In scientific circles to this day argue about which are the most ancient cities of Russia , and which of them stands in the first place. The palm of the championship is divided between three cities of the Russian Federation: Derbent, Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Ladoga. Understand this is not easy, because each version has unquestionable arguments. In the most ancient cities of Russia excavations are conducted to this day to find evidence of the birth of the city. Old Ladoga is a city, the study of which began relatively recently, and therefore it is too early to put an end to the definition of the oldest city in Russia.
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Derbent
It is located in the south of Dagestan and is a part of the Russian Federation. The very first handwritten references on the basis of which it can be concluded that Derbent is the oldest city in Russia are recorded by Hecataeus Miletus, the most famous geographer of antiquity. They refer to the end of the fourth millennium BC, when here the first settlements appeared.
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The name "Derbent" came from the word "Darband", which means "narrow gates" from the Persian language. After all, the city is located in a place that connects the Caspian Sea and the mountains of the Caucasus, a narrow corridor, which was called - "Dagestan corridor". In ancient times it was a very significant part of the Great Silk Road, which can not be overemphasized.
In order to own this tidbit of the trade route, bloody wars have always been waged, and for all of its existence the city has been destroyed many times to the ground, and has been reborn again, as many times. But despite all the destruction that Derbent has undergone, many historical and architectural monuments of antiquity have been preserved.
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Here is created a historical architectural museum, located in a protected area. It includes the famous fortress of Naryn-Kala, which for many centuries defended the city from the invasion of enemies. The fortress stretches for forty kilometers, and is the only such monument that has survived to our days.
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On the territory of the reserve there are ancient burial places, on which you can see the surviving tombstones with inscriptions dating from 7-8 centuries.
The Old Town with all historical buildings is recognized as the World Heritage of UNESCO.
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Velikiy Novgorod
Residents of Novgorod and some historians believe that it is Novgorod the Great that is the oldest city in Russia. And this version has every reason for this, because he began his story in 859. Here, from Kievan Rus, the Russians were brought to Christianity, which became the state religion. Here in the tenth century the wooden church of Saint Sophia of the Wisdom of God was built, which was crowned with thirteen domes. This unusual phenomenon is explained by the fact that a pre-Christian idolatrous world view was imposed on the construction of the church.
Novgorod became after this the center of Christianity in Russia and the seat of the clergy of all ranks.
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The oldest and largest Kremlin in Russia is right there. Compared with Derbent, Veliky Novgorod has a clear and concrete date of appearance, and not just the century in which chronology began. And of course, the undeniable fact is that Novgorod was always Russian, unlike Derbent, which was annexed to the Russian Federation, and has a population of about 5% of Russians.
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The Old Ladoga
This is the most unexplored by historians and archaeologists the city, but it also claims to be the oldest in Russia. To this version, more and more historians are inclined to lately. There are tombstones on which the date is 921 year. But the first mentions are found in the chronicles from 862. Since the beginning of the ninth century, here was founded the port, where the brisk trade of the Slavs, and the Scandinavian people. Now large-scale excavations are under way to confirm the status of the oldest city in Russia.
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