Children of Ivan 3 and their fate. Great Sovereign Ivan III Vasilievich. Interior of the Chamber of Facets

Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, sovereign of all Rus'

short biography

(Also Ivan the Great; January 22, 1440 - October 27, 1505) - Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, sovereign of all Rus'. “John, by the grace of God, Sovereign and Grand Duke of All Rus', Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Perm, Ugra and Bulgaria and others.” Son of the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark.

The result of Ivan Vasilyevich’s reign was the unification of a significant part of the Russian lands around Moscow and its transformation into the center of a single Russian state. The final liberation of the country from Horde dependence was achieved; Code of Laws was adopted - a set of laws of the state; a number of reforms were carried out that laid the foundations of the local land tenure system; The current brick Moscow Kremlin was erected.

Childhood and youth

Ivan III was born on January 22, 1440 in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II Vasilyevich. Ivan's mother was Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav Borovsky, granddaughter of Vladimir the Brave, Russian princess of the Serpukhov branch of the house of Daniil (Danilovich family) and a distant relative of his father. He was born on the day of memory of the Apostle Timothy, and in his honor he received his “direct name” - Timothy. The closest church holiday was the day of the Transfer of the Relics of St. John Chrysostom (January 27), in honor of which the prince received the name by which he is best known.

Reliable data about the early childhood of Ivan III has not been preserved; most likely, he was raised at the court of his father. However, subsequent events radically changed the fate of the heir to the throne: on July 7, 1445, near Suzdal, the army of Grand Duke Vasily II suffered a crushing defeat from the army under the command of the Tatar princes Mamutyak and Yakub (sons of Khan Ulu-Muhammad). The wounded Grand Duke was captured, and power in the state temporarily passed to the eldest in the family of Ivan Kalita's descendants - Prince Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka. The capture of the prince and the anticipation of the Tatar invasion led to increased confusion in the principality; The situation was aggravated by a fire in Moscow.

Vasily, having promised the khan a ransom, received an army from him and returned to Moscow from captivity in the fall, and Shemyaka was forced to leave the capital and retire to Uglich. Moscow had to pay a ransom for the prince - about several tens of thousands of rubles. Under these conditions, a conspiracy matured among the supporters of Dmitry Shemyaka, and when in February 1446 Vasily II and his children went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, a rebellion began in Moscow. Grand Duke was captured, transported to Moscow, and on the night of February 13-14, blinded (which earned him the nickname “Dark”) on the orders of Dmitry Shemyaka. According to the Novgorod chronicle, the Grand Duke was accused of “bringing the Tatars to the Russian land” and distributing Moscow cities and volosts to them “for feeding.”

The six-year-old prince Ivan did not at first fall into the hands of Shemyaka: Vasily’s children, together with the loyal boyars, managed to escape to Murom, which was under the rule of a supporter of the Grand Duke. After some time, Ryazan Bishop Jonah arrived in Murom, announcing Dmitry Shemyaka’s agreement to allocate an inheritance to the deposed Vasily; Relying on his promise, Vasily's supporters agreed to hand over the children to the new authorities. On May 6, 1446, Prince Ivan arrived in Moscow. However, Shemyaka did not keep his word: three days later, Vasily’s children were sent to Uglich to their father, in captivity.

After several months, Shemyaka finally decided to grant the former Grand Duke an inheritance - Vologda. Vasily's children followed him. But the overthrown prince was not at all going to admit his defeat, and left for Tver to ask for help from the Grand Duke of Tver Boris. This union was formalized by the engagement of six-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich to the daughter of the Tver prince, Maria Borisovna. Soon Vasily's troops occupied Moscow. The power of Dmitry Shemyaka fell, he himself fled, and Vasily II re-established himself on the grand-ducal throne. However, Shemyaka, who had gained a foothold in the northern lands (his base was the recently captured city of Ustyug), had no intention of giving up, and the internecine war continued.

The first mention of the heir to the throne, Ivan, as the “Grand Duke” dates back to this period (approximately the end of 1448 - mid-1449). In 1452, he was already sent as the nominal head of the army on a campaign against the Ustyug fortress of Kokshengu. The heir to the throne successfully completed the assignment he received, cutting off Ustyug from the Novgorod lands (there was a danger of Novgorod entering the war on the side of Shemyaka) and brutally ruining the Koksheng volost. Returning from the campaign with a victory, on June 4, 1452, Prince Ivan married his bride, Maria Borisovna, in the Cathedral of the Savior on the Forest. Soon, Dmitry Shemyaka, who had suffered final defeat, was poisoned, and the bloody civil strife that had lasted for a quarter of a century began to wane.

Accession to the Grand Duke's throne

In subsequent years, Prince Ivan became co-ruler with his father, Vasily II. The inscription “Ospodari of All Rus'” appears on the coins of the Moscow State; he himself, like his father, Vasily, bears the title “Grand Duke”. For two years, Ivan ruled Pereslavl-Zalessky, one of the key cities of the Moscow state, as an appanage prince. Military campaigns, where he is the nominal commander, play an important role in the education of the heir to the throne. So, in 1455. Ivan, together with the experienced governor Fyodor Basenko, makes a victorious campaign against the Tatars who invaded Rus'. In August 1460, he led the army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, closing the path to Moscow to the Tatars of Khan Akhmat who invaded Rus' and besieged Pereyaslavl-Ryazan.

In March 1462, Ivan's father, Grand Duke Vasily, became seriously ill. Shortly before this, he drew up a will, according to which he divided the grand-ducal lands between his sons. As the eldest son, Ivan received not only the great reign, but also the bulk of the territory of the state - 16 main cities (not counting Moscow, which he was supposed to own together with his brothers). Only 12 cities were bequeathed to the remaining children of Vasily; Moreover, most of the former capitals of appanage principalities (in particular, Galich - former capital Dmitry Shemyaka) went to the new Grand Duke. When Vasily died on March 27, 1462, Ivan without any problems became the new Grand Duke and carried out the will of his father, allocating lands to his brothers according to the will. At the same time, the very next year, the best governor of his father, Fyodor Basyonok, was blinded.

Foreign policy

Throughout the reign of Ivan III, the main goal of the country's foreign policy was the unification of northeastern Rus' into single state. It should be noted that this policy turned out to be extremely successful. At the beginning of Ivan's reign, the Moscow principality was surrounded by the lands of other Russian principalities; dying, he handed over to his son Vasily the country that united most of these principalities. Only Pskov, Ryazan, Volokolamsk and Novgorod-Seversky retained relative (not too broad) independence.

Starting from the reign of Ivan III, relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became particularly acute. Moscow's desire to unite the Russian lands was clearly in conflict with Lithuanian interests, and constant border skirmishes and the transfer of border princes and boyars between states did not contribute to reconciliation.

During the reign of Ivan III, the final formalization of the independence of the Russian state took place. The already fairly nominal dependence on the Horde ceases. The government of Ivan III strongly supports the opponents of the Horde among the Tatars; in particular, an alliance was concluded with the Crimean Khanate. The eastern direction of foreign policy also turned out to be successful: combining diplomacy and military force, Ivan III is trying to influence the Kazan Khanate.

During the reign of Ivan III, international ties with other states expanded, primarily with the Holy Roman Empire, Denmark and Venice; relations were established with Ottoman Empire.

"Gathering Lands"

Having become the Grand Duke, Ivan III began his outward political activity with confirmation of previous agreements with neighboring princes and a general strengthening of positions. Thus, agreements were concluded with the Tver and Belozersky principalities; Prince Vasily Ivanovich, married to the sister of Ivan III, was placed on the throne of the Ryazan principality.

Beginning in the 1470s, activities aimed at annexing the remaining Russian principalities intensified sharply. The first was the Yaroslavl principality, which finally lost the remnants of independence in 1471, after the death of Prince Alexander Fedorovich. The heir of the last Yaroslavl prince, Prince Daniil Penko, entered the service of Ivan III and later received the rank of boyar. In 1472, Prince Yuri Vasilyevich of Dmitrov, Ivan’s brother, died. The Principality of Dmitrov passed to the Grand Duke; however, the rest of the brothers of the deceased Prince Yuri opposed this. The brewing conflict was hushed up not without the help of Vasily the Dark’s widow, Maria Yaroslavna, who did everything to quell the quarrel between the children. As a result, Yuri’s smaller brothers also received part of Yuri’s lands.

In 1474 it was the turn of the Rostov Principality. In fact, it was part of the Moscow Principality before: the Grand Duke was a co-owner of Rostov. Now the Rostov princes sold “their half” of the principality to the treasury, thus finally turning into a serving nobility. The Grand Duke transferred what he received to his mother's inheritance.

Annexation of Novgorod

Claudius Lebedev. Marfa Posadnitsa. Destruction of the Novgorod veche. (1889). Moscow. State Tretyakov Gallery

The situation with Novgorod developed differently, which is explained by the difference in the nature of the statehood of the appanage principalities and the trade-aristocratic Novgorod state. The actions of the Moscow Grand Duke were a clear threat to the independence of Novgorod. In this situation, an influential anti-Moscow party arose in Novgorod. It was headed by the energetic widow of the mayor Marfa Boretskaya and her sons. The obvious superiority of Moscow forced supporters of independence to search for allies, primarily in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, in the conditions of hostility between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, an appeal to the Catholic Casimir, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, was perceived extremely ambiguously by the evening, and the Orthodox Prince Mikhail Olelkovich, the son of the Kiev prince and cousin of Ivan III, who arrived on November 8, 1470, was invited to defend the city. However, due to the death of the Novgorod Archbishop Jonah, who invited Mikhail, and the subsequent aggravation of the internal political struggle, the prince did not stay in the Novgorod land for long, and already on March 15, 1471 he left the city. The anti-Moscow party managed to win a major success in the internal political struggle: an embassy was sent to Lithuania, after the return of which a draft agreement was drawn up with Grand Duke Casimir. According to this agreement, Novgorod, while recognizing the power of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, nevertheless kept its state structure intact; Lithuania pledged to help in the fight against the Principality of Moscow. A clash with Ivan III became inevitable.

On June 6, 1471, a detachment of ten thousand Moscow troops under the command of Danila Kholmsky set out from the capital in the direction of the Novgorod land, a week later the army of Striga-Obolensky set out on a campaign, and on June 20, 1471, Ivan III himself began a campaign from Moscow. The advance of Moscow troops through the lands of Novgorod was accompanied by robberies and violence designed to intimidate the enemy.

Novgorod also did not sit idle. A militia was formed from the townspeople, and the mayors Dmitry Boretsky and Vasily Kazimir took command. The size of this army reached forty thousand people, but its combat effectiveness, due to the haste of its formation from townspeople not trained in military affairs, remained low. In July 1471, the Novgorod army advanced in the direction of Pskov, with the goal of preventing the Pskov army, allied to the Moscow prince, from connecting with the main forces of Novgorod’s opponents. On the Sheloni River, the Novgorodians unexpectedly encountered Kholmsky’s detachment. On July 14, a battle began between the opponents.

During the Battle of Shelon, the Novgorod army was completely defeated. The losses of the Novgorodians amounted to 12 thousand people, about two thousand people were captured; Dmitry Boretsky and three other boyars were executed. The city found itself under siege; among the Novgorodians themselves, the pro-Moscow party gained the upper hand and began negotiations with Ivan III. On August 11, 1471, a peace treaty was concluded - the Korostyn Peace Treaty, according to which Novgorod was obliged to pay an indemnity of 16,000 rubles, retained its state structure, but could not “surrender” to the rule of the Lithuanian Grand Duke; A significant part of the vast Dvina land was ceded to the Grand Duke of Moscow. One of the key issues in relations between Novgorod and Moscow was the issue of judicial power. In the autumn of 1475, the Grand Duke arrived in Novgorod, where he personally dealt with a number of cases of unrest; Some anti-Moscow opposition figures were declared guilty. In fact, during this period, a judicial dual power developed in Novgorod: a number of complainants were sent directly to Moscow, where they presented their claims. It was this situation that led to the emergence of a reason for a new war, which ended with the fall of Novgorod.

In the spring of 1477, a number of complainants from Novgorod gathered in Moscow. Among these people were two minor officials - the sub-troop Nazar and the clerk Zakhary. In presenting their case, they called the Grand Duke “sovereign” instead of the traditional address “master,” which assumed the equality of “Mr. Grand Duke” and “Mr. of Great Novgorod.” Moscow immediately seized on this pretext; Ambassadors were sent to Novgorod, demanding official recognition of the title of sovereign, the final transfer of the court into the hands of the Grand Duke, as well as the establishment of a Grand Duke's residence in the city. The veche, after listening to the ambassadors, refused to accept the ultimatum and began preparations for war.

On October 9, 1477, the grand ducal army set out on a campaign against Novgorod. It was joined by the troops of the allies - Tver and Pskov. The siege of the city that began revealed deep divisions among the defenders: supporters of Moscow insisted on peace negotiations with the Grand Duke. One of the supporters of concluding peace was the Novgorod Archbishop Theophilus, which gave the opponents of the war a certain advantage, expressed in sending an embassy to the Grand Duke with the archbishop at its head. But the attempt to reach an agreement on the same terms was not crowned with success: on behalf of the Grand Duke, the ambassadors were given strict demands (“I will ring the bell in our fatherland in Novgorod, there will be no mayor, and we will keep our state”), which actually meant the end of Novgorod independence. Such a clearly expressed ultimatum led to the outbreak of new unrest in the city; Because of the city walls, high-ranking boyars began moving to the headquarters of Ivan III, including the military leader of the Novgorodians, Prince Vasily Grebenka-Shuisky. As a result, it was decided to give in to Moscow’s demands, and on January 15, 1478, Novgorod surrendered, the veche rules were abolished, and the veche bell and the city archive were sent to Moscow.

“Standing on the Ugra” and liberation from the power of the Great Horde

Relations with the Great Horde, which were already tense, completely deteriorated by the beginning of the 1470s. After the military defeat from Tamerlane's troops, the Golden Horde continued to disintegrate; independent states were formed on its territory: the “Great Horde” (with its capital in Sarai-Berk), the Siberian Khanate in the early 1420s, in 1428 - the Uzbek Khanate, then the Kazan (1438), Crimean (1441) khanates, the Nogai Horde arose (1440s) and the Kazakh Khanate (1456/1465), after the death of Khan Kichi-Muhammad (around 1459), the Golden Horde ceased to exist as a single state.

In 1472, Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat began a campaign against Rus'. At Tarusa the Tatars met a large Russian army. All attempts of the Horde to cross the Oka were repulsed. The Horde army managed to burn the city of Aleksin, but the campaign as a whole ended in failure. Soon (in the same 1472 or in 1476) Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, which inevitably should have led to a new clash. However, until 1480 Akhmat was busy fighting the Crimean Khanate.

Painting by N. S. Shustov “Ivan III overthrows Tatar yoke, tearing up the image of the khan and ordering the death of the ambassadors" (1862)

According to the “Kazan History” (a literary monument no earlier than 1564), the immediate cause of the outbreak of the war was the execution of the Horde embassy sent by Akhmat to Ivan III for tribute. According to this news, the Grand Duke, refusing to pay money to the khan, took “the basma of his face” and trampled it; after this, all the Horde ambassadors, except one, were executed. However, the messages in “Kazan History,” which also contain a number of factual errors, are frankly legendary in nature and, as a rule, are not taken seriously by modern historians.

One way or another, in the summer of 1480, Khan Akhmat moved to Rus'. The situation for the Moscow state was complicated by the deterioration of relations with its western neighbors. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir entered into an alliance with Akhmat and could attack at any moment, and the Lithuanian army could cover the distance from Vyazma, which belonged to Lithuania, to Moscow in a few days. The troops of the Livonian Order attacked Pskov. Another blow for Grand Duke Ivan was the rebellion of his siblings: the appanage princes Boris and Andrei Bolshoi, dissatisfied with the oppression of the Grand Duke (thus, in violation of customs, Ivan III, after the death of his brother Yuri, took his entire inheritance for himself and did not share with his brothers the rich booty taken in Novgorod, and also violated the ancient right of departure of the nobles, ordering the capture of Prince Obolensky, who had left the Grand Duke for his brother Boris), together with his entire court and squads, drove to the Lithuanian border and entered into negotiations with Casimir. And although, as a result of active negotiations with his brothers, as a result of bargaining and promises, Ivan III managed to prevent them from acting against him, the threat of a repeat of the civil war did not leave the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

Drawing by K. E. Makovsky “John III and the Tatar ambassadors” (1870)

Having found out that Khan Akhmat was moving to the border of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Ivan III, having gathered troops, also headed south, to the Oka River. The troops of the Tver Grand Duke also came to the aid of the Grand Duke's army. For two months, the army, ready for battle, was waiting for the enemy, but Khan Akhmat, also ready for battle, did not begin offensive actions. Finally, in September 1480, Khan Akhmat crossed the Oka south of Kaluga and headed through Lithuanian territory to the Ugra River - the border between Moscow and Lithuanian possessions.

On September 30, Ivan III left his troops and left for Moscow, giving orders to the troops under the formal command of the heir, Ivan the Young, under whom his uncle, appanage prince Andrei Vasilyevich Menshoi, was also a member, to move in the direction of the Ugra River. At the same time, the prince ordered Kashira to be burned. Sources mention the Grand Duke's hesitation; in one of the chronicles it is even noted that Ivan panicked: “he was horrified and wanted to run away from the shore, and sent his Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her to Beloozero.”

Subsequent events are interpreted ambiguously in the sources. The author of an independent Moscow code from the 1480s writes that the appearance of the Grand Duke in Moscow made a painful impression on the townspeople, among whom a murmur arose: “When you, the Great Prince, reign over us in meekness and quietness, then there are many of us in you sell foolishness (you demand a lot of what you shouldn’t). And now, having angered the Tsar yourself, without paying him a way out, you hand us over to the Tsar and the Tatars.” After this, the chronicle reports that the Rostov bishop Vassian, who met the prince together with the metropolitan, directly accused him of cowardice; After this, Ivan, fearing for his life, left for Krasnoe Seltso, north of the capital. Grand Duchess Sophia with her entourage and the sovereign's treasury was sent to a safe place, to Beloozero, to the court of the appanage prince Mikhail Vereisky. The Grand Duke's mother refused to leave Moscow. According to this chronicle, the Grand Duke repeatedly tried to summon his son, Ivan the Young, from the army, sending him letters, which he ignored; then Ivan ordered Prince Kholmsky to deliver his son to him by force. Kholmsky did not carry out this order, trying to persuade the prince, to which he, according to this chronicle, replied: “It’s appropriate for me to die here, and not to go to my father.” Also, as one of the measures to prepare for the Tatar invasion, the Grand Duke ordered the burning of the Moscow suburb.

As R. G. Skrynnikov notes, the story of this chronicle is in clear contradiction with a number of other sources. Thus, in particular, the image of the Rostov Bishop Vassian as the worst accuser of the Grand Duke does not find confirmation; judging by the “Message” and biographical facts, Vassian was completely loyal to the Grand Duke. The researcher connects the creation of this code with the environment of the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, and the dynastic struggle in the grand-ducal family. This, in his opinion, explains both the condemnation of Sophia’s actions and the praise addressed to the heir - as opposed to the indecisive (which turned into cowardly under the pen of the chronicler) actions of the Grand Duke.

