The formation of a single centralized state as a result of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow during the 14th-15th centuries was a very complex and controversial phenomenon. It had a number distinctive features compared to a similar process in a number of Western European countries. At the same time, the defining moment was not so much economic need as the national-patriotic idea of unification to fight for independence. Undoubtedly, the unification of Russian lands did not yet mean overcoming the economic and social uniqueness of the territory. However, already at this time Rus' appeared before Europe as a mighty nation state Russia.
It was a turning point Russian history, the era of choosing your own development path. Such periods have always been of great interest to historical science and were assessed far from unambiguously.
The problem of the formation of a unified Russian state was given attention in the fundamental studies of the largest Russian historians N.M. Karamzina, S.M. Solovyova, V.O. Klyuchevsky and others. They note the progressive historically determined nature of this process. At the same time, the statesman Karamzin emphasized the exceptional importance of the great princes in the creation of Muscovite Rus'. According to his views, Russia “was founded by victories and unity of command, perished from discord, and was saved by a wise autocracy.”
CM. Solovyov in to a greater extent paid attention to the objective, historically prepared reasons for the formation of the Russian state, to the victory of the new state principle over the old family one.
In terms of the general concept of the progressiveness of the emergence of the Moscow state, V.O. Klyuchevsky and P.N. Miliukov’s assessment of the significance of the struggle for national independence for the unification of Russian lands prevails. A.N. Miliukov called Muscovite Rus' a military-national state.
A unique point of view on the problem of the formation of the Russian state was expressed by the historian and philosopher G.P. Fedotov. In contrast to N.M. To Karamzin, he holds the Russian princes responsible for the barbaric, Asian gatherings of Russian lands, which, in his opinion, led in the future to the creation of despotic autocratic rule.
In Soviet historiography, the issue of the emergence of the Russian centralized state was illuminated from the prevailing positions of Marxism-Leninism through the prism of class struggle and oppression working people. Moreover, this formulation of the question was recognized as the only correct one.
The variety of points of view on the problem under consideration, a large source material gives historians the opportunity to deeply and comprehensively analyze the essence of this period and understand its features historical place.
In this regard, the research of L.V. is of interest. Cherepnin “The formation of the Russian state in the XIV-XV centuries,” V.I. Bulgakova, A.A. Preobrazhensky, Yu.A. Tikhonov “The Evolution of Feudalism in Russia”, L.N. Gumilyov and A.T. Panchenko “So that the candle does not go out.” These works were not written at the same time, but they are equally relevant, since the authors explore the most important problems: the causes of fragmentation and its overcoming in Rus', the situation of various categories of the population, the interdependence of the processes of unification of territories and the formation of a centralized apparatus of power, they clarify the chronological framework of the period under study .
On this topic, one should also highlight works devoted to individual events and historical figures Moscow Rus'. Among them: Legend and stories about the Battle of Kulikovo / Ed. D.S. Likhachev and L. Ioffe; Kirpichnikov A.N. Battle of Kulikovo; Alekseev Yu.G. Sovereign of All Rus'; Bushuev S.V., Mironov G.E. Essays on the Russian State: historical and bibliographer. essays. Book 1: IX-XVI centuries. M., 1991. Thus, there is a very significant historiographical base, a wide range of views on the problem of the formation Russian state allow the most objective analysis of the historical course of events.
In the 14th century, a slow process of overcoming fragmentation and forming a single state began in Rus'. Its main territory consisted of the Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Smolensk, Murom-Ryazan lands, as well as part of the lands Principality of Chernigov.
The unification of the country and centralization became possible precisely during the period when the forces of the Russian lands increased for more active resistance to the Horde yoke.
The process of collecting Russian lands went through several stages. The first stage is associated with the allocation of the Moscow principality under Prince Daniil in the last quarter of the 13th century and continued until the second half of the 14th century - the time of the reign of Ivan Kalita and his sons. During this period, the foundations of Moscow's power were laid. Then follows the reign of Dmitry Donskoy and his son Vasily I, i.e. the second half of the 14th century. It was characterized by significant military successes of Rus' in the fight against the Golden Horde, the territorial growth of Moscow lands and an increase in the authority of Moscow princes.
An independent stage in the formation of a unified Russian state was the second half of the 15th century, which was engulfed in a long internecine war for the seizure of the Moscow throne.
The final period of the unification of Russian lands was the second half of the 15th century, associated with the reign of Ivan III. This is the time of formation of the foundations of the state structure of Russia, the design of its external borders and attributes of the supreme power, the time final release from the Horde yoke.
Simultaneously with the process of creating a unified Russian state, the formation of the Russian or Great Russian nationality took place, united not only by political, economic ties, patriotic feelings, but also by a single all-Russian language, which arose on the basis of erased local dialects.
Moscow became the center for the unification of Russian lands and the formation of a single state. The problem of the rise of Moscow requires in-depth historical analysis. One of the most common points of view connects the rise of Moscow with favorable geographical and social conditions: the Moscow district was an area of developed agriculture and crafts for that time, convenient river and land roads converged on Moscow, a knot was tied in Moscow trade relations between Russian lands, an ethnic core formed around it, from which the Great Russian people grew, and a certain territorial distance from the arena of Mongol-Tatar raids guaranteed Moscow relatively greater security than other cities.
However, these prerequisites can rather be considered as a tendency towards the creation of a single state around Moscow, and the skillful and far-sighted policy of the Moscow princes became the determining factor. They not only managed to break through to the grand ducal throne, but also retain it, despite the princely feuds and intrigues of the Horde.
The first mention of Moscow in the chronicle dates back to 1147. The founding of Moscow is associated with the name of the Vladimir prince Yuri Dolgoruky, who ordered the founding of a small fortress city named after the Moscow River that flowed here. In subsequent times, the principality formed around Moscow continued to occupy an insignificant place among appanage principalities. It played a modest role in the life of Rus' in the 13th century, therefore, after the death of Prince Alexander Nevsky Muscovy went to his fifteen-year-old son Daniil, who became the founder of the Moscow princely house. The young Daniel did not participate in the struggle for grand-ducal power, but directed all his efforts to strengthening his appanage lands and was very successful in this. He managed to recapture Kolomna from the Ryazan principality, and a year later inherited the Pereyaslavl-Zalessky lands. Thus, densely populated territories with developed agriculture gathered around Moscow, and access to the lower reaches of the Moscow River and Oka opened.
The Principality of Moscow became even more active under the son of Prince Daniil Alexandrovich Yuri (1304-1325). Under him, the Mozhaisk principality was annexed and the struggle for the great reign began. In this confrontation, the interests of the Moscow and Tver princes collided most sharply. The geographical, economic, social conditions and opportunities of the principalities were approximately equal and the more intense was their rivalry, therefore the question of the center of a unified Russian state was decided by specific historical events, not excluding accidents.
This rivalry manifested itself most harshly and even cruelly in the relations between Yuri Daniilovich and the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich, when the question arose of obtaining a grand ducal label in the Horde. Initially this label was given to Mikhail Yaroslavich. A grueling, difficult period for the Russian people began. Civil War"two principalities. Both princes were not scrupulous in their choice of means of struggle. Strengthening his dominance and power, using his own forces and the Horde army, the Tver prince destroyed the neighboring Russian lands to intimidate his opponent. The Moscow prince, having won the favor of the Horde with the help of gifts, flattery, and marriage to the khan's sister, in turn, also carried out pogroms, threatening Tver.
As a result, as noted by V.O. Klyuchevsky, Prince Yuri of Moscow, challenging the great reign of his cousin Mikhail Tverskoy, killed his rival in the Horde, but then he laid down his head, killed by Mikhail’s son Dmitry, nicknamed Terrible Eyes. But the triumph of Prince Dmitry was short-lived. By order of the Horde Khan, he was executed, but the Grand Duke's label was not taken away from Tver. Its owner was the second son of the executed Prince Mikhail, Alexander. Despite all these events, according to V.O. Klyuchevsky, the final triumph remained with Moscow, because the means of the fighting parties were unequal. The Moscow princes had money, they knew how to take advantage of circumstances, that is, they had material and practical means, while Rus' was going through a time when these means were most effective.
