Ivan 3 and his time is short. Grand Sovereign Ivan III Vasilyevich. Wives and children

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Biography, life story of Ivan III Vasilyevich

Ivan III Vasilievich, aka Ivan the Great - Grand Duke of Moscow, sovereign of all Russia.

Childhood

Ivan III Vasilyevich was born on January 22, 1440 in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II Vasilyevich (aka Vasily the Dark) and Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav Borovsky. The future prince was brought up and trained at the court of his father, whom, by the way, he treated with great respect. Ivan III helped his father in every possible way, who lost his sight in 1446 at the hands of Prince Dmitry Shemyaka. Vasily the Dark, during his lifetime, called his son the Grand Duke. When Ivan was still just a child, his name was already under all state letters next to the name of his father.

Reign

Ivan III first led the army when he was only 12 years old. He led a campaign against the Ustyug fortress, which turned out to be quite successful. Returning home, young Ivan married his bride Maria, the daughter of Boris Alexandrovich, Prince of Tver, whom he became engaged to at the age of seven.

In 1455, Ivan Vasilyevich led a campaign against the Tatars who invaded the territory of his state. In 1460, Ivan blocked the way for the Tatar troops to the Russian lands.

Vasily the Dark died in 1462. Ivan became the Grand Duke, as his father wished. According to historians, Ivan III Vasilyevich was distinguished by a passionate love for power, a persistent disposition, a sharp mind and prudence. During the entire time of his reign, Prince Ivan did everything in his power to unite the northeastern lands. Ivan the Great, as his contemporaries called him, significantly expanded his zone of influence by annexing Ryazan, Novgorod, Chernigov, Rostov, Bryansk, Yaroslavl, etc. to his lands. system. In 1497, a single legislative code for all Russian lands appeared - Sudebnik.

CONTINUED BELOW

As for domestic policy, Ivan III paid special attention to the fight against the princely-boyar aristocracy. Ivan Vasilyevich introduced strict restrictions on the transfer of peasants between landlords - the prince allowed this to be done only within seven days before and within seven days after St. George's Day.

During the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich, a cultural upsurge was noted in the Russian state - chronicle writing and architecture reached their peak. It was during the reign of Ivan III that such well-known monuments of Russian architecture as the Assumption Palace and the Faceted Chamber were built today.

The main result and main achievement of the reign of Ivan III the Great was the elimination of fragmentation and the unification of the vast majority of Russian lands. The prince was able not only to connect the cities and the people living in them on paper, but also in practice - a common judicial system, common legal norms, common cultural interests, common ideas, common aspirations appeared.

Wives, children

On February 15, 1458, the first wife of Prince Ivan III, Maria, gave birth to their first child, the son of Ivan. In 1467, Mary died - there were rumors that the woman was allegedly poisoned.

In 1472, after several years of deliberation and negotiations, Ivan Vasilyevich married the Byzantine princess Sophia, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. Sophia gave birth to twelve children to the prince of Moscow.

Death

In 1503, Ivan III Vasilyevich fell seriously ill. Putting things aside, the prince went on a trip to the monasteries. His condition was getting worse and worse day by day. First, Ivan went blind in one eye, then he was partially paralyzed. On October 27, 1505, Ivan the Great passed away. His body was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Ivan III Vasilievich (Ivan the Great) January 22, 1440 - died October 27, 1505 - Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, sovereign of all Russia. Collector of Russian lands around Moscow, creator of the all-Russian state.

In the middle of the 15th century, Russian lands and principalities were in a state of political fragmentation. There were several strong political centers to which all other regions gravitated; each of these centers pursued a completely independent internal policy and opposed all external enemies.

Such centers of power were Moscow, Novgorod the Great, already beaten more than once, but still mighty Tver, as well as the Lithuanian capital - Vilna, which owned the entire colossal Russian region, called "Lithuanian Rus". Political games, civil strife, external wars, economic and geographical factors gradually subordinated the weak to the strongest. It became possible to create a single state.

Childhood

Ivan III was born on January 22, 1440 in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Vasilyevich. Ivan's mother was Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav Borovsky, a Russian princess of the Serpukhov branch of the house of Daniel. He was born on the day of memory of the Apostle Timothy and in his honor received his "direct name" - Timothy. The next church holiday was the day of the transfer of the relics of St. John Chrysostom, in honor of which the prince received the name by which he is best known in history.

In childhood, the prince endured all the hardships of civil strife. 1452 - he was already sent as a nominal head of the army on a campaign against the Ustyug fortress Kokshenga. The heir to the throne successfully fulfilled the assignment he received, cutting off Ustyug from the Novgorod lands and brutally ruining the Kokshenga volost. Returning from a campaign with a victory, on June 4, 1452, Prince Ivan married his bride. The bloody civil strife that had lasted for a quarter of a century soon subsided.

In subsequent years, Prince Ivan became co-ruler with his father. On the coins of the Muscovite state, the inscription “defend all Russia” appears, he himself, like his father, Vasily, bears the title “Grand Duke”.

Accession to the throne

1462, March - Ivan's father, Grand Duke Vasily, fell seriously ill. Shortly before that, he had drawn up a will, according to which he divided the grand-princely lands among his sons. As the eldest son, Ivan received not only the great reign, but also the main part of the territory of the state - 16 main cities (not counting Moscow, which he was supposed to own together with his brothers). When Vasily died on March 27, 1462, Ivan became the new Grand Duke without any problems.

Reign of Ivan III

Throughout the reign of Ivan III, the main goal of the country's foreign policy was the unification of northeastern Russia into a single state. Having become the Grand Duke, Ivan III began his unifying activity with the confirmation of previous agreements with neighboring princes and a general strengthening of positions. So, agreements were concluded with the Tver and Belozersky principalities; Prince Vasily Ivanovich, married to the sister of Ivan III, was placed on the throne of the Ryazan principality.

Unification of principalities

Beginning in the 1470s, activities aimed at annexing the rest of the Russian principalities intensified sharply. The first was the Yaroslavl principality, which finally lost the remnants of independence in 1471. 1472 - Prince Dmitrovsky Yuri Vasilyevich, Ivan's brother, died. The Dmitrov principality passed to the Grand Duke.

1474 - the turn of the Rostov principality came. The Rostov princes sold "their half" of the principality to the treasury, finally turning into a service nobility as a result. The Grand Duke transferred what he received to the inheritance of his mother.

Capture of Novgorod

The situation with Novgorod developed differently, which is explained by the difference in the nature of the statehood of the specific principalities and the commercial and aristocratic Novgorod state. An influential anti-Moscow party was formed there. A clash with Ivan III was inevitable. 1471, June 6 - a ten-thousandth detachment of Moscow troops under the command of Danila Kholmsky set out from the capital in the direction of Novgorod land, a week later the army of Striga Obolensky advanced on the campaign, and on June 20, 1471 Ivan III himself began the campaign from Moscow. The advance of Moscow troops through the lands of Novgorod was accompanied by robberies and violence, designed to intimidate the enemy.

Novgorod also did not sit idly by. A militia was formed from the townspeople, the number of this army reached 40,000 people, but its combat effectiveness, due to the haste of forming from townspeople not trained in military affairs, was low. On July 14, a battle began between the opponents. In the course of the Novgorod army was utterly defeated. The losses of Novgorodians amounted to 12,000 people, about 2,000 people were taken prisoner.

1471, August 11 - they concluded a peace treaty, according to which Novgorod was obliged to pay an indemnity of 16,000 rubles, retained its state structure, but could not "surrender" under the rule of the Lithuanian Grand Duke; a significant part of the vast Dvina land was ceded to the Grand Duke of Moscow. But several more years passed before the final defeat of Novgorod, until on January 15, 1478, Novgorod surrendered, the veche orders were abolished, and the veche bell and the city archive were sent to Moscow.

Invasion of the Tatar Khan Akhmat

Ivan III breaks the Khan's charter

Relations with the Horde, which were already strained, finally deteriorated by the beginning of the 1470s. The Horde continued to disintegrate; on the territory of the former Golden Horde, in addition to the immediate successor (“Great Horde”), the Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimean, Nogai and Siberian Hordes were also formed.

1472 - Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat began a campaign against Russia. At Tarusa, the Tatars met with a large Russian army. All attempts of the Horde to cross the Oka were repulsed. The Horde army burned the city of Aleksin, but the campaign as a whole ended in failure. Soon, Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, which would inevitably lead to new clashes.

1480, summer - Khan Akhmat moved to Russia. Ivan III, having gathered troops, headed south, to the Oka River. For 2 months, the army, ready for battle, was waiting for the enemy, but Khan Akhmat, also ready for battle, did not start offensive operations. In the end, in September 1480, Khan Akhmat crossed the Oka south of Kaluga and headed through Lithuanian territory to the Ugra River. Violent clashes began.

The attempts of the Horde to cross the river were successfully repulsed by Russian troops. Soon Ivan III sent the ambassador Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with rich gifts, asking him to retreat away and not to ruin the "ulus". 1480, October 26 - the river Ugra froze. The Russian army, gathered together, withdrew to the city of Kremenets, then to Borovsk. On November 11, Khan Akhmat gave the order to retreat. "Standing on the Ugra" ended with the actual victory of the Russian state, which received the desired independence. Khan Akhmat was soon killed; after his death, civil strife broke out in the Horde.

Expansion of the Russian state

The peoples of the North were also included in the Russian state. 1472 - "Great Perm", inhabited by Komi, Karelian lands, was annexed. The Russian centralized state was becoming a multinational super-ethnos. 1489 - Vyatka was annexed to the Russian state - remote and largely mysterious lands beyond the Volga for modern historians.

The rivalry with Lithuania was of great importance. Moscow's desire to subjugate all Russian lands all the time ran into opposition from Lithuania, which had the same goal. Ivan directed his efforts towards the reunification of the Russian lands that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 1492, August - troops were sent against Lithuania. They were headed by Prince Fyodor Telepnya Obolensky.

The cities of Mtsensk, Lubutsk, Mosalsk, Serpeisk, Khlepen, Rogachev, Odoev, Kozelsk, Przemysl and Serensk were taken. A number of local princes went over to the side of Moscow, which strengthened the position of the Russian troops. And although the results of the war were sealed by a dynastic marriage between the daughter of Ivan III, Elena, and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander, soon the war for the Seversky lands broke out with renewed vigor. The decisive victory in it was won by the Moscow troops in the battle of Vedrosh on July 14, 1500.

By the beginning of the 16th century, Ivan III had every reason to call himself the Grand Duke of All Russia.

Personal life of Ivan III

Ivan III and Sophia Paleolog

The first wife of Ivan III, Princess Maria Borisovna of Tver, died on April 22, 1467. Ivan began to look for another wife. 1469, February 11 - Ambassadors from Rome appeared in Moscow to offer the Grand Duke to marry the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleolog, who lived in exile after the fall of Constantinople. Ivan III, having overcome religious rejection in himself, ordered the princess from Italy and married her in 1472. In October of the same year, Moscow met her future empress. A wedding ceremony took place in the still unfinished Assumption Cathedral. The Greek princess became the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Vladimir and Novgorod.

The main significance of this marriage was that the marriage to Sophia Paleolog contributed to the establishment of Russia as the successor of Byzantium and the proclamation of Moscow as the Third Rome, the stronghold of Orthodox Christianity. After his marriage to Sophia, Ivan III for the first time dared to show the European political world the new title of sovereign of all Russia and forced him to recognize it. Ivan was called "the sovereign of all Russia."

Formation of the Moscow State

At the beginning of Ivan's reign, the Principality of Moscow was surrounded by the lands of other Russian principalities; dying, he handed over to his son Vasily the country that united most of these principalities. Only Pskov, Ryazan, Volokolamsk and Novgorod-Seversky were able to maintain relative independence.

During the reign of Ivan III, the final formalization of the independence of the Russian state took place.

The complete unification of the Russian lands and principalities into a mighty state required a whole series of cruel, bloody wars, in which one of the rivals had to crush the forces of all the others. Internal transformations were no less necessary; in the state system of each of these centers, semi-independent specific principalities continued to be preserved, as well as cities and institutions that had noticeable autonomy.

Their complete subordination to the central government ensured that whoever was the first to do this, strong rears in the fight against their neighbors and an increase in their own military power. In other words, it was by no means the state with the most perfect, softest and most democratic legislation that had the greatest chance of winning, but the state whose internal unity would be unshakable.

Before Ivan III, who ascended the throne in 1462, there was no such state yet, and hardly anyone could have imagined the very possibility of its emergence in such a short period of time and within such impressive boundaries. In all of Russian history, there is no event or process comparable in its significance to the formation at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. Moscow State.

Ivan 3 Vasilyevich
Predecessor:	Vasily II the Dark
Successor:	Vasily III
Religion:	Orthodoxy
Birth:
Buried:	Archangel Cathedral in Moscow
Dynasty:	Rurikovichi
	Vasily II the Dark
	Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of Prince Yaroslav Borovsky
	1) Maria Borisovna 2) Sofia Fominichna Paleolog
	Sons: Ivan, Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry, Semyon, Andrey daughters: Elena, Feodosia, Elena and Evdokia

Childhood and youth

Foreign policy

"Gathering the Lands"

Annexation of Novgorod

Union with the Crimean Khanate

Trips to Perm and Yugra

Domestic politics

Introduction to the Law Code

Architecture

Literature

Church politics

First conflicts

Struggle of heirs

The death of the Grand Duke

Character and appearance

Board results

Ivan III Vasilievich(also known as Ivan the Great; January 22, 1440 - October 27, 1505) - the Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, the son of the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily II Vasilyevich the Dark.

During the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich, a significant part of the Russian lands around Moscow was united and it became the center of the all-Russian state. The final liberation of the country from the rule of the Horde khans was achieved; the Code of Laws was adopted - a set of laws of the state, and a number of reforms were carried out that laid the foundations for the local system of land tenure.

Childhood and youth

Ivan III was born on January 22, 1440 in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Vasilyevich. Ivan's mother was Maria Yaroslavna, the daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav Borovsky, the Russian princess of the Serpukhov branch of the house of Daniel (the Danilovich family) and a distant relative of his father. He was born on the day of memory of the Apostle Timothy, and in his honor received his "direct name" - Timothy. The next church holiday was the day of the transfer of the relics of St. John Chrysostom, in honor of which the prince received the name by which he is best known.

Reliable data on the early childhood of Ivan III has not been preserved; most likely, he was brought up at the court of his father. However, further events dramatically changed the fate of the heir to the throne: on July 7, 1445, near Suzdal, the army of Grand Duke Vasily II suffered a crushing defeat from the army under the command of the Tatar princes Mamutyak and Yakub (sons of Khan Ulu-Mohammed). The wounded Grand Duke was captured, and power in the state temporarily passed to the eldest in the family of the descendants of Ivan Kalita - Prince Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka. The capture of the prince and the expectation of the Tatar invasion led to the growth of confusion in the principality; The situation was exacerbated by a fire in Moscow.

In autumn, the Grand Duke returned from captivity. Moscow had to pay a ransom for its prince - about several tens of thousands of rubles. Under these conditions, a conspiracy matured among the supporters of Dmitry Shemyaka, and when in February 1446 Vasily II went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery with his children, a rebellion began in Moscow. The Grand Duke was captured, transported to Moscow, and on the night of February 13-14, blinded by order of Dmitry Shemyaka (which earned him the nickname "Dark"). According to Novgorod sources, the Grand Duke was accused of "bringing the Tatars to the Russian land" and giving them Moscow lands "for feeding".

The six-year-old prince Ivan did not fall into the hands of Shemyaka: the children of Vasily, together with the faithful boyars, managed to escape to Murom, which was under the rule of a supporter of the Grand Duke. After some time, Ryazan Bishop Jonah arrived in Murom, announcing the consent of Dmitry Shemyaka to allocate an inheritance to the deposed Vasily; relying on his promise, Basil's supporters agreed to hand over the children to the new authorities. On May 6, 1446, Prince Ivan arrived in Moscow. However, Shemyaka did not keep his word: three days later, Vasily's children were sent to Uglich to their father, to imprisonment.