At the same time, the very fact of Ivan III’s departure to Moscow is recorded in almost all sources; the difference in the chronicle stories relates only to the duration of this trip. The Grand Duke's chroniclers reduced this trip to just three days (September 30 - October 3, 1480). The fact of fluctuations in the grand ducal circle is also obvious; the grand ducal code of the first half of the 1490s mentions the devious Gregory Mamon as an opponent of resistance to the Tatars; The independent code of the 1480s, hostile to Ivan III, also mentions Ivan Oshera in addition to Grigory Mamon, and the Rostov chronicle mentions the equerry Vasily Tuchko. Meanwhile, in Moscow, the Grand Duke held a meeting with his boyars and ordered the preparation of the capital for a possible siege. Through the mediation of the mother, active negotiations were held with the rebellious brothers, which ended in the restoration of relations. On October 3, the Grand Duke left Moscow to join the troops, however, before reaching them, he settled in the town of Kremenets, 60 versts from the mouth of the Ugra, where he waited for the arrival of the detachments of the brothers who stopped the rebellion - Andrei Bolshoi and Boris Volotsky. Meanwhile, violent clashes began on the Ugra. Attempts by the Horde to cross the river were successfully repulsed by Russian troops. Soon, Ivan III sent ambassador Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with rich gifts, asking him to retreat away and not ruin the “ulus”. The Khan demanded the prince’s personal presence, but he refused to go to him; the prince also refused the khan’s offer to send to him his son, brother, or ambassador Nikifor Basenkov, known for his generosity (who had previously often traveled to the Horde).

On October 26, 1480, the Ugra River froze. The Russian army, having gathered together, retreated to the city of Kremensk, then to Borovsk. There, Ivan III was going to give battle to the Horde army in the best defensive positions. On November 11, Khan Akhmat gave the order to retreat. A small Tatar detachment managed to destroy a number of Russian volosts near Aleksin, but after Russian troops were sent in its direction, it also retreated to the steppe. Akhmat’s refusal to pursue Russian troops is explained by the unpreparedness of the Khan’s army to wage war in harsh winter conditions - as the chronicle reports, “the Tatars were naked and barefoot, they were ragged.” In addition, it became completely clear that King Casimir was not going to fulfill his allied obligations towards Akhmat. In addition to repelling the attack of the Crimean troops allied to Ivan III, Lithuania was busy solving internal problems. “Standing on the Ugra” ended with the actual victory of the Russian state, which received the desired independence. Khan Akhmat, in retaliation for Casimir’s inaction, sent his troops to Lithuania, where he burned many settlements and plundered a lot of loot, but was soon killed while dividing the loot by envious people; After his death, civil strife broke out in the Horde. Thus, the result of the “Standing on the Ugra” was not only liberation from Horde dependence, but also a rather serious weakening of the position of the Principality of Lithuania.

In 1484, after Ivan III helped the Kasimov prince Muhammad-Amin take the khan's throne in Kazan, according to the agreement on “eternal peace,” Moscow stopped paying tribute to Kazan, which had been paid after the Battle of Suzdal since 1445.

Confrontation with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Significant changes occurred during the reign of Ivan III in the relations of the Moscow state with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Initially friendly (the Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir was even appointed, according to the will of Vasily II, as the guardian of the children of the Grand Duke of Moscow), they gradually worsened. Moscow's desire to subjugate all Russian lands constantly encountered opposition from Lithuania, which had the same goal. The attempt of the Novgorodians to come under the rule of Casimir did not contribute to the friendship of the two states, and the union of Lithuania and the Horde in 1480, during the “standing on the Ugra,” strained relations to the limit. The formation of the union of the Russian state and the Crimean Khanate dates back to this time.

Political map of Ivan's ascension to the grand-ducal throne in 1462

Beginning in the 1480s, the escalation of the situation led to border skirmishes. In 1481, a conspiracy was uncovered in Lithuania by the princes Ivan Yuryevich Golshansky, Mikhail Olelkovich and Fyodor Ivanovich Belsky, who were preparing an assassination attempt on Casimir and wanted to go with their possessions to the Grand Duke of Moscow; Ivan Golshansky and Mikhail Olelkovich were executed, Prince Belsky managed to escape to Moscow, where he received control of a number of regions on the Lithuanian border. In 1482, Prince Ivan Glinsky fled to Moscow. In the same year, the Lithuanian ambassador Bogdan Sakovich demanded that the Moscow prince recognize Lithuania's rights to Rzhev and Velikiye Luki, and their volosts.

In the context of the confrontation with Lithuania, the alliance with Crimea acquired particular importance. Following the agreements reached, in the fall of 1482 the Crimean Khan made a devastating raid on the territory of the south of the Principality of Lithuania (currently the territory of Ukraine). As the Nikon Chronicle reported, “on September 1, according to the word of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan Vasilyevich of All Rus', Mengli-Girey, the king of the Crimean Perekop Horde, came with all his might to the queen and took the city of Kyiv and burned it with fire, and seized the governor of the Kyiv sir Ivashka Khotkovich , and I have taken countless amounts of it; and the land of Kyiv is empty.” According to the Pskov Chronicle, as a result of the campaign, 11 cities fell, and the entire district was devastated. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was seriously weakened.

Border disputes between the two states continued throughout the 1480s. A number of volosts, which were originally in joint Moscow-Lithuanian (or Novgorod-Lithuanian) possession, were actually occupied by the troops of Ivan III (primarily this concerns Rzhev, Toropets and Velikie Luki). Periodically, clashes arose between the Vyazma princes who served Casimir and the Russian appanage princes, as well as between the Mezet princes (supporters of Lithuania) and the Odoevsky and Vorotynsky princes who went over to the side of Moscow. In the spring of 1489, things came to an open armed clash between Lithuanian and Russian troops, and in December 1489, a number of border princes went over to the side of Ivan III. Protests and mutual exchanges of embassies yielded no result, and the undeclared war continued.

On June 7, 1492, Casimir, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Russia and Samogit, died. After him, his second son, Alexander, was elected to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Casimir's eldest son, Jan Olbracht, became King of Poland. The inevitable confusion associated with the change of the Grand Duke of Lithuania weakened the principality, which Ivan III did not fail to take advantage of. In August 1492, troops were sent against Lithuania. They were led by Prince Fyodor Telepnya Obolensky. The cities of Mtsensk, Lyubutsk, Mosalsk, Serpeisk, Khlepen, Rogachev, Odoev, Kozelsk, Przemysl and Serensk were taken. A number of local princes went over to Moscow’s side, which strengthened the position of the Russian troops. Such rapid successes of the troops of Ivan III forced the new Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander to begin peace negotiations. One of the means of resolving the conflict proposed by the Lithuanians was Alexander's marriage to Ivan's daughter; The Grand Duke of Moscow reacted to this proposal with interest, but demanded that all controversial issues be resolved first, which led to the failure of the negotiations.

At the end of 1492, the Lithuanian army with Prince Semyon Ivanovich Mozhaisky entered the theater of military operations. At the beginning of 1493, the Lithuanians managed to briefly capture the cities of Serpeisk and Mezetsk, but during a counterattack by Moscow troops they were repulsed; In addition, the Moscow army managed to take Vyazma and a number of other cities. In June-July 1493, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander sent an embassy with a proposal to make peace. As a result of lengthy negotiations, a peace treaty was finally concluded on February 5, 1494. According to it, most of the lands conquered by Russian troops were part of the Russian state. In addition to other cities, the strategically important fortress of Vyazma, located not far from Moscow, became Russian. The cities of Lyubutsk, Mezetsk, Mtsensk and some others were returned to the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The consent of the Moscow sovereign was also obtained for the marriage of his daughter Elena with Alexander.

Union with the Crimean Khanate

Diplomatic relations between the Moscow state and the Crimean Khanate during the reign of Ivan III remained friendly. The first exchange of letters between the countries took place in 1462, and in 1472 an agreement on mutual friendship was concluded. In 1474, an alliance agreement was concluded between Khan Mengli-Girey and Ivan III, which, however, remained on paper, since the Crimean Khan soon had no time for joint actions: during the war with the Ottoman Empire, Crimea lost its independence, and Mengli himself Giray was captured, and only in 1478 he again ascended the throne (now as a Turkish vassal). However, in 1480, the union agreement between Moscow and Crimea was concluded again, and the agreement directly named the enemies against whom the parties were supposed to act together - Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and the Grand Duke of Lithuania. In the same year, the Crimeans made a campaign against Podolia, which did not allow King Casimir to help Akhmat during the “stand on the Ugra”.

In March 1482, due to deteriorating relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Moscow embassy again went to Khan Mengli-Girey. In the autumn of 1482, the troops of the Crimean Khanate made a devastating raid on the southern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Among other cities, Kyiv was taken, and all of southern Rus' was devastated. From his booty, the khan sent Ivan a chalice and a paten from the Kyiv St. Sophia Cathedral, which had been robbed by the Crimeans. The devastation of the lands seriously affected the combat effectiveness of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In subsequent years, the Russian-Crimean alliance showed its effectiveness. In 1485, Russian troops already made a campaign into the Horde lands at the request of the Crimean Khanate, which was attacked by the Horde. In 1491, in connection with new Crimean-Horde skirmishes, these campaigns were repeated again. Russian support played an important role in the victory of the Crimean troops over the Great Horde. Lithuania's attempt in 1492 to lure Crimea to its side failed: from 1492, Mengli-Girey began annual campaigns against lands belonging to Lithuania and Poland. During the Russian-Lithuanian war of 1500-1503, Crimea remained an ally of Russia. In 1500, Mengli-Girey twice devastated the lands of southern Rus' belonging to Lithuania, reaching Brest. The actions of the Great Horde, allied to Lithuania, were again neutralized by the actions of both Crimean and Russian troops. In 1502, having finally defeated the khan of the Great Horde, the Crimean khan launched a new raid, devastating part of Right Bank Ukraine and Poland. However, after the end of the war, which was successful for the Moscow state, relations were observed to deteriorate. Firstly, the common enemy disappeared - the Great Horde, against which the Russian-Crimean alliance was largely directed. Secondly, now Russia is becoming a direct neighbor of the Crimean Khanate, which means that now Crimean raids could be carried out not only on Lithuanian, but also on Russian territory. And finally, thirdly, Russian-Crimean relations worsened due to the Kazan problem; the fact is that Khan Mengli-Girey did not approve of the imprisonment of the overthrown Kazan Khan Abdul-Latif in Vologda. However, during the reign of Ivan III, the Crimean Khanate remained an ally of the Moscow state, waging joint wars against common enemies - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Great Horde, and only after the death of the Grand Duke began constant raids of the Crimeans on lands belonging to the Russian state.

Relations with the Kazan Khanate

Relations with the Kazan Khanate remained an extremely important direction of Russian foreign policy. During the first years of Ivan III's reign they remained peaceful. After the death of the active Khan Mahmud, his son Khalil ascended the throne, and soon the deceased Khalil, in turn, was succeeded in 1467 by another son of Mahmud, Ibrahim. However, the brother of Khan Mahmud, the elderly Kasim, who ruled the Kasimov Khanate, dependent on Moscow, was still alive; a group of conspirators led by Prince Abdul-Mumin tried to invite him to the Kazan throne. These intentions found support from Ivan III, and in September 1467, the soldiers of Kasimov Khan, together with Moscow troops under the command of Prince Ivan Striga-Obolensky, began an attack on Kazan. However, the campaign was unsuccessful: having met strong army Ibrahim, Moscow troops did not dare to cross the Volga and retreated. In the winter of the same year, Kazan troops made a campaign into the Russian border lands, ravaging the outskirts of Galich Mersky. In response, Russian troops carried out a punitive raid on the Cheremis lands that were part of the Kazan Khanate. Border skirmishes continued in 1468; A major success for the Kazan people was the capture of the capital of the Vyatka land - Khlynov.

The spring of 1469 was marked by a new campaign of Moscow troops against Kazan. In May, Russian troops began to besiege the city. However, the active actions of the Kazan residents made it possible to first stop the offensive of the two Moscow armies, and then defeat them one by one; Russian troops were forced to retreat. In August 1469, having received reinforcements, the Grand Duke’s troops began a new campaign against Kazan, however, due to the deterioration of relations with Lithuania and the Horde, Ivan III agreed to make peace with Khan Ibrahim; According to its terms, the Kazan residents handed over all previously captured prisoners. For eight years after this, relations between the parties remained peaceful. However, at the beginning of 1478, relations became tense again. The reason this time was the campaign of the Kazan people against Khlynov. Russian troops marched on Kazan, but did not achieve any significant results, and a new peace treaty was concluded on the same terms as in 1469.

In 1479, Khan Ibrahim died. The new ruler of Kazan was Ilkham (Alegam), the son of Ibrahim, a protege of a party oriented towards the East (primarily the Nogai Horde). The candidate from the pro-Russian party, another son of Ibrahim, 10-year-old Tsarevich Muhammad-Emin, was sent to the Moscow principality. This gave Russia a reason to interfere in Kazan affairs. In 1482, Ivan III began preparations for a new campaign; An army was assembled, which also included artillery under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti, but the active diplomatic opposition of the Kazan people and their willingness to make concessions made it possible to maintain peace. In 1484, the Moscow army, approaching Kazan, contributed to the overthrow of Khan Ilham. The protege of the pro-Moscow party, 16-year-old Mohammed-Emin, ascended the throne. At the end of 1485 - beginning of 1486, Ilham again ascended the Kazan throne (also not without the support of Moscow), and soon Russian troops made another campaign against Kazan. On July 9, 1487, the city surrendered. Prominent figures of the anti-Moscow party were executed, Muhammad-Emin was again placed on the throne, and Khan Ilham and his family were sent to prison in Russia. As a result of this victory, Ivan III accepted the title of “Prince of Bulgaria”; Russia's influence on the Kazan Khanate increased significantly.

The next worsening of relations occurred in the mid-1490s. Among the Kazan nobility, dissatisfied with the policies of Khan Muhammad-Emin, an opposition formed with the princes Kel-Akhmet (Kalimet), Urak, Sadyr and Agish at their head. She invited the Siberian prince Mamuk to the throne, who arrived in Kazan with an army in mid-1495. Muhammad-Emin and his family fled to Russia. However, after some time, Mamuk came into conflict with some of the princes who invited him. While Mamuk was on campaign, a coup took place in the city under the leadership of Prince Kel-Akhmet. Abdul-Latif, brother of Muhammad-Emin, who lived in the Russian state, was invited to the throne, who became the next khan of Kazan. The attempt of Kazan emigrants led by Prince Urak in 1499 to place Agalak, the brother of the deposed Khan Mamuk, on the throne was unsuccessful. With the help of Russian troops, Abdul-Latif managed to repel the attack.

In 1502, Abdul-Latif, who began to pursue an independent policy, was removed with the participation of the Russian embassy and Prince Kel-Akhmet. Muhammad-Amin was again elevated to the Kazan throne (for the third time). But now he began to pursue a much more independent policy aimed at ending dependence on Moscow. The leader of the pro-Russian party, Prince Kel-Akhmet, was arrested; opponents of the influence of the Russian state came to power. On June 24, 1505, on the day of the fair, a pogrom occurred in Kazan; Russian subjects who were in the city were killed or enslaved, and their property was plundered. The war has begun. However, on October 27, 1505, Ivan III died, and Ivan’s heir, Vasily III, had to lead it.

Northwestern direction: wars with Livonia and Sweden

The annexation of Novgorod shifted the borders of the Russian state to the north-west, as a result of which Livonia became a direct neighbor in this direction. The continued deterioration of Pskov-Livonian relations ultimately resulted in an open clash - the Russian-Livonian War of 1480-1481. In August 1480, the Livonians besieged Pskov - however, unsuccessfully. In February of the following year, 1481, the initiative passed to the Russian troops: the grand ducal forces, sent to help the Pskovites, made a campaign into the Livonian lands, crowned with a number of victories. On September 1, 1481, the parties signed a truce for a period of 10 years. Over the next few years, relations with Livonia, primarily trade, developed quite peacefully. However, the government of Ivan III took a number of measures to strengthen defensive structures northwest of the country. The most significant event of this plan was the construction in 1492 of the stone fortress Ivangorod on the Narova River, opposite the Livonian Narva.

In addition to Livonia, another rival of the Russian state in the northwestern direction was Sweden. According to the Orekhovets Treaty of 1323, the Novgorodians ceded a number of territories to the Swedes; now, according to Ivan III, the moment has come to return them. 8.11.1493 Russian state concluded an alliance treaty with the Danish king Hans (Johann), a rival of the ruler of Sweden, Sten Sture. Open conflict broke out in 1495; in August the Russian army began the siege of Vyborg. However, this siege was unsuccessful, Vyborg held out, and the grand ducal troops were forced to return home. In the winter and spring of 1496, Russian troops carried out a number of raids on the territory of Swedish Finland. In August 1496, the Swedes struck back: an army on 70 ships, descending the Narova, landed near Ivangorod. The Grand Duke's deputy, Prince Yuri Babich, fled, and on August 26 the Swedes took the fortress by storm and burned it. However, after some time, Swedish troops left Ivangorod, and it was quickly restored and even expanded. In March 1497, a truce was concluded in Novgorod for 6 years, ending the Russian-Swedish war.

Meanwhile, relations with Livonia deteriorated significantly. Considering the inevitability of a new Russian-Lithuanian war, in 1500 an embassy from the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander was sent to the Grand Master of the Livonian Order Plettenberg with a proposal for an alliance. Remembering Lithuania's previous attempts to subjugate the Teutonic Order, Plettenberg did not give his consent immediately, but only in 1501, when the issue of war with Russia was finally resolved. The agreement signed in Wenden on June 21, 1501 completed the formalization of the union.

The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the arrest of about 150 Russian merchants in Dorpat. In August, both sides sent significant military forces against each other, and on August 27, 1501, Russian and Livonian troops fought in a battle on the Seritsa River (10 km from Izborsk). The battle ended in victory for the Livonians; They failed to take Izborsk, but on September 7 the Pskov fortress Ostrov fell. In October, troops of the Russian state (which also included units of service Tatars) made a retaliatory raid into Livonia.

In the campaign of 1502, the initiative was on the side of the Livonians. It began with an invasion from Narva; in March, Moscow governor Ivan Loban-Kolychev died near Ivangorod; Livonian troops struck in the direction of Pskov, trying to take Red Town. In September, Plettenberg's troops struck a new blow, again besieging Izborsk and Pskov. The sieges ended in vain and the Livonians had to retreat. In the battle near Lake Smolina they managed to fight off the Russian troops pursuing them. The following year peace negotiations were held. On April 2, 1503, the Livonian Order and the Russian state concluded a truce for a period of six years, restoring relations on the terms of the status quo.

Continuation of the “gathering of lands” and the “capture of Tver”

After the annexation of Novgorod, the policy of “gathering lands” was continued. At the same time, the actions of the Grand Duke were more active. In 1481, after the death of Ivan III’s childless brother, the appanage Vologda prince Andrei the Lesser, his entire allotment passed to the Grand Duke. On April 4, 1482, Prince Mikhail Andreevich of Verei concluded an agreement with Ivan, according to which, after his death, Beloozero passed to the Grand Duke, which clearly violated the rights of Mikhail’s heir, his son Vasily. After Vasily Mikhailovich fled to Lithuania, on December 12, 1483, Mikhail concluded a new agreement with Ivan III, according to which, after the death of the Vereisky prince, the entire inheritance of Mikhail Andreevich went to the Grand Duke (Prince Mikhail died on April 9, 1486). On June 4, 1485, after the death of the Grand Duke’s mother, Princess Maria (monastically known as Martha), her inheritance, including half of Rostov, became part of the Grand Duke’s possessions.