The successor of Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich was his brother Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita. His personality, as well as the time of his reign, are assessed by historians in very contradictory ways. So, N.M. Karamzin saw in Ivan Danilovich the guarantor of the strengthening and stability of Moscow, justifying all his actions with this, and the historian gave a compromise definition of the time of his reign - “happy villainy.”
IN. Klyuchevsky treated the prince’s personality without much sympathy, rather with a degree of sarcasm, linking the strengthening of his position with the availability of money and constant ingratiation and servility to the Horde. “None of the princes more often than Kalita,” wrote Klyuchevsky, “went to bow to the khan, and there he was always a welcome guest, because he did not come there empty-handed. Thanks to this, the Moscow prince, by genealogy the youngest among his brethren, achieved the senior grand-ducal throne.”
However, no matter how the role of Ivan Danilovich is assessed, the period of his reign took special place in the history of Moscow land and future Russia.
A major success of Ivan Kalita on the path to advancement to grand-ducal power was his participation in the suppression of the Tver uprising in 1327. An uprising broke out against the Horde Baskak Cholkhan, as a result of which he was killed. As a reward for the assistance provided, Prince Ivan received a label for the great reign and the right to exercise judicial power there.
As a result, Ivan Kalita's position became significantly stronger. This course of events suited both the Horde and Ivan Danilovich. Already from this period, the Moscow principality and its throne became so strong that no one dared to challenge the title of Grand Duke with the Moscow prince.
The unusually favorable political situation for Moscow in North-Eastern Rus' allowed Ivan Kalita to carry out construction on an unprecedented scale in Moscow and, above all, in the Kremlin. This was supposed to strengthen people's faith in the idea of God's chosenness of the Moscow prince. The main place of residence of the metropolitan was finally moved to Moscow, which also asserted the priority of the emerging capital. While Ivan Danilovich was in power, new lands were annexed to the Moscow Principality. The Moscow prince was already called the Grand Duke of Vladimir and at the same time - Prince of Novgorod.
In strengthening the Moscow throne, Ivan Kalita undoubtedly pursued selfish interests: having great personal wealth, he sought to increase it. It is no coincidence that the nickname Kalita among the people meant “wallet for money.” Increasing the wealth of Moscow and his personal fortune, Ivan Danilovich managed to pass on to his descendants strong principality. This allowed him to enter into an open struggle with the Horde in the future, although in the first half of the 14th century the essence of the development of Rus' was directed not at confrontation, but at compromise with the Horde.
The sons of Ivan Kalita, Semyon Ivanovich Proud (1341-1353) and Ivan Ivanovich the Red (1353-1359), continued their father’s policies. However, this period was not easy for Rus' either. WITH mid-XIV century, the onslaught of its western neighbors intensified: in 1341, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd Gediminovich attacked Mozhaisk, five years later Lithuanian troops defeated the Novgorod land, in the 50s Lithuania captured the cities of Rzhev and Bryansk. Strengthening its position, Lithuania entered into an alliance with the Horde. At the same time, raids on the Russian state by Swedish and Livonian knights.
In this difficult situation, the princes of the Kalita family managed to maintain both the positions of Moscow and unity among themselves. Addressing the younger ones of his family, Semyon the Proud in his will called on them to “live together” (together), not to listen to dashing people who would quarrel with them, so that the memory of their parents would not cease and the candle would not go out. The candle that the prince wrote about in his will actually almost went out in the late 50s - early 60s, when Prince Ivan Ivanovich died at the age of 33. His heir, son Dmitry, was only nine years old. There was a child on the Moscow throne who could not himself achieve a label for the great reign, which was immediately taken advantage of by the contenders for grand-ducal power.
One of these contenders was the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich, who received a label for the great reign in the Horde, but by the time the young Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich came into power, Moscow had already gained strength and it was difficult to take away the primacy from it. The metropolitan began to play a special role at this time. With the support of the Moscow boyars, he managed to return the throne to Dmitry, which he occupied from 1359 to 1389.
During his reign, many events happened. WITH new strength rivalry with Tver flared up. Under these conditions, Moscow was looking for allies, trying to achieve real recognition of its primacy, in which it succeeded.
At the same time, Moscow sought to declare itself not only by force, but also by power, appearance, and wealth. The city began to transform, construction especially accelerated after the fire of 1365. The restoration of Moscow took on a political overtones.
In the changed conditions, the Tver prince was never able to take advantage of the label for the great reign received in 1371 and was forced to agree with the “conquest and worship” of Moscow. This was not just a victory of one principality over another, it was a solution to the issue of the grand ducal throne not in the Horde, but in Rus' itself.
It is important to note one more point - the emergence of a new worldview for the feudal era: an understanding of the need to unite Russian lands for a joint struggle for state independence.
The growing influence of the Moscow Principality also led to a change in relations with the Horde. The essence of these changes was the transition from a policy of humility and obedience to a policy of struggle against the Golden Horde, especially since the situation there had changed. The horde was torn apart by contradictions and civil strife, the importance of khan's power. With the strengthening of the position of Temnik Mamai, a cruel, cunning and intelligent ruler, the Horde managed to achieve some stability, but it was not durable. Mamai associated the strengthening of his position and the return of the previous status to his state with the restoration of Horde rule over Russia. Prince Dmitry, in turn, also sought to increase the prestige of Moscow by getting rid of Tatar yoke. So the collision warring parties became inevitable.
In 1378, a battle took place on the Vozha River in the Ryazan Principality, in which the Tatar army was defeated, but the issue of confrontation was not resolved. Both sides began to prepare for the final fight. Such a battle had important not only to strengthen the prestige of the Horde, but also for Dmitry Ivanovich himself, since the struggle to overthrow the Tatar yoke and ensure the security of Russian borders became the most important condition for the completion of the state- political unification around Moscow.
Both sides were preparing for battle. Mamai entered into an agreement with the Lithuanian prince Jagiello and entered into secret negotiations with the Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich about joint actions against Moscow. In this situation, it is difficult to unambiguously assess the actions of the Ryazan prince. The conclusion of a military alliance on the part of the Ryazan prince was driven, perhaps, not only and not so much by dissatisfaction with the growing dominance of Moscow, as by the fear of another devastation of the border lands of Ryazan due to conflicts between the Horde and Moscow. Oleg Ivanovich’s behavior can be considered neutral rather than hostile to Moscow. He informed Prince Dmitry about the movement of the Horde troops, and did not prevent his boyars and their squads from joining and fighting in the Moscow militia. In addition, Prince Dmitry, having crossed the Don with his troops, was not afraid to leave the forces of the Ryazan prince in the rear.
Upcoming battle with the Horde had a political, national liberation and moral character and was illuminated by the church. The Monk Sergius of Radonezh provided significant assistance to the Moscow prince. He not only blessed Dmitry Ivanovich for the great battle, but also predicted the death of Mamaia, which raised the morale of the Russian army. IN short term Regiments and militias from almost all the lands of North-Eastern Rus' gathered in Moscow.
On September 8, 1380, on the Kulikovo field beyond the Don, Russian soldiers under the leadership of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich completely
defeated the Tatar forces. For this victory, the people named Prince Dmitry Donskoy, and with this name he went down in history. Mamai, who compromised himself in the battle with the Russians, was overthrown in the Horde. He fled to Crimea, where he was killed. The Battle of Kulikovo Field was won, but this victory had mainly moral, psychological significance and required such effort that it became impossible to repel the next Horde attack.
In 1382, the new Tatar Khan Tokhtamysh suddenly invaded Russian lands, attacked Moscow, devastated it and demanded the renewal of tribute. Prince Dmitry, unable to muster the strength to repel the enemy, was forced to agree to the khan’s demands. Russian state again found itself dependent on the Horde. However, the Horde could no longer restore its power to its previous extent.
Moscow became the real capital of the emerging unified Russian state, but the path to the final completion of this process was very difficult, involving a struggle with external conquerors and internal strife.
THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIFICATION OF RUSSIAN LANDS
AROUND MOSCOW IN THE XIV CENTURY. POLITICS OF IVAN KALITA.