After several months, Shemyaka nevertheless decided to grant the former Grand Duke an inheritance - Vologda. Vasily's children followed him. But the deposed prince was not at all going to admit his defeat, and left for Tver to ask for help from the Grand Duke of Tver Boris. The formalization of this union was the engagement of the six-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich with the daughter of the Tver prince Maria Borisovna. Soon Vasily's troops occupied Moscow. The power of Dmitry Shemyaka fell, he himself fled, Vasily II reasserted himself on the grand prince's throne. However, Shemyaka, who had entrenched himself in the northern lands (the recently taken city of Ustyug became his base), was not at all going to surrender, and the internecine war continued.

This period (approximately the end of 1448 - the middle of 1449) is the first mention of the heir to the throne, Ivan, as the "Grand Duke". In 1452, he was already sent as a nominal head of the army on a campaign against the Ustyug fortress of Kokshenga. The heir to the throne successfully fulfilled the assignment he received, cutting off Ustyug from the Novgorod lands (there was a danger of Novgorod entering the war on the side of Shemyaka) and brutally ruining the Kokshenga volost. Returning from a campaign with a victory, Prince Ivan married his bride, Maria Borisovna (June 4, 1452). Soon, Dmitry Shemyaka, who suffered a final defeat, was poisoned, and the bloody civil strife that had lasted a quarter of a century began to wane.

Accession to the throne

In subsequent years, Prince Ivan becomes co-ruler with his father. On the coins of the Muscovite state, the inscription “defend all Russia” appears, he himself, like his father, Vasily, bears the title “Grand Duke”. For two years, the prince, as a specific prince, rules Pereslavl-Zalessky, one of the key cities of the Moscow state. An important role in the upbringing of the heir to the throne is played by military campaigns, where he is a nominal commander. So, in 1455, Ivan, together with the experienced governor Fyodor Basenko, made a victorious campaign against the Tatars invading Russia. In August 1460, he led the Russian army, blocking the way to Moscow for the Tatars of Khan Akhmat, who invaded Russia and laid siege to Pereyaslavl-Ryazan.

In March 1462, Ivan's father, Grand Duke Vasily, fell seriously ill. Shortly before that, he made a will, according to which he divided the grand-ducal lands among his sons. As the eldest son, Ivan received not only the great reign, but also the main part of the territory of the state - 16 main cities (not counting Moscow, which he was supposed to own together with his brothers). The rest of Vasily's children were bequeathed only 12 cities; while most of the former capitals of the specific principalities (in particular, Galich - the former capital of Dmitry Shemyaka) went to the new Grand Duke. When Vasily died on March 27, 1462, Ivan became the new Grand Duke without any problems and fulfilled the will of his father, endowing the brothers with lands according to the will.

The Grand Duke, who ascended the throne, marked the beginning of his reign by issuing gold coins, on which the names of Grand Duke Ivan III and his son, heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, were minted. The issue of coins did not last long, and was discontinued after a short time.

Foreign policy

During the entire reign of Ivan III, the main goal of the country's foreign policy was the unification of northeastern Russia into a single Muscovite state. It should be noted that this policy proved to be extremely successful. At the beginning of Ivan's reign, the Principality of Moscow was surrounded by the lands of other Russian principalities; dying, he handed over to his son Vasily the country that united most of these principalities. Only Pskov, Ryazan, Volokolamsk and Novgorod-Seversky retained relative (not too wide) independence.

Beginning with the reign of Ivan III, relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania took on a special urgency. Moscow's desire to unite the Russian lands was clearly in conflict with Lithuanian interests, and constant border skirmishes and the transition of border princes and boyars between states did not contribute to reconciliation. Meanwhile, success in expanding the country also contributed to the growth of international relations with European countries.

In the reign of Ivan III, the final formalization of the independence of the Russian state takes place. The already fairly nominal dependence on the Horde ceases. The government of Ivan III strongly supports the opponents of the Horde among the Tatars; in particular, an alliance was concluded with the Crimean Khanate. The eastern direction of foreign policy also turned out to be successful: combining diplomacy and military force, Ivan III introduces the Kazan Khanate into the channel of Moscow politics.

"Gathering the Lands"

Having become the Grand Duke, Ivan III began his foreign policy activities with the confirmation of previous agreements with neighboring princes and a general strengthening of positions. So, agreements were concluded with the Tver and Belozersky principalities; Prince Vasily Ivanovich, married to the sister of Ivan III, was placed on the throne of the Ryazan principality.

Beginning in the 1470s, activities aimed at annexing the rest of the Russian principalities sharply intensified. The first is the Yaroslavl principality, which finally loses the remnants of independence in 1471, after the death of Prince Alexander Fedorovich. The heir of the last Yaroslavl prince, Prince Daniil Penko, entered the service of Ivan III and later received the rank of boyar. In 1472, Prince Yuri Vasilyevich Dmitrovsky, Ivan's brother, died. The Dmitrov principality passed to the Grand Duke; however, this was opposed by the rest of the brothers of the deceased Prince Yuri. The brewing conflict was hushed up not without the help of Vasily's widow, Maria Yaroslavna, who did everything to extinguish the quarrel between the children. As a result, the younger brothers also received part of Yuri's lands.

In 1474, the turn of the Rostov principality came. In fact, it was part of the Muscovite state before: the Grand Duke was a co-owner of Rostov. Now the princes of Rostov have sold "their half" of the principality to the treasury, thus finally turning into the service nobility. The Grand Duke transferred what he received to the inheritance of his mother.

Annexation of Novgorod

The situation with Novgorod developed differently, which is explained by the difference in the nature of the statehood of the specific principalities and the commercial and aristocratic Novgorod state. A clear threat to independence from the Grand Duke of Moscow led to the formation of an influential anti-Moscow party. It was headed by the energetic widow of the posadnik Martha Boretskaya and her sons. The clear superiority of Moscow forced the supporters of independence to search for allies, primarily in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, in the conditions of the religious struggle between Orthodoxy and Uniatism, the appeal to the Catholic Casimir, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, was perceived extremely ambiguously by the veche, and the Orthodox prince Mikhail Olelkovich, the son of the Kyiv prince and cousin of Ivan III, who arrived on November 8, 1470, was invited to defend the city. However, due to the death of the Novgorod archbishop Jonah, who invited Mikhail, and the ensuing aggravation of the internal political struggle, the prince did not stay in Novgorod land for long, and already on March 15, 1471 he left the city. The anti-Moscow party managed to win a major success in the internal political struggle: an embassy was sent to Lithuania, after the return of which a draft treaty was drawn up with Grand Duke Casimir. According to this agreement, Novgorod, while recognizing the power of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, nevertheless kept its state system intact; Lithuania also pledged to help in the fight against the Muscovite state. A clash with Ivan III became inevitable.

On June 6, 1471, a ten-thousandth detachment of Moscow troops under the command of Danila Kholmsky set out from the capital in the direction of Novgorod land, a week later the army of Obolensky's Striga set out on a campaign, and on June 20, 1471, Ivan III himself began the campaign from Moscow. The advance of Moscow troops through the lands of Novgorod was accompanied by robberies and violence, designed to intimidate the enemy.

Novgorod also did not sit idly by. A militia was formed from the townspeople, the command was taken by the posadniks Dmitry Boretsky and Vasily Kazimir. The number of this army reached forty thousand people, but its combat effectiveness, due to the haste of the formation of citizens not trained in military affairs, remained low. In July 1471, the Novgorod army advanced in the direction of Pskov, in order to prevent the Pskov army, allied to the Moscow prince, from joining the main forces of Novgorod's opponents. On the Shelon River, Novgorodians unexpectedly encountered Kholmsky's detachment. On July 14, a battle began between the opponents.

During the battle on Shelon, the Novgorod army was utterly defeated. The losses of the Novgorodians amounted to 12 thousand people, about two thousand people were captured; Dmitry Boretsky and three other boyars were executed. The city was under siege, among the Novgorodians themselves, the pro-Moscow party took over, which began negotiations with Ivan III. On August 11, 1471, a peace treaty was concluded, according to which Novgorod was obliged to pay an indemnity of 16,000 rubles, retained its state structure, but could not “surrender” under the rule of the Lithuanian Grand Duke; a significant part of the vast Dvina land was ceded to the Grand Duke of Moscow. One of the key issues in relations between Novgorod and Moscow was the question of the judiciary. In the autumn of 1475, the Grand Duke arrived in Novgorod, where he personally dealt with a number of cases of unrest; some figures of the anti-Moscow opposition were declared guilty. In fact, during this period, judicial dual power was taking shape in Novgorod: a number of complainants went directly to Moscow, where they presented their claims. It was this situation that led to the emergence of a pretext for a new war, which ended with the fall of Novgorod.

In the spring of 1477, a number of complainants from Novgorod gathered in Moscow. Among these people were two minor officials - Nazar from Podvoi and clerk Zakhary. Outlining their case, they called the Grand Duke “sovereign” instead of the traditional address “lord”, which suggested the equality of “lord of the great prince” and “lord of the great Novgorod”. Moscow immediately seized on this pretext; ambassadors were sent to Novgorod, demanding official recognition of the title of sovereign, the final transfer of the court into the hands of the grand duke, as well as the device in the city of the grand duke's residence. Veche, after listening to the ambassadors, refused to accept the ultimatum and began preparations for war.

On October 9, 1477, the Grand Duke's army set out on a campaign against Novgorod. It was joined by the troops of the allies - Tver and Pskov. The beginning of the siege of the city revealed deep divisions among the defenders: supporters of Moscow insisted on peace negotiations with the Grand Duke. One of the supporters of the conclusion of peace was the Archbishop of Novgorod Theophilus, which gave the opponents of the war a certain advantage, expressed in sending an embassy to the Grand Duke with the archbishop at the head. But an attempt to negotiate on the same terms was not successful: on behalf of the Grand Duke, the ambassadors were given strict demands (“I’ll ring the bell in our fatherland in Novgorod, don’t be a posadnik, but keep our state”), which actually meant the end of Novgorod independence. Such a clearly expressed ultimatum led to new unrest in the city; from behind the city walls, high-ranking boyars began to move to the headquarters of Ivan III, including the military leader of the Novgorodians, Prince V. Grebenka-Shuisky. As a result, it was decided to give in to Moscow's demands, and on January 15, 1478, Novgorod surrendered, the veche orders were abolished, and the veche bell and the city archive were sent to Moscow.

"Standing on the Ugra" and liberation from the power of the Horde

Relations with the Horde, already tense, by the beginning of the 1470s, finally deteriorated. The Horde continued to disintegrate; on the territory of the former Golden Horde, in addition to the immediate successor (“Great Horde”), the Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimean, Nogai and Siberian Hordes were also formed. In 1472, Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat began a campaign against Russia. At Tarusa, the Tatars met a large Russian army. All attempts of the Horde to cross the Oka were repulsed. The Horde army managed to burn the city of Aleksin, but the campaign as a whole ended in failure. Soon (in the same year 1472 or in 1476) Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, which would inevitably lead to a new clash. However, until 1480, Akhmat was busy fighting the Crimean Khanate.

According to the "Kazan History" (a literary monument written no earlier than 1564), the immediate reason for the start of the war was the execution of the Horde embassy sent by Akhmat to Ivan III for tribute. According to this news, the Grand Duke, refusing to pay money to the Khan, took "the basma of his face" and trampled it; after that, all the Horde ambassadors, except for one, were executed. However, the messages of the Kazan History, which contain, among other things, a number of factual errors, are frankly legendary in nature and, as a rule, are not taken seriously by modern historians.

One way or another, in the summer of 1480, Khan Akhmat moved to Russia. The situation for the Muscovite state was complicated by the deterioration of relations with its Western neighbors. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir entered into an alliance with Akhmat and could attack at any moment, and the Lithuanian army could overcome the distance from Vyazma, which belonged to Lithuania, to Moscow in a few days. The troops of the Livonian Order attacked Pskov. Another blow for the Grand Duke Ivan was the rebellion of his brothers: the appanage princes Boris and Andrei Bolshoi, dissatisfied with the oppression of the Grand Duke (for example, in violation of customs, after the death of his brother Yuri, Ivan III took all his inheritance for himself, did not share with the brothers the rich booty taken in Novgorod, and also violated the ancient right of departure of the nobles, ordering to seize Prince Obolensky, who had left the Grand Duke for his brother Boris), together with his entire court and squads, drove off to the Lithuanian border and entered into negotiations with Kazimir. And although as a result of active negotiations with the brothers, as a result of bidding and promises, Ivan III managed to prevent their action against him, the threat of a repeat of the civil war did not leave the Russian state.

Finding out that Khan Akhmat was moving towards the Russian border, Ivan III, having gathered troops, also headed south, to the Oka River. The troops of the Grand Duke of Tver also came to the aid of the Grand Duke's army. For two months, the army, ready for battle, was waiting for the enemy, but Khan Akhmat, also ready for battle, did not start offensive operations. Finally, in September 1480, Khan Akhmat crossed the Oka south of Kaluga and headed through Lithuanian territory to the Ugra River - the border between Moscow and Lithuanian possessions.

On September 30, Ivan III left the troops and left for Moscow, instructing the troops under the formal command of the heir, Ivan the Young, who also included his uncle, specific prince Andrei Vasilyevich Menshoi, to move in the direction of the Ugra River. At the same time, the prince ordered to burn Kashira. Sources mention the hesitation of the Grand Duke; in one of the chronicles it is even noted that Ivan panicked: “the horror was found on n, and you want to run away from the shore, and your Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her were sent to Beloozero.”

Subsequent events are interpreted in the sources ambiguously. The author of an independent Moscow code of the 1480s writes that the appearance of the Grand Duke in Moscow made a painful impression on the townspeople, among whom a murmur arose: you sell nonsense (you exact a lot of what you shouldn’t). And now, having angered the tsar himself, without paying him an exit, you betray us to the tsar and the Tatars. After that, the annals report that Bishop Vassian of Rostov, who met the prince together with the metropolitan, directly accused him of cowardice; after that, Ivan, fearing for his life, left for Krasnoye Sel'tso, north of the capital. Grand Duchess Sophia, with her entourage and the sovereign's treasury, was sent to a safe place, to Beloozero, to the court of the appanage prince Mikhail Vereisky. The Grand Duke's mother refused to leave Moscow. According to this chronicle, the Grand Duke repeatedly tried to summon his son Ivan the Young from his army, sending him letters, which he ignored; then Ivan ordered Prince Kholmsky to bring his son to him by force. Kholmsky did not comply with this order, trying to persuade the prince, to which he, according to the message of this chronicle, replied: “It is fitting for me to die here, and not to go to my father.” Also, as one of the measures to prepare for the invasion of the Tatars, the Grand Duke ordered the Moscow Posad to be burned.

As R. G. Skrynnikov notes, the story of this chronicle is in clear contradiction with a number of other sources. So, in particular, the image of the Rostov Bishop Vassian as the worst accuser of the Grand Duke does not find confirmation; judging by the "Message" and the facts of his biography, Vassian was completely loyal to the Grand Duke. The researcher connects the creation of this vault with the environment of the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young and the dynastic struggle in the grand-ducal family. This, in his opinion, explains both the condemnation of Sophia's actions and the praise addressed to the heir - as opposed to the indecisive (turned into cowardly under the chronicler's pen) actions of the Grand Duke.

At the same time, the very fact of Ivan III's departure to Moscow is recorded in almost all sources; the difference in chronicle stories refers only to the duration of this trip. The grand ducal chroniclers reduced this trip to only three days (September 30 - October 3, 1480). The fact of fluctuations in the grand ducal environment is also obvious; the grand-ducal code of the first half of the 1490s mentions a certain Mamon as an opponent of the resistance to the Tatars; hostile to Ivan III, an independent code of the 1480s, in addition to G.V. Mamon, also mentions I.V. Oshchera, and the Rostov chronicle - V.B. Tuchko. Meanwhile, in Moscow, the Grand Duke held a meeting with his boyars, and ordered about the preparation of the capital for a possible siege. Through the mediation of the mother, active negotiations were held with the rebellious brothers, which ended in the restoration of relations. On October 3, the Grand Duke left Moscow to join the troops, however, before reaching them, he settled in the town of Kremenets, 60 versts from the mouth of the Ugra, where he waited for the troops of the brothers who stopped the rebellion, Andrei Bolshoi and Boris Volotsky, to approach. Meanwhile, fierce clashes began on the Ugra. The attempts of the Horde to cross the river were successfully repulsed by Russian troops. Soon Ivan III sent the ambassador Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with rich gifts, asking him to retreat away and not to ruin the "ulus". Khan demanded the personal presence of the prince, but he refused to go to him; the prince also refused the khan's offer to send him his son, brother, or Nikifor Basenkov, an ambassador known for his generosity (who had previously often traveled to the Horde).

