What years of the reign of Ivan 3. The reign of Ivan III. The fall of the Tatar yoke - briefly

Negotiations dragged on for three years. On November 12, the bride finally arrived in Moscow.

The wedding took place on the same day. The marriage of the Moscow sovereign with the Greek princess was an important event in Russian history. He opened the way for connections between Muscovite Rus' and the West. On the other hand, together with Sophia, some orders and customs of the Byzantine court were established at the Moscow court. The ceremony became more majestic and solemn. The Grand Duke himself rose to prominence in the eyes of his contemporaries. They noticed that Ivan, after marrying the niece of the Byzantine emperor, appeared as an autocratic sovereign on the Moscow grand-ducal table; he was the first to receive the nickname Grozny, because he was a monarch for the princes of the squad, demanding unquestioning obedience and strictly punishing disobedience. He rose to a royal, unattainable height, before which the boyar, prince and descendant of Rurik and Gediminas had to reverently bow along with the last of his subjects; at the first wave of Ivan the Terrible, the heads of the seditious princes and boyars lay on the chopping block.

It was at that time that Ivan III began to inspire fear with his very appearance. Women, contemporaries say, fainted from his angry gaze. The courtiers, fearing for their lives, had to amuse him during his leisure hours, and when he, sitting in his armchairs, indulged in a doze, they stood motionless around him, not daring to cough or make a careless movement, so as not to wake him. Contemporaries and immediate descendants attributed this change to the suggestions of Sophia, and we have no right to reject their testimony. The German ambassador Herberstein, who was in Moscow during the reign of Sophia’s son, said about her: “ She was an unusually cunning woman; at her inspiration, the Grand Duke did a lot".

War with the Kazan Khanate 1467 - 1469

A letter from Metropolitan Philip to the Grand Duke, written at the beginning of the war, has been preserved. In it he promises the crown of martyrdom to all who shed their blood." for the holy churches of God and for Orthodox Christianity».

At the first meeting with the leading Kazan army, the Russians not only did not dare to start a battle, but did not even make an attempt to cross the Volga to the other bank, where the Tatar army was stationed, and therefore simply turned back; So, even before it began, the “campaign” ended in shame and failure.

Khan Ibrahim did not pursue the Russians, but made a punitive foray into the Russian city of Galich-Mersky, which lay close to the Kazan borders in Kostroma land, and plundered its surroundings, although he could not take the fortified fort itself.

Ivan III ordered strong garrisons to be sent to all border cities: Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Kostroma, Galich and to carry out a retaliatory punitive attack. The Tatar troops were expelled from the Kostroma borders by the governor Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Striga-Obolensky, and the attack on the lands of the Mari from the north and west was carried out by detachments under the command of Prince Daniil Kholmsky, which even reached Kazan itself.

Then the Kazan Khan sent a response army in the following directions: Galich (the Tatars reached the Yuga River and took the Kichmensky town and occupied two Kostroma volosts) and Nizhny Novgorod-Murmansk (near Nizhny Novgorod the Russians defeated the Tatar army and captured the leader of the Kazan detachment, Murza Khodzhu-Berdy ).

"All Christian blood will fall on you because, having betrayed Christianity, you run away, without putting up a fight with the Tatars and without fighting them, he said. - Why are you afraid of death? You are not an immortal man, a mortal; and without fate there is no death for man, bird, or bird; give me, an old man, an army in my hands, and you will see if I turn my face before the Tatars!"

Ashamed, Ivan did not go to his Kremlin courtyard, but settled in Krasnoye Selets.

From here he sent an order to his son to go to Moscow, but he decided it would be better to incur his father’s wrath than to go from the coast. " I'll die here and won't go to my father", he said to Prince Kholmsky, who persuaded him to leave the army. He guarded the movement of the Tatars, who wanted to secretly cross the Ugra and suddenly rush to Moscow: the Tatars were repulsed from the shore with great damage.

Meanwhile, Ivan III, having lived for two weeks near Moscow, somewhat recovered from his fear, surrendered to the persuasion of the clergy and decided to go to the army. But he didn’t get to Ugra, but stopped in Kremenets on the Luzha River. Here again fear began to overcome him and he completely decided to end the matter peacefully and sent Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with a petition and gifts, asking for a salary so that he would retreat away. Khan replied: " I feel sorry for Ivan; let him come to beat with his brow, as his fathers went to our fathers in the Horde".

However, gold coins were minted in small quantities and for many reasons did not take root in the economic relations of the then Rus'.

In the year, the all-Russian Code of Law was published, with the help of which legal proceedings began to be carried out. The nobility and the noble army began to play a larger role. In the interests of the noble landowners, the transfer of peasants from one master to another was limited. The peasants received the right to make the transition only once a year - a week before the autumn St. George's Day to the Russian Church. In many cases, and especially when choosing a metropolitan, Ivan III behaved as the head of the church administration. The metropolitan was elected by the episcopal council, but with the approval of the Grand Duke. On one occasion (in the case of Metropolitan Simon) Ivan solemnly conducted the newly consecrated prelate to the metropolitan see in the Assumption Cathedral, thus emphasizing the prerogatives of the Grand Duke.

The problem of church lands was widely discussed by both the laity and the clergy. Many laymen, including some boyars, approved of the activities of the Trans-Volga elders, aimed at the spiritual revival and cleansing of the church.

The right of monasteries to own land was also called into question by another religious movement, which actually denied the entire institution of the Orthodox Church: ".

Potin V.M. Hungarian gold of Ivan III // Feudal Russia in the world-historical process. M., 1972, p.289

The grateful descendants of their ruler Ivan III Vasilyevich called him “the Collector of Russian Lands” and Ivan the Great. And he extolled this statesman even higher than. He, the Grand Duke of Moscow, ruled the country from 1462 to 1505, managing to increase the territory of the state from 24 thousand square kilometers to 64 thousand. But the main thing is that he finally managed to free Rus' from the obligation to pay a huge quitrent to the Golden Horde every year.

Ivan the Third was born in January 1440. The boy became the eldest son of the Great Moscow Prince Vasily II Vasilyevich and Maria Yaroslavna, granddaughter of Prince Vladimir the Brave. When Ivan was 5 years old, his father was captured by the Tatars. In the Principality of Moscow, the eldest of the descendants, the prince, was immediately placed on the throne. For his release, Vasily II was forced to promise the Tatars a ransom, after which the prince was released. Arriving in Moscow, Ivan’s father again took the throne, and Shemyaka went to Uglich.

Many contemporaries were dissatisfied with the actions of the prince, who only worsened the situation of the people by increasing the tribute to the Horde. Dmitry Yuryevich became the organizer of a conspiracy against the Grand Duke, together with his comrades-in-arms, he took Vasily II prisoner and blinded him. Those close to Vasily II and his children managed to hide in Murom. But soon the freed prince, who by that time had received the nickname Dark due to his blindness, went to Tver. There he enlisted the support of Grand Duke Boris Tverskoy, betrothing six-year-old Ivan to his daughter Maria Borisovna.

Soon Vasily managed to restore power in Moscow, and after the death of Shemyaka, civil strife finally ceased. Having married his bride in 1452, Ivan became his father's co-ruler. The city of Pereslavl-Zalessky came under his control, and at the age of 15, Ivan had already made his first campaign against the Tatars. By the age of 20, the young prince led the army of the Moscow principality.

At the age of 22, Ivan had to take over the reign on his own: Vasily II died.

Governing body

After the death of his father, Ivan the Third inherited the largest and most significant inheritance, which included part of Moscow and the largest cities: Kolomna, Vladimir, Pereyaslavl, Kostroma, Ustyug, Suzdal, Nizhny Novgorod. Ivan's brothers Andrey Bolshoy, Andrey Menshoy and Boris were given control over Uglich, Vologda and Volokolamsk.

Ivan III, as his father bequeathed, continued the policy of collecting. He consolidated the Russian state by all possible means: sometimes by diplomacy and persuasion, and sometimes by force. In 1463, Ivan III managed to annex the Yaroslavl principality, and in 1474 the state expanded due to the lands of Rostov.

But that was just the beginning. Rus' continued to expand, acquiring vast expanses of Novgorod lands. Then Tver surrendered to the mercy of the winner, and behind it Vyatka and Pskov gradually came into the possession of Ivan the Great.

The Grand Duke managed to win two wars with Lithuania, taking possession of a large part of the Smolensk and Chernigov principalities. Tribute to Ivan III was paid by the Livonian Order.

A significant event during the reign of Ivan III was the annexation of Novgorod. The Grand Duchy of Moscow tried to annex Novgorod since the time of Ivan Kalita, but only succeeded in imposing tribute on the city. The Novgorodians sought to maintain independence from Moscow and even sought support from the Principality of Lithuania. The only thing that kept them from taking the final step was that Orthodoxy was in danger in this case.

However, with the installation of the Lithuanian protege, Prince Mikhail Olelkovich, in 1470 Novgorod signed an agreement with King Casemir. Having learned about this, Ivan III sent ambassadors to the northern city, and after disobedience, a year later he started a war. During the Battle of Shelon, the Novgorodians were defeated, but no help came from Lithuania. As a result of negotiations, Novgorod was declared the patrimony of the Moscow prince.

Six years later, Ivan III launched another campaign against Novgorod, after the city’s boyars refused to recognize him as sovereign. For two years, the Grand Duke led a grueling siege for the Novgorodians, ultimately finally subjugating the city. In 1480, the resettlement of Novgorodians began to the lands of the Moscow Principality, and Moscow boyars and merchants to Novgorod.

But the main thing is that from 1480 the Grand Duke of Moscow stopped paying tribute to the Horde. Rus' finally sighed from the 250-year yoke. It is noteworthy that liberation was achieved without bloodshed. For a whole summer, the troops of Ivan the Great and Khan Akhmat stood against each other. They were separated only by the Ugra River (the famous standing on the Ugra). But the battle never took place - the Horde left with nothing. In the game of nerves, the army of the Russian prince won.

And during the reign of Ivan III, the current Moscow Kremlin appeared, built of brick on the site of an old wooden building. A set of state laws was written and adopted - the Code of Laws, which cemented the young power. The rudiments of diplomacy and a local landowning system, advanced for its time, also appeared. Serfdom began to take shape. Peasants, who previously moved from one owner to another freely, were now limited to the term of St. George's Day. The peasants were allocated a certain time of year for the transition - the week before and after the autumn holiday.

Thanks to Ivan the Third, the Grand Duchy of Moscow turned into a strong state, which became known in Europe. And Ivan the Great himself turned out to be the first Russian ruler to call himself “the sovereign of all Rus'.” Historians claim that today’s Russia basically has the foundation that Ivan III Vasilyevich laid with his activities. Even the double-headed eagle migrated to the coat of arms of the state after the reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Another symbol of the Moscow principality borrowed from Byzantium was the image of St. George the Victorious slaying a serpent with a spear.

They say that the doctrine of “Moscow is the Third Rome” originated during the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich. Which is not surprising, because under him the size of the state increased almost 3 times.

Personal life of Ivan III

The first wife of Ivan the Great was Princess Maria of Tverskaya. But she died after giving birth to her husband's only son.

