How many brothers did Ivan the Third have? Great Sovereign Ivan III Vasilievich

Grand Duchess Sophia (1455-1503) from the Greek Palaiologan dynasty was the wife of Ivan III. She came from a line of Byzantine emperors. By marrying a Greek princess, Ivan Vasilyevich emphasized the connection between his own power and that of Constantinople. Once upon a time, Byzantium gave Christianity to Rus'. The marriage of Ivan and Sofia closed this historical circle. Their son Basil III and his heirs considered themselves successors to the Greek emperors. To transfer power to her own son, Sophia had to wage many years of dynastic struggle.

Origin

The exact date of birth of Sofia Paleolog is unknown. She was born around 1455 in the Greek city of Mystras. The girl's father was Thomas Palaiologos, the brother of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. He ruled the Despotate of Morea, located on the Peloponnese peninsula. Sophia's mother, Catherine of Achaia, was the daughter of the Frankish prince Achaea Centurion II (Italian by birth). The Catholic ruler conflicted with Thomas and lost a decisive war to him, as a result of which he lost his own possessions. As a sign of victory, as well as the annexation of Achaea, the Greek despot married Catherine.

The fate of Sofia Paleolog was determined by dramatic events that happened shortly before her birth. In 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople. This event marked the end of the thousand-year history of the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. Having occupied the city, the Turks opened their way to the Balkans and the Old World as a whole.

If the Ottomans defeated the emperor, then the other princes did not pose a threat to them at all. The Despotate of Morea was captured already in 1460. Thomas managed to take his family and flee from the Peloponnese. First, the Palaiologos came to Corfu, then moved to Rome. The choice was logical. Italy became the new home for many thousands of Greeks who did not want to remain under Muslim citizenship.

The girl's parents died almost simultaneously in 1465. After their death, the story of Sofia Paleolog turned out to be closely connected with the story of her brothers Andrei and Manuel. The young Palaiologos were sheltered by Pope Sixtus IV. In order to enlist his support and ensure a calm future for the children, Thomas, shortly before his death, converted to Catholicism, abandoning the Greek Orthodox faith.

Life in Rome

The Greek scientist and humanist Vissarion of Nicea began training Sophia. Most of all, he was famous for being the author of the project for the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, concluded in 1439. For the successful reunification (Byzantium made this deal, being on the verge of destruction and hoping in vain for help from the Europeans), Vissarion received the rank of cardinal. Now he became the teacher of Sophia Paleologus and her brothers.

From an early age, the biography of the future Moscow Grand Duchess bore the stamp of Greco-Roman duality, of which Vissarion of Nicaea was an adherent. In Italy she always had a translator with her. Two professors taught her Greek and Latin. Sophia Palaiologos and her brothers were supported by the Holy See. Dad gave them more than 3 thousand ecus a year. Money was spent on servants, clothes, a doctor, etc.

The fate of Sofia's brothers turned out to be exactly the opposite of each other. As the eldest son of Thomas, Andrei was considered the legal heir of the entire Palaiologan dynasty. He tried to sell his status to several European kings, hoping that they would help him regain the throne. As expected, the crusade did not happen. Andrei died in poverty. Manuel returned to his historical homeland. In Constantinople, he began to serve the Turkish Sultan Bayezid II, and according to some sources, he even converted to Islam.

As a representative of the extinct imperial dynasty, Sophia Palaiologos from Byzantium was one of the most enviable brides in Europe. However, none of the Catholic monarchs with whom they tried to negotiate in Rome agreed to marry the girl. Even the glory of the Palaiologos name could not overshadow the danger posed by the Ottomans. It is precisely known that Sophia’s patrons began to match her with the Cypriot King Jacques II, but he responded with a firm refusal. Another time, the Roman Pontiff Paul II himself proposed the girl’s hand to the influential Italian aristocrat Caracciolo, but this attempt at a wedding also failed.

Embassy to Ivan III

In Moscow, they learned about Sofia in 1469, when the Greek diplomat Yuri Trachaniot arrived in the Russian capital. He proposed to the recently widowed but still very young Ivan III the project of marriage with the princess. The Roman Epistle delivered by the foreign guest was composed by Pope Paul II. The Pontiff promised Ivan support if he wanted to marry Sophia.

What made Roman diplomacy turn to the Moscow Grand Duke? In the 15th century, after a long period of political fragmentation and the Mongol yoke, Russia reunited and became a major European power. In the Old World there were legends about the wealth and power of Ivan III. In Rome, many influential people hoped for the help of the Grand Duke in the struggle of Christians against Turkish expansion.

One way or another, Ivan III agreed and decided to continue negotiations. His mother Maria Yaroslavna reacted favorably to the “Roman-Byzantine” candidacy. Ivan III, despite his tough temperament, was afraid of his mother and always listened to her opinion. At the same time, the figure of Sophia Palaeologus, whose biography was connected with the Latins, did not please the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Philip. Realizing his powerlessness, he did not oppose the Moscow sovereign and distanced himself from the upcoming wedding.

Wedding

The Moscow embassy arrived in Rome in May 1472. The delegation was headed by the Italian Gian Batista della Volpe, known in Russia as Ivan Fryazin. The ambassadors were met by Pope Sixtus IV, who had recently replaced the deceased Paul II. As a token of gratitude for the hospitality shown, the pontiff received a large amount of sable fur as a gift.

Only a week passed, and a solemn ceremony took place in the main Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, at which Sophia Paleologus and Ivan III became engaged in absentia. Volpe played the role of groom. While preparing for an important event, the ambassador made a serious mistake. The Catholic rite required the use of wedding rings, but Volpe did not prepare them. The scandal was hushed up. All the influential organizers of the engagement wanted to complete it safely and turned a blind eye to the formalities.

In the summer of 1472, Sophia Paleologus, together with her retinue, the papal legate and Moscow ambassadors, set off on a long journey. At parting, she met with the pontiff, who gave the bride his final blessing. Of several routes, Sofia's companions chose the path through Northern Europe and the Baltics. The Greek princess crossed the entire Old World, coming from Rome to Lubeck. Sofia Palaeologus from Byzantium endured the hardships of a long journey with dignity - such trips were not the first time for her. At the insistence of the pope, all Catholic cities organized a warm welcome for the embassy. The girl reached Tallinn by sea. This was followed by Yuryev, Pskov, and then Novgorod. Sofia Paleolog, whose appearance was reconstructed by specialists in the 20th century, surprised Russians with her foreign southern appearance and unfamiliar habits. Everywhere the future Grand Duchess was greeted with bread and salt.

On November 12, 1472, Princess Sophia Paleologus arrived in the long-awaited Moscow. The wedding ceremony with Ivan III took place on the same day. There was an understandable reason for the rush. Sophia's arrival coincided with the celebration of the day of memory of John Chrysostom, the patron saint of the Grand Duke. So the Moscow sovereign gave his marriage under heavenly protection.

For the Orthodox Church, the fact that Sofia was the second wife of Ivan III was reprehensible. A priest who would officiate such a marriage had to risk his reputation. In addition, the attitude towards the bride as a foreign Latina has been entrenched in conservative circles since her appearance in Moscow. That is why Metropolitan Philip avoided the obligation to perform the wedding. Instead, the ceremony was led by Archpriest Hosiya of Kolomna.

Sophia Palaeologus, whose religion remained Orthodox even during her stay in Rome, nevertheless arrived with the papal legate. This envoy, traveling along Russian roads, demonstratively carried in front of him a large Catholic crucifix. Under pressure from Metropolitan Philip, Ivan Vasilyevich made it clear to the legate that he was not going to tolerate such behavior that embarrassed his Orthodox subjects. The conflict was settled, but “Roman glory” haunted Sophia until the end of her days.

Historical role

Together with Sofia, her Greek retinue came to Russia. Ivan III was very interested in the heritage of Byzantium. The marriage to Sophia became a signal for many other Greeks wandering in Europe. A stream of co-religionists arose who sought to settle in the possessions of the Grand Duke.

What did Sofia Paleolog do for Russia? She opened it to Europeans. Not only Greeks, but also Italians went to Muscovy. Masters and learned people were especially valued. Ivan III patronized Italian architects (for example, Aristotle Fioravanti), who built a large number of architectural masterpieces in Moscow. A separate courtyard and mansions were built for Sophia herself. They burned down in 1493 during a terrible fire. The Grand Duchess's treasury was lost along with them.