Relations with Tver remained a serious problem. Sandwiched between Moscow and Lithuania, the Great Principality of Tver did not survive better times. It also included appanage principalities; Since the 60s of the 15th century, the transition of the Tver nobility to Moscow service began. Sources also preserved references to the spread of various heresies in Tver. Numerous land disputes between Muscovites-patrimonial owners, who owned land in the Tver Principality, and Tver residents did not improve relations. In 1483, the hostility turned into armed confrontation. The formal reason for it was the attempt of the Tver prince Mikhail Borisovich to strengthen his ties with Lithuania through a dynastic marriage and an alliance treaty. Moscow responded to this by breaking off relations and sending troops to Tver lands; The Tver prince admitted his defeat and in October-December 1484 concluded a peace treaty with Ivan III. According to it, Mikhail recognized himself as the “lesser brother” of the great Moscow prince, which in the political terminology of that time meant the actual transformation of Tver into an appanage principality; the treaty of alliance with Lithuania, of course, was torn apart.

In 1485, using as a pretext the capture of a messenger from Mikhail Tverskoy to the Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir, Moscow again broke off relations with the Tver Principality and began hostilities. In September 1485, Russian troops began the siege of Tver. A significant part of the Tver boyars and appanage princes switched to Moscow service, and Prince Mikhail Borisovich himself, seizing the treasury, fled to Lithuania. On September 15, 1485, Ivan III, together with the heir to the throne, Prince Ivan the Young, entered Tver. The Tver principality was transferred to the heir to the throne; in addition, a Moscow governor was appointed here.

In 1486, Ivan III concluded new agreements with his brothers-apanage princes - Boris and Andrei. In addition to recognizing the Grand Duke as the "eldest" brother, the new treaties also recognized him as a "lord", and used the title "Grand Duke of All Rus'". However, the position of the Grand Duke's brothers remained extremely precarious. In 1488, Prince Andrey was informed that the Grand Duke was ready to arrest him. An attempt to explain himself led to Ivan III swearing “by God and the earth and the mighty God, the creator of all creation” that he did not intend to persecute his brother. As R. G. Skrynnikov and A. A. Zimin note, the form of this oath was very unusual for an Orthodox sovereign.

In 1491, the relationship between Ivan and Andrei Bolshoi reached a denouement. On September 20, the Uglich prince was arrested and thrown into prison; His children, princes Ivan and Dmitry, were also imprisoned. Two years later, Prince Andrei Vasilyevich the Bolshoi died, and four years later, the Grand Duke, having gathered the highest clergy, publicly repented of the fact that “with his sin, by not being careful, he was killed.” However, Ivan’s repentance did not change anything in the fate of Andrei’s children: the Grand Duke’s nephews spent the rest of their lives in captivity.

During the arrest of Andrei Bolshoi, another brother of Prince Ivan, Boris, Prince Volotsky, also came under suspicion. However, he managed to justify himself to the Grand Duke and remain free. After his death in 1494, the principality was divided between Boris’s children: Ivan Borisovich received Ruza, and Fedor received Volokolamsk; in 1503, Prince Ivan Borisovich died childless, leaving the estates to Ivan III.

A serious struggle between supporters of independence and supporters of Moscow unfolded in the early 1480s in Vyatka, which retained significant autonomy. Initially, success accompanied the anti-Moscow party; in 1485 the Vyatchans refused to participate in the campaign against Kazan. The retaliatory campaign of the Moscow troops was not crowned with success; moreover, the Moscow governor was expelled from Vyatka; the most prominent supporters of the grand ducal power were forced to flee. Only in 1489, Moscow troops under the command of Daniil Shchenya achieved the capitulation of the city and finally annexed Vyatka to the Russian state.

The Ryazan principality also practically lost its independence. After the death of Prince Vasily in 1483, his son, Ivan Vasilyevich, ascended the Ryazan throne. Another son of Vasily, Fedor, received Perevitesk (he died childless in 1503, leaving the estate to Ivan III). The de facto ruler of the principality was Vasily's widow, Anna, the sister of Ivan III. In 1500, the Ryazan prince Ivan Vasilyevich died; The guardian of the young Prince Ivan Ivanovich was first his grandmother Anna, and after her death in 1501, his mother Agrafena. In 1520, with the capture of the Ryazan prince Ivan Ivanovich by Muscovites, in fact, the Ryazan principality finally turned into an appanage principality within the Russian state.

Relations with the Pskov land, which at the end of the reign of Ivan III remained practically the only Russian principality independent of Moscow, also took place in line with the gradual restriction of statehood. Thus, the Pskov residents are losing their last opportunity to influence the choice of princes and grand-ducal governors. In 1483-1486, a conflict occurred in the city between, on the one hand, the Pskov mayors and “black people”, and, on the other hand, the Grand Duke’s governor, Prince Yaroslav Obolensky and the peasants (“smerds”). In this conflict, Ivan III supported his governor; Ultimately, the Pskov elite capitulated, fulfilling the demands of the Grand Duke.

The next conflict between the Grand Duke and Pskov flared up at the beginning of 1499. The fact is that Ivan III decided to grant his son, Vasily Ivanovich, the reign of Novgorod and Pskov. The Pskovites regarded the Grand Duke’s decision as a violation of “old times”; Attempts by the posadniks to change the situation during negotiations in Moscow only led to their arrest. Only by September of the same year, after Ivan’s promise to respect the “old times,” was the conflict resolved.

However, despite these differences, Pskov remained a loyal ally of Moscow. Pskov assistance played an important role in the campaign against Novgorod in 1477-1478; Pskovites made a significant contribution to the victories of Russian troops over the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In turn, the Moscow regiments took all possible part in repelling the attacks of the Livonians and Swedes.

Hikes to Perm and Ugra

While developing Northern Pomerania, the Moscow Principality, on the one hand, faced opposition from Novgorod, which considered these lands to be its own, and, on the other hand, with the opportunity to begin advancing to the north and northeast, beyond the Ural Mountains, to the Ob River, in the lower reaches of which there was Yugra, known to the Novgorodians. In 1465, by order of Ivan III, the inhabitants of Ustyug under the leadership of the Grand Duke's governor Timofey (Vasily) Skryaba made a campaign against Ugra. The campaign was quite successful: having subdued a number of small Ugra princes, the army returned victorious. In 1467, a not very successful campaign against the independent Vogulichs (Mansi) was carried out by the Vyatchans and Komi-Permyaks.

Having received part of the Dvina land under the 1471 treaty with Novgorod (and Zavolochye, Pechora and Yugra continued to be considered Novgorod), the Moscow principality continued to advance north. In 1472, using insults to Moscow merchants as a pretext, Ivan III sent Prince Fyodor the Motley with an army to the recently baptized Great Perm, who subjugated the region to the Moscow principality. Prince Mikhail of Perm remained the nominal ruler of the region, while the real rulers of the country, both spiritually and civilly, were the Perm bishops.

In 1481, Perm the Great had to defend itself from the Vogulichs, led by Prince Asyka. With the help of the Ustyuzhans, Perm managed to fight back, and already in 1483 a campaign was launched against the rebellious Vogulichs. The expedition was organized on a grand scale: under the command of the grand ducal governors Prince Fyodor Kurbsky the Black and Ivan Saltyk-Travin, forces were gathered from all the northern districts of the country. The campaign turned out to be successful; as a result, the princes of a vast region populated mainly by Tatars, Vogulichs (Mansi) and Ostyaks (Khanty) submitted to the authorities of the Moscow state.

The next, and most large-scale, campaign of Russian troops against Ugra was undertaken in 1499-1500. In total, according to archival data, 4041 people took part in this expedition, divided into three detachments. They were commanded by Moscow governors: Prince Semyon Kurbsky (commanding one of the detachments, he was also the commander of the entire campaign), Prince Pyotr Ushaty and Vasily Gavrilov Brazhnik. During this campaign, various local tribes were conquered, and the Pechora and upper Vychegda basins became part of the Moscow state. It is interesting that the information about this campaign, received by S. Herberstein from Prince Semyon Kurbsky, was included by him in his “Notes on Muscovy”. Fur tribute was imposed on the lands conquered during these expeditions.

War with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1500-1503

Despite the settlement of border disputes that led to the undeclared war of 1487-1494, relations with Lithuania continued to remain tense. The border between the states continued to remain very unclear, which in the future was fraught with a new aggravation of relations. A religious problem was added to the traditional border disputes. In May 1499, Moscow received information from the governor of Vyazma about the oppression of Orthodoxy in Smolensk. In addition, the Grand Duke learned of an attempt to impose the Catholic faith on his daughter Helen, the wife of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander. All this did not help maintain peace between countries.

Strengthening international situation The Great Duchy of Moscow in the 1480s led to the fact that the princes of the disputed Verkhovsky principalities began en masse to serve the Moscow prince. The attempt of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to prevent this ended in failure and as a result of the Russian-Lithuanian war of 1487-1494, most of the Verkhovsky principalities found themselves part of the Moscow state.

At the end of 1499 - beginning of 1500, Prince Semyon Belsky moved to the Principality of Moscow with his estates. Semyon Ivanovich named the reason for his “departure” as the loss of the grand-ducal favor and “affection,” as well as the desire of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander to transfer it to “Roman law,” which did not happen under the previous great princes. Alexander sent envoys to Moscow to protest, categorically rejecting accusations of inducing him to convert to Catholicism and calling Prince Belsky a “healthy man,” that is, a traitor. According to some historians, the real reason for Semyon Ivanovich’s transfer to Moscow service was religious persecution, while, according to others, the religious factor was used by Ivan III only as a pretext.

Soon the cities of Serpeisk and Mtsensk went over to Moscow's side. In April 1500, princes Semyon Ivanovich Starodubsky and Vasily Ivanovich Shemyachich Novgorod-Seversky entered the service of Ivan III, and an embassy was sent to Lithuania declaring war. Fighting broke out along the entire border. As a result of the first strike of the Russian troops, Bryansk was captured, the cities of Radogoshch, Gomel, Novgorod-Seversky surrendered, Dorogobuzh fell; Princes Trubetskoy and Mosalsky went into the service of Ivan III. The main efforts of the Moscow troops were concentrated in the Smolensk direction, where the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander sent an army under the command of the Great Hetman of Lithuania Konstantin Ostrozhsky. Having received the news that Moscow troops were standing on the Vedroshi River, the hetman headed there. On July 14, 1500, during the Battle of Vedroshi, Lithuanian troops suffered a crushing defeat; more than 8,000 Lithuanian soldiers died; Hetman Ostrogsky was captured. On August 6, 1500, Putivl fell under the attack of Russian troops; on August 9, Pskov troops allied with Ivan III took Toropets. The defeat at Vedrosha dealt a sensitive blow to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The situation was aggravated by the raids of the Moscow-allied Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey.

The 1501 campaign did not bring decisive success to either side. The fighting between Russian and Lithuanian troops was limited to small skirmishes; in the fall of 1501, Moscow troops defeated the Lithuanian army in the battle of Mstislavl, but were unable to take Mstislavl itself. A major success of Lithuanian diplomacy was the neutralization of the Crimean threat with the help of the Great Horde. Another factor acting against the Russian state was a serious deterioration in relations with Livonia, which led to a full-scale war in August 1501. In addition, after the death of Jan Olbracht (June 17, 1501), his younger brother, Grand Duke Alexander of Lithuania, also became King of Poland.

In the spring of 1502, fighting was inactive. The situation changed in June, after the Crimean Khan finally managed to defeat the Khan of the Great Horde, Shikh-Ahmed, which made it possible to carry out a new devastating raid in August. Moscow troops also struck: on July 14, 1502, the army under the command of Dmitry Zhilka, the son of Ivan III, set out for Smolensk. However, a number of miscalculations during its siege (lack of artillery and low discipline of the assembled troops), as well as the stubborn defense of the defenders, did not allow the city to be taken. In addition, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander managed to form a mercenary army, which also marched in the direction of Smolensk. As a result, on October 23, 1502, the Russian army lifted the siege of Smolensk and retreated.

At the beginning of 1503, peace negotiations began between the states. However, both Lithuanian and Moscow ambassadors put forward obviously unacceptable peace conditions; as a result of a compromise, it was decided to sign not a peace treaty, but a truce for a period of 6 years. According to it, 19 cities with volosts, which before the war constituted about a third of the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, remained in the possession of the Russian state (formally - for the duration of the truce), in particular: Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Starodub, Gomel, Bryansk, Toropets, Mtsensk, Dorogobuzh . The truce, known as the Blagoveshchensky (after the feast of the Annunciation), was signed on March 25, 1503.

Domestic policy

Integration of newly annexed lands

After the annexation of the Yaroslavl principality in 1471, a fairly strict unification with the general Moscow order began on its territory. A specially appointed envoy of the Grand Duke brought Yaroslavl princes and boyars into the Moscow service, taking away part of their lands. In one of the critical chronicles of that time, these events are described as follows: “Whoever has a good village, he took it away, and whoever has a good village, he took it away and wrote it down to the Grand Duke, and whoever is a good boyar or a boyar’s son, he wrote it down to him.” " Similar processes took place in Rostov, which came under the control of Moscow. Here, too, there was a process of recruiting the local elite (both princes and boyars) into the service of the Grand Duke, and the Rostov princes retained in their hands significantly smaller estates compared to the Yaroslavl princes. A number of properties were acquired by both the Grand Duke and the Moscow nobility.

The annexation of the Tver principality in 1485 and its integration into the Russian state happened quite smoothly. It was actually turned into one of the appanage principalities; Ivan Ivanovich was installed “in the great reign in Tfer.” The Moscow governor Vasily Obrazets-Dobrynsky was left under Prince Ivan. Tver retained many attributes of independence: the princely lands were governed by a special Tver Palace; although some Tver boyars and princes were transferred to Moscow, the new Tver prince ruled the principality with the help of the Tver boyar Duma; the appanage princes who supported Ivan III even received new estates (however, not for long; they were soon taken away from them again). In 1490, after the death of Ivan Ivanovich, Tver for some time passed to Prince Vasily, and in 1497 it was taken from him. By the beginning of the 16th century, the Tver court finally merged with the Moscow court, and some Tver boyars moved to the Moscow Duma.

Integration into the national structure of the Belozersk Principality is also of interest. After its transition to Moscow in 1486, the Belozersk charter was promulgated in March 1488. Among other things, it established feeding standards for government officials and also regulated legal proceedings.

The most profound changes were those that befell the Novgorod land. The differences between the social system of the Novgorod state and the Moscow order were much more profound than in other newly annexed lands. The veche order was based on the wealth of the Novgorod boyar-merchant aristocracy, which owned vast estates; The Novgorod church also had vast lands. During the negotiations on the surrender of the city to the Grand Duke, the Moscow side gave a number of guarantees, in particular, it was promised not to evict the Novgorodians “to the Bottom” (outside the Novgorod land, to the Moscow territory itself) and not to confiscate property.

Immediately after the fall of the city, arrests were made. The irreconcilable opponent of the Moscow state, Marfa Boretskaya, was taken into custody, the vast possessions of the Boretsky family passed into the hands of the treasury; A similar fate befell a number of other leaders of the pro-Lithuanian party. In addition, a number of lands belonging to the Novgorod church were confiscated. In subsequent years, arrests continued: thus, in January 1480, Archbishop Theophilus was taken into custody; in 1481, the boyars Vasily Kazimir, his brother Yakov Korobov, Mikhail Berdenev and Luka Fedorov, who had recently been accepted into the sovereign service, fell into disgrace. In 1483-1484, a new wave of arrests of boyars on charges of treason followed; in 1486, fifty families were evicted from the city. And finally, in 1487, a decision was made to evict the entire landowning and trading aristocracy from the city and confiscate its estates. In the winter of 1487-1488, about 7,000 people were evicted from the city - boyars and “living people”. The following year, more than a thousand merchants and “living people” were evicted from Novgorod. Their estates were confiscated to the treasury, from where they were partially distributed as estates to Moscow boyar children, partially transferred to the ownership of Moscow boyars, and partially constituted the possessions of the Grand Duke. Thus, the place of the noble Novgorod patrimonial lands was taken by Moscow settlers who owned the land already on the basis of the local system; The resettlement of the nobility did not affect the common people. In parallel with the confiscations of estates, a land census was carried out, summing up the results of land reform. In 1489, part of the population of Khlynov (Vyatka) was evicted in the same way.

The elimination of the dominance of the old landowning and trading aristocracy of Novgorod went in parallel with the breakdown of the old government controlled. Power passed into the hands of governors appointed by the Grand Duke, who were in charge of both military and judicial-administrative affairs. The Novgorod archbishop also lost a significant part of his power. After the death of Archbishop Theophilus in 1483 (arrested in 1480), he became the Trinity monk Sergius, who immediately turned the local clergy against him. In 1484, he was replaced by Gennady Gonzov, an archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery, appointed from Moscow, a supporter of the grand ducal policy. In the future, Archbishop Gennady became one of the central figures in the fight against the heresy of the “Judaizers.”

Introduction of the Law Code

The unification of the previously fragmented Russian lands into a single state urgently required, in addition to political unity, to also create the unity of the legal system. In September 1497, the Code of Law, a unified legislative code, was put into effect.

There is no exact data regarding who could have been the compiler of the Code of Laws. The prevailing opinion for a long time that its author was Vladimir Gusev (going back to Karamzin) is considered in modern historiography as a consequence of an erroneous interpretation of a damaged chronicle text. According to Ya. S. Lurie and L. V. Cherepnin, here we are dealing with a mixture of two different news in the text - about the introduction of the Code of Law and about the execution of Gusev.

The following monuments of ancient Russian legislation are usually cited as known to us sources of legal norms reflected in the Code of Laws:

• Russian Truth
• Charter charters (Dvinskaya and Belozerskaya)
• Pskov judicial charter
• A number of decrees and orders of Moscow princes.

At the same time, part of the text of the Code of Laws consists of norms that have no analogues in previous legislation.

The range of issues reflected in this first for a long time generalizing legislative act, is very broad: this includes the establishment of uniform norms of legal proceedings for the entire country, and norms of criminal law, and the establishment of civil law. One of the most important articles The Code of Law became Article 57 - “On Christian Refusal”, which introduced a uniform period for the entire Russian state for the transfer of peasants from one landowner to another - a week before and a week after St. George’s Day (autumn) (November 26). A number of articles addressed issues of land ownership. A significant part of the text of the monument was occupied by articles on the legal status of slaves.

The creation of the all-Russian Code of Law in 1497 became important event in the history of Russian legislation. It is worth noting that such a unified code did not exist even in some European countries (in particular, in England and France). The translation of a number of articles was included by S. Herberstein in his work “Notes on Muscovy”. The publication of the Code of Laws was an important measure to strengthen the political unity of the country through the unification of legislation.

Cultural and ideological politics

The political unification of the country was accompanied by its cultural development. In the era of Ivan III, large-scale fortress construction began, new churches were erected, and chronicle writing flourished. At the same time, an important fact indicating the intensity cultural life, is the emergence of new ideas. It was at this time that concepts emerged that in the future would form a significant part of the state ideology of Russia.

Architecture

Russian architecture made a big step forward under Ivan III; A significant role in this was played by the fact that, at the invitation of the Grand Duke, a number of Italian masters arrived in the country, introducing Russia to the architectural techniques of the rapidly developing Renaissance.

Already in 1462, construction began in the Kremlin: repairs of walls that required repairs began. Subsequently, large-scale construction at the grand-ducal residence continued: in 1472, at the direction of Ivan III, on the site of the dilapidated cathedral, built in 1326-1327 under Ivan Kalita, it was decided to build a new Assumption Cathedral. Construction was entrusted to Moscow craftsmen; however, when very little remained before the completion of the work, the cathedral collapsed. In 1475, Aristotle Fioravanti was invited to Russia, and he immediately got down to business. The remains of the walls were demolished and a temple was built in their place, which invariably aroused the admiration of his contemporaries. On August 12, 1479, the new cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Gerontius.