The personal life of Ivan III changed 3 years after the death of his wife. The marriage to the enlightened Greek princess, niece and goddaughter of the last emperor of Byzantium, Zoe Paleologus, turned out to be fateful both for the sovereign himself and for all of Rus'. Baptized in Orthodoxy, she brought a lot of new and useful things into the archaic life of the state.

Etiquette appeared at court. Sofya Fominichna Paleolog insisted on rebuilding the capital, “dispatching” famous Roman architects from Europe. But the main thing is that it was she who begged her husband to decide to refuse to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, because the boyars were extremely afraid of such a radical step. Supported by his faithful wife, the sovereign tore up another khan's letter, which the Tatar ambassadors brought him.

Probably, Ivan and Sophia really loved each other. The husband listened to the wise advice of his enlightened wife, although his boyars, who previously had undivided influence over the prince, did not like this. In this marriage, which became the first dynastic, numerous offspring appeared - 5 sons and 4 daughters. State power passed to one of the sons.

Death of Ivan III

Ivan III outlived his beloved wife by only 2 years. He died on October 27, 1505. The Grand Duke was buried in the Archangel Cathedral.

Later, in 1929, the relics of both wives of Ivan the Great - Maria Borisovna and Sofia Paleologue - were transferred to the basement chamber of this temple.

Memory

The memory of Ivan III is immortalized in a number of sculptural monuments, which are located in Kaluga, Naryan-Mar, Moscow, and in Veliky Novgorod on the “Millennium of Russia” monument. Several documentaries are devoted to the biography of the Grand Duke, including those from the “Rulers of Rus'” series. The love story of Ivan Vasilyevich and Sofia Paleolog formed the basis of the plot of the Russian series by Alexei Andrianov, where the main roles were played by and.

Ivan 3 was appointed by fate to restore autocracy in Rus'; he did not suddenly accept this great cause and did not consider all means permitted.

Karamzin N.M.

The reign of Ivan 3 lasted from 1462 to 1505. This time went down in Russian history as the beginning of the unification of the lands of appanage Rus' around Moscow, which created the foundations of a single state. It was also Ivan 3 who was the ruler under whom Rus' got rid of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted almost 2 centuries.

Ivan 3 began his reign in 1462 at the age of 22. The throne passed to him according to the will of Vasily 2.

Government

Beginning in 1485, Ivan 3 proclaimed himself sovereign of all Rus'. From this moment on, a unified policy begins, aimed at strengthening the country’s international position. As for internal governance, the prince’s power can hardly be called absolute. The general scheme of governing Moscow and the entire state under Ivan 3 is presented below.

The prince, of course, rose above everyone, but the church and the boyar duma were quite a bit inferior in importance. It is enough to note that:

• The power of the prince does not extend to church lands and boyar estates.
• The church and boyars have the right to mint their own coins.

Thanks to the Code of Law of 1497, a feeding system took root in Rus', when princely officials received broad powers in terms of local government.

Under Ivan 3, a system of transfer of power was first implemented, when the prince appointed a successor for himself. It was also during this era that the first Orders began to be formed. The Treasury and Palace orders were founded, which were in charge of the receipt of taxes and the distribution of land to the nobles for their service.

The unification of Rus' around Moscow

Conquest of Novgorod

During the period when Ivan III came to power, Novgorod retained the principle of government through the veche. The veche elected a mayor who determined the policy of Veliky Novgorod. In 1471, the struggle between the boyar groups of “Lithuania” and “Moscow” intensified. This was ordered into a massacre at the assembly, as a result of which the Lithuanian boyars, led by Marfa Boretskaya, the wife of the former mayor, won. Immediately after this, Martha signed the vassal oath of Novgorod to Lithuania. Ivan 3 immediately sent a letter to the city, demanding recognition of the supremacy of Moscow in the city, but the Novgorod veche was against it. This meant war.

In the summer of 1471, Ivan 3 sent troops to Novgorod. The battle took place near the Sheloni River, where the Novgorodians were defeated. On July 14, a battle took place near the walls of Novgorod, where the Muscovites won, and the Novgorodians lost about 12 thousand people killed. Moscow strengthened its position in the city, but retained self-government for the Novgorodians. In 1478, when it became obvious that Novgorod was not stopping its attempts to come under Lithuanian rule, Ivan 3 deprived the city of all self-government, finally subordinating it to Moscow.

Novgorod was now ruled by the Moscow governor, and the famous bell, symbolizing the freedom of the Novgorodians, was sent to Moscow.

Annexation of Tver, Vyatka and Yaroslavl

Prince Mikhail Borisovich of Tver, wanting to preserve the independence of his principality, married the granddaughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kazemir 4. This did not stop Ivan 3, who started the war in 1485. The situation for Mikhail was complicated by the fact that many Tver boyars had already gone into the service of the Moscow prince. Soon the siege of Tver began, and Mikhail fled to Lithuania. After this, Tver surrendered without resistance. Ivan 3 left his son Ivan to rule the city. This is how the subordination of Tver to Moscow took place.

Yaroslavl, under the reign of Ivan 3, formally retained its independence, but this was a gesture of good will by Ivan 3 himself. Yaroslavl was completely dependent on Moscow, and its independence was expressed only in the fact that local princes had the right to inherit power in the city. The wife of the Yaroslavl prince was Ivan III's sister, Anna, so he allowed her husband and sons to inherit power and rule independently. Although all important decisions were made in Moscow.

Vyatka had a control system similar to Novgorod. In 1489, Tver submitted to the authority of Ivan III, coming under the control of Moscow along with the ancient city of Arsk. After this, Moscow strengthened as a single center for uniting Russian lands into a single state.

Foreign policy

The foreign policy of Ivan 3 was expressed in three directions:

• Eastern - liberation from the yoke and a solution to the problem of the Kazan Khanate.
• Southern – confrontation with the Crimean Khanate.
• Western – solution of border issues with Lithuania.

East direction

The key task of the eastern direction is to rid Rus' of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The result was a stand on the Ugra River in 1480, after which Rus' gained independence from the Horde. 240 years of yoke were completed and the rise of the Moscow state began.

Wives of Prince Ivan 3

Ivan 3 was married twice: the first wife was the Tver princess Maria, the second wife was Sophia Paleologus from the family of Byzantine emperors. From his first marriage, the prince had a son, Ivan the Young.

Sophia (Zoe) Palaeologus was the niece of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine 11, but after the fall of Constantinople she moved to Rome, where she lived under the patronage of the Pope. For Ivan III, this was an excellent option for marriage, after which he would marry Princess Maria. This marriage made it possible to unite the ruling dynasties of Russia and Byzantium.

An embassy was sent to Rome for the bride in January 1472, headed by Prince Ivan Fryazin. The Pope agreed to send Palaiologos to Russia under two conditions:

1. Russia will persuade the Golden Horde to war with Turkey.
2. Russia will accept Catholicism in one form or another.

The ambassadors accepted all the conditions, and Sophia Paleolog went to Moscow. On November 12, 1472, she entered the capital. It is noteworthy that at the entrance to the city, traffic was stopped for several days. This was due to the fact that Catholic priests were heading the delegation. Ivan 3 considered admiration for someone else’s faith a sign of disrespect for one’s own, so he demanded that the Catholic priests hide the crosses and move deeper into the column. Only after these demands were met did the movement continue.

Succession to the throne

In 1498, the first dispute about succession to the throne arose. Some of the boyars demanded that his grandson Dmitry become the heir of Ivan 3. This was the son of Ivan the Young and Elena Voloshanka. Ivan the Young was the son of Ivan 3 from his marriage to Princess Maria. Another group of boyars spoke out for Vasily, the son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus.

The Grand Duke suspected his wife that she wanted to poison Dmitry and his mother Elena. A conspiracy was announced and some people were executed. As a result, Ivan 3 became suspicious of his wife and son, so on February 4, 1498, Ivan 3 named Dmitry, who was 15 years old at that time, as his successor.

After this, a change occurred in the Grand Duke’s mood. He decided to re-investigate the circumstances of the assassination attempt on Dmitry and Elena. As a result, Dmitry was already taken into custody, and Vasily was appointed prince of Novgorod and Pskov.

In 1503, Princess Sophia died, and the prince’s health became noticeably worse. Therefore, he gathered the boyars and declared Vasily, the future Prince Vasily 3, his heir.

Results of the reign of Ivan 3

In 1505, Prince Ivan 3 dies. After himself, he leaves a great legacy and great deeds, which his son Vasily was destined to continue. The results of the reign of Ivan 3 can be characterized as follows:

• Eliminating the causes of fragmentation of Rus' and unifying the lands around Moscow.
• The creation of a unified state began
• Ivan 3 was one of the strongest rulers of his era

Ivan 3 was not an educated man, in the classical sense of the word. He could not receive enough education as a child, but this was compensated for by his natural ingenuity and intelligence. Many call him a cunning king, because he very often achieved the results he needed by cunning.

An important stage in the reign of Prince Ivan III was the marriage with Sophie Paleologue, as a result of which Russia became a strong power, and it began to be discussed throughout Europe. This, undoubtedly, gave impetus to the development of statehood in our country.

Key events of the reign of Ivan III:

• 1463 – annexation of Yaroslavl
• 1474 – annexation of the Rostov Principality
• 1478 – annexation of Veliky Novgorod
• 1485 – annexation of the Tver Principality
• Liberation of Rus' from the Horde yoke
• 1480 – standing on the Ugra
• 1497 – adoption of the code of law of Ivan 3.

Dossier: father, Ivan III Vasilievich

Ivan Vasilyevich, the future Grand Duke and Sovereign of All Rus', was born on January 22, 1440, in the midst of the war for the great reign between his father Vasily II Vasilyevich of Moscow and the son of Yuri Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod (d. 1434) Dmitry Shemyaka. Just in the same 1440, Shemyaka’s brother, Dmitry the Red, died, and there were only two contenders for power.

A few years later, in 1446, Ivan's father Vasily II will be captured by his enemy, blinded, after which he will receive the nickname Dark. However, he will not accept defeat and will begin to create an anti-Shemyakin coalition. And although the boy grew up in a princely mansion, far from these shocks and troubles, who knows how he caught the anxieties and fears of adults, how he comprehended the conversations he accidentally overheard, and how he survived his father’s blindness?

In 1447, seven-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich for the first time felt like a pawn in a big political game: this year he was betrothed to the daughter of the Tver prince, Maria Borisovna, thereby securing, if not the support, then at least the neutrality of the mighty Tver. The wedding will take place later, in 1452, when the groom turns 12 years old (the bride was even younger).

In this regard, the fates of Sophia and the future Ivan III were a little similar: both learned from a young age that representatives of the imperial and grand ducal families are not the masters of their lives and their fates are nothing more than bargaining chips in the plans of the powers that be. Maybe that’s why both of them later strived with such strength to become these “powerful people of this world,” the creators of their future?

Early marriage did not benefit Maria Tverskaya. In 1467 she died. She left only one son, Ivan, born on February 15, 1458. It was Ivan the Young who was considered the heir to the throne and the support of Ivan III. We see him next to the sovereign in many political actions since the late 1470s.

