Although his son, Ivan the Terrible, is remembered more often, it was Vasily III who largely determined both the vectors of state policy and the psychology of the Russian government, ready to do anything to preserve itself.
spare king
Vasily III was on the throne thanks to the successful struggle for power, which was carried out by his mother, Sophia Palaiologos. As early as 1470, Vasily's father, Ivan III, announced his eldest son from Ivan the Young's first marriage as his co-ruler. In 1490, Ivan the Young suddenly died of an illness and two parties began to fight for power: one supported the son of Ivan the Young Dmitry Ivanovich, the other - Vasily Ivanovich. Sophia and Vasily overdid it. Their conspiracy against Dmitry Ivanovich was revealed and they even fell into disgrace, but this did not stop Sophia. She continued to influence the government. There were rumors that she even cast spells against Ivan III. Thanks to the rumors spread by Sophia, Dmitry Ivanovich's closest associates fell out of favor with Ivan III. Dmitry began to lose power and also fell into disgrace, and after the death of his grandfather, he was shackled and died 4 years later. So Vasily III, the son of a Greek princess, became the Russian Tsar.
solomonia
Vasily III chose his first wife as a result of a review (1500 brides) during his father's lifetime. She became Solomonia Saburova, the daughter of a scribe-boyar. For the first time in Russian history, a ruling monarch took as his wife not a representative of the princely aristocracy or a foreign princess, but a woman from the highest stratum of “service people”. The marriage was fruitless for 20 years, and Vasily III took extreme, unprecedented measures: he was the first of the Russian tsars to exile his wife to a monastery. In terms of children and the inheritance of power, Vasily, accustomed to fight for power in all possible ways, had a "fad". So, fearing that the possible sons of the brothers would become contenders for the throne, Basil forbade his brothers to marry until his son was born. The son was never born. Who is to blame? Wife. Wife - in the monastery. It must be understood that this was a very ambiguous decision. Vassian Patrikeev, Metropolitan Varlaam, and Saint Maximus the Greek, who opposed the dissolution of marriage, were exiled, and the metropolitan was defrocked for the first time in Russian history.
Kudeyar
There is a legend that during the tonsure, Solomonia was pregnant, gave birth to a son, George, whom she handed over “in safe hands,” and announced to everyone that the newborn had died. After that, this child became the famous robber Kudeyar, who, with his gang, robbed rich convoys. Ivan the Terrible was very interested in this legend. The hypothetical Kudeyar was his older half-brother, which means he could claim power. This story is most likely folk fiction. The desire to “ennoble the robber”, as well as to allow oneself to believe in the illegitimacy of power (and therefore the possibility of its overthrow) is characteristic of the Russian tradition. In our country, every ataman is a legitimate king. With regard to Kudeyar, a semi-mythical character, there are so many versions of his origin that would be enough for half a dozen atamans.
Lithuanian
By the second marriage, Vasily III married a Lithuanian, young Elena Glinskaya. "All in the father," he married a foreigner. Only four years later, Elena gave birth to her first child, Ivan Vasilyevich. According to legend, at the hour of the birth of a baby, a terrible thunderstorm seemed to break out. Thunder struck from a clear sky and shook the earth to its foundations. The Kazan khansha, having learned about the birth of the tsar, announced to the Moscow messengers: “Your tsar was born, and he has two teeth: with one he will eat us (Tatars), and with the other you.” This legend is among many composed about the birth of Ivan IV. There were rumors that Ivan was an illegitimate son, but this is unlikely: an examination of the remains of Elena Glinskaya showed that she had red hair. As you know, Ivan was also red. Elena Glinskaya was similar to the mother of Vasily III, Sophia Palaiologos, she controlled power no less confidently and passionately. After the death of her husband in December 1533, she became the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Moscow (for this, she removed the regents appointed by her husband). Thus, she became the first ruler of the Russian state after Grand Duchess Olga (except for Sophia Vitovtovna, whose power in many Russian lands outside the Moscow principality was formal).
Italianomania
Vasily III inherited from his father not only a love for strong-willed overseas women, but also a love for everything Italian. Hired by Vasily the Third, Italian architects built churches and monasteries, kremlins and bell towers in Russia. Vasily Ivanovich's guards also consisted entirely of foreigners, including Italians. They lived in Nalivka, a "German" settlement in the area of present-day Yakimanka.
fighter
Vasily III was the first Russian monarch to be free of chin hair. According to legend, he cut his beard to look younger in the eyes of Elena Glinskaya. In a beardless state, he did not last long, but this almost cost Russia independence. While the Grand Duke was flaunting his smooth-shaven youth, the Crimean Khan Islyam I Gerai came to visit, complete with armed, red-bearded fellow countrymen. The case threatened to turn into a new Tatar yoke. But God saved. Immediately after the victory, Vasily again let go of his beard. In order not to wake up dashing.
The fight against nonpossessors
The reign of Vasily III was marked by the struggle of the “non-possessors” with the “Josephites”. For a very short time, Vasily III was close to the "non-possessors", but in 1522, instead of Varlaam, who fell into disgrace, Daniel, a disciple of Joseph Volotsky and the head of the Josephites, was appointed to the metropolitan throne, becoming an ardent supporter of strengthening the grand ducal power. Vasily III sought to substantiate the divine origin of the grand duke's power, relying on the authority of Joseph Volotsky, who in his works acted as the ideologist of strong state power and "ancient piety." This was facilitated by the increased authority of the Grand Duke in Western Europe. In an agreement (1514) with the emperor of the "Holy Roman Empire" Maximilian, Vasily III was even named king. Vasily III was cruel with his opponents: in 1525 and 1531. twice condemned Maxim the Greek, who was imprisoned in a monastery.
Famous women of Moscow Russia. XV-XVI centuries Morozova Lyudmila Evgenievna
Chapter 3. ELENA VOLOSHANKA
ELENA VOLOSHANKA
The widow of Ivan the Young Elena Stefanovna, nicknamed Voloshanka for being the daughter of the Moldavian (Volosh) ruler Stephen the Great, was one of the main figures in the struggle for the throne of the Grand Duke at the end of the 15th century. Therefore, without studying her life and work, it is difficult to understand the course of events in the emerging Russian centralized state during this period.
SOURCES
The sources relating to the biography of the Grand Duchess Elena Stefanovna are very insignificant. These are fragmentary information about her in the annals, brief data in the act material, diplomatic documents relating to ties with Moldavia - the birthplace of Elena, the Chin of the wedding of Dmitry the grandson to the great reign, the veil embroidered in the workshop of the princess, and the news of her heretical views in the writings of Joseph Volotsky.
Information about Elena is found in the following chronicles: Uvarovskaya, Yermolinskaya, abridged vaults of the late 15th century, Simeonovskaya, Sofia I, Lvovskaya, Nikonovskaya, Voskresenskaya.
The most detailed information about the Moldavian princess is placed in the Uvarov Chronicle. So, it says that in January 1483 "the great prince Ivan Ivanovich married and took for himself Princess Elena, daughter of the Volosh governor Stefan." In the abridged vaults of the late XV century. clarified that the wedding was on January 12 (456). The same date is repeated in the Sofia Chronicle I (457).
The Uvarov Chronicle also reported the birth of a son, Dmitry, by Elena. This event took place on October 10, 1483. Soon after, there was a conflict between Ivan III and Sophia Palaiologos over the decorations of the first wife of the Grand Duke. According to the existing tradition, Ivan Ivanovich's wife should have received them, i.e. Elena Stefanovna, but Sofya, not knowing about it, gave them to her relatives (458).
It should be noted that data on this conflict are absent in the abridged collections of the late 15th century, in the Simeonovskaya, Ermolinskaya, Sofia I and Voskresenskaya chronicles. It is described only in the Lvov and Nikon chronicles, in the same version as in the Uvarov chronicle.