In 1485, intensive construction began in the Kremlin, which did not stop throughout the life of the Grand Duke. Instead of the old wooden and white stone fortifications, brick ones were built; by 1515, Italian architects Pietro Antonio Solari, Marco Ruffo, and a number of others had turned the Kremlin into one of the strongest fortresses of that time. After the fire of 1488, the opportunity arose to expand the palace premises and construction began inside the walls: in 1489, Blagoveshchensky was built by Pskov craftsmen cathedral. In 1490, the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery was moved to a new location beyond the Yauza, to Vasilyevsky Camp, and on the territory of the monastery a new grand-ducal palace was erected, one of the parts of which was the Faceted Chamber, erected by Italian architects in 1491. In total, according to chronicles, about 25 churches were built in the capital in the years 1479-1505.

Large-scale construction (primarily defense-oriented) was also carried out in other parts of the country: for example, in 1490-1500 the Novgorod Kremlin was rebuilt; in 1492, on the border with Livonia, opposite Narva, the Ivangorod fortress was erected. The fortifications of Pskov, Staraya Ladoga, Yam, Orekhov, Nizhny Novgorod (since 1500) were also updated; in 1485 and 1492, large-scale work was carried out to strengthen Vladimir. By order of the Grand Duke, fortresses were built on the outskirts of the country: in Beloozero (1486), in Velikiye Luki (1493).

Literature

The reign of Ivan III was also the time of the appearance of a number of original literary works; Thus, in particular, in the 1470s, the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin wrote his “Walking across Three Seas”. An interesting monument of the era is “The Tale of Dracula,” compiled by Fyodor Kuritsyn on the basis of legends he heard during his stay in Wallachia, which tells about the Wallachian ruler Vlad the Impaler, famous for his cruelty.

A significant impetus to the development of religious literature was given by the fight against the “heresy of the Judaizers”; Disputes about church wealth were also reflected in the works of this era. One can note a number of works by Joseph Volotsky, in which he appears as an ardent denouncer of “heresy”; This denunciation takes its most complete form in The Enlightener (the first edition of which, however, was compiled no earlier than 1502).

Chronicle writing experienced its heyday during this period; At the Grand Duke's court, chronicle vaults were intensively compiled and revised. However, at the same time, it was precisely during this period, due to the unification of the country, that independent chronicle writing, the former characteristic feature the previous era. Beginning in the 1490s, chronicles created in Russian cities - Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Tver, Rostov, Ustyug and a number of other places - represent either a modified grand ducal codex or a chronicle of a local nature that does not claim to have all-Russian significance. Church (in particular, metropolitan) chronicles during this period also merged with the grand ducal ones. At the same time, chronicle news is being actively edited and processed both in the interests of the grand ducal policy and in the interests of specific groups using greatest influence at the time the code was written (primarily this was due to the dynastic struggle between the party of Vasily Ivanovich and Dmitry the grandson).

Ideology of power, title and coat of arms

The most notable embodiments of the emerging ideology of the united country in historical literature are considered to be new coat of arms- double-headed eagle, and the new title of Grand Duke. In addition, it is noted that it was in the era of Ivan III that those ideas were born that would later form the official ideology of the Russian state.

Changes in the position of the Grand Duke of Moscow, who transformed from the ruler of one of the Russian principalities into the ruler of a vast power, could not but lead to changes in the title. Like his predecessors, Ivan III used (for example, in June 1485) the title of “Grand Duke of All Rus',” which potentially also meant claims to lands under the rule of the Grand Duke of Lithuania (also called, among other things, “Grand Duke of Russia "). In 1494, the Lithuanian Grand Duke expressed his willingness to recognize this title. The full title of Ivan III also included the names of the lands that became part of Russia; now he sounded like “the sovereign of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Perm, and Yugorsk, and Bulgaria, and others.” Another innovation in the title was the appearance of the title “autocrat”, which was a copy of the Byzantine title “autocrat” (Greek: αυτοκράτορ). The era of Ivan III also dates back to the first cases of the Grand Duke using the title “Tsar” (or “Caesar”) in diplomatic correspondence - so far only in relations with petty German princes and the Livonian Order; The royal title begins to be widely used in literary works. This fact is extremely indicative: since the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the Khan of the Horde was called “king”; such a title was almost never applied to Russian princes who did not have state independence. The transformation of the country from a tributary of the Horde into a powerful independent power did not go unnoticed abroad: in 1489, the ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor Nikolai Poppel, on behalf of his overlord, offered Ivan III the royal title. The Grand Duke refused, pointing out that “by the grace of God we are sovereigns on our land from the beginning, from our first ancestors, and we have the appointment from God, like our ancestors, so do we... and just as we didn’t want the appointment from anyone before, we don’t want it now.” we want."

The appearance of the double-headed eagle as a state symbol of the Russian state was recorded at the end of the 15th century: it is depicted on the seal of one of the charters issued in 1497 by Ivan III. Somewhat earlier, a similar symbol appeared on the coins of the Tver principality (even before joining Moscow); a number of Novgorod coins minted under the rule of the Grand Duke also bear this sign. Regarding the origin of the double-headed eagle in historical literature, there are different opinions: thus, the most traditional view of its appearance as a state symbol is that the eagle was borrowed from Byzantium, and the niece of the last Byzantine emperor and the wife of Ivan III, Sophia Paleologus, brought it with her; This opinion goes back to Karamzin. As noted in modern studies, in addition to obvious strengths, this version also has disadvantages: in particular, Sophia came from Morea - from the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire; the eagle appeared in state practice almost two decades after the marriage of the Grand Duke to the Byzantine princess; and, finally, no claims of Ivan III to the Byzantine throne are known. As a modification of the Byzantine theory of the origin of the eagle, the South Slavic theory associated with the significant use of double-headed eagles on the outskirts of the Byzantine world gained some popularity. At the same time, no traces of such interaction have yet been found, and the very appearance of the double-headed eagle of Ivan III differs from its supposed South Slavic prototypes. Another theory of the origin of the eagle can be considered the opinion that the eagle was borrowed from the Holy Roman Empire, which used this symbol since 1442 - in this case, the emblem symbolizes the equality of ranks of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Grand Duke of Moscow. It is also noted that one of the symbols depicted on the coins of the Novgorod Republic was a single-headed eagle; in this version, the appearance of a double-headed eagle on the seal of the Grand Duke looks like a development of local traditions. It is worth noting that at the moment there is no clear opinion about which theory more accurately describes reality.

In addition to the adoption of new titles and symbols, the ideas that emerged during the reign of Ivan III, which formed the ideology of state power, also deserve attention. First of all, it is worth noting the idea of ​​succession of grand-ducal power from the Byzantine emperors; This concept first appears in 1492, in the work of Metropolitan Zosima “Exposition of Paschal.” According to the author of this work, God placed Ivan III, as well as “the new Tsar Constantine, in the new city of Constantine, - Moscow and the entire Russian land and many other lands of the sovereign.” A little later, such a comparison will find harmony in the concept of “Moscow - the third Rome,” finally formulated by the monk of the Pskov Elizarov Monastery Philotheus already under Vasily III. Another idea that ideologically substantiated the grand-ducal power was the legend about the regalia of Monomakh and the origin of the Russian princes from the Roman Emperor Augustus. Reflected in the somewhat later “Tale of the Princes of Vladimir,” it will become an important element of state ideology under Vasily III and Ivan IV. It is curious that, as researchers note, the original text of the legend put forward not Moscow, but Tver great princes as descendants of Augustus.

It is worth noting that such ideas did not become widespread during the reign of Ivan III; for example, it is significant that the newly built Assumption Cathedral was compared not with the Constantinople Hagia Sophia, but with the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral; the idea of ​​​​the origin of the Moscow princes from Augustus until the middle of the 16th century is reflected only in extra-chronicle sources. In general, although the era of Ivan III is the period of the emergence of a significant part of the state ideology of the 16th century, one cannot talk about any state support for these ideas. The chronicles of this time are scanty in ideological content; they do not reveal any single ideological concept; the emergence of such ideas is a matter of a subsequent era.

Church politics

An extremely important part of Ivan III's domestic policy was his relationship with the church. He took church matters very seriously, as evidenced by the fact that when the incorrupt remains of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna were discovered in 1478 - 74 years after her death - he personally ordered the vesting of them in new vestments

The main events characterizing church affairs during his reign can be called, firstly, the emergence of two church-political movements, which had different attitudes to the practice of church life that existed at that time, and, secondly, the emergence, development and defeat of such called the “heresy of the Judaizers.” It should be noted that the internal church struggle was repeatedly influenced by both contradictions within the grand ducal family and external factors. In addition, the Union of Florence that took place in 1439 and the attempts of the Catholic Church to force the Orthodox Church to recognize it introduced a certain complexity into the affairs of the church.

First conflicts

For the first time, the Grand Duke came into conflict with the church authorities in 1478, when the abbot of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery Nifont decided to transfer from the Rostov Bishop Vassian to direct subordination to the appanage prince Mikhail of Vereisky. At the same time, Metropolitan Gerontius supported the rector, and the Grand Duke supported Bishop Vassian; Under pressure, the Metropolitan yielded. In the same year, having conquered Novgorod, the Grand Duke carried out widespread confiscations of the lands of the richest Novgorod diocese. In 1479 the conflict escalated again; The occasion was the procedure for the consecration of the newly built Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin by Metropolitan Gerontius. Until the dispute was resolved, the metropolitan was forbidden to consecrate churches. However, soon the Grand Duke had no time for theological subtleties: in 1480, Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat moved to Rus', Ivan III was busy defending the country, and the dispute had to be postponed until 1482. By this time, the issue had become very acute also because, due to the Grand Duke’s ban, many newly built churches remained unconsecrated. Having lost patience, the Metropolitan, leaving the department, left for the Simonov Monastery, and only a trip to him by Ivan III himself with an apology made it possible to temporarily quell the conflict.

The years 1483-1484 were marked by a new attempt by the Grand Duke to subjugate the obstinate Gerontius. In November 1483, the Metropolitan, citing illness, again left for the Simonov Monastery. However, this time Ivan III did not go to Gerontius, but tried to displace him by forcefully detaining him at the monastery. Only a few months later the Metropolitan returned to the throne.

Meanwhile, two movements arose in the Russian church and became somewhat widespread, with different attitudes to the issue of church property. The followers of Nil Sorsky, who received the name “non-covetous,” advocated the church’s voluntary renunciation of wealth and a transition to a poorer and ascetic life. Their opponents, who received the name “Josephites” (“Osiphites”, named after Joseph Volotsky), on the contrary, defended the church’s right to wealth (in particular, to land). At the same time, the Josephites advocated compliance with the monastic rules, poverty and hard work of each individual monk.

The heresy of the “Judaizers” and the council of 1490

In 1484, Ivan III appointed his longtime supporter of the Chudov Monastery Archimandrite Gennady (Gonzov) as Bishop of Novgorod. Soon the newly appointed bishop sounded the alarm: in his opinion, a heresy had appeared and spread widely in Novgorod (referred to in historical literature as the “heresy of the Judaizers”). Gennady began an active struggle against it, even drawing on the experience of the Catholic Inquisition, but here he came across unforeseen circumstances: some of the alleged heretics enjoyed the patronage of the Grand Duke. Thus, in particular, Fyodor Kuritsyn had considerable influence on government affairs; the places of priests in the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals were occupied by two more heretics - Denis and Alexei; The wife of the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, Elena Voloshanka, was associated with heretics. Gennady’s attempts, based on the testimony of heretics arrested in Novgorod, to achieve the arrest of Moscow supporters of heresy did not yield results; Ivan III was not inclined to attach any importance to the case of heresy of great importance. Nevertheless, Gennady managed to attract a number of church hierarchs to his side; among others, he was actively supported by abbot Joseph Volotsky.

In May 1489, Metropolitan Geronty died. Archbishop Gennady became the senior hierarch of the church, which immediately strengthened the position of supporters of the eradication of heresy. In addition, on March 7, 1490, the heir to the throne, Prince Ivan Ivanovich, died, whose wife was the patroness of heretics, Elena Stefanovna, as a result of which the influence of adherents of the zealot of Orthodoxy Sophia Paleologue and Prince Vasily grew. However, on September 26, 1490, the enemy of Archbishop Gennady, Zosima, became the new metropolitan (Joseph of Volotsky, without shying away from strong expressions, reproached Zosima for heresy), and on October 17, a church council was convened.

The result of the council was the condemnation of heresy. A number of prominent heretics were arrested; some were imprisoned (they were kept in very harsh conditions, which became fatal for many), some were handed over to Gennady and demonstrably transported around Novgorod. One of the Novgorod chronicles also mentions more brutal reprisals: the burning of heretics “on the Dukhovskoe field.” At the same time, some supporters of the heresy were not arrested: for example, Fyodor Kuritsyn was not punished.

Discussion about church property and the final defeat of heresy

The Council of 1490 did not lead to the complete destruction of the heresy, but it seriously weakened the position of its supporters. In subsequent years, opponents of the heretics carried out significant propaganda work: thus, between 1492 and 1504, the “Tale of the Newly Appeared Heresy of the Novgorod Heretics” by Joseph Volotsky was completed. To a certain extent, this revival of church thought was associated with the advent of the year 7000 “from the creation of the world” (1492 from the Nativity of Christ) and the widespread expectation of the end of the world. It is known that such sentiments caused ridicule from supporters of heresy, which in turn led to the appearance of explanatory writings by church leaders. Thus, Metropolitan Zosima wrote “Exposition of Paschal” with calculations of church holidays for 20 years in advance. Another type of such work was the translation into Russian of a number of Catholic anti-Jewish treatises by clerk Dmitry Gerasimov. In addition to anti-heretical ideas, in particular, thoughts about the inadmissibility of confiscation of church lands became widely known: thus, around 1497 in Novgorod, on behalf of Archbishop Gennady, the Catholic Dominican monk Benjamin compiled a treatise on this topic. It should be noted that the appearance of such a work in Novgorod was dictated primarily by the Novgorod reality - the confiscations of archbishop's lands by the Grand Duke.

In August and early September 1503, a new church council was convened. During its course, important decisions were made that significantly changed everyday church practice: in particular, fees for appointment to church positions were completely abolished. This decision apparently found support among non-possessors. In addition, this practice has been repeatedly criticized by heretics. However, a number of measures were also adopted, proposed and actively supported by the Josephites. After signing the conciliar verdict (Ivan III sealed it with his own seal, which emphasized the importance of innovations), the cathedral moved towards its logical conclusion; Joseph Volotsky even managed to leave the capital, called by urgent matters. However, unexpectedly, Nil of Sorsky brought up for discussion the question of whether it was worthy for monasteries to own estates. During the heated discussion, the non-possessors and Josephites failed to come to a consensus. Ultimately, the attempt of the non-covetous people to convince the church hierarchs that they were right failed, despite the Grand Duke’s obvious sympathy for the idea of ​​​​secularization of the lands.

The Council of 1503, occupied primarily with internal church problems, did not finally resolve the issue of heresy; at the same time, by this time the position of heretics in the princely court was more precarious than ever. After the arrest of their patroness Elena Voloshanka in 1502 and the proclamation of Vasily Ivanovich, the son of the champion of Orthodoxy Sophia Paleologus, as heir, supporters of the heresy largely lost influence at court. Moreover, Ivan himself finally listened to the opinion of the clergy; Joseph Volotsky, in a message to the confessor of Ivan III that has reached us, even mentions the repentance of the Grand Duke and the promise to punish heretics. In 1504, a new church council was convened in Moscow, condemning prominent figures of heresy to death. On December 27, 1504, the main heretics were burned in Moscow; executions also took place in Novgorod. Such a brutal massacre caused a mixed reaction, including among the clergy; Joseph Volotsky was forced to issue a special message emphasizing the legality of the executions that took place.

Family and the question of succession

The first wife of Grand Duke Ivan was Maria Borisovna, the daughter of Tver Prince Boris Alexandrovich. On February 15, 1458, a son, Ivan, was born into the family of the Grand Duke. The Grand Duchess, who had a meek character, died on April 22, 1467, before reaching the age of thirty. According to rumors that appeared in the capital, Maria Borisovna was poisoned; clerk Alexey Poluektov, whose wife Natalya, again according to rumors, was somehow involved in the poisoning story and turned to fortune tellers, fell into disgrace. The Grand Duchess was buried in the Kremlin, in the Ascension Convent. Ivan, who was in Kolomna at that time, did not come to his wife’s funeral.

Sophia Paleolog. Reconstruction by S. A. Nikitin, 1994

Two years after the death of his first wife, the Grand Duke decided to marry again. After a conference with his mother, as well as with the boyars and the metropolitan, he decided to agree to the proposal recently received from the Pope to marry the Byzantine princess Sophia (Zoe), the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, who died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople by the Turks . Sophia's father, Thomas Palaiologos, the last ruler of the Despotate of Morea, fled from the advancing Turks to Italy with his family; his children enjoyed papal patronage. The negotiations, which lasted for three years, ultimately ended with the arrival of Sophia. On November 12, 1472, the Grand Duke married her in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral. It is worth noting that the attempts of the papal court to influence Ivan through Sophia and convince him of the need to recognize the union completely failed.

Fight of the heirs

Over time, the Grand Duke's second marriage became one of the sources of tension at court. Soon enough, two groups of the court nobility emerged, one of which supported the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, and the second, the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue. In 1476, the Venetian diplomat A. Contarini noted that the heir “is in disgrace with his father, because he behaves badly with his despina” (Sophia), however, since 1477, Ivan Ivanovich has been mentioned as his father’s co-ruler; in 1480 he played an important role during the clash with the Horde and the “standing on the Ugra”. In subsequent years, the grand ducal family grew significantly: Sophia gave birth to the grand duke a total of nine children - five sons and four daughters.

Meanwhile, in January 1483, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, also married. His wife was the daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena. On October 10, 1483, their son Dmitry was born. After the annexation of Tver in 1485, Ivan the Young was appointed Prince of Tver by his father; in one of the sources of this period, Ivan III and Ivan the Young are called “autocrats of the Russian land.” Thus, throughout the 1480s, Ivan Ivanovich’s position as the legal heir was quite strong. The position of the supporters of Sophia Paleologus was much less favorable. Thus, in particular, the Grand Duchess failed to obtain government positions for her relatives; her brother Andrei left Moscow with nothing, and her niece Maria, the wife of Prince Vasily Vereisky (heir to the Vereisko-Belozersky principality), was forced to flee to Lithuania with her husband, which also affected Sophia’s position.

However, by 1490 new circumstances came into play. The son of the Grand Duke, heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, fell ill with “kamchyuga in the legs” (gout). Sophia ordered a doctor from Venice - “Mistro Leon”, who arrogantly promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne; however, all the doctor’s efforts were powerless, and on March 7, 1490, Ivan the Young died. The doctor was executed, and rumors spread throughout Moscow about the poisoning of the heir; a hundred years later, these rumors, now as undeniable facts, were recorded by Andrei Kurbsky. Modern historians regard the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan the Young as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.

