The main issue studied in this lecture is connected with the phenomenon of Muscovite Rus’ as a completely new state which differed greatly from Kievan Rus’. The lecturer analyses the reasons why the city, which had previously remained in the shadow of such ambitious centres of Russian nationhood as Novgorod, Tver and Vladimir, became so prominent. The emphasis is laid on spiritual guidelines which allowed Moscow to unite all the Russian lands; the role of Sergius of Radonezh, "Father of the Russian Land", is analysed. A comment on deeply rooted mythologems such as the “Great Standoff” on the Ugra river or the story of adopting the double-headed eagle as a symbol of Russian nationhood.