Staraya Ladoga district of the Novgorod province was included in the new Novgorod province.
In 1770, the Staraya Ladoga district was abolished.

STARAYA LADOGA - the settlement belongs to the Novoladozhsky merchants and townspeople, the number of inhabitants according to the revision: 54 m, 62 zh. P.
There are stone churches in it: a) In the name of the Holy Great Martyr George. b) Maiden Monastery in the name of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. c) The abolished church in the name of the Holy Forerunner John. d) Monastery in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. (1838).

STARAYA LADOGA - the village of the Novoladozhsky philistines, along a country road, the number of households - 30, the number of souls - 57 meters (1856)

STARAYA LADOGA - a philistine village, near the Volkhov and Ladozhka rivers, 43 households, inhabitants 103 m, 264 railways. P.;
Orthodox churches 4. Monasteries 2. The ruins of the fortress called Rurik. (1862)

In the 19th century, the village administratively belonged to the Mikhailovskaya volost of the 1st camp of the Novoladozhsky district of the St. Petersburg province, at the beginning of the 20th century - the 2nd camp.
From 1917 to 1919 the village Staraya Ladoga was part of the Staroladoga village council of the Mikhailovsky volost of the Novoladozhsky district.
Since April 1919, part of the Oktyabrskaya volost of the Volkhovsky district. From November 1919 the village Staraya Ladoga was taken into account by regional administrative data as a settlement Staraya Ladoga.
Since 1927, as part of the Volkhovsky district.
According to 1933 village Staraya Ladoga was the administrative center of the Staroladozhsky village council of the Volkhov district, which included 17 settlements, villages: Akhmatova Gora, Valeshi, Zelenaya Dolina, Ivanovka, Kamenka, Kinderevo, Knyashchina, Lytkino, Mestovka, Makinkina, Mezhumoshie, Nevazhi, Okulovo, Podil, Podmonastyrskaya Sloboda, Staraya Ladoga, Trusovo, with a total population of 2312 people.
According to the data of 1936, the composition of the Staraya Ladoga village council with a center in the village of Staraya Ladoga included 15 settlements, 410 farms and 13 collective farms.
In 1961 the population Staraya Ladoga was 1059 people.
According to the administrative data of 1973, the central estate of the Volkhovsky state farm was located in the village. In 1997, 2457 people lived in the village, in 2002 - 2182 people (Russians - 95%).
In 2003, the celebration was widely held 1250th anniversary of Staraya Ladoga as the "ancient capital Northern Rus", which was covered by the press and attracted the attention of the authorities. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on the preparation and holding of the anniversary and visited Staraya Ladoga twice.

Geography

The village is located in the northern part of the district on the left bank of the Volkhov River, 8 km north of the administrative center of the district - the city of Volkhov.
The regional highway passes through it. A115 New Ladoga - Volkhov - Kirishi - Zuevo.

Culture and art

The first image of Staraya Ladoga was an engraving of Adam Olearius, who visited the city in 1634, as secretary of the embassy of Frederick III to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Russian artists of the 19th-20th centuries were attracted by Staraya Ladoga with its romantic views of the banks of the ancient Volkhov, churches, monasteries and majestic burial mounds. Not far from the village was the estate "Uspenskoe" by Alexei Tomilov, which was a local center of culture in the 19th century. Artists I. K. Aivazovsky, O. A. Kiprensky, A. O. Orlovsky, A. G. Venetsianov, I. A. Ivanov and others have been here. In 1844, in the village of Lopino, located opposite the fortress on the other side of the Volkhov, V. M. Maksimov, the future academician of painting and an itinerant artist, who painted pictures from the life and life of peasants, was born into a peasant family. Here in 1911 he was buried.
In the summer of 1899, in Staraya Ladoga, Nicholas Roerich painted sketches from life. " We climb the hillock, - Roerich wrote about his impressions, - and before us is one of the best Russian landscapes» . V. A. Serov, K. A. Korovin, B. M. Kustodiev have been here. In 1924-1926, A. N. Samokhvalov repeatedly visited Staraya Ladoga, who participated in the preparatory work for the restoration of St. George's Cathedral. According to the artist, this experience taught him a lot, helped him understand how the compositional fusion of images of monumental painting and architectural forms " created the pathos of polyphonic sounding of the whole complex of influencing elements» . These trips also resulted in the landscape Staraya Ladoga (1924) and the painting Fisherman's Family (1926, Russian Museum).
In February 1945, by decision of the Leningrad Executive Committee, the Rest House in Staraya Ladoga (the former Shakhovsky estate, named after the last owner, Prince Nikolai Ivanovich Shakhovsky (1851-1937), Privy Councilor, member of the State Bank of Russia and his son, Vsevolod Nikolaevich (1874-1954), real state councilor, the last minister of trade and industry (1915-1917) of tsarist Russia, who emigrated to France in 1919). In 1946, repair and construction work began, which lasted for 15 years.
Already from the mid-1940s, Leningrad artists began to come to Staraya Ladoga. For