The conspiracy of Vladimir Gusev and the coronation of Dmitry the grandson

After the death of Ivan the Young, his son, grandson of Ivan III, Dmitry, became the heir to the throne. Over the next few years, the struggle continued between his supporters and the adherents of Vasily Ivanovich. By 1497, this struggle had seriously intensified. This aggravation was facilitated by the decision of the Grand Duke to crown his grandson, giving him the title of Grand Duke and thus resolving the issue of succession to the throne. Of course, Vasily’s supporters were categorically not satisfied with the actions of Ivan III. In December 1497, a serious conspiracy was uncovered, which aimed at the rebellion of Prince Vasily against his father. In addition to the “departure” of Vasily and the reprisal against Dmitry, the conspirators also intended to seize the grand ducal treasury (located on Beloozero). It is worth noting that the conspiracy did not find support among the highest boyars; The conspirators, although they came from quite noble families, nevertheless were not part of the Grand Duke’s inner circle. The result of the conspiracy was the disgrace of Sophia, who, as the investigation found out, was visited by witches and sorcerers; Prince Vasily was placed under house arrest. The main conspirators from among the boyar children (Afanasy Eropkin, Shchavey Scriabin son Travin, Vladimir Gusev), as well as the “dashing women” associated with Sophia, were executed, and some conspirators went to prison.

On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry took place in the Assumption Cathedral. In the presence of the metropolitan and the highest hierarchs of the church, boyars and members of the grand ducal family (with the exception of Sophia and Vasily Ivanovich, who were not invited to the ceremony), Ivan III “blessed and granted” his grandson the great reign. The barmas and Monomakh's Cap were placed on Dmitry, and after the coronation a “great feast” was given in his honor. Already in the second half of 1498, the new title of Dmitry (“Grand Duke”) was used in official documents. The coronation of Dmitry the grandson left a noticeable mark on the ceremony of the Moscow court (for example, the “Rite of the Wedding of Dmitry the Grandson,” which describes the ceremony, influenced the wedding rite developed in 1547 for the coronation of Ivan IV), and was also reflected in a number of extra-chronicle monuments (primarily in “The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir,” which ideologically substantiated the rights of Moscow sovereigns to Russian lands).

Transfer of power to Vasily Ivanovich

The coronation of Dmitry the grandson did not bring him victory in the battle for power, although it strengthened his position. However, the struggle between the parties of the two heirs continued; Dmitry received neither inheritance nor real power. Meanwhile, the internal political situation in the country worsened: in January 1499, by order of Ivan III, a number of boyars were arrested and sentenced to death - Prince Ivan Yuryevich Patrikeev, his children, Princes Vasily and Ivan, and his son-in-law, Prince Semyon Ryapolovsky. All of the above were part of the boyar elite; I. Yu. Patrikeev was a cousin of the Grand Duke, held the rank of boyar for 40 years and at the time of his arrest headed the Boyar Duma. The arrest was followed by the execution of Ryapolovsky; The life of the Patrikeevs was saved by the intercession of Metropolitan Simon - Semyon Ivanovich and Vasily were allowed to become monks, and Ivan was put “behind the bailiffs” (under house arrest). A month after this, Prince Vasily Romodanovsky was arrested and executed. The sources do not indicate the reasons for the boyars' disgrace; It is also not entirely clear whether it was connected with any disagreements on foreign or domestic policy, or with the dynastic struggle in the grand ducal family; in historiography there are also very different opinions on this matter.

By 1499, Vasily Ivanovich apparently managed to partially regain his father’s trust: at the beginning of this year, Ivan III announced to the Pskov mayors that “I, Grand Duke Ivan, granted my son Grand Duke Vasily, gave him Novgorod and Pskov.” However, these actions did not find understanding among the Pskov residents; the conflict was resolved only by September.

In 1500, another Russian-Lithuanian war began. On July 14, 1500, at Vedrosha, Russian troops inflicted a serious defeat on the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is to this period that the chronicle news of Vasily Ivanovich’s departure to Vyazma and about serious changes in the Grand Duke’s attitude towards his heirs dates back. There is no consensus in historiography on how to interpret this message; In particular, assumptions are made about Vasily’s “departure” from his father and the Lithuanians’ attempt to capture him, as well as opinions about Vasily’s readiness to go over to the side of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In any case, 1500 was a period of growing influence for Basil; in September he was already called the Grand Duke of “All Rus'”, and by March 1501 the leadership of the court on Beloozero passed to him.

Finally, on April 11, 1502, the dynastic battle came to its logical conclusion. According to the chronicle, Ivan III “put disgrace on his grandson, Grand Duke Dmitry, and on his mother, Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day on he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, or named Grand Duke, and put them behind bailiffs.” A few days later, Vasily Ivanovich was granted a great reign; Soon Dmitry the grandson and his mother Elena Voloshanka were transferred from house arrest to captivity. Thus, the struggle within the grand ducal family ended with the victory of Prince Vasily; he turned into a co-ruler of his father and the legal heir of a huge power. The fall of Dmitry the grandson and his mother also predetermined the fate of the Moscow-Novgorod heresy: the Church Council of 1503 finally defeated it; a number of heretics were executed. As for the fate of those who lost the dynastic struggle themselves, it was sad: on January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna died in captivity, and in 1509, “in need, in prison,” Dmitry himself died. “Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from smoke,” Herberstein reported about his death.

Death of the Grand Duke

In the summer of 1503, Ivan III became seriously ill. Not long before this (April 7, 1503), his wife, Sophia Paleologus, died. Leaving his affairs, the Grand Duke went on a trip to the monasteries, starting with the Trinity-Sergius. However, his condition continued to deteriorate: he became blind in one eye; partial paralysis of one arm and one leg occurred. On October 27, 1505, Grand Duke Ivan III died. According to V.N. Tatishchev (however, it is unclear how reliable), the Grand Duke, having called his confessor and metropolitan to his bed before his death, nevertheless refused to take monastic vows. As the chronicle noted, “the sovereign of all Russia was in the state of the Grand Duchess... 43 years and 7 months, and all the years of his life were 65 and 9 months.” After the death of Ivan III, a traditional amnesty was carried out. The Grand Duke was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

According to the spiritual charter, the grand-ducal throne passed to Vasily Ivanovich, the other sons of Ivan received appanage cities. However, although the appanage system was actually restored, it was significantly different from the previous period: the new Grand Duke received much more lands, rights and benefits than his brothers; The contrast with what Ivan himself received at one time is especially noticeable. V. O. Klyuchevsky noted the following advantages of the grand ducal share:

• The Grand Duke now owned the capital alone, giving his brothers 100 rubles from his income (previously, the heirs owned the capital jointly)
• The right of court in Moscow and the Moscow region now belonged only to the Grand Duke (previously, each of the princes had such a right in his part of the villages near Moscow)
• Only the Grand Duke now had the right to mint coins
• Now the possessions of the appanage prince who died childless passed directly to the Grand Duke (previously such lands were divided between the remaining brothers at the discretion of the mother).

Thus, the restored appanage system was noticeably different from the appanage system of previous times: in addition to increasing the grand ducal share during the division of the country (Vasily received more than 60 cities, and his four brothers got no more than 30), the Grand Duke also concentrated political advantages in his hands.

Character and appearance

A description of the appearance of Ivan III made by the Venetian A. Contarini, who visited Moscow in 1476 and was honored with a meeting with the Grand Duke, has reached our time. According to him, Ivan was “tall, but thin; In general he is a very handsome person.” The Kholmogory chronicler mentioned Ivan's nickname - Humpbacked, which perhaps indicates that Ivan was stooped - and this, in principle, is all that we know about the appearance of the Grand Duke. One nickname given by contemporaries - "The Great" - is currently used most often. In addition to these two nicknames, two more nicknames of the Grand Duke have reached us: “Terrible” and “Justice”.

Little is known about the character and habits of Ivan Vasilyevich. The historian D.I. Ilovaisky in his works noted the “severe, despotic, extremely cautious and generally unattractive character” of the personality of Ivan III. S. Herberstein, who visited Moscow already under Vasily III, wrote about Ivan: “... For women he was so formidable that if one of them accidentally came across him, then he would not lose his life at his glance.” He did not ignore the traditional vice of Russian princes - drunkenness: “during dinner, he mostly indulged in intoxication to such an extent that he was overcome by sleep, and all those invited were meanwhile struck with fear and silent; upon waking up, he usually rubbed his eyes and then only began to joke and show cheerfulness towards the guests.” The author of one Lithuanian chronicle wrote about Ivan that he was “a man of a brave heart and a valenka” - which was probably some exaggeration, since the Grand Duke preferred not to go on campaigns himself, but to send his commanders. S. Herberstein wrote on the same occasion that “the great Stefan, the famous palatine of Moldavia, often remembered him at feasts, saying that he, sitting at home and indulging in sleep, multiplies his power, and he himself, fighting every day, is barely able protect the borders."

It is known that Ivan III listened very closely to the advice of the boyar Duma; nobleman Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev (executed under Vasily III) wrote that the Grand Duke “loved raising (objections) against himself and favoring those who spoke against him.” Andrei Kurbsky also noted the monarch’s love for boyar councils; however, judging by the words of Kurbsky’s opponent by correspondence, Ivan IV, Ivan III’s relationship with the boyars was by no means idyllic.

The characterization of Ivan’s religious views also faces a lack of data. It is known that for a long time his support was enjoyed by freethinking heretics: two Novgorod heretics (Denis and Alexei) were appointed to the Kremlin cathedrals; Fyodor Kuritsyn enjoyed considerable influence at court; in 1490 Zosima, whom some church leaders considered a supporter of heresy, was elected metropolitan. Judging by one of Joseph Volotsky's letters, Ivan knew about the connections of his daughter-in-law, Elena Voloshanka, with heretics.

Results of the board

The main result of the reign of Ivan III was the unification of most of the Russian lands around Moscow. Under the hand of the Grand Duke were united: the Novgorod land, the Tver principality, the Yaroslavl, Rostov, and partially Ryazan principalities, the Vyatka land. After successful wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the power of the Grand Duke of All Rus' extended to Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov, Bryansk and a number of other cities (which before the war constituted about a third of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania); dying, Ivan III transferred to his successor several times more lands than he himself accepted. According to A.E. Presnyakov, the meaning of these processes was not the collection of lands, but the “gathering of power” in the hands of the Grand Duke. In addition, it was under Grand Duke Ivan III that the Russian state became completely independent: as a result of the “standing on the Ugra”, the power of the Horde Khan over Russia, which had lasted since 1243, completely ceased. At the same time, the Russian state borrowed the Horde military-administrative style of management, as a result of which, according to N.S. Borisov, “the servility of the Grand Duke to the Khan was replaced by the servility of everyone before the Grand Duke.”

The years of Ivan III's reign were also marked by successes in domestic politics. In the course of the reforms carried out, a set of laws of the country was adopted - the Code of Laws of 1497. At the same time, the foundations of the command system of management were laid, and the local system also appeared. The centralization of the country and the elimination of fragmentation were continued; The government waged a fairly tough fight against the separatism of the appanage princes. The era of the reign of Ivan III became a time of cultural upsurge. The construction of new buildings (in particular, the Moscow Assumption Cathedral), the flourishing of chronicle writing, the emergence of new ideas - all this testifies to significant successes in the field of culture.

Historians consider the negative aspects of the reign of Ivan III to be the strengthening of despotic autocratic power and the excessive use of violence in resolving public affairs. Thus, according to the 19th century historian N.I. Kostomarov, the power of Ivan Vasilyevich “transitioned into Asian despotism, turning all subordinates into fearful and voiceless slaves,” and the repressions he carried out led to the fact that a senseless fear of power began to dominate in society, rather than conscious respect for legitimate authority.” Kostomarov sees one of the reasons for this development of events in the fact that “while exalting autocracy, Ivan did not strengthen it with a sense of legality.” According to Ph.D. ist. Sciences A.V. Vorobyov, the emerging autocracy took a patrimonial form - the ruler played the symbolic role of a father in relation to his subjects, not only dictating his will to them, but also providing protection. As the historian N.S. Borisov notes, one of the means of strengthening the authority of the central princely power was “cruel reprisals against those who in one way or another stood in its way,” and the system of autocratic power itself “had to be created on the bones of the dissatisfied.” As a result, “any resistance to the sovereign will of the sovereign was henceforth considered a state crime and entailed severe punishment.” A. E. Presnyakov wrote that the new autocratic power grew “on the ruins of the traditional system of relations, sanctified by the centuries-old skills of moral and legal views,” rebuilding them in such a way that the idea of ​​the absolute power of the prince “autocratic in his absolutism, in his freedom from all traditional norms, except one - one’s own possessive will.”

Memory

The figure of Ivan III is installed in the middle tier of the monument to the Millennium of Russia. Ivan III in royal vestments, Monomakh's cap, with a scepter and orb, receiving a sign of power - a horsetail - from a kneeling Tatar. Next to the figure of Ivan III lie a Lithuanian defeated in battle and a defeated Livonian knight with a broken sword. In the background is the figure of a Siberian - a symbol of the future development of Siberia.

The monument to Ivan III is a copy of the figure on the Millennium of Russia monument, installed on the territory of the cadet boarding school No. 7 named after. M.A. Sholokhov in Moscow.

September 6, 2016 - a monument to Ivan III, the founder of Pustozersk (also a copy of the figure on the Millennium of Russia monument), opened in Naryan-Mar. The monument was installed at the altar apse of the Epiphany Cathedral.

On July 8, 2017, a monument to Grand Duke Ivan III was unveiled on the territory of the Vladimir monastery of the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage in the Kaluga region, made with money collected by the monastery. The monument was installed at the beginning of the museum complex “The Great Stand on the Ugra River” in the desert.

On November 12, 2017, a monument to Ivan III by sculptor Andrei Korobtsov was unveiled in the center of Kaluga.

Family

Wives and children

• Maria Borisovna - 1st wife. Children:
  • Presumably Nun Alexandra(d. 1525). The name is unknown in the world. Perhaps she is one of the Helens from the next marriage.
  • Ivan Ivanovich Young (February 15, 1458 - March 7, 1490). Wife - Elena Voloshanka (presumably born in 1464-1466, died January 18, 1505), son - Dmitry Ivanovich Grandson (October 10, 1483 - February 14, 1509).

Categories:

Vasilevich

Battles and victories

The Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, also began to be called the Sovereign, under him Moscow was freed from the Horde yoke.

Ivan the Great himself did not personally lead any operation or battle, but one can speak of him as the supreme commander-in-chief. And the results of the wars of the reign of Ivan III are the most successful in the entire history of Muscovite Rus'.

Ivan Vasilyevich, who is called Ivan III in historical literature, is the first of the Grand Dukes of Moscow who began to lay claim to the title of Sovereign of All Rus'. The emergence of a unified (though not yet completely centralized) Russian state is associated with his name. And this could not be achieved with the help of political maneuvers alone, of which Ivan III was undoubtedly an outstanding master.

The Middle Ages were characterized by the ideal of a warrior ruler, an example of which Vladimir Monomakh gives in his “Teaching”. Besides himself, Svyatoslav Igorevich, Mstislav Tmutarakansky, Izyaslav Mstislavich, Andrei Bogolyubsky, Mstislav Udatny, Alexander Nevsky and many others covered themselves with military glory, although, of course, there were many who did not shine with military valor. The Moscow princes were no different from them either - only Dmitry Donskoy gained fame on the battlefield.

Ivan III, a pragmatist to the core, did not at all strive to live up to the ideal of a warrior prince. There were many wars during his reign - with Lithuania alone, two, also two with Kazan, and also with the Great Horde (not counting raids), Novgorod, the Livonian Order, Sweden... The prince himself, in fact, did not participate in hostilities, not a single one did not personally direct the operation or battle, i.e. cannot be considered a commander in the strict sense of the word, but one can speak of him as the supreme commander in chief. Considering that the wars during his reign ended in draws at worst, but mostly in victories, and not always over weak opponents, it is clear that the Grand Duke coped with his tasks as “commander in chief” successfully. But this is only a general conclusion . And if we turn to the details?

Ivan Vasilyevich, husband of a brave heart and ritzer valechny (military)

"Kroinika Lithuanian and Zhmoitskaya"

Of course, Ivan Vasilyevich did not inherit a small or weak power. However, just ten years before his reign, the “squabble” ended - the struggle for power between representatives of the two branches of the Moscow grand-ducal house. And Moscow had plenty of enemies, first of all, the Great Horde and Lithuania, which was Moscow’s rival in the matter of collecting Russian lands - it was in its hands that Kyiv, “the mother of Russian cities,” was located.

The first major war during the reign of Ivan III was the conflict with Kazan in 1467-1469. In the campaigns against it, which were initially unsuccessful, the Grand Duke did not take part, leaving the matter to the governors - Konstantin Bezzubtsev, Vasily Ukhtomsky, Daniil Kholmsky, Ivan Runo. The persistence of Ivan III is characteristic: after the failure of the May campaign of 1469, already in August he sent a new army, and it achieved success, the Kazan people concluded an agreement beneficial for the Muscovites.

In the same way, in fact, the governors were granted independence during the Novgorod “blitzkrieg” of 1471, especially since the rapidity of the movements of Moscow troops with the then means of communication did not contribute to interference in their actions. Three Moscow armies advancing on the Novgorod lands, one after another, achieved success, the main of which was the defeat of the Novgorod army on the banks of the Shelon in July 1471. Only after this Ivan III arrived in Rusa, where the army of Daniil Kholmsky and Fyodor the Lame was stationed and where he ordered the execution of four captured Novgorod boyars for “treason.” Ordinary Novgorodians who were captured, on the contrary, were released, thereby making it clear that Moscow was not fighting with them. And they also have no need to fight with her.

The war with Novgorod was still going on when the Khan of the Great Horde, Akhmat, moved to the southern borders of the Moscow Principality. In July, he approached the banks of the Oka and burned the town of Aleksin, driving back the Russian advance detachments. A terrible fire had just ended in Moscow, and the Grand Duke, who personally participated in the fight against the fire, upon receiving alarming news, immediately went to Kolomna to organize defense. The two or three days lost by Akhmat at Aleksin are believed to have given time to the Russian commanders to take up positions on the Oka, after which the khan chose to retreat. It can be assumed that the coherence of the actions of the Russian governors was not least the result of the skillful leadership of Ivan III. One way or another, the enemy left, unable or unwilling to build on the initial success.

The largest campaign in which Ivan III was involved was the war with the Great Horde in 1480. Its culmination, as is known, was the “stand on the Ugra”. The war took place in the context of a conflict with the Livonian Order and the rebellion of Andrei Volotsky (Bolshoy) and Boris Uglitsky - the brothers of the Grand Duke, who unceremoniously violated the agreement with them and did not allocate them with the lands of Novgorod annexed in 1478 (he had to make peace with the “troublemakers” by going concessions to them). Grand Duke Casimir promised help to Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat. True, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey was an ally of Moscow.

Ivan III did not follow the path of Dmitry Donskoy, who in 1380 moved towards Mamai and defeated him in the extremely bloody Battle of Kulikovo, and in 1382 he preferred to leave to gather troops against Tokhtamysh, entrusting its defense to the Lithuanian prince Ostey. The great-grandson of the hero of the Kulikov Field already had other forces, and he pulled out a more ambitious strategy. Ivan decided to block the path to the enemy on the way to the capital city, which last saw the Tatars under its walls in 1451. Ivan III sent his brother Andrei the Lesser with regiments to Tarusa, his son Ivan to Serpukhov, and he himself settled in Kolomna. The Russian army thus took up positions along the Oka, preventing the enemy from crossing. Dmitry Donskoy could not afford this yet - his strength was not so great.)