In the following lines it is hardly possible to describe all the deeds of Ivan III, who ascended the Moscow throne on March 28, 1462. Many volumes have been written about this. But it is still necessary to briefly talk about them so that the historical atmosphere in which the future Vasily III grew up becomes more understandable. According to the will of Vasily II, Ivan III received more than half of the country's territory, including such large centers as Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Suzdal, etc. The remaining possessions were distributed among his four brothers: Yuri, Andrei Bolshoi, Boris and Andrei Menshiy. Thus, the fighter for the centralization of the state - Vasily II the Dark - with his last will actually revived the appanage system.

Ivan III saw this as a threat of a new internecine war. Therefore, he decided to conquer as many principalities and lands of Rus' as possible to his power. Initially, the mechanism for collecting territories was the absorption of weaker ones by the stronger Moscow Principality. That is, Ivan III seemed to be building his huge personal fiefdom. However, the changes in the political system that accompanied this process turned out to be so serious that in their course a fundamentally new formation arose - a single Russian state.

The scale and speed of land gathering is impressive. Around 1464, the Yaroslavl principality was annexed, in 1471–1478 - Veliky Novgorod, in 1472 - Perm, in 1474 - Rostov, in 1485 - Tver, in 1489 - Vyatka, in 1500 - Yugra land (Pechora-Ural region, inhabited by Khanty, Mansi, Nenets and Samoyeds). In 1503, after the victory in the Russian-Lithuanian war, the Seversky lands went to Russia. In total, during the reign of Ivan III, the territory under his control grew more than six times (from 430 thousand square kilometers to 2800 thousand).

It is necessary to pay attention to two features of the process of unification of Russian lands under the rule of Moscow. First, it was largely violent. There was no queue of lands wishing to voluntarily join the State of All Rus'. The policy of the center was tough, it is not for nothing that the Rogozhsky chronicler wrote about the Moscow Kalitich dynasty in relation to earlier events of the 14th century: the Moscow princes, “... relying on their great strength, began to bring the Russian princes to their will, and those who did not obey their will, began to encroach with malice."

But this anger in most cases concerned the elites. The local princely families and the regional service aristocracy associated with them suffered from the annexation to Moscow, which had to look for its place in the new, all-Russian hierarchy. To avoid resistance, Moscow widely practiced “withdrawal,” that is, the forced relocation of representatives of the local elite with their families to another place. Thus, corporate and service ties were destroyed and the aristocracy became harmless.

The ordinary population - peasants, townspeople and minor service people - were in most cases little affected by these changes (if they did not fall under punitive acts of intimidation, of which, however, there were few). Tax collectors and military commanders changed, but life and activities remained the same. Therefore, Moscow’s unification policy did not encounter serious resistance: local elites were unable to rouse their population to fight “aggression.”

Against this background, only one action stands out sharply, accompanied by a serious conflict with the population - the annexation of Veliky Novgorod (1471–1478). Here the second feature of the unification process clearly manifested itself. It can be described as tragedy of misunderstanding. The historical truth - the creation of a united Rus', a strong state capable of defending the freedom of the Russian people in the face of any enemies - was behind Moscow. But regional cultures, lands, peoples with their freedoms were supposed to form bricks into the majestic building of “All Rus'”. And where the political consciousness of the population was more developed - as, for example, in the Novgorod Republic with its veche traditions - “they didn’t want to go to Moscow”, they didn’t understand why they had to sacrifice their private, Novgorod ones, in the name of the triumph of the whole - but alien , Moscow.

The relationship between Moscow and Novgorod in the 15th century became more and more irreconcilable every year. The chronicle's assessment of the 1456 campaign of Grand Duke Vasily II against Novgorod is indicative. The governors of the Grand Duke of Moscow, who find themselves in the face of superior forces of the Novgorodians, say to themselves: “... we will die with them for the truth of our sovereign, and for their betrayal" That is, the concepts of “truth” (it is behind Moscow) and “treason” are opposed to the interests of Moscow (it is committed by Novgorodians).

It is clear that in the city on the Volkhov they looked at the situation diametrically opposite, from the point of view of protecting their rights and freedoms - but this was the tragedy of the misunderstanding, that the assessments were opposite and irreconcilable and consensus was possible only through the extermination or at least the subjugation of one of the sides The Moscow chronicler, describing the defeat of Novgorod, depicts its inhabitants lamenting that they were punished “for their treason against the Grand Duke.” That is, Novgorod’s freedom-loving motives were simply not considered or perceived in Moscow: what kind of struggle for freedom is there? - it was the devil who misled them, and only defeat forced them to sober up and repent.

The assessments and selection of facts that are given about the events of 1471 in the Moscow chronicle are indicative. The Moscow chronicler calls supporters of Novgorod independence “... traitors taught by the devil, deceivers worse than demons.” He draws attention to the arrival in Novgorod of the Lithuanian prince Mikhail Olelkovich, the son of the Kyiv prince Alexander Vladimirovich, a descendant of the famous Olgerd - here he is, an undoubted sign of impending treason! The chronicler depicts the clashes in November 1470 at the Novgorod assembly of the “pro-Moscow” and “Pro-Lithuanian” “parties” as a triumph of the treachery of traitors: the “Lithuanians” won, hiring special people who, in a stampede, stabbed their opponents with awls - “shilnikov”. People in the crush screamed in pain, and others thought that they were shouting to vote for the decisions the traitors needed.

On June 6, 1471, the campaign of Moscow troops began under the command of D. D. Kholmsky and F. D. Khromy against the rebellious Novgorod. Soon two more groups emerged - under the leadership of Striga-Obolensky and Ivan III himself. The forces of the Tver principality also moved against Novgorod. Russa was taken and burned, and the Novgorodian ship army was defeated on Lake Ilmen. The governors ordered the captured Novgorodians to “cut their noses, ears and lips.”

This cruel act, if it actually took place, shows in what semantic context the Muscovites assessed the behavior of the Novgorodians. The Bible says: “Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers, from whom your soul has turned away, and I will bring them against you from all sides... handsome young men, governors and city rulers, dignitaries and eminents, all skilled horsemen. And they will come against you with weapons, with horses and chariots and with a multitude of people, and they will surround you in armor, with shields and helmets, and I will hand you over to them for judgment, and they will judge you with their judgment. And I will turn My jealousy against you, and they will deal with you fiercely: They will cut off your nose and ears, and the rest of you will fall by the sword.; They will take your sons and your daughters, and the rest of you will be consumed by fire; and they will strip you of your clothes, and take away your garments. And I will put an end to your lewdness and your fornication... For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am delivering you into the hands of those whom you have hated, into the hands of those from whom your soul has turned away. And they will treat you cruelly, and they will take from you everything that you have acquired through your labors... This will be done to you because of your fornication with the nations whom you defiled yourself with idols" ( Ezek. 23:22–30).

The Prophet Ezekiel spoke here about Jerusalem, which, for its sins, primarily the sin of unfaithfulness to God, was overthrown and subjected to invasion by foreigners. That is, in the eyes of Moscow, Novgorod was a “traitor to the faith,” who was simply obliged for his sin, for desecrating the purity of Orthodoxy by contacts with Catholic Lithuania, to be subject to shameful violence and plunder. Muscovites, performing a terrible ritual on the banks of the Sheloni River and cutting off the noses and ears of Novgorodians, felt like executors of God’s judgment. We don’t know what the Novgorodians felt and thought, but it’s unlikely that they felt that they and their city were a biblical harlot who deserved Heavenly punishment... The Moscow chronicler further writes that as a sign of contempt for the traitors, Muscovites did not take their armor for themselves, as required medieval tradition, and they threw defiled weapons into the water. Novgorodians who came to the banks of the Shelon to defend their freedom were perceived as carriers of dirt and sin.

The tragedy of misunderstanding - in other words it is difficult to call it. And the era of Vasily’s father, Ivan III, was saturated with such tragedies. Probably, it was impossible otherwise - great states are always built with iron and blood. The State of All Rus' of Ivan III is still a relatively mild option compared to the bloody scenarios of the unification of England in the Wars of the Roses or the Burgundian Wars in France (1). But this did not make it any easier for the Novgorodians (and others).

Territorial growth was accompanied by the creation of an all-Russian administrative apparatus, an all-Russian Code of Law (1497), and state symbols (a double-headed eagle, first mentioned in 1497). Foreign policy was also successful: Russia overthrew the Tatar yoke in 1480, won two wars with Lithuania (1487–1494 and 1500–1503), and one war with the Livonian Order (1500–1503). In 1487, Kazan came under Russian protectorate. It was under Ivan III that permanent diplomatic relations were established between Russia as a single sovereign state and the European powers: in 1491 - with the Holy Roman Empire, in 1493 - with Denmark, in 1496 - with Turkey, etc.

Moreover, the Grand Duke used dynastic marriages as a political tool: in 1483, Ivan the Young married Elena Voloshanka, the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Stefan. Thus, a political union was concluded between Russia and Moldova, to which Hungary joined. That is, Ivan III entered the international arena as the creator and participant of European military-political coalitions.

What were the character traits, personality traits of this person? Among the main ones, I would name intelligence and the ability to quickly make decisions, focusing on the situation. Ivan III was not a brave man at all - according to some sources, in 1480, with the news of the approach of the Tatar army of Khan Akhmat, he wanted to flee Moscow, but the boyars, townspeople and the church clearly explained to him that he would have to fight, there was no turning back. Ivan III realized that allowing himself to chicken out would be much worse than taking a risk and taking up arms against the Tatars - in 1480, the Moscow prince who fled from the enemy simply would not have had a future. Ivan III was able to understand this, overcome his fear, reject the crafty advice of the “money lovers” who whispered to the prince that the Tatars could not be defeated - he stepped forward and won. This episode very clearly characterizes Ivan Vasilyevich and provides an answer to the question of why he was able to become “the sovereign of all Rus'.” Because in critical situations he was able to quickly make the right decision and sacrifice personal feelings and emotions in the name of national goals.

Ivan III was a very tough politician - it is not for nothing that the nickname “Terrible” was first recorded as referring specifically to this ruler. He could show strength of character and even rancor (he never forgave Metropolitan Philip for his hostility towards Sophia Paleologus). He was distinguished by his broad outlook, insight and foresight, pride and at the same time flexibility. However, he was not a stranger to emotions - at the end of his life he suffered a stroke due to a fit of anger during a discussion with the monks of a trivial land dispute. He perceived the illness as a sign from above, began to repent of his sins, forgive those who had been disgraced (which complicated the political situation in the country and caused considerable annoyance to his son, Grand Duke Vasily III).

We do not know the details of the family life of Ivan III. What is clear is that it was not easy and was to a very large extent subject to the principle of political expediency. The victims of this principle first became the brothers of Ivan III, whose appanage rights and land holdings were severely curtailed. In 1486, the brothers officially recognized Ivan III as their master and sovereign of all Rus'. This helped them little: in 1491 Andrei Bolshoi was arrested, and two years later he died in prison in chains. The relationship with Sophia Paleolog was not cloudless: there is a known case when the Grand Duke put her in disgrace, and ordered the “women” close to her to be drowned in the Moscow River (more on this will be discussed below). But the biggest problem for Ivan III at the end of his life, when relations with his brothers were more or less settled (mainly as a result of the death of the latter), was the following: what to do with his own children?