On October 26, 1480, the Ugra River froze over. The Russian army, gathered together, withdrew to the city of Kremenets, then to Borovsk. On November 11, Khan Akhmat gave the order to retreat. A small Tatar detachment managed to destroy a number of Russian volosts near Aleksin, but after Russian troops were sent in its direction, they also retreated to the steppe. Akhmat's refusal to pursue the Russian troops is explained by the unpreparedness of the khan's army for waging war in the conditions of a harsh winter - as the chronicle says, "because the Tatars were naked and barefoot, they were skinned." In addition, it became quite clear that King Casimir was not going to fulfill his allied obligations towards Akhmat. In addition to repulsing the attack of the Crimean troops allied to Ivan III, Lithuania was busy solving internal problems. "Standing on the Ugra" ended with the actual victory of the Russian state, which received the desired independence.

Confrontation with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Border War of 1487-1494

Significant changes took place during the reign of Ivan III in the relations of the Muscovite state with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Initially friendly (the Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir was even appointed, according to the will of Vasily II, the guardian of the children of the Grand Duke of Moscow), they gradually deteriorated. Moscow's desire to unite the Russian lands constantly ran into opposition from Lithuania. The attempt of the Novgorodians to pass under the rule of Casimir did not contribute to the friendship of the two states, and the union of Lithuania and the Horde in 1480, during the "standing on the Ugra", heated relations to the limit. It was to this time that the formation of the union of the Russian state and the Crimean Khanate dates back.

Beginning in the 1480s, the aggravation of the situation brought the matter to border skirmishes. In 1481, a conspiracy of princes Ivan Yuryevich Golshansky, Mikhail Olelkovich and Fedor Ivanovich Belsky, who wanted to transfer their possessions to the Grand Duke of Moscow, was uncovered in Lithuania; Ivan Golshansky and Mikhail Olelkovich were executed, Prince Belsky managed to escape to Moscow, where he received control of a number of regions on the Lithuanian border. In 1482, Prince I. Glinsky fled to Moscow. In the same year, the Lithuanian ambassador B. A. Sakovich demanded that the Moscow prince recognize the rights of Lithuania to Rzhev and Velikiye Luki and their volosts.

In the context of the confrontation with Lithuania, the alliance with the Crimea acquired particular importance. Following the agreements reached, in the fall of 1482, the Crimean Khan made a devastating raid on Lithuanian Ukraine. As the Nikon Chronicle reported, “September 1, according to the word of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan Vasilyevich of All Russia, Mengli-Girey, the king of the Crimean Perekop Horde, came with all his might to the queen power and the city of Kyiv, taking and burning with fire, and seized the governor of the Kyiv pan Ivashka Khotkovich , and it is full of countless taking; and the land of Kyiv is empty." According to the Pskov Chronicle, 11 cities fell as a result of the campaign, the entire district was devastated. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was seriously weakened.

Border disputes between the two states did not subside throughout the 1480s. A number of volosts, which were originally in joint Moscow-Lithuanian (or Novgorod-Lithuanian) possession, were actually occupied by the troops of Ivan III (this primarily concerns Rzheva, Toropets and Velikiye Luki). From time to time, skirmishes arose between the Vyazma princes who served Kazimir and the Russian specific princes, as well as between the Mezetsky princes (supporters of Lithuania) and the princes Odoevsky and Vorotynsky who had gone over to the side of Moscow. In the spring of 1489, things came to open armed clashes between the Lithuanian and Russian troops, and in December 1489, a number of border princes went over to the side of Ivan III. Protests and a mutual exchange of embassies produced no result, and the undeclared war continued.

On June 7, 1492, Casimir, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, died. After him, his son, Alexander, was elected to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Another son of Casimir, Jan Olbracht, became king of Poland. The inevitable confusion associated with the change of the Lithuanian Grand Duke weakened the principality, which Ivan III did not fail to take advantage of. In August 1492 troops were sent against Lithuania. They were headed by Prince Fyodor Telepnya Obolensky. The cities of Mtsensk, Lubutsk, Mosalsk, Serpeisk, Khlepen, Rogachev, Odoev, Kozelsk, Przemysl and Serensk were taken. A number of local princes went over to the side of Moscow, which strengthened the positions of the Russian troops. Such rapid successes of the troops of Ivan III forced the new Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander to begin peace negotiations. One of the means of settling the conflict proposed by the Lithuanians was Alexander's marriage to Ivan's daughter; the Grand Duke of Moscow reacted to this proposal with interest, but demanded that all disputed issues be resolved first, which led to the failure of the negotiations.

At the end of 1492, the Lithuanian army entered the theater of military operations with Prince Semyon Ivanovich Mozhaisky. At the beginning of 1493, the Lithuanians managed to briefly capture the cities of Serpeisk and Mezetsk, but during the retaliatory counterattack of the Moscow troops, they were repulsed; in addition, the Moscow army managed to take Vyazma and a number of other cities. In June-July 1493, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander sent an embassy with a proposal to make peace. As a result of lengthy negotiations, on February 5, 1494, a peace treaty was finally concluded. According to him, most of the lands conquered by Russian troops were part of the Russian state. Among other cities, the strategically important fortress of Vyazma, located not far from Moscow, became Russian. The cities of Lubutsk, Mezetsk and Mtsensk, and some others, were returned to the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Also, the consent of the Moscow sovereign was obtained for the marriage of his daughter Elena with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander.

Union with the Crimean Khanate

Diplomatic relations between the Moscow State and the Crimean Khanate remained friendly during the reign of Ivan III. The first exchange of letters between countries took place in 1462, and in 1472 an agreement on mutual friendship was concluded. In 1474, a union treaty was concluded between Khan Mengli-Girey and Ivan III, which, however, remained on paper, since the Crimean Khan soon had no time for joint actions: during the war with the Ottoman Empire, Crimea lost its independence, and Mengli- Girey was captured, and only in 1478 he again ascended the throne (now as a Turkish vassal). However, in 1480, the union treaty between Moscow and the Crimea was concluded again, while the treaty directly named the enemies against whom the parties had to act together - Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and the Grand Duke of Lithuania. In the same year, the Crimeans made a trip to Podolia, which did not allow King Casimir to help Akhmat during his “standing on the Ugra”.

In March 1482, in connection with the deteriorating relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Moscow embassy again went to Khan Mengli Giray. In the autumn of 1482, the troops of the Crimean Khanate made a devastating raid on Lithuanian Ukraine. Among other cities, Kyiv was taken, all southern Russia was devastated. From his booty, the khan sent Ivan a chalice and diskos from the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, robbed by the Crimeans. The devastation of the lands seriously affected the combat capability of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In subsequent years, the Russian-Crimean alliance showed its effectiveness. In 1485, Russian troops already made a trip to the Horde lands at the request of the Crimean Khanate, which was attacked by the Horde. In 1491, in connection with new Crimean-Horde skirmishes, these campaigns were repeated again. Russian support played an important role in the victory of the Crimean troops over the Great Horde. An attempt by Lithuania in 1492 to lure the Crimea to its side failed: from 1492, Mengli Giray began annual campaigns on the lands belonging to Lithuania and Poland. During the Russo-Lithuanian War of 1500-1503, Crimea remained an ally of Russia. In 1500, Mengli Giray twice devastated the lands of southern Russia belonging to Lithuania, reaching Brest. The actions of the allied Lithuania of the Great Horde were again neutralized by the actions of both the Crimean and Russian troops. In 1502, having finally defeated the Khan of the Great Horde, the Crimean Khan made a new raid, devastating part of the Right-Bank Ukraine and Poland. However, after the end of the war, which was successful for the Moscow state, there was a deterioration in relations. Firstly, the common enemy disappeared - the Great Horde, against which the Russian-Crimean alliance was directed to a large extent. Secondly, now Russia is becoming a direct neighbor of the Crimean Khanate, which means that now the Crimean raids could be made not only on Lithuanian, but also on Russian territory. And finally, thirdly, Russian-Crimean relations deteriorated due to the Kazan problem; the fact is that Khan Mengli-Girey did not approve of the imprisonment of the deposed Kazan Khan Abdul-Latif in Vologda. However, during the reign of Ivan III, the Crimean Khanate remained an ally of the Muscovite state, waging joint wars against common enemies - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Great Horde, and only after the death of the Grand Duke did the Crimeans begin constant raids on the lands belonging to the Russian state.

Relations with the Kazan Khanate

Relations with the Kazan Khanate remained an extremely important area of ​​Russia's foreign policy. The first years of the reign of Ivan III, they remained peaceful. After the death of the active Khan Mahmud, his son Khalil ascended the throne, and soon the deceased Khalil, in turn, was succeeded in 1467 by another son of Mahmud, Ibrahim. However, the brother of Khan Mahmud was still alive - the elderly Kasim, who ruled the Kasimov Khanate, which depended on Moscow; a group of conspirators led by Prince Abdul-Mumin tried to invite him to the Kazan throne. These intentions were supported by Ivan III, and in September 1467, the soldiers of the Kasimov Khan, together with the Moscow troops under the command of I.V. Striga-Obolensky, launched an attack on Kazan. However, the campaign was unsuccessful: having met a strong army of Ibrahim, the Moscow troops did not dare to cross the Volga, and retreated. In the winter of the same year, Kazan detachments made a trip to the Russian border lands, devastating the environs of Galich Mersky. In response, Russian troops launched a punitive raid on the Cheremis lands that were part of the Kazan Khanate. In 1468, border skirmishes continued; a major success of Kazan was the capture of the capital of the Vyatka land - Khlynov.

The spring of 1469 was marked by a new campaign of Moscow troops against Kazan. In May, Russian troops began to lay siege to the city. Nevertheless, the active actions of the Kazanians made it possible to first stop the offensive of the two Moscow armies, and then to defeat them one by one; Russian troops were forced to retreat. In August 1469, having received replenishment, the troops of the Grand Duke began a new campaign against Kazan, however, due to the deterioration of relations with Lithuania and the Horde, Ivan III agreed to make peace with Khan Ibrahim; according to its terms, Kazanians handed over all previously captured prisoners. For eight years after that, relations between the parties remained peaceful. However, in early 1478, relations again heated up. The reason for this time was the campaign of Kazan against Khlynov. Russian troops marched on Kazan, but did not achieve any significant results, and a new peace treaty was concluded on the same terms as in 1469.

Khan Ibrahim died in 1479. The new ruler of Kazan was Ilham (Alegam), the son of Ibragim, a protege of a party oriented towards the East (primarily the Nogai Horde). The candidate from the pro-Russian party, another son of Ibrahim, 10-year-old Tsarevich Mohammed-Emin, was sent to the Muscovite state. This gave Russia a pretext for interfering in Kazan affairs. In 1482, Ivan III began preparations for a new campaign; an army was assembled, which also included artillery under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti, but the active diplomatic opposition of the Kazanians and their willingness to make concessions made it possible to maintain peace. In 1484, the Moscow army, approaching Kazan, contributed to the overthrow of Khan Ilham. The protege of the pro-Moscow party, 16-year-old Mohammed-Emin, ascended the throne. In late 1485 - early 1486, Ilkham again ascended the Kazan throne (also not without the support of Moscow), and soon the Russian troops made another campaign against Kazan. On July 9, 1487, the city surrendered. Prominent figures of the anti-Moscow party were executed, Muhammad-Emin was again placed on the throne, and Khan Ilham and his family were sent to prison in Russia. As a result of this victory, Ivan III took the title of "Prince of Bulgaria"; Russia's influence on the Kazan Khanate increased significantly.

The next aggravation of relations occurred in the mid-1490s. Among the Kazan nobility, dissatisfied with the policy of Khan Mohammed-Emin, an opposition was formed with the princes Kel-Akhmet (Kalimet), Urak, Sadyr and Agish at the head. She invited the Siberian prince Mamuk to the throne, who in the middle of 1495 arrived in Kazan with an army. Mohammed-Emin and his family fled to Russia. However, after some time, Mamuk came into conflict with some princes who invited him. While Mamuk was on the campaign, a coup took place in the city under the leadership of Prince Kel-Ahmet. Abdul-Latif, the brother of Mohammed-Emin, who lived in the Russian state, was invited to the throne, who became the next Khan of Kazan. An attempt by Kazan emigrants led by Prince Urak in 1499 to place Agalak, the brother of the deposed Khan Mamuk, on the throne was unsuccessful. With the help of Russian troops, Abdul-Latif managed to repulse the attack.

In 1502, Abdul-Latif, who began to pursue an independent policy, was deposed with the participation of the Russian embassy and Prince Kel-Ahmet. Muhammad-Amin was again (for the third time) elevated to the Kazan throne. But now he began to pursue a much more independent policy aimed at ending dependence on Moscow. The leader of the pro-Russian party, Prince Kel-Ahmet, was arrested; opponents of the influence of the Russian state came to power. On June 24, 1505, on the day of the fair, a pogrom took place in Kazan; Russian subjects who were in the city were killed or enslaved, and their property was plundered. The war has begun. However, on October 27, 1505, Ivan III died, and Ivan's heir, Vasily III, had to lead it.

Northwest direction: wars with Livonia and Sweden

The annexation of Novgorod shifted the borders of the Muscovite state to the northwest, as a result of which Livonia became a direct neighbor in this direction. The continued deterioration of Pskov-Livonian relations eventually resulted in an open clash, and in August 1480 the Livonians laid siege to Pskov - however, to no avail. In February of the next year, 1481, the initiative passed to the Russian troops: the grand-ducal forces sent to help the Pskovites made a campaign in the Livonian lands that was crowned with a number of victories. On September 1, 1481, the parties signed a truce for a period of 10 years. In the next few years, relations with Livonia, primarily trade, developed quite peacefully. Nevertheless, the government of Ivan III took a number of measures to strengthen the defensive structures of the north-west of the country. The most significant event of this plan was the construction in 1492 of the Ivangorod stone fortress on the Narova River, opposite the Livonian Narva.

In addition to Livonia, Sweden was another rival of Russia in the northwestern direction. According to the Orekhovets Treaty of 1323, the Novgorodians ceded a number of territories to the Swedes; now, according to Ivan III, the moment has come to return them. On November 8, 1493, Russia concluded an allied treaty with the Danish king Hans (Johann), a rival of the Swedish ruler Sten Sture. Open conflict broke out in 1495; in August, the Russian army began the siege of Vyborg. However, this siege was unsuccessful, Vyborg withstood, and the grand ducal troops were forced to return home. In the winter and spring of 1496, Russian troops made a number of raids on the territory of Swedish Finland. In August 1496, the Swedes struck back: an army on 70 ships, descending near Narova, landed near Ivangorod. The viceroy of the Grand Duke, Prince Yuri Babich, fled, and on August 26 the Swedes took the fortress by storm and burned it down. however, after some time, the Swedish troops left Ivangorod, and it was restored and even expanded in a short time. In March 1497, a truce was concluded in Novgorod for 6 years, which ended the Russian-Swedish war.

Meanwhile, relations with Livonia deteriorated significantly. Given the inevitability of a new Russian-Lithuanian war, in 1500 an embassy was sent to the Grand Master of the Livonian Order Plettenberg from the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander, with a proposal for an alliance. Mindful of Lithuania's previous attempts to subdue the Teutonic Order, Plettenberg did not give his consent immediately, but only in 1501, when the issue of war with Russia was finally resolved. The treaty, signed at Wenden on June 21, 1501, completed the formalization of the union.

The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the arrest in Dorpat of about 150 Russian merchants. In August, both sides sent significant military forces against each other, and on August 27, 1501, Russian and Livonian troops met in a battle on the Seritsa River (10 km from Izborsk). The battle ended with the victory of the Livonians; they failed to take Izborsk, but on September 7 the Pskov fortress Ostrov fell. In October, Russian troops (including units of serving Tatars) made a retaliatory raid into Livonia.