Akhmat reasonably believed that he would not be able to break through the Oka River and turned west, moving towards Kaluga in order to bypass Russian defensive positions. Now the epicenter of hostilities has shifted to the banks of the Ugra River. The Grand Duke sent troops there, but did not stay with them, but preferred to come to Moscow “for council and Duma” with the boyars and church hierarchs. Just in case, the Moscow Posad was evacuated, as was the treasury and, contrary to the opinion of some close associates of Ivan III, the grand-ducal family (on the road to Beloozero, the servants of Grand Duchess Sophia did not show themselves in the best way, “becoming famous” for robberies and violence “more than the Tatars”; mother of Ivan III , nun Martha, by the way, refused to leave). The defense of the capital city in case of enemy appearance was led by boyar I.Yu. Patrikeev. The Grand Duke sent reinforcements to the Ugra, and he himself placed his headquarters in reserve positions in the rear, in Kremenets (now Kremensk). From here it was possible to reach any point in the triangle Kaluga - Opakov - Kremenets, which was defended by Russian troops, in less than a day, and also in just two or three transitions to reach the Moscow - Vyazma road, if the Lithuanian prince Kazimir (he, However, I didn’t dare to do this).

Standing on the Ugra. Miniature from the Facial Vault. XVI century

Meanwhile, in October, battles began on the Ugra for fords and climbs - the narrowest and therefore suitable places for crossing. The most fierce skirmishes took place near Opakov, 60 km from the confluence of the Ugra and the Oka, where the river is very narrow and the right bank hangs over the left. Numerous attempts by the enemy to cross the Ugra were repulsed in all areas with great damage to the Tatars. This happened thanks to the valor of the Russian soldiers, the competent organization of the battle and, not least of all, the superiority of weapons - the Russians actively used firearms, including artillery, which the Tatars did not have.

Despite the successes of his troops, Ivan III did not behave decisively. At first, for reasons that are not entirely clear, he ordered his son, Ivan the Young, to come to him, although the departure of a representative of the grand ducal family could have a negative impact on the morale of the soldiers. The prince, obviously understanding this, refused, as if even declaring: “We should fly here to die, rather than go to our father.” Voivode Daniil Kholmsky, obliged to deliver Ivan the Young to his parents, did not dare to do this. Then Ivan III entered into negotiations - perhaps he was waiting for the approach of the brothers Andrei Bolshoi and Boris, who had reconciled with him. The Khan did not refuse negotiations, but invited Ivan III to come to his headquarters and resume paying tribute. Having received a refusal, he asked to send to him at least the brother or son of the prince, and then the former ambassador - N.F. Basenkov (probably this was a hint at sending tribute, which, apparently, was delivered by Basenkov on his last visit to the Horde). The Grand Duke saw that Akhmat was not at all confident in his abilities, and refused all offers.

Meanwhile, winter had come, and the Tatars were about to cross the ice not only across the Ugra, but also across the Oka. Ivan III ordered the troops to withdraw to positions near Borovsk, from where it was possible to block the routes from both rivers. It was probably at this time that I.V. Oshchera Sorokoumov-Glebov and G.A. Mamon allegedly advised Ivan III to “run away, and the peasantry (Christians - A.K.) issue”, i.e. either make concessions to the Tatars up to the recognition of their power, or retreat into the interior of the country so as not to put the army at risk. The chronicler even calls Mamon and Oshera “Christian traitors,” but this is a clear exaggeration.

At the same time, Rostov Archbishop Vassian Rylo, who probably regarded Ivan III’s behavior as cowardice, sent a message to the Grand Duke in which he accused him of unwillingness to raise his hand against the “tsar,” i.e. Horde Khan, and called, without listening to the “debauchers” (supporters of concessions to Akhmat), to follow the example of Dmitry Donskoy. But already in mid-November the Tatars, not ready for military operations in the winter, began to retreat. Their attempt to ruin the volosts along the Ugra was not entirely successful - the steppe inhabitants were pursued by the detachments of Boris, Andrei the Great and the Lesser, the brothers of the Grand Duke, and the Horde had to flee. The raid of Tsarevich Murtoza, who crossed the Oka River, also ended in failure due to the energetic resistance of the Russian troops.

What conclusions can be drawn? Ivan III and his governors, realizing the increased military power of the Moscow principality, which was also helped by Tver, decided, however, not to give a general battle, victory in which promised great glory, but would have been associated with heavy losses... And besides, no one could guarantee. The strategy they chose turned out to be effective and least costly in terms of human losses. At the same time, Ivan III did not dare to abandon the evacuation of the settlement, which was very troublesome for ordinary Muscovites, but this precaution can hardly be called unnecessary. The chosen strategy required good reconnaissance, coordination of actions and a quick reaction to changes in the situation, taking into account the mobility of the Tatar cavalry. But at the same time, the task was made easier by the fact that the enemy did not have the factor of strategic surprise, which so often ensured success for the steppe inhabitants. The bet not on a general battle or sitting out under siege, but on active defense along the river banks, paid off.

The most striking military event in the history of the reign of Ivan III was, perhaps, the second war with Lithuania. The first was a “strange” war, when detachments of the parties carried out raids, and embassies made mutual claims. The second became “real”, with large-scale campaigns and battles. The reason for it was that the Moscow sovereign lured to his side the princes of Starodub and Novgorod-Seversk, whose possessions thus came under his authority. It was impossible to defend such acquisitions without a “proper” war, and in 1500, the last year of the outgoing 15th century, it began.

Smolensk was chosen as the main strategic goal, to which the army of Yuri Zakharyich moved, to which D.V. then came to the aid. Shchenya and I.M. Vorotynsky. Here one of the first local clashes known to us took place: Daniil Shchenya became the commander of a large regiment, and Yuri Zakharyich became a guard. He wrote dissatisfied to the Grand Duke: “Then I need to guard Prince Danil.” In response, there was a menacing shout from the Sovereign of All Rus': “Are you really doing this, you say: it’s not good for you to be in a guard regiment, guarding Prince Danilov’s regiment? It’s not up to you to guard Prince Danil; it’s up to you to guard me and my affairs. And what the governors are like in a large regiment, they are like that in a guard regiment, otherwise it’s not a shame for you to be in a guard regiment.” The new commander, Daniil Shchenya, showed himself with the best side and completely defeated with his soldiers on July 4, 1500 the Lithuanian army of Hetman Konstantin Ostrozhsky in the Battle of Vedroshi. In November 1501, the troops of Prince Alexander of Rostov defeated the army of Mikhail Izheslavsky near Mstislavl. Smolensk increasingly found itself surrounded by Russian armies.

However, it was not possible to take it - the Livonian Order entered the war under the influence of Lithuanian diplomacy. The fighting proceeded with varying degrees of success. They had to transfer Daniil Shchenya to Livonia, but he, too, suffered setbacks at times. This also affected operations against the Lithuanians: the campaign against Smolensk launched in 1502 failed due to weak organization (the campaign was led by the young and inexperienced prince Dmitry Zhilka) and, probably, a lack of strength. In 1503 Moscow and Principality of Lithuania signed an agreement according to which the first received Chernigov, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky, Dorogobuzh, Bely, Toropets and other cities, but Smolensk remained with Lithuania. Its accession will be the only major foreign policy achievement of the successor of the first sovereign of all Rus' - Vasily III.

What conclusions can be drawn based on the above?

Being, as already mentioned, not a commander, but the supreme commander-in-chief, Ivan III did not participate in the operations themselves; he appeared in the camp only during both the Novgorod (1471, 1477–1478) and Tver (1485) campaigns, which did not promise difficulties. And even more so, the Grand Duke was not seen on the battlefield. It is reported that his ally, the ruler of Moldavia, Stefan III, used to say at feasts that Ivan III was multiplying his kingdom by sitting at home and indulging in sleep, while he himself was barely able to protect his own borders, fighting almost every day. There is no need to be surprised - they were in different positions. However, the pragmatic approach of the Moscow sovereign is striking. The glory of the commander did not seem to bother him. But how successfully did he cope with the tasks of the commander-in-chief?

Great Stefan, the famous palatine of Moldavia, often remembered him at feasts, saying that he, sitting at home and indulging in sleep, multiplies his power, and he himself, fighting every day, is barely able to protect the borders

S. Herberstein

Being primarily a politician, Ivan III skillfully chose the time for conflicts, tried not to wage a war on two fronts (it is difficult to imagine that he would have decided on such an adventure as the Livonian War, given the continuing Crimean threat), tried to lure representatives of the enemy to his side. the elite (or even the common people), which was especially successful in the wars with Lithuania, Novgorod, and Tver.

In general, Ivan III had a good understanding of his subordinates and mostly made successful appointments; many capable military leaders came to his rule - Daniil Kholmsky, Daniil Shchenya, Yuri and Yakov Zakharichi, although, of course, there were mistakes, as in the case of the completely inexperienced Dmitry Zhilka in 1502 (the fact that this appointment was determined by political reasons does not change the essence of the matter: Smolensk was not taken). In addition, Ivan III knew how to keep his governors in his hands (remember the case of Yuri Zakharyich) - it is impossible to imagine during his reign the situation that existed in 1530 near Kazan, when M.L. Glinsky and I.F. Belsky argued about who should be the first to enter the city, which in the end was not taken (!). At the same time, the Grand Duke obviously knew how to choose which advice from the governor was most useful - his successes speak for themselves.

Ivan III had an important trait - he knew how to stop in time. After a two-year war with Sweden (1495-1497), the Grand Duke, seeing its futility, agreed to a draw. In the conditions of a war on two fronts, he did not prolong the war with Lithuania for the sake of Smolensk, considering the acquisitions already made sufficient. At the same time, if he believed that victory was close, he showed persistence, as we saw in the case of Kazan in 1469.

The results of the wars of the reign of Ivan III are the most successful in the entire history of Muscovite Rus'. Under him, Moscow not only did not become a victim of the Tatars, as under Dmitry Donskoy and Ivan the Terrible, but was never even besieged. His grandfather Vasily I could not defeat Novgorod, his father, Vasily II, was captured by the Tatars near Suzdal, his son, Vasily III, almost gave Moscow to the Crimeans and was able to conquer only Smolensk. The time of Ivan III is glorified not only by its extensive territorial acquisitions, but also by two biggest victories- during the “standing on the Ugra” and in the battle of Vedrosha (nowadays, alas, few people know). As a result of the first, Rus' finally got rid of the power of the Horde, and the second became the most outstanding success of Moscow weapons in the wars with Lithuania. Of course, the successes of Moscow under Ivan III were favored by historical conditions, but not every ruler knows how to use them. Ivan III succeeded.

KOROLENKOV A.V., Ph.D., IVI RAS

Literature

Alekseev Yu.G.. Campaigns of Russian troops in Ivan III. St. Petersburg, 2007.

Borisov N.S.. Russian commanders of the XIII–XVI centuries. M., 1993.

Zimin A.A. Russia at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries: (Essays on socio-political history). M., 1982.

Zimin A.A. Russia on the threshold of the New Time: (Essays on the political history of Russia in the first third of the 16th century). M., 1972.

Internet

Katukov Mikhail Efimovich

Perhaps the only bright spot against the background of Soviet armored force commanders. A tank driver who went through the entire war, starting from the border. A commander whose tanks always showed their superiority to the enemy. His tank brigades were the only ones(!) in the first period of the war that were not defeated by the Germans and even caused them significant damage.
His First Guards Tank Army remained combat-ready, although it defended itself from the very first days of the fighting on the southern front of the Kursk Bulge, while exactly the same 5th Guards Tank Army of Rotmistrov was practically destroyed on the very first day it entered the battle (June 12)
This is one of the few of our commanders who took care of his troops and fought not with numbers, but with skill.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Kosich Andrey Ivanovich

1. For your long life(1833 - 1917) A. I. Kosich went from a non-commissioned officer to a general, commander of one of the largest military districts Russian Empire. He took an active part in almost all military campaigns from the Crimean to the Russian-Japanese. He was distinguished by his personal courage and bravery.
2. According to many, “one of the most educated generals of the Russian army.” He left behind many literary and scientific works and memories. Patron of sciences and education. He has established himself as a talented administrator.
3. His example served the formation of many Russian military leaders, in particular, General. A. I. Denikina.
4. He was a resolute opponent of the use of the army against his people, in which he disagreed with P. A. Stolypin. "An army should shoot at the enemy, not at its own people."

Momyshuly Bauyrzhan

Fidel Castro called him a hero of World War II.
He brilliantly put into practice the tactics of fighting with small forces against an enemy many times superior in strength, developed by Major General I.V. Panfilov, which later received the name “Momyshuly’s spiral.”

Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich

Admiral, Hero Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, commander Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. During the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Being the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.

Three Orders of Lenin
three Orders of the Red Banner
two Orders of Ushakov, 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov, 1st degree
Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree
Order of the Red Star
medals

Suvorov Mikhail Vasilievich

The only one who can be called GENERALLISIMO... Bagration, Kutuzov are his students...

Minikh Christopher Antonovich

Due to the ambiguous attitude towards the period of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, she is a largely underrated commander, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops throughout her reign.

Commander of Russian troops during the War of the Polish Succession and architect of the victory of Russian weapons in the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739.

Gagen Nikolai Alexandrovich

On June 22, trains with units of the 153rd Infantry Division arrived in Vitebsk. Covering the city from the west, Hagen's division (together with the heavy artillery regiment attached to the division) occupied a 40 km long defense line; it was opposed by the 39th German Motorized Corps.

After 7 days of fierce fighting, the division's battle formations were not broken through. The Germans no longer contacted the division, bypassed it and continued the offensive. The division appeared in a German radio message as destroyed. Meanwhile, the 153rd Rifle Division, without ammunition and fuel, began to fight its way out of the ring. Hagen led the division out of encirclement with heavy weapons.

For the demonstrated steadfastness and heroism during the Elninsky operation on September 18, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308, the division received the honorary name “Guards”.
From 01/31/1942 to 09/12/1942 and from 10/21/1942 to 04/25/1943 - commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps,
from May 1943 to October 1944 - commander of the 57th Army,
from January 1945 - the 26th Army.

Troops under the leadership of N.A. Gagen took part in the Sinyavinsk operation (and the general managed to break out of encirclement for the second time with weapons in hand), Stalingrad and Kursk battles, battles on the Left Bank and Right Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of Bulgaria, in the Iasi-Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton and Vienna operations. Participant of the Victory Parade.

Gurko Joseph Vladimirovich

Field Marshal General (1828-1901) Hero of Shipka and Plevna, Liberator of Bulgaria (a street in Sofia is named after him, a monument was erected). In 1877 he commanded the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. To quickly capture some passes through the Balkans, Gurko led an advance detachment consisting of four cavalry regiments, a rifle brigade and the newly formed Bulgarian militia, with two batteries of horse artillery. Gurko completed his task quickly and boldly and won a series of victories over the Turks, ending with the capture of Kazanlak and Shipka. During the struggle for Plevna, Gurko, at the head of the guard and cavalry troops of the western detachment, defeated the Turks near Gorny Dubnyak and Telish, then again went to the Balkans, occupied Entropol and Orhanye, and after the fall of Plevna, reinforced by the IX Corps and the 3rd Guards Infantry Division , despite the terrible cold, crossed the Balkan ridge, took Philippopolis and occupied Adrianople, opening the way to Constantinople. At the end of the war, he commanded military districts, was governor-general, and a member of the state council. Buried in Tver (Sakharovo village)

Ermak Timofeevich

Russian. Cossack. Ataman. Defeated Kuchum and his satellites. Approved Siberia as part of the Russian state. He dedicated his entire life to military work.

Saltykov Petr Semenovich

One of those commanders who managed to inflict exemplary defeats on one of the best commanders in Europe in the 18th century - Frederick II of Prussia

Makhno Nestor Ivanovich

Over the mountains, over the valleys
I've been waiting for my blue ones for a long time
Father is wise, Father is glorious,
Our good father - Makhno...

(peasant song from the Civil War)

He was able to create an army and conducted successful military operations against the Austro-Germans and against Denikin.

And for * carts * even if he was not awarded the Order of the Red Banner, it should be done now

Kornilov Lavr Georgievich

KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08/18/1870-04/31/1918) Colonel (02/1905). Major General (12/1912). Lieutenant General (08/26/1914). Infantry General (06/30/1917). Graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School (1892) and with a gold medal from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905: staff officer of the 1st Infantry Brigade (at its headquarters). When retreating from Mukden, the brigade was surrounded. Having led the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring freedom of defensive combat operations for the brigade. Military attaché in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911. Participant in the First World War: commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th Division was surrounded and General Kornilov, who was wounded, was captured on 04.1915 at the Duklinsky Pass (Carpathians); 08.1914-04.1915. Captured by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Dressed in the uniform of an Austrian soldier, he escaped from captivity on 06/1915. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06/1916-04/1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04/1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 04/24-07/8/1917. On 05/19/1917, by his order, he introduced the formation of the first volunteer “1st Shock Detachment of the 8th Army” under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front...

Rurikovich (Grozny) Ivan Vasilievich

In the diversity of perceptions of Ivan the Terrible, one often forgets about his unconditional talent and achievements as a commander. He personally led the capture of Kazan and organized military reform, leading a country that was simultaneously fighting 2-3 wars on different fronts.

Gorbaty-Shuisky Alexander Borisovich

Hero of the Kazan War, first governor of Kazan

Miloradovich

Bagration, Miloradovich, Davydov are some very special breed of people. They don't do things like that now. The heroes of 1812 were distinguished by complete recklessness and complete contempt for death. And it was General Miloradovich, who went through all the wars for Russia without a single scratch, who became the first victim of individual terror. After Kakhovsky’s shot on Senate Square, the Russian revolution continued along this path - right up to the basement of the Ipatiev House. Taking away the best.

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

A commander who had no defeats...

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Victory in the Great Patriotic War, saving the entire planet from absolute evil, and our country from extinction.
From the first hours of the war, Stalin controlled the country, front and rear. On land, at sea and in the air.
His merit is not one or even ten battles or campaigns, his merit is Victory, made up of hundreds of battles of the Great Patriotic War: the battle of Moscow, battles in the North Caucasus, Battle of Stalingrad, the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the battle of Leningrad and many others before the capture of Berlin, success in which was achieved thanks to the monotonous inhuman work of the genius of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, which repelled the attack of Nazi Germany, liberated Europe, author of many operations, including “Ten Stalinist Strikes” (1944)

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

For the highest art of military leadership and immeasurable love for the Russian soldier

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich

During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, and until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomina. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Yevpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to sink the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors for the defense of Sevastopol from land.

Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich

Commander of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern Fronts. The fronts under his command in the summer and autumn of 1942 stopped the advance of the German 6th field and 4th tank armies towards Stalingrad.
In December 1942, the Stalingrad Front of General Eremenko stopped the tank offensive of General G. Hoth's group on Stalingrad, for the relief of the 6th Army of Paulus.

Slashchev Yakov Alexandrovich

Duke of Württemberg Eugene

General of the Infantry, cousin of the Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. In service in the Russian Army since 1797 (enlisted as a colonel in the Life Guards Horse Regiment by Decree of Emperor Paul I). Participated in military campaigns against Napoleon in 1806-1807. For participation in the battle of Pułtusk in 1806 he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious, 4th degree, for the campaign of 1807 he received a golden weapon “For Bravery”, he distinguished himself in the campaign of 1812 (he personally led the 4th Jaeger Regiment into battle in the Battle of Smolensk), for participation in the Battle of Borodino he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious, 3rd degree. Since November 1812, commander of the 2nd Infantry Corps in Kutuzov's army. He took an active part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814; units under his command particularly distinguished themselves in the Battle of Kulm in August 1813, and in the “Battle of the Nations” at Leipzig. For courage at Leipzig, Duke Eugene was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree. Parts of his corps were the first to enter defeated Paris on April 30, 1814, for which Eugene of Württemberg received the rank of infantry general. From 1818 to 1821 was the commander of the 1st Army Infantry Corps. Contemporaries considered Prince Eugene of Württemberg one of the best Russian infantry commanders during the Napoleonic Wars. On December 21, 1825, Nicholas I was appointed chief of the Tauride Grenadier Regiment, which became known as the “Grenadier Regiment of His Royal Highness Prince Eugene of Württemberg.” On August 22, 1826 he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1827-1828. as commander of the 7th Infantry Corps. On October 3, he defeated a large Turkish detachment on the Kamchik River.