				"The Russian religious vocation, an exceptional vocation, is associated with the strength and greatness of the Russian state, with the exceptional significance of the Russian Tsar" ON THE. Berdyaev . “Ivan III is one of the most remarkable people whom the Russian people should always remember with gratitude, of whom they can rightly be proud.” 19th century historian N. D. Chechulin. "The power he exercises over his subjects easily surpasses all the monarchs of the whole world." Sigismund von Herberstein
Ivan Vasilievich III. (22.01.1441-27.10.1505)

John III is one of the very few Sovereigns chosen by Providence to decide the fate of nations for a long time: he is a Hero not only of Russian, but also of World History. John appeared on the political theater at a time when a new state system, together with the new power of the Sovereigns, arose throughout Europe on the ruins of the feudal or local system. For about three centuries, Russia was outside the circle of European political activity, not participating in important changes in the civil life of peoples. Although nothing is done suddenly; although the commendable efforts of the Princes of Moscow, from Kalita to Vasily the Dark, prepared a lot for Autonomy and our internal power: but Russia under John III seemed to emerge from the twilight of shadows, where it still had neither a solid image nor the full existence of a state.

Grand Duke Ivan Vasilievich- Grand Duke of Moscow (1462-1505), sovereign of all Rus',found himself in the shadow of his famous grandson Ivan IV, although his merits in creating Russian statehood were immeasurably higher compared to the very dubious successes of the first Russian Tsar. Ivan III essentially created the Russian state, laying down the principles of public administration characteristic of Russia in the 16th-20th centuries.

In the second half of the 16th century, after the horrors of the cause, the grandfather’s nickname - Ivan the Terrible - passed to his grandson, so that in the folklore of later times, many of the actions of the former were “attributed” to the latter.

Back in the 19th century, historians appreciated the contribution of each of these sovereigns, but they were unable to “overcome” the stereotype that had developed by that time.

Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich did not formally proclaim himself “tsar”, but the word “state” sounded from his lips for the first time.

The scope of his “state” power was no less than that of the Tsar.

Moscow Tsar Ivan III Vasilyevich received the nickname “The Great” from historians. Karamzin placed him even higher than Peter I, for Ivan III did a great state work without resorting to violence against the people.
This is generally explained simply. The fact is that we all live in a state, the creator of which is Ivan III. When in 1462 In the year he ascended the Moscow throne, the Moscow principality was still surrounded from everywhere by Russian appanage possessions: Mr. Veliky Novgorod, the princes of Tver, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Ryazan. Ivan Vasilyevich subjugated all these lands either by force or by peaceful agreements. So at the end of his reign, at 1505 year, Ivan III already had only heterodox and foreign neighbors along all the borders of the Moscow state: Swedes, Germans, Lithuania, Tatars.

Ivan Vasilyevich, being one of many appanage princes, even the most powerful, having destroyed or subjugated these possessions, turned into a single sovereign of an entire people.He completed the collection of Russian lands that were in the sphere of influence of the Horde. Under him, the stage of political fragmentation of Rus' ended, and the final liberation from the Horde yoke took place.

Tsar Ivan the Terrible in his famous messages called his grandfather Ivan III “ avenger of untruths", recalled"the great sovereign Ivan Vasilyevich, collector of Russian lands and owner of many lands."

We also find a very high assessment of the activities of Ivan III in foreign sources, and they especially emphasized the foreign policy and military successes of the Grand Duke. Even King Casimir IV, a constant opponent of Ivan III, characterized him as “ leader, famous for his many victories, possessing a huge treasury", and warned against “frivolous” action against his power. Polish historian of the early 16th century. Matvey Mekhovsky wrote about Grand Duke Ivan III: “He was an economic and useful sovereign to his land. He... through his prudent activities subjugated and forced to pay tribute those to whom he himself had previously paid it. He conquered and brought into submission the multi-tribal and multi-lingual lands of Asian Scythia, widely extending to the east and north.”

***

In the middle of the 15th century. Lithuania weakened, finding itself under the blows of the Crimean and Horde khans, Hungarians, Livonians, Danes, and Russians. The Kingdom of Poland strongly helped Lithuania, but the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, who dreamed of independence, were not always happy about this help. And the Poles themselves did not feel entirely comfortable due to the constant pressure from the west (from the German emperors) and from the south (from the Hungarians and steppe inhabitants). A new power began to emerge in Scandinavia - Sweden, which was still dependent on Denmark, but which itself controlled Finland. Sweden's time will come in 1523, when under King Gustav I it is freed from Denmark. However, even during the time of Ivan III, it influenced the course of affairs in the Baltic region. In the East of Moscow in the 1440s. The Kazan Khanate was created - not very strong, but young and daring. The Golden Horde now controlled only minor territories in the lower reaches of the Don and Volga. Across the Black Sea, the Ottoman Turks gained strength. In 1453 they crushed the Byzantine Empire and continued their conquests in the Balkans and other parts of Eurasia. But they will not reach Eastern Europe soon enough to prevent Prince Ivan III from conducting his diplomatic games here, on the results of which the success of the entire Russian cause largely depended.

Harsh childhood

Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilievich, second son of the Grand Duke Moskovsky Vasily II Vasilievich Darkborn in Moscow 22 January 1440 year and was the great-grandson of Dmitry Donskoy, the winner of the Battle of Kulikovo. Ivan’s mother is Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich Borovsky.An interesting prophetic prediction associated with Ivan III and free Novgorod, which always waged a stubborn struggle with Moscow for its political independence. In the 40s In the 15th century, in the Novgorod monastery on the foothill Tract of Klopsk, blessed Michael, known in the patristic calendar under the name of Klopsky, asceticised. It was in 1400 that the local Archbishop Euthymius visited him. The blessed one said to the bishop:“And today there is great joy in Moscow. The Grand Duke of Moscow had a son, who was given the name Ivan. He will destroy the customs of the Novgorod land and bring destruction to our cityand the ruin of the custom of our land will be from him, he will gain a lot of gold and silver and will become the ruler of the entire Russian land."

Ivan was born in a turbulent time of wars, internecine warfare and unrest. Things were restless on the southern and eastern borders of Rus': numerous khans of the Horde, which had disintegrated by that time, often carried out devastating raids on Russian lands. Ulu-Muhammad, the ruler of the Great Horde, was especially dangerous. On July 7, 1445, in the battle of Suzdal, Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich himself was captured by the Tatars. To top off all the troubles, on July 14, Moscow burned to the ground: stone churches and part of the fortress walls collapsed from the fire. Because of this, the grand duchesses - our hero's grandmother Sofya Vitovna and mother Maria Yaroslavna - went to Rostov with their children. Fortunately, the Tatars did not dare to attack the defenseless Russian capital.

On October 1, Ulu-Muhammad ordered a huge ransom,sent Vasily Vasilyevich home. The Grand Duke was accompanied by a large Tatar embassy, ​​which was supposed to oversee the collection of ransom in various Russian cities. The Tatars received the right to manage them until they collected the required amount.

This dealt a terrible blow to the prestige of the Grand Duke, which Dmitry Shemyaka did not take advantage of. In February 1446, Vasily Vasilyevich, taking with him his sons Ivan and Yuri the Lesser, went on a pilgrimage to the Trinity Monastery -"to hit Sergiev's tomb with his forehead" To “patron of the Russian land and intercessor before the Lord God.”In his absence, Prince Dmitry, entering Moscow with an army, arrested the mother and wife of Vasily Vasilyevich, as well as

Many boyars who sided with the Grand Duke, and he himself was soon taken into custody, the conspirators quickly forgot about his sons, and Prince Ivan Ryapolovsky managed to hide the princes Ivan and Yuri in the monastery chambers, after which he took them to Murom.

On the night of February 17-18, their father was blinded by order of Dmitry Shemyaka, after which he was deported to Uglich. Such a cruel punishment was the revenge of the new Grand Duke: in 1436, Vasily Vasilyevich dealt with Vasily Kosy, the brother of Dmitry Shemyaka, who was captured by him. Soon Ivan and Yuri followed their father into captivity in the same Uglich.

Maintaining power turned out to be more difficult than gaining it. By the fall, a power vacuum had emerged. On September 15, 1446, seven months after his reign in Moscow, Dmitry Shemyaka set his blind rival free, giving him an estate in Vologda. This was the beginning of the end: all the opponents of the Grand Duke soon flocked to the city. Hegumen of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Trifon freed Vasily the Dark from kissing the cross in Shemyaka, and exactly a year after he was blinded, the father of our hero solemnly returned to Moscow.

Dmitry Shemyaka, who fled to his patrimony, continued to fight Vasily the Dark for several more years. In July 1453, people sent by Vasily the Dark poisoned Shemyaka with arsenic.

Father's legacy

We can only guess,what feelings raged in the soul of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich in early childhood. At least three times - in 1445 and twice in 1446 - he was to be gripped by mortal fear: the Tatar captivity of his father and the fire in Moscow, the flight to Murom, the Uglich imprisonment - all this befell the lot of a five-six-year-old boy.

Life forced the prince to grow up early.From a very young age hefound himself in the thick of political strife,became an assistant to his blind father. He was constantly by his side, participated in all his campaigns, and already at the age of six he was engaged to the daughter of the Tver prince, which was supposed to mean the union of two eternal rivals - Moscow and Tver.

Already in 1448, Ivan Vasilyevich was titled Grand Duke in the chronicles, just like his father. Long before ascending the throne, many levers of power find themselves in the hands of Ivan Vasilyevich; he carries out important military and political assignments. In 1448, he was in Vladimir with an army covering the important southern direction from the Tatars, and in 1452 he set off on his first military campaign. Since the early 50s. XV century Ivan Vasilyevich mastered the difficult craft of a sovereign step by step, delving into the affairs of his blind father, who Having returned to the throne, he was not inclined to stand on ceremony not only with enemies, but also with any potential rivals in general.

Public mass executions - an event unheard of before in Rus'! - the reign of the blind man also ended: Vasily Vasilyevich, having learned about the intention of the service people to free Prince Vasily Yaroslavich from captivity, “He ordered everyone to be killed, and executed, and beaten with whips, and cut off the hands, and cut off the legs, and cut off the heads of others.” .On the evening of March 27, 1462 Vasily the Dark, who suffered from dry disease (bone tuberculosis) for a year, died, transferring the great reign to his eldest son Ivan and endowing each of the other four sons with extensive possessions.

With a steady hand

The father handed over to the young prince a fragile peace with his neighbors. It was restless in Novgorod and Pskov. In the Great Horde, the ambitious Akhmat came to power, dreaming of reviving the state of the Chinggisids. Political passions also overwhelmed Moscow itself. But Ivan III was ready for decisive action. At twenty-two years old, he already had a strong character, statesmanship, and diplomatic wisdom. Much later, the Venetian ambassador Contarini described it as follows:“The Grand Duke appears to be about 35 years old. He is tall and thin, but with all that, a handsome man." . Other witnesses to his life noted that Ivan III knew how to subordinate his emotions to the demands of circumstances, he always carefully calculated all the possible consequences of his actions, and was in this regard an outstanding politician and diplomat, since he often acted not so much with the sword as with the word.