BARNAUL 2010
Chapter I. Prerequisites and features of the unification process of Russian lands……………………………………………………………………………….3
Chapter II. Centers for the unification of Russian lands………………………………...7
Chapter III. Reasons for Moscow’s nomination in the process of unification of Russian lands…………………………………………………………………………………11
Chapter IV. The struggle between Moscow and Tver for political primacy. The rise of the Moscow principality under Ivan Kalita……………………………………..15
List of sources and literature used……………………………..20
ChapterI. Prerequisites and features of the unification process of Russian lands.
Russia and the Russians... The “enormousness” of Russia and the mysterious Russian soul... Many philosophers of the past thought about the relationship between the Russian character and the created will and this character of a huge and strong country.
“In the soul of the Russian people,” wrote the great Russian philosopher, “there is the same immensity, boundlessness, aspiration to infinity, as in the Russian plain.” In his other work, “The Fate of Russia,” he examines the following paradox: “Russia is the most stateless, most anarchic country in the world. And the Russian people are the most apolitical people, who have never been able to organize their land...
The Russian people created the most powerful state in the world, the greatest empire. Russia has consistently and persistently gathered from Ivan Kalita and reached dimensions that stun the imagination of all the peoples of the world.”
How did the Russian state arise?
How could it even happen that a people who had just thrown off a centuries-old yoke could so quickly create a power of world significance?
The process of formation of the Russian centralized state began in the second half of the 13th century. and ended at the beginning XVI century. At this time, the political independence of a number of the most important Russian principalities was liquidated and feudal republics. Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Tver, and Novgorod lands were annexed to Moscow, which meant the formation of a single state territory and the beginning of a restructuring of the political system, which ended with the establishment of autocracy in Russia.
Certain economic, social, political and spiritual prerequisites led to the formation of the Russian centralized state.
Economic:
1. the increase in agricultural productivity due to the widespread use of the three-field system led to the formation of a single market, replacing natural farming;
2. development of crafts, increase in the number of their types from 60 in the 12th century. up to 200 by the middle of the 15th century; in the final separation of crafts from agriculture and concentration in cities, they acquired a commodity character, which also led to the formation of a single market;
3. the strengthening of the position of property power and the desire of the population of various regions to strengthen economic ties led to the emergence of a tendency towards the formation of a kind of unified economic space.
Social:
1. The numerically increased layer of small and medium-sized service nobles was interested in a strong central government capable of giving them the means to subsist in exchange for military service and protect large landowners-boyars from the tyranny;
2. various emerging cities social groups Posad population, free community members needed state protection of their rights and the security of trade routes;
3. large masses settlers from the devastated southern Russian lands to the northeastern ones was necessary state aid in their development and military protection.
Political:
1. the need to overthrow the Mongol-Tatar yoke and protect the western borders required the unity of the Russian lands;
2. the growing resistance of the smerds to increased exploitation pushed the dominant social groups to unite their efforts within the framework of a single state mechanism;
3. The Orthodox Church, which was a strictly hierarchical structure and possessed enormous land property, strove for a unified state power capable of protecting its interests.
Spiritual:
1. in the mentality of people of various Russian lands, as before, as in Novgorod-Kievan Rus, there was an awareness of their unity;
2. The Orthodox religion encouraged the Russian people to unite in the fight against Catholic, and later Muslim expansion.
The formation of the Russian centralized state has a number of features:
1. the formation of a different genotype of social development compared to Ancient Russia. If for Ancient Rus' was characterized by an evolutionary (traditional) path of development, then in the XIV-XV centuries. mobilization is established, carried out through the constant intervention of the state in the mechanisms of functioning of society;
2. chronological proximity of the formation of a unified Russian state and centralized monarchies in Western Europe(XV–XVI centuries);
3. the absence in Rus' of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for the formation of a single state.
In Western Europe: seigneurial relations dominated; the personal dependence of the peasants was weakened; The cities and the third estate grew stronger.
In Rus': state-feudal forms prevailed; the relationship of personal dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords was just taking shape; cities were in a subordinate position in relation to the feudal nobility;
4. national unification of Russia, the formation of a unitary state, which began almost simultaneously with similar processes in England, France and Spain, but had a number of features. Firstly, the Russian state from the very beginning was formed as a military-national one, driving force whose leading need was for defense and security. Secondly, the formation of the state took place on a multinational basis (in Western Europe - on a national basis);
5. the leading role in the formation of the Russian state of the political (“external”) factor – the need to confront the Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Thanks to this factor, all segments of the population were interested in centralization. In Europe during the period under study, similar processes took place. Thus, the Spanish state took shape during the Reconquista (the war with the Muslim “Moors”), the Austrian Habsburg power - in the fight against Turkish conquest, the unification of France was facilitated by the Hundred Years' War with England. This “advanced” (in relation to socio-economic development) nature of the unification process determined the features of the unification that was formed by the end of the 14th century. states: strong monarchical power, strong dependence on the power of the ruling class, high degree exploitation of direct producers (creation of the serfdom system);
6. oriental style political activity. Autocratic power was formed according to two models - the Byzantine basileus and the Mongol khan. Western kings were not taken into account, due to the fact that they did not have real state sovereignty and were dependent on the Roman catholic church. The Russian princes adopted a state policy from the Mongols, which reduced the functions of the state to collecting tribute and taxes, maintaining order and protecting security. At the same time, this public policy was completely devoid of consciousness of responsibility for public welfare.
Thus, at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. developed in Rus' whole line prerequisites for the formation of a unified Russian state, which was a natural process in the development of the country in the course of overcoming fragmentation, as well as in other European countries during the period under study.
ChapterII. Centers for the unification of Russian lands.
The political fragmentation of Rus' reached its apogee at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. separated from the Vladimir-Suzdal principality by the 70s of the 13th century. 14 principalities, of which the most significant were Gorodets (with Nizhny Novgorod), Rostovskoe, Yaroslavskoe, Pereyaslavskoe, Tverskoe and Moscow.
Fragmentation was also typical for other territories: for example, Smolensk land broke up into even smaller fiefs: Mozhaisk, Vyazemsky, Rzhevsky, Fominsky and other principalities. In the Chernigov-Seversk land, in the upper reaches of the Oka, there were many small principalities: Kozelskoye, Tarusskoye (Obolenskoye was spun off from it), Trubchevskoye, Mosalskoye, etc. In many principalities throughout the 14th century. new areas were being allocated. Thus, in the Tver principality the Mikulinsky and Kashinsky appanages were distinguished, in the Moscow - Serpukhov, Borovskaya, etc., in the Ryazan - Pronsky.
At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. a special politic system The Great Reign of Vladimir. The Grand Duke of Vladimir stood at the head of his own principality. The power of the Grand Duke was largely nominal, but still provided considerable advantages. The territory of the Grand Duke's domain around Vladimir included rich and fertile lands, the grand-ducal boyars could receive profitable governorships here. The Grand Duke's table increased the prince's prestige and gave him the opportunity to expand or at least strengthen the borders of his principality. Therefore, the princes waged a fierce struggle for the label issued in the Horde to the Vladimir table.
In the post-battle period, the fates of the Russian lands turned out to be different. Southern and Southwestern Rus' - the lands of Kiev, Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn - were not only subjected to constant Horde raids, but also to pressure from strong neighbors. In the XIV century. The lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality were divided between Hungary, Poland and Lithuania. Lithuania and Poland captured the Kiev and Chernigov principalities.
Thus, all of Southern and Southwestern Rus' found itself cut off from the rest of Rus'. Since the 14th century these lands began to be called Little Russia, or Little Russia.
By the end of the 13th century early XIV in the new phenomena in the life of the Russian lands, which led to the revival of Rus', affected where the conditions were most favorable for this. The star of the old Russian centers was setting, and new stars were rising on the political horizon. Firstly, these were the western and central Russian lands (the principalities of Polotsk, Smolensk, etc.), which did not survive the Tatar-Mongol invasion and subsequent punitive expeditions, did not know the Tatar scourge over them and were free from the Horde yoke.
Secondly, these included the Oka-Volga interfluve, especially the newly emerged principalities of Tver and Moscow, which began to develop after the devastating invasion. They quickly became the center of attraction of popular forces. These small principalities made good use of the strength of their location at the crossroads of land and water trade routes. The Tatar armies, which often destroyed the Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan, and Nizhny Novgorod lands, reached here less often.