A man whose faith, courage, and patriotism defended our state

Olsufiev Zakhar Dmitrievich

One of the most famous military leaders of Bagration's 2nd Western Army. Always fought with exemplary courage. He was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree, for his heroic participation in the Battle of Borodino. He distinguished himself in the battle on the Chernishna (or Tarutinsky) River. His reward for his participation in defeating the vanguard of Napoleon's army was the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd degree. He was called "a general with talents." When Olsufiev was captured and taken to Napoleon, he said to his entourage the words famous in history: “Only Russians know how to fight like that!”

Romanov Alexander I Pavlovich

The de facto commander-in-chief of the allied armies that liberated Europe in 1813-1814. "He took Paris, he founded the Lyceum." The Great Leader who crushed Napoleon himself. (The shame of Austerlitz is not comparable to the tragedy of 1941)

Dokhturov Dmitry Sergeevich

Defense of Smolensk.
Command of the left flank on the Borodino field after Bagration was wounded.
Battle of Tarutino.

Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich

Outstanding Employee Russian Academy General Staff. Developer and implementer of the Galician operation - the first brilliant victory of the Russian army in the Great War.
Saved the troops of the North-Western Front from encirclement during the “Great Retreat” of 1915.
Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 1916-1917.
Supreme Commander Russian army in 1917
Developed and implemented strategic plans offensive operations 1916 - 1917
He continued to defend the need to preserve the Eastern Front after 1917 (the Volunteer Army is the basis of the new Eastern Front in the ongoing Great War).
Slandered and slandered in relation to various so-called. “Masonic military lodges”, “conspiracy of generals against the Sovereign”, etc., etc. - in terms of emigrant and modern historical journalism.

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

October 3, 2013 marks the 80th anniversary of the death in the French city of Cannes of the Russian military leader, commander of the Caucasian Front, hero of Mukden, Sarykamysh, Van, Erzerum (thanks to the complete defeat of the 90,000-strong Turkish army, Constantinople and the Bosporus with the Dardanelles retreated to Russia), the savior of the Armenian people from the complete Turkish genocide, holder of three orders of George and the highest order of France, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich.

Monomakh Vladimir Vsevolodovich

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A person who combines the body of knowledge of a natural scientist, a scientist and a great strategist.

Markov Sergey Leonidovich

One of the main heroes of the early stage of the Russian-Soviet war.
Veteran of the Russian-Japanese, First World War and Civil War. Knight of the Order of St. George 4th class, Order of St. Vladimir 3rd class and 4th class with swords and bow, Order of St. Anne 2nd, 3rd and 4th class, Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd and 3rd th degrees. Holder of the St. George's Arms. Outstanding military theorist. Member of the Ice Campaign. An officer's son. Hereditary nobleman of the Moscow Province. He graduated from the General Staff Academy and served in the Life Guards of the 2nd Artillery Brigade. One of the commanders of the Volunteer Army at the first stage. He died the death of the brave.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

Soldier, several wars (including World War I and World War II). passed the way to Marshal of the USSR and Poland. Military intellectual. did not resort to “obscene leadership”. He knew the subtleties of military tactics. practice, strategy and operational art.

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich

One of the best Russian generals of the First World War. In June 1916, troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of Adjutant General A.A. Brusilov, simultaneously striking in several directions, broke through the enemy’s deeply layered defenses and advanced 65 km. In military history, this operation was called the Brusilov breakthrough.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

In front of the Kazan Cathedral there are two statues of the saviors of the fatherland. Saving the army, exhausting the enemy, the Battle of Smolensk - this is more than enough.

Rokhlin Lev Yakovlevich

He headed the 8th Guards Army Corps in Chechnya. Under his leadership, a number of districts of Grozny were captured, including the presidential palace. For participation in the Chechen campaign, he was nominated for the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, but refused to accept it, stating that “he has no moral right to receive this award for military operations on his own territory.” countries".

Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin

Hero of the First and Second World Wars, a commander who symbolizes the path of our army from the double-headed eagle to the red banner...

Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin

Major General F.I. Tolbukhin distinguished himself during the Battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army. The second “Stalingrad” for the Germans was the Iasi-Kishinev operation, in which he commanded the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
One of the galaxy of commanders who were raised and promoted by I.V. Stalin.
The great merit of Marshal of the Soviet Union Tolbukhin was in the liberation of the countries of South-Eastern Europe.

Years of life: 1440-1505. Reign: 1462-1505

Ivan III is the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II the Dark and Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the Serpukhov prince.

In the twelfth year of his life, Ivan married Maria Borisovna, princess of Tver, and in the eighteenth year he already had a son, Ivan, nicknamed Young. In 1456, when Ivan was 16 years old, Vasily II the Dark appointed him as his co-ruler, and at the age of 22 he became the Grand Duke of Moscow.

As a youth, Ivan took part in campaigns against the Tatars (1448, 1454, 1459), saw a lot, and by the time he ascended the throne in 1462, Ivan III already had an established character and was ready to make important government decisions. He had a cold, reasonable mind, a tough disposition, an iron will, and was distinguished by a special lust for power. By nature, Ivan III was secretive, cautious and did not rush towards his intended goal quickly, but waited for an opportunity, chose the time, moving towards it with measured steps.

Outwardly, Ivan was handsome, thin, tall and slightly stooped, for which he received the nickname “Humpbacked.”

The beginning of Ivan III's reign was marked by the release of gold coins, on which the names of Grand Duke Ivan III and his son Ivan the Young, heir to the throne, were minted.

The first wife of Ivan III died early, and the Grand Duke entered into a second marriage with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, Zoya (Sophia) Palaeologus. Their wedding took place in Moscow on November 12, 1472. She immediately became involved in political activities, actively helping her husband. Under Sophia, he became more severe and cruel, demanding and power-hungry, demanding complete obedience and punishing disobedience, for which Ivan III was the first of the tsars to be called the Terrible.

In 1490, Ivan III's son from his first marriage, Ivan the Young, unexpectedly died. He left behind a son, Dmitry. The Grand Duke was faced with the question of who should inherit the throne: his son Vasily from Sophia or his grandson Dmitry.

Soon a conspiracy against Dmitry was discovered, the organizers of which were executed, and Vasily was taken into custody. On February 4, 1498, Ivan III crowned his grandson as king. This was the first coronation in Rus'.

In January 1499, a conspiracy against Sophia and Vasily was revealed. Ivan III lost interest in his grandson and made peace with his wife and son. In 1502, the Tsar put Dmitry into disgrace, and Vasily was declared Grand Duke of All Rus'.

The Great Sovereign decided to marry Vasily to a Danish princess, but the Danish king avoided the proposal. Fearing that he would not have time to find a foreign bride before his death, Ivan III chose Solomonia, the daughter of an insignificant Russian dignitary. The marriage took place on September 4, 1505, and on October 27 of the same year, Ivan III the Great died.

Domestic policy of Ivan III

The cherished goal of Ivan III’s activities was to gather lands around Moscow, to put an end to the remnants of specific disunity for the sake of creating a single state. The wife of Ivan III, Sophia Paleologue, strongly supported her husband’s desire to expand the Moscow state and strengthen autocratic power.

For a century and a half, Moscow extorted tribute from Novgorod, took away lands and almost brought the Novgorodians to their knees, for which they hated Moscow. Realizing that Ivan III Vasilyevich finally wanted to subjugate the Novgorodians, they freed themselves from the oath to the Grand Duke and formed a society for the salvation of Novgorod, headed by Marfa Boretskaya, the widow of the mayor.

Novgorod entered into an agreement with Casimir, the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, according to which Novgorod comes under his supreme authority, but at the same time retains some independence and the right to the Orthodox faith, and Casimir undertakes to protect Novgorod from the encroachments of the Moscow prince.

Twice Ivan III Vasilyevich sent ambassadors to Novgorod with good wishes to come to their senses and enter the lands of Moscow, the Metropolitan of Moscow tried to convince the Novgorodians to “correct themselves,” but all in vain. Ivan III had to make a campaign against Novgorod (1471), as a result of which the Novgorodians were defeated first on the Ilmen River, and then Shelon, but Casimir did not come to the rescue.

In 1477, Ivan III Vasilyevich demanded that Novgorod fully recognize him as its master, which caused a new rebellion, which was suppressed. On January 13, 1478, Veliky Novgorod completely submitted to the authority of the Moscow sovereign. In order to finally pacify Novgorod, Ivan III in 1479 replaced the Novgorod Archbishop Theophilos, resettled the unreliable Novgorodians to Moscow lands, and settled Muscovites and other residents on their lands.

With the help of diplomacy and force, Ivan III Vasilyevich subjugated other appanage principalities: Yaroslavl (1463), Rostov (1474), Tver (1485), Vyatka lands (1489). Ivan married his sister Anna to the Ryazan prince, thereby securing the right to interfere in the affairs of Ryazan, and later acquired the city by inheritance from his nephews.

Ivan acted inhumanely with his brothers, taking away their inheritance and depriving them of the right to any participation in state affairs. So, Andrei Bolshoi and his sons were arrested and imprisoned.

Foreign policy of Ivan III.

During the reign of Ivan III in 1502, the Golden Horde ceased to exist.

Moscow and Lithuania often fought over Russian lands located under Lithuania and Poland. As the power of the Great Sovereign of Moscow strengthened, more and more Russian princes and their lands moved from Lithuania to Moscow.

After Casimir's death, Lithuania and Poland were again divided between his sons, Alexander and Albrecht, respectively. The Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander married the daughter of Ivan III Elena. Relations between son-in-law and father-in-law deteriorated, and in 1500 Ivan III declared war on Lithuania, which was successful for Rus': parts of the Smolensk, Novgorod-Seversky and Chernigov principalities were conquered. In 1503, a truce agreement was signed for 6 years. Ivan III Vasilyevich rejected the proposal for eternal peace until Smolensk and Kyiv were returned.

As a result of the war of 1501-1503. the great sovereign of Moscow forced the Livonian Order to pay tribute (for the city of Yuryev).

During his reign, Ivan III Vasilyevich made several attempts to subjugate the Kazan kingdom. In 1470, Moscow and Kazan made peace, and in 1487, Ivan III took Kazan and enthroned Khan Makhmet-Amen, who had been a faithful novice of the Moscow prince for 17 years.

Reforms of Ivan III

Under Ivan III, the title of “Grand Duke of All Rus'” began to be formalized, and in some documents he calls himself Tsar.

For internal order in the country, Ivan III in 1497 developed a Code of Civil Laws (Code). The chief judge was the Grand Duke, higher institution became the Boyar Duma. Mandatory and local management systems appeared.

The adoption of the Code of Laws of Ivan III became a prerequisite for the establishment of serfdom in Rus'. The law limited the output of peasants and gave them the right to transfer from one owner to another once a year (St. George's Day).

Results of the reign of Ivan III

Under Ivan III, the territory of Rus' expanded significantly, Moscow became the center of the Russian centralized state.

The era of Ivan III was marked by the final liberation of Rus' from the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

During the reign of Ivan III, the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals, the Faceted Chamber, and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe were built.

1. Sovereign

Moscow Tsar Ivan III Vasilyevich received the nickname “The Great” from historians. Karamzin put 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 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, in 1505, Ivan III had only heterodox and foreign neighbors along all the borders of the Moscow state: Swedes, Germans, Lithuania, Tatars.
This circumstance naturally changed the entire policy of Ivan III. Previously, surrounded by appanage rulers like himself, Ivan Vasilyevich was one of many appanage princes, even if only the most powerful. Now, having destroyed these possessions, he turned into a single sovereign of an entire people. In short, if at first his policy was specific, then it became national.
Having become the national sovereign of the entire Russian people, Ivan III adopted a new direction in the foreign relations of Rus'. He threw off the last remnants of dependence on the Golden Horde Khan. He also went on the offensive against Lithuania, from which Moscow had until then only been defending itself. He even laid claim to all those Russian lands that had been owned by Lithuanian princes since the second half of the 13th century. Calling himself “the sovereign of all Rus',” Ivan III meant not only northern, but also southern and western Rus', which he considered his duty to annex to Moscow. In other words, having completed the gathering of Russian appanage principalities, Ivan III proclaimed a policy of gathering the Russian people.
This is what is important historical meaning reign of Ivan III, who can rightfully be called the creator of the national Russian state - Muscovite Rus'.

2. Man

The first Russian Tsar and “Sovereign of All Rus'” Ivan III had a tough temper - he could take off the head of a noble boyar simply for being “clever.” It was with this accusation that in 1499 the sovereign’s closest boyar, Semyon Ryapolovsky, ascended the scaffold. It is not for nothing that the people called Ivan III the Terrible (however, in history this nickname was assigned to the grandson of Ivan III and his full namesake - Ivan IV Vasilyevich. So do not get confused). IN last years During the life of Ivan III, his person acquired almost divine greatness in the eyes of his subjects. Women, they say, fainted from one of his angry glances. The courtiers, under pain of disgrace, had to entertain him during his leisure hours. And if, in the midst of this heavy fun, Ivan III happened to doze off in his chair, everyone around him froze - sometimes for whole hours. No one dared to cough or stretch their stiff limbs, lest, God forbid, they wake up the great sovereign.
However, such scenes are explained more by the servility of the courtiers than by the character of Ivan III himself, who by nature was not at all a gloomy despot. Boyar Ivan Nikitich Bersen, remembering his sovereign, later used to say that Ivan III was kind and affectionate to people, and therefore God helped him in everything. In the State Council, Ivan III loved the “meeting”, that is, an objection against himself, and never punished if a person said the right thing. In 1480, during the invasion of Rus' by Khan Akhmat, Ivan III left the army and returned to Moscow. The elderly Rostov Archbishop Vassian, angry with the sovereign for this, began, according to the chronicler, “to speak evil to him,” calling him a runner and a coward. Ivan III with a humble look endured the reproaches of the angry old man.
In his aesthetic tastes, Ivan III was a subtle connoisseur of art, including Western European art. He was the first of the Moscow sovereigns to open the gates of the Kremlin wide to the figures of the Italian Renaissance. Under him, outstanding Italian architects worked in Moscow, creating the very Kremlin palaces and temples that we still admire today. And miniatures appeared in Moscow chronicles, copying fragments of engravings by the great German artist Durer.
In general, Ivan III Vasilyevich was not a bad person.

3. The end of the freedom of the Lord of Veliky Novgorod

In the second half of the 15th century, Novgorod increasingly lost its former independence. Two parties were formed in the city: one stood for an agreement with Lithuania, the other for an agreement with Moscow. Mostly the common people stood for Moscow, and for Lithuania - the boyars, led by mayor Boretsky. At first, the Lithuanian party gained the upper hand in Novgorod. In 1471, Boretsky, on behalf of Novgorod, concluded an alliance treaty with the Lithuanian Grand Duke and at the same time the Polish King Casimir. Casimir promised to defend Novgorod from Moscow, to give the Novgorodians their governor and to observe all the liberties of Novgorod in the old days. In essence, Boretsky’s party committed national treason by surrendering under the patronage of a foreign sovereign, who was also a Catholic.
This is exactly how they looked at this matter in Moscow. Ivan III wrote to Novgorod, urging the Novgorodians to abandon Lithuania and the Catholic king. And when exhortations did not work, the Moscow sovereign began preparations for war. The campaign against Novgorod was given the appearance of a campaign against heretics. Just as Dmitry Donskoy armed himself against the godless Mamai, so, according to the chronicler, the blessed Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich went against these apostates from Orthodoxy to Latinism.
Hoping heavily for Lithuanian help, the Novgorod boyars forgot to create their own combat-ready army. This oversight became fatal for them. Having lost two foot troops in battles with the advanced detachments of the Moscow army, Boretsky hastily mounted horses and marched against Ivan III, forty thousand of all sorts of rabble, which, according to the chronicle, had never even been on a horse. Four thousand well-armed and trained Moscow warriors were enough to completely defeat this crowd in the battle on the Sheloni River, killing 12 thousand on the spot.
Posadnik Boretsky was captured and executed as a traitor along with his accomplices. And Ivan III declared his will to the Novgorodians: in order to have the same state in Novgorod as in Moscow, there would not be an eve, there would not be a posadnik, but there would be a sovereign according to Moscow custom.
The Novgorod Republic finally ceased to exist seven years later, in 1478, when, by order of Ivan III, the veche bell was taken to Moscow. However, at least another hundred years passed before the Novgorodians came to terms with the loss of their freedom and began to call their Novgorod land Rus, and themselves Russians, like the rest of the inhabitants of the Moscow state.

4. Autocrat of All Rus'

Ivan Vasilyevich was married twice. His first wife was the sister of his neighbor, the Grand Duke of Tver, Marya Borisovna. After her death in 1467, Ivan III began to look for another wife, further away and more important. At that time, a royal orphan lived in Rome - the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologus (let me remind you that in 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople). Through the mediation of the Pope, Ivan III ordered the Byzantine princess from Italy and married her in 1472.
Finding himself next to such a noble wife, Ivan III began to disdain the cramped and ugly Kremlin environment in which his ancestors lived. Following the princess, craftsmen were sent from Italy who built Ivan a new Assumption Cathedral, the Chamber of Facets and a stone palace on the site of the previous wooden mansion. At the same time, a new, strict and solemn ceremony, modeled on the Byzantine one, was introduced at the Moscow court.
Feeling like the heir to the Byzantine state, Ivan III began to write his title in a new way, again in the manner Greek kings: “John, by the grace of God, sovereign of all Rus' and Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Perm, Ugra and other lands.”
Sofia Paleolog was an unusually plump woman. At the same time, she had an extremely subtle and flexible mind. She was credited with great influence on Ivan III. They even said that it was she who prompted Ivan to throw off the Tatar yoke, because she was ashamed to be the wife of a Horde tributary.

5. Overthrow of the Horde yoke

This happened without loud victories, somehow casually, almost by itself. However, first things first.

At the beginning of the reign of Ivan III, there was not one, but three independent Tatar hordes along the borders of Russia. Exhausted by strife, the Golden Horde lived out its life. In the 1420s-30s, Crimea and Kazan broke away from it, where special khanates arose with their own dynasties. Taking advantage of disagreements among the Tatar khans, Ivan III gradually subjugated Kazan to his influence: the Kazan khan recognized himself as a vassal of the Moscow sovereign. Ivan III had a strong friendship with the Crimean Khan, since both of them had a common enemy - the Golden Horde, against which they were friends. As for the Golden Horde itself, Ivan III stopped all relations with it: he did not give tribute, did not go to bow to the khan, and once even threw the khan’s letter to the ground and trampled on it.
The weak Golden Horde Khan Akhmat tried to act against Moscow in alliance with Lithuania. In 1480, he led his army to the Ugra River, to the border between Moscow and Lithuania. But Lithuania already had his mouth full of troubles. Akhmat did not receive Lithuanian help, but the Moscow prince met him with a strong army. A months-long “standing on the Ugra” began, as the opponents did not dare to engage in open battle. Ivan III ordered the capital to be prepared for a siege, and he himself came from the Ugra to Moscow, fearing not so much the Tatars as his brothers - they were in a quarrel with him and instilled in Ivan III the suspicion that they would betray him at the decisive moment. The prince's prudence and slowness seemed cowardice to Muscovites. The clergy implored Ivan III not to be a “runner”, but to bravely stand against the enemy.
But a decisive battle never happened. Having stood on the Ugra from summer until November, Akhmat went home with the onset of frost. Soon he was killed in another strife, his sons died in the fight against the Crimean Khanate, and in 1502 the Golden Horde ceased to exist.