Unswerving in the pursuit of his intended goal, he knew how to excellently take advantage of circumstances and act decisively when success was ensured. His main goal was the seizure of Russian lands and their permanent annexation to Moscow. In this he followed in the footsteps of his forefathers and left an example for his heirs to follow for a long time. The unification of the Russian land has been considered an urgent historical task since the time of Yaroslav the Wise. Only by clenching all your strength into a single fist could you defend yourself against the steppe nomads, Poland, Lithuania, German knights and Swedes.

How did the Grand Duke begin his reign?

The main task was to ensure the security of the eastern borders. To do this, it was necessary to establish political control over Kazan

Khanate The ongoing conflict with Novgorod also required its resolution. Back in 1462, Novgorod ambassadors “about pacification” arrived in Moscow. A preliminary peace was concluded, and Ivan III managed, in the course of a complex diplomatic game, to win over another free city, Pskov, to his side, thereby putting pressure on Novgorod. As a result of this flexible policy, Ivan III began to play the role of a powerful arbiter in disputes between Novgorod and Pskov, whose word is law. And in essence, for the first time he acted as the head of the entire Russian land.In 1463, using the diplomatic gift of clerk Alexei Poluektov, he annexed the Moscow state Yaroslavl, made peace with Prince Tver, married Prince Ryazan to his daughter, recognizing him as an independent prince.

In 1463-1464. Ivan III, “showing respect for antiquity,” gave Pskov the governor the townspeople wanted. But when they wanted to “break away” from the Novgorod ruler and create an independent bishopric, Ivan III showed toughness, did not follow the lead of the Pskovites and ordered, “respecting antiquity,” to leave everything as it was. It was not worth giving Pskov too much independence.The Livonian Order, Lithuania, Denmark, Hanseatic merchants, Swedes are nearby...

In 1467 The plague visited Rus' again. The people greeted her “with despondency and fear.” People are tired of this villain. It killed more than 250 thousand people. And then suddenly the beloved wife of Ivan III, Grand Duchess Maria, died. Ivan III was looking for a way to stir up people who were not indifferent to life, but were crushed by it. In the autumn of 1467 he organized a campaign against Kazan. The trip was unsuccessful. Kazan Khan Ibrahim responded in kind - he sent a detachment to Rus', but Ivan III, guessing about the khan’s move, strengthened the border cities.

IN 1468 the Grand Duke equips 3 trip to the east. The squad of Prince Semyon Romanovich walked through the Cheremis land (Vyatka region and part of modern Tatarstan), broke through forests covered with snow, into the land of the Cheremis and began plundering. The squad of Prince Ivan Striga-Obolensky drove away the Kazan people who invaded the Kostroma land. Prince Daniil Kholmsky defeated the raiders near Murom. Then the detachments of Nizhny Novgorod and Murom residents themselves went to the Kazan Khanate to plunder.

These operations were a kind of reconnaissance in force. Ivan III prepared a large army and went to Kazan.

From passive centuries-old defense, Rus' finally switched to a strategic offensive. The scale of military operations was impressive, and the persistence in achieving the goal was enormous.

The war with the Kazan Khanate ended with a convincing victory for the Russians in 1469 g., when the army of Ivan III approached the capital of the Khanate, forced Ibrahim to admit defeat and “to make peace on the entire will of the Sovereign of Moscow”. The Russians took a huge ransom and returned to their homeland all the prisoners whom the Kazan people had captured over the previous 40 years.

For some time, the eastern border of the Russian land became relatively safe: However, Ivan III understood that a decisive victory over the heirs of the Golden Horde could be achieved only after the unification of all Russian lands. And he again turned his gaze to Novgorod.

PRINCE IVAN III'S FIGHT WITH NOVGOROD

Ivan III did not have time to rejoice at the success when rumors came about the free spirits of the Novgorodians. Being an integral part of the Russian land, Novgorod lived for 600 years according to the laws of the veche republic. From time immemorial, Novgorodians controlledthe entire north of modern European Russia, right up to the Ural Range, and conducted extensive trade with Western countries. Traditionally subordinate to the Grand Duke of Vladimir, they retained significant autonomy, including pursuing an independent foreign policy.

In connection with the strengthening of Lithuania in the 14th century, the Novgorodians began to invite Lithuanian princes to reign in the Novgorod cities (Koporye, Korela). Influence

Moscow weakened somewhat, so that part of the Novgorod nobility had the idea of ​​“surrendering to Lithuania.” During the elections of the Novgorod archbishopMartha, the widow of the mayor Isaac Boretsky, who had oratorical talent and a talent for organizing, took matters into her own hands. She and her children spoke at the meeting with an appeal to send the new Archbishop Theophilus for approval not to Moscow, but to Kyiv, and also to send ambassadors to the Polish king Casimir with a request to take Novgorod under his protection. Her wealth, as well as her stinginess, was legendary.

Gathering the nobility for feasts, she scolded Ivan III, dreamed of a free Novgorod, of a veche, and many agreed with her, although they did not know how to resist Moscow. Martha knew. She built diplomatic bridges with Lithuania, wanted to marry a noble Lithuanian, to own Novgorod after its annexation to the Principality of Lithuania,tear Novgorod away from Moscow...

Ivan III showed composure for a long time. The Novgorodians became bolder, “seized many revenues, lands and waters of the Princes; took an oath from the residents only in the name of Novagorod; they despised John’s Governors and Ambassadors... they insulted the Muscovites.” It seemed that it was time to rein in the boyars. But Ivan III said to the official who came to Moscow: “Tell the people of Novgorod, my fatherland, that, having admitted their guilt, they will correct themselves; they did not step into my lands and waters, they kept my name honestly and formidably in the old way, fulfilling their vow on the cross if they wanted protection and mercy from me; say that patience comes to an end, and that mine will not last.” The freedom lovers laughed at Ivan III and became proud of their “victory” . They didn't expect a catch. Martha sent her sons to the meeting. They showered verbal mud on the Moscow prince, spoke convincingly, ending their speech with the appeal: “We don’t want Ivan! Long live Casimir! And in response, like an echo, voices answered: “Let Moscow disappear!”

The Veche decided to ask Casimir to become the ruler of the Lord of Veliky Novgorod. Master of the Lord!

Ivan III, gathering allied troops, sent Ivan Fedorovich Tovarkov to the city. He read a proclamation to the townspeople, not much different from what the Grand Duke had recently said to the official. Some historians call this apparent slowness indecisiveness. Martha was decisive. Her determination was her undoing. Tovarkov, who returned to Moscow, told the Grand Duke that only “The sword can humble the Novgorodians.” Ivan III still hesitated, as if he doubted success. No! He had no doubt. But guessing that a lot of blood of his compatriots would be shed, he wanted to share responsibility for the troubles with everyone on whom he relied: with his mother and metropolitan, brothers and archbishops, with princes and boyars, with governors and even with common people. Ivan III managed, in the course of a complex diplomatic game, to win over another free city, Pskov, to his side, thereby putting pressure on Novgorod. As a result of this flexible policy, Ivan III began to play the role of a powerful arbiter in disputes between Novgorod and Pskov, whose word is law. And in essence, for the first time he acted as the head of the entire Russian land. Ivan III sent a letter to Novgorod, where he considered it necessary to especially emphasize that the power of the Grand Dukes was of an all-Russian nature. He called on the Novgorodians not to retreat “from antiquity,” tracing it back to Rurik and Vladimir the Saint. “Old times” in his eyes meant the unity of the Russian land under the rule of the Grand Duke. This is a fundamentally important point in the new political doctrine of Ivan Vasilyevich: understanding the Russian land as a single whole.The prince assembled the Duma, reported on the betrayal of the Novgorodians, and heard unanimously: “Sovereign! Take up arms!”- and after that he did not hesitate. Ivan III acted carefully and carefully, but after weighing everything and gathering almost all the princes (even Mikhail Tverskoy), he announced in the spring 1471 Novgorod Republic war. And a huge army moved towards Novgorod. The townspeople did not expect such a turn of events. In the Novgorod land, where there are many lakes, swamps, and rivers, it is difficult to fight in the summer. The unexpected attack of the enemy puzzled the supporters of Marfa Boretskaya. The army marched in several columns. The Pskov squad capturedVyshegorod.

Daniil Kholmsky took it and burned it Russu. The Novgorodians started talking about peace or at least a truce. But Martha convinced her fellow citizens that the indecisive Ivan could be defeated. The war continued. King Casimir never came to the aid of the Novgorodians. Many commoners did not want to fight with Moscow. Daniil Kholmsky defeated an army of Novgorodians, consisting of artisans, who suddenly attacked him near Korostyny. Many militiamen were captured. The winners cut off the unfortunates' noses and lips and sent them to Novgorod.Kholmsky’s warriors did not take the weapons and uniforms of the traitor Novgorodians!

Ivan III ordered Prince Daniil Kholmsky to approach Sheloni, and on July 14 a decisive battle took place here. With a cry of “Moscow!” The soldiers of the Grand Duke rushed into battle, whose squad was 8-10 times smaller than the army of Novgorod. As V. O. Klyuchevsky writes, “Novgorod hastily put on horses and sent into the field about forty thousand of all sorts of rabble, potters, carpenters and other artisans who had never even been on a horse.” There were only four and a half thousand Muscovites. Nevertheless, this military army was enough to completely defeat the Novgorod crowd, putting down up to 12 thousand of the enemy in place. The victory was complete and unconditional.The winners mercilessly dealt with the vanquished. Many boyars were captured, and the draft treaty on the annexation of Novgorod to Lithuania also ended up in the hands of Muscovites.But Ivan III acted gently with the rest of the prisoners, realizing that they were only a tool in the hands of traitors. He did not plunder and destroy Novgorod, he resisted temptation.

The squads of Kholmsky and Vereisky plundered the Novgorod land itself for several more days, Ivan III controlled the fate of the captives. He cut off the head of Dmitry, the son of Martha Boretskaya, put someone in prison, and released someone to Novgorod.

According to the agreement of August 11, the Novgorodians agreed to pay a gigantic indemnity at that time in the amount of 15.5 thousand rubles, to give to Moscow Volok And Vologda and completely stop relations with the Polish-Lithuanian state.Ivan made peace by declaring his mercy: “I give away my dislike, I calm down the sword and the thunderstorm in the land of Novgorod and release it completely without compensation.” But from that day on, the Novgorodians swore allegiance to Ivan III, recognized him as the highest court, and their city as the patrimony of the Grand Duke of Moscow.

