Home Grape What a king was in 1480 eel. monument to the great standing on the eel

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What a king was in 1480 eel. monument to the great standing on the eel

A place Outcome

Strategic victory for the Russians
The end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke

Parties Commanders Forces of the parties Losses

The beginning of hostilities

Khan Akhmat, busy with the struggle against the Crimean Khanate, only in 1480 began active action... He managed to agree with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV about military aid... The western borders of the Moscow state (Pskov lands) at the beginning of 1480 were attacked by the Livonian Order. The Livonian chronicler reported that Master Bernd von der Borch:

“… Gathered such a force of the people against the Russian, which has never been collected by any master, either before him or after… This master was involved in the war with the Russians, took up arms against them and gathered 100 thousand troops from foreign and native warriors and peasants; with these people he attacked Russia and burned down the outskirts of Pskov, without doing anything else "

In January 1480, his brothers Boris Volotsky and Andrei Bolshoi revolted against Ivan III, dissatisfied with the growing power of the Grand Duke. Taking advantage of the situation, Akhmat organized reconnaissance of the right bank of the Oka River in June 1480, and in the fall he set out with the main forces.

"That same summer, the evil-named Tsar Akhmat ... go to Orthodox Christianity, to Russia, to the holy churches and to the Grand Duke, boasting to destroy the holy churches and all Orthodoxy and capture the Grand Duke himself, as if under Baty besh."

The boyar elite of the Muscovite state split into two groups: one ("rich and belly lovers of money"), headed by okolnich Ivan Oschera and Grigory Mamon, advised Ivan III flee; the other advocated the need to fight the Horde. Perhaps the behavior of Ivan III was influenced by the position of the Muscovites, who demanded decisive action from the Grand Duke.

Ivan III began to pull troops to the banks of the Oka River. In particular, he sent his brother of the Vologda prince Andrei Menshoy to his patrimony - Tarusa, and his son Ivan the Young to Serpukhov. The Grand Duke himself arrived on June 23 to Kolomna, where he stayed awaiting further move events. On the same day, the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Vladimir to Moscow, with whose intercession they associated the salvation of Russia from the troops of Tamerlane in 1395.

Akhmat's troops moved freely across Lithuanian territory and accompanied by Lithuanian guides through Mtsensk, Odoev and Lyubutsk to Vorotynsk. Here the khan expected help from Casimir IV, but never received it. Crimean Tatars, allies of Ivan III, distracted the Lithuanian troops by attacking Podolia. Knowing that Russian regiments awaited him on the Oka, Akhmat decided, passing through Lithuanian lands, to invade Russian territory across the Ugra River. Ivan III, having received information about such intentions, sent his son Ivan and brother Andrey Menshoy to Kaluga and to the bank of the Ugra.

Confrontation on the Eel

For those who watched from the sidelines how both armies almost simultaneously (within two days) turned back, without bringing the matter to a battle, this event seemed either strange, mystical, or received a simplified explanation: the opponents were afraid of each other, were afraid to accept battle. Contemporaries attributed this to the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, who saved the Russian land from ruin. This is probably why the Ugra began to be called "the belt of the Mother of God". Ivan III with his son and all the army returned to Moscow, "And rejoiced, and rejoiced all the people with the joy of great greatness".

The results of "standing" in the Horde were perceived differently. On January 6, 1481, Akhmat was killed as a result of a surprise attack by the Tyumen khan Ibak on the steppe headquarters, to which Akhmat retired from Saray, probably fearing attempts. Civil strife began in the Big Horde.

Outcomes

Standing on the Eel Russian army applied new tactical and strategic techniques:

coordinated actions with Mengli I's ally Giray, which distracted the military forces of Casimir IV from the clash;
sending by Ivan III troops to the Big Horde along the Volga to destroy the defenseless Khan's capital, which was a new military tactical trick and caught the Horde by surprise;
Ivan III's successful attempt to avoid a military clash, in which there was neither military nor political necessity - the Horde was greatly weakened, its days as a state were numbered.

"Standing" put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Moscow state became sovereign not only in fact, but also formally. Ivan III's diplomatic efforts prevented Poland and Lithuania from entering the war. The Pskovites, who stopped the German offensive by autumn, also contributed to the salvation of Russia.

"(" Ugorshchina ", 1480) - military operations of the Russian army under the command of Grand Duke Ivan III in the lower reaches of the Ugra River (left tributary of the Oka) against the army of the Great Horde, commanded by Khan Akhmat.