Further, in the Uvarov Chronicle, the name of Elena Stefanovna is mentioned in connection with the move of the Grand Duke's family to a new palace in 1492, a description of the magnificent meeting of the Grand Duchess Anna of Ryazan, who fell into disgrace, fell on Elena and her son in 1502. The latest data relate to her death in 1505 city (459)
In the rest of the chronicles, except for the Lvov one, information about Elena is in many respects similar to Uvarovskaya, but more concise. Only the Lvov Chronicle contains additional information that Andrei and Petr Mikhailovich Pleshcheevs went to Moldavia for the bride of Ivan Ivanovich, and that on the way to Moscow through the Lithuanian lands, Elena received gifts from the Polish king (460).
Additional data on the circumstances of the marriage of Elena Voloshanka and Ivan Molodoy are contained in diplomatic documents related to the Crimea. They were discovered by K.V. Bazilevich (461) .
Information about Russia's relations with Moldova at the end of the 15th century. are contained in the Inventory of the State Archive of the 16th century, reconstructed by A.A. Zimin. From this document you can learn that in April 1481 the ambassadors Andrei and Petr Mikhailovich Pleshcheev were sent to Moldova, about the return of these ambassadors to Moscow in December 1482 with Elena Stefanovna, about the embassy to Moldova P. Zinoviev in February 1490. , about the embassy to Moldova I.D. Likharev in August 1490 and their return in January 1491 to Moscow with the Moldavian ambassador Stetsky. It contains data on the embassies of 1492 and 1496. I.A. Pleshcheev to Moldavia, about the missions of Ivan Oshcherin and Ivan Pitar in 1497, about the messages of Stephen the Great to Ivan III in 1499, about the mission of Ivan Isaev to Moscow in 1500 (462)
In addition, there is information about Elena in the cases of Moscow-Novgorod heretics, considered in detail in the works of Soviet researchers N.A. Kazakova, Ya.S. Lurie, A.A. Zimina, A.I. Alekseeva and others (463)
The biography of Grand Duchess Elena Stefanovna, nicknamed Voloshanka in Russia, was of interest to researchers only in connection with her marriage to Ivan the Young and the dynastic struggle that flared up in the Russian state at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. between Prince Vasily and Dmitry the grandson. At the same time, the personality of the princess herself did not attract the attention of historians. They only tried to find out the reasons why she became the wife of the son of Ivan III and what forces supported the claims of her son Dmitry to the Moscow throne. N.M. Karamzin believed that the initiator of the marriage of Elena and Ivan was the Moldavian ruler Stefan, the father of the bride, who was interested in supporting Ivan III in his struggle with Turkey and Lithuania. To maintain independence, he had to maneuver between neighboring countries, so an alliance with the Russian sovereign was beneficial to him (464). Karamzin considered Elena's supporters the princes Patrikeyevs and Semyon Ryapolovsky, who allegedly slandered Sophia Paleolog and her son Vasily (465).
CM. Solovyov agreed with Karamzin's opinion that the princes Patrikeev and Ryapolovsky supported Elena Voloshanka and her son. In his opinion, the support of the widow of Ivan the Young and Dmitry the grandson at the Moscow court was the highest nobility - princes and boyars. Sophia and Vasily were supported only by the boyar children and clerks. In addition, Elena had close ties with the Novgorod-Moscow heretics (466).
In the works of Soviet researchers, a different conclusion was drawn. S.B. Veselovsky and Ya.S. Lurie believed that Elena and Dmitry were supported by the highest bureaucratic businessmen of the capital, affected by heretical free-thinking. Its leader was the clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn. The Tver circles also supported them (467).
The most detailed question of concluding a marriage union between Elena and Ivan was considered by K.V. Bazilevich. Among the diplomatic documents on Russia's relations with the Crimea, he found data on negotiations regarding this marriage as early as 1480. They were initiated by a certain Princess Feodosia Alexandrovna, the wife of Prince Semyon Yuryevich. Perhaps Theodosia was Helen's aunt (468).
S.M. paid some attention to the issue of the marriage of a Moldovan princess with a Moscow prince. Chestnuts. He even considered, following Ya.S. Lurie that one of the editions of the official chronicle, compiled in 1495, came out of the office of Metropolitan Zosima, who was close to Elena Stefanovna. Therefore, the events associated with the dynastic struggle of Prince Vasily with Dmitry the grandson were covered from the position of the Moldavian princess (469). True, A.I. Alekseev doubts the involvement of Metropolitan Zosima in the annals (470).
A.A. Zimin also examined in sufficient detail all the events in which Elena Voloshanka was somehow involved, and concluded that she was a fairly experienced politician and actively fought for her son's rights to the grand throne. In addition, she took part in a heretical movement (471).
Recently, a new moment in the study of the heretical movement of the late XV - early XVI century. introduced by A.I. Alekseev. His conclusions make it possible to clarify some data in the biography of Elena Voloshanka (472) .
In general, in the works of the post-Soviet period, the issue of the marriage of Elena Stefanovna and Ivan Molodoy is not considered from any other positions than before, since no new sources have been found.
In this study, an attempt was made to collect all the information about Elena Voloshanka in a variety of sources and to conclude whether she played any role in the process of shaping the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian centralized state of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. and the development of social thought in it.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
The sources did not retain any information about when Elena was born and what her childhood was like. It is only known that her father was the Moldavian ruler Stephen III, nicknamed the Great, and her mother was Princess Evdokia Olelkovna.
Stephen's year of birth is unknown, but there is evidence that he ascended the Moldavian throne in 1457, in 1467 he already won the war with Hungary, in 1475 he defeated the Turkish army and thus glorified himself throughout Europe.
Elena's mother, the Lithuanian princess Evdokia, was the daughter of the Kiev prince Alexander (Olelko) Vladimirovich and the Moscow princess Anastasia, daughter of Vasily I.
Through her mother, Elena was related to the Moscow Grand Duke's house. She was a second cousin to her future husband. This relationship was considered close, and the permission of the church was required for marriage between such relatives. In addition, through her cousin Sophia (daughter of Semyon Olelkovich), she was related to the princes of Tver, since Sophia was the wife of the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich. True, shortly after Elena's marriage, she died (in April 1483), leaving no offspring (473).
It is known that Elena's grandmother, Princess Anastasia Vasilievna, maintained close ties with her parents and even went to Moscow to visit them (474). She was constantly interested in events in Moscow and often sent her messengers to her brother, for example, in 1447 (475)
Undoubtedly, Princess Anastasia was an Orthodox believer and tried to raise her children in this faith - Semyon and Mikhail, as well as Elena's mother Evdokia. Therefore, when discussing the issue of the marriage of the Moldavian princess with the Moscow prince, the problems of religion were not discussed.
However, as noted by A.I. Alekseev, Orthodoxy in the families of the Lithuanian princes and in Moldova had some differences from the faith in the Muscovite state. For example, in the retinue of Uncle Elena, Prince Mikhail Olelkovich, who arrived in Novgorod in 1470–1471, there was a “Jew named Skharia”. He openly preached his doctrine, which characterized him as "a sorcerer, warlock and astrologer." Among the Novgorod clergy immediately there were those wishing to follow the teachings of this Jew. Among them were not only priests, but also their relatives, wives, children, brothers, sons-in-law and just acquaintances. It is likely that Prince Mikhail Olelkovich himself was influenced by the views of Skhariya (476). Helen was an uncle.
Researchers believe that the well-known Kiev scribe Zechariah ben Aron Ga Cohen was called Skhariya in Russian sources. In 1481 he was engaged in the correspondence of books in Kiev (477).
It is likely that Zechariah's Judaism, based on the Bible of the Old Testament, resonated with the Kievan nobility, as it canceled the end of the world, which, according to the Orthodox faith, was supposed to come in 1492.
