A small town in the Moscow region was mentioned in many films about the Great Patriotic War, because there were fierce battles with German troops. The population of Mozhaisk, a city of military glory, is justly proud of its glorious history. With the economy, not everything is as good as with history, so the number of inhabitants is slowly decreasing.
General information
In 2018, it became a city of regional subordination, located in the western region of the Moscow Region, and is the administrative center of the eponymous city district. Geographically located in the Gzhat depression (part of the Moscow Upland). The Moskva River flows through the territory from the north (four kilometers from the Mozhaisk Reservoir), to the east is 106 km to the center of Moscow and 90 km to the Moscow Ring Road. In terms of population Mozhaisk occupies the 50th place in the region. Now the city has 30 190 inhabitants (2018).
The settlement has a rectangular grid of streets, partially built up according to the plan of the XVIII century. The territory stretched from west to east for a distance of 5 km, and in the direction from north to south for 6 km. The total area is 17.8 km 2 .
Base
The traces of human activity found on the territory of a modern city date back to the Neolithic era. And in subsequent eras, various tribes constantly lived here, in the early Finno-Ugric period. The first Slavic settlements date back to the 12th century, when a small detinet was built.
They were first mentioned in 1231, in Russian chronicles the internecine wars of the specific princes are trying to establish control over the fortress located on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks."
The name of one of the tributaries of the Moscow River - Mazoja, which translates as "small", came from the East Baltic tribes who once lived. After adapting to the Russian hydronym, it began to sound like “Mozhai”, “Mozhaya” and “Mozhayka”, from where the name of the city came.
Pre-revolutionary period
In 1277, it was first mentioned as a city, which is now considered the year of foundation of Mozhaisk. The village began to grow. At one time, a forest around the fortress was cut down for a better view, which caused a gradual shallowing of the Mozhaika River, and now it is only a stream.
The first data on the population of Mozhaysk belong to 1555, when 10,000 people lived in it. The city was repeatedly captured, the Polish invasion led by False Dmitry became especially devastating. In 1614, only 99 residents remained in the village. In the XVII century, a powerful fortress was built, modeled on the Moscow Kitay Gorod, which was at one time commanded by the famous Dmitry Pozharsky.
At the end of the 18th century, the fortress walls were demolished due to their dilapidation, a development plan was adopted, which provides for the division into quarters of the correct rectangular shape. In 1800, the population of Mozhaisk was 1736 people.
It was again burned by the retreating French troops in the war of 1812. The city had to be rebuilt practically, the population was recovering slowly. In 1825, only 1,645 people lived here. At the same time, industry began to develop, the first weaving and spinning mill was built. Peasants from neighboring villages began to move to the city.
In the twentieth century
At the beginning of the century, there were only two large industrial enterprises near the city: a silk-spinning factory and a brick factory. According to the last pre-revolutionary census of 1913, the population of Mozhaisk was 5500 people.
Revolution and civil war ravaged the city, significantly reducing the number of inhabitants. In 1920, 2975 people lived in Mozhaisk. During the years of Soviet industrialization, the Molotov Artel began its work, currently at the Mozhaisk Valve Plant CJSC. An agricultural college, a tuberculosis dispensary was opened, and a telephone network was launched. The population of Mozhaysk grew rapidly due to the hiring of employees at newly opened enterprises. According to the latest pre-war data of 1939, 11,752 people lived here.
In the postwar period, industry began to develop rapidly. A reinforced concrete plant and a bread factory were built. According to the first post-war census of 1959, there were 15 697 people in the city. In the following Soviet years, a dairy plant, a printing plant, a medical-instrumental factory, and an experimental-mechanical enterprise were built. The opening of industrial enterprises required the attraction of significant labor resources. The population of Mozhaisk grew rapidly, reaching in 1996 a population of 30,700 inhabitants.
Modernity
In the first year of the new millennium, 29,900 people lived in the city. The crisis affected many industrial enterprises, some of them were closed. Between 2002 and 2010, the population declined on average by 0.04% per year, mainly due to natural decline. In 2010, the population of Mozhaisk reached 30,480 people.
In subsequent years, the rate of decline in the number of residents increased slightly, amounting to 2005-2010. 0.55%. The population has stabilized, increasing slightly or decreasing due to natural causes. In 2018, 30,190 people lived in the city.