Characteristics of Vasily 3 briefly. The question of the heir to the throne after Ivan III

See also in the Presidential Library:

Polevoy N. A. History of the Russian people. T. 6. From the formation of the political identity of the Russian state, or the death of Grand Duke John III to the end of the dynasties of ancient Russian princes, or the accession to the Russian throne of Boris Godunov (from 1505 to 1598). M., 1833;

Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. Book 2. T. 7. St. Petersburg, 1842;

Solovyov S. M. History of relations between the Russian princes of Rurik’s house. M., 1847. S. 575 .

Under Vasily III, the last semi-independent fiefs and principalities were annexed to Moscow. The Grand Duke limited the privileges of the princely-boyar aristocracy. He became famous for his victorious war against Lithuania.

Childhood and youth

The future emperor of the Rus was born in the spring of 1479. They named the grand-ducal son in honor of Vasily the Confessor, and at baptism they gave him the Christian name Gabriel. Vasily III is the first son born to her husband Sophia Paleologus, and the second eldest. At the time of his birth, his half-brother was 21 years old. Later, Sophia gave birth to her wife four more sons.

Vasily III's path to the throne was thorny: Ivan the Young was considered the main heir and legal successor of the sovereign. The second competitor for the throne turned out to be the son of Ivan the Young, Dmitry, who was favored by his august grandfather.

In 1490, the eldest son of Ivan III died, but the boyars did not want to see Vasily on the throne and sided with Dmitry and his mother Elena Voloshanka. The second wife of Ivan III, Sophia Paleologue, and her son were supported by the clerks and boyar children who led the orders. Vasily's supporters pushed him into a conspiracy, advising the prince to kill Dmitry Vnuk and, having seized the treasury, flee from Moscow.

The sovereign's people uncovered the plot, those involved were executed, and Ivan III put his rebellious son in custody. Suspecting his wife Sophia Paleologue of bad intentions, the Grand Duke of Moscow began to beware of her. Having learned that sorcerers were coming to see his wife, the sovereign ordered the “dashing women” to be seized and drowned in the Moscow River under cover of darkness.

In February 1498, Dmitry was crowned prince, but a year later the pendulum swung in the opposite direction: the sovereign’s favor abandoned his grandson. Vasily, at the behest of his father, accepted Novgorod and Pskov into the reign. In the spring of 1502, Ivan III put his daughter-in-law Elena Voloshanka and grandson Dmitry into custody, and blessed Vasily for the great reign and declared autocrat of all Rus'.

Governing body

In domestic politics, Vasily III was a supporter of strict rule and believed that power should not be limited by anything. He dealt with dissatisfied boyars without delay and relied on the church in his confrontation with the opposition. But in 1521, Metropolitan Varlaam fell under the hot hand of the Grand Duke of Moscow: the priest was exiled for his unwillingness to side with the autocrat in the fight against the appanage prince Vasily Shemyakin.

Vasily III considered criticism unacceptable. In 1525, he executed diplomat Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev: the statesman did not accept the Greek innovations introduced into the life of Rus' by the sovereign’s mother Sophia.

Over the years, the despotism of Vasily III intensified: the sovereign, increasing the number of landed nobility, limited the privileges of the boyars. The son and grandson continued the centralization of Rus' begun by his father Ivan III and grandfather Vasily the Dark.

In church politics, the new sovereign sided with the Josephites, who defended the right of monasteries to own land and property. Their non-covetous opponents were executed or imprisoned in monastery cells. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible's father, a new Code of Law appeared, which has not survived to this day.

The era of Vasily III Ivanovich saw a construction boom, which was started by his father. The Archangel Cathedral appeared in the Moscow Kremlin, and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord appeared in Kolomenskoye.

The tsar’s two-story travel palace has also survived to this day - one of the oldest monuments of civil architecture in the Russian capital. There were many such small palaces (“putinkas”) in which Vasily III and the retinue accompanying the tsar rested before entering the Kremlin, but only the palace on Staraya Basmannaya has survived.

Opposite the “putinka” there is another architectural monument - the Church of St. Nikita the Martyr. It appeared in 1518 by order of Vasily III and was originally made of wood. In 1685, a stone church was built in its place. They prayed under the arches of the ancient temple, Fyodor Rokotov,.