Elena Voloshanka's father Stefan also revered the Old Testament. After victories over enemies, he gave praise not to Christ, but to the "highest god of hosts." He called Jesus only "the son of the living God" (478).
Therefore, it begs the assumption that from childhood, Princess Elena also had a special reverence for the Old Testament, and therefore for Judaism, which then began to spread in Novgorod and Moscow at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries.
In general, the upbringing and education of Elena, apparently, did not differ much from what the girls received in the family of the Grand Dukes of Moscow. After all, her grandmother was brought up at the Moscow court. She had to transfer her skills and knowledge to her daughter Evdokia, and she was already Elena.
There is no information in the chronicles about who initiated the marriage of Elena and Ivan the Young. But K.V. managed to clarify this issue on the basis of various diplomatic documents. Bazilevich. In the Crimean embassy files, he found information that back in the second half of the 70s. 15th century Sovereign Stefan asked his wife's relatives to arrange the marriage of his daughter Elena with the heir to the Moscow throne, Ivan Ivanovich. The Moldavian ruler, whose country was squeezed between hostile Turkey and Poland, benefited from an alliance with the ever-increasing Russian state (479).
Princess Feodosia Olelkovna, the sister of his wife, took on the task of helping Stefan. Elena's aunt. She also attracted her nephew, the son of another sister, Prince Ivan Yuryevich Pronsky, to this case. Elena was her cousin. At the family council, it was decided to turn to the mother of Ivan III, Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna, and ask her to become an intermediary in marriage negotiations. But in the late 70s. this issue could not be resolved (480) .
Negotiations about marriage resumed in 1480, already with the active participation of Ivan III. He apparently realized that his eldest son-heir, who has reached the age of 22, is long overdue to start a family. The sons born to Sophia Palaiologos should not have looked like his rivals in obtaining the throne and create a pretext for conflicts in the grand ducal family. After all, at that time everyone knew that only a married person was considered a truly adult.
In addition, the changed political situation pushed Ivan III to an alliance with Stephen the Great. The Grand Duke sharply aggravated relations with the Horde Khan Akhmat, who concluded an agreement on mutual assistance with his enemy, the Polish king Casimir. In the fight against two strong opponents, Moscow needed new allies. In this regard, the Moldavian ruler was a suitable candidate, since Casimir was also his enemy.
The researchers found out that in April 1480 Stephen III sent his ambassador to Moscow. He was supposed to raise again the question of the marriage of Prince Ivan and his daughter Elena and the union of Moldavia with Russia. In response, Ivan III sent his envoy, "a young man" to Stephen (481).
Negotiations on marriage ended with the fact that in April 1482 Ivan III sent his representatives to Stefan - Andrei and Pyotr Mikhailovich Pleshcheev. They were instructed to bring the bride of Ivan the Young to Moscow.
King Casimir, not wanting to immediately break off good-neighborly relations with both Moldova and Russia, allowed Elena Stefanovna to pass through his territory and even sent her gifts when she was in the Novgorod-Seversky region. As a result, already in December 1482, the wedding cortege arrived in Moscow. Whether the Moldavian princess had any dowry is unknown. Perhaps this issue was stipulated in the articles of the treaty between Ivan III and Stephen, but its text has not been preserved (482).
They did not delay the wedding of Ivan and Elena. It was played on January 12, 1483. But the celebrations continued for several more days. After some time, another wedding took place - the nieces of Sophia Paleolog Maria and the son of the Vereisk prince Mikhail Andreevich - Vasily. It soon became clear that both of these events are closely related.
Since the union of Elena and Ivan the Young, apparently, turned out to be successful, then on the night of October 10 of the same 1483, the Moldavian princess gave birth to a son, Dmitry. In memory of Dmitry Thessalonica, on October 26, he was baptized. After that, Ivan III wanted to gift the young daughter-in-law and give her the jewelry of Ivan the Young's mother, Maria Tveryanka, which was kept by his second wife Sophia Paleolog. However, it turned out that she did not have them. Not knowing about the customs of the Moscow court, she first gave part of the jewelry of her predecessor to her brother Andrei, then she gave the rest to her niece Maria during her wedding with the prince of Vereya (483) .
Upon learning of this, Ivan III was very angry, but did not dare to punish his wife. He only demanded that Prince Vasily Mikhailovich Vereisky give back the jewelry donated by Sophia. However, the offended prince chose to flee with his wife to Lithuania (484).
This incident finally spoiled the relationship between Ivan the Young and Sophia Paleolog and set Elena Voloshanka against her mother-in-law. The fact that conflicts in the family are inevitable, apparently, was understood by Ivan III. To prevent them, he decided to single out his eldest son for an independent reign.
Thus, already in the first year of her marriage, Elena Stefanovna did not have the best relationship with Sophia Paleolog. The young daughter-in-law probably immediately saw a rival in her mother-in-law and did not enter into a trusting relationship with her.
Ivan III, feeling like a man full of strength, apparently did not want to share the lands with his eldest son. Therefore, he began to look for him some principality to which he could lay claim to his rights. Such a suitable possession turned out to be the neighboring Tver Principality. It was ruled by the childless uncle of Ivan the Young, Prince Mikhail Borisovich, married to the cousin of Elena Voloshanka.
The Grand Duke of Moscow tried to control all the actions of the Prince of Tver, intercepting his messengers to neighboring countries. So he managed to find out that after the death of his wife, Princess Sofia Semyonovna in April 1483, Mikhail Borisovich decided to intermarry with the Polish King Casimir and decided to marry his granddaughter. The proposed union had a clear anti-Moscow orientation. But this has not yet become a reason for breaking off relations with the Tver prince.
Mikhail Borisovich himself provoked the gap. He did not want to receive the Moscow ambassador V. Gusev, who arrived in Tver with the news of the birth of Ivan the Young son Dmitry. But after that he sent a messenger to Casimir with a proposal to conclude an alliance of mutual assistance. In response, the angry Ivan III broke off peaceful relations with the Tver principality and sent an army to plunder and burn the frontier lands. Mikhail Borisovich was forced to admit his guilt and sign a humiliating treaty with the Moscow prince. According to him, he recognized himself as the lesser brother of the Grand Duke (485).
Naturally, such a situation could not suit the Grand Duke of Tver, whose ancestors competed with the Moscow princes for the throne of Vladimir. So he sent a messenger to King Casimir for help. However, this time the Tver envoy was intercepted by the people of Ivan III. The content of Mikhail Borisovich's letter outraged the Grand Duke so much that he decided to finally deal with his neighbor. In August 1485, he personally at the head of the army went to Tver.
The campaign of the Muscovites frightened the prince of Tver, and he fled to Lithuania. His boyars en masse went over to the side of Ivan III (486).
The fate of the Tver principality was decided. Having entered Tver on August 15, 1485, the Grand Duke in the Spassky Cathedral solemnly handed over power to his son Ivan Ivanovich as the new prince of Tver. Three days later, he moved his family to the city and became the sovereign ruler in it as the grandson of the Grand Duke of Tverskoy Boris Alexandrovich. Ivan III himself returned to Moscow (487).
Thus, for a while, the conflict in the grand-ducal family was extinguished. Sophia remained in Moscow as the sole mistress of the Grand Duke's palace, and Elena Voloshanka began to settle down in the former possessions of the Tver princes.
It should be noted that at first the marriage of Ivan Molodoy and Elena Stefanovna contributed to the strengthening of ties between Russia and Moldova. K.V. Bazilevich collected information that in the 80s and 90s. 15th century Ivan III's contacts with Stefan were quite frequent. For example, in 1484, the ambassador to Hungary, Fyodor Kuritsyn, was supposed to take with him to Moscow the envoy of the Moldavian ruler. In 1488, Ivan III sent Vasily Karamyshev to Stefan. In February 1490, Prokofy Zinovievich went "to Volokhi", in August - Ivan Likhorev. He returned in January 1491 with the Moldavian ambassador Stetsko. In July 1491, Prokofy Zinovievich again went to Stefan (488).
