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DAY 17/241 1981 – ST PETERSBURG TO TVER (KALININ) RUSSIA

The drive from Saint Petersburg to Moscow takes us through the old Medieval capital of Russia, Tver, where we have an overnight stop. Tver's foundation year is 1135, and the name of the city is of Finnish origin.

Tver was the capital of a powerful medieval state and a provincial town in the Russian Empire, with a population of 60,000 in 1913. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa Rivers. The city was known as Kalinin from 1931 to 1990. The city is where three rivers meet, splitting the town into northern and southern parts by the Volga River.

Mikhail, the Grand Prince of Tver, who ascended the throne of Vladimir in 1305, was one of the most revered medieval Russian rulers. His policy of open conflict with the Mongol Golden Horde led to his assassination in 1318. His son Dmitry "the Terrible Eyes" succeeded him and concluded an alliance with the mighty Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which raised Tver's prestige.

Prince Ivan Kalita of the Grand Duchy of Moscow engineered Dmitry's murder by the Mongols in 1326. On hearing the news of this crime, the city revolted against the Mongol Horde. The Horde joined its forces with Muscovites and brutally repressed the rebellion. Many citizens were killed, enslaved or deported. This was a fatal blow to Tver's aspirations for supremacy in Russia, but enhanced Moscow's.

In the second half of the 14th century, Tver was further weakened by dynastic struggles between its princes. Two senior branches of the ruling house asserted their claims to the grand ducal throne. The claims were eventually settled at the Moscow Kremlin Court.

During the Great Feudal War in the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Tver again rose to prominence and concluded defensive alliances with Lithuania, Novgorod, Byzantium, and the Golden Horde.

FANCY DRESS PARTY AT TVER (KALININ) TO COMEMORATE THE ROYAL WEDDING

The talk of London before we left was all about the royal wedding of Diana and Charles. To celebrate the occasion, Carmel Smith and Mark Stephen Bannerman organised a fancy dress party at Kalinin. Great night, as was every night in Russia, as we still had far too many rubles to spend from our black marketed Levi jeans. John Quirk was the Russian Patriarch and did a great job (for a Catholic school teacher (pictured)

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