Thirdly, it was “Mr. Veliky Novgorod”. Here, although Horde dependence was felt and the tax pressure of Sarai was pressing, the Novgorod aristocratic republic was less dependent on the Horde than the principalities of North-Eastern Rus'. Novgorod defended its independence from the onslaught of the Germans and Swedes and retained vast possessions in the north-west, north and north-east of Rus'. In addition, Novgorod’s ties with the countries were never interrupted Northern Europe, with German trading cities, which strengthened Novgorod's economic power.
In the XIV century. The main contenders for the Vladimir table were the Tver and Moscow princes, and then the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes. The last princes had the least chance of success. Located on the eastern outskirts, this principality was too close to the Horde and therefore often became a victim of raids. This prevented the concentration of the population here, and pushed the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes to compromise in relation to the Horde.
At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. The Principality of Tver becomes the leader among the Russian lands. This happened after I died last son Alexander Nevsky, Grand Duke Vladimirsky Andrey Alexandrovich. His heir in seniority could be younger brother Daniil Alexandrovich, Prince of Moscow. But he died before the Grand Duke.
Now the grand-ducal table passed by seniority to the nephew of Alexander Nevsky, the son of his brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich - Mikhail Yaroslavovich, Prince of Tver. But everything depended on whether the Horde recognized this seniority and whether Mikhail Tverskoy received a label for the great reign from the Horde khan.
By this time, the Tver principality from a previously unknown inheritance had become one of the strongest in Rus'. And the young Tver prince grew into an experienced, strong and cunning politician, the eldest of the Rurikovichs, although he was 33 years old.
If Moscow was located in the very center of the Oka-Volga interfluve, through which there were routes to Chernigov, and to the Volga, and further to the south, and to the lands of Veliky Novgorod, and to the Polish-Lithuanian border, then Tver controlled the northern part of the Volga route and roads , going south from the Novgorod principality and the Baltic lands.
Although Tver, located on the banks of the Volga, was not as well protected from attacks as Moscow, hidden among forests and swamps, its waterway, the Volga, was more significant. At the same time, Tver was the furthest away from the major cities of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', through which the Tatars regularly invaded Rus'.
In Tver, as in Moscow, refugees from many other regions gathered, and first of all the population was drawn both from the south and from the entire Russian northeast, because the Tatar punitive forces rarely reached here.
By the end of the 13th century. In the Tver land there were already strong fortresses - Kashin and Staritsa, and Tver itself was well fortified and had a strong army.
Tver became the city where, after the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the first church of the Savior in North-Eastern Rus' was built of stone.
Already in the 80s. XIII century refused to obey the will of his uncle, the Grand Duke, and when he tried to force the Tver prince to bow his head, Mikhail began to “dress up the regiments,” and the Grand Duke retreated. Tver successfully repelled the onslaught of the Lithuanians.
Mikhail Tverskoy was known for his diplomatic skills. So, in the early 90s. Thanks to negotiations in the Horde, he managed to prevent the appearance of the Horde army on the territory of the Tver Principality, although all other lands of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' were plundered.
The Tver prince was one of the first who began to hide part of the tribute from the Horde and use it to strengthen his own principality.
In 1305, Mikhail Yaroslavich received from the khan a label for the Grand Duchy and officially began to bear the title “Grand Duke of Vladimir.”
Formally, the rest of the Russian lands, including Novgorod, were subordinate to the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Tver has taken a leading role among the northeastern lands.
Thus, at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. A struggle for primacy in a fragmented state began among the Russian principalities. In this clash, primarily among the principalities of North-Eastern Rus', it was decided which of them would lead the unification process of the country.
ChapterIII. Reasons for Moscow's nomination in the process of unification of Russian lands.
The unification of Russian lands took place in the bitter struggle of the Russian people for their state unity and national independence, for overcoming feudal fragmentation and internal contradictions among the principalities.
In the struggle for primacy in North-Eastern Rus', the capabilities of the Moscow and Tver principalities were approximately equal. In this struggle, both objective and subjective factors contributed to the emergence of Moscow as the center of political and socio-economic consolidation of the forces of the Russian people.
The Moscow principality arose in the 70s. XIII century, when the Moscow inheritance was allocated to the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniil (gg.).
While the Lithuanian-Russian state and the Tver principality had already gained strength, Moscow was still a small and insignificant principality that obediently carried out the will of the stronger princes.
In his will, Alexander Nevsky left Moscow to his youngest son Daniil. At the time of his father's death he was only two years old. Therefore, his uncle, Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavovich Tverskoy, became the educator and guardian of the first Moscow prince. Thus, having barely emerged as an independent principality, Moscow became an appendage of the Tver principality.
But time passed, Daniil Alexandrovich grew up and matured, and his uncle grew old and died in 1273. To this time we can date the beginning of the independent reign of the eleven-year-old prince.
And still, Moscow remained in the shadow of other principalities of North-Eastern Rus'. The title of Grand Duke passed in turn to Nevsky's eldest sons - Dmitry Pereyaslavsky, then to Andrei Gorodetsky. During their struggle among themselves, Daniil Aleksandrovich Moskovsky invariably acted in alliance with Tver, first against one, then against the other.
Later, when Tver strengthened significantly, Daniil Alexandrovich began to take part in alliances directed against the Tver principality. Even then, the future rivalry between the two young Russian principalities rising to power and glory arose.
During the confrontation between the sons of Alexander Nevsky, in which the Horde troops also took part, Moscow was captured and plundered by the Tatars for the second time in its history in 1293.
However, Moscow quickly recovered from the defeat and continued to play an ever-increasing role in Russian affairs.
During these years, the first Moscow prince fully made up for lost time in his youth, when he was forced to depend on the older princes and follow the instructions of the Tver prince. At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. Daniel showed all the strength of his character. He proved himself to be a decisive, far-sighted and extremely cruel politician. It seems that all the strength and power of Alexander Nevsky’s human qualities went to his youngest son.
In 1300, Daniel unexpectedly attacked the Ryazan principality and during negotiations captured the Ryazan prince. This led to Moscow taking possession of Kolomna, which belonged to Ryazan.
Then, also treacherously, Daniil captured nearby Pereyaslavl, where his nephew died childless. According to all the rules of that time, the Pereyaslav principality, having no heir, should have passed to the Grand Duke, but Daniel obtained a will from his dying nephew in his favor. And while his elder brother Andrei complained to the Horde about his arbitrariness, Daniel led a military detachment into Pereyaslavl.
And soon on western border Principality of Daniil captured Mozhaisk, which previously belonged to the Principality of Smolensk. Now the entire course of the Moscow River - this important trade artery - from source to mouth was in the hands of Moscow.
All this greatly strengthened Moscow, increased its economic and military power principalities. Moscow's territorial acquisitions almost doubled the original size of the principality. But fate itself put a limit to Daniel’s success: in 1303, he died at the age of forty-one, never having received the title of Grand Duke.
Initially, the Moscow princes relied exclusively on Tatar support, and later on growing internal strength and prestige. People came to Moscow primarily in search of peaceful life, because from the west the principality was covered by Smolensk land, from the north-west by Tver, from the south-east by Ryazan, and from the east by Nizhny Novgorod. Moscow was a junction of land and water roads. The right tributaries of the Volga, Shosha and Lama, come close in the Moscow possessions to the left tributary of the Moscow River, the Istra. On the portage between them the city of Volok Lamsky (Volokolamsk) arose. This created an almost continuous waterway from Novgorod to Suzdal, which was also much shorter than the Tver route along the Volga. Moscow could not be avoided when traveling overland from Ryazan to the north and from Smolensk to the east. The road from Kyiv and Chernigov, crossing the upper reaches of the Oka, also led to Moscow.
The advantages of its geographical location made Moscow the center of grain trade in Rus'. This provided its princes with an influx of funds, with which they bought labels from the Horde for the great reign of Vladimir and at the expense of which they expanded their own territories. The methods of accumulating land were very different: “purchases” (purchase), “conceptions” (direct seizure or with the help of the Horde), forced renunciation of appanage princes from their possessions, annexation of escheated principalities, colonization of empty spaces. To attract the population, the Moscow princes widely practiced the introduction of “white freedoms”, the inhabitants of which were exempted from all duties during the development of the lands. With their support, the scale of conditional holding of lands also expanded. service people. This determined the numerical growth of small landowners-nobles who were in the service of princes and boyars.