With the help of Ivan III, the Moldavian ruler managed to conclude friendly relations with the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. Together they carried out raids against the Polish King Casimir until his death in 1492 (489)
It turned out that during the life of Ivan the Young, his marriage to the Moldavian princess brought tangible benefits to the Russian state. The prince himself got the opportunity to become an independent ruler in the Tver lands.
According to A.A. Zimin, Ivan III did not plan to create a separate Tver principality. Ivan the Young was only supposed to manage the Tver lands until he ascended the throne of Moscow (490). In Tver, the heir to the Grand Duke gained experience and received significant funds to support his family. Unfortunately, Elena had no more children. The reason for this, perhaps, was a close relationship with her husband. It can be recalled that Ivan III himself and his first wife, his second cousin, had only one child.
CM. Kashtanov, analyzing the Tver letters for the 80s, concluded that Ivan Ivanovich did not constantly manage the Tver lands. Approximately in June 1488, he apparently moved to Moscow, since foreign ambassadors began to bow to him (491).
This could be due to the fact that Ivan III launched an active attack on the Kazan Khanate and was interested in the fact that the eldest son was close to him. In addition, in 1488, the Grand Duke's relations with his brother Andrei of Uglitsky and the people of Novgorod worsened (492).
In Moscow, Ivan Molodoy again had to meet quite often with Sophia Paleolog, whom he, judging by the recollections of foreigners (primarily Contarini), did not like very much. It must have been unpleasant for him to learn that his stepmother continued to regularly give birth to children, while his young wife was able to give birth to only one son. An even more unpleasant impression on the prince, obviously, was the arrival in Moscow at the end of 1489 of Sophia's brother Andrei with the ambassadors of the Grand Duke, brothers Dmitry and Manuil Ralev, who traveled to Italy. They brought with them many Italian craftsmen, architects, builders, casters, jewelers, and even the doctor Leon (493) .
Official receptions and feasts were arranged in their honor. Sophia, surrounded by children, undoubtedly felt at that time at the height of fame and, apparently, demonstrated this to her foe, her stepson.
Ivan Ivanovich, no doubt, was irritated at the sight of the triumphant Sofya Fominichna. As a result, after a while he fell ill with "kamchuha in the legs" (494) .
Some researchers, as already noted, decided that the prince had gout. But it should be repeated that in V. Dahl's "Explanatory Dictionary" it is indicated that the genus of leprosy was called Kamchuga, expressed in the appearance of a red rash and scabs on the skin (495). Now leprosy is considered a nervous disease that cannot be cured.
The illness of his son worried Ivan III very much, and he ordered the foreign doctor Leon to examine him. He, apparently, had not met with such a disease before and decided that it was not serious. Therefore, he boldly promised to cure Ivan the Young. Otherwise, he was ready to lay down his head on the chopping block.
In the annals, it was noted that Leon gave Ivan Ivanovich some kind of medicine and began to put jars on him (“the jars began with vials over the body, pouring hot water”). But from this treatment, the patient became even worse, and on March 7, 1490, he died (496).
The death of his son, undoubtedly, caused Ivan III not only deep sorrow, but also anger. Therefore, he ordered to cut off the head of a negligent doctor. His execution took place on April 22 "on Bolvanovye" (497).
It should be noted that not all chronicles contain detailed information about the death of Ivan the Young. For example, there is no data about this event in the Moscow code of the end of the 15th century; it is very briefly described in the Ermolinskaya and Voskresenskaya annals. Detailed news is placed only in a short code of 1497, in the Simeonovskaya and Lvov Chronicles. This suggests that not all scribes were interested in the details of the death of the heir to the throne.
For Elena Stefanovna, the death of her husband was a great grief. After all, at the Moscow court, he was her main support. Now the main task of the widow was the upbringing of the infant son Dmitry, who had a chance to take the grand throne, since his father already bore the title of grand duke. True, Ivan Ivanovich did not rule the entire state on his own, and because of this, his son did not have indisputable rights to supreme power. It turned out that the future of the grandson depended on the will of his grandfather Ivan III.
Soviet researchers believed that after the death of Ivan the Young, Elena Voloshanka entered into a fight with Sophia Paleolog, hoping in this way to achieve the throne for her son Dmitry. In their opinion, both women were powerful persons and relied on various court groups (498) .
True, there is no evidence in the sources that Elena was distinguished by imperiousness and had her own entourage at the Moscow court, on which she could rely. There is no information in them that the confrontation between the two women began immediately after the death of Ivan the Young. Based on the data of chronicles and diplomatic documents, it can be concluded that the young widow and her son lived in the Kremlin Grand Duke's Palace. In the family hierarchy, Elena Stefanovna officially occupied a place below Sofya Fominichna, and Dmitry the grandson was below the eldest sons of Ivan III (499).
Therefore, there is a doubt that Elena Voloshanka was able to help her son in any way. The outcome of his struggle with Vasily for supreme power depended only on the decision of Ivan III himself. He, apparently, thought first of all about the ability of each of the contenders for the throne to continue his great deeds to expand the territory of the Russian state and strengthen it.
In addition, in 1490, both Vasily (born 1479) and Dmitry (born 1483) were still too small to rule on their own. Both needed to learn. Therefore, Ivan III had a lot of time to choose the most worthy among them.
In 1491, Ivan III sent an embassy to Moldova with a message about the death of Ivan Ivanovich. In a letter to Stefan, he apparently promised that he would take care of his daughter and common grandson (500) .
Elena and her son, as already noted, settled in the grand ducal palace. When its restructuring began in 1492, they, along with the rest of the members of the grand-ducal family, temporarily moved to the new court of the boyar Prince Yuri Patrikeevich (501) .
In 1496, Ivan III decided to test how well his eldest sons, Vasily and Yuri, and grandson Dmitry, mastered the sciences of government. To do this, in October, together with Dmitry and Yuri, he went on a long trip to Novgorod. In Moscow, Sophia Paleolog and her son Vasily were left “on the state”. The Grand Duke returned home only in March 1497 (502)
In the annals there is no information about any events in the grand ducal family at that time. Apparently, all the princes who were being tested passed the test, and the Grand Duke could not give preference to anyone. But he soon sent an embassy to Stephen the Great, for what purpose is unknown. On the way back, his envoys Ivan Oshcherin and Luka Voloshenin were robbed by the son of the Crimean Khan Yepancha. So they had to go back to Stefan. The ruler immediately sent his messengers to Khan Mengli Giray and asked to punish the robbers. Khan quickly investigated this case, but he could not fully return the goods taken from the Russian ambassadors.
In August they arrived in Moscow and told Ivan III about the incident. With them was the Moldavian ambassador Ivan Pitar with the elders of the Athos St. Panteleimon Monastery (503).
The message of the ambassadors about Stephen the Great helping them, apparently, convinced the Grand Duke that it was beneficial for him to be friends with the Moldavian ruler, who enjoys great authority in the Crimea. This, obviously, began to persuade him to choose Dmitry from the two contenders for the throne.
In addition, another international event took place in September, which pushed Ivan III away from Sofya Fominichna and her children. From his informants, the Grand Duke learned that his son-in-law, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander, together with his brother the Polish king Albrecht, were going to attack Stephen the Great. Ivan III immediately sent a messenger to Alexander with a request not to fight with his relative. He feignedly promised not to participate in his brother's campaign, but sent his governors to help him. This became clear after Stephen defeated the Polish army, captured the cannons and forced the king to flee in disgrace (504).
This event once again showed the Russian sovereign that Stephen should be friends, and his son-in-law Alexander cannot be trusted. It turned out that their common daughter Elena with Sophia Fominichnaya had no influence on her husband. This means that her marriage did not bring any benefit to the Russian state. So, apparently, Ivan III thought, deciding who to officially name his heir: the son of Vasily or the grandson of Dmitry. In November 1497, as is known, he finally bowed in favor of his grandson.