In the campaign of 1502, the initiative was on the side of the Livonians. It began with an invasion from Narva; in March, Moscow governor Ivan Loban-Kolychev died near Ivangorod; Livonian troops struck in the direction of Pskov, trying to take the Red Town. In September, Plettenberg's troops struck again, again besieging Izborsk and Pskov. In the battle near Lake Smolina, the Livonians managed to defeat the Russian army, but they could not achieve greater success, and peace negotiations were held the following year. On April 2, 1503, the Livonian Order and the Russian state signed a truce for a period of six years, which restored relations on the terms of the status quo.

War with Lithuania 1500-1503

Despite the settlement of border disputes that led to the undeclared war of 1487-1494, relations with Lithuania continued to be tense. The border between the states continued to be very indistinct, which in the future was fraught with a new aggravation of relations. A religious problem has been added to the traditional border disputes. In May 1499, Moscow received information from the governor of Vyazma about the oppression of Orthodoxy in Smolensk. In addition, the Grand Duke learned about an attempt to impose the Catholic faith on his daughter Elena, wife of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander. All this did not contribute to the preservation of peace between countries.

At the end of 1499-beginning of 1500, Prince S.I. Belsky moved to the Moscow state with his estates; the cities of Serpeisk and Mtsensk also went over to the side of Moscow. In April 1500, the princes Semyon Ivanovich Starodubsky and Vasily Ivanovich Shemyachich Novgorod-Seversky came to the service of Ivan III, and an embassy was sent to Lithuania with a declaration of war. Fighting broke out along the entire border. As a result of the first blow of the Russian troops, Bryansk was taken, the cities of Radogoshch, Gomel, Novgorod-Seversky surrendered, Dorogobuzh fell; the princes Trubetskoy and Mosalsky passed to the service of Ivan III. The main efforts of the Moscow troops were concentrated on the Smolensk direction, where the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander sent an army under the command of the Grand Lithuanian Hetman Konstantin Ostrozhsky. Having received the news that Moscow troops were standing on the Vedrosha River, the hetman went there as well. On July 14, 1500, during the battle of Vedrosha, the Lithuanian troops suffered a crushing defeat; more than 8,000 Lithuanian soldiers died; Hetman Ostrozhsky was taken prisoner. On August 6, 1500, Putivl fell under the blow of Russian troops, and on August 9, Pskov troops allied with Ivan III took Toropets. The defeat at Vedrosha dealt a severe blow to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The situation was aggravated by the raids of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray, who was allied with Moscow.

The campaign of 1501 did not bring decisive success to either side. The fighting between Moscow and Lithuanian troops was limited to small skirmishes; In the fall of 1501, Moscow troops conducted an unsuccessful siege of Mstislavl. A major success of Lithuanian diplomacy was the neutralization of the Crimean threat with the help of the Great Horde. Another factor that acted against the Muscovite state was a serious deterioration in relations with Livonia, which led to a full-scale war in August 1501. In addition, after the death of the Polish king Jan Olbracht (June 17, 1501), the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander also became the Polish king.

In the spring of 1502, the fighting was inactive. The situation changed in June, after the Crimean Khan finally managed to defeat the Khan of the Great Horde, Shikh-Ahmed, which made it possible to make a new devastating raid already in August. The Moscow troops also struck their blow: on July 14, 1502, the army under the command of Dmitry Zhilka, the son of Ivan III, set out near Smolensk. However, a number of miscalculations (lack of artillery and low discipline of the assembled troops), as well as the stubborn defense of the defenders, did not allow them to take the city. In addition, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander managed to form a mercenary army, which also marched in the direction of Smolensk. As a result, on October 23, 1502, the Russian army lifted the siege of Smolensk and retreated.

At the beginning of 1503, peace negotiations began between the states. However, both the Lithuanian and Moscow ambassadors put forward deliberately unacceptable peace conditions; as a result of the compromise, it was decided to sign not a peace treaty, but a truce for a period of 6 years. According to it, in the possession of the Russian state remained (formally - for the period of the truce) 19 cities with volosts, which before the war accounted for about a third of the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; so, in particular, the Russian state included: Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Starodub, Gomel, Bryansk, Toropets, Mtsensk, Dorogobuzh. The truce, known as the Annunciation (on the feast of the Annunciation), was signed on March 25, 1503.

Continuation of the "gathering of lands" and "Tver capture"

After the annexation of Novgorod, the policy of "gathering lands" was continued. At the same time, the actions of the Grand Duke were more active. In 1481, after the death of the childless brother of Ivan III, the specific Vologda prince Andrei the Less, all of his allotment passed to the Grand Duke. On April 4, 1482, the Vereisk prince Mikhail Andreevich concluded an agreement with Ivan, according to which, after his death, Beloozero passed to the Grand Duke, which clearly violated the rights of Mikhail's heir, his son Vasily. After the flight of Vasily Mikhailovich to Lithuania, on December 12, 1483, Mikhail concluded a new agreement with Ivan III, according to which, after the death of the Vereisk prince, the entire inheritance of Mikhail Andreevich departed to the Grand Duke (Prince Mikhail died on April 9, 1486). On June 4, 1485, after the death of the mother of the Grand Duke, Princess Maria (in monasticism Martha), her inheritance, including half of Rostov, became part of the Grand Duke's possessions.

Relations with Tver remained a serious problem. Sandwiched between Moscow and Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Tver was going through hard times. It also included specific principalities; from the 60s of the XV century, the transition of the Tver nobility to the Moscow service began. Sources also preserved references to the spread of various heresies in Tver. The relations between the Muscovites-patrimonials, who owned land in the Tver Principality, and the Tverites did not improve relations either. In 1483, the hostility turned into an armed confrontation. The formal reason for it was an attempt by Prince Mikhail Borisovich of Tver to strengthen his ties with Lithuania through a dynastic marriage and a union treaty. Moscow reacted to this by breaking off relations and sending troops to the Tver lands; Prince of Tver admitted his defeat and in October-December 1484 concluded a peace treaty with Ivan III. According to him, Mikhail recognized himself as the "little brother" of the Grand Duke of Moscow, which in the political terminology of that time meant the actual transformation of Tver into a specific principality; the treaty of alliance with Lithuania, of course, was broken.

In 1485, using as an excuse the capture of a messenger from Mikhail of Tver to the Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir, Moscow again severed relations with the Tver principality and began hostilities. In September 1485, Russian troops began the siege of Tver. A significant part of the Tver boyars and specific princes transferred to the Moscow service, and Prince Mikhail Borisovich himself, having seized the treasury, fled to Lithuania. On September 15, 1485, Ivan III, together with the heir to the throne, Prince Ivan the Young, entered Tver. The Tver principality was transferred to the heir to the throne; in addition, a Moscow governor was appointed here.

In 1486, Ivan III concluded new agreements with his brothers, appanage princes - Boris and Andrei. In addition to recognizing the Grand Duke as the "eldest" brother, the new treaties also recognized him as "master", and used the title "Grand Duke of All Russia". Nevertheless, the position of the brothers of the Grand Duke remained extremely precarious. In 1488, Prince Andrei was informed that the Grand Duke was ready to arrest him. An attempt to explain himself led to the fact that Ivan III swore "by God and the earth and the mighty God, the creator of all creatures" that he was not going to persecute his brother. As noted by R. G. Skrynnikov and A. A. Zimin, the form of this oath was very unusual for an Orthodox sovereign.

In 1491, a denouement came in the relationship between Ivan and Andrei the Great. On September 20, the Uglich prince was arrested and thrown into prison; his children, princes Ivan and Dmitry, also went to prison. Two years later, Prince Andrei Vasilyevich Bolshoy died, and four years later, the Grand Duke, having gathered the highest clergy, publicly repented that “he had killed him with his sin, carelessness.” Nevertheless, Ivan's repentance did not change anything in the fate of Andrey's children: the Grand Duke's nephews spent the rest of their lives in captivity.

During the arrest of Andrei the Great, another brother of Prince Ivan, Boris, Prince Volotsky, also turned out to be under suspicion. However, he managed to justify himself before the Grand Duke and remain at large. After his death in 1494, the principality was divided among the children of Boris: Ivan Borisovich received Ruza, and Fedor - Volokolamsk; in 1503, Prince Ivan Borisovich died childless, leaving possessions to Ivan III.

A serious struggle between supporters of independence and adherents of Moscow unfolded in the early 1480s in Vyatka, which retained significant autonomy. Initially, success accompanied the anti-Moscow party; in 1485, the Vyatchans refused to participate in the campaign against Kazan. The return campaign of the Moscow troops was not crowned with success, moreover, the Moscow governor was expelled from Vyatka; the most prominent supporters of the grand princely power were forced to flee. Only in 1489 did the Moscow troops under the command of Daniil Schenya achieve the capitulation of the city and finally annexed Vyatka to the Russian state.

Practically lost its independence and the Ryazan principality. After the death of Prince Vasily in 1483, his son, Ivan Vasilyevich, ascended the Ryazan throne. Another son of Vasily, Fedor, received Perevitesk (he died in 1503 childless, leaving possessions to Ivan III). The widow of Vasily, Anna, the sister of Ivan III, became the actual ruler of the principality. In 1500, the Ryazan prince Ivan Vasilyevich died; the guardian of the young prince Ivan Ivanovich was first his grandmother Anna, and after her death in 1501, his mother Agrafena. In 1520, with the capture by Muscovites of the Ryazan prince Ivan Ivanovich, in fact, the Ryazan principality finally turns into a specific principality within the Russian state.

Relations with the Pskov land, which at the end of the reign of Ivan III remained practically the only Russian principality independent of Moscow, also took place in line with the gradual restriction of statehood. Thus, the people of Pskov are losing their last opportunity to influence the choice of princes-grand-princely governors. In 1483-1486, a conflict took place in the city between, on the one hand, the Pskov posadniks and "black people", and, on the other hand, the Grand Duke's governor Prince Yaroslav Obolensky and the peasants ("smerds"). In this conflict, Ivan III supported his governor; in the end, the Pskov elite capitulated, having fulfilled the requirements of the Grand Duke.

The next conflict between the Grand Duke and Pskov broke out at the beginning of 1499. The fact is that Ivan III decided to welcome his son, Vasily Ivanovich, Novgorod and Pskov reign. The people of Pskov regarded the decision of the Grand Duke as a violation of "old times"; the attempts of the posadniks during the negotiations in Moscow to change the situation only led to their arrest. Only by September of the same year, after Ivan's promise to observe the "old days", the conflict was resolved.

However, despite these disagreements, Pskov remained a true ally of Moscow. Pskov aid played an important role in the campaign against Novgorod in 1477-1478; Pskovians made a significant contribution to the victory of Russian troops over the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In turn, the Moscow regiments took a feasible part in repelling the blows of the Livonians and the Swedes.

Trips to Perm and Yugra

While developing Northern Pomorye, the Muscovite state, on the one hand, faced opposition from Novgorod, which considered these lands to be its own, and, on the other hand, with the opportunity to start moving north and northeast, beyond the Ural Mountains, to the Ob River, in the lower reaches of which Ugra, known to Novgorodians, was located. In 1465, on the orders of Ivan III, the inhabitants of Ustyug made a campaign against Ugra under the leadership of the grand-ducal governor Timofey (Vasily) Skryaba. The campaign was quite successful: having subjugated a number of small Ugra princes, the army returned with a victory. In 1467, not a very successful campaign against the independent Voguli (Mansi) was carried out by the Vyatchans and Komi-Permyaks.

Having received part of the Dvina land under an agreement of 1471 with Novgorod (moreover, Zavolochye, Pechora and Yugra continued to be considered Novgorod), the Muscovite kingdom continued to move north. In 1472, using insults to Moscow merchants as a pretext, Ivan III sent to the newly baptized Great Perm with the army of Prince Fyodor Pyostroy, who subjugated the region to the Muscovite state. Prince Mikhail of Perm remained the nominal ruler of the region, while the real rulers of the country, both spiritually and civilly, were the bishops of Perm.

In 1481, Perm the Great had to defend itself against the Vogulichi, who were led by Prince Asyka. With the help of the Ustyugians, Perm managed to fight back, and already in 1483 a campaign was made against the recalcitrant Vogulians. The expedition was organized on a grand scale: under the command of the grand-ducal governor Prince Fyodor Kurbsky Cherny and Ivan Saltyk-Travin, forces were gathered from all the northern counties of the country. The campaign turned out to be successful, as a result of which the princes of a vast region, populated mainly by Tatars, Vogulichs (Mansi) and Ostyaks (Khanty), submitted to the authorities of the Moscow State.

The next, which became the most large-scale, campaign of Russian troops to Yugra was undertaken in 1499-1500. In total, according to archival data, 4041 people took part in this expedition, divided into three detachments. They were commanded by Moscow governors: Prince Semyon Kurbsky (commanding one of the detachments, he was also the head of the entire campaign), Prince Peter Ushaty and Vasily Gavrilov Brazhnik. During this campaign, various local tribes were conquered, and the Pechora and upper Vychegda basins became part of the Muscovy. Interestingly, information about this campaign, received by S. Herberstein from Prince Semyon Kurbsky, was included by him in his Notes on Muscovy. Fur tribute was imposed on the lands subjugated during these expeditions.

Domestic politics

Integration of newly annexed lands

After the annexation of the Yaroslavl Principality in 1471, a rather strict unification with the general Moscow order began on its territory. A specially appointed envoy of the Grand Duke put the Yaroslavl princes and boyars into the Moscow service, taking away part of their lands. In one of the critical chronicles of that time, these events are described as follows: “He took away from whom the village is good, and from whom the village is good, he took it away and wrote it down on the Grand Duke, and whoever the boyar himself or the son of the boyar will be good, he himself wrote down ". Similar processes took place in Rostov, which came under the control of Moscow. Here, too, the process of entrusting the local elite (both princes and boyars) to the service of the Grand Duke was observed, and the Rostov princes retained in their hands much smaller estates compared to the Yaroslavl princes. A number of possessions were acquired by both the Grand Duke and the Moscow nobility.

The annexation of the Principality of Tver in 1485 and its integration into the Russian state happened quite gently. It was actually turned into one of the specific principalities; Ivan Ivanovich was placed "on the great reign in Tfersky". Under Prince Ivan, the Moscow governor VF Obrazets-Dobrynsky was left. Tver retained many attributes of independence: the princely lands were ruled by a special Tver Palace; although some Tver boyars and princes were transferred to Moscow, the new Tver prince ruled the principality with the help of the Tver boyar duma; the specific princes who supported Ivan III even received new estates (however, not for long; they were soon taken away from them again). In 1490, after the death of Ivan Ivanovich, Tver for some time passed to Prince Vasily, and in 1497 it was taken from him. By the beginning of the 16th century, the Tver court finally merged with the Moscow one, and some Tver boyars moved to the Moscow Duma.

Of interest is also the integration into the national structure of the Belozersky Principality. After its transfer in 1486 under the authority of Moscow, in March 1488, the Belozersky statutory charter was promulgated. Among other things, it established the norms for feeding representatives of the authorities, and also regulated the legal proceedings.

The most profound were the changes that befell the Novgorod land. The differences between the social system of the Novgorod state and the Moscow order were much deeper than in other newly annexed lands. The wealth of the Novgorod boyar-merchant aristocracy, which owned vast estates, lay at the heart of the veche order; The Novgorod church also had huge lands. During the negotiations on the surrender of the city to the Grand Duke, the Moscow side gave a number of guarantees, in particular, it was promised not to evict the Novgorodians “to the Niz” (outside the Novgorod land, to Moscow proper territory) and not to confiscate property.