They put an end to the dependence of the Russian principalities on the Mongol-Tatars, the so-called "Horde yoke", which began in the 13th century and lasted for almost 250 years.

Having ascended the throne of the Moscow principality in 1462, Ivan III, the eldest son of Vasily II the Dark, continued his father's policy, primarily in the affairs of the unification of the lands of Russia around Moscow and the fight against the Horde.

The throne of the Golden Horde kingdom and the title of the great khan were in the hands of Akhmat, the khan of the Great Horde. His power extended over vast territories between the Volga and the Dnieper.

In 1476, Prince Ivan III stopped paying the Horde an annual monetary "exit", which had been collected from the Russian lands since the time of Batu. Khan Akhmat, busy with the struggle with the Crimea, only in 1480 began active operations against Russia. He managed to negotiate with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV on military assistance.

A suitable moment was chosen for the campaign, when Ivan III was in a dense circle of enemies. In the north, in the Pskov region, troops Livonian Order captured vast territories of the country. King Casimir IV threatened war from the west. In January 1480, his brothers Boris (Prince of Uglichsky) and Andrew the Great (Prince Volotsky) rebelled against Ivan III, dissatisfied with the growing power of the Grand Duke. Taking advantage of the situation, Khan Akhmat in June 1480 sent troops to reconnoitre the right bank of the Oka River, and in the fall he set out with the main forces.

Ivan III, in turn, entered into an alliance with Akhmat's rival Crimean Khan Mengli-Giray and agreed with him about joint performance against the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV.

By the beginning of Akhmat's invasion, a deeply echeloned system of defensive structures existed on the southern borders of the Moscow state - the Zasechnaya line, consisting of fortified cities, numerous notches and earthen ramparts. When it was created, all possible protective geographical properties of the area were used: ravines, swamps, lakes, and especially rivers. The main line of defense of the southern borders stretched along the Oka. This part of the Zasechnaya line was called "Oka coastal discharge". The service for his protection was introduced by Ivan III into compulsory duty. Here, to protect the borders of the principality, peasants went in turn not only from nearby, but also distant villages.

Having received news of the Horde's campaign in last days May 1480, Ivan III sent a voivode with armed detachments to the Oka region to help the troops on permanent service in the southern outskirts. The son of Ivan III, Ivan Young, was dressed up in Serpukhov. The brother of the Moscow prince Andrei Menshoi went to Tarusa to prepare the city for defense and organize a rebuff to the Tatars.

The rather slow advance of Akhmat's main forces allowed the Russian command to determine the possible direction of its main attack. A grand ducal regiment was sent to the place of a possible meeting with the enemy. The timely deployment of the main forces of the Russian troops on the defensive lines did not allow Akhmat to force the Oka in its central sector, which would allow the Horde to be on the shortest direction to Moscow. Khan turned his army to the Lithuanian possessions, where he could join up with Casimir's regiments, and also, without any particular difficulty, break into the territory of the Moscow principality from the side of the Lithuanian lands.

Akhmat's maneuver along the Oka line was timely detected by Russian outposts. In this regard, the main forces from Serpukhov and Tarusa were transferred to the west, to Kaluga and directly to the bank of the Ugra River. Regiments were also sent there, going to reinforce the Grand Duke's troops from various Russian cities.

In view of the impending danger, Ivan III managed to negotiate with his rebellious brothers and they promised to help. On October 3, 1480, the Grand Duke set out from Moscow to the regiments guarding the left bank of the Ugra, and stopped in the city of Kremenets, located in the immediate vicinity of a possible theater of military operations. The main grouping of the prince's troops was concentrated in the Kaluga region, covering the mouth of the Ugra. In addition, Russian regiments were deployed along the entire lower course of the river. In places convenient for crossing, fortifications were erected, which were guarded by permanent outposts, which included infantrymen and a "fiery squad" consisting of archers and artillery servants. Small horse patrols patrolled the coast between the outposts and maintained close communication between them. Their task also included the capture of enemy scouts.

The tactics imposed on the Horde deprived them of the opportunity to use the advantages of their light cavalry in flanking or flanking maneuvers. They were forced to act only in a frontal attack on the Russian notches, which met them with fire from guns (squeaks and mattresses).