A.A. Zimin believed that persons from Elena Stefanovna's entourage, the main of which was her distant relative Prince I.Yu. Patrikeyev, took part in the compilation of the Sudebnik of 1497. This contributed to the growth of the authority of the widow of Ivan the Young and her son Dmitry and convinced Ivan III that he should rely on them (505) .
However, there are no data in this regard in the sources. Therefore, it is not known whether Elena Voloshanka and her relatives had anything to do with the compilation of the Sudebnik.
It can be assumed that at the end of 1497 the sovereign's clerks were ordered to develop a procedure for Dmitry's wedding to the great reign. It was supposed to become public, solemn and be recorded in a special document - the rite of the wedding. As a model, apparently, the ceremony of placing Russian hierarchs as metropolitans, as well as the ceremony of crowning the heirs of the Byzantine emperors (506) was taken.
This, according to the Grand Duke’s plan, should have hurt Sophia Paleologus especially painfully, who never forgot about her high origin and constantly reminded of him in various ways. Including pompous inscriptions on their embroideries.
The activities of the clerks in compiling the Chin for the wedding of Dmitry the grandson became known to those who were in the entourage of Prince Vasily. Chief among them was the nobleman Vladimir Gusev, who more than once carried out various diplomatic missions of Ivan III (he traveled to Tver to Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich with a message about the birth of Dmitry the grandson, accompanied Princess Elena to Vilna, etc.) (507) .
Gusev informed Prince Vasily and Sofya Paleolog that soon Dmitry the grandson would be officially declared heir to the Grand Duke's throne. This, of course, outraged them and forced them to take retaliatory measures. Vasily, on the advice of his nobles, decided to flee to Vologda in order to seize the treasury there and start fighting with an opponent (508) .
But the prince's plan failed, because Ivan III had spies everywhere. The enraged Grand Duke ordered the execution of all the nobles guilty of the conspiracy. He only imposed disgrace on his son and wife - they were taken into custody (509).
After this incident, Elena and her son significantly strengthened their position and began to prepare for the most important event in their lives. The Moldavian princess, as you know, in her workshop took up the manufacture of a veil, on which she embroidered images of all members of the family of Ivan III during the celebration of Palm Sunday in 1497. Naturally, she placed herself and Dmitry in the most honorable place next to Ivan III, Sophia Paleolog with daughters - below, from the left edge. This veil has survived to our time, being a clear evidence of the triumph of Dmitry the grandson in 1498 (510).
The solemn ceremony of the wedding of Dmitry the grandson to the great reign took place on February 4, 1498 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. It was attended by Metropolitan Simon with 13 representatives of the higher clergy, Ivan III and the hero of the occasion Dmitry. Previously, in the center of the temple, three chairs covered with expensive fabrics were installed on a special platform. Grand ducal regalia were placed on the nala: Monomakh's hat and barmas (shoulders), covering them with a veil.
The ceremony began with the fact that the Grand Duke and his grandson entered the central doors of the cathedral. Metropolitan Simon met them there and blessed them with a cross. After that, the deacons began to sing to them many years. Then began a prayer service in honor of the Most Holy Mother of God. After him, the metropolitan and Ivan III sat down on their chairs and beckoned to Dmitry, who was standing with princes Yuri and Dmitry.
Addressing the Metropolitan, the Grand Duke said the following: “Father Metropolitan! By God's command from our forefathers, the great princes, our antiquity is even to these places: the fathers of the great princes gave their first son a great principality, and my father, the great prince, blessed me with a great principality, and he blessed his first son John with him with a principality. God's will was fulfilled, my son John died, and he left his first son Dmitry, and his God is my son's place for me. And now I bless his language with me and after me with the great principality of Volodimer and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Tfer. And you, father, would bless him with a great principality ”(511).
The Metropolitan blessed Dmitry, said a series of prayers and ordered the archimandrites to bring barmas. They were handed over to the Grand Duke, and he entrusted them to Dmitry. Then they brought Monomakh's hat, and Ivan III laid it on his grandson's head. In these regalia, Dmitry sat next to his grandfather and the Metropolitan on a prepared chair.
After prayers and many years to the two Grand Dukes, everyone began to congratulate them. Among the first were princes Yuri and Dmitry Zhilka. At the end of the ceremony, the metropolitan and Ivan III gave instructions to Dmitry the grandson, in which the main words were: “Have the fear of God in your soul, be obedient to the sovereign, love the truth, mercy and justice, have care from the heart for all Orthodox Christianity” (512) .
It all ended with a visit by Dmitry the main Kremlin cathedrals. During the exit from them, prince Yuri showered him with gold and silver coins. After the completion of the celebration, the grandson went first to his grandfather, apparently to express gratitude, then to his mother Elena Stefanovna. She, obviously, was not supposed to attend the wedding in the Assumption Cathedral (513).
In Chin's text, there is no evidence that Prince Vasily and Sophia Paleolog were also present at the ceremony. But it is noted that Ivan III informed his nephews, the appanage princes Ivan and Fedor Borisovich, that he blessed Dmitry the grandson for the great reign. Messages about this event were also sent to Ryazan, Pskov, Novgorod and Kazan (514).
After the wedding of his grandson to the great reign, Ivan III began to actively defend Stephen the Great from the attacks of the Poles. In the spring of 1498, he sent Fyodor Aksentiev to him, who was supposed to establish close relations between the ruler and the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. As a result, the khan even set out to conclude an agreement with Stefan against the Polish king Jan Albrecht and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Kazimirovich (515).
Researchers suggest that in 1498 Ivan III was already planning to start a war with his son-in-law Alexander Kazimirovich, so he went for a close rapprochement with Stephen the Great and Mengli Giray, seeing them as real allies (516) .
It turned out that the rise of Dmitry happened not because he was chosen by the Grand Duke as the most worthy heir, but because it was beneficial to him in preparing the war with the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Both the grandson and Elena Voloshanka were only pawns in the big game of Ivan III in the international arena. Their own merit and deeds apparently did not play any role. After all, they could not play any independent role at the grand ducal court. Dmitry was only 15 years old, and Elena was in the position of the widow of a prince who had not ascended the throne.
Ivan III needed a war with Alexander Kazimirovich in order to secure the lands of the Lithuanian princes who had fled to the Moscow court and to attract the Orthodox population of Lithuania to his side. After all, he set as his goal the unification of all ancient Russian lands under the rule of Moscow (517).
Among his main allies, the Grand Duke saw the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray and Stephen the Great. But at the same time, he tried to establish friendly relations with the Turkish Sultan Bayazid, who at that time had good neighborly relations with both the Crimean Khan and the Moldavian ruler. However, in the autumn of 1498, Moscow learned that Stephen had entered into an anti-Ottoman alliance with Poland, betraying the interests of the Russian state (518).
This testified that for Russia in the fight against Lithuania, the Moldavian ruler could no longer be considered a reliable assistant. Therefore, at the end of the year, Ivan III, apparently, realized that in vain he had relied on his grandson and put his son and wife in disgrace. In addition, news reached him from Vilna that his daughter Elena was being persecuted for her loyalty to Orthodoxy, but she did not deviate from her faith. It turned out that either her husband Alexander Kazimirovich violated the marriage contract, or this contract was drawn up unsuccessfully and left loopholes for Elena's inclination to Catholicism (519) .
By order of Ivan III, an investigation into this issue began. In the course of it, according to some researchers, the fault of the persons who negotiated with Alexander Kazimirovich about his marriage to the Moscow princess was revealed. These are the princes Patrikeev and S. Ryapolovsky. All of them were severely punished (520).