During the days of standing on the Ugra

In 1480, Ivan III escalated the conflict with the Tatar Khan Akhmat. The result of this conflict is known - after a bloodless stand on the Ugra, the Horde left Russia and never again demanded tribute from it. Ivan Vasilyevich managed to throw off the long-term yoke. However, before Akhmat left the possessions of the Moscow prince in disgrace, the situation seemed uncertain. Fearing an attack on the capital, Ivan III organized the departure of Sophia and their children to White Lake. Together with his wife there was the grand ducal treasury. If Akhmat had captured Moscow, she should have fled further north closer to the sea.

The decision to evacuate, which was made by Ivan 3 and Sofia Paleolog, caused outrage among the people. Muscovites began to recall with pleasure the “Roman” origins of the princess. Sarcastic descriptions of the empress's flight to the north were preserved in some chronicles, for example in the Rostov vault. Nevertheless, all the reproaches of his contemporaries were immediately forgotten after the news arrived in Moscow that Akhmat and his army had decided to retreat from the Ugra and return to the steppes. Sofia from the Paleolog family arrived in Moscow a month later.

The heir problem

Ivan and Sofia had 12 children. Half of them died in childhood or infancy. The remaining grown children of Sofia Paleolog also left behind offspring, but the Rurik branch, which began from the marriage of Ivan and the Greek princess, died out around the middle of the 17th century. The Grand Duke also had a son from his first marriage to the Tver princess. Named after his father, he is remembered as Ivan Mladoy. According to the law of seniority, it was this prince who was supposed to become the heir to the Moscow state. Of course, Sofia did not like this scenario, who wanted power to pass to her son Vasily. A loyal group of court nobility formed around her, supporting the princess’s claims. However, for the time being, she could not influence the dynastic issue in any way.

Since 1477, Ivan the Young was considered his father's co-ruler. He took part in the battle on the Ugra and gradually learned princely duties. For many years, Ivan the Young's position as the rightful heir was undeniable. However, in 1490 he fell ill with gout. There was no cure for “ache in the legs.” Then the Italian doctor Mister Leon was discharged from Venice. He undertook to cure the heir and vouched for success with his own head. Leon used rather strange methods. He gave Ivan a certain potion and burned his legs with red-hot glass vessels. The treatment only made the illness worse. In 1490, Ivan the Young died in terrible agony at the age of 32. In anger, Sophia's husband Paleologus imprisoned the Venetian, and a few weeks later he publicly executed him.

Conflict with Elena

The death of Ivan the Young did not bring Sofia much closer to the fulfillment of her dream. The deceased heir was married to the daughter of the Moldavian sovereign, Elena Stefanovna, and had a son, Dmitry. Now Ivan III faced a difficult choice. On the one hand, he had a grandson, Dmitry, and on the other, a son from Sofia, Vasily.

For several years, the Grand Duke continued to hesitate. The boyars split again. Some supported Elena, others - Sofia. The first had significantly more supporters. Many influential Russian aristocrats and nobles did not like the story of Sophia Paleologus. Some continued to reproach her for her past with Rome. In addition, Sofia herself tried to surround herself with her native Greeks, which did not benefit her popularity.

On the side of Elena and her son Dmitry there was a good memory of Ivan the Young. Vasily’s supporters resisted: on his mother’s side, he was a descendant of the Byzantine emperors! Elena and Sofia were worth each other. Both of them were distinguished by ambition and cunning. Although the women observed palace decorum, their mutual hatred of each other was no secret to the princely entourage.

Opal

In 1497, Ivan III became aware of a conspiracy being prepared behind his back. Young Vasily fell under the influence of several careless boyars. Fyodor Stromilov stood out among them. This clerk was able to assure Vasily that Ivan was already going to officially declare Dmitry his heir. Reckless boyars suggested getting rid of their competitor or seizing the sovereign's treasury in Vologda. The number of like-minded people involved in the venture continued to grow until Ivan III himself found out about the conspiracy.

As always, the Grand Duke, terrible in anger, ordered the execution of the main noble conspirators, including clerk Stromilov. Vasily escaped prison, but guards were assigned to him. Sofia also fell into disgrace. Her husband heard rumors that she was bringing imaginary witches to her place and was trying to get a potion to poison Elena or Dmitry. These women were found and drowned in the river. The Emperor forbade his wife to come into his sight. To top it off, Ivan actually declared his fifteen-year-old grandson his official heir.

The fight continues

In February 1498, celebrations were held in Moscow to mark the coronation of young Dmitry. The ceremony in the Assumption Cathedral was attended by all the boyars and members of the grand ducal family with the exception of Vasily and Sofia. The disgraced relatives of the Grand Duke were pointedly not invited to the coronation. The Monomakh Cap was put on Dmitry, and Ivan III arranged a grand feast in honor of his grandson.

Elena's party could triumph - this was her long-awaited triumph. However, even supporters of Dmitry and his mother could not feel too confident. Ivan III was always distinguished by impulsiveness. Because of his tough temperament, he could throw anyone into disgrace, including his wife, but nothing guaranteed that the Grand Duke would not change his preferences.

A year has passed since Dmitry's coronation. Unexpectedly, the sovereign's favor returned to Sophia and her eldest son. There is no evidence in the chronicles about the reasons that prompted Ivan to reconcile with his wife. One way or another, the Grand Duke ordered the case against his wife to be reconsidered. During the repeated investigation, new circumstances of the court struggle were discovered. Some denunciations against Sofia and Vasily turned out to be false.

The sovereign accused the most influential defenders of Elena and Dmitry - princes Ivan Patrikeev and Simeon Ryapolovsky - of slander. The first of them was the chief military adviser to the Moscow ruler for more than thirty years. Ryapolovsky's father defended Ivan Vasilyevich as a child when he was in danger from Dmitry Shemyaka during the last Russian internecine war. These great merits of the nobles and their families did not save them.

Six weeks after the boyars' disgrace, Ivan, who had already returned favor to Sofia, declared their son Vasily the prince of Novgorod and Pskov. Dmitry was still considered the heir, but members of the court, sensing a change in the sovereign’s mood, began to abandon Elena and her child. Fearing the same fate as Patrikeev and Ryapolovsky, other aristocrats began to demonstrate loyalty to Sofia and Vasily.

Triumph and death

Three more years passed, and finally, in 1502, the struggle between Sophia and Elena ended with the fall of the latter. Ivan ordered guards to be assigned to Dmitry and his mother, then sent them to prison and officially deprived his grandson of his grand-ducal dignity. At the same time, the sovereign declared Vasily his heir. Sofia was triumphant. Not a single boyar dared to contradict the decision of the Grand Duke, although many continued to sympathize with eighteen-year-old Dmitry. Ivan was not stopped even by a quarrel with his faithful and important ally - Elena's father and the Moldavian ruler Stefan, who hated the owner of the Kremlin for the suffering of his daughter and grandson.

Sofia Paleolog, whose biography was a series of ups and downs, managed to achieve the main goal of her life shortly before her own death. She died at the age of 48 on April 7, 1503. The Grand Duchess was buried in a sarcophagus made of white stone, placed in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. Sofia's grave was next to the grave of Ivan's first wife, Maria Borisovna. In 1929, the Bolsheviks destroyed the Ascension Cathedral, and the remains of the Grand Duchess were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral.

For Ivan, the death of his wife was a strong blow. He was already over 60. In mourning, the Grand Duke visited several Orthodox monasteries, where he diligently devoted himself to prayer. The last years of their life together were overshadowed by disgrace and mutual suspicions of the spouses. Nevertheless, Ivan III always appreciated Sophia’s intelligence and her assistance in state affairs. After the loss of his wife, the Grand Duke, feeling the proximity of his own death, made a will. Vasily's rights to power were confirmed. Ivan followed Sophia in 1505, dying at the age of 65.

The Sovereign of All Rus', Ivan 3, was born in an era filled with dramatic events associated with the incessant raids of the Tatars and the cruel struggle of appanage princes, full of treachery and betrayal. He entered the history of Russia as This fully expresses his role in the formation of a state that later occupied a sixth of the world.