In foreign policy, Vasily III was noted as a collector of Russian lands. At the beginning of his reign, the Pskovites asked to annex them to the Moscow Principality. The Tsar did with them as Ivan III had done with the Novgorodians earlier: he resettled 3 hundred noble families from Pskov to Moscow, giving their estates to service people.

After the third siege in 1514, Smolensk was taken, and Vasily III used artillery to conquer it. The annexation of Smolensk became the sovereign's greatest military success.

In 1517, the tsar put into custody the last prince of Ryazan, Ivan Ivanovich, who had conspired with the Crimean Khan. Soon he was tonsured a monk, and his inheritance was extended to the Principality of Moscow. Then the Starodub and Novgorod-Seversky principalities surrendered.

At the beginning of his reign, Vasily III made peace with Kazan, and after breaking the agreement, he went on a campaign against the Khanate. The war with Lithuania was a success. The results of the reign of the Sovereign of All Rus' Vasily Ivanovich was the strengthening of the country, and people learned about it beyond distant borders. Relations began with France and India.

Personal life

Ivan III married his son a year before his death. It was not possible to find a noble wife: Solomonia Saburova, a girl of a non-boyar family, was chosen as Vasily’s wife.

At the age of 46, Vasily III was seriously concerned that his wife had not given him an heir. The boyars advised the king to divorce the barren Solomonia. Metropolitan Daniel approved the divorce. In November 1525, the Grand Duke separated from his wife, who was tonsured a nun at the Nativity Convent.

After the tonsure, rumors arose that the ex-wife imprisoned in the monastery gave birth to a son, Georgy Vasilyevich, but there is no convincing evidence of this. According to popular rumor, the grown son of Saburova and Vasily Ivanovich became the robber Kudeyar, sung in Nekrasov’s “Song of the Twelve Thieves.”

A year after the divorce, the nobleman chose the daughter of the late Prince Glinsky. The girl conquered the king with her education and beauty. For the sake of it, the prince even shaved off his beard, which went against Orthodox traditions.

4 years passed, and the second wife still did not give the king the long-awaited heir. The Emperor and his wife went to Russian monasteries. It is generally accepted that the prayers of Vasily Ivanovich and his wife were heard by the Monk Paphnutius of Borovsky. In August 1530, Elena gave birth to her first child, Ivan, the future Ivan the Terrible. A year later, a second boy appeared - Yuri Vasilyevich.

Death

The Tsar did not enjoy fatherhood for long: when his first-born was 3 years old, the Tsar fell ill. On the way from the Trinity Monastery to Volokolamsk, Vasily III discovered an abscess on his thigh.

After treatment, there was short-term relief, but after a couple of months the doctor pronounced a verdict that only a miracle could save Vasily: the patient had developed blood poisoning.

In December, the king died, blessing his first-born son to the throne. The remains were buried in the Moscow Archangel Cathedral.

Researchers suggest that Vasily III died of terminal cancer, but in the 16th century doctors did not know about such a disease.

Memory

• During the reign of Vasily III, a new Code of Law was created, the Archangel Cathedral and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord were built.
• In 2007, Alexey Shishov published the study “Vasily III: The Last Gatherer of the Russian Land.”
• In 2009, the premiere of the series “Ivan the Terrible,” directed by the director, took place, in which the actor played the role of Vasily III.
• In 2013, Alexander Melnik’s book “Moscow Grand Duke Vasily III and the Cults of Russian Saints” was published.

Vasily III Ivanovich in baptism Gabriel, in monasticism Varlaam (born March 25, 1479 - death December 3, 1533) - Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow (1505-1533), Sovereign of All Rus'. Parents: father John III Vasilyevich the Great, mother Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus. Children: from first marriage: George (presumably); from his second marriage: and Yuri.

