Novosil

Novosil stands above the Zusha in the upper Oka country, once the centre of a principality descended from the princes of Chernigov. Its rulers held lands on a frontier between the forests of the Oka and the open country to the south. The town’s position made it vulnerable to attack as well as useful for defence.

In 1375 Tatar forces devastated Novosil after its prince had joined the campaign against Tver. Further raids followed, and the princely centre shifted to Odoyev. The name of Novosil nevertheless remained attached to a family of upper Oka princes whose lands were divided among several branches. In later centuries the town became a fortified post on Moscow’s southern frontier. Tsar Michael visited in 1644, when service men including Cossacks, musketeers and gunners received grants of land.