True, S.M. Solovyov believed that these princes were opponents of Sophia Paleolog and her son. They, in his opinion, supported Dmitry the grandson and Elena Voloshanka and paid for it (521). Although there are no data on this in the sources, Solovyov's opinion was supported by Soviet researchers, in particular A.A. Zimin. He believed that the Patrikeyevs, like Fyodor Kuritsyn, were part of the group of Elena Voloshanka and her son (522).
This opinion was criticized by S.B. Veselovsky, who believed that it was Sophia and Vasily who were "the leaders of the aristocratic circles, while Elena and Dmitry were the leaders of the nobility" (523). As a result, in the writings of historians, the situation at the court of Ivan III at the end of the 15th century. It was presented as a struggle between the groups of Sophia and Elena for leadership. The Grand Duke allegedly watched her from the side.
In our opinion, the main thing at that time was the active entry of Ivan III into the struggle with Lithuania for the “Kiev heritage”. Therefore, he treated the people around him only from the point of view of the benefit that they could bring to him in this case. He severely punished all voluntary or involuntary opponents, he rewarded assistants and brought them closer to him.
The deterioration of relations between the Grand Duke and Stephen the Great led to the fact that already in March 1499, Prince Vasily was finally forgiven. He not only received the title of Grand Duke, like Dmitry, but also the administration of Novgorod and Pskov (524).
However, this did not yet mean the final fall of Dmitry the grandson and Elena Voloshanka. Both heirs were at this time in almost the same position. Ivan III continued to prepare for the war with Lithuania and, apparently, could not finally decide who would be the most reliable assistant for him.
In the spring of 1500, the Moldavian ambassador Fyodor Isaev arrived in Moscow with an order from Stefan. He had to persuade the Grand Duke to make peace with his son-in-law Alexander Kazimirovich. It was clear that the Moldavian ruler acted at the request of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and in his interests. This means that he could no longer be an ally of Ivan III (525).
At the same time, Ivan III learned from his ambassador to the Crimea, I. Mamyrev, that Stefan the Great persuaded Mengli-Giray to make peace with Alexander Kazimirovich, explaining that “the great prince of Moscow is far away from us, and the Lithuanian one is our closest neighbor” (526) .
This was already a real betrayal of Russia's interests. Moreover, it happened when the Grand Duke decided to start active military operations against Lithuania in defense of the vast land holdings of the princes Semyon Mozhaisky and Vasily Shemyachich, who had come into his service (527).
It seems that the visit of the Moldovan ambassador and the news from I. Mamyrev finally decided the fate of Elena Voloshanka and her son Dmitry. The Grand Duke stopped trusting them and began to alienate them from his court. Their entourage came under the close attention of persons close to the Grand Duke. They found out that Elena Stefanovna was in a trusting relationship with those representatives of the clergy whom the Russian hierarchs accused of heretical delusions.
About this heresy, which first appeared in Novgorod, Archbishop Gennady wrote to Moscow as early as 1487. But Ivan III did not pay attention to his information, because he did not consider the heretics dangerous for the church. In addition, as it turned out later; The main ideologists of the heretical movement were two Novgorod priests Denis and Alexei invited by him to Moscow. Serving in the main Kremlin cathedrals, they actively promoted their teachings among the representatives of the nobility. Soon they were joined by a prominent diplomat, clerk F. Kuritsyn and his brother Ivan (528).
At the same time, the sermons of Denis and Alexei apparently found a response in the soul of Elena Voloshanka, since from childhood she was accustomed to respect the Bible of the Old Testament. Therefore, she also became one of the main patrons of heretics. But until a certain time, the religious views of the daughter-in-law, apparently, did not interest Ivan III. Only after her arrest with Dmitry in April 1502 were church hierarchs instructed to deal with the denunciation of heretics (529).
A great influence on the fate of Elena and Dmitry, in our opinion, was Stefan's refusal to let the Russian ambassadors Dmitry Ralev and Matvey Karacharov, who traveled to Italy for various masters, go to Moscow. They set off from Moscow back in March 1499, hired cannons, builders of fortresses, casters, jewelers in Italy, and with them in 1500 set off through Moldavia on their way back. Unexpectedly for the Moscow envoys, Stefan the Great detained them. Apparently, he also needed experienced craftsmen.
I.E. Zabelin claimed that the Moldavian ruler kept the four most experienced craftsmen. Then he even demanded that the Russian government reimburse him for the costs of maintaining the ambassadors, whom he himself forcibly kept (530) .
As a result, the Russian ambassadors were able to leave Moldova only in July 1503. After that, they had to stay in the Crimea for more than a year. They ended up in Moscow only in November 1504 (531)
Ivan III regarded this behavior of Stephen as undoubtedly hostile and severed friendly and family relations with him. Therefore, neither Dmitry the grandson nor his mother Elena Voloshanka were needed by the Grand Duke. In April 1502, as already noted, they fell into disgrace. They were taken into custody, and the clergy were forbidden to commemorate them among the grand ducal relatives during the church service (532).
Officially, apparently, it was believed that Elena and Dmitry were punished for their inclination to heretical teachings. After all, heretics began to be exposed just before their arrest - at the end of December 1501 - the beginning of 1502. In the annals, these events follow one after another (533).
Researchers of the heretical doctrine that appeared in Novgorod and Moscow at the end of the 15th century considered it a mixture of Judaism and Christian rationalism. His followers rejected the Trinity, the divine essence of Christ, the veneration of saints, icons, monasticism, etc. At the same time, they were distinguished by learning and possessed such theological books that the Orthodox clergy did not have (534).
These qualities of heretics, apparently, attracted Elena Voloshanka, who was brought up in Moldova in conditions of religious tolerance. At the court of her father, there were many people who professed Judaism. Supporters of the heretical doctrine, as already noted, were the most educated sovereign clerks Ivan and Fyodor Kuritsyn, who were also involved in international affairs. Elena probably often communicated with them, wanting to know about her father and the situation in Moldova. With the help of the clerks, she apparently understood the essence of the heretical teaching and decided that it was more understandable to her than Orthodoxy. Joseph Volotsky claimed that Ivan III's daughter-in-law Elena "brought into Judaism" Ivan Maksimov, son-in-law of Archpriest Alexei and son of priest Maxim, who was convicted at the council of 1490 (535)
Some researchers believe that Elena Voloshanka herself led a circle of Moscow heretics (536) . However, this is unlikely, since the position of women at the grand ducal court was not so free that they could meet with strangers without any specific need. Most likely, the widow of Ivan the Young only talked with those representatives of the clergy who preached heretical teachings.
Stephen the Great, having learned about the disgrace to his daughter and grandson, became actively interested in their fate. He asked the Russian ambassadors to the Crimea and the Crimean envoys about this. At the same time, he apparently did not realize that he himself provoked their punishment by betraying the interests of Ivan III, who was preparing for a war with Lithuania, and by delaying his embassy with specialists from Italy for a long time (537).
The Moldavian ruler, obviously, did not know that the Russian ruler had his own people everywhere, ready to reveal other people's secrets for a fee. At the same time, Ivan III put the interests of his country much higher than personal attachments and for their sake he was ready to break even family ties. This, apparently, was very well understood by Sophia Paleolog, who recruited experienced Italian craftsmen with the help of relatives and acquaintances to realize her husband's plans.
It can be assumed that in the fall of 1502 Stephen tried to establish relations with the Grand Duke and even captured a number of Lithuanian cities on the Dniester. But it was already too late. Ivan III ordered his envoy to the Crimea, Ivan Beklemishev, to explain the reason for the disgrace to his daughter-in-law and grandson in the following way: and he is our sovereign for that misconduct of theirs, he took the grand principality from his grandson. Later, the explanation became more specific: “Our sovereign granted his grandson; and he taught our sovereign to be rude; after all, it favors every one who serves and strives; and to whom he is rude, why complain about him? (538)
These explanations show that the Grand Duke considered his relatives as subjects who were obliged to serve him and please him in everything. Only for this he was ready to favor and reward them. This once again suggests that any warm family feelings were unusual for him.