Vasily 3 short biography (article review)

The son of John III from his marriage to Sophia Palaeologus, Vasily the Third was distinguished by his pride and inaccessibility, punishing the descendants of appanage princes and boyars under his control who dared to contradict him. He is “the last collector of the Russian land.” After annexing the last appanages (Pskov, the northern principality), he completely destroyed the appanage system. He fought with Lithuania twice, following the teachings of the Lithuanian nobleman Mikhail Glinsky, who entered his service, and finally, in 1514, he was able to take Smolensk from the Lithuanians. The war with Kazan and Crimea was difficult for Vasily, but ended in the punishment of Kazan: Trade was diverted from there to the Makaryev fair, which was later moved to Nizhny. Vasily divorced his wife Solomonia Saburova and married the princess, which further aroused the boyars who were dissatisfied with him against him. From this marriage Vasily had a son, Ivan IV the Terrible.

Biography of Vasily III

The beginning of the reign. Bride's choice

The new Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III Ivanovich began his reign by resolving the “throne issue” with his nephew Dmitry. Immediately after his father’s death, he ordered him to be shackled “in iron” and put in a “close room,” where he died 3 years later. Now the tsar had no “legitimate” opponents in the competition for the grand princely throne.

Vasily ascended the Moscow throne at the age of 26. Having later shown himself to be a skilled politician, even under his father he was preparing for the role of autocrat in the Russian state. It was not in vain that he refused a bride from among the foreign princesses and for the first time a bridesmaid ceremony for Russian brides was organized at the Grand Duke's palace. 1505, summer - 1,500 noble girls were brought to the bride.

A special boyar commission, after a careful selection, presented the heir to the throne with ten worthy candidates in all respects. Vasily chose Salomonia, the daughter of boyar Yuri Saburov. This marriage would be unsuccessful - the royal couple had no children, and, first of all, no son-heir. In the first half of the 20s, the problem of an heir for the grand ducal couple worsened to the limit. In the absence of an heir to the throne, Prince Yuri automatically became the main contender for the kingdom. Vasily developed a hostile relationship with him. It is a well-known fact that the appanage prince himself and his entourage were under the watchful eye of informants. The transfer of supreme power in the state to Yuri generally promised a large-scale shake-up in the ruling elite of Russia.

According to the strictness of the observed tradition, the second marriage of an Orthodox Christian in Russia was possible only in two cases: the death or voluntary departure of the first wife to a monastery. The sovereign's wife was healthy and, contrary to the official report, had no intention of voluntarily entering a monastery. Salomonia's disgrace and forced tonsure at the end of November 1525 completed this act of family drama, which split Russian educated society for a long time.

Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich on the hunt

Foreign policy

Vasily the Third continued his father’s policy of creating a unified Russian state, “followed the same rules in foreign and domestic policy; showed modesty in the actions of monarchical power, but knew how to command; loved the benefits of peace, not fearing war and not missing the opportunity to gain important for the sovereign power; less famous for his military happiness, more for his cunning that was dangerous to his enemies; did not humiliate Russia, he even exalted it...” (N. M. Karamzin).

At the very beginning of his reign, in 1506, he launched an unsuccessful campaign against the Kazan Khan, which ended in the flight of the Russian army. This beginning greatly inspired King Alexander of Lithuania, who, relying on the youth and inexperience of Vasily III, offered him peace with the condition of returning the lands conquered by John III. A rather stern and brief answer was given to such a proposal - the Russian Tsar owns only his own lands. But, in the letter of accession to the throne sent to Alexander, Vasily rejected the complaints of the Lithuanian boyars against the Russians as unfair, and reminded of the inadmissibility of converting Elena (Alexander’s wife and sister of Vasily III) and other Christians living in Lithuania to Catholicism.

Alexander realized that a young but strong king had ascended the throne. When Alexander died in August 1506, Vasily tried to offer himself as king of Lithuania and Poland in order to end the confrontation with Russia. However, Alexander’s brother Sigismund, who did not want peace with Russia, ascended the throne. Out of frustration, the sovereign tried to recapture Smolensk, but after several battles there were no winners, and a peace was concluded, according to which all the lands conquered under John III remained with Russia and Russia promised not to encroach on Smolensk and Kyiv. As a result of this peace treaty, the Glinsky brothers appeared in Russia for the first time - noble Lithuanian nobles who had a conflict with Sigismund and who came under the protection of the Russian Tsar.