Darkened childhood

On a frosty winter day on January 22, 1440, the ringing of bells floated over Moscow - the wife of Grand Duke Vasily II, Maria Yaroslavna, was safely delivered of her pregnancy. The Lord sent the ruler a son-heir, named Ivan in holy baptism in honor of St. John Chrysostom, whose memory was to be celebrated in the coming days.

The joys of the young prince’s happy and carefree childhood came to an end when, in 1445, near Suzdal, his father’s squad was completely defeated by Tatar hordes, and the prince himself was captured by Khan Ulu-Muhammad. Residents of Moscow and its temporary ruler Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka were in anticipation of an imminent invasion of adversaries on their city, which inevitably gave rise to panic and a feeling of despair.

The treachery of the prince's enemies

However, this time the Lord averted the misfortune, and after some time Prince Vasily returned, but for this the Muscovites were forced to send a ransom to the Horde, which amounted to an unaffordable amount for them. Supporters of Dmitry Shemyaka, who had acquired a taste for power, took advantage of the dissatisfaction of the city residents and formed a conspiracy against their rightful ruler.

It tells how, on the way to a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Vasily III was treacherously captured and, by order of Shemyaka, blinded. This was the reason for the nickname “Dark” that took root behind him, with which he is known to this day. To justify their actions, the conspirators started a rumor that Vasily deliberately brought the Tatars to Rus' and gave them the cities and volosts under his control.

Alliance with the Tver prince

The future Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich, together with his younger brothers and boyars who remained loyal to his father, fled from the usurper in Murom, but he soon managed to cunningly lure the young prince to Moscow, and then send him to Uglich, where his father languished in captivity. It is difficult to establish the reason for his further actions - whether he was afraid of the wrath of the Lord or, more likely, had his own benefits, but only after several months Shemyaka freed the prisoner he had blinded and even granted him Vologda as his appanage.

The calculation that blindness and the months spent behind bars broke the prisoner turned out to be a fatal mistake for Shemyaka, which later cost him his life. Once free, Vasily and his son went to the Tver prince Boris and, having concluded an alliance with him, soon appeared in Moscow at the head of a large squad. The power of the usurper fell, and he himself fled to Uglich. For greater security, the six-year-old Prince Ivan was engaged to Boris’s daughter, Princess Marya, who by that time was only four years old.

First military campaign

In those ancient times, children grew up early, and it is not surprising that already at the age of nine the heir begins to be called the Grand Duke, and in 1452, the future sovereign of all Rus', Ivan 3, leads the army sent by his father to capture the Ustyug fortress of Kokshengu, where he shows himself to be a fully established commander.

Having captured the citadel and plundered the city, Ivan returns to Moscow. Here, in the presence of the highest clergy and in the presence of a large crowd, he, a twelve-year-old groom, was married to his ten-year-old bride. At the same time, the prince’s loyal people poisoned Shemyaka, who was hiding there, in Uglich, which put an end to his claims to power and stopped the bloody civil strife.

On the threshold of independent rule

In subsequent years, Ivan III Vasilyevich became co-ruler of his father Vasily II and, like him, was called the Grand Duke. Coins of that era with the inscription “donate all Rus'” have survived to this day. During this period, his reign was a chain of incessant military campaigns, in which, led by the experienced commander Fyodor Basenko, he mastered the art of military leadership, the skills in which would be so necessary for him later.

In 1460, Vasily the Dark died, having drawn up a will before his death, according to which the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich III extended to most of the cities of the country. He did not forget the rest of his sons, giving each of them their own fiefdoms. After his death, Ivan exactly fulfilled his father’s will, distributing to each of the brothers the lands due to him, and became the new sole ruler of the Moscow principality.

First independent steps

Having early found himself drawn into internal political strife and external civil strife, twenty-year-old Ivan III Vasilyevich, having received full power after the death of his father, was a fully established ruler. Having inherited from Vasily II a huge, but administratively weakly organized principality, from the first days of his reign he took a hard line to strengthen and expand it.

Having assumed full power, Ivan first of all took care of strengthening the general position of the state. To this end, he confirmed the previously concluded agreements with the Tver and Belozersky principalities, and also strengthened his influence in Ryazan by placing his own man in charge and, moreover, marrying off his own sister.

Expansion of state borders

In the early seventies, Ivan III began the main task of his life - annexing the remaining Russian principalities to Moscow, the first of which was the possession of the Yaroslavl prince Alexander Fedorovich, who died in 1471. His heir considered it good, having received the rank of boyar, to become a faithful servant of the Moscow ruler.

The Yaroslavl principality was followed by the Dmitrov principality, which also came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Soon the Rostov lands joined him, the princes of which preferred to join the serving nobility of their powerful neighbor.

Conquest of Novgorod and the birth of a new title

A special place in the series of “gathering Russian land,” as this process later came to be called, is occupied by Moscow’s seizure of the hitherto independent Novgorod, which, unlike numerous appanage principalities, was a free trading and aristocratic state. The capture of Novgorod stretched over a fairly long period, from 1471 to 1477, and included two military campaigns, the first of which ended only with the payment of a significant indemnity by the Novgorodians, and the second led to the complete loss of independence of this ancient city.

It was the end of the Novgorod campaigns that became that milestone in history when Ivan 3 became the Sovereign of All Rus'. This happened partly by accident. Two Novgorodians who arrived in Moscow on business, when writing a petition addressed to the Grand Duke, contrary to the previously accepted address “sir,” used the word “sovereign.” Whether it was an accidental clerical error or deliberate flattery, everyone, and especially the prince himself, liked such an expression of loyal feelings. It is customary to date Ivan’s adoption of the 3rd title of Sovereign of All Rus' to this time.

Invasion of the Tatar Khan Akhmat

During the period when the sovereign of all Rus', Ivan 3, was at the head of the Moscow principality, the most important event in history occurred, which put an end to the power of the Horde. It is known as It was preceded by a series of internal conflicts within the Tatar state itself, which resulted in its collapse and significant weakening. Taking advantage of this, Ivan 3, the first sovereign of all Rus', refused to pay the established tribute and even ordered the execution of the ambassadors sent to him.

Such previously unheard-of audacity gave rise to the Tatar Khan Akhmat, having previously agreed with the Lithuanian ruler Casimir, to begin a campaign against Rus'. In the summer of 1480, he crossed the Oka with a large army and encamped on the shore. The Russian army, led personally by Ivan 3, the Sovereign of All Rus', hurried towards him. Briefly describing the subsequent events, it should be noted that they did not develop into large-scale military operations, but were reduced only to a series of enemy attacks repulsed by the Russians.

The end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the weakening of Lithuania

Having stood on the Ugra until the onset of winter, without waiting for the help promised by Casimir and fearing the princely squads waiting for them on the opposite bank, the Tatars were forced to retreat. Pursued by the Russians, they went deep into the Lithuanian lands, which they mercilessly plundered in retaliation for the prince’s violation of his obligations.

This was not only the last major invasion of steppe nomads into Rus', ending the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, but also a significant weakening of the Principality of Lithuania, which constantly threatened the western borders of the state. From this period, the conflict with him became particularly acute, since the annexation of significant territories by Ivan III to the Moscow Principality was in conflict with the plans of the Lithuanian rulers.

Policy towards the Crimean and Kazan Khanates

The intelligent and far-sighted politician Ivan III Vasilyevich, whose years of reign became a period of incessant struggle for the independence of the Russian state, in order to suppress the aggression of the Lithuanians, entered into an alliance with the one that had separated from the once mighty Golden Horde as a result of internecine struggle. According to the agreements concluded with Moscow, its rulers more than once devastated territories hostile to the Russians with their raids, thereby weakening their potential opponents.

The relationship between the Sovereign of All Rus' and the Tatars was much worse. Frequent raids by the Tatars forced the Russians to take a number of retaliatory actions that ended in failure. This problem remained insoluble until the end of the reign of Ivan III and was inherited by his successor.