On the same days, the Moscow army captured Dvina land, its inhabitants swore allegiance to Ivan III. The victory did not turn the Grand Duke's head. The treaty did not correspond to Moscow's military successes. Ivan III did not mention Marfa Boretskaya in it, as if forgiving the woman for her offense. In the Treaty of Shelon, Perm was included in the Novgorod land, although the Moscow princes had long dreamed of rich Ural territories. Several months have passed. People who arrived in Moscow reported that they, poor fellows, had been offended by the residents of Perm. Ivan III immediately sent an army against the offenders. Fyodor Motley, who led the squad, defeated the Perm army, organized a raid on the surrounding area, captured many governors, and Permian swore allegiance to Ivan III in 1472. In the same year, the Golden Horde Khan Akhmat invaded the Russian land. The Russians did not allow him further than the Oka. Akhmat retreated, but did not change his mind about fighting Russia.

Second marriage

April 22 1467 Ivan Vasilyevich became a widower. His wife, Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tverskoy, was apparently poisoned: her body became terribly swollen after her death. The Grand Duke found the wife of clerk Alexei Poluetovich guilty of witchcraft and removed him from office.

Now he had to get a new wife. In 1469, an embassy came from Rome with a marriage proposal to Ivan III: would the Grand Duke wish to marry a Greek princess?Sophia (Zoya) Paleolog? Sophia was the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, killed by the Turks on the walls of Constantinople in 1453. Her father Thomas Palaiologos, ruler of the Morea, with his family, retinue, jewelry and the last riches of the empire, as well as with the shrines of the Orthodox Church, appeared to Pope Sixtus IV, received a monthly salary, lived comfortably, died in Rome, leaving his sons Andrei and Manuel and daughter Sophia in the care of the new Pope, Paul II. The sons, receiving a stable salary, lived like carefree, rich heirs.

Only Sophia grieved in Rome. She could not find a worthy husband in Europe. The bride was stubborn. She did not marry the King of France, she refused the Duke of Milan, showing hostility towards Catholics, surprising for her position.

Finally, it was decided to try his luck at the court of the Moscow prince. A certain “Greek Yuri” undertook to carry out the assignment, in whom one can recognize Yuri Trachaniot, a confidant of the Paleologus family. Arriving in Moscow, the Greek praised Ivan III for the nobility of his bride. her commitment to Orthodoxy and reluctance to convert to “Latinism.” Negotiations about the Moscow marriage lasted three years.

In June 1472, in St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, Ivan Fryazin became engaged to Sophia on behalf of the Moscow sovereign, after which the bride, accompanied by a magnificent retinue, went to Rus'.In October of the same year, Moscow met its future empress. The wedding ceremony took place in the still unfinished Assumption Cathedral. The Greek princess became the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Vladimir and Novgorod. A glimpse of the thousand-year-old glory of the once mighty empire illuminated young Moscow.

In Italy they hoped that the marriage of Sophia Paleologue would ensure the conclusion of an alliance with Russia for the war against the Turks, who threatened Europe with new conquests,Italian diplomats formulated the idea that Moscow should become the successor to Constantinople.This union strengthened the ties between Rus' and the West, but above all, it demonstrated to the whole world that Princess Sophia was transferring the hereditary sovereign rights of Byzantium to Moscow, to the new Constantinople.For the Russians, Byzantium for a long time was the only Orthodox kingdom, a stronghold of the true faith, and, having become related to the dynasty of its last “basileus” - emperors, Rus', as it were, declared its rights to the heritage of Byzantium, to a majestic spiritual role, religious and political calling.

After the wedding, Ivan III ordered the Moscow coat of arms with the image St. George the Victorious, striking the serpent, combine with the double-headed eagle - the ancient coat of arms of Byzantium.

Saint George was a model of class honor: in Byzantium - for the military nobility, in Western Europe - for knighthood, in Slavic countries - for princes.

In the 11th century, he came to Kievan Rus primarily as a patron of princes, who began to consider him their heavenly intercessor, especially in military matters. One of the first Christian princes, Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise (baptized George), did especially a lot to glorify his holy patron: in Kiev he built a chapel in his honor in the Church of St. Sophia, opened a monastery, founded the city of Yuryev in Chudi, where he also built the St. George Church. The face of St. George also adorned the silver coins issued in Novgorod - silver coins (“Yaroslavl silver”).

George the warrior was always depicted with weapons: with a shield and a spear, sometimes with a sword.

So, Moscow becomes the heir of the Byzantine Empire, and Ivan III himself, as it were, became the heir of the Byzantine basileus - emperors. Ivan III, following the example of Byzantium, introduced for himself, as the supreme ruler of Rus', a new title: “John, by the grace of God sovereign All Rus' and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Ugra, and Perm, and Bulgaria, and others.”

The attributes of royal power during the ceremony of crowning the kingdom became the Monomakh cap with barms (a church wedding with the sacrament of confirmation was also first introduced by Ivan III).

During diplomatic relations with Livonia and German cities, Ivan III called himself “Tsar of All Rus'”, and the Danish king called him “Emperor”. Later, Ivan III, in one of his letters, called his son Vasily “autocrat of all Rus'.”

The idea of ​​a global role that arose in Russia at that time "Moscow - the third Rome" led to Ivan III being viewed by many educated people as “the king of all Orthodoxy,” and the Russian Orthodox Church as the successor to the Greek church.This idea was established and strengthened under Ivan III, although it was first expressed by the monk Philotheus two decades before his birth: “Like two Romes fall, but the third stands, and there will never be a fourth.”. What did his words mean? The First Rome, corroded by heresy, fell in the 5th-6th centuries, giving way to the Second Rome - the Byzantine city of Constantinople, or Constantinople. This city became the custodian of the Orthodox faith and experienced many clashes with Mohammedanism and paganism. But its spiritual end came in the middle of the 15th century, when it was conquered by the Turks. And after the death of Byzantium, it was Moscow - the capital of Rus' - that became the center of Orthodoxy - the Third Rome.

The liberation of Rus' from the Tatar yoke, the unification of scattered small fiefs into the large Moscow state, the marriage of Grand Duke Ivan III to Sophia Palaeologus, the conquest of the kingdoms of Kazan and Astrakhan - all this justified in the eyes of contemporaries the idea of ​​Moscow’s right to such a role.

“The Great Greek” Sophia Paleologus put a lot of effort into ensuring that this dynastic marriage strengthened Muscovy, contributing to its conversion to the Third Rome,

contrary to the aspirations of the Vatican to convert the Moscow sovereign through his young wife to the Union of Florence. She not only brought with her Byzantine regalia and ideas about the power of power, not only advised to invite Italian architects in order to make Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to European capitals, but insisted that Ivan III stop paying tribute to the Horde khan and free himself from his power, inspiredthe Grand Duke for a decisive struggle against the Tatars and to overthrow the Horde yoke.

She was the first to change the attitude towards women in Rus'. The Byzantine princess, raised in Europe, did not want to look at the world from the window.
The Grand Duke allowed her to have her own Duma consisting of members of her retinue and to organize diplomatic receptions in her half, where she received foreign ambassadors and held conversations. For Rus', this unheard-of innovation was the first in a long series that would end with the assemblies of Peter I, and the new status of the Russian empress, and then with serious changes in the position of women in Russia.

On August 12, 1479, a new cathedral in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God was consecrated in Moscow, conceived and built as an architectural image of a unified Russian state. “That church was wonderful in its majesty and height, lightness and sonority and space, such as had never been seen in Rus' before, other than (besides) the Vladimir Church...”- exclaimed the chronicler. Celebrations on the occasion of the consecration of the cathedral, which is the creation of Aristotle Fiorovanti, lasted until the end of August. Tall, slightly stooped, Ivan III stood out in the elegant crowd of his relatives and courtiers. Only his brothers Boris and Andrey were not with him. However, less than a month had passed since the start of the festivities, when a menacing omen of future troubles shook the capital. On September 9, Moscow unexpectedly caught fire. The fire quickly spread, approaching the walls of the Kremlin. Everyone who could came out to fight the fire. Even the Grand Duke and his son Ivan the Young put out the flames. Many who were afraid, seeing their great princes in the scarlet reflections of the fire, also began to put out the fire. By morning the disaster was stopped.Did the tired Grand Duke then think that in the glow of the fire the most difficult period of his reign began, which would last about a year?

Massacre

It is then that everything that has been achieved over decades of painstaking government work will be put at stake. Rumors reached Moscow about a brewing conspiracy in Novgorod. Ivan III went there again "in peace". He spent the rest of the autumn and most of the winter on the banks of the Volkhov.

One One of the results of his stay in Novgorod was the arrest of Archbishop Theophilus of Novgorod. In January 1480, the disgraced ruler was sent under escort to Moscow.The rebellious nobility locked itself in Novgorod. Ivan III did not destroy the city, realizing that famine would end the matter. He made demands: “We, the great princes, want our own state, just as we are in Moscow, so we want to be in our homeland, Veliky Novgorod.” As a result, he swore in all the townspeople and also received half of all monastic lands. Since then, the Novgorod veche no longer met. Ivan III returned to Moscow, taking with him the Novgorod veche bell. This centuries-old symbol of the boyar republic was elevated on Kremlin Square, in the heart of the Russian land, and from now on, together with other bells, chimed a new historical time - the time of the Russian state.

The Novgorod opposition suffered a significant blow, but the clouds continued to thicken over the Grand Duke. For the first time in many years, the Livonian Order attacked the lands of Pskov with large forces. Vague news came from the Horde about the preparation of a new invasion of Rus'. At the very beginning of February, another bad news came - the brothers of Ivan III, princes Boris Volotsky and Andrei Bolshoi, decided to openly revolt and broke from obedience. It was not difficult to guess that they would look for allies in the person of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir and, perhaps, even Khan Akhmat - the enemy from whom the most terrible danger to the Russian lands came. Under the current conditions, Moscow's assistance to Pskov became impossible. Ivan III hastily left Novgorod and went to Moscow. The state, torn apart by internal unrest, was doomed in the face of external aggression. Ivan III could not help but understand this, and therefore his first move was the desire to resolve the conflict with his brothers. Their discontent was caused by the Moscow sovereign's systematic attack on the appanage rights of semi-independent rulers that belonged to them, which had their roots in times of political fragmentation. The Grand Duke was ready to make big concessions, but could not cross the line beyond which the revival of the former appanage system, which had brought so many disasters to Rus' in the past, began. The negotiations that began with the brothers reached a dead end. Princes Boris and Andrei chose Velikiye Luki, a city on the border with Lithuania, as their headquarters and negotiated with Casimir IV. He agreed with Kazimir and Akhmat on joint actions against Moscow.