Khan Akhmat walked with all his forces along the right bank of the Oka River through the cities of Mtsensk, Lyubutsk and Odoev to Vorotynsk, located not far from Kaluga near the confluence of the Ugra into the Oka. Here Akhmat was going to wait for help from Casimir IV. But at this time, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, at the insistence of Ivan III, began fighting in Podolia, thereby partially drawing the troops and the attention of the Polish-Lithuanian king. Busy with the struggle with the Crimea and the elimination of internal troubles, he could not help the Horde.

Without waiting for help from Casimir IV, Akhmat decided to cross the river himself in the Kaluga region. The Horde troops reached the crossings on the Ugra on October 6-8, 1480 and launched military operations in several places at once.

The opponents came face to face, they were separated only by the river surface of the Ugra (in the widest places up to 120-140 meters). On the left bank, at the crossings and fords, Russian archers lined up, as well as firearms with cannons and beepers. The regiments of the noble cavalry were ready to strike at the Horde, if they managed to cross somewhere.

The battle for the crossings began at 1 pm on October 8 and continued along the entire line of defense for almost four days. After several unsuccessful attempts to force the Ugra and seize the Russian position, the troops of Khan Akhmat retreated, but retained their combat capability and readiness to resume the battle.

On October 20, the regiments of Boris and Andrey Bolshoi arrived in Kremenets. On October 26, the Ugra River froze over, which significantly changed the situation for the opposing sides, not in favor of the Russians. Therefore, Ivan III decided to transfer the main Russian forces from the left bank of the Ugra River to the northeast to the area of the city of Borovsk, the area under which was convenient for a decisive battle in the event that Akhmat nevertheless decided to cross the Ugra. However, after learning about the arrival of the troops of the brothers of Ivan III and not receiving news from Casimir, the khan did not dare to do so. Lacking food and suffering from severe frosts, the troops of Khan Akhmat on November 11 began to retreat from the Russian borders.

On December 28, 1480, Grand Duke Ivan III returned to Moscow, where he was solemnly greeted by the townspeople. The war for the liberation of Russia from the Horde yoke was over.

The remnants of Akhmat's army fled to the steppe. The defeated khan was immediately opposed by rivals. On January 6, 1481, he was killed. Civil strife began in the Big Horde.

The victory on the Ugra meant the end of the yoke and the restoration of the full national sovereignty of the Russian land. This is the largest event of the 15th century, and November 12, 1480 - the first day of the completely independent Russian state - is one of major dates in the history of the Fatherland.

In 1980, in the Kaluga region, on the 176th kilometer of the Moscow-Kiev highway, near the bridge over the river, a monument to the Great Stand on the Ugra River was unveiled.

In September 2014, near Kaluga, in the Vladimir skete of the Kaluga St. Tikhon's Hermitage (the village of Dvortsy), the Great Standing on the Ugra River diorama museum was opened. It is located on the territory that in 1480 was occupied by the troops that participated in the Great Stand on the Ugra.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Standing on the Ugra river- hostilities in 1480 between the Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III in alliance with the Crimean Khanate. According to the majority of Soviet and Russian historians, put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke in the north and north-east of Russia, where it held out the longest and where the process of formation of a single Russian state, which became completely independent, was underway.

The beginning of hostilities

In 1472, the Horde Khan Akhmat with a large army moved to the borders of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. But at Tarusa, the invaders met a large Russian army. All attempts by the Horde to cross the Oka were repulsed. The army of the Horde burned the city of Aleksin and destroyed its population, but the campaign ended in failure. According to the traditional story, in 1476 the Grand Duke Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Khan of the Golden Horde, and in 1480 he refused to recognize the dependence of Russia on her. Despite this, according to the American historian Charles Halperin, the lack of evidence in the annals fixing the exact date the termination of the payment of tribute, does not allow to prove that the tribute has ceased to be paid in 1476; the dating and the very authenticity of Akhmat's label to Ivan III, containing information about the termination of the payment of tribute, remains a subject of debate in the academic environment.

Khan Akhmat, busy fighting Crimean Khanate, only in 1480 began active operations. He managed to negotiate with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV on military assistance. The Pskov Republic at the beginning of 1480 was attacked by the Livonian Order. The Livonian chronicler reported that Master Bernd von der Borch:

The boyar elite of the Russian state split into two groups: one (“rich and belly lovers of money”), led by the devious Ivan Oschera and Grigory Mamon, advised Ivan III to flee; the other advocated the need to fight the Horde. Perhaps the behavior of Ivan III was influenced by the position of the Muscovites, who demanded decisive action from the Grand Duke.