Soviet researchers believed that after the disgrace of Elena and Dmitry - the main patrons of heretics - they began severe persecution. In April 1503, a church council was assembled against them, which decided to severely punish the apostates, up to the burning of their teachers. As a result, in December 1504 Volk Kuritsyn, Mitya Konoplev and Elena Voloshanka's mentor Ivan Maksimov were burned in a cage. This apparently made such a negative impression on the disgraced Grand Duchess that she died on January 18, 1505 (539).
Some researchers believe that Elena Voloshanka left a certain mark on Russian writing and decorative art. So, S.M. Kashtanov believed that at her court in 1495 an annals with the news of Tver was compiled. It included materials on Russian-Moldovan relations at the end of the 15th century. (540)
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On January 12, 1483, the marriage took place between Princess Elena, daughter of Stefan III the Great, ruler of Moldavia, and Ivan the Young, the eldest son and heir of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan Vasilyevich III. Their engagement took place in Suceava. After the wedding, Princess Elena never returned to her homeland and did not meet her father. Ivan Ivanovich Young was a second cousin to his wife (both were great-grandchildren of Vasily I Dmitrievich).
The wedding of Ivan the Young with a Moldavian princess. This marriage was supposed to strengthen the Moldovan-Moscow relations.
Ivan Ivanovich Molodoy (February 15, 1458 - March 7, 1490) - the specific prince of Tver, son and heir of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich and his first wife Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tver Boris Alexandrovich and sister of Mikhail Borisovich ruling in Tver. As a nephew of Mikhail Borisovich, who had no sons, he claimed the inheritance of the Grand Duchy of Tver.
Ivan Molodoy, son and heir of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich.
Ivan III Vasilyevich, Grand Duke of Moscow.
Elena - known after marriage as Elena Stefanova or Elena Voloshanka - (born 1464-1466 - January 18, 1505, Moscow) was a princess of Moldavian origin, the daughter of Stefan III the Great and the Kievan princess Evdokia Olelkovna.
Princess Helena, daughter of Stefan III the Great
Stefan III the Great, the 17th ruler of the Moldavian principality, who ruled for 47 years and is considered one of the most prominent rulers of the Moldavian principality.
Princess Helena's mother, Evdokia Olelkovna, was the second wife of Stefan III the Great and the sister of Prince Semyon Olelkovich of Kiev (the son of Prince Olelko Vladimirovich of Kiev and Anastasia Vasilievna of Moscow).
Princess Elena had only one child with Ivan the Young, Dmitry Ivanovich Grandson, born in 1583, who from 1498 to 1502 was the grandfather's formal co-ruler. The Russian-language Wikipedia says that they also had a son, Ivan (February 15, 1485 -?), He died in infancy.
Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk
In 1483, Ivan III, on the occasion of the birth of his grandson Dmitry, wanted to give Elena a "sazhen" (pearl dowry) that belonged to his late first wife, Maria Borisovna. It turned out that his second wife, Sofya Paleolog, gave the planting to her niece, Maria Andreevna Paleolog. The enraged Grand Duke did not hesitate to take what Sophia had given her from her niece, who was married to Prince Vasily Mikhailovich of Vereisky, which caused the Prince of Vereisky to flee to Lithuania.
Sofia Paleolog
Elena Stefanovna, unlike Sophia Paleolog, was loved and popular in Russia, especially among ordinary people. Ivan Molodoy and Elena Stefanovna are the prototypes of Ivan Tsarevich and Vasilisa the Beautiful from Russian folk tales.
One of the images of these fairy-tale characters :)
After her husband's death in 1490, Elena was appointed co-regent by Tsar Ivan III, between 1498-1502.
On February 4, 1498, Dmitry was crowned for the great reign by his grandfather Ivan III, despite the fact that Ivan III had younger sons - in accordance with the principle of primogeniture.
The Moscow boyars and courtiers were divided into two groups, one of which (in particular, the family of Ivan Yuryevich Patrikeev, Prince Semyon Ryapolovsky and others) supported Dmitry and his mother, Princess Elena Stefanovna, the other - Prince Vasily and his mother - the wife of Ivan III - Sophia Palaeologist. In 1497, the so-called conspiracy of Vladimir Gusev was uncovered, the participants of which were credited with the intention to kill the prince. The confrontation ended with the disgrace of Vasily and Sophia. It is noteworthy that the wedding to the kingdom of Dmitry was first described in detail by the chroniclers, with all the curious circumstances. However, in the future, the "party" supporting Prince Vasily and Grand Duchess Sophia Paleolog gained the upper hand, and some of the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Stefanovna were executed, the Patrikeyevs were tonsured monks.
Ivan III called Vasily the sovereign, the Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov, but for some time Dmitry was still called the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow.
In 1502, after Ivan III transferred the inheritance rights to his son Vasily, Dmitry and his mother Elena Stefanovna fell into final disgrace, were taken into custody, and their names were forbidden to be mentioned during divine services.
Already under Vasily III in 1505, Dmitry was chained in "iron", in close imprisonment. He died in 1509 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Helena also died in January 1505 from a "necessary death" (she was killed).
The story of Princess Elena and her palace intrigues did not significantly affect the favorable tone of diplomatic relations between the Moldavian Principality and the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
The family affairs of any ruler always have a great influence on the fate of the country. Let us recall the escape of Tsarevich Alexei from Peter I to Austria, or the dynastic crisis of 1825, when it was not clear who would inherit the deceased Alexander I - Constantine or Nicholas.
Ivan's first wife - the sister of Prince Mikhail Borisovich of Tver - died when Ivan was thirty years old. Solovyov writes: "Her body was so swollen that the cover. Which was previously great, but now could not cover the deceased." It is believed that she was poisoned. The prince began to look for a new wife. This was known in the West. In 14869 Russia established relations with the Roman Curia. In 1472, Ivan the Third married Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. A marriage was made.
What were the consequences of marriage? Contemporaries noticed that Ivan after marriage became a formidable sovereign. He was the first to receive the nickname Terrible, because he appeared to the princes as a monarch, demanding strict obedience, severely punishing. He rose to a royal unattainable height, although he was not yet a king. There is no one before him. Everything is nothing before the throne. This is negative democracy. Solovyov writes: “At one wave of the Terrible, the heads of the seditious boyars lay on the chopping block. This was all at the suggestion of Sophia. Herberstein writes about Sophia:“ She was an unusually cunning woman. At her suggestion, the Grand Duke did a lot." The chroniclers report: "At the suggestion of Sophia, John finally broke with the Horde.
Since Ivan III had a son from his first marriage, Ivan Ivanovich, and Vasily was born from his second marriage, it was not clear for a long time who would be the heir.
Ivan Ivanovich Young (February 15, 1458 - March 7, 1490) - the son of Ivan III Vasilyevich and his first wife Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tver Boris Alexandrovich and sister of Mikhail Borisovich ruling in Tver. As a nephew of Mikhail of Tver who had no sons, he could claim the inheritance of the Tver principality. In 1468 he accompanied Ivan III on campaigns against the Kazan Khanate. From 1471 - co-ruler of his father (G.V. Vernadsky indicates 1470). Coins of that time were minted with the names of both Moscow rulers. In 1472 and 1477 during his father's campaign against Veliky Novgorod, he ruled ("in charge") of Moscow. Together with his uncle Andrey Vasilyevich Menshy, he was one of the leaders of the Russian army during the "Standing on the Ugra River" in 1480. In 1483, Ivan Young married the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Stephen III the Great, Elena, nicknamed in Russia "Voloshanka", which contributed to the strengthening of the military-political alliance with the Moldavian principality.