By 1509, external relations had been regulated: letters were received from Russia’s longtime friend and ally, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, which confirmed the invariability of his attitude towards Russia; A 14-year peace treaty was concluded with Livonia, with the exchange of prisoners and the resumption of: security of movement in both powers and trade on the same mutually beneficial terms. It was also important that, according to this agreement, the Germans broke off allied relations with Poland.

Domestic policy

Tsar Vasily believed that nothing should limit the power of the Grand Duke. He enjoyed the active support of the Church in the fight against the feudal boyar opposition, harshly dealing with those who expressed dissatisfaction.

Now Vasily the Third could engage in domestic politics. He turned his attention to Pskov, which proudly bore the name of “brother of Novgorod.” Using the example of Novgorod, the sovereign knew where the boyars' freedom could lead, and therefore wanted to subjugate the city to his power without leading to a rebellion. The reason for this was the refusal of the landowners to pay tribute, everyone quarreled and the governor had no choice but to turn to the court of the Grand Duke.

In January 1510, the young tsar went to Novgorod, where he received a large embassy of Pskovites, which consisted of 70 noble boyars. The trial ended with all the Pskov boyars being put into custody, because the tsar was dissatisfied with their insolence against the governor and injustice against the people. In connection with this, the sovereign demanded that the Pskov residents abandon the veche and accept the sovereign's governors in all their cities.

Noble boyars, feeling guilty and not having the strength to resist the Grand Duke, wrote a letter to the people of Pskov, asking them to agree to the demands of the Grand Duke. It was sad for the free people of Pskov to gather in the square for the last time to the ringing of the veche bell. At this meeting, the sovereign’s ambassadors announced their consent to submit to the royal will. Vasily III arrived in Pskov, restored order there and installed new officials; took the oath of allegiance to all residents and founded the new church of St. Xenia; the commemoration of this saint occurred precisely on the day of the end of the freedom of the city of Pskov. Vasily sent 300 noble Pskovites to the capital and went home a month later. Following him, the veche bell of the Pskovites was soon taken.

By 1512, relations with the Crimean Khanate worsened. The intelligent and loyal Khan Mengli-Girey, who was a reliable ally of John III, grew very old, became decrepit, and his sons, the young princes Akhmat and Burnash-Girey, began to lead politics. Sigismund, who hated Russia even more than Alexander, was able to bribe the brave princes and incite them to campaign against Rus'. Sigismund was especially furious when he lost Smolensk in 1514, which had been under Lithuania for 110 years.

Sigismund regretted that he released Mikhail Glinsky, who diligently served the new land, to Russia, and began to demand the return of the Glinskys. M. Glinsky made special efforts during the capture of Smolensk; he hired skilled foreign soldiers. Mikhail had the hope that, out of gratitude to his services, the sovereign would make him the sovereign prince of Smolensk. However, the Grand Duke did not love and did not trust Glinsky - he who cheated once will cheat a second time. In general, Vasily struggled with inheritances. And so it happened: offended, Mikhail Glinsky went over to Sigismund, but fortunately, the governors were quickly able to catch him and, by order of the tsar, he was sent in chains to Moscow.

1515 - the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey died, and his throne was inherited by his son Muhamed-Girey, who, unfortunately, did not inherit many of his father’s good qualities. During his reign (until 1523), the Crimean army acted either on the side of Lithuania or Russia - everything depended on who would pay the most.

The power of Russia of that era aroused the respect of various countries. Ambassadors from Constantinople brought a letter and an affectionate letter from the famous and terrible Turkish Sultan Soliman for all of Europe. Good diplomatic relations with him frightened the eternal enemies of Russia - Mukhamet-Girey and Sigismund. The latter, without even arguing about Smolensk, made peace for 5 years.

Solomonia Saburova. Painting by P. Mineeva

Unification of Russian lands

Such a respite gave the Grand Duke time and strength to fulfill his and his great father’s long-standing intention - to completely destroy the appanages. And he succeeded. The Ryazan inheritance, ruled by the young Prince John, almost seceded from Russia, with the active participation of Khan Mukhamet. Put in prison, Prince John fled to Lithuania, where he died, and the Ryazan principality, which had been separate and independent for 400 years, merged in 1521 into the Russian state. There remained the Seversky Principality, where Vasily Shemyakin, the grandson of the famous Dmitry Shemyaka, who troubled power during the times, reigned. This Shemyakin, so similar to his grandfather, had long been suspected of friendship with Lithuania. 1523 - his correspondence with Sigismund was revealed, and this is already open treason to the fatherland. Prince Vasily Shemyakin was thrown into prison, where he died.