Construction of Ivangorod

The annexation of Novgorod to the Moscow Principality gave rise to a new problem - Livonia became the northwestern neighbor of the Russians. The history of relations with this state has known different stages, among which relatively peaceful periods were replaced by armed conflicts. Among the measures taken by the Sovereign of All Rus' Ivan 3 for border security, the most important place is occupied by the construction of the Ivangorod fortress on the Narva River in 1492.

Further expansion of the Moscow principality

After the conquest of Novgorod, when Ivan 3 began to be called the Sovereign of All Rus', his annexation of new lands intensified significantly. Beginning in 1481, the Principality of Moscow was expanded to include territories that previously belonged to the Vologda ruler Andrei Menshoy, and then to the Vereisky prince Mikhail Andreevich.

A certain difficulty was the subordination of the Tver principality to Moscow, which ultimately resulted in an armed conflict that ended in Ivan’s victory. The Ryazan and Pskov lands also failed to maintain their independence, the ruler of which, after a long but unsuccessful struggle, was the Moscow Prince Ivan III Vasilyevich.

The biography of this outstanding ruler of the Russian land is inextricably linked with the transformation of the relatively small appanage principality he inherited into a powerful state. It was this state that became the basis of the entire future Russia, in the annals of which he entered as Ivan the Great. In terms of the scale of the transformations he accomplished, this ruler ranks among the most honored figures in Russian history.

He completed his life's journey on October 27, 1505, only briefly outliving his wife Sophia Paleologus. Anticipating his imminent death, Ivan the Great retired. He devoted his last months to visiting holy places. The ashes of the “gatherer of the Russian land” have been resting for four centuries in the Archangel Cathedral, located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, the walls of which were erected during his reign and remained for centuries a monument to the era, the creator of which was Ivan III. The title of Sovereign of All Rus' after him became permanent everyday life and belonged to everyone who happened to ascend to the Russian throne.

From the Rurik dynasty.

The son of the Moscow prince and Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of Prince Yaroslav Borovsky, granddaughter of the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo V.A. Serpukhovsky.
Also known as Ivan the Great, Ivan Saint.

Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505.

Biography of Ivan the Great

He was born on the day of remembrance of the Apostle Timothy, so he received his baptismal name in his honor - Timothy. But thanks to the upcoming church holiday - the transfer of the relics of St. John Chrysostom, the prince received the name by which he is best known.

From a young age, the prince became an assistant to his blind father. He took an active part in the fight against Dmitry Shemyaka and went on hikes. In order to legitimize the new order of succession to the throne, Vasily II named the heir Grand Duke during his lifetime. All letters were written on behalf of the 2 great princes. In 1446, the prince, at the age of 7, became engaged to Maria, the daughter of Prince Boris Alexandrovich Tverskoy. This future marriage was supposed to become a symbol of the reconciliation of eternal rivals - Tver and Moscow.

Military campaigns play an important role in raising the heir to the throne. In 1452, the young prince was already sent by the nominal head of the army on a campaign against the Ustyug fortress of Kokshengu, which was successfully completed. Returning from the campaign with a victory, he married his bride, Maria Borisovna (June 4, 1452). Soon Dmitry Shemyaka was poisoned, and the bloody civil strife that had lasted for a quarter of a century began to subside.

In 1455, young Ivan Vasilyevich made a victorious campaign against the Tatars who had invaded Rus'. In August 1460, he became the head of the Russian army, which closed the path to Moscow to the advancing Tatars of Khan Akhmat.

Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilievich

By 1462, when the Dark One died, the 22-year-old heir was already a man who had seen a lot, ready to resolve various state issues. He was distinguished by prudence, lust for power and the ability to steadily move towards his goal. Ivan Vasilyevich marked the beginning of his reign by issuing gold coins with the minted names of Ivan III and his son, the heir to the throne. Having received the right to a great reign according to the spiritual charter of his father, for the first time since the invasion of Batu, the Moscow prince did not go to the Horde to receive a label, and became the ruler of a territory of approximately 430 thousand square meters. km.
Throughout his reign, the main goal of the country's foreign policy was the unification of northeastern Rus' into a single Moscow state.

Thus, by diplomatic agreements, cunning maneuvers and force, he annexed the Yaroslavl (1463), Dimitrov (1472), Rostov (1474) principalities, the Novgorod land, the Tver principality (1485), the Belozersk principality (1486), the Vyatka (1489), part of the Ryazan, Chernigov, Seversk, Bryansk and Gomel lands.

The ruler of Moscow mercilessly fought against the princely-boyar opposition, establishing tax rates that were collected from the population in favor of the governors. The noble army and nobility began to play a greater role. In the interests of the noble landowners, a restriction was introduced on the transfer of peasants from one master to another. Peasants received the right to move only once a year - a week before the autumn St. George's Day (November 26) and a week after St. George's Day. Under him, artillery appeared as an integral part of the army.

Victories of Ivan III Vasilievich the Great

In 1467 - 1469 successfully carried out military operations against Kazan, eventually achieving its vassalage. In 1471, he made a campaign against Novgorod and, thanks to the attack on the city in several directions, carried out by professional warriors, during the Battle of Shelon on July 14, 1471, he won the last feudal war in Rus', including the Novgorod lands into the Russian state.

After the wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1487 - 1494; 1500 - 1503), many Western Russian cities and lands went to Rus'. According to the Truce of Annunciation in 1503, the Russian state included: Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Starodub, Gomel, Bryansk, Toropets, Mtsensk, Dorogobuzh.

Successes in the expansion of the country also contributed to the growth of international relations with European countries. In particular, an alliance was concluded with the Crimean Khanate, with Khan Mengli-Girey, while the agreement directly named the enemies against whom the parties had to act together - Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and the Grand Duke of Lithuania. In subsequent years, the Russian-Crimean alliance showed its effectiveness. During the Russian-Lithuanian war of 1500-1503. Crimea remained an ally of Russia.

In 1476, the ruler of Moscow stopped paying tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, which was supposed to lead to a clash between two long-time opponents. On October 26, 1480, the “standing on the Ugra River” ended with the actual victory of the Russian state, gaining the desired independence from the Horde. For the overthrow of the Golden Horde yoke in 1480, Ivan Vasilyevich received the nickname Saint among the people.

The unification of previously fragmented Russian lands into a single state urgently required the unity of the legal system. In September 1497, the Code of Law was put into effect - a unified legislative code, which reflected the norms of such documents as: Russian Truth, Charter Charters (Dvinskaya and Belozerskaya), Pskov Judicial Charter, a number of decrees and orders.

The reign of Ivan Vasilyevich was also characterized by large-scale construction, the erection of temples, the development of architecture, and the flourishing of chronicles. Thus, the Assumption Cathedral (1479), the Faceted Chamber (1491), and the Annunciation Cathedral (1489) were erected, 25 churches were built, and intensive construction of the Moscow and Novgorod Kremlin was carried out. Fortresses were built in Ivangorod (1492), in Beloozero (1486), in Velikiye Luki (1493).

The appearance of a double-headed eagle as a state symbol of the Moscow State on the seal of one of the charters issued in 1497 Ivan III Vasilievich symbolized the equality of ranks of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Was married twice:
1) from 1452 to Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Tver prince Boris Alexandrovich (died at the age of 30, according to rumors, was poisoned): son Ivan the Young
2) from 1472 on the Byzantine princess Sophia Fominichna Palaeologus, niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI

sons: Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry, Semyon, Andrey
daughters: Elena, Feodosia, Elena and Evdokia

Marriages of Ivan Vasilyevich

The marriage of the Moscow sovereign with the Greek princess was an important event in Russian history. He opened the way for connections between Muscovite Rus' and the West. Soon after this, he was the first to receive the nickname Terrible, because for the princes of the squad he was a monarch, demanding unquestioning obedience and strictly punishing disobedience. At the first order of Ivan the Terrible, the heads of unwanted princes and boyars were laid on the chopping block. After his marriage, he took the title "Sovereign of All Rus'".

Over time, Ivan Vasilyevich's second marriage became one of the sources of tension at court. Two groups of court nobility emerged, one of which supported the heir to the throne - Young (son from his first marriage), and the second - the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue and Vasily (son from his second marriage). This family feud, during which hostile political parties collided, was also intertwined with the church issue - about measures against the Judaizers.

