Muscovites: do they exist and where to find them?

Historians have studied archive documents for several centuries, I believe that in modern Moscow there are not more than 10% of those who can rightfully call themselves "native Muscovites". Anthropologists are more pessimistic — in their opinion, this category of citizens have completely disappeared. As is the case in reality, and on what grounds one can distinguish hereditary Muscovite?

If you conduct surveys among residents of the capital and all ask the question of who can be considered a native Muscovite, opinions are significantly divided. For some these people differ in appearance and intellectually, for others is a sign of a special upbringing and culture.

But most often residents themselves consider indigenous Muscovites by birth. Someone sure born in the capital of the person automatically receives this status, and someone considers that it is necessary to have in the family for at least 6 ancestors who were born in the capital.

There is a category of citizens who consider the scientific rationale for this question is absolutely unnecessary and even fall into the category of chauvinistic phenomena. These people offered their own ways of identifying indigenous. Here's what he wrote about it well-known journalist Artemy Troitsky:

Satirist Viktor Koklyushkin has a similar opinion and believes that Muscovite is easily recognized by the fact that he has his own judgment on every issue and loves to teach. The comedian adds that with all this native of the capital is not boring and remains the contact and cheerful person.

Specialists of the Institute of Ethnology and anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, engaged in scientific research, noted that Moscow has become a city of migrants long before the present day. The population of the metropolis is constantly replenished by visitors for many centuries and today, to talk about indigenous Muscovites hardly.

The city authorities, who need to keep abreast of, report that they have no information about the special status of a "native Muscovite", and knowing Mosgorstat and the police shrug, acknowledging that we do not have similar statistics in terms of population.

Excavations conducted by archaeologists in the capital, saying that the area was inhabited since the Neolithic age. But the biggest population growth was noted in the end of the first Millennium of our era. Land, who were to become the future territory of Moscow, began to settle in the Finno-Ugric tribes, the Mordvinians, Finns, Udmurts, Mari. A little later, here are the Slavic tribes of Vyatichi and Krivichi. The ethnologist Pestryakov sure that the name of the town comes from the Finno-Ugric languages and means "bear river".

In the second half of the XII century by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in Moscow began to arrive EN masse the inhabitants of the Middle Dnieper. In the XIII century the town was popular and began to attract a lot of people from different regions of Russia.

The town was located is very advantageous — on the crossing of land and river trade routes. Contributed to the growth of the population and the policy of the Moscow princes, who were actively subdued the surrounding lands.

From time to time Moscow became the center of migration. The first major surge was recorded during the invasion of Batu Khan in the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. Then, well-fortified city with a large army was enlarged by refugees from the territories affected by the invasion of Mongol-Tatar Horde.

Under Ivan the terrible, when it was subordinated to the rebellious Novgorod, the ranks of Muscovites joined Novgorod, many of whom life in Moscow has seemed more attractive than in his hometown. But I knew the capital and demographic downturns, which in its history had several.

The first case of a sharp drop in the number of inhabitants is the period of the oprichnina 1560-70-ies, Adversely affected the number of people and the defeat in the Livonian war (1558-1583), and the prolonged and bloody period of the Troubles.

But hard times had passed and the city flourished again and became attractive not only for residents of Russia, but also for foreigners. Moscow willingly came to live Lithuanians, poles, Germans, Scots, Dutch. The researchers note three major waves of colonization of the city by foreigners: Ivan the terrible, Peter I and Catherine II.

The Empress has even issued a special Manifesto, dated 25 Oct 1762. In the document it gives the right of an alien to come to the Empire for permanent residence. This Manifesto played a great role in the formation of the national part of Russia and Moscow in particular. The Germans that stood in the Volga steppe, not always getting to the destination, often staying to live in the capital.

In the twentieth century, the number of visitors increased, then decreased. The most disastrous for the city was during the Civil war. Many citizens were killed, died of starvation or fled to the village, that though as-that to live. At the same time, the city was left by those who could not accept the Soviet government — people went abroad with families.

The great Patriotic war has reduced the number of people on 375 thousand. After the war started a serious wave of migration, which lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union. The most heavily left home Muscovites in the era of perestroika. Statistics shows that among the total number of emigrants during this period abroad, not less than 20% were the inhabitants of Moscow.

In spite of that, the number of residents of white stone grew. In 1956 resided in Moscow 4 839 000 people, and in 1991 the town was inhabited already 9 017 415 residents. This increase in population is due not only to natural population growth but also the phenomenon of migration.

Labor migrants in the twentieth century played a significant role in shaping the population of the capital. In the Soviet era, when a booming manufacture, in some industries, such as construction, light industry, mechanical engineering and transport, not enough specialists.

Therefore, the government had imposed quotas (limits), according to which in the troubled industry to involve experts from other regions, sometimes very remote. It got to the point that some of the capital construction projects the Muscovites were only superintendents. It was at this time appeared dismissive formulation of "limit" used in relation to immigrant workers without a local residence.

In 1990-e and 2000-e years Moscow attacked the crowd of workers and this period witnessed the most robust growth of the population of the city. Many of the new residents of the capital were residents of the former republics, mainly located in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Between the population censuses, held in Moscow in 1989 and 2002, the number of Tajiks in the city increased 12, Chechens — 7, and Azerbaijanis 5 times. Joined the ranks of citizens and residents abroad — in the city there are a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese. In some parts of Moscow "non-Russian" constitute 30 percent of the total population.

Unfortunately, population growth is at the expense of workers has a serious drawback — significantly increased the level of crime. This is one of the reasons that the attitude of Muscovites to migrants, to put it mildly, cautious. Moscow authorities are looking for a solution, but so far not too successfully.

The head of the Committee for interregional relations and national policy of Moscow Michael Solomentsev sees the situation:

But the problem is that diasporas are willing to agree with the officer, but did not agree to give up many traditions. In the course of discussions, almost always raises squarely the question: "Who can be considered as a Muscovite?".

The Moscow government is trying to show tolerance and respect towards representatives of all nationalities living in the capital, their cultural and religious traditions. Moscow has always been a cosmopolitan city and such a thing as a "native Muscovite" is unlikely to have serious value. Today we can confidently say that full a Muscovite is a person permanently residing in the capital, regardless of where he came from.