Thus, the dream of uniting Rus', fragmented into appanage principalities, into a single whole under the rule of one king was realized.

1523 - the Russian city of Vasilsursk was founded on Kazan soil, and this event marked the beginning of the decisive conquest of the Kazan kingdom. And although throughout his reign Vasily the Third had to fight the Tatars and repel their raids, in 1531 the Kazan Khan Enalei became a novice of the Russian Tsar, recognizing his power.

Divorce and marriage

Everything was going well in the Russian state, but Vasily III did not have an heir for 20 years of marriage. And various boyar parties began to be formed for and against a divorce from the barren Saburova. The king needs an heir. 1525 - a divorce took place, and Solomonida Saburova was tonsured a nun, and in 1526, Tsar Vasily Ivanovich married Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya, the niece of the traitor Mikhail Glinsky, who in 1530 gave birth to her first son and heir to the throne, John IV (the Terrible ).

Elena Glinskaya - second wife of Grand Duke Vasily III

Board results

The first signs of the prosperity of the Russian state were successfully developing trade. The largest centers besides Moscow were Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk and Pskov. The Grand Duke cared about the development of trade, which he constantly pointed out to his governors. Handicrafts also developed. Craft suburbs - settlements - emerged in many cities. The country provided itself, at that time, with everything necessary and was ready to export more goods than import what it needed. The wealth of Rus', the abundance of arable land, forest lands with precious furs, are unanimously noted by foreigners who visited Muscovy in
those years.

Under Vasily III, urban planning and the construction of Orthodox churches continued to develop. The Italian Fioravanti builds in Moscow, following the model of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral, which becomes the main shrine of Muscovite Rus'. The cathedral will be an image for Russian temple craftsmen for many decades.

Under Vasily III, the construction of the Kremlin was completed - in 1515 a wall was erected along the Neglinnaya River. The Moscow Kremlin is turning into one of the best fortresses in Europe. Being the residence of the monarch, the Kremlin becomes a symbol of the Russian state right up to the present day.

Death

Vasily III always had enviable health and he was not seriously ill with anything, probably because it was so unexpected that an abscess on his leg led him to death 2 months later. He died on the night of December 3-4, 1533, having managed to give all orders for the state, transferring power to his 3-year-old son John, and the guardianship of his mother, the boyars and his brothers - Andrei and Yuri; and before his last breath he managed to accept the schema.

Vasily was called a kind and affectionate sovereign, and therefore it is not surprising that his death was so sad for the people. Throughout the 27 years of his reign, the Grand Duke worked hard for the good and greatness of his state and was able to achieve a lot.

That night, for the history of the Russian state, “the last collector of the Russian land” passed away.

According to one of the legends, during the tonsure Solomonia was pregnant, gave birth to a son, George, and handed him over “to safe hands,” and everyone was told that the newborn had died. Subsequently, this child will become the famous robber Kudeyar, who with his gang will rob rich carts. This legend interested Ivan the Terrible very much. The hypothetical Kudeyar was his older half-brother, which means that he could lay claim to the royal throne. This story is most likely a folk fiction.

For the second time, Vasily III married a Lithuanian woman, young Elena Glinskaya. Only 4 years later Elena gave birth to her first child, Ivan Vasilyevich. As the legend goes, at the hour of the baby's birth, a terrible thunderstorm allegedly broke out. Thunder struck from the clear sky and shook the earth to its foundations. The Kazan Khansha, having learned about the birth of an heir, said to the Moscow messengers: “A king was born to you, and he has two teeth: with one he can eat us (Tatars), and with the other you.”

There was a rumor that Ivan was an illegitimate son, but this is unlikely: an examination of the remains of Elena Glinskaya showed that she had red hair. As you know, Ivan was also red-haired.

Vasily III was the first Russian tsar to shave his chin hair. As legend has it, he trimmed his beard to make himself look younger to his young wife. He did not last long in a beardless state.