Death of Tsar Ivan III Vasilyevich

At first, Grozny, after the death of his son Molodoy (died of gout), crowned his son and his grandson, Dmitry, on February 4, 1498 in the Assumption Cathedral. But soon, thanks to skillful intrigue on the part of Sophia and Vasily, he took their side. On January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna, Dmitry’s mother, died in captivity, and in 1509, Dmitry himself died in prison.

In the summer of 1503, the Moscow ruler became seriously ill, he became blind in one eye; partial paralysis of one arm and one leg occurred. Leaving his business, he went on a trip to the monasteries.

On October 27, 1505, Ivan the Great died. Before his death, he named his son Vasily as his heir.
The Sovereign of All Rus' was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Historians agree that this reign was extremely successful; it was under him that the Russian state, by the beginning of the 16th century, occupied an honorable international position, distinguished by new ideas and cultural and political growth.

Grand Duke of Moscow (from 1462). He annexed Yaroslavl (1463), Novgorod (1478), Tver (1485), Vyatka, Perm, etc. Under him, the international authority of the Russian state grew, and the title of Grand Duke of “All Rus'” was formalized.

Ivan III was born on January 22, 1440. He came from a family of Moscow grand dukes. His father was Vasily II Vasilyevich the Dark, his mother was Princess Maria Yaroslavna, granddaughter of the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo V.A. Serpukhovsky. A few days after the birth of the boy, on January 27, the church remembered the “transfer of the relics of St. John Chrysostom.” In honor of this great saint, the baby was named John.

Wanting to legitimize the new order of succession to the throne and take away from hostile princes any pretext for unrest, Vasily II, during his lifetime, named Ivan Grand Duke. All letters were written on behalf of the two great princes.

In 1446, Ivan was engaged to Maria, the daughter of Prince Boris Alexandrovich Tverskoy, who was distinguished by his caution and foresight. The groom was about seven years old at the time of engagement. This future marriage was supposed to symbolize the reconciliation of eternal rivals - Moscow and Tver.

In the last ten years of Vasily II's life, Prince Ivan was constantly with his father and participated in all his affairs.

and hiking. By 1462, when Vasily died, 22-year-old Ivan was already a man who had seen a lot, with an established character, ready to solve difficult state issues.

However, for another five years after his accession to the throne, Ivan, as far as one can judge from scanty sources, did not set himself those major historical tasks for which his time would later be glorified.

In the second half of the 60s of the 15th century, Ivan III determined the priority task of his foreign policy to ensure the security of the eastern border by establishing political control over the Kazan Khanate. The war with Kazan of 1467-1469 ended generally successfully for Muscovites. She forced the Kazan Khan Ibrahim to stop raiding the possessions of Ivan III for a long time. At the same time, the war showed the limitations of the internal resources of the Moscow Principality. Decisive successes in the fight against the heirs of the Golden Horde could only be achieved at a qualitatively new level of unification of Russian lands. Realizing this, Ivan turns his attention to Novgorod. The vast possessions of Veliky Novgorod extended from the Baltic Sea to the Urals and from the White Sea to the Volga. The conquest of Novgorod is the main achievement of Ivan III in the matter of “gathering Rus'”.

Prince Ivan “was a statesman, an outstanding politician and diplomat,” writes his biographer N.S. Borisov. “He knew how to subordinate his emotions to the requirements of circumstances. This ability to “control oneself” is the source of many of his successes. Ivan III, unlike his father, always carefully calculated all the possible consequences of his actions. The Novgorod epic can serve as a clear example of this. The Grand Duke clearly understood that the difficulty lay not so much in conquering Novgorod as in doing it unnoticed. Otherwise, he could turn all of Eastern Europe against himself and lose not only Novgorod, but also much more..."

Back in December 1462, a large embassy “about the humility of the world” went to Moscow from Novgorod. It was headed by Archbishop Jonah. In Moscow, the Novgorod nobility was received with honor. However, during the negotiations, Ivan III showed firmness. The Novgorodians did not yield either. As a result, many hours of debate ended in mutual concessions. Peace has been achieved.

To conclude a more favorable agreement, both sides played a complex diplomatic game.

Ivan III sought to win Pskov over to his side. Envoy of Prince F.Yu. Shuisky contributed to the conclusion of a 9-year truce between Pskov and the German order on conditions favorable to the Russians.

The Moscow-Pskov rapprochement greatly worried the Novgorodians and swung the scales in favor of peaceful relations with Moscow. The alliance with Pskov became a strong means of putting pressure on Novgorod. In the winter of 1464, a truce was concluded between Moscow and Novgorod, which turned out to be quite long.

In the summer of 1470, it became clear that Ivan III, having mastered Kazan, was turning his military-political power to the northwest, towards Novgorod.

The Novgorodians sent an embassy to the Lithuanian king Casimir IV. Instead of troops, he sent Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich (Olelkovich). This prince professed Orthodoxy and was a cousin of Ivan III. All this made him the most suitable candidate for the Novgorod table. However, Mikhail's stay on Volkhov was short-lived. Considering himself offended by something, he soon left Novgorod.

On November 18, 1470, after the death of Jonah, Theophilus became the new ruler of Novgorod. The named Bishop Theophilus was going, according to the old tradition, to go, accompanied by the boyars, to Moscow for a decree to Metropolitan Philip. Ivan III agreed to the usual procedure for approving a new archbishop. In the message, the Moscow prince called Novgorod his “fatherland,” that is, an inalienable, inherited possession. This caused indignation among the Novgorodians, and especially among the “Lithuanian party”.

In the spring of 1471, Novgorod ambassadors went to Lithuania, where an agreement was concluded with King Casimir IV, according to which Novgorod came under his supreme authority, and Casimir undertook to protect it from attacks by the Grand Duke.

In fact, the Polish-Lithuanian king did not intend to fight for Novgorod, which greatly facilitated Moscow expansion. The attempts of Casimir IV at critical moments to set some steppe khan against Ivan III did not bring the expected results.

In May 1471, Ivan III sent “letters of marking” to Novgorod - a formal notification of the start of the war.

On July 13, on the banks of the Sheloni River, the Novgorodians were completely defeated. Ivan III moved with the main army to Novgorod. Meanwhile, there was no help from Lithuania. The people in Novgorod became agitated and sent their archbishop Theophilus to ask the Grand Duke for mercy.

It seems that one effort was enough to defeat Novgorod and end the war with an unprecedented triumph. However, Ivan III resisted the temptation. On August 11, 1471, near Korostyn, he concluded an agreement that summed up the entire Moscow-Novgorod war. As if condescending to strengthened intercession for the guilty metropolitan, his brothers and boyars, the Grand Duke declared his mercy to the Novgorodians: “I give up my dislike, I put down the sword and the thunderstorm in the land of Novgorod and release it full without compensation.”

The conditions put forward by the victors turned out to be unexpectedly lenient. The Novgorodians swore allegiance to Ivan III and pledged to pay him an indemnity for a year. The internal structure of Novgorod remained the same. Volok Lamsky and Vologda finally passed to Moscow.

And, most importantly, according to the Korostyn Treaty, Novgorod recognized itself as the “fatherland” of the Grand Duke of Moscow, and Ivan III himself as the highest court for the townspeople.

Soon Ivan solved his personal problems. The sudden death of Ivan III's first wife, Princess Maria Borisovna, on April 22, 1467, forced the 27-year-old Grand Duke of Moscow to think about a new marriage.

Moscow's joining the pan-European alliance to fight Turkey has become a dream of Western diplomacy. Turkey's penetration of the Mediterranean coast primarily threatened Italy. Therefore, already from the 70s of the 15th century, both the Republic of Venice and the papal throne looked with hope to the distant North-East. This explains the sympathy with which the project of marriage of the powerful Russian sovereign with the heir to the Byzantine throne, Sophia (Zoe) Fominichnaya Paleologus, who was under the patronage of the pope, was met both in Rome and in Venice. Through Greek and Italian businessmen, this project was carried out on November 12, 1472. The sending to Moscow simultaneously with the bride and the plenipotentiary “legate” (ambassador) of Pope Sixtus IV, Bonumbre, equipped with the broadest powers, indicated that papal diplomacy associated great plans with this marriage union. The Venetian Council, for its part, inspired Ivan III with the idea of ​​his rights to the legacy of the Byzantine emperors, seized by the “common enemy of all Christians,” that is, the Sultan, because the “hereditary rights” to the Eastern Empire naturally passed to the Moscow prince by virtue of his marriage.