Thus fell the Horde yoke, which had weighed on Russia for two and a half centuries. But the troubles from the Tatars for Rus' did not stop there. The Crimeans, Kazanians, as well as smaller Tatar hordes, constantly attacked the Russian borderlands, burned, destroyed homes and property, and took people and livestock with them. The Russian people had to fight this incessant Tatar robbery for no less than another three centuries.

6. Sovereign flight of the Russian eagle

It was not by chance that this strange bird appeared in Russian state symbols. Since ancient times, it has decorated the coats of arms and banners of many great powers, including the Roman Empire and Byzantium. In 1433, the double-headed eagle was also established in the coat of arms of the Habsburgs, the ruling dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, which considered themselves the successors to the power of the Roman Caesars. However, Ivan III, who was married to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologus, also claimed this honorary relationship, and after the overthrow of the Horde yoke, he accepted the title of “Autocrat of All Rus'.” It was then that a new genealogy of Moscow sovereigns appeared in Rus', allegedly descending from Prus, the legendary brother of Emperor Octavian Augustus.
In the mid-80s of the 15th century, Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg invited Ivan III to become a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire, promising in return to give him a royal title, but received a proud refusal: “We are, by the grace of God, sovereigns on our land from the beginning, from our first ancestors, and for the kingdom, just as we didn’t want it from anyone before, we don’t want it now.” To emphasize his equal honesty to the emperor, Ivan III accepted a new state symbol Moscow State - double-headed eagle. The marriage of the Moscow sovereign with Sophia Paleologus made it possible to draw a line of succession for the new coat of arms, independent of the West - not from the “first” Rome, but from the “second” Rome - Orthodox Constantinople.
The oldest image of a double-headed eagle in Russia is stamped on the wax seal of Ivan III, attached to the charter of 1497. Since then, the sovereign eagle has symbolized the state and spiritual sovereignty of Russia.

7. Western influences

Some historians also call the first sovereign of all Rus', Ivan III Vasilyevich, the first Russian Westernizer, drawing a parallel between him and Peter I.

Indeed, under Ivan III Russia walked forward by leaps and bounds. The Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off, specific fragmentation was destroyed. The high status of the Moscow sovereign was confirmed by the adoption of the title of Sovereign of All Rus' and the prestigious marriage to the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus. In a word, Russia has become a full-fledged sovereign state. But national self-affirmation had nothing to do with national isolation. On the contrary, it was Ivan III, more than anyone else, who contributed to the revitalization and strengthening of Moscow’s ties with the West, with Italy in particular.
Ivan III kept the visiting Italians with him in the position of court “masters,” entrusting them with the construction of fortresses, churches and chambers, casting cannons, and minting coins. The names of these people are preserved in the chronicle: Ivan Fryazin, Mark Fryazin, Antony Fryazin, etc. These are not namesakes or relatives. It’s just that Italian craftsmen in Moscow were called by the common name “fryazin” (from the word “fryag”, that is, “franc”). Particularly famous among them was the outstanding Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, who built the famous Assumption Cathedral and the Chamber of Facets in the Moscow Kremlin (so named due to its decoration in the Italian style - facets). In general, under Ivan III, through the efforts of the Italians, the Kremlin was rebuilt and decorated anew. Back in 1475, a foreigner who visited Moscow wrote about the Kremlin that “all the buildings in it, not excluding the fortress itself, are wooden.” But twenty years later, foreign travelers began to call the Moscow Kremlin a “castle” in European style, due to the abundance of stone buildings in it. Thus, through the efforts of Ivan III, the Renaissance flourished on Russian soil.
In addition to the masters, ambassadors from Western European sovereigns often appeared in Moscow. And, as was evident from the example of Emperor Frederick, the first Russian Westernizer knew how to talk with Europe on equal terms.

8. Heresy of the “Judaizers”

In the 15th century over Western Europe flakes of human ash were flying. This was the time of the most severe persecution of witches and heretics. According to the most conservative estimates, the number of victims of the Inquisition is in the tens of thousands. In Castile alone, the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada burned about 10 thousand people. Unfortunately, Russia also did not escape the general craze. Under Ivan III, fire performances were also staged here, although they were not so large-scale.
The heresy of the “Judaizers” was brought into Russia from outside. In 1470, the Novgorodians, straining their last efforts to defend their independence from Moscow, invited the Orthodox Kyiv prince Alexander Mikhailovich, in agreement with the Polish king. In the prince's retinue, the Jewish physician Skhariya and two more of his fellow tribesmen, well-read in theology, arrived in Novgorod. It all started with them. In disputes with Russian priests, visiting supporters of the Torah (that is, the Old Testament) put forward a simple syllogism: they appealed to the words of Christ that he “came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.” From this followed the conclusion about the primacy of the Old Testament over the New, Judaism over Christianity. The wretched thought of the Novgorod priests went crazy on this syllogism. Three learned Jews stayed in Novgorod for only a year, but this was enough for their conversations to penetrate deeply into the souls of the Novgorod priests. They began to profess a strange mixture of Judaism and Christianity, for which they received their name “Judaizers.”
The Judaizer sect was well kept secret. Therefore, the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady did not immediately succeed in bringing the heretics to light. In the end, one of the “Judaizers,” priest Naum, broke down and repented, and reported on the doctrine and cult of his co-religionists. A church investigation began. On the issue of punishing those guilty of heresy, opinions in the Russian Church were divided. Part of the clergy called for action against heretics with only spiritual exhortation, without physical punishment. But those who stood for physical execution won. And it was the foreign example that inspired them. In 1486, an ambassador of the Austrian emperor passed through Novgorod. He told Archbishop Gennady about the Spanish Inquisition and received great sympathy from him.
Gennady gave the heretics special torture in the style of the Spanish Inquisition. Gennady’s people put the arrested people on horses backwards, and they put birch bark caps with washcloths on their heads and with the inscription: “This is Satan’s army.” When the cavalcade arrived in the city square, the jester's helmets were set on fire on the heads of the heretics. Moreover, some of them were also publicly beaten, and several people were burned alive.
This action became the first inquisition experience of the Russian Orthodox Church. To the credit of the Russian clergy, it should be noted that they quite quickly managed to overcome this shameful temptation. So, unlike the Catholic Inquisition, our domestic church tribunals have not become a constant phenomenon, and their victims are counted in just a few.

9. Russia under Ivan III

The first detailed notes by foreigners about Russia, or Muscovy, to use their terminology, date back to the reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich and his son Vasily III.

The Venetian Josaphat Barbaro, a merchant, was struck first of all by the well-being of the Russian people. Noting the wealth of the Russian cities he saw, he wrote that all of Rus' in general was “abundant in bread, meat, honey and other useful things.”
Another Italian, Ambrogio Cantarini, especially emphasized the importance of Moscow as an international trade center: “Many merchants from Germany and Poland gather in the city throughout the winter.” He also left in his notes an interesting verbal portrait of Ivan III. According to him, the first sovereign of all Rus' was “tall, but thin, and generally a very handsome man.” As a rule, Cantarini continues, the rest of the Russians are “very beautiful, both men and women.” As a devout Catholic, Cantarini did not fail to note the unfavorable opinion of Muscovites about Italians: “They think that we are all dead people", that is, heretics.
Another Italian traveler Alberto Campenze composed an interesting note “On the Affairs of Muscovy” for Pope Clement VII. He mentions the well-organized border service of the Muscovites, the ban on the sale of wine and beer (except holidays). The morality of Muscovites, according to him, is beyond praise. “They consider it a terrible, vile crime to deceive each other,” writes Campenze. - Adultery, violence and public debauchery are also very rare. Unnatural vices are completely unknown, and perjury and blasphemy are completely unheard of.”
As we see, the vices of the West were not in fashion in Moscow at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. However, general progress very soon affected this side of Moscow life.

10. End of reign

The end of the reign of Ivan III was overshadowed by family and court intrigues. After the death of his son from his first marriage, Ivan the Young, the sovereign decided to transfer all power to his son - his grandson Demetrius, for which in 1498 he performed the first royal wedding ceremony in Russian history, during which barmas and the Monomakh's hat were placed on Demetrius .
But then supporters of another heir, Vasily, the son from the sovereign’s second marriage to Sophia Paleologus, gained the upper hand. In 1502, Ivan III “put disgrace” on Demetrius and his mother, Grand Duchess Elena, and Vasily, on the contrary, was granted a great reign.
All that remained was to find a worthy wife for the new heir.
Ivan III considered the crown and barmas of Monomakh to be equal in dignity to royal and even imperial crowns. Having himself married for the second time to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Princess Sophia Paleologus, he also looked for brides of royal origin for his children.
When the time had come for his eldest son from his second marriage, Vasily, to get married, Ivan Vasilyevich, without deviating from his rules, began wedding negotiations abroad. However, wherever he turned, he had to listen to a refusal that was unusual for his ears. The daughter of Ivan III, Elena, married to the Polish king, in a letter to her father explained the failure by the fact that in the West they do not like the Greek faith, considering the Orthodox to be non-Christians.
There was nothing to do, I had to intermarry with one of my slaves. The sovereign's heart, which suffered from such humiliation, was consoled by clever courtiers who pointed to examples from Byzantine history when emperors chose their wives from girls gathered to court from all over the state.
Ivan Vasilyevich perked up. The essence of the matter, of course, did not change, but the sovereign’s honor was saved! In this way, it happened that at the end of the summer of 1505, Moscow found itself chock-full of beauties, trembling from the proximity of extraordinary happiness - the grand ducal crown. Not a single modern beauty contest can compare in scale to those shows. There were neither more nor fewer girls - one and a half thousand! The midwives meticulously examined this lovely herd, and then, deemed fit to continue the sovereign's family, they appeared before the no less discerning gaze of the groom. Vasily took a liking to the girl Solomonia, the daughter of the noble Moscow boyar Yuri Konstantinovich Saburov. On September 4 of the same year the wedding took place. Since then, this, so to speak, herd method of marriage became a custom among Moscow sovereigns and lasted for almost two hundred years, until the reign of Peter I.
The wedding celebrations became the last joyful event in the life of Ivan Vasilyevich. A month and a half later he died. Vasily III unhinderedly took the paternal throne.

Ivan III Vasilievich (Ivan the Great) b. January 22, 1440 - died October 27, 1505 - Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, sovereign of all Rus'. Collector of Russian lands around Moscow, creator of an all-Russian state.

In the middle of the 15th century, Russian lands and principalities were in a state of political fragmentation. There were several strong political centers towards which all other regions gravitated; each of these centers carried out completely independent domestic policy and resisted all external enemies.

Such centers of power were Moscow, Novgorod the Great, beaten more than once, but still mighty Tver, as well as the Lithuanian capital - Vilna, which owned the entire colossal Russian region, called “Lithuanian Rus”. Political games, civil strife, foreign wars, economic and geographical factors gradually subjugated the weak to the strong. The possibility of creating a unified state arose.

Childhood

Ivan III was born on January 22, 1440 in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Vasilyevich. Ivan's mother was Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav Borovsky, Russian princess of the Serpukhov branch of the house of Daniel. He was born on the day of memory of the Apostle Timothy and in his honor received his “direct name” - Timothy. The nearest church holiday was the day of the transfer of the relics of St. John Chrysostom, in honor of which the prince received the name by which he is best known in history.

In his childhood, the prince suffered all the hardships of civil strife. 1452 - he was already sent as the nominal head of the army on a campaign against the Ustyug fortress of Kokshengu. The heir to the throne successfully fulfilled the order he received, cutting off Ustyug from the Novgorod lands and brutally ruining the Koksheng volost. Returning from the campaign with a victory, on June 4, 1452, Prince Ivan married his bride. Soon, the bloody civil strife that had lasted for a quarter of a century began to subside.

In subsequent years, Prince Ivan became his father's co-ruler. The inscription “Ospodari of All Rus'” appears on the coins of the Moscow State; he himself, like his father, Vasily, bears the title “Grand Duke”.

Accession to the throne

1462, March - Ivan's father, Grand Duke Vasily, became seriously ill. Shortly before this, he had drawn up a will, according to which he divided the grand-ducal lands between his sons. As the eldest son, Ivan received not only the great reign, but also the bulk of the territory of the state - 16 main cities (not counting Moscow, which he was supposed to own together with his brothers). When Vasily died on March 27, 1462, Ivan became the new Grand Duke without any problems.

Reign of Ivan III

Throughout the reign of Ivan III, the main goal of the country's foreign policy was the unification of northeastern Rus' into a single state. Having become the Grand Duke, Ivan III began his unification activities by confirming previous agreements with neighboring princes and generally strengthening his position. Thus, agreements were concluded with the Tver and Belozersky principalities; Prince Vasily Ivanovich, married to the sister of Ivan III, was placed on the throne of the Ryazan principality.

Unification of principalities

Beginning in the 1470s, activities aimed at annexing the remaining Russian principalities intensified sharply. The first was the Yaroslavl principality, which finally lost the remnants of independence in 1471. 1472 - Prince Yuri Vasilyevich of Dmitrov, Ivan’s brother, died. The Dmitrov principality passed to the Grand Duke.

1474 - the turn of the Rostov principality came. The Rostov princes sold “their half” of the principality to the treasury, finally turning into a service nobility as a result. The Grand Duke transferred what he received to his mother's inheritance.

Capture of Novgorod

The situation with Novgorod developed differently, which is explained by the difference in the nature of the statehood of the appanage principalities and the trade-aristocratic Novgorod state. An influential anti-Moscow party was formed there. A collision with Ivan III could not be avoided. 1471, June 6 - a ten-thousandth detachment of Moscow troops under the command of Danila Kholmsky set out from the capital in the direction of the Novgorod land, a week later the army of Striga Obolensky set out on a campaign, and on June 20, 1471, Ivan III himself began a campaign from Moscow. The advance of Moscow troops through the lands of Novgorod was accompanied by robberies and violence designed to intimidate the enemy.

Novgorod also did not sit idle. A militia was formed from the townspeople; the number of this army reached 40,000 people, but its combat effectiveness, due to the hasty formation of townspeople not trained in military affairs, was low. On July 14, a battle began between the opponents. In the process, the Novgorod army was completely defeated. The losses of the Novgorodians amounted to 12,000 people, about 2,000 people were captured.

1471, August 11 - a peace treaty was concluded, according to which Novgorod was obliged to pay an indemnity of 16,000 rubles, retained its state structure, but could not “surrender” to the rule of the Lithuanian Grand Duke; A significant part of the vast Dvina land was ceded to the Grand Duke of Moscow. But several more years passed before the final defeat of Novgorod, until on January 15, 1478 Novgorod surrendered, the veche order was abolished, and the veche bell and the city archive were sent to Moscow.

Invasion of the Tatar Khan Akhmat

Ivan III tears up the Khan's letter

Relations with the Horde, which were already tense, completely deteriorated by the early 1470s. The horde continued to disintegrate; on the territory of the former Golden Horde, in addition to its immediate successor (the “Great Horde”), the Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimean, Nogai and Siberian Hordes were also formed.

1472 - Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat began his campaign against Rus'. At Tarusa the Tatars met with a large Russian army. All attempts of the Horde to cross the Oka were repulsed. The Horde army burned the city of Aleksin, but the campaign as a whole ended in failure. Soon, Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, which inevitably should have led to new clashes.

1480, summer - Khan Akhmat moved to Rus'. Ivan III, having gathered his troops, headed south to the Oka River. For 2 months, the army, ready for battle, was waiting for the enemy, but Khan Akhmat, also ready for battle, did not begin offensive actions. Finally, in September 1480, Khan Akhmat crossed the Oka River south of Kaluga and headed through Lithuanian territory to the Ugra River. Fierce clashes began.

Attempts by the Horde to cross the river were successfully repulsed by Russian troops. Soon, Ivan III sent ambassador Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with rich gifts, asking him to retreat away and not ruin the “ulus”. 1480, October 26 - the Ugra River froze. The Russian army, having gathered together, retreated to the city of Kremenets, then to Borovsk. On November 11, Khan Akhmat gave the order to retreat. “Standing on the Ugra” ended with the actual victory of the Russian state, which received the desired independence. Khan Akhmat was soon killed; After his death, civil strife broke out in the Horde.

Expansion of the Russian state

The peoples of the North were also included in the Russian state. 1472 - “Great Perm”, inhabited by the Komi, Karelian lands, was annexed. Russian centralized state became a multinational superethnos. 1489 – Vyatka, remote and largely mysterious lands beyond the Volga for modern historians, was annexed to the Russian state.

The rivalry with Lithuania was of great importance. Moscow's desire to subjugate all Russian lands constantly encountered opposition from Lithuania, which had the same goal. Ivan directed his efforts towards the reunification of the Russian lands that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 1492, August - troops were sent against Lithuania. They were led by Prince Fyodor Telepnya Obolensky.

The cities of Mtsensk, Lyubutsk, Mosalsk, Serpeisk, Khlepen, Rogachev, Odoev, Kozelsk, Przemysl and Serensk were taken. A number of local princes went over to Moscow’s side, which strengthened the position of the Russian troops. And although the results of the war were secured by a dynastic marriage between the daughter of Ivan III Elena and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander, the war for the Seversky lands soon broke out with new strength. The decisive victory in it was won by Moscow troops at the Battle of Vedrosh on July 14, 1500.

By the beginning of the 16th century, Ivan III had every reason to call himself the Grand Duke of All Rus'.

Personal life of Ivan III

Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue

The first wife of Ivan III, Princess Maria Borisovna of Tver, died on April 22, 1467. Ivan began to look for another wife. 1469, February 11 - ambassadors from Rome appeared in Moscow to propose that the Grand Duke marry the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologus, who lived in exile after the fall of Constantinople. Ivan III, having overcome his religious rejection, sent the princess out of Italy and married her in 1472. In October of the same year, Moscow welcomed 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.

The main significance of this marriage was that the marriage to Sophia Paleologus contributed to the establishment of Russia as the successor to Byzantium and the proclamation of Moscow as the Third Rome, the stronghold of Orthodox Christianity. After his marriage to Sophia, Ivan III for the first time dared to show the European political world the new title of Sovereign of All Rus' and forced them to recognize it. Ivan was called “the sovereign of all Rus'.”

Formation of the Moscow State

At the beginning of Ivan's reign, the Moscow principality was surrounded by the lands of other Russian principalities; dying, he handed over to his son Vasily the country that united most of these principalities. Only Pskov, Ryazan, Volokolamsk and Novgorod-Seversky were able to maintain relative independence.

During the reign of Ivan III, the final formalization of the independence of the Russian state took place.

The complete unification of Russian lands and principalities into a powerful power required a series of cruel, bloody wars, in which one of the rivals had to crush the forces of all the others. Internal transformations were no less necessary; V state system Each of the listed centers continued to maintain semi-dependent appanage principalities, as well as cities and institutions that had noticeable autonomy.

Their complete submission central government ensured that whoever could do this first would have a strong rear in the fight against neighbors and an increase in their own military power. To put it another way, the greatest chance of victory was not the state that had the most perfect, softest and most democratic legislation, but the state whose internal unity would be unshakable.

Before Ivan III, who ascended the grand-ducal throne in 1462, such a state had not yet existed, and hardly anyone could have imagined the very possibility of its emergence in such a short period of time and within such impressive borders. In all of Russian history there is no event or process comparable in significance to the formation at the turn of the 15th–16th centuries. Moscow State.