Ivan III began to pull troops to the banks of the Oka River. In particular, he sent his brother of the Vologda prince Andrei Menshoy to his patrimony - Tarusa, and his son Ivan the Young to Serpukhov. The Grand Duke himself arrived on June 23 to Kolomna, where he stopped in anticipation of the further course of events. On the same day, the miraculous Vladimir icon Mother of God, with whose intercession they associated the salvation of Russia from the troops of Tamerlane in 1395.

Akhmat's troops moved unhindered through Lithuanian territory and accompanied by Lithuanian guides through Mtsensk, Odoev and Lyubutsk to Vorotynsk. Here the khan expected help from Casimir IV, but never received it. Crimean Tatars, allies of Ivan III, distracted the Lithuanian troops by attacking Podolia. Knowing that Russian regiments awaited him on the Oka, Akhmat decided, passing through Lithuanian lands, to invade Russian territory across the Ugra River. Ivan III, having received information about such intentions, sent his son Ivan and brother Andrey Menshoy to Kaluga and to the bank of the Ugra. However, according to Michael Khodarkovsky, Akhmat had no intention of using the effect of surprise and ravaging the Moscow principality, relying instead on the traditional tactics of intimidation by a superior number of troops and forcing it into submission.

Standing on the Eel

On September 30, Ivan III returned from Kolomna to Moscow "For advice and thought" with the Metropolitan and the boyars. Grand Duke received a unanimous answer, "To stand firmly for Orthodox Christianity against bezsermenstvo"... On the same days, ambassadors from Andrei Bolshoi and Boris Volotsky came to Ivan III, who announced the end of the rebellion. The Grand Duke granted the brothers forgiveness and ordered them to move with their regiments to the Oka. On October 3, Ivan III left Moscow and went to the city of Kremenets (now the village of Kremenskoye in the Medynsky district), where he remained with a small detachment, and sent the rest of the troops to the banks of the Ugra River.

To exclude an attack from the rear, the Tatars ravaged the area of the upper river. Oki for 100 km, inhabited by Russians, capturing the cities: Mtsensk, Odoev, Przemysl, Stary Vorotynsk, Novy Vorotynsk, Stary Zalidov, Novy Zalidov, Opakov, Meshchovsk, Serensk, Kozelsk. The attempt of Khan Akhmat to force the river was unsuccessful. Ugra in the area of the Opakov settlement, she was also repulsed.

Meanwhile, on October 8, Akhmat tried to force the Ugra, but his attack was repulsed by the forces of Ivan the Young.

"And the Tartars came and started shooting the Muscovites, and the Muscovites started shooting at them and squeaking at the Pushcha and many, killing the Tatars with arrows and pilings and repulsing them from the shore ...".

The specified historical event took place in the region of a five-kilometer section of the Ugra River up from its mouth to the confluence of the river. Rosvyanka. For several days the attempts of the Horde continued to cross, suppressed by the fire of the Russian artillery; attempts did not bring the Horde the desired success; they retreated two miles from the river. The Ugrians also got up in Luza. The troops of Ivan III took up defensive positions on the opposite bank of the river. The famous "standing on the Ugra" began. Skirmishes broke out periodically, but neither side dared to launch a serious attack.

In this position, negotiations began. Akhmat demanded that the Grand Duke himself, or his son, or according to at least his brother, and the Russians to pay the tribute they owed for seven years. As an embassy, Ivan III sent his boyar son Tovarkov Ivan Fedorovich companions with gifts. Tribute claims were rejected, gifts were not accepted, and negotiations were broken off. It is possible that Ivan went for them, trying to gain time, since the situation was slowly changing in his favor:

The forces of Andrei Bolshoi and Boris Volotsky were on the way.
Crimean Khan Mengli I Girey, fulfilling his promise, attacked Podolia - southern lands The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Akhmat could no longer count on the help of his ally, Lithuania.
The Tatar army is mainly cavalry, in addition, the Tatars mainly used sheep as food, whose flocks followed the army. A large number of horses and livestock for a long time in one place devastated all food supplies in the area, and the army began to experience an acute shortage of forage. The Russian army (mainly infantry) was supplied with flour and grain from the grand ducal granaries.
In the Tatar army, an epidemic of a general disease began and began to gain strength (according to the signs described in the annals, presumably dysentery). The epidemic did not affect the Russian army.
The "draw" outcome of the confrontation was quite satisfactory for Ivan, while for Akhmat, the initiator of hostilities, such an outcome was tantamount to defeat.