The restoration of agriculture was accompanied in the Moscow principality by the introduction progressive system three-field crop rotation using fertilizers. Everywhere there was a replacement of the natural duties of the rural population with labour, corvée, which ultimately led to the formation of a serf-based economic system. The Moscow princes invested heavily in the restoration of cities - centers of power, craft and trade - and the development of iron parts production. They became the first creators of Russian artillery. The emerging economic recovery contributed to the growth of specialization of regions, leading to the intensification of economic ties. Feudal fragmentation became a noticeable brake on development.
In parallel with the territorial expansion, power was also gathering in the hands of the Moscow princes. After they secured the title of Grand Dukes of Vladimir, their service began to promise them more benefits and honor. Therefore, boyars, free servants, and “helper” princes flocked to Moscow from all corners of Rus', who refused the supreme state rights, so that, under the patronage of the great princes, they own their ancestral lands. So in the 14th century. A layer of Moscow boyars and a layer of service princes - princes - emerged.
In the further rise of Moscow, the church played a major role. IN close friendship with Ivan Kalita was Metropolitan Peter (gg.), who lived for a long time in Moscow, died here and was buried in the cathedral church of Moscow - the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. After canonization, Peter began to be revered as the heavenly patron of Moscow. Under his successor Theognostus (gg.), Moscow became the ecclesiastical capital of Rus'. In 1328 the metropolitanate was moved here from Vladimir.
The strong economic position of the Moscow princes allowed them to become leaders of the all-Russian struggle against the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The victory on the Kulikovo Field gave the Moscow prince the importance of a national leader. An important role was also played by a personal factor - the political talent of the descendants of Alexander Nevsky, who knew how to sacrifice the secondary in the name of the main thing. Moreover, among the people grateful memory about the ancestor of the Moscow princes never dried up.
Thus, the advantageous geographical location and active foreign policy of the Moscow princes, their foresight and the imprudence of the Horde khans elevated Moscow above other principalities. The Moscow principality became one of the most powerful political centers of Rus'. It also turns into the spiritual center of Russian lands.
ChapterIV. The struggle between Moscow and Tver for political primacy. The rise of the Moscow principality under Ivan Kalita.
The beginning of the struggle between Moscow and Tver for political primacy in Rus' dates back to 1304, when the Grand Duke of Vladimir, son of Alexander Nevsky, Andrei Alexandrovich, died. The strongest contenders for the Vladimir table were: Prince Mikhail of Tver, son of Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, and Prince of Moscow Yuri, son of Daniil Alexandrovich who died in 1303. The Tver prince emerged victorious from this struggle and ruled in Vladimir in the years. He was the first to try to gather all Russian lands under his own hands. He was supported in this by Metropolitan Maxim (gg.), who was the first to call himself the Metropolitan of “All Rus',” as if emphasizing the church unity of all Russian lands. But Mikhail Yaroslavovich failed in this field. He met decisive opposition from all the princes, as well as from Novgorod, which was afraid of the strengthening of its closest neighbor. Soon the prince also lost church support. Highly appreciating the importance of church assistance, after the death of Metropolitan Maxim in 1305, he tried to appoint his protege to the vacant chair, but was unsuccessful. New Metropolitan Peter, originally from Volyn, approved by Constantinople, was greeted with hostility by the Tver prince and naturally became an ally of Moscow. Meanwhile, the Moscow prince Yuri Danilovich spent two years in the Horde, enlisted the support of Uzbek Khan, promising him to collect more tribute, and returned to Rus' in 1317 with a label for the great reign of Vladimir and his wife Konchaka, Uzbek’s sister (in Rus' she was renamed Agafya). Mikhail Yaroslavovich, not daring to show open disobedience to the power of the Horde, voluntarily renounced the Vladimir throne. But Yuri Danilovich, not content with this, wanted to put an end to his dangerous rival once and for all. The armed clash of the princes near Tver ended in the defeat of the Moscow prince. Along with the prisoners, Princess Agafya also fell into the hands of the Tver people and soon died in Tver. Yuri took advantage of the situation and accused the enemy of killing the khan’s sister, withholding tribute and resisting the khan’s order. In 1318, Mikhail Yaroslavovich was summoned to the Horde and brutally executed there.
Prince of Moscow Yuri Danilovich occupied the grand-ducal throne of Vladimir from 1317 to 1322. He faced the same problems as his predecessor. The intensified collection of tribute completely quarreled Yuri with the rest of the princes. An anti-Tatar uprising broke out in devastated Rostov. The situation was taken under control by the son of the murdered Tver prince Dmitry Mikhailovich, nicknamed Terrible Eyes. He occupied the Vladimir table from 1322 to 1326. When in 1325 Dmitry had a chance to meet Yuri Danilovich in the Horde, he killed the Moscow prince in revenge for the death of his father. Khan Uzbek executed Dmitry in 1326, and the label for the reign of Vladimir passed on to his younger brother Alexander Mikhailovich (gg.).
After the death of Yuri Danilovich, power in the Moscow principality passed to his brother, Ivan Danilovich Kalita (gg.).
Unlike his unbridled, risky older brother, Ivan Danilovich was a cautious, prudent and unhurried ruler. However, he fully retained the cunning, cruelty and determination characteristic of the descendants of Alexander Nevsky.
Ivan Danilovich understood well that it was possible to achieve success in Rus' only by relying on the Horde, but in such a way as not to openly show his claims to leadership and not demonstrate his strength, as Mikhail Yaroslavich and Yuri Danilovich did. The main thing for him was to push Tver against the Horde by any means. And such an opportunity soon presented itself.
Already from the time of the proud and independent Mikhail Yaroslavich, hatred of the Horde rapists had been accumulating in the Tver Principality. It especially increased after the murder of their princes one after another and the defeat of the Tver lands by Moscow-Tatar troops. Therefore, only a spark was needed for a big fire of the anti-Horde uprising to flare up in Tver. Such a spark was a fight at a trade in 1327, when the Tver residents came to the rescue of their fellow countryman, who was offended by the Tatar Baskaks. Buzzed veche bell. From all sides of Tver people rushed to bargain. The beating of the Horde rapists began. The leader of the Tatar detachment took refuge in the princely palace, but he was set on fire along with the Horde. Soon the entire Tver land was engulfed in uprising. This uprising, named after the Baskak, was called “Shchelkan’s Army” (Chol Khan in Rus' - Shchelkan).
Ivan Danilovich decided to take advantage of the favorable moment. He went to the Horde and offered his services to the khan. Ivan returned with the Tatar army and brutally suppressed the uprising. He walked through the Tver land with fire and sword.
The Tver prince, who bore the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir, fled to the Lithuanian-Russian state hostile to the Horde. For services to the Horde, the Moscow prince received an increase in his possessions: Kostroma and Novgorod, where the governors of the Tver prince had previously sat, were transferred to him.
Now the forces of Tver were again significantly undermined.
But the Horde would not have been a Horde if the khan had immediately given all the advantages to Ivan Danilovich. On the contrary, after the flight of the Tver prince, the khan, bypassing the Moscow prince, gave the label for the great reign to Suzdal. The Horde continued to play on the contradictions between the Russian princes. And only in 1332, after death Suzdal prince, Ivan Danilovich finally received the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir.
He used the highest power in the Northeast to strengthen the position of the Moscow Principality.
Firstly, he continued to cooperate with the Horde by all means, showing himself to be an obedient henchman of the khan. Ivan Danilovich often visited Sarai, brought gifts to the khan, his relatives and dignitaries, flattered them, behaved humbly and obediently. He regularly paid tribute to the Horde and soon received the right, on behalf of the Horde, to collect tribute from all Russian lands. Ivan mercilessly extorted tribute and severely punished non-payment.
Secondly, Ivan Danilovich persistently and purposefully continued to expand the boundaries of the Moscow principality. Under him, Moscow began to unite other northeastern Russian lands.
Huge money passed through his hands, and a significant part of it ended up in his personal treasury. Using his own savings and what he hid from the Horde, Ivan Danilovich bought other people's possessions and rounded up his own. Where money did not work, he did not disdain outright violence and threats. At the same time, Ivan Danilovich invariably relied on the help of the Horde, whose ruler, deceived by his obedience, could not discern in him a decisive and merciless politician. Ivan annexed the principalities of Rostov, Galicia, Belozersk, and Uglich to Moscow. Now the Moscow principality has become the largest and strongest among other Russian principalities.