Immediately after the fall of the city, arrests were made. The implacable opponent of the Moscow state, Marfa Boretskaya, was taken into custody, the vast possessions of the Boretsky family passed into the hands of the treasury; a similar fate befell a number of other leaders of the pro-Lithuanian party. In addition, a number of lands belonging to the Novgorod church were confiscated. In subsequent years, the arrests were continued: for example, in January 1480, Archbishop Theophilus was taken into custody; in 1481, the boyars Vasily Kazimir, his brother Yakov Korobov, Mikhail Berdenev and Luka Fedorov, who had recently been accepted into the state service, fell into disgrace. In 1483-1484, a new wave of arrests of boyars followed on charges of treason; in 1486, fifty families were evicted from the city. And finally, in 1487, a decision was made to evict the entire landowning and trading aristocracy from the city and confiscate its estates. In the winter of 1487-1488, about 7,000 people were evicted from the city - the boyars and "living people". The following year, more than a thousand merchants and "living people" were evicted from Novgorod. Their estates were confiscated to the treasury, from where they were partially distributed to the estates of the Moscow boyar children, partially transferred to the ownership of the Moscow boyars, and partially constituted the possessions of the Grand Duke. Thus, the place of noble Novgorod votchinniki was taken by Moscow settlers, who owned the land already on the basis of the local system; the common people were not affected by the resettlement of the nobility. In parallel with the confiscation of estates, a land census was carried out, summing up the land reform. In 1489, part of the population of Khlynov (Vyatka) was evicted in the same way.

The elimination of the dominance of the old landowning and commercial aristocracy of Novgorod went hand in hand with the breaking up of the old state administration. Power passed into the hands of the governors, who were appointed by the Grand Duke, and were in charge of both military and judicial-administrative affairs. The archbishop of Novgorod also lost a significant part of his power. After the death in 1483 of Archbishop Theophilus (who was arrested in 1480), he became the Trinity monk Sergius, who immediately turned the local clergy against himself. In 1484 he was replaced by Gennady Gonzov, Archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery, appointed from Moscow, a supporter of the Grand Duke's policy. In the future, Archbishop Gennady became one of the central figures in the fight against the heresy of the "Judaizers".

Introduction to the Law Code

The unification of the previously fragmented Russian lands into a single state urgently required, in addition to political unity, to create also the unity of the legal system. In September 1497, the Sudebnik, a unified legislative code, was put into effect.

As to who could be the compiler of the Sudebnik, there is no exact data. The opinion that prevailed for a long time that Vladimir Gusev (dating back to Karamzin) was its author is considered in modern historiography as a consequence of an erroneous interpretation of the corrupted chronicle text. According to Ya. S. Lurie and L. V. Cherepnin, here we are dealing with a mixture in the text of two different news - about the introduction of the Sudebnik and the execution of Gusev.

The sources of the norms of law reflected in the Code of Laws known to us are usually referred to as the following monuments of ancient Russian legislation:

• Russian Truth
• Statutory letters (Dvina and Belozerskaya)
• Pskov Judicial Charter
• A number of decrees and orders of the Moscow princes.

At the same time, part of the text of the Code of Laws consists of norms that have no analogues in previous legislation.

The range of issues reflected in this first generalizing legislative act for a long time is very wide: this is the establishment of uniform norms of legal proceedings for the whole country, and the norms of criminal law, and the establishment of civil law. One of the most important articles of the Sudebnik was Article 57 - “On Christian Refusal”, which introduced a single period for the entire Russian state for the transition of peasants from one landowner to another - a week before and a week after St. George's Day (autumn) (November 26). A number of articles dealt with issues of land ownership. A significant part of the text of the monument was occupied by articles on the legal status of serfs.

The creation in 1497 of the all-Russian Sudebnik was an important event in the history of Russian legislation. It should be noted that such a unified code did not exist even in some European countries (in particular, in England and France). The translation of a number of articles was included by S. Herberstein in his work Notes on Muscovy. The publication of the Sudebnik was an important measure to strengthen the political unity of the country through the unification of legislation.

Cultural and ideological politics

The unification of the country could not but have a beneficial effect on the culture of Russia. Large-scale fortress construction, the construction of temples, the flourishing of chronicles in the era of Ivan III are visible evidence of the spiritual upsurge of the country; at the same time, an important fact that testifies to the intensity of cultural life is the emergence of new ideas. It was at this time that concepts appeared that in the future formed a significant part of the state ideology of Russia.

Architecture

A big step forward under Ivan III was made by Russian architecture; a significant role in this was played by the fact that, at the invitation of the Grand Duke, a number of Italian masters arrived in the country, who introduced Russia to the architectural techniques of the rapidly developing Renaissance.

Already in 1462, construction began in the Kremlin: repairs were begun on the walls that needed to be repaired. In the future, large-scale construction in the Grand Duke's residence continued: in 1472, at the direction of Ivan III, on the site of a dilapidated cathedral built in 1326-1327 under Ivan Kalita, it was decided to build a new Assumption Cathedral. The construction was entrusted to Moscow craftsmen; however, when there was very little left before the completion of the work, the cathedral collapsed. In 1475, Aristotle Fioravanti was invited to Russia, who immediately set to work. The remains of the walls were demolished, and a temple was built in their place, which invariably aroused the admiration of contemporaries. On August 12, 1479, the new cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Gerontius.

From 1485, intensive construction began in the Kremlin, which did not stop throughout the life of the Grand Duke. Instead of the old wooden and white stone fortifications, brick ones were built; By 1515, the Italian architects Pietro Antonio Solari, Marco Ruffo, and a number of others had turned the Kremlin into one of the strongest fortresses of that time. Construction also continued inside the walls: in 1489, the Annunciation Cathedral was built by Pskov masters, a new grand ducal palace was erected, one of the parts of which was the Faceted Chamber erected by Italian architects in 1491. In total, according to chronicles, about 25 churches were built in the capital in 1479-1505.

Large-scale construction (primarily of a defensive orientation) was also carried out in other parts of the country: for example, in 1490-1500, the Novgorod Kremlin was rebuilt; in 1492, on the border with Livonia, opposite Narva, the Ivangorod fortress was erected. The fortifications of Pskov, Staraya Ladoga, Pit, Orekhov, Nizhny Novgorod were also updated (since 1500); in 1485 and 1492 large-scale works were carried out to strengthen Vladimir. By order of the Grand Duke, fortresses were also built on the outskirts of the country: in Beloozero (1486), in Velikiye Luki (1493).

Literature

The reign of Ivan III was also the time of the appearance of a number of original literary works; so, in particular, in the 1470s, the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin wrote his "Journey Beyond Three Seas". An interesting monument of the era is the Tale of Dracula, compiled by Fyodor Kuritsyn on the basis of the legends he heard during his stay in Wallachia, which tells about the Wallachian ruler Vlad Tepesh, who became famous for his cruelty.

A significant impetus to the development of religious literature was given by the struggle against the heresy of the "Judaizers"; also in the works of this era, disputes about church wealth were reflected. One can note a number of works by Joseph Volotsky, in which he acts as an ardent exposer of heresy; This denunciation takes on its most complete form in The Illuminator (the first edition of which, however, was compiled no earlier than 1502).

Chronicle in this period is experiencing its heyday; at the Grand Duke's court, chronicles were intensively compiled and processed. However, at the same time, it was during this period, as a result of the unification of the country, that independent chronicle writing, which was a characteristic feature of the previous era, completely disappears. Starting from the 1490s, chronicles created in Russian cities - Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Tver, Rostov, Ustyug and in a number of places - are either a modified grand ducal code, or a chronicle of a local nature that does not claim to be of all-Russian significance. Church (in particular, metropolitan) chronicle in this period also merges with the Grand Duke. At the same time, chronicle news is being actively edited and reworked both in the interests of the grand-ducal policy and in the interests of specific groups that have the greatest influence at the time the code was written (primarily this was due to the dynastic struggle between the party of Vasily Ivanovich and Dmitry the grandson).

Ideology of power, title and coat of arms

The most notable incarnations of the emerging ideology of a united country in historical literature are considered to be the new coat of arms - the double-headed eagle, and the new title of Grand Duke. In addition, it is noted that it was in the era of Ivan III that those ideas were born that a little later would form the official ideology of the Moscow state.

Changes in the position of the great Moscow prince, who had turned from the ruler of one of the Russian principalities into the ruler of a vast state, could not but lead to changes in the title. Already in June 1485, Ivan III uses the title of "Grand Duke of All Russia", which also meant claims to the lands that were under the rule of the Grand Duke of Lithuania (who was also called, among other things, also the "Grand Duke of Russia"). In 1494, the Grand Duke of Lithuania expressed his readiness to recognize this title. The full title of Ivan III also included the names of the lands that became part of Russia; now he sounded like "the sovereign of all Russia and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Perm, and Yugra, and Bulgarian, and others." Another innovation in the title was the appearance of the title "autocrat", which was a copy of the Byzantine title "autocrat". The era of Ivan III also includes the first cases of the Grand Duke using the title “Tsar” (or “Caesar”) in diplomatic correspondence, so far only in relations with petty German princes and the Livonian Order; the royal title begins to be widely used in literary works. This fact is extremely indicative: from the time of the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the “king” was called the Khan of the Horde; to Russian princes who do not have state independence, such a title was almost never applied. The transformation of the country from a tributary of the Horde into a powerful independent state did not go unnoticed abroad: in 1489, the ambassador of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Nikolai Poppel, on behalf of his overlord, offered Ivan III the royal title. The Grand Duke refused, pointing out that “by the grace of God, we are sovereigns on our land from the beginning, from our first forefathers, and we have the appointment from God, like our forefathers, and we ... and we didn’t want the appointment from anyone before, and now we don’t want."

The appearance of the double-headed eagle as the state symbol of the Moscow state was recorded at the end of the 15th century: it is depicted on the seal of one of the letters issued in 1497 by Ivan III. Somewhat earlier, a similar symbol appeared on the coins of the Tver principality (even before joining Moscow); a number of Novgorod coins minted already under the rule of the Grand Duke also bear this sign. There are different opinions regarding the origin of the double-headed eagle in the historical literature: for example, the most traditional view of its appearance as a state symbol is that the eagle was borrowed from Byzantium, and the niece of the last Byzantine emperor and wife of Ivan III, Sophia Palaiologos, brought it with her. ; This opinion goes back to Karamzin. As noted in modern studies, in addition to obvious strengths, this version also has drawbacks: in particular, Sophia came from the Morea - from the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire; the eagle appeared in state practice almost two decades after the marriage of the Grand Duke with the Byzantine princess; and, finally, it is not known about any claims of Ivan III to the Byzantine throne. As a modification of the Byzantine theory of the origin of the eagle, the South Slavic theory associated with the significant use of double-headed eagles on the outskirts of the Byzantine world gained some fame. At the same time, traces of such interaction have not yet been found, and the very appearance of the double-headed eagle of Ivan III differs from its supposed South Slavic prototypes. Another theory of the origin of the eagle can be considered an opinion about the borrowing of the eagle from the Holy Roman Empire, which has used this symbol since 1442 - and in this case the emblem symbolizes the equality of the ranks of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Grand Duke of Moscow. It is also noted that one of the symbols depicted on the coins of the Novgorod Republic was a single-headed eagle; in this version, the appearance of a double-headed eagle on the seal of the Grand Duke looks like a development of local traditions. It is worth noting that at the moment there is no unambiguous opinion about which of the theories describes reality more accurately.

In addition to the adoption of new titles and symbols, the ideas that appeared during the reign of Ivan III, which formed the ideology of state power, also deserve attention. First of all, it is worth noting the idea of ​​the succession of grand ducal power from the Byzantine emperors; for the first time this concept appears in 1492, in the work of Metropolitan Zosima "Exposition of Paschalia". According to the author of this work, God placed Ivan III, as well as "the new Tsar Constantine, to the new city of Konstantin - Moscow and the whole Russian land and many other lands of the sovereign." A little later, such a comparison will acquire harmony in the concept of "Moscow - the third Rome", finally formulated by the monk of the Pskov Elizarov Monastery Philotheus already under Vasily III. Another idea that ideologically substantiated the grand ducal power was the legend of Monomakh's regalia and the origin of Russian princes from the Roman emperor Augustus. Reflected in the somewhat later "Tale of the Princes of Vladimir", it will become an important element of the state ideology under Vasily III and Ivan IV. It is curious that, as researchers note, the original text of the legend put forward not Moscow, but Tver grand dukes as descendants of Augustus.

At the same time, it is worth noting that such ideas during the reign of Ivan III did not receive any wide circulation; for example, it is significant that the newly built Assumption Cathedral was compared not with the Constantinople Hagia Sophia, but with the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral; the idea of ​​the origin of the Moscow princes from Augustus up to the middle of the 16th century is reflected only in non-annalistic sources. In general, although the era of Ivan III is the period of the birth of a significant part of the state ideology of the 16th century, one cannot speak of any state support for these ideas. Chronicles of this time are scarce in ideological content; they do not trace any single ideological concept; the emergence of such ideas is a matter of the next era.

Church politics

An extremely important part of Ivan III's domestic policy was his relationship with the church. The main events characterizing church affairs during his reign can be called, firstly, the emergence of two church-political currents that had different attitudes towards the practice of church life that existed at that time, and, secondly, the emergence, development and defeat of such called "the heresy of the Judaizers". At the same time, it should be noted that the intra-church struggle was repeatedly influenced by both contradictions within the grand-ducal family and external factors. In addition, the Union of Florence held in 1439 and the attempts of the Catholic Church to force the Orthodox Church to recognize it made a certain difficulty in the affairs of the church.

First conflicts

For the first time, the Grand Duke came into conflict with the church authorities in 1478, when the rector of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, Nifont, decided to transfer from the Rostov Bishop Vassian to direct subordination to the appanage prince Mikhail Vereisky. At the same time, Metropolitan Gerontius supported the rector, and the Grand Duke - Bishop Vassian; under pressure, the metropolitan yielded. In the same year, having conquered Novgorod, the Grand Duke carried out extensive confiscations of the lands of the richest Novgorod diocese. In 1479 the conflict escalated again; the occasion was the procedure for the consecration by Metropolitan Gerontius of the newly built Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. Until the dispute was resolved, the metropolitan was forbidden to consecrate churches. However, soon the Grand Duke was not up to theological subtleties: in 1480, Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat moved to Russia, Ivan III was busy defending the country, and the dispute had to be postponed until 1482. By this time, the issue had become very acute also because, due to the Grand Duke's ban, many newly built churches remained unconsecrated. Having lost his patience, the metropolitan, leaving the pulpit, left for the Simonov Monastery, and only a trip to him by Ivan III himself with apologies allowed him to temporarily extinguish the conflict.

The years 1483-1484 were marked by a new attempt by the Grand Duke to subdue the obstinate Gerontius. In November 1483, the metropolitan, citing illness, again departed for the Simonov Monastery. However, this time Ivan III did not go to Gerontius, but tried to remove him, detaining him by force at the monastery. Only a few months later the metropolitan returned to the throne.

In the meantime, two currents were born in the Russian church and gained some distribution, with different attitudes towards the question of church property. The followers of Nil Sorsky, who received the name "non-possessors", advocated the voluntary rejection of wealth by the church and the transition to a poorer and ascetic life. Their opponents, who received the name "Josiflyan" ("Osiflyan", named after Joseph Volotsky), on the contrary, defended the church's right to wealth (in particular, to land). At the same time, the Josephites advocated the observance of the monastic charters, poverty and diligence of each monk individually.

Heresy of the "Judaizers" and the Council of 1490

In 1484, Ivan III appointed his longtime supporter Gennady Gonzov as bishop of Novgorod. Soon the newly appointed bishop sounded the alarm: in his opinion, a heresy appeared and spread widely in Novgorod (which received the name “the heresy of the Judaizers” in the historical literature). Gennady began an active struggle against her, even drawing on the experience of the Catholic Inquisition, but here he ran into unforeseen circumstances: some of the alleged heretics enjoyed the patronage of the Grand Duke. So, in particular, Fyodor Kuritsyn had considerable influence on state affairs; the places of priests in the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals were occupied by two more heretics - Denis and Alexei; the wife of the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, Elena Voloshanka, was connected with heretics. Gennady's attempts, on the basis of the testimony of the heretics arrested in Novgorod, to achieve the arrest of Moscow supporters of heresy did not produce results; Ivan III was not inclined to attach great importance to the case of heresy. Nevertheless, Gennady managed to win over a number of church hierarchs; among others, he was actively supported by Joseph Volotsky.