On the same days, October 15-20, Ivan III received a fiery message from the Archbishop of Rostov Vassian, in which he urged to follow the example before former princes:

“... who not only defended the Russian land from the rotten (that is, not Christians), but also subjugated other countries ... Only take courage and be strong, my spiritual son, as a good warrior of Christ according to the great word of our Lord in the Gospel:“ You are a good shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep "..."

End of the confrontation

Learning that Akhmat, striving to achieve a numerical advantage, mobilized the Big Horde as much as possible, so that there were no significant reserves of troops left on its territory, Ivan allocated a small but very efficient detachment, under the command of the Zvenigorod voivode, Prince Vasily Nozdrevaty, which was supposed to go down in canoes along the Oka, then along the Volga to its lower reaches and commit a devastating sabotage in the possessions of Akhmat. The Crimean prince Nur-Devlet with his nukers also took part in this expedition.

On October 28, 1480, Ivan III decided to withdraw his troops to Kremenets and further concentrate on Borovsk, so that there in favorable environment give battle if the Horde cross the river. Akhmat, having learned that a sabotage detachment of Prince Nozdrevaty and Crimean prince Nur-Devlet is operating in his deep rear, intending to seize and plunder the capital of the Horde (perhaps he also received information about the impending attack of the Nogai Tatars) and also lacking food, did not dare to pursue the Russians troops and at the end of October - early November also began to withdraw its troops. On November 11, Akhmat decided to go back to the Horde, plundering Kozelsk, which belonged to Lithuania, on the way back.

The results of "standing" in the Horde were perceived differently. On January 6, 1481, Akhmat was killed as a result of a surprise attack by the Tyumen Khan Ibak (probably carried out by prior agreement with Ivan III) on the steppe headquarters, to which Akhmat retired from Sarai, probably fearing attempts. Civil strife began in the Big Horde.

Outcomes

In Standing on the Ugra, the Russian army applied new tactical and strategic techniques:

coordinated actions with Mengli I's ally Giray, which distracted the military forces of Casimir IV from the clash;
sending by Ivan III troops to the Big Horde along the Volga to destroy the defenseless Khan's capital, which was a new military tactical trick and caught the Horde by surprise;
Ivan III's successful attempt to avoid a military clash, in which there was neither military nor political necessity - the Horde was greatly weakened, its days as a state were numbered.

According to the traditional version, "standing" put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The Moscow state became sovereign not only in fact, but also formally. Ivan III's diplomatic efforts prevented Poland and Lithuania from entering the war. The Pskovites, who stopped the German offensive by autumn, also contributed to the salvation of Russia.

The acquisition of political independence from the Horde, along with the spread of Moscow's influence over the Kazan Khanate (1487), played a role in the subsequent transfer of part of the lands that were under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Moscow's rule. In 1502, when Ivan III, for diplomatic reasons flatteringly admitted himself serf Khan of the Great Horde, its weakened army was defeated by the Khan of Crimea Mengli I Girey, and the Horde itself ceased to exist.

A number of modern American researchers deny the historical significance of the standing on the Ugra, which goes beyond an ordinary diplomatic incident, and its connection with the overthrow of the Horde yoke (as well as the very concept of “ Tatar yoke") Is considered as a historiographical myth. So, according to Donald Ostrovsky, the payment of tribute, although it was reduced by seven times, did not stop, and the rest of the changes affected only the minting of coins. The accusation of passivity in relation to the Horde, put forward to Ivan III in the "Epistle to the Ugra" by Archbishop Vassian, he considers evidence that contemporaries did not see qualitative changes in the position of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Charles Halperin believes that in 1480 there were no texts in which the question of Russian liberation from the Tatar yoke was raised (this also applies to the "Epistle to the Ugra", whose dating to 1480 is also not indisputable). Halperin does not see in the sources either before or after standing on the Ugra direct evidence that the power of the Genghisids in Russia was denied, referring also to the fact that in one of the legends about standing on the Ugra, Ivan III himself, on the eve of the confrontation, asks Akhmat to abandon his intentions. ulus war. " At the same time, Halperin believes that “Muscovy showed considerable competence in the implementation of eastern diplomacy, was able to adapt to the Tatar model political relations... When reading the ambassadorial books about the negotiations between Moscow and the Nogai Horde, one gets the feeling that the Russian ambassadorial clerks masterfully reproduced the “language of the Steppe”. But Russian contacts with Christian European countries were built according to a different model, not Tatar at all. Diplomatic monuments of relations with Western European countries are filled with insincere and often repeated appeals to Christian unity and the prevention of the shedding of Christian blood ... suffice it to recall that Muscovy, Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania hired Muslim Tatars to serve in their armies, brought money and gifts to Crimea, in order to incite the Tatars against neighboring states - and at the same time, Russian and Lithuanian diplomats accused each other of guiding the damned infidels at the Christian people. "