Thirdly, the Moscow prince showed himself to be a zealous and careful owner, a hoarder. He did not waste his money, led a modest lifestyle, and helped the poor and needy a lot. Wherever he went, he always had a wallet with money hanging from his belt. Such a wallet in Rus' was called a wicket. From this wallet he often took out small coins and gave them to those in need. That’s what people called him: “Ivan Kalita.” Under this name he entered Russian history.
Fourthly, Ivan Kalita turned Moscow into the ecclesiastical center of the Russian lands. He often invited Metropolitan Peter, whose residence was in Vladimir, to stay with him. In Moscow, the bishop was well received and courted and appeased in every possible way. Peter lived for a long time in Moscow. He died there and was buried in the Assumption Cathedral, which at that time was still wooden. The late Metropolitan Peter was declared a saint and patron saint of Moscow. Pilgrims began to flock to his tomb, and believers prayed near it.
The next metropolitan has already moved to Moscow. Moscow became the center of the Russian metropolis. This increased the significance and authority of the Moscow Principality.
Under Ivan Kalita, Rus' breathed a sigh of relief: the princely feuds stopped, the Horde stopped raiding Russian lands. Now North-Eastern Rus' could take full advantage of its advantageous position among other Russian lands.
Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir was firmly in the hands of the Moscow princes. Moreover, when dying, Ivan Kalita transferred his power not to the eldest in the family, but to his son, not at all caring about the Horde’s opinion on this matter. Inheritance in the Moscow principality went along the direct male line - from father to son.
Ivan Kalita laid the foundations for the power of the Moscow Principality. He is called the first collector of Russian land, who laid the foundation for the rise of Moscow.
Thus, Ivan Kalita played a positive role in the unification of North-Eastern Rus' around Moscow as the main territorial core of the future Russian centralized state.
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The unification of lands around Moscow, which was key for the history of Russia, began in the first years of the 14th century and ended at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. During this period, the previous feudal order was destroyed and a powerful centralized state emerged.
Center of a small principality
For a long time, Moscow was an inconspicuous fortress on the Vladimir-Suzdal land in the northeast of Rus'. This small town was not distinguished by wealth or political importance. Its own prince appeared there in 1263. He became Daniil Alexandrovich - the son of the famous Alexander Nevsky. How younger son prince, he received the poorest and smallest inheritance.
Not long before, Rus' experienced the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The country destroyed by the enemy army paid tribute to the Golden Horde. The Khan recognized the ruler of the city, Vladimir, as the senior prince. All his relatives, the Rurikovichs, who owned destinies, had to obey him. At the same time, the Vladimir throne was transferred to the khan's label at his whim. Succession may not have followed the typical pattern of the medieval monarchy, where the son received his father's titles.
As a positive start, the unification of the lands around Moscow put an end to this confusion, but while the Moscow princes were weak and lacked serious resources, they had to balance between other powerful rulers. Daniel supported first one or the other older brother (Dmitry or Andrei), who fought for the Vladimir throne.
The first Moscow political successes occurred due to a fortunate coincidence of circumstances. In 1302, Daniil’s childless nephew Ivan Dmitrievich, who bore the title of Prince of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, died. So the small feudal lord received a neighboring city for free and reclassified himself as a middle feudal lord. This was the beginning of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. However, Daniel never had time to get used to his new status. The first Moscow appanage prince died in 1304.
The fight for Vladimir
His father's place was taken by Yuri Daniilovich, who ruled in 1303-1325. First of all, he annexed the Mozhaisk principality, putting the owner of this tiny neighboring estate in prison. So Moscow did several important steps in order to start a dispute with the largest political force in North-Eastern Rus' - Tver. In 1305, her prince Mikhail received from the khan a label to the Vladimir throne.
It seemed that Moscow had no chance of defeating a richer and larger enemy. However, the dilemma was that during that period of Russian history, not everything could be decided by force of arms. The unification of lands around Moscow took place thanks to the cunning and ability of its rulers to please the Tatars.
The Horde gave Vladimir to the princes who had the opportunity to pay more. Financial position Tver was noticeably better than Moscow. However, the khans were guided by one more rule. It can be described as “divide and conquer”. While strengthening one principality, the Tatars tried not to give it too much, and if the inheritance became too influential, the favor of the Baskaks could be replaced by anger.
Moscow vs Tver
Having lost to Mikhail in 1305 in a diplomatic clinch, Yuri did not calm down. First, he started an internecine war, and then, when it led nowhere, he began to wait for an opportunity to attack the enemy’s reputation. This opportunity took several years to come. In 1313, Khan Tokhta died, and Uzbek took his place. Mikhail had to go to the Horde and receive confirmation of the Grand Duke's label. However, Yuri beat him to it.
Finding himself with Uzbek before his enemy, the Moscow prince did everything to gain the trust and favor of the new khan. For this, Yuri married his sister Tatar ruler Konchaka, who converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Agafya in baptism. Also, Mikhail’s main opponent managed to conclude an alliance with the Novgorod Republic. Its inhabitants were afraid of the powerful Tver prince, whose possessions were on their borders.
After getting married, Yuri went home. He was accompanied by the Tatar nobleman Kavgady. Mikhail, taking advantage of the fact that the Horde had formed a separate camp, attacked his opponent. The Moscow prince was again defeated and began to ask for peace. The opponents agreed to go to the khan for trial. At this moment, clouds began to gather over Mikhail. Having won, he captured Konchaka. Yuri's wife and Uzbek's sister, who was in the camp of the Tver prince, died for unknown reasons.
The tragedy became a turning point in the conflict. Yuri calmly took advantage of what happened. He returned to Uzbek, presenting Mikhail in his eyes as Konchaki’s executioner. Kavgady, either bribed, or simply not loving Mikhail, also slandered him. Soon the Tver prince arrived at the khan's court. He was stripped of his label and brutally executed. The title of ruler of Vladimir passed to Yuri. The beginning of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow was completed; now the Moscow rulers needed to keep the resulting power in their hands.
Kalita's successes
In 1325, Yuri Daniilovich again arrived in the Horde, where he was hacked to death by the son of Mikhail Tverskoy, Dmitry Black Eyes, who avenged the death of his father. Power in Moscow was inherited by the younger brother of the deceased, Ivan Kalita. He was known for his ability to earn and save money. Unlike his predecessor, the new ruler acted more cautiously and defeated his enemies with cunning rather than deceit.
After the death of Yuri, Uzbek, using a proven strategy, castled. He gave the main Russian principality to the new ruler of Tver, Alexander Mikhailovich. It seemed that Ivan Daniilovich was left with nothing, but this impression of his contemporaries turned out to be deceptive. The fight with Tver did not end, this was just the beginning. The unification of lands around Moscow continued after another sharp turn in history.
In 1327, a spontaneous anti-Tatar uprising broke out in Tver. Residents of the city, tired of the excessive extortions of strangers, killed the tribute collectors. Alexander did not organize this protest, but he joined it and eventually led the protest of his subjects. The enraged Uzbek instructed Kalita to punish the disobedient people. The Tver land was devastated. Ivan Daniilovich regained Vladimir, and since then the Moscow princes, apart from very short interruptions, no longer lost control of the formal capital of North-Eastern Rus'.
Ivan Kalita, who ruled until 1340, also annexed (or rather, bought) such important neighboring cities as Uglich, Galich and Beloozero to his power. Where did he get the money for all these acquisitions? The Horde made the Moscow prince the official collector of tribute from all over Rus'. Kalita began to control extensive financial flows. By wisely and prudently managing the treasury, he was able to build a system in which a significant part of the collected money ended up in Moscow. His principality began to systematically grow richer against the backdrop of neighboring regions lagging behind in financial well-being. This is the most important cause-and-effect relationship according to which the gradual unification of lands around Moscow took place. The sword gave way to the belt purse. In 1325, another important event that led to the unification of lands around Moscow was the move to this city of metropolitans, who had previously considered Vladimir their residence.