In May 1489, Metropolitan Gerontius died. Archbishop Gennady became the senior hierarch of the church, which immediately strengthened the position of supporters of the eradication of heresy. In addition, on March 7, 1490, the heir to the throne, Prince Ivan Ivanovich, died, whose wife was the patroness of heretics Elena Stefanovna, as a result of which the influence of adherents of the zealot of orthodox Orthodoxy Sophia Paleolog and Prince Vasily grew. Nevertheless, on September 26, 1490, the enemy of Archbishop Gennady, Zosima, became the new metropolitan (Joseph Volotsky, not embarrassed by strong expressions, reproached Zosima with heresy), and on October 17 a church council was assembled.

The result of the council was the condemnation of heresy. A number of prominent heretics were arrested; some were imprisoned (they were kept in very harsh conditions, which became fatal for many), some were extradited to Gennady, and demonstratively taken around Novgorod. One of the Novgorod chronicles also mentions more cruel reprisals: the burning of heretics "on the Dukhovskoye field." At the same time, some supporters of heresy were not arrested: for example, Fyodor Kuritsyn was not punished.

Discussion about church property and the final defeat of heresy

The Council of 1490 did not lead to the complete destruction of heresy, however, it seriously weakened the position of its supporters. In subsequent years, the opponents of the heretics carried out significant educational work: for example, between 1492 and 1504, Joseph Volotsky's "The Tale of the Newly Appeared Heresy of the Novgorod Heretics" was completed. To a certain extent, this revival of church thought was associated with the advent of the year 7000 "from the creation of the world" (1492 from the birth of Christ) and the widespread expectation of the end of the world. It is known that such sentiments evoked ridicule from supporters of heresy, which, in turn, led to the appearance of explanatory writings by church leaders. So, Metropolitan Zosima wrote the "Outline of Paschalia" with calculations of church holidays for 20 years in advance. Another type of such work was the translation by deacon Dmitry Gerasimov into Russian of a number of Catholic anti-Jewish treatises. In addition to anti-heretical ideas, in particular, thoughts about the inadmissibility of confiscation of church lands were widely known: for example, around 1497 in Novgorod, on behalf of Archbishop Gennady, a treatise was compiled by the Dominican Catholic monk Benjamin on this topic. It should be noted that the appearance of such a work in Novgorod was dictated primarily by the Novgorod reality - the confiscations of the archiepiscopal lands by the Grand Duke.

In August-early September 1503, a new church council was convened. In its course, important decisions were made that significantly changed everyday church practice: in particular, fees for appointment to church positions were completely abolished. This decision, apparently, found support among nonpossessors. In addition, this practice was repeatedly criticized by heretics. However, a number of measures were also taken, proposed and actively supported by the Josephites. After signing the conciliar verdict (Ivan III sealed it with his own seal, which emphasized the importance of innovations), the cathedral went to its logical conclusion; Iosif Volotsky, summoned by urgent business, even managed to leave the capital. However, unexpectedly, Nil Sorsky raised the question of whether it was worthy for monasteries to own estates. In the course of the heated discussion, the non-possessors and the Josephites failed to come to a consensus. Ultimately, the attempt of the nonpossessors to convince the hierarchs of the church that they were right failed, despite the Grand Duke's obvious sympathy for the idea of ​​land secularization.

The Council of 1503, occupied primarily with internal church problems, did not finally decide the question of heresy; at the same time, by this time the position of heretics in the princely court was more precarious than ever. After the arrest in 1502 of their patroness Elena Voloshanka and the proclamation of Vasily Ivanovich, the son of the champion of Orthodoxy Sophia Paleolog, as heir, the supporters of heresy largely lost influence at court. Moreover, Ivan himself finally listened to the opinion of the clergy; Joseph Volotsky, in a message that has come down to us to the confessor of Ivan III, even mentions the repentance of the Grand Duke and the promise to punish heretics. In 1504, a new church council was convened in Moscow, condemning prominent figures of heresy to death. On December 27, 1504, the main heretics were burned in Moscow; executions also took place in Novgorod. Such a brutal reprisal caused a mixed reaction, including among the clergy; Joseph Volotsky was forced to deliver a special message emphasizing the legality of the executions that had taken place.

Family and the question of succession

The first wife of Grand Duke Ivan was Maria Borisovna, daughter of Prince Boris Alexandrovich of Tver. On February 15, 1458, the son Ivan was born in the family of the Grand Duke. The Grand Duchess, who had a meek character, died on April 22, 1467, before reaching the age of thirty. According to rumors that appeared in the capital, Maria Borisovna was poisoned; clerk Alexei Poluektov, whose wife Natalya, again according to rumors, was somehow involved in the story of the poisoning and turned to fortune-tellers, fell into disgrace. The Grand Duchess was buried in the Kremlin, in the Ascension Convent. Ivan, who was at that time in Kolomna, did not come to his wife's funeral.

Two years after the death of his first wife, the Grand Duke decided to marry again. After a consultation with his mother, as well as with the boyars and the metropolitan, he decided to agree to the recently received proposal from the Pope to marry the Byzantine princess Sophia (Zoya), the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, who died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople by the Turks . Sophia's father, Thomas Palaiologos, the last ruler of the Despotate of Morea, fled from the advancing Turks to Italy with his family; his children enjoyed papal protection. The negotiations, which lasted for three years, eventually ended with the arrival of Sophia. On November 12, 1472, the Grand Duke married her in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral. It is worth noting that the attempts of the papal court to influence Ivan through Sophia, and to convince him of the need to recognize the union, completely failed.

Struggle of heirs

Over time, the second marriage of the Grand Duke became one of the sources of tension at court. Soon enough, two groups of court nobility formed, one of which supported the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, and the second, the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleolog. In 1476, the Venetian A. Contarini noted that the heir "is in disfavor with his father, because he behaves badly with Despina" (Sofya), but since 1477 Ivan Ivanovich has been mentioned as a co-ruler of his father; in 1480 he played an important role during the clash with the Horde and "standing on the Ugra". In subsequent years, the grand ducal family increased significantly: Sophia gave birth to a total of nine children to the grand duke - five sons and four daughters.
Meanwhile, in January 1483, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich Molodoy, also married. His wife was the daughter of the sovereign of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena. On October 10, 1483, their son Dmitry was born. After the annexation of Tver in 1485, Ivan Molodoy was appointed prince of Tver as his father; in one of the sources of this period, Ivan III and Ivan Molodoy are called "autocrats of the Russian land." Thus, during all the 1480s, the position of Ivan Ivanovich as the legitimate heir was quite strong. The position of the supporters of Sophia Palaiologos was much less advantageous. So, in particular, the Grand Duchess failed to get government posts for her relatives; her brother Andrey left Moscow with nothing, and her niece Maria, the wife of Prince Vasily Vereisky (the heir to the Vereisko-Belozersky principality), was forced to flee to Lithuania with her husband, which also affected Sophia's position.

By 1490, however, new circumstances came into play. The son of the Grand Duke, heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, fell ill with "kamchugo in the legs" (gout). Sophia ordered a doctor from Venice - "Mistro Leon", who presumptuously promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne; nevertheless, all the efforts of the doctor were powerless, and on March 7, 1490, Ivan the Young died. The doctor was executed, and rumors spread around Moscow about the poisoning of the heir; a hundred years later, these rumors, already as indisputable facts, were recorded by Andrei Kurbsky. Modern historians regard the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan the Young as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.

The conspiracy of Vladimir Gusev and the coronation of Dmitry the grandson

After the death of Ivan the Young, his son, the grandson of Ivan III, Dmitry, became the heir to the throne. Over the next few years, the struggle continued between his supporters and followers of Vasily Ivanovich; by 1497 this struggle had seriously escalated. This aggravation was facilitated by the decision of the Grand Duke to crown his grandson, giving him the title of Grand Duke and thus resolving the issue of succession to the throne. Of course, the actions of Ivan III categorically did not suit Vasily's supporters. In December 1497, a serious conspiracy was uncovered, aiming at the rebellion of Prince Vasily against his father. In addition to the "departure" of Vasily and the reprisals against Dmitry, the conspirators also intended to seize the grand ducal treasury (located on Beloozero). It is worth noting that the conspiracy did not find support among the higher boyars; the conspirators, although they came from fairly noble families, nevertheless, were not included in the immediate circle of the Grand Duke. The result of the conspiracy was Sophia's disgrace, which, as the investigation found out, was visited by sorceresses and soothsayers; Prince Vasily was placed under house arrest. The main conspirators from among the boyar children (Afanasy Eropkin, Shchavei Skryabin, Vladimir Gusev), as well as the “dashing women” associated with Sophia, were executed, some conspirators were imprisoned.

On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry took place in the Assumption Cathedral in an atmosphere of great splendor. In the presence of the metropolitan and the highest hierarchs of the church, the boyars and members of the grand ducal family (with the exception of Sophia and Vasily Ivanovich, who were not invited to the ceremony), Ivan III “blessed and granted” his grandson a great reign. Barmas and the Hat of Monomakh were assigned to Dmitry, and after the coronation, a “great feast” was given in his honor. Already in the second half of 1498, the new title of Dmitry ("Grand Duke") was used in official documents. The coronation of Dmitry the grandson left a noticeable mark on the ceremonial of the Moscow court (thus, in particular, “The wedding ceremony of Dmitry the grandson”, describing the ceremony, influenced the wedding ceremony, developed in 1547 for the coronation of Ivan IV), and was also reflected in a number of non-annalistic monuments (primarily in the "Tale of the princes of Vladimir", which ideologically substantiated the rights of Moscow sovereigns to Russian lands).

Transfer of power to Vasily Ivanovich

The coronation of Dmitry the grandson did not bring him victory in the struggle for power, although it strengthened his position. However, the struggle between the parties of the two heirs continued; Dmitry received neither inheritance nor real power. Meanwhile, the internal political situation in the country worsened: in January 1499, on the orders of Ivan III, a number of boyars were arrested and sentenced to death - Prince Ivan Yurievich Patrikeev, his children, Princes Vasily and Ivan, and his son-in-law, Prince Semyon Ryapolovsky. All of the above were part of the boyar elite; I.Yu.Patrikeev was a cousin of the Grand Duke, he held the boyar rank for 40 years and at the time of his arrest he headed the Boyar Duma. The arrest was followed by the execution of Ryapolovsky; the life of the Patrikeyevs was saved by the intercession of Metropolitan Simon - Semyon Ivanovich and Vasily were allowed to take the veil as monks, and Ivan was imprisoned "for bailiffs" (under house arrest). A month later, Prince Vasily Romodanovsky was arrested and executed. The sources do not indicate the reasons for the disgrace of the boyars; it is also not entirely clear whether it was associated with any disagreements on foreign or domestic policy, or with dynastic struggles in the grand ducal family; in historiography there are also very different opinions on this matter.

By 1499, Vasily Ivanovich apparently managed to partially regain his father’s trust: at the beginning of this year, Ivan III announced to the Pskov posadniks that “I, the great prince Ivan, bestowed my son on Grand Duke Vasily, gave him Novgorod and Pskov.” However, these actions did not find understanding among the people of Pskov; the conflict was resolved only by September.

In 1500 another Russian-Lithuanian war began. On July 14, 1500, at Vedrosha, Russian troops inflicted a serious defeat on the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is to this period that the annalistic news about the departure of Vasily Ivanovich to Vyazma and about serious changes in the attitude of the Grand Duke to the heirs belongs. There is no consensus in historiography on how to interpret this message; in particular, both assumptions are made about Vasily's "departure" from his father and an attempt by the Lithuanians to capture him, and opinions about Vasily's readiness to go over to the side of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In any case, the year 1500 was a period of growing Basil's influence; in September, he was already called the Grand Duke of "All Russia", and by March 1501, the leadership of the court on Beloozero was transferred to him.

Finally, on April 11, 1502, the dynastic struggle came to its logical conclusion. According to the chronicle, Ivan III “placed disgrace on the grandson of his Grand Duke Dmitry and on his mother, the Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day on he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, nor called the Grand Duke, and plant them for bailiffs.” A few days later, Vasily Ivanovich was granted a great reign; soon Dmitry the grandson and his mother Elena Voloshanka were transferred from house arrest to imprisonment. Thus, the struggle within the grand-ducal family ended in the victory of Prince Vasily; he became the co-ruler of his father and the rightful heir to a huge power. The fall of Dmitry the grandson and his mother also predetermined the fate of the Moscow-Novgorod heresy: the Church Council of 1503 finally defeated it; a number of heretics were executed. As for the fate of those who lost the dynastic struggle, it was sad: on January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna died in captivity, and in 1509 Dmitry himself died “in need, in prison”. “Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from smoke,” Herberstein reported about his death.

The death of the Grand Duke

In the summer of 1503, Ivan III fell seriously ill. Shortly before this (April 7, 1503), his wife, Sophia Palaiologos, died. Leaving business, the Grand Duke went on a trip to the monasteries, starting with the Trinity-Sergius. However, his condition continued to deteriorate: he became blind in one eye; partial paralysis of one arm and one leg. On October 27, 1505, Grand Duke Ivan III died. According to V. N. Tatishchev (however, it is unclear how reliable), the Grand Duke, having called before his death to his bedside confessor and metropolitan, nevertheless, refused to be tonsured as a monk. As the chronicle noted, “the sovereign of all Russia was in the state of the Grand Duchess ... 43 years and 7 months, and all the years of his stomach 65 and 9 months.” After the death of Ivan III, a traditional amnesty was held. The Grand Duke was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

According to the spiritual charter, the grand prince's throne passed to Vasily Ivanovich, the other sons of Ivan received specific cities. However, although the specific system was actually restored, it differed significantly from the previous period: the new Grand Duke received much more land, rights and advantages than his brothers; the contrast with what Ivan himself received at one time is especially noticeable. V. O. Klyuchevsky noted the following advantages of the Grand Duke's share:

• The Grand Duke now owned the capital alone, giving the brothers 100 rubles each from his income (previously, the heirs owned the capital jointly)
• The right of court in Moscow and the Moscow region now belonged only to the Grand Duke (previously, each of the princes had such a right in his part of the villages near Moscow)
• Now only the Grand Duke had the right to mint a coin
• Now the possessions of the specific prince who died childless passed directly to the Grand Duke (previously such lands were divided among the remaining brothers at the discretion of the mother).

Thus, the restored appanage system differed markedly from the appanage system of former times: in addition to increasing the grand ducal share during the division of the country (Vasily received more than 60 cities, and four of his brothers got no more than 30), the grand duke also concentrated political advantages in his hands.

Character and appearance

The description of the appearance of Ivan III, made by the Venetian A. Contarini, who visited Moscow in 1476 and was awarded a meeting with the Grand Duke, has come down to our time. According to him, Ivan was “tall, but thin; In general, he is a very nice person.” The Kholmogory chronicler mentioned Ivan's nickname - Humpbacked, which, perhaps, indicates that Ivan was stooping - and this, in principle, is all that we know about the appearance of the Grand Duke. One nickname given by contemporaries - "The Great" - is currently used most often. In addition to these two nicknames, two more nicknames of the Grand Duke have come down to us: “Terrible” and “Justice”.
Little is known about the character and habits of Ivan Vasilievich. S. Herberstein, who visited Moscow already under Vasily III, wrote about Ivan: “... For women, he was so formidable that if any of them accidentally came across him, then from his gaze she just did not lose her life.” He did not ignore the traditional vice of the Russian princes - drunkenness: “during dinner, for the most part, he indulged in intoxication to such an extent that he was overcome by sleep, and all those invited were, meanwhile, stricken with fear and were silent; upon awakening, he usually rubbed his eyes, and then only began to joke and show cheerfulness towards the guests. The author of one Lithuanian chronicle wrote about Ivan that he was “a man of a bold heart and a knight of the roll” - which was probably some exaggeration, since the Grand Duke himself preferred not to go on campaigns himself, but to send his generals. S. Herberstein wrote on the same occasion that “the great Stefan, the famous palatine of Moldavia, often remembered him at feasts, saying that he, sitting at home and indulging in sleep, multiplies his power, and he himself, fighting daily, is barely able to protect the borders.

It is known that Ivan III listened to the advice of the boyar duma; nobleman I. N. Bersen-Beklemishev (executed under Vasily III) wrote that the Grand Duke “loved the strech (objections) against himself and complained of those who spoke against him.” Andrei Kurbsky also noted the monarch's love for the boyar councils; however, judging by the words of Kurbsky's correspondence opponent, Ivan IV, Ivan III's relationship with the boyars was by no means idyllic.