Ivan Ivanovich, together with his father, went on a campaign to Tver, and after its annexation to Moscow in 1485, when his maternal uncle Mikhail Borisovich, who was seeking an alliance with the Poles, was expelled from Tver, he became the prince of Tver. In honor of the reign of Ivan the Young in Tver, a coin was issued depicting him chopping the tail of a snake, personifying the betrayal of Mikhail Borisovich.
In 1490, the prince fell ill with "aching legs." The physician Lebi Zhidovin was summoned from Venice, but even he could not determine the causes of the illness, from which Ivan the Young died on March 7, 1490. The doctor was executed by order of Ivan III for unsuccessful treatment.
The Moscow boyars and courtiers were divided into 2 groups, one of which (in particular, the family of Ivan Yuryevich Patrikeev, Prince Semyon Ryapolovsky, and others) supported Dmitry and his mother, Princess Elena Stefanovna, the other, Tsarevich Vasily and his mother, the wife of Ivan III - Sophia Paleolog. In 1497, the so-called conspiracy of Vladimir Gusev was uncovered, the participants of which were credited with the intention to kill the prince. The confrontation ended with the disgrace of Vasily and Sophia. It is noteworthy that the wedding to the kingdom of Dmitry was first described in detail by the chroniclers, with all the curious circumstances.
However, in the future, the “party” supporting Tsarevich Vasily and Grand Duchess Sophia Paleolog gained the upper hand, and some of the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Stefanovna were executed, the Patrikeyevs were tonsured monks.
Ivan III called Vasily the sovereign, the Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov, but for some time Dmitry was still called the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow.
In 1502, after Ivan III transferred the inheritance rights to his son Vasily, Dmitry and his mother Elena Stefanovna fell into final disgrace, were taken into custody and their names were forbidden to be mentioned during divine services. Already under Vasily III in 1505, Dmitry was chained in "iron", in close imprisonment. He died in 1509 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
In the cold winter of 1458, fifteen-year-old Maria gave birth to a son in the wooden chambers of the Moscow Kremlin. The boy was named after his father Ivan. A few years later, Ivan, nicknamed the Young, became the heir to the throne of Moscow, and then the co-ruler of his father, Ivan III.
Interestingly, scientists say that it was Ivan Young who became the prototype of Ivan Tsarevich, the main superhero of the Russian folk epic.
mother's face
Once, when Ivan was 9 years old, his father left for state affairs in Kolomna. In his absence, Maria Borisovna, Ivan's mother, slender, beautiful, young, suddenly fell ill and died. It was rumored that she was poisoned, as if the wife of the nobleman Alexei Poluevktov carried her belt to the fortuneteller. Returning to the Kremlin, John the Third did not believe the rumors. Nevertheless, the Poluevktovs got scared and disappeared from the yard for 6 years.
Young Ivan, the son of the Grand Duke and Princess Mary, also could not immediately believe that his mother had died. He did not see her lying on the bed and in the coffin, some other woman: blurry, ugly, motionless, with closed eyes, with a strange, swollen face.
Kazan campaign
The following year, the father took the young prince on a campaign. A great army gathered: they marched on Kazan, for the third time after two raids in the fall and winter, and almost all of Ivan the Young's uncles brought their regiments - both Yuri, Andrei, Simeon and Boris - all the specific princes, boyars. They went not just to fight: they went to take Kazan, to defeat a dangerous enemy. Ivan Young felt himself an important part of this army, he liked it here, liked to think that he, along with adults, was participating in an important matter.
But one morning John III was informed that a Polish ambassador had arrived in Moscow. John, who was then in Pereyaslavl, ordered the ambassador to come to him and, after negotiations, sent him with an answer to the King, and he himself, together with his son and most of the army, returned to Moscow.
Ivan Young, upset, firmly decided to defeat the Tatars someday.
unwavering
John III was 22 years old when he became the sole ruler of the Moscow lands. His son is the same 22, when he turned from a princely son into one of the heroes who drove the Tatars from Russian lands.
Having quarreled with the Horde Khan, John gathered a huge army and led him to the southern borders, to the Ugra River. But again, indecision, the closer to the battlefield, the more he took possession of him. In the end, he ordered his son, who was standing with the vanguard, to retreat. But Ivan the Young disobeyed his father: "We are waiting for the Tatars," he briefly answered his father's envoy. Then the sovereign sovereign sent to his son Prince Kholmsky, one of the largest politicians of that time, but even he could not convince Ivan Ivanovich. “It is better for me to die here than to retire from the army,” was his answer to his father.
The Tatars approached the Ugra. Ivan Molodoy and his uncle, Prince Andrei Menshoi, exchanged fire with the Khan's army for four days and forced him to move two versts from the coast. As it turned out later, this was the only attack of the Tatars. After waiting until the onset of cold weather, unsuccessfully trying to frighten John the Third with threats, Khan Akhmat retreated completely.
Voloshanka
In the winter of 1482, Ivan the Young was invited to visit his grandmother in the Ascension Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin (she lived there, having taken the veil as a nun). When Ivan arrived, he was introduced to his bride, Elena, the daughter of the Moldavian ruler. As in a fairy tale, Elena, who was nicknamed Voloshanka, was both beautiful and wise. She liked not only the young prince, but also his grandmother and father.
A few days, maybe a month, the young met. And they were married at Baptism. And again, as in a fairy tale, nine months later their son Dmitry was born. It seemed that Russia was doomed to grow stronger and develop after the death of Ivan Vasilyevich: his heir, who was supported by the boyars and most of the princes, would become a worthy sovereign, and a worthy son would also come to replace him.
But the wrong Ivan became the Fourth in Muscovy, and a whole era in the life of the country was associated with the name of the wrong Dmitry.
pattern scandal
The birth of a grandson became a holiday for John III. To celebrate, he decided to give his daughter-in-law, Elena Stefanovna, a patterned, that is, pearl jewelry worn by his first wife, the mother of Ivan the Young, Maria. The Grand Duke sent for a patterner, but no matter how many servants looked for him, they could not find him.
It turned out that the second wife of John, the Byzantine despot Sophia Palaiologos, presented the jewelry to her niece, Maria Palaiologos, the wife of Prince Vasily of Vereya. John was furious. Of course, he planned to give jewelry “with meaning”: in this way, John emphasized who he considered his heir (after all, he also had sons from Sophia).
The Grand Duke ordered the return of all the dowry of Maria Palaiologos. In fear, Vasily Vereisky fled with his wife to Lithuania. John declared Basil a traitor and took away his inheritance. However, Elena did not get the pattern.
snake tail
Under the same pretext, treason, Ivan Vasilyevich finally annexed the Tver principality. Convinced that Mikhail, Prince of Tver, was in correspondence with the Polish king, urging him to war with Moscow, the father of Ivan the Young, as usual, gathered a great army and went on a campaign.
Tver withstood the siege for three days and, when the cowardly Michael fled to Lithuania, opened the gates to the new sovereign.
Ivan Molodoy, Mikhail's nephew and sole heir, became Prince of Tver. Thus, according to the plan of John the Third, in the person of his eldest son, two strong Russian principalities were united into one strong state.
On the occasion of the reign of Ivan Ivanovich, a coin was minted in Tver, which depicts a young prince chopping the tail of a snake.
Venetian doctor
The Italians, especially the Venetians, unwittingly left several traces in the medieval history of Russia. So one Venetian ambassador to the Horde was convicted of deceit: while living in Moscow, he hid the purpose of his trip from the sovereign, for which he was almost executed.
Another of his compatriots, a doctor named Leon, did much worse.
Thirty-two years old, Ivan Molodoy fell seriously ill: he was overcome by kamchyuga, that is, aching legs, a symptom not uncommon in medicine. The doctor promised to cure the prince, gave him hot jars, gave him some kind of medicine, but Ivan only got worse and, in the end, he died.
Forty days after his death, the unlucky physician was executed, and rumors spread around Moscow that Sophia Paleolog had poisoned her stepson.