In the spring of 1480, it became clear that it would not be possible to reach an agreement with the brothers. Besidesthe boyar elite of the Moscow state split into two groups: one advised Ivan III to flee; the other defended the need to fight the Horde. Perhaps the behavior of Ivan III was influenced by the position of the Muscovites, who demanded decisive action from the Grand Duke.During these same days, terrible news came - the Khan of the Great Horde, at the head of a huge army, began a slow advance towards Rus'. “That same summer,” the chronicle narrates, “the ill-famed Tsar Akhmat... went against Orthodox Christianity, against Rus', against the holy churches and against the Grand Duke, boasting of destroying the holy churches and captivating all Orthodoxy and the Grand Duke himself, as under Batu Besha (was)" . It was not in vain that the chronicler remembered Batu here. An experienced warrior and ambitious politician, Akhmat dreamed of the complete restoration of Horde rule over Russia.In a series of bad news, there was one encouraging thing that came from Crimea. There, at the direction of the Grand Duke, Ivan Ivanovich Zvenets of Zvenigorod went there, who was supposed to to conclude an alliance agreement with the warlike Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey at any cost. The ambassador was given the task of getting a promise from the khan that in the event of Akhmat’s invasion of the Russian borders, he would strike him in the rear or at least attack the lands of Lithuania, distracting the king’s forces. The goal of the embassy was achieved. The agreement concluded in Crimea became an important achievement of Moscow diplomacy. A gap was made in the ring of external enemies of the Moscow state. The approach of Akhmat forced the Grand Duke to make a choice. You could lock yourself in Moscow and wait for the enemy, hoping for the strength of its walls. In this case, a huge territory would be in the power of Akhmat and nothing could prevent the union of his forces with the Lithuanian ones. There was another option - to move the Russian regiments towards the enemy. This is exactly what Dmitry Donskoy did in 1380. Ivan III followed the example of his great-grandfather.The situation was becoming critical.

Standing on the Ugra River. The end of the Horde yoke.

At the beginning of summer, large forces were sent to the south under the command of Ivan the Young and brother Andrei the Lesser, loyal to the Grand Duke. Russian regiments deployed along the banks of the Oka, thereby creating a powerful barrier on the way to Moscow. On June 23, Ivan III himself set out on a campaign. On the same day, the miraculous icon of the Vladimir Mother of God was brought from Vladimir to Moscow, with whose intercession the salvation of Rus' from the troops of the formidable Tamerlane was associated in 1395. During August and September, Akhmat searched for a weak point in the Russian defense. When it became clear to him that Oka was tightly guarded, he undertook a roundabout maneuver and led his troops to the Lithuanian border.Akhmat's troops moved freely across Lithuanian territory and, accompanied by Lithuanian guides, through Mtsensk, Odoev and Lyubutsk to Vorotynsk. Here the khan expected help from Casimir IV, but he never received it. The Crimean Tatars, allies of Ivan III, distracted the Lithuanian troops by attacking Podolia. Knowing that the Russians are waiting for him on the Okaregiments, Akhmat decided, after passing through the Lithuanian lands, to invade Russian territory across the Ugra River. Ivan III, having received information about such intentions, sent his son Ivan and brother Andrei Menshoy to Kaluga and to the banks of the Ugra.Ivan III urgently left for Moscow “for the council and the Duma” with the Metropolitan and

boyars. A council was held in the Kremlin. Metropolitan Gerontius, the mother of the Grand Duke, many of the boyars and high clergy spoke out in favor of decisive action against Akhmat. It was decided to prepare the city for a possible siege.Ivan III sent his family and treasury to Beloozero.Moscow suburbs were burned, and their inhabitants were resettled inside the fortress walls. No matter how difficult this measure was, experience suggested that it was necessary: ​​in the event of a siege, the wooden buildings located next to the walls could serve the enemy as fortifications or material for the construction of siege engines. On the same days, ambassadors from Andrei Bolshoi and Boris Volotsky came to Ivan III, who announced the end of the rebellion. The Grand Duke granted forgiveness to the brothers and ordered them to move with their regiments to the Oka. Then he left Moscow again. Meanwhile, on October 8, Akhmat tried to cross the Ugra, but his attack was repulsed by the forces of Ivan the Young.The battles for the crossings continued for several days, which also did not bring success to the Horde. Soon the opponents took up defensive positions on opposite banks of the river.Skirmishes broke out every now and then, but neither side dared to launch a serious attack. In this situation, negotiations began, as a result of which the Russian sovereign found out that the khan was not at all confident in his abilities. But he himself did not want bloodshed, because, as the true owner of the Russian land, he was its builder, and any war leads to destruction.

Mengli-Girey, fulfilling his promise, attacked the southern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On these same days, Ivan III received a fiery message from Archbishop of Rostov Vassian Rylo. Vassian urged the Grand Duke not to listen to the crafty advisers who “they don’t stop whispering in your ear... words are deceptive and they advise... not to resist the adversaries,” but to follow the example of former princes,“who not only defended the Russian land from the filthy (i.e., non-Christians), but also subjugated other countries.” “Just take heart and be strong, my spiritual son,” the archbishop wrote, “like a good warrior of Christ, according to the great word of our Lord in the Gospel: “You are the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...”

It was getting cold. The Ugra froze and from a water barrier every day more and more turned into a strong ice bridge connecting the warring

sides. Both the Russian and Horde commanders began to become noticeably nervous, fearing that the enemy would be the first to decide on a surprise attack. The preservation of the army became the main concern of Ivan III. The cost of taking reckless risks was too great. In the event of the death of the Russian regiments, the road to the very heart of Rus' was opened for Akhmat, and King Casimir IV would not fail to take advantage of the opportunity and enter the war. There was also no confidence that the brothers and the recently subordinated Novgorod would remain loyal. And the Crimean Khan, seeing the defeat of Moscow, could quickly forget about his allied promises. Having weighed all the circumstances, Ivan III in early November ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ugra to Borovsk, which in winter conditions represented a more advantageous defensive position. And then the unexpected happened! Akhmat, deciding that Ivan III was giving up the coast to him for a decisive battle, began a hasty retreat, similar to flight. Small Russian forces were sent in pursuit of the retreating Horde.Khan Akhmat, for no apparent reason, suddenly turned back and went into the steppe,plundering Kozelsk, which belonged to Lithuania, on the way back.What scared him or stopped him?For those who watched from the sidelines how both armies almost simultaneously (within two days) turned back without bringing the matter to battle, this event seemed either strange, mystical, or received a simplified explanation: the opponents were afraid of each other, afraid to accept battle. Contemporaries attributed this to the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, who saved the Russian land from ruin.

The Russians later named the river Ugra "the belt of the Virgin Mary", believing that through her prayers the Lord delivered Russia from the Tatars. And there are legends that Akhmat once saw on the other side in the sky a huge army of angels led by the Virgin Mary - this is what shocked him so much that it forced him to turn his horses back.Ivan III with his son and all the army returned to Moscow, “And all the people rejoiced and rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
On January 6, 1481, Akhmat was killed as a result of a surprise attack by the Tyumen Khan Ibak on the steppe headquarters, to which Akhmat withdrew from Sarai, probably fearing assassination attempts.sharing the fate of another unlucky conqueror of Rus' - Mamai.Civil strife began in the Great Horde.

It actually fell apart at the end of the 15th century into several completely independent khanates - the Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan, Siberian, Nogai Horde.

This was the end of the Horde yoke. Moscow welcomed the returning sovereign as its savior: ".. "The Great Prince Ivan Vasilyevich came to Moscow... and all the people rejoiced greatly with great joy." But here it is necessary to take into account not only the military success of Ivan III, but also his diplomatic strategy, which was part of the overall plan of the defensive campaign. The stand on the Ugra can be considered an exemplary plan for victory, of which both the military and diplomatic history of our country can be proud.. The strategic plan for the defense of Russian lands in 1480 was well thought out and clearly implemented. The diplomatic efforts of the Grand Duke prevented Poland and Lithuania from entering the war. The Pskovites also made their contribution to the salvation of Rus', stopping the German offensive by the fall. And Rus' itself was no longer the same as in the 13th century, during the invasion of Batu, and even in the 14th century. - in the face of Mamaia's hordes. The semi-independent principalities at war with each other were replaced by a strong, although not yet fully strengthened internally, Moscow state. Then, in 1480, it was difficult to assess the significance of what happened. Many recalled the stories of their grandfathers about how, just two years after the glorious victory of Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field, Moscow was burned by the troops of Tokhtamysh. However, history, which loves repetitions, took a different path this time. The yoke that weighed on Russia for two and a half centuries has ended.“Henceforth, our History accepts the dignity of a truly state, describing no longer senseless princely fights, but the deeds of a Kingdom acquiring independence and greatness. Disagreement disappears along with our citizenship to the Tatars; a strong power is formed, as if new for Europe and Asia, which, seeing it with surprised, they offer her a famous place in their political system,” - wrote N.M. Karamzin.

During the celebration of the 500th anniversary of standing on the Ugra River in 1980, a monument was unveiled on the banks of the legendary river in honor of a significant event in Russian history that occurred in 1480 within the Kaluga region.

Conqueror

At the beginning of February 1481, Ivan Vasilyevich sent a 20,000-strong army to help the Pskovites, who had been fighting with their own forces for a long time.

Livonia. In a severe frost, the Russians “captured and burned the entire German land from Yuryev to Riga” and, according to the Pskov chronicler, "I took revenge on the Germans for my own twenty times or more." On September 1 of the same year, Ivan III, on behalf of the Novgorodians and Pskovites, concluded a 10-year peace with Livonia, which achieved peace in the Baltic states for some time.

Later, in the summer of 1492, on the right bank of the Narva, Ivan III began construction of the Ivangorod fortress opposite the German city of Rugodiva (Narva). The purpose of building the fortress was to protect the Novgorod land from its western neighbors.

In the spring of 1483, the Russian army, led by Ivan Saltyk Travin, set out on a large campaign to the east - against the Vogulichs (Mansi). Having fought first to Irtysh, the Russians boarded ships and moved to Obi, and then along this mighty river - all the way to its lower reaches. Having subjugated the local Khanty (Yugra), they managed to return safely to their homeland by the onset of winter.

Conquest of Tver and Vyatka

Five years after “standing on the Ugra,” Ivan III took another step toward the final unification of the Russian lands: the Russian state included Tver Principality. Long gone are the days when the proud and brave princes of Tver argued with the Moscow princes about which of them should collect Rus'. History resolved their dispute in favor of Moscow. However, Tver remained for a long time one of the largest Russian cities, and its princes were among the most powerful.

Lithuania became Mikhail Tverskoy's last hope. In 1484, he concluded an agreement with Casimir, which violated the points of the previously reached agreement with Moscow. The spearhead of the new Lithuanian-Tver union was clearly directed towards Moscow. In response to this, in 1485, Ivan III declared war on Tver. Moscow troops invaded the Tver lands. Casimir was in no hurry to help his new ally. Unable to resist alone, Mikhail swore that he would no longer have any relations with the enemy of Moscow. However, soon after the conclusion of peace, he broke his oath. Having learned about this, the Grand Duke gathered a new army that same year. Moscow regiments approached the walls of Tver. Mikhail secretly fled the city. The people of Tver, led by their boyars, opened the gates to the Grand Duke and swore allegiance to him. The independent Grand Duchy of Tver ceased to exist. In 1489, Vyatka was annexed to the Russian state- a remote and largely mysterious land beyond the Volga for modern historians. With the annexation of Vyatka, the work of collecting Russian lands that were not part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was completed. Formally, only Pskov and the Grand Duchy of Ryazan remained independent. However, they were dependent on Moscow. Located on the dangerous borders of Rus', these lands often needed military assistance from the Grand Duke of Moscow. The authorities of Pskov have not dared to contradict Ivan III on anything for a long time. Ryazan was ruled by the young Prince Ivan, who was the Grand Duke’s grand-nephew and was obedient to him in everything.

