Yaroslavl

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According to tradition, the city was founded by Prince Yaroslav in 1010, although it was not mentioned in the chronicles until 1071. In 1218 it became the capital of the independent Yaroslavl principality, which was absorbed by Moscow in 1463. The city flourished during the 16th and 17th cent. as a commercial center on the Moscow-Arkhangelsk route from the White Sea to the Middle East. During the "Time of Troubles", Yaroslavl served briefly (Mar.—July, 1612) as Russia's capital. In 1564 the first modern Russian ships were built at Yaroslavl, and in 1722 it became the site of Russia's first cloth factory. It was a major Russian manufacturing city by the 18th cent., notably for textiles. F. G. Volkov (1729—63), regarded as the founder of the Russian theater, organized his first dramatic performance in Yaroslavl in 1750.