V.N. Rudakov writes about a serious struggle surrounded by Ivan III between those who believed that the Grand Duke had the right to fight the “godless tsar” and those who denied him such a right. A. A. Gorsky, supporting Halperin's opinion about the absence of historical sources before mid XVI centuries of connection between 1480 and liberation from long-term dependence, believes that decisive battle which de facto put an end to Horde dominion, took place in 1472 near Aleksin. The same opinion was expressed earlier by the Soviet historian A.K. Leont'ev. Michael Khodarkovsky points out that themselves characters they also modestly assessed the scale of what had happened: "Akhmat Khan went to me, but the all-merciful God wished to save us from him and did so," wrote Ivan III in 1481 in a letter to the Crimean Khan Mengli-Geray; The historian also believes that it is significant that in the Akhmat's label to Ivan III (regardless of whether or not it is recognized as authentic), the khan explains his retreat by the fact that his people had no clothes, and the horses were blankets, and not by the successes of the grand ducal army.

The overthrow of the "Horde yoke", the idea of which stems from the biblical texts about the "Babylonian captivity", and in one form or another is found in Russian sources since the 13th century, was applied to the events of 1480 starting from the "Kazan history" (no earlier than 1560- x years). Ugra acquired the status of the last and decisive confrontation from the historians of the 16th century for the reason that it was the last major invasion of the Great Horde on the lands of the Moscow principality. From Nikolai Karamzin, who used the word "yoke" in the form of an artistic epithet in the original meaning of "a collar worn around the neck" ("bowed the neck under the yoke of barbarians"), possibly borrowing this term from the Polish author of the 16th century Maciej Miechowski, originates from Russian historiography the term "Tatar yoke", as well as the provision on its overthrow by Ivan III.

Memory

During the celebration of the 500th anniversary of standing on the Ugra River in 1980, a monument in honor of significant event Russian history, which took place in 1480 within the Kaluga region.

They put an end to the dependence of the Russian principalities on the Mongol-Tatars, the so-called "Horde yoke", which began in the 13th century and lasted for almost 250 years.

A suitable moment was chosen for the campaign, when Ivan III was in a dense circle of enemies. In the north, in the Pskov region, the troops of the Livonian Order captured vast territories of the country. King Casimir IV threatened war from the west. In January 1480, his brothers Boris (Prince of Uglichsky) and Andrew the Great (Prince Volotsky) rebelled against Ivan III, dissatisfied with the growing power of the Grand Duke. Taking advantage of the situation, Khan Akhmat in June 1480 sent troops to reconnoitre the right bank of the Oka River, and in the fall he set out with the main forces.

Ivan III, in turn, entered into an alliance with Akhmat's rival, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Giray, and agreed with him on a joint action against the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV.

Having received news of the Horde's campaign in the last days of May 1480, Ivan III sent a voivode with armed detachments to the Oka region to help the troops permanently serving on the southern outskirts. The son of Ivan III, Ivan Young, was dressed up in Serpukhov. The brother of the Moscow prince Andrei Menshoi went to Tarusa to prepare the city for defense and organize a rebuff to the Tatars.

Khan Akhmat walked with all his forces along the right bank of the Oka River through the cities of Mtsensk, Lyubutsk and Odoev to Vorotynsk, located not far from Kaluga near the confluence of the Ugra into the Oka. Here Akhmat was going to wait for help from Casimir IV. But at this time, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, at the insistence of Ivan III, began hostilities in Podolia, thereby partially drawing off the troops and the attention of the Polish-Lithuanian king. Busy with the struggle with the Crimea and the elimination of internal troubles, he could not help the Horde.