New challenges
After Ivan Kalita, his two sons ruled one after another: Simeon (1341 - 1353) and Ivan (1353 - 1359). During this almost twenty-year period, part of the Novosilsk principality (Zabereg) and some Ryazan places (Vereya, Luzha, Borovsk) were annexed to the grand duchy. Simeon traveled to the Horde five times, tried to bow and please the Tatars, but at the same time behaved imperiously in his homeland. For this, his contemporaries (and after him historians) called him Proud. Under Simeon Ivanovich, the rest of the petty princes of North-Eastern Rus' became his “helpers”. Main opponent, Tver, behaved cautiously and no longer challenged Moscow's supremacy.
Thanks to good relationship Simeon with the Horde, the nomads did not disturb Rus' with raids. However, at the same time, all the principalities, without exception, had to endure another attack. It was the deadly epidemic “Black Death”, which at the same time raged in the Old World. The plague reached Rus' through Novgorod, where traditionally there were many Western merchants. The terrible disease upended everyday life and stopped all positive social and political processes, including the unification of lands around Moscow. A brief acquaintance with the scale of the disaster is enough to understand that it turned out to be worse than any Tatar-Mongol invasion. Cities died out by half, many villages were empty to the last house. Simeon also died of the plague along with his sons. That is why his younger brother inherited the throne.
Ivan, whose reign was completely colorless, was remembered in Russian history only for his beauty, for which he was nicknamed the Red. The only important event of that period can be considered the khan’s granting to the Moscow ruler the right to judge other appanage princes. Of course, the new order only accelerated the unification of the lands around Moscow. Ivan’s short reign ended with his sudden death at the age of 31.
Two pillars of Moscow
The heir of Ivan the Red was his young son Dmitry, who in the future defeated the Tatar-Mongol army on the Kulikovo Field and immortalized his name. However, the first years of his nominal reign the prince was in complete childhood. Other Rurikovichs tried to take advantage of this, who rejoiced at the opportunity to either gain independence or get a label on Vladimir. Dmitry Konstantinovich Suzdalsky succeeded in the last enterprise. After the death of Ivan the Red, he went to the khan's capital Sarai, where he actually received in Vladimir.
Moscow briefly lost the formal capital of Rus'. However, situational circumstances could not reverse the trend. The prerequisites for the unification of Russian lands around Moscow were different: social, economic and political. When the principality grew and became a serious power, its rulers received two most important supports that did not allow the state to fall to pieces. These pillars were the aristocrats and the church.
Moscow, which grew rich and became secure under Kalita, attracted more and more boyars to its service. The process of their exodus to the grand duchy was gradual, but continuous. As a result, when the young Dmitry was on the throne, a boyar council immediately formed around him, which made effective and useful decisions that made it possible to maintain the stability acquired with such difficulty.
Helped aristocrats Orthodox Church. The reasons for the unification of lands around Moscow were the support of this city by the metropolitans. In 1354-1378. he was Alexy (in the world Eleutherius Byakont). During Dmitry Donskoy’s childhood, the Metropolitan was also the de facto head of the executive branch of the Moscow Principality. This energetic man initiated the construction of the Kremlin. Alexey also resolved conflicts with the Horde.
The acts of Dmitry Donskoy
All stages of the unification of lands around Moscow had certain features. At first, the princes had to act not so much by political as by intriguing methods. Yuri was like that, Ivan Kalita was partly like that. But it was they who managed to lay the foundations for Moscow’s prosperity. When the actual reign of the young Dmitry Donskoy began in 1367, he, thanks to his predecessors, had all the resources to build a unified Russian state with the sword and diplomacy.
How did the Moscow Principality grow during that period? In 1360 Dmitrov was annexed, in 1363 - Starodub on Klyazma and (finally) Vladimir, in 1368 - Rzhev. However, the key event in Russian history at that time was the non-alignment of fiefs with Moscow, but the beginning of an open struggle against the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The centralization of power and its strengthening could not but lead to such a turn of events.
The prerequisites for the unification of lands around Moscow consisted, at a minimum, in the natural desire of the nation to live within one state. These aspirations (primarily of ordinary people) collided with the feudal order. However, they late Middle Ages and the end came. Similar processes of decomposition of the feudal system occurred with some advance in Western Europe, where their own national states were built from many duchies and counties.
Now that the process of unifying Russian lands around Moscow has become irreversible, a new problem has arisen: what to do with the Horde yoke? Tribute slowed down economic development and belittled the people's dignity. Of course, Dmitry Ivanovich, like many of his predecessors, dreamed of the full independence of his homeland. Having gained full power, he began to implement this plan.
After the Battle of Kulikovo
The long process of unifying the lands around Moscow could not be completed without the liberation of Rus' from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Donskoy understood this and decided that it was time to act. Conflict broke out in the mid-1370s. The Moscow prince refused to pay tribute to the Baskaks. Golden Horde armed. Temnik Mamai stood at the head of the Basurman army. Dmitry Donskoy also assembled the shelves. Many helped him appanage princes. The war with the Tatars was an all-Russian affair. Only the Ryazan prince turned out to be the black sheep, but the Donskoy army managed without his help.
On September 21, 1380, a battle took place on the Kulikovo Field, which became one of the main military events in all of Russian history. The Tatars were defeated. Two years later, the horde returned and even burned Moscow. Nevertheless, an open struggle for independence began. It lasted exactly 100 years.
Donskoy died in 1389. At the last stage of his reign, he annexed the Meshchera region, Medyn and Ustyuzhna to the grand duchy. Son of Dmitry Vasily I, who reigned from 1389 to 1425. completed the absorption of the Nizhny Novgorod principality. Also under him, the unification of Moscow lands around Moscow was marked by the annexation of Murom and Tarusa through the purchase of the khan's label. Prince military force deprived the Novgorod Republic of Vologda. In 1397, Moscow received Ustyug as an inheritance from Rostov. Expansion to the north continued with the annexation of Torzhok and Bezhetsky Verkh.
On the verge of collapse
Under Vasily II (1425 - 1462), the Moscow principality experienced the largest internecine war in its history. The rights of the legal heir were encroached upon by his own uncle Yuri Dmitrievich, who believed that power should not be transferred from father to son, but according to the long-standing principle of “by right of seniority.” greatly slowed down the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. Yuri's short reign ended with his death. Then the sons of the deceased joined the fight: Dmitry Shemyaka and
The war was particularly cruel. Vasily II was blinded, and later he himself ordered Shemyaka to be poisoned. Because of the bloodshed, the result that the previous stages of unifying the Russian lands around Moscow had led to could have sunk into oblivion. However, in 1453 he finally defeated all his opponents. Even his own blindness did not prevent him from ruling. IN last years under his authority, Vychegda Perm, Romanov and some Vologda places were annexed to the Moscow principality.
Annexation of Novgorod and Tver
The son of Vasily II, Ivan III (1462-1505), did the most to unify the country among the Moscow princes. Many historians consider him the first all-Russian ruler. When Ivan Vasilyevich came to power, his largest neighbor was the Novgorod Republic. Its inhabitants for a long time supported the Moscow princes. However, in the second half of the 15th century, the aristocratic circles of Novgorod reoriented towards Lithuania, which was considered the main counterweight to the Grand Duke. And this opinion was not groundless.
Owned the territory of modern Belarus and Ukraine. This state belonged to Kyiv, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk and other important Russian cities. When Ivan III sensed danger in the union of Novgorod and Lithuania, he declared war on the republic. In 1478 the conflict was over. The Novgorod land completely joined the Moscow state.
Then came the turn of the Tver Principality. The times when it could compete with Moscow on equal terms are long gone. The last Tver prince, Mikhail Borisovich, as well as the Novgorodians, tried to conclude an alliance with Lithuania, after which Ivan III deprived him of power and annexed Tver to his state. This happened in 1485.
The reasons for the unification of Russian lands around Moscow also lay in the fact that at the final stage of this process, Rus' finally got rid of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. In 1480, the latter tried to force the Moscow prince to submit and pay him tribute. A full-fledged war did not happen. Moscow and Tatar troops stood on different banks, but never clashed in battle. Akhmat left, and soon the Golden Horde split into several uluses.