However, all these diplomatic steps did not yield any results. The Russian state had its own urgent international tasks. Ivan III steadily implemented them, not allowing himself to be seduced by any tricks of Rome or Venice.

The marriage of the Moscow sovereign with the Greek princess was an important event in Russian history. He opened the way for connections between Muscovite Rus' and the West. On the other hand, together with Sophia, some orders and customs of the Byzantine court were established at the Moscow court. The ceremony became more majestic and solemn. The Grand Duke himself rose to prominence in the eyes of his contemporaries. They noticed that Ivan, after marrying the niece of the Byzantine emperor, appeared as an autocratic sovereign on the Moscow grand-ducal table; He was the first to receive the nickname Terrible, because he was a monarch for the princes of the squad, demanding unquestioning obedience and severely punishing disobedience.

It was at that time that Ivan III began to inspire fear with his very appearance. Women, contemporaries say, fainted from his angry gaze. The courtiers, fearing for their lives, had to amuse him during his leisure hours, and when he, sitting in his armchairs, indulged in a doze, they stood motionless around him, not daring to cough or make a careless movement, so as not to wake him. Contemporaries and immediate descendants attributed this change to Sophia's suggestions. Herberstein, who was in Moscow during the reign of Sophia’s son, said about her: “She was an unusually cunning woman, at her suggestion the Grand Duke did a lot.”

The very fact that the bride agreed to go from Rome to distant and unknown Moscow indicates that she was a brave, energetic and adventurous woman. In Moscow, she was expected not only by the honors given to the Grand Duchess, but also by the hostility of the local clergy and the heir to the throne. At every step she had to defend her rights. She probably did a lot to find support and sympathy in Moscow society. But the best way to establish oneself was, of course, childbearing. Both as a monarch and as a father, the Grand Duke wanted to have sons. Sophia herself wanted this. However, to the delight of his ill-wishers, frequent births brought Ivan three daughters in a row - Elena (1474), Theodosius (1475) and again Elena (1476). Alarmed Sophia prayed to God and all the saints for the gift of a son.

Finally her request was fulfilled. On the night of March 25-26, 1479, a boy was born, named Vasily in honor of his grandfather. (For his mother, he always remained Gabriel - in honor of the Archangel Gabriel, whose memory was celebrated on March 26.) Happy parents connected the birth of their son with last year's pilgrimage and fervent prayer at the tomb of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Trinity Monastery.

Following Vasily, she gave birth to two more sons (Yuri and Dmitry), then two daughters (Elena and Feodosia), then three more sons (Semyon, Andrei and Boris) and the last, in 1492, daughter Evdokia.

But let's return to the political activities of Ivan III. In 1474, he bought from the Rostov princes the remaining half of the Rostov principality. But the more important event was the final conquest of Novgorod.

In 1477, the “Moscow party” in Novgorod, impressed by the mass exodus of townspeople to the Grand Duke, decided to take their own steps in the same direction. Two representatives of the Novgorod veche arrived in Moscow - the subvoy Nazar and the clerk Zakhar. In their petition they called Ivan and his son sovereigns, whereas before all the Novgorodians called them masters. The title “sovereign” essentially concealed recognition of Ivan’s right to dispose of Novgorod at his own discretion.

On April 24, the Grand Duke sent his ambassadors to ask what kind of state Veliky Novgorod wanted. The Novgorodians answered at the meeting that they did not call the Grand Duke sovereign and did not send ambassadors to him to talk about some new state; all of Novgorod, on the contrary, wants everything to remain without change, the old fashioned way.

The ambassadors returned empty-handed. And in Novgorod itself a rebellion broke out. Supporters of the “Lithuanian party” rushed to destroy the houses of the boyars who advocated submission to Moscow. Those who were considered the culprits of Ivan III’s invitation to the “state” especially suffered.

On September 30, 1477, Ivan III sent a “folding letter” to Novgorod - a notice of the formal break and the beginning of the war. On October 9, the sovereign left Moscow and headed to Novgorod - “for their crime, execute them by war.”

On November 27, Ivan came close to Novgorod. However, the sovereign was in no hurry to storm the city.

On December 5, Bishop Theophilus, accompanied by several boyars, came to negotiate with him. Ivan received the guests in the presence of his brothers Andrei Bolshoi, Boris and Andrei Menshoy. This time Ivan III spoke out directly: “We, the Grand Dukes, want our own state, just as we are in Moscow, so we want to be in our homeland, Veliky Novgorod.”

Negotiations continued in the following days. Ruthlessly dictating his terms to the Novgorodians, Ivan III considered it necessary to yield to them in some important points. The Grand Duke guaranteed the Novgorod boyars the preservation of those estates that they owned, as well as exemption from service in the Moscow army outside the Novgorod land.

On January 4, 1478, when the townspeople began to suffer severely from hunger, Ivan demanded that half of the lordly and monastic volosts and all the Novotorzh volosts, no matter whose they were, be given to him. Ivan III's calculations were accurate and impeccable. Without affecting the interests of private owners, in this situation he received half of the huge estates of the Novgorod see and monasteries.

Two days later, Novgorod accepted these conditions. On January 15, all townspeople were sworn in to complete obedience to the Grand Duke. The veche bell was removed and sent to Moscow. Ivan insisted that the residence of his “right bank” governors be located in the Yaroslavl courtyard, where the citywide assembly usually met. In ancient times, this is where the courtyard of the Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise was located.

In March 1478, Ivan III returned to Moscow, successfully completing the matter. Novgorod concerns did not leave the sovereign in subsequent years. But all opposition protests were suppressed in the most brutal manner.

In 1480, Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat marched on Moscow. In fact, Rus' had been independent from the Horde for many years, but formally the supreme power belonged to the Horde khans. Rus' grew stronger - the Horde weakened, but continued to remain a formidable force. In response, Ivan sent regiments to the Oka, and he himself went to Kolomna. But the khan, seeing that strong regiments were stationed along the Oka, went to the west, to Lithuanian land, in order to penetrate the Moscow possessions through the Ugra; then Ivan ordered his son Ivan the Young and brother Andrei the Lesser to hurry to the Ugra; The princes carried out the order, came to the river before the Tatars, occupied fords and carriages.

Akhmat, who was not allowed to cross the Ugra by the Moscow regiments, boasted all summer: “God willing, winter will fall on you, when all the rivers stop, there will be many roads to Rus'.” Fearing the fulfillment of this threat, Ivan, as soon as the Ugra became, on October 26 ordered his son and brother Andrei with all the regiments to retreat to Kremenets to fight with united forces. But Akhmat did not think of pursuing Russian troops. He stood on the Ugra until November 11, probably waiting for the promised Lithuanian help. Severe frosts began, but the Lithuanians never came, distracted by the attack of the Crimeans. Without allies, Akhmat did not dare to pursue the Russians further north. He turned back and went back to the steppe.

Contemporaries and descendants perceived the standing on the Ugra as the visible end of the Horde yoke. The power of the Grand Duke increased, and at the same time the cruelty of his character increased noticeably. He became intolerant and quick to kill. The further, the more consistently and boldly than before, Ivan III expanded his state and strengthened his autocracy.

In 1483, the Prince of Verei bequeathed his principality to Moscow. Then it was the turn of Moscow's long-time rival, Tver. In 1484, Moscow learned that the Tver prince Mikhail Borisovich struck up a friendship with Casimir of Lithuania and married the latter’s granddaughter. Ivan III declared war on Mikhail. Muscovites occupied the Tver volost, took and burned the cities. Lithuanian help did not come, and Mikhail was forced to ask for peace. Ivan gave peace. Mikhail promised not to have any relations with Casimir and the Horde. But in the same 1485, Michael’s messenger to Lithuania was intercepted. This time the reprisal was quick and harsh. On September 8, the Moscow army surrounded Tver, on the 10th the settlements were lit, and on the 11th the Tver boyars, abandoning their prince, came to Ivan’s camp and beat him with their foreheads, asking for service. And they were not denied that.