The characterization of Ivan's religious views also runs into a lack of data. It is known that heretics-freethinkers enjoyed his support for a long time: two Novgorod heretics (Denis and Alexei) were appointed to the Kremlin cathedrals; Fyodor Kuritsyn enjoyed considerable influence at court; in 1490, Zosima was elected metropolitan, whom some church leaders considered a supporter of heresy. Judging by one of the letters of Joseph Volotsky, Ivan knew about the connections of his daughter-in-law, Elena Voloshanka, with heretics.

Board results

The main result of the reign of Ivan III was the unification around Moscow of most of the Russian lands. Russia included: the Novgorod land, the Tver principality, which was a rival of the Moscow state for a long time, as well as the Yaroslavl, Rostov, and partially Ryazan principalities. Only the Pskov and Ryazan principalities remained independent, however, they were not completely independent either. After successful wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov, Bryansk, and a number of other cities (which before the war accounted for about a third of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) became part of the Muscovite state; dying, Ivan III transferred to his successor several times more land than he himself accepted. In addition, it was under Grand Duke Ivan III that the Russian state became completely independent: as a result of “standing on the Ugra”, the power of the Horde Khan over Russia, which had lasted since 1243, completely ceased. Russia is turning into a strong state capable of pursuing an independent policy in its own interests.

The reign of Ivan III was also marked by success in domestic politics. In the course of the reforms, a code of laws of the country was adopted - the "Sudebnik" of 1497. At the same time, the foundations of the command system of government were laid, and the local system also appeared. The centralization of the country and the elimination of fragmentation were continued; the government waged a fairly tough fight against the separatism of the specific princes. The era of the reign of Ivan III became a time of cultural upsurge. The erection of new buildings (in particular, the Moscow Assumption Cathedral), the flourishing of chronicle writing, the emergence of new ideas - all this testifies to significant success in the field of culture.

In general, we can say that the reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich was extremely successful, and the nickname of the Grand Duke, “The Great”, common in science and journalism, characterizes the scale of the deeds of this outstanding political figure in the era of the unified Russian state.

But Khan of the Golden Horde Akhmat, who had been preparing for war with Ivan III since the beginning of his reign, entered the Russian borders with a formidable militia. Ivan, having gathered a 180,000th army, set out to meet the Tatars. The advanced Russian detachments, having overtaken the khan at Aleksin, stopped in his sight, on the opposite bank of the Oka. The next day, the khan took Aleksin by storm, set him on fire and, crossing the Oka, rushed to the Moscow squads, which at first began to retreat, but having received reinforcements, they soon recovered and drove the Tatars back beyond the Oka. Ivan expected a second attack, but Akhmat took to flight at nightfall.

Ivan III's wife Sophia Paleolog. Reconstruction from the skull of S. A. Nikitin

In 1473, Ivan III sent an army to help the Pskovites against the German knights, but the Livonian master, frightened by the strong Moscow militia, did not dare to go into the field. Long-standing hostile relations with Lithuania, which threatened close ones with a complete break, have also ended in peace for the time being. The main attention of Ivan III was turned to securing the south of Russia from the raids of the Crimean Tatars. He took the side of Mengli Giray, who rebelled against his older brother, Khan Nordaulat, helped him establish himself on the Crimean throne and concluded a defensive and offensive treaty with him, which was maintained on both sides until the end of the reign of Ivan III.

Marfa Posadnitsa (Boretskaya). Destruction of the Novgorod veche. Artist K. Lebedev, 1889)

Standing on the river Ugra. 1480

In 1481 and 1482, the regiments of Ivan III fought Livonia in revenge on the knights for the siege of Pskov, and made great devastation there. Shortly before and shortly after this war, Ivan annexed the principalities of Vereiskoe, Rostov and Yaroslavl to Moscow, and in 1488 conquered Tver. The last prince of Tver, Mikhail, besieged by Ivan III in his capital, unable to defend it, fled to Lithuania. (For more details, see the articles Unification of Russian lands under Ivan III and Unification of Russian lands by Moscow under Ivan III.)

A year before the conquest of Tver, Prince Kholmsky, sent to subdue the rebellious Kazan tsar, Alegam, took Kazan by storm (July 9, 1487), captured Alegam himself and enthroned the Kazan prince Makhmet-Amin, who lived in Russia under the patronage of Ivan.

The year 1489 is memorable in the reign of Ivan III with the conquest of the lands of Vyatka and Arskaya, and 1490 with the death of Ivan the Young, the eldest son of the Grand Duke, and the defeat of the heresy of the Judaizers (Skharieva).

Striving for governmental autocracy, Ivan III often used unjust and even violent measures. In 1491, for no apparent reason, he imprisoned his brother, Prince Andrei, in prison, where he later died, and took his inheritance for himself. The sons of another brother, Boris, were forced by Ivan to cede their destinies to Moscow. Thus, on the ruins of the ancient appanage system, Ivan created the power of a renewed Russia. His fame spread to foreign countries. German emperors, Friedrich III(1486) and his successor Maximilian, sent embassies to Moscow, like the Danish king, the Jagatai Khan and the Iberian king, and the Hungarian king Matvey Korvin entered into family ties with Ivan III.

Unification of North-Eastern Russia by Moscow 1300-1462

In the same year, Ivan III, irritated by the violence that the people of Novgorod suffered from the Revelians (Tallinnians), ordered that all Hanseatic merchants living in Novgorod be imprisoned, and their goods taken to the treasury. With this, he forever terminated the trade connection of Novgorod and Pskov with the Hansa. The Swedish war, which boiled up soon after, was successfully waged by our troops in Karelia and Finland, but ended, nevertheless, in a hopeless peace.

In 1497, new unrest in Kazan prompted Ivan III to send a governor there, who, instead of Tsar Mahmet-Amin, unloved by the people, elevated his younger brother to the throne and took an oath of allegiance to Ivan from Kazan.

In 1498, Ivan experienced severe family troubles. At the court, there was a crowd of conspirators, mostly from prominent boyars. This boyar party tried to quarrel with Ivan III of his son Vasily, suggesting that the Grand Duke intended to transfer the throne not to him, but to his grandson Dmitry, the son of the deceased Ivan the Young. Having severely punished the guilty, Ivan III became angry with his wife Sophia Paleolog and Vasily, and in fact appointed Dmitry as heir to the throne. But having learned that Vasily was not as guilty as was presented by the adherents of Elena, the mother of the young Dmitry, he declared Vasily the Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov (1499) and reconciled with his wife. (For more details, see the article The heirs of Ivan III - Vasily and Dmitry.) In the same year, the western part of Siberia, known in the old days under the name of the Yugra Land, was finally conquered by the governors of Ivan III, and from that time our grand dukes took the title of sovereigns of the Yugra land.

In 1500, quarrels with Lithuania resumed. The princes of Chernigov and Rylsky entered the citizenship of Ivan III, who declared war on the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander, for forcing his daughter (his wife) Elena to accept the Catholic faith. In a short time, the governors of Moscow, almost without a fight, occupied the whole of Lithuanian Rus, almost to Kyiv itself. Alexander, who had hitherto remained inactive, armed himself, but his squads were completely defeated on the banks. buckets. Khan Mengli Giray, an ally of Ivan III, at the same time devastated Podolia.

The following year Alexander was elected king of Poland. Lithuania and Poland reunited. Despite this, Ivan III continued the war. On August 27, 1501, Prince Shuisky was defeated at Siritsa (near Izborsk) by the master of the Livonian Order, Plettenberg, an ally of Alexander, but on November 14, Russian troops operating in Lithuania won a famous victory near Mstislavl. In revenge for the failure at Siritsa, Ivan III sent a new army to Livonia, under the command of Schenya, who devastated the environs of Derpt and Marienburg, took many prisoners and utterly defeated the knights under Helmet. In 1502, Mengli-Girey exterminated the remnants of the Golden Horde, for which he almost quarreled with Ivan, since the strengthened Crimean Tatars now claimed to unite all the former Horde lands under their own rule.

Shortly thereafter, Grand Duchess Sophia Paleolog died. This loss had a strong effect on Ivan. His health, hitherto strong, began to fail. Anticipating the nearness of death, he wrote a will, by which he finally appointed Vasily as his successor. . In 1505, Mahmet-Amin, who again occupied the Kazan throne, decided to secede from Russia, robbed the ambassador of the grand duke and merchants who were in Kazan, and killed many of them. Not stopping at this atrocity, he invaded Russia with 60,000 troops and laid siege to Nizhny Novgorod, but the voivode Khabar-Simsky, who was in charge there, forced the Tatars to retreat with damage. Ivan III did not have time to punish Mahmet-Amin for treason. His illness rapidly intensified, and on October 27, 1505, the Grand Duke died at the age of 67. His body was buried in Moscow, in the Archangel Cathedral.

During the reign of Ivan III, the power of Russia, fastened by autocracy, quickly developed. Paying attention to its moral development, Ivan called people from Western Europe who were skilled in arts and crafts. Trade, despite the break with the Hansa, was in a flourishing state. During the reign of Ivan III, the Assumption Cathedral was built (1471); The Kremlin is surrounded by new, more powerful walls; the Faceted Chamber was erected; a foundry and a cannon yard were set up and coinage improved.

A. Vasnetsov. Moscow Kremlin under Ivan III

Russian military affairs also owe a lot to Ivan III; all the chroniclers unanimously praise the device they gave to the troops. During his reign, they began to distribute even more lands to boyar children, with the obligation to put up a certain number of warriors in wartime, and ranks were instituted. Not tolerating the locality of the voevoda, Ivan III severely impaled those responsible for it, despite their rank. With the acquisition of Novgorod, cities taken from Lithuania and Livonia, as well as the conquest of the lands of Yugra, Arsk and Vyatka, he significantly expanded the boundaries of the principality of Moscow and even tried to give his grandson Dmitry the title of king. With regard to the internal structure, it was important to issue laws, known as Sudebnik Ivan III, and the institution of city and zemstvo government (like the current police).

Many contemporary Ivan III and new writers call him a cruel ruler. Indeed, he was strict, and the reason for this must be sought both in the circumstances and in the spirit of that time. Surrounded by sedition, seeing disagreement even in his own family, still precariously established in the autocracy, Ivan was afraid of treason and often punished the innocent, along with the guilty, on one baseless suspicion. But for all that, Ivan III, as the creator of the greatness of Russia, was loved by the people. His reign turned out to be an unusually important era for Russian history, which rightly recognized him as the Great.

Vasilevich

Battles and victories

The Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, also became known as the Sovereign, under him Moscow was freed from the Horde yoke.

Ivan the Great himself did not personally lead a single operation or battle, but one can speak of him as the supreme commander in chief. And the results of the wars of the reign of Ivan III are the most successful in the entire history of Muscovite Russia.

Ivan Vasilyevich, who is called Ivan III in historical literature, is the first of the Grand Dukes of Moscow, who began to claim the title of sovereign of all Russia. His name is associated with the emergence of a single (though not yet fully centralized) Russian state. And this could not be achieved with the help of political maneuvers alone, of which Ivan III was undoubtedly an outstanding master.

The Middle Ages are characterized by the ideal of a warrior-ruler, an example of which is given in his Teaching by Vladimir Monomakh. In addition to himself, Svyatoslav Igorevich, Mstislav Tmutarakansky, Izyaslav Mstislavich, Andrei Bogolyubsky, Mstislav Udatny, Alexander Nevsky and many others covered themselves with military glory, although, of course, there were many who did not shine with military prowess. The Moscow princes did not differ in them either - only Dmitry Donskoy won fame on the battlefield.

Ivan III, a pragmatist to the marrow of his bones, did not at all strive to live up to the ideal of a warrior prince. There were many wars in his reign - with Lithuania alone, two, also two with Kazan, and also with the Great Horde (not counting the raids), Novgorod, the Livonian Order, Sweden ... The prince himself, in fact, did not participate in hostilities, not a single did not personally lead the operation or battle, i.e. he cannot be considered a commander in the strict sense of the word, but one can speak of him as the supreme commander in chief. Considering that wars during his reign ended in a draw at worst, but mostly in victories, and by no means always over weak opponents, it is clear that the Grand Duke successfully coped with his tasks as a “commander-in-chief”, but this conclusion is only of the most general nature. . And if we turn to the details?

Ivan Vasilyevich, husband of a brave heart and a rolled knight (military)

"Kroinika Lithuanian and Zhmoytskaya"

Of course, Ivan Vasilyevich did not get a small and weak power. However, just ten years before his reign, the "hush" ended - the struggle for power between representatives of the two branches of the Moscow Grand Duke's house. And Moscow had enough enemies, first of all, the Great Horde and Lithuania, which was Moscow's rival in collecting Russian lands - it was in her hands that Kyiv, "the mother of Russian cities."

The first major war during the reign of Ivan III was the conflict with Kazan in 1467-1469. In the campaigns against her, which at first were unsuccessful, the Grand Duke did not take part, leaving the matter to the governors - Konstantin Bezzubtsev, Vasily Ukhtomsky, Daniil Kholmsky, Ivan Runo. Ivan III's perseverance is characteristic: after the failure of the May campaign of 1469, already in August he sends out a new army, and it succeeds, the Kazanians conclude an agreement beneficial for the Muscovites.

In the same way, independence was, in fact, granted to the governors during the Novgorod “blitzkrieg” of 1471, especially since the swiftness of the movements of the Moscow troops with the then means of communication did not contribute to interference in their actions. Three Moscow ratis advancing on the Novgorod lands, one after another, achieve success, the main of which was the defeat of the Novgorod army on the banks of the Shelon in July 1471. Only after that did Ivan III arrive in Rusa, where the army of Daniil Kholmsky and Fyodor the Lame stood and where he ordered the execution of four captured Novgorod boyars for "treason". Ordinary Novgorodians who were taken prisoner, on the contrary, were released, thereby making it clear that Moscow was not at war with them. And they don't have to fight it either.

There was still a war with Novgorod, when the Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat moved to the southern borders of the Moscow principality. In July, he approached the banks of the Oka and burned the town of Aleksin, driving back the Russian forward detachments. A terrible fire had just ended in Moscow, and the Grand Duke, who personally participated in the fight against the fire, upon receiving alarming news, immediately left for Kolomna to organize defense. The two or three days lost by Akhmat at Aleksin are believed to have given time for the Russian governors to take up positions on the Oka, after which the khan preferred to retreat. It can be assumed that the coherence of the actions of the Russian governors was not least the result of skillful leadership on the part of Ivan III. One way or another, the enemy left, unable or not daring to build on the initial success.

The largest campaign, in which Ivan III was involved, was the war with the Great Horde in 1480. Its culmination was, as you know, “standing on the Ugra”. The war took place in the context of a conflict with the Livonian Order and a rebellion by Andrei Volotsky (Big) and Boris Uglitsky, the brothers of the Grand Duke, who unceremoniously violated an agreement with them and did not allocate them the lands of Novgorod annexed in 1478 (he had to make peace with the "troublemakers" by going concessions to them). Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat was promised help by Grand Duke Casimir. True, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey was an ally of Moscow.

Ivan III did not follow the path of Dmitry Donskoy, who in 1380 moved towards Mamai and defeated him in the extremely bloody battle of Kulikovo, and in 1382 he preferred to leave to gather troops against Tokhtamysh, entrusting the defense to her Lithuanian prince Ostey. The great-grandson of the hero of the Kulikovo field already had other forces, and he developed a larger strategy. Ivan decided to block the path to the enemy on the way to the capital city, which last saw the Tatars under its walls in 1451. Ivan III sent his brother Andrei the Lesser with regiments to Tarusa, his son Ivan to Serpukhov, and he settled in Kolomna. Russian rati, thus, took up positions along the Oka, preventing the enemy from crossing. Dmitry Donskoy still could not afford this - his strength was not so great.)

