Staraya Russa

Staraya Russa is first mentioned in a chronicle in 1167, although researchers believe the town at the confluence of the Polist and Porusya rivers is older. A birch bark manuscript found during excavations in Novgorod in 1975 supports this. It contains the phrase: “Na Boyane v Rouse gr(i)vna, na Zhitob(o)ude v Rouse 13 koune i gr(i)vna istine…”. “Rouse” refers to Russa. In 1478, Russa entered the Russian state together with the other Novgorod lands. In the 16th century it was renamed Staraya Russa. By the middle of the 16th century, it was the 4th largest city in the state by population and number of households, after Moscow, Pskov and Novgorod. Staraya Russa joined Novgorod Governorate in 1727. Catherine II granted the town a coat of arms in 1781, with salt-making as its symbol — an occupation practiced here since ancient times. Modern Staraya Russa is a small historic town with green parks, architecture, churches, museums and a distinctive balneological and mud-treatment resort. Since 2015 it has held the title “City of Military Glory”; in the same year it celebrated its 1000th anniversary. In January 2019, Staraya Russa applied to join the New Hanseatic League.