The Vladimir Highway (Russian: Влади́мирский тракт, ''Vladimirskiy trakt''), familiarly known as the ''Vladimirka'' (Влади́мирка), was a road leading east from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

and

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. Its length was about 190 kilometers. The road has been mentioned in documents since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, when it connected the political capital of Muscovy with the ancestral seat of the Grand Dukes of

Vladimir-Suzdal Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...

. It was by this road that the Muscovite merchants travelled to the Makariev Fair. In connection with the ceremonial transfer of the

Theotokos of Vladimir , other_title_1 = Our Lady of Vladimir , other_language_2 = uk, Вишгородська ікона Божої Матері , other_title_2 = Vyshgorod Mother of God , wikidata = Q546241 , image = Virgin of Vladimir.jpg , image_upright = 1 ...

from Vladimir to Moscow in 1395, one Russian chronicler referred to the route as "the greatest of roads". The Vladimir Highway was renovated in the mid-18th century when it became the westernmost section of the Great Siberian Road linking

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

to Europe. There were a number of post stations with a ready supply of fresh horses. If one travelled post, it was possible to get from Moscow to Vladimir in less than 24 hours. Since Siberia was a traditional place of exile, the ''Vladimirka'' witnessed crowds of prisoners in shackles marching from Moscow to the

katorga Katorga ( rus, ка́торга, p=ˈkatərɡə; from medieval and modern Greek: ''katergon, κάτεργον'', " galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisone ...

. It is in connection with the penal function that the road figures in the works of

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

Nikolay Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...

, and Fyodor Dostoevsky (e.g., ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

''). As a result, a wealth of bitter associations accrued to it over the course of the 19th century; they are embodied in

Isaak Levitan Isaac Ilyich Levitan (russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н; – ) was a classical Russian landscape Painting, painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape". Life and work Youth Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl o ...

's eponymous painting (1892), representing the '' Vladimirka'' as a "lonely track going on into the empty distance enlivened only by a church and the vast lowering sky".Quoted from: Murrell, Kathleen Berton. ''Discovering the Moscow Countryside''. I.B. Tauris, 2001. . Page 172. After the Russian Revolution, the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

were keen to get rid of the notorious name, rebranding the Moscow section of the road as Shosse Entuziastov ("Enthusiasts' Highway"). The modernized Soviet highway became known as the Volga Motorway.

References

*
History of the Volga Highway
{{reflist Roads in Russia Transport in Moscow Oblast Transport in Vladimir Oblast Historical roads