Successes of Ivan III's foreign policy

The Grand Duke pursued an active foreign policy. His important achievement was the establishment of allied relations with the German emperors - first with Frederick II, and then with his son Maximilian.Extensive connections with European countries helped Ivan III develop a court ceremony and the state emblem of Russia that have been in effect for centuries.

By the end of the 80s. Ivan finally accepted the title of "Grand Duke of All Rus'". This title has been known in Moscow since the 14th century, but it was during these years that it became official and turned from a political dream into reality. Two terrible disasters - political fragmentation and the Mongol-Tatar yoke - are a thing of the past. Achieving the territorial unity of the Russian lands was the most important result of the activities of Ivan III. However, he understood that he could not stop there. The young state needed to be strengthened from within. The security of its borders had to be ensured.

In 1487, the grand ducal army made a campaign against Khanate of Kazan- one of the fragments of the collapsed Golden Horde. The Kazan Khan recognized himself as a vassal of the Moscow state. Thus, peace was ensured on the eastern borders of Russian lands for almost twenty years.

The children of Akhmat, who owned the Great Horde, could no longer gather under their banner an army comparable in number to the army of their father. Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey remained an ally of Moscow, he fettered the forces of both the Great Horde and the Polish-Lithuanian state, and friendly relations with him were further strengthened after in 1491, during the campaign of Akhmat’s children to the Crimea, Ivan III sent Russian regiments to help Mengli. Relative calm in the east and south allowed the Grand Duke to turn to solving foreign policy problems in the west and north-west.

The central problem here remained the relationship with Catholic Lithuania,which from time to time increased pressure on its Orthodox subjects, infringed on the rights of the Orthodox and instilled the Catholic faith.As a result of two Russian-Lithuanian wars (1492-1494 and 1500-1503), dozens of ancient Russian cities were included in the Moscow state, including such large ones as Vyazma, Chernigov, Starodub, Putivl, Rylsk, Novgorod-Seversky, Gomel, Bryansk, Dorogobuzh, etc. Title "Grand Duke of All Rus' "was filled with new content in these years. Ivan III proclaimed himself sovereign not only of the lands subject to him, but also of the entire Russian Orthodox population who lived on lands that were once part of Kievan Rus. It is no coincidence that Lithuania refused to recognize the legitimacy of this new title for many decades.

By the beginning of the 90s. XV century Russia has established diplomatic relations with many countries of Europe and Asia. The Grand Duke of Moscow agreed to speak with both the Holy Roman Emperor and the Sultan of Turkey only as an equal. The Moscow state, the existence of which few people in Europe knew about just a few decades ago, quickly gained international recognition. Note that during the reign of Ivan III, the merchant from Tver Afanasy Nikitin completed and described his Walk across the Three Seas.

Internal transformations

Within the state, the remnants of political fragmentation gradually died away. Princes and boyars, who until recently had enormous power, were losing it. Many families of the old Novgorod and Vyatka boyars were forcibly resettled to new lands. In the last decades of the great reign of Ivan III, the appanage principalities finally disappeared. After the death of Andrei the Lesser (1481) and the cousin of the Grand Duke Mikhail Andreevich (1486), the Vologda and Vereisko-Belozersky appanages ceased to exist. The fate of Andrei Bolshoi, the appanage prince of Uglitsky, was sad. In 1491 he was arrested and accused of treason. The elder brother recalled to him the rebellion in the difficult year for the country in 1480, and his other “non-corrections”. Evidence has been preserved that Ivan III subsequently repented of how cruelly he treated his brother. But it was too late to change anything - after two years in prison, Andrei died. In 1494, the last brother of Ivan III, Boris, died. He left his Volotsk inheritance to his sons Fyodor and Ivan. According to the will drawn up by the latter, most of his father's inheritance due to him in 1503 passed to the Grand Duke. After the death of Ivan III, the appanage system was never revived in its former meaning. And although he endowed his younger sons Yuri, Dmitry, Semyon and Andrey with lands, they no longer had real power in them. The destruction of the old appanage-princely system required the creation of a new order of governing the country. At the end of the 15th century. Central government bodies began to form in Moscow - " orders", which were the direct predecessors of Peter’s “colleges” and ministries of the 19th century.

In the provinces, the main role began to be played by governors appointed by the Grand Duke himself. The army also underwent changes. The princely squads were replaced by regiments consisting of landowners. Landowners received populated lands from the state for the duration of their service, which brought them income. These lands were called "estates". Misdemeanor or early termination of service meant loss of estate. Thanks to this, the landowners were interested in honest and long service to the Moscow sovereign. In 1497, the Code of Laws was published- the first national code of laws since the times of Kievan Rus. The Sudebnik introduced uniform legal norms for the entire country, which was an important step towards strengthening the unity of Russian lands.

In 1490, at the age of 32, the son and co-ruler of the Grand Duke, a talented commander, died Ivan Ivanovich Young. His death led to long dynastic crisis, which darkened the last years of the life of Ivan III. After Ivan Ivanovich, there was a young son, Dmitry, who represented the senior line of descendants of the Grand Duke. Another contender for the throne was the son of Ivan III from his second marriage, the future sovereign of all Rus' Vasily III(1505-1533). Behind both candidates were clever and influential women - the widow of Ivan the Young, the Wallachian princess Elena Stefanovna and the second wife of Ivan III, Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologue. The choice between son and grandson turned out to be extremely difficult for Ivan III, and he changed his decision several times, trying to find an option that would not lead to a new series of civil strife after his death. At first, the “party” of supporters of Dmitry the grandson gained the upper hand, and in 1498 he was crowned according to a previously unknown rite of grand-ducal wedding, which was somewhat reminiscent of the rite of crowning the kingdom of the Byzantine emperors. Young Dmitry was proclaimed co-ruler of his grandfather. Royal "barms" (wide mantles with precious stones) were placed on his shoulders, and a golden "hat" was placed on his head. However, the triumph of the "Grand Duke of All Rus' Dmitry Ivanovich" did not last long. The very next year he and his mother Elena fell into disgrace. And three years later the heavy doors of the dungeon closed behind them.

Prince Vasily became the new heir to the throne. Ivan III, like many other great politicians of the Middle Ages, had to once again sacrifice both his family feelings and the fates of his loved ones to the needs of the state. Meanwhile, old age was quietly creeping up on the Grand Duke. He managed to complete the work bequeathed by his father, grandfather, great-grandfather and their predecessors, a work in the sanctity of which Ivan Kalita believed - " collecting "Rus".

His state

In summer 1503 The Grand Duke had a stroke. It's time to think about the soul. Ivan III, who often treated the clergy harshly, was nevertheless deeply pious. The sick sovereign went on pilgrimage to monasteries. Having visited Trinity, Rostov, Yaroslavl, the Grand Duke returned to Moscow.

He no longer had the ardor and prowess of the first Moscow princes, but behind his calculating pragmatism one could clearly discern the high goal of life. He could be menacing and often inspired terror in those around him, but he never showed thoughtless cruelty and, as one of his contemporary testified, he was “kind to people,” and was not angry at a wise word spoken to him in reproach.

October 27, 1505 Ivan III, "By the grace of God, the sovereign of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodymyr, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Yugorsk, and Vyatka, and Perm, and Bulgaria, and others" diedin Moscow, 65 years old and was buried in the tomb of the great Moscow princes and tsars in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

The reign of Ivan III lasted 47 years. Sofia Paleologue lived in marriage with him for 30 years. She bore him five sons, the eldest of whom soon became the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily IV, as well as four daughters.

Towards the end of his life, Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich had the opportunity to clearly see the fruits of his labors. During the four decades of his reign, semi-fragmented Rus' turned into a powerful state that instilled fear in its neighbors.

The territory of the state expanded rapidly, military victories followed one after another, and relations were established with distant countries. The old, dilapidated Kremlin with small cathedrals already seemed cramped, and in place of the dismantled ancient fortifications, powerful walls and towers built of red brick grew. Spacious cathedrals rose within the walls. The new princely towers shone with the whiteness of stone. The Grand Duke himself, who accepted the proud title of “Sovereign of All Rus',” dressed himself in gold-woven robes, and solemnly placed on his heir richly embroidered mantles—“barms”—and a precious “hat,” similar to a crown. But in order for everyone - whether Russian or foreigner, peasant or sovereign of a neighboring country - to realize the increased importance of the Moscow state, external splendor alone was not enough. It was necessary to find new concepts - ideas, which would reflect the antiquity of the Russian land, and its independence, and the strength of its sovereigns, and the truth of its faith. Russian diplomats and chroniclers, princes and monks took up this search. Collected together, their ideas constituted what in the language of science is called ideology. The beginning of the formation of the ideology of a unified Moscow state dates back to the period of the reign of Grand Duke Ivan III and his son Vasily (1505-1533). It was at this time that two main ideas were formulated that remained unchanged for several centuries - ideas of God's chosenness and independence of the Moscow state. Now everyone had to learn that a new and strong state had emerged in eastern Europe - Russia. Ivan III and his entourage put forward a new foreign policy task - to annex the western and southwestern Russian lands that were under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In politics, not everything is decided by military force alone. The rapid rise in power of the Grand Duke of Moscow led him to the idea of ​​the need to look for worthy justification for his actions.

It was necessary, finally, to force Lithuania to admit that it owns the ancient Russian lands “not in truth”, illegally.

The golden key that the creators of the ideology of a united Russian state picked up to several political “locks” at once was the doctrine of the ancient origin of the power of the Grand Duke. They had thought about this before, but it was under Ivan III that Moscow loudly declared from the pages of chronicles and through the mouths of ambassadors that the Grand Duke received his power from God himself and from his Kiev ancestors, who ruled in the 10th-11th centuries. throughout the Russian land. Just as the metropolitans who headed the Russian church lived first in Kiev, then in Vladimir, and later in Moscow, so the Kiev, Vladimir and, finally, Moscow great princes were placed by God himself at the head of all Russian lands as hereditary and sovereign Christian sovereigns . This is precisely what Ivan III referred to when addressing the rebellious Novgorodians in 1472: “This is my patrimony, the people of Novgorod, from the beginning: from our grandfathers, from our great-grandfathers, from the Grand Duke Vladimir, who baptized the Russian land, from the great-grandson of Rurik, the first great prince in your land. And from that Rurik to this day you knew the only family of those the great princes, first of Kiev, and up to the great prince Dmitry-Vsevolod Yuryevich of Vladimir (Vsevolod the Big Nest, prince of Vladimir in 1176-1212), and from that great prince to me... we own you... " Thirty years later, during peace negotiations with the Lithuanians after the successful war of 1500-1503 for Russia, the ambassadorial clerks of Ivan III emphasized: “The Russian land is from our ancestors, from antiquity, our fatherland... we want to stand for our fatherland, as God will help us: God is our helper and our truth!” It was not by chance that the clerks remembered the “old times”. In those days this concept was very important.

That is why it was very important for the Grand Duke to declare the antiquity of his family, to show that he was not an upstart, but the ruler of the Russian land according to “old times” and “truth”. No less important was the idea that the source of grand-ducal power was the will of the Lord himself. This elevated the Grand Duke even more above his subordinates.