Mikhail Borisovich fled to Lithuania at night. On the morning of September 12, 1485, Bishop Vassian and the entire Kholmsky clan, led by Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich, left Tver to meet Ivan. Following him came the smaller nobility, then “all the zemstvo people.” Tver swore allegiance to Ivan, who left his son Ivan the Young to reign there.

The Tver land gradually became part of the Moscow state of Ivan III. Over the years, traces of former independence were gradually erased. Moscow administration was introduced everywhere and Moscow order was established. According to the will of Ivan III (1504), the Tver land was divided between several rulers and lost its former integrity.

In 1487, Ivan III pacified Kazan and placed Muhammad-Emin on the throne. Now the Grand Duke had a free hand to attack in other directions from the final conquest of Vyatka (1489) to the attack on Lithuania and the Baltic states.

The new state, which united vast areas of Eastern Europe under its rule, occupied a prominent international position. Already at the end of the 80s of the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was a very impressive political force on the European horizon. In 1486, the Silesian Nikolai Poppel accidentally ended up in Moscow. Upon his return, he began to spread rumors about the Russian state and the wealth and power of the sovereign ruling in it. For many this was all news. Until then, there were rumors about Rus' in Western Europe as a country supposedly subject to the Polish kings.

In 1489, Poppel returned to Moscow as an official agent of the Holy Roman Emperor. At a secret audience, he invited Ivan III to petition the emperor to give him the title of king. From the point of view of Western European political thought, this was the only way to legalize a new state and introduce it into the general system of Western European states - at the same time and make it somewhat dependent on the empire. But in Moscow they held a different point of view. Ivan III answered Poppel with dignity: “We, by the grace of God, are sovereigns on our land from the beginning, from our first ancestors, and we have orders from God, both our ancestors and we... and orders, as we did not want this in advance from anyone, so and now we don’t want to.” In his response letter to the Emperor, Ivan III titled himself “By the grace of God, the great sovereign of all Rus'.” Occasionally, in relations with minor states, he even called himself king. His son Vasily III in 1518 for the first time officially called himself tsar in a letter sent to the emperor, and his grandson, Ivan IV, was solemnly crowned king in 1547 and thereby determined the place that his state was supposed to occupy among other cultural states peace.

A successful confrontation with the Great Horde and Lithuania became possible for Ivan III only under the condition of an alliance with Crimea. This is what the efforts of Moscow diplomacy were aimed at. Ivan attracted several influential Crimean “princes” to his side. They prompted Khan Mengli-Girey himself to become closer to Moscow.

Ivan III sought this alliance at the cost of great concessions. He even agreed, if the khan demanded, to title him “sovereign” and did not spare expenses on “funerations,” that is, annual gifts for his Tatar ally. Russian diplomacy ultimately managed to achieve the conclusion of the desired alliance. The Crimean Tatars periodically began to raid Lithuanian possessions, penetrating far into the interior of the country, to Kyiv and beyond. By doing this, they not only caused material damage to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but also weakened its defense capability. The alliance with Mengli-Giray was also connected with another problem of Russian foreign policy of the late 15th - early 16th centuries - the problem of the final elimination of dependence on the Golden Horde. With its resolution, Ivan III, more than ever, acted not so much with weapons as through diplomacy.

The union with Crimea was the decisive moment in the fight against the Golden Horde. The Nogai and Siberian Tatars were brought into the union. Khan Akhmat, during the retreat from the Ugra, was killed in 1481 by the Tatars of the Siberian Khan Ibakh, and in 1502 the Golden Horde was finally defeated by Mengli-Girey.

The first Muscovite-Lithuanian war began in 1487 and lasted until 1494. The subject of dispute in this war was border areas with an uncertain or ambivalent political status. On the southern and western borders, petty Orthodox princes with their estates continually came under the authority of Moscow. The Odoevsky princes were the first to be transferred, then the Vorotynsky and Belevsky princes. These petty princes constantly quarreled with their Lithuanian neighbors - in fact, the war did not stop on the southern borders, but in Moscow and Vilna they maintained a semblance of peace for a long time.

Those who transferred to Moscow service immediately received their former possessions as a grant. To defend the “truth” and restore the “legal rights” of his new subjects, Ivan III sent small detachments.

The idea of ​​the campaign of 1487-1494 was to achieve success quietly, without unnecessary noise. Ivan III avoided a large-scale war with Lithuania. This could have caused similar actions on the part of Lithuania and Poland, at the same time rallying the “supreme princes” and pushing them into the arms of Casemir.

In June 1492, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV died. His sons divided the inheritance. Jan Olbracht received the Polish crown, and Alexander Kazimirovich received the Lithuanian throne. This significantly weakened the potential of Moscow’s enemy.

Ivan III, together with Mengli-Girey, immediately began a war against Lithuania. Although, according to Moscow diplomats, there was no war; there was only a return under the old power of the Moscow Grand Duke of those of his service princes who either temporarily fell away from him in the troubled years under Vasily Vasilyevich, or had previously served “on both sides.”

Things went well for Moscow. The governors took Meshchovsk, Serpeisk, Vyazma. The princes of Vyazemsky, Mezetsky, Novosilsky and other Lithuanian owners went into the service of the Moscow sovereign. Alexander Kazimirovich realized that it would be difficult for him to fight Moscow and Mengli-Girey; he planned to marry Ivan’s daughter, Elena, and thus create lasting peace between the two states. Negotiations proceeded sluggishly until January 1494. Finally, on February 5, peace was concluded, according to which Alexander recognized the new Moscow borders, the new title of the Moscow Grand Duke. Under such conditions, Ivan agreed to marry his daughter to him.

The peace treaty with Lithuania can be considered the most important military and diplomatic success of Ivan III. “The significance of the peace treaty for Russia was great,” notes the famous historian A.A. Zimin. - The border with the Principality of Lithuania in the west moved significantly away. Two bridgeheads were created for the further struggle for Russian lands, one was aimed at Smolensk, and the other was wedged into the thickness of the Seversky lands.”

As one might expect, this “marriage of convenience” turned out to be difficult for both Alexander and Elena.

In 1500, relations between Moscow and Vilna turned into outright hostility over new defections of princes to the side of Moscow, henchmen of Lithuania. Ivan sent his son-in-law a “letter of marking” and after that sent an army to Lithuania. The Crimeans, as usual, helped the Russian army. Many Ukrainian princes, in order to avoid ruin, hastened to surrender to the rule of Moscow. In 1503, a truce was concluded for a period of six years. The question of the ownership of the lands captured by Ivan, the area of ​​which was about a third of the entire territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, remained open. Lithuania continued to consider them its own. However, in fact they remained part of the Moscow state.

Ivan III viewed the Blagoveshchensk truce as a brief respite. However, further expansion had to be carried out by his successors.

Ivan III completely subordinated his international policy to the “gathering of Russian lands.” The Anti-Turkish League did not present anything tempting to him. In response to the promise of a “Constantinople fatherland,” Moscow responded that “the Great Prince wants a fatherland for his Russian land.”

Moreover, the Russian state was interested in peaceful relations with the Ottoman Porte in order to develop its Black Sea trade. The relations between the Russian state and Turkey that began in the 90s of the 15th century were conducted in invariably benevolent forms.

As for relations with the Roman Empire, Ivan III sought not only to maintain friendly relations, but also to take advantage of the rivalry between Emperor Maximilian and the Polish Jagiellonians over Hungary. He proposed an alliance and outlined a plan for the future division of the spoils of Hungary - to Maximilian, Lithuania with the Russian lands enslaved by it - to himself. However, Maximilian thought to achieve his goals peacefully. Depending on the fluctuations in German-Polish relations, changes also occurred in German-Russian relations, until Maximilian found it more profitable for himself to reconcile with Poland and even offered his mediation to reconcile the Russian state with it.

Under Ivan III, the line of foreign policy of the Russian state in the Baltic region was outlined. The annexation of Novgorod and Pskov to Moscow required new trade alliances in the Baltic and accelerated the war with the Livonian Order. The campaign of Russian troops against Livonia in 1480-1481 was successful for the Moscow prince. After victories in the lands of Livonia, the army left, and in September 1481 a truce was concluded for ten years.