In addition to Novgorod and Tver, Ivan III annexed Yaroslavl, Vazhskaya, Vyatka and Perm lands, Vyazma and Ugra to the Grand Duchy. After the Russian-Lithuanian War of 1500 - 1503. Bryansk, Toropets, Pochep, Starodub, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky and Putivl went to Moscow.
Formation of Russia
Ivan III was succeeded on the throne by his son Vasily III (1505-1533). Under him, the unification of lands around Moscow was completed. Vasily continued his father’s work, first of all finally making Pskov part of his state. Since the end of the 14th century, this republic has been in a vassal position from Moscow. In 1510, Vasily deprived her of autonomy.
Then came the turn of the last appanage Russian principality. Ryazan has long been an independent southern neighbor of Moscow. In 1402, an alliance was concluded between the principalities, which in the middle of the 15th century was replaced by vassalage. In 1521, Ryazan became the property of the Grand Duke. Like Ivan III, Vasily III did not forget about Lithuania, to which many original Russian cities belonged. As a result of two wars with this state, the prince annexed Smolensk, Velizh, Roslavl and Kursk to his state.
By the end of the first third of the 16th century, Moscow “collected” all Russian lands, and thus a single national state emerged. This fact allowed the son of Vasily III, Ivan the Terrible, to take the title of Tsar according to the Byzantine model. In 1547, he became not just the Grand Duke of Moscow, but a Russian sovereign.
The unification of Rus' is the process of political unification of disparate Russian lands into a single state.
Prerequisites for the unification of Kievan Rus
The beginning of the unification of Rus' dates back to the 13th century. Until this moment Kievan Rus was not a single state, but consisted of scattered principalities that were subordinate to Kyiv, but still largely remained independent territories. Moreover, smaller fiefs and territories arose in the principalities, which also lived an autonomous life. The principalities constantly fought with each other and with Kiev for the right to autonomy and independence, and the princes killed each other, wanting to lay claim to the Kiev throne. All this weakened Rus', both politically and economically. As a result of constant civil strife and hostility, Rus' could not gather a single strong army in order to resist the raids of nomads and overthrow the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Against this background, the power of Kyiv weakened and the need arose for the emergence of a new center.
Reasons for the unification of Russian lands around Moscow
After the weakening of Kyiv's power and permanent internecine wars, Rus' desperately needed unification. Only an integral state could resist the invaders and finally throw off the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The peculiarity of the unification of Rus' was that there was no one clear center of power, political forces were scattered throughout Rus'.
At the beginning of the 13th century there were several cities that could become new capital. The centers of unification of Rus' could be Moscow, Tver and Pereyaslavl. It was these cities that had all necessary qualities for the new capital:
- They had an advantageous geographical location and were removed from the borders where the invaders ruled;
- They had the opportunity to actively engage in trade due to the intersection of several trade routes;
- The princes ruling in the cities belonged to the Vladimir princely dynasty who had great power.
In general, all three cities had approximately equal chances, however, the skillful rule of the Moscow princes led to the fact that it was Moscow that seized power and gradually began to strengthen its political influence. As a result, it was around the Moscow principality that a new centralized state began to form.
The main stages of the unification of Rus'
In the second half of the 13th century, the state was in a state of severe fragmentation, with new autonomous territories constantly being separated. Tatar-Mongol yoke interrupted the process of natural unification of lands, and the power of Kyiv by this period was greatly weakened. Rus' was in decline and needed a completely new policy.
In the 14th century, many territories of Rus' united around the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 14-15 centuries, the great Lithuanian princes owned Goroden, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Kyiv and other principalities; under their rule were the Chernigov region, Volyn, Smolensk region and a number of other lands. The rule of the Rurikovichs was ending. By the end of the 15th century Principality of Lithuania It grew so much that it came close to the borders of the Moscow principality. The North-East of Rus' all this time remained under the rule of the descendant of Vladimir Monomakh, and the Vladimir princes bore the prefix “all Rus'”, but their real power did not extend beyond Vladimir and Novgorod. In the 14th century, power over Vladimir passed to Moscow.
At the end of the 14th century, Lithuania joined the Kingdom of Poland, which was followed by a series of Russian-Lithuanian wars, in which Lithuania lost many territories. New Rus' began to gradually unite around the strengthened Moscow principality.
In 1389 Moscow became the new capital.
The final unification of Rus' as a new centralized and unified state ended at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries during the reign of Ivan 3 and his son Vasily 3.
Since then, Rus' has periodically annexed some new territories, but the basis of a unified state has already been created.
Completion of the political unification of Rus'
To hold the new state together and avoid it possible collapse it was necessary to change the management principle. Under Vasily 3, estates appeared - fiefs. Patrimonies were often fragmented and became smaller, as a result, the princes who received their new possessions no longer had power over vast territories.
As a result of the unification of the Russian lands, all power was gradually concentrated in the hands of the Grand Duke.
Trying to justify the rise of Moscow and its transformation into national center, many historians cite a convenient geographical location and favorable social conditions as the most compelling argument - well-developed agriculture, many land and river routes that passed through Moscow and made it the center of trade relations. At the beginning of the Tatar-Mongol raids on Rus', Moscow was on the periphery of the state and suffered less from robberies and fires. But all these compelling arguments can only be considered favorable conditions, which accompanied the success of the Moscow princes. But in politics you cannot rely only on such an ephemeral thing as success.
Politics must be skillful, insightful, far-sighted. And almost all the Moscow princes fully possessed keen business acumen, ingenuity and insight. And, which is also important for successful politics, the princes of Moscow never suffered from an excess of honesty and other moral qualities. Moscow was first mentioned in the Russian chronicle in 1147 as a small fortress, which was erected on the Moscow River Prince of Vladimir. Until the 13th century, the Moscow principality did not play any serious role in the political life of the appanage principalities.
Her gradual but steady rise begins with the reign of her fifteen-year-old son, who is considered the founder of the Moscow princely house. He begins to annex nearby lands - Kolomna and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky - to the small territory of his principality. His son Yuri annexed the Mozhaisk principality and began a long and stubborn struggle for the great reign with Tver princes. Moreover, in this fight they do not hesitate to use any means. Everything is used - military raids, bribery, slander.
The Moscow princes always knew how to use these means more skillfully than their rivals, and the next Moscow prince, Ivan Danilovich, who received the very accurate nickname Kalita, confirmed this in practice.
Ivan Kalita - “big purse”
Historians described the time of his reign as “happy villainy.” To strengthen his own position, Kalita took an active part in suppressing the Tver uprising in 1327 against the Horde Baskak Cholkhan. Having received the label for a great reign from the Horde, he significantly strengthened his position and the Moscow throne. There were fewer and fewer people willing to challenge him. carries out large-scale construction in Moscow and starts with the Kremlin in order to move the seat of the Metropolitan to Moscow. All Orthodox people had to believe in God's chosenness of the Moscow princes, who added new lands to their territory.
Kalita left behind the right to name the Moscow princes - Prince of Novgorod and Prince of Vladimir. Kalita pursued, first of all, selfish goals - to increase his own wealth, but at the same time the Moscow principality also increased. The descendants of the family of Ivan Kalita were able to maintain the position of Moscow even in those periods when, simultaneously with the Horde, warlike western neighbors - the Lithuanians, Swedish and Livonian knights - became more active.
Dmitry Donskoy - collector of Russian lands
It was a difficult moment for the Moscow princes when, in 1359, the throne was inherited by the 9-year-old Prince Dmitry, who, with the help of the Metropolitan, was able to remain on the Moscow throne. Subsequently, it was the prince who became the head of the anti-Horde policy thanks to his victory on the Kulikovo Field and the main collector of Russian lands. Moscow becomes the real capital of the emerging Russian state and from now on the Moscow princes, called the Grand Dukes, are entrusted with the responsibility of organizing the fight against both external conquerors and internal strife. Finally secured the right of Moscow as the capital of the Russian state, and the Moscow princes as the main rulers, in 1462, a descendant of Dmitry Donskoy - Ivan III.
- Despite all the positive aspects of the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, Russian historians agree that his reign was marked by the most unhappy and sad periods in the history of the Russian people.
- All 30 years of his reign were marked by ruin and devastation, which occurred from external enemies, and from internal strife. However, this did not prevent him from being canonized as the liberator of the Russian land.