The battle for the crossings began at 1 pm on October 8 and continued along the entire line of defense for almost four days. After several unsuccessful attempts to force the Ugra and capture the Russian position, the troops of Khan Akhmat retreated, but retained their combat capability and readiness to resume the battle.

On October 20, the regiments of Boris and Andrey Bolshoi arrived in Kremenets. On October 26, the Ugra River froze over, which significantly changed the situation for the opposing sides, not in favor of the Russians. Therefore, Ivan III decided to transfer the main Russian forces from the left bank of the Ugra River to the northeast to the area of the city of Borovsk, the area under which was convenient for a decisive battle in the event that Akhmat nevertheless decided to cross the Ugra. However, after learning about the arrival of the troops of the brothers of Ivan III and not receiving news from Casimir, the khan did not dare to do so. Lacking provisions and suffering from severe frosts, the troops of Khan Akhmat on November 11 began to retreat from the Russian borders.

On December 28, 1480, Grand Duke Ivan III returned to Moscow, where he was solemnly greeted by the townspeople. The war for the liberation of Russia from the Horde yoke was over.

The remnants of Akhmat's army fled to the steppe. The defeated khan was immediately opposed by rivals. On January 6, 1481, he was killed. Civil strife began in the Big Horde.

In 1980, in the Kaluga region, on the 176th kilometer of the Moscow-Kiev highway, near the bridge over the river, a monument to the Great Stand on the Ugra River was unveiled.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

On October 8, 1480, the army of the Golden Horde under the leadership of Khan Akhmat, during a punitive campaign against Moscow, tried to force the Ugra River (in the Kaluga region). The attempts were repulsed by Russian troops, and the "standing on the Ugra" began.

In 1476, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde, and in 1480 he refused to recognize the dependence of Russia on it. In response to this, the Golden Horde Khan Akhmat gathered a large army and set out on a campaign, intending to return Moscow to obedience.

The moment was well chosen by the khan. He managed to negotiate with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV on military assistance. At the same time, Ivan could not count on the help of the northern Russian lands - the Pskov land at the beginning of 1480 was attacked by the Livonian Order.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that in January 1480 civil strife began in Moscow itself - his brothers Boris Volotsky and Andrei Bolshoi rebelled against Ivan III, dissatisfied with the strengthening of the power of the Grand Duke.

At first, everything went well for the Horde. By the end of the summer, they reached the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, accompanied by Lithuanian guides, began to advance through Mtsensk, Odoev and Lyubutsk to Vorotynsk to join the army of King Casimir IV. But this was not destined to happen - Crimean Tatars, allies of Ivan III, distracted the Lithuanian troops by attacking Podolia.

Having lost an ally, Akhmat decided, passing through Lithuanian lands, to invade Russian territory through the Ugra River, since he knew that Russian regiments were waiting for him on the Oka. Grand Duke Ivan III, who by that time had made peace with his brothers, sent his son Ivan and brother Andrey Menshoy with a strong vanguard to Kaluga, to the bank of the Ugra.

On October 8, the Horde approached Ugra. Seeing that the Russian army was gradually approaching the banks from the other side of the river, Akhmat did not wait and tried to immediately force the Ugra in the area of the Opakov settlement. However, Ivan Molodoy and Andrey repulsed the attack.

Subsequently, the attempts of the Horde to cross continued for several days, but were repulsed by the fire of Russian artillery and did not bring the troops of Khan Akhmat the desired success. They retreated two miles from Ugra and set up in Luza. The troops of Ivan III took up defensive positions on the opposite bank of the river. The famous "standing on the Ugra" began. Skirmishes broke out periodically, but neither side dared to launch a serious attack.

"Standing" lasted until the end of October. With the onset of cold weather, Ivan III withdrew with an army from the coast to Kremenets, intending to give battle in an advantageous position. However, Akhmat, experiencing a lack of food, did not dare to follow the Russians and on November 11 decided to go back to the Horde. "Standing on the Ugra" is over.

The results of this unsuccessful campaign were disastrous not only for the khan himself, but also for the entire "Ulus Dzhuchiev". On January 6, 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed and civil strife began in the Great Horde. And in 1502, her weakened army was defeated by the Crimean Khan Mengli I Girey, and the Horde itself ceased to exist.

Thus, "standing on the Ugra" put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Russian state became sovereign not only in fact, but also formally.