In counterbalance to Russian interest in Baltic trade, the order put forward territorial issues. In 1491, Simon Borch came to Moscow with an embassy to extend the truce. Negotiations that lasted almost two years boiled down to trade issues; the Moscow Grand Duke demanded guarantees for transit merchants, as well as the restoration of the Russian church in Revel. In 1493 the treaty was extended for ten years. The alliance with Livonia provided Russia with good trade relations with the Hanseatic League, which Ivan III was interested in, since the Moscow Grand Duke could thus control the stable centuries-old relations between Novgorod, Pskov and the Hanseatic cities.

However, a new war with Livonia soon began, and in the 16th century, relations with the order acquired a slightly different shade; they were increasingly affected by the relations of both sides with the Polish-Lithuanian state. It was Livonia's failure to fulfill the terms of the 1503 treaty that provided the formal pretext for the start of the Livonian War in 1558. In the 90s of the 15th century, negotiations with Denmark became more active. After concluding an agreement with the Hansa, an embassy came from Denmark to negotiate “brotherhood,” and in 1493 Ivan III concluded a “final agreement” with the king. This alliance was directed against Sweden, which systematically attacked the Korelian lands, the ancient possessions of Novgorod, which were transferred to Moscow. In addition to the anti-Swedish orientation, relations with Denmark also acquired a shade of struggle against the monopoly of Hanseatic trade, where England was Denmark's ally.

At the beginning of 1503, Livonian representatives, together with ambassadors from the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander, arrived in Moscow to negotiate peace. Having slightly shown off in front of the Livonians, Prince Ivan concluded a truce with them for a period of six years. The parties returned to the borders and relations that existed between them before the war of 1501-1502.

The defeat of the Hanseatic court in Novgorod and the establishment of friendly relations with Denmark were undoubtedly aimed at freeing Novgorod trade from the obstacles that the almighty Hanse put in front of it. On the other hand, the demand for tribute from the Yuriev bishopric (Dorpt region), according to the agreement with the Livonian Order in 1503, was the first step towards the spread of Russian political influence in Livonia.

In the fall of 1503, Ivan III suffered from paralysis “... it took away his arm and leg and eye.” He named his son Vasily as his heir.

As a result of the subtle and cautious policy of Ivan III, by the beginning of the 16th century, the Russian state, without claiming a decisive role in Europe, occupied an honorable international position in it.

“Towards the end of the reign of Ivan III, we see him sitting on an independent throne. Next to him is the daughter of the last Byzantine emperor. At his feet is Kazan, the ruins of the Golden Horde flock to his court. Novgorod and other Russian republics are enslaved. Lithuania has been cut down, and the Lithuanian sovereign is a tool in the hands of Ivan. The Livonian knights are defeated."

Ivan III Vasilyevich (1440-1505) - Grand Duke of Moscow (from 1462). Born on January 22, 1440 in Moscow. Father - Vasily II the Dark, mother - Maria Yaroslavna, Borovsk princess. In 1445, after his father was blinded during the struggle for succession to the throne by his nephew Dmitry Shemyaka, Ivan was taken to the city of Pereyaslav-Zalessky, then to the city of Uglich, and from there, together with his mother and father, to Tver.

In 1446 he was engaged to the Tver princess Marya Borisovna. In 1448 “he went with the regiments to repel the Kazan people from the Vladimir and Murom lands.” In 1450 he was declared co-ruler of the father of Vasily II the Dark. In 1452 he was married to Princess Maria Borisovna. In 1459, with his army, he drove the Tatars from the banks of the Oka. In 1460, having provided assistance to the Pskovites from the raids of their neighbors, he was named Prince of Pskov. In 1462, after the death of his father, he officially became the Grand Duke of Moscow, continuing his father’s fight against the separatism of the appanage princes to unite the Russian lands into a sovereign state.

I give up my dislike, I calm down the sword and the Thunderstorm in the land of Novgorod and release it completely without compensation. (Novgorod residents)

Ivan III Vasilievich (Third)

In 1463, the Yaroslavl principality was annexed to Moscow, although in 1464 it had to confirm the independence of Ryazan and Tver. In 1467 he sent an army to Kazan, but the campaign was unsuccessful. In April of the same year, his wife Marya Borisovna died (possibly poisoned), from whose marriage there was a nine-year-old son - the soon-to-be co-ruler of Ivan III, and then the Tver prince Ivan the Young. From 1468, Ivan III began to go with him on military campaigns, and later, during his campaigns, he left his son to rule (“in charge”) of Moscow.

In 1468, the Russians, having penetrated Belaya Voloshka, found themselves east of Kazan. In 1470, Ivan Vasilyevich, having quarreled with Novgorod, demanded a ransom from the city. July 14, 1471 at the Battle of the River. Sheloni defeated the Novgorodians, who promised to pay Moscow 80 pounds of silver.

In the summer of 1472, having repelled the invasion of Khan Akhmet in the south, Moscow troops in the northeast invaded the lands of Great Perm. The Perm land came under the rule of the Moscow Grand Duke. This opened the way for Moscow to the North with its fur wealth, as well as towards the Kama River and the seizure of the eastern lands of the Kazan Khanate to weaken the Horde.

In November 1472, at the suggestion of the Pope, Ivan III married the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine Paleologus, Sophia Fomineshna Palaiologos. After the wedding, Ivan III “commanded” the Moscow coat of arms with the image of St. George slaying the serpent to be combined with a double-headed eagle - the ancient coat of arms of Byzantium. This emphasized that Moscow was becoming the heir to the Byzantine Empire. The idea that arose then about the worldwide role of “Moscow - the third Rome” led to the fact that Ivan III began to be viewed as “the king of all Orthodoxy”, and the Russian Church as the successor of the Greek Church. In addition to the coat of arms with a double-headed eagle, Monomakh's cap with barms became an attribute of royal power during the ceremony of crowning the kingdom. (According to legend, the latter were sent to Ivan III by the Byzantine emperor).

The marriage with Sophia Paleologus contributed to increasing the authority of the Moscow prince among other Russian princes and facilitated his task of collecting Russian lands.

In 1473, Ivan III began to move his army westward towards Lithuania. In 1474, the Principality of Rostov annexed Moscow and concluded a friendly alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey. In 1476, Ivan III took an important step towards liberation from the Horde, ceasing to pay it an annual monetary “exit” (“tribute”). In 1477, leaving Ivan the Young in Moscow, Ivan III went to Veliky Novgorod and, having subjugated this city with its vast lands, by 1478 he strengthened his position on the western borders. The symbol of Novgorod “liberty” - the veche bell - was taken to Moscow. Prominent representatives of the boyars, hostile to Moscow, including Marfa Boretskaya, were arrested and sent into exile in the “lower cities”.

I didn’t want them to have a state, they sent it themselves, and now they’re locking it up and accusing us of lying. (about Novgorodians)

Ivan III Vasilievich (Third)

In 1479, the most acute moment of Ivan III’s struggle with the appanage princes came, which the Horde Khan Akhmat took advantage of. When Ivan III and his army were on the western borders, the Horde moved towards Moscow. Ivan the Young, who was “in charge” of Moscow, led the regiments to Serpukhov and on June 8, 1480 became our r. Eel. Fearing for his son’s life, Ivan III ordered him to leave, but Ivan the Young began to “wait for the Tatars,” and Ivan III hastily began to strengthen his positions on the approaches to the river. Oka near Kolomna and Tarusa. On September 30, he arrived in Moscow to “make peace” with the appanage princes and mobilize them to fight the Tatars. In Moscow, Ivan III met the discontent of the people who were preparing to repel the invasion and began to “speak evilly” to him, demanding that he go to the troops to defend Moscow. On October 3, Ivan arrived with his detachment of troops on the left bank of the Ugra River at its confluence with the river. Oku (near Kaluga). In October 1480, Khan Akhmet also approached the Ugra, trying to cross to the left bank, but was repulsed by the Russians. A confrontation between Russians and Tatars began (“Standing on the Ugra”), which lasted until the end of the year. The Tatars did not dare to fight the main battle. The onset of frost and hunger strike, lack of food forced Akhmet to leave. Standing on the river Eel actually put an end to the Horde yoke, which lasted more than 240 years.