Akhmat reasonably considered that he would not be able to break through the Oka and turned west, moving towards Kaluga in order to bypass the Russian defensive positions. Now the epicenter of hostilities has shifted to the banks of the Ugra River. The Grand Duke sent troops there, but did not stay with them, but preferred to come to Moscow "for advice and thought" with the boyars and church hierarchs. Just in case, the Moscow Posad was evacuated, as well as the treasury and, contrary to the opinion of some close associates of Ivan III, the grand ducal family (on the way to Beloozero, the servants of the Grand Duchess Sophia did not show themselves in the best way, “famous” for robberies and violence “more than the Tatars”; Ivan III’s mother , nun Martha, by the way, refused to leave). The defense of the capital city in case of the appearance of the enemy was led by the boyar I.Yu. Patrikeyev. The Grand Duke sent reinforcements to the Ugra, and he himself placed his headquarters in reserve positions in the rear, in Kremenets (now Kremensk). From here it was possible to reach any point in the Kaluga-Opakov-Kremenets triangle, which was defended by Russian troops, in less than a day, and also in just two or three passages to reach the Moscow-Vyazma road, if the Lithuanian prince Casimir suddenly moved along it (he, However, he did not dare to do this).

Standing on the Ugra. Miniature from the Facial Vault. 16th century

Meanwhile, in October, battles began on the Ugra for fords and stiles - the narrowest and therefore suitable places for crossing. The most fierce skirmishes took place near Opakov, 60 km from the confluence of the Ugra into the Oka, where the river is very narrow, and the right bank hangs over the left. Numerous attempts by the enemy to force the Ugra were repulsed in all areas with great damage to the Tatars. This happened due to the valor of the Russian soldiers, the competent organization of the battle, and not least the superiority of weapons - the Russians actively used firearms, including artillery, which the Tatars did not have.

Despite the successes of his troops, Ivan III behaved by no means decisively. At first, for reasons that are not entirely clear, he ordered his son, Ivan the Young, to come to him, although the departure of a representative of the grand-ducal family could have a negative effect on the morale of the soldiers. The prince, obviously understanding this, refused, as if even declaring: “Let us die here, rather than go to my father.” Governor Daniil Kholmsky, who was obliged to deliver Ivan the Young to his parent, did not dare to do this. Then Ivan III entered into negotiations - perhaps he was waiting for the approach of the brothers Andrei Bolshoi and Boris, who had reconciled with him. Khan did not refuse negotiations, but invited Ivan III to come to his headquarters and resume the payment of tribute. Having been refused, he asked to send him at least a brother or son of the prince, and then the former ambassador - N.F. Basenkov (probably, this was an allusion to the sending of tribute, which, apparently, was delivered by Basenkov on his last visit to the Horde). The Grand Duke saw that Akhmat was by no means confident in his abilities, and he refused all proposals.

In the meantime, winter had come, and the Tatars were about to be able to cross the ice not only through the Ugra, but also through the Oka. Ivan III ordered the troops to retreat to positions near Borovsk, from where it was possible to block the paths from both rivers. Probably, it was at this time that I.V. Oshchera Sorokoumov-Glebov and G.A. Mamon allegedly advised Ivan III "to run away, and the peasantry (Christian - A.K.) issue”, i.e. either make concessions to the Tatars up to the recognition of their power, or retreat into the interior of the country so as not to put the army at risk. The chronicler even calls Mamon and Oshcher "Christian traitors", but this is a clear exaggeration.

At the same time, Archbishop Vassian Rylo of Rostov, who probably regarded the behavior of Ivan III as cowardice, sent a message to the Grand Duke, in which he accused him of unwillingness to raise his hand against the "king", i.e. Khan of the Horde, and called, not listening to the "libertines" (supporters of concessions to Akhmat), to follow the example of Dmitry Donskoy. But already in mid-November, the Tatars, not ready for hostilities in the winter, began to withdraw. Their attempt to ruin the volosts along the Ugra was not entirely successful - the steppe people were pursued by the detachments of Boris, Andrei the Great and the Lesser, the brothers of the Grand Duke, and the Horde had to flee. The raid of Tsarevich Murtoza, who crossed the Oka, also ended in failure due to the energetic rebuff of the Russian troops.

What conclusions can be drawn? Ivan III and his governors, realizing the increased military power of the Moscow principality, which was also helped by Tver, decided, however, not to give a general battle, victory in which promised loud glory, but would be associated with heavy losses ... And besides, no one could guarantee. The strategy they chose proved to be effective and the least costly in terms of human losses. At the same time, Ivan III did not dare to abandon the evacuation of the settlement, which was very troublesome for ordinary Muscovites, but this precaution can hardly be called superfluous. The chosen strategy required good reconnaissance, coordination of actions and a quick response to changing situations, given the mobility of the Tatar cavalry. But at the same time, the task was made easier by the fact that on the enemy's side there was no factor of strategic surprise, which so often ensured the success of the steppes. The stake not on a general battle or sitting in a siege, but on active defense along the banks of the rivers justified itself.

The most striking military event in the history of the reign of Ivan III was, perhaps, the second war with Lithuania. The first was a "strange" war, when detachments of the parties made raids, and the embassies made mutual claims. The second one became “real”, with large-scale campaigns and battles. The reason for it was that the Moscow sovereign lured the Starodub and Novgorod-Seversky princes to his side, whose possessions thus turned out to be under his authority. It was impossible to defend such acquisitions without a "correct" war, and in 1500, the last year of the outgoing 15th century, it began.

Smolensk was chosen as the main strategic goal, to which the army of Yuri Zakharyich moved, to which D.V. Shchenya and I.M. Vorotynsky. One of the first parochial clashes known to us took place here: Daniil Shchenya became the governor of a large regiment, and Yuri Zakharyich became a sentry. He displeasedly wrote to the Grand Duke: "Then guard Prince Danil for me." In response, a formidable cry from the sovereign of all Russia followed: “Are you doing this much, you say: it’s not good for you to be in a sentry regiment, to guard the princes of Danilov’s regiment? It’s not for you to watch over Prince Danilo, you watch over me and my business. And what kind of governors are in a large regiment, such are they repaired in a sentry regiment, otherwise it’s not rubbish for you to be in a sentry regiment. The new commander, Daniil Shchenya, showed his best side and utterly defeated the Lithuanian army of Hetman Konstantin Ostrozhsky on July 4, 1500 at the Battle of Vedrosha with his soldiers. In November 1501, the troops of Prince Alexander of Rostov defeated the army of Mikhail Izheslavsky near Mstislavl. Smolensk was increasingly surrounded by Russian armies.

However, it was not possible to take it - the Livonian Order entered the war under the influence of Lithuanian diplomacy. The fighting went on with varying success. I had to send Daniil Shchenya to Livonia, but he also failed from time to time. This also affected the operations against the Lithuanians: the campaign launched in 1502 against Smolensk failed due to poor organization (the young and inexperienced prince Dmitry Zhilka led the campaign) and, probably, a lack of forces. In 1503, the Muscovite and Lithuanian principalities signed an agreement, according to which Chernigov, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky, Dorogobuzh, Bely, Toropets and other cities received the first, but Smolensk remained with Lithuania. Its accession will be the only major foreign policy achievement of the successor of the first sovereign of all Russia - Vasily III.

What conclusions can be drawn from the foregoing?

Being, as already mentioned, not a commander, but the supreme commander, Ivan III did not participate in the operations themselves, he appeared in the camp only during both Novgorod (1471, 1477-1478) and Tver (1485) campaigns, which did not promise difficulties. And even more so, the Grand Duke was not seen on the battlefield. It is reported that his ally, the sovereign of Moldavia, Stephen III, used to say at feasts that Ivan III was multiplying his kingdom while sitting at home and indulging in sleep, while he himself was barely able to defend his own borders, fighting almost daily. No wonder they were in different positions. However, the pragmatic approach of the Moscow sovereign is striking. The glory of the commander did not seem to bother him. But how well did he cope with the tasks of the commander in chief?

Great Stefan, the famous palatine of Moldavia, often remembered him at feasts, saying that he, sitting at home and indulging in sleep, multiplies his power, and he himself, fighting daily, is barely able to defend the borders.

S. Herberstein

Being primarily a politician, Ivan III quite skillfully chose the time for conflicts, tried not to wage war on two fronts (it is hard to imagine that he would have decided on such an adventure as the Livonian War, with the Crimean threat remaining), he tried to lure representatives of the enemy to his side. the tops (and even the common people), which was especially successful in the wars with Lithuania, Novgorod, Tver.

In general, Ivan III was well versed in his subordinates and mostly made successful appointments, many capable military leaders advanced to his reign - Daniil Kholmsky, Daniil Shchenya, Yuri and Yakov Zakharyichi, although, of course, there were mistakes, as in the case of the completely inexperienced Dmitry Zhilka in 1502 (the fact that this appointment was due to political reasons does not change the essence of the matter: Smolensk was not taken). In addition, Ivan III knew how to hold his governors in his hands (recall the case of Yuri Zakharyich) - it is impossible to imagine the situation in his reign that had in 1530 near Kazan, when M.L. Glinsky and I.F. Belsky argued about who should be the first to enter the city, which in the end was not taken (!). At the same time, the Grand Duke obviously knew how to choose which advice from the governors was most useful - the successes speak for themselves.

Ivan III had an important feature - he knew how to stop in time. After a two-year war with Sweden (1495-1497), the Grand Duke, seeing its futility, agreed to a draw. In the conditions of a war on two fronts, he did not continue the war with Lithuania for the sake of Smolensk, considering the acquisitions already made sufficient. At the same time, if he believed that victory was close, he persisted, as we saw in the case of Kazan in 1469.

The results of the wars of the reign of Ivan III are the most successful in the entire history of Muscovite Russia. Under him, Moscow not only did not become a victim of the Tatars, as under Dmitry Donskoy and Ivan the Terrible, but was never even besieged. His grandfather Vasily I could not defeat Novgorod, his father, Vasily II, was captured by the Tatars near Suzdal, his son, Vasily III, almost gave Moscow to the Krymchaks and was able to conquer only Smolensk. The time of Ivan III was glorified not only by extensive territorial acquisitions, but also by two major victories - during the "standing on the Ugra" and in the battle of Vedrosha (now, alas, little known). As a result of the first, Russia finally got rid of the power of the Horde, and the second became the most outstanding success of Muscovite weapons in the wars with Lithuania. Of course, the successes of Moscow under Ivan III were favored by historical conditions, but not every ruler knows how to use them. Ivan III succeeded.

KOROLENKOV A.V., Ph.D., IVI RAS

Literature

Alekseev Yu.G. Campaigns of Russian troops in Ivan III. SPb., 2007.

Borisov N.S.. Russian generals of the XIII-XVI centuries. M., 1993.

Zimin A.A.. Russia at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries: (Essays on socio-political history). M., 1982.

Zimin A.A. Russia on the Threshold of the New Age: (Essays on the Political History of Russia in the First Third of the 16th Century). M., 1972.

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Successes in the Crimean War of 1853-56, victory in the Battle of Sinop in 1853, defense of Sevastopol in 1854-55.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (November 4 (November 16), 1874, St. Petersburg, - February 7, 1920, Irkutsk) - Russian oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late XIX - early XX centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, active member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906), admiral (1918), leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Member of the Russo-Japanese War, Defense of Port Arthur. During the First World War, he commanded the mine division of the Baltic Fleet (1915-1916), the Black Sea Fleet (1916-1917). Georgievsky Cavalier.
The leader of the White movement both on a national scale and directly in the East of Russia. As the Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920), he was recognized by all the leaders of the White movement, "de jure" - by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "de facto" - by the Entente states.
Supreme Commander of the Russian Army.

Baklanov Yakov Petrovich

The Cossack general, the "thunderstorm of the Caucasus", Yakov Petrovich Baklanov, one of the most colorful heroes of the endless Caucasian war of the century before last, fits perfectly into the image of Russia familiar to the West. A gloomy two-meter hero, a tireless persecutor of mountaineers and Poles, an enemy of political correctness and democracy in all their manifestations. But it was precisely such people who obtained the most difficult victory for the empire in a long-term confrontation with the inhabitants of the North Caucasus and the unkind local nature.

Rokhlin Lev Yakovlevich

He headed the 8th Guards Army Corps in Chechnya. Under his leadership, a number of districts of Grozny were taken, including the presidential palace. For participation in the Chechen campaign, he was presented with the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, but refused to accept it, saying that “he has no moral right to receive this award for military operations on the territory of his own countries".

Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich

I beg the military-historical society to correct the extreme historical injustice and add to the list of 100 best commanders, the leader of the northern militia who did not lose a single battle, who played an outstanding role in liberating Russia from the Polish yoke and unrest. And apparently poisoned for his talent and skill.

Prince Svyatoslav

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A person who combines the totality of knowledge of a naturalist, scientist and great strategist.

Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich

General Kotlyarevsky, son of a priest in the village of Olkhovatka, Kharkov province. He went from private to general in the tsarist army. He can be called the great-grandfather of the Russian special forces. He carried out truly unique operations ... His name is worthy of being included in the list of the greatest commanders of Russia

Rurikovich (Grozny) Ivan Vasilyevich

In the variety of perceptions of Ivan the Terrible, they often forget about his unconditional talent and achievements as a commander. He personally led the capture of Kazan and organized military reform, leading the country, which simultaneously waged 2-3 wars on different fronts.

Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich

There are no outstanding military figures of the period from the Troubles to the Northern War on the project, although there were such. An example of this is G.G. Romodanovsky.
Descended from the family of Starodub princes.
Member of the sovereign's campaign against Smolensk in 1654. In September 1655, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, he defeated the Poles near Gorodok (not far from Lvov), in November of the same year he fought in the battle of Ozernaya. In 1656 he received the rank of roundabout and headed the Belgorod category. In 1658 and 1659 participated in hostilities against the betrayed hetman Vygovsky and the Crimean Tatars, besieged Varva and fought near Konotop (Romodanovsky's troops withstood a heavy battle at the crossing over the Kukolka River). In 1664, he played a decisive role in repelling the invasion of 70 thousand army of the Polish king on the Left-Bank Ukraine, inflicted a number of sensitive blows on it. In 1665 he was granted a boyar. In 1670, he acted against the Razintsy - he defeated the detachment of the ataman's brother, Frol. The crown of Romodanovsky's military activity is the war with the Ottoman Empire. In 1677 and 1678 troops under his leadership inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottomans. An interesting moment: both main defendants in the battle of Vienna in 1683 were defeated by G.G. Romodanovsky: Sobessky with his king in 1664 and Kara Mustafa in 1678
The prince died on May 15, 1682 during the Streltsy uprising in Moscow.

Maximov Evgeny Yakovlevich

Russian hero of the Transvaal War. He was a volunteer in fraternal Serbia, participating in the Russian-Turkish war. At the beginning of the 20th century, the British began to wage war against a small people, the Boers. Japanese war. In addition to his military career, he distinguished himself in the literary field.

Prince Monomakh Vladimir Vsevolodovich

The most remarkable of the Russian princes of the pre-Tatar period of our history, who left behind great fame and a good memory.

Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich

During his short military career, he practically did not know failures, both in battles with the troops of I. Boltnikov, and with the Polish-Liovo and "Tushino" troops. The ability to build a combat-ready army practically from scratch, train, use Swedish mercenaries on the spot and during the time, select successful Russian command personnel to liberate and protect the vast territory of the Russian northwestern region and liberate central Russia, persistent and systematic offensive, skillful tactics in fight against the magnificent Polish-Lithuanian cavalry, undoubted personal courage - these are the qualities that, despite the little known of his deeds, give him the right to be called the Great Commander of Russia.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

The largest figure in world history, whose life and state activity left the deepest mark not only in the fate of the Soviet people, but also of all mankind, will be the subject of careful study of historians for more than one century. The historical and biographical feature of this personality is that it will never be forgotten.
During Stalin's tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the State Defense Committee, our country was marked by victory in the Great Patriotic War, massive labor and front-line heroism, the transformation of the USSR into a superpower with significant scientific, military and industrial potential, and the strengthening of our country's geopolitical influence in the world.
Ten Stalinist strikes - the common name for a number of major offensive strategic operations in the Great Patriotic War, carried out in 1944 by the armed forces of the USSR. Along with other offensive operations, they made a decisive contribution to the victory of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

One of the most successful Russian generals during the First World War. The Erzerum and Sarakamysh operations carried out by him on the Caucasian front, carried out in extremely unfavorable conditions for the Russian troops, and ending in victories, I believe, deserve to be included in a row with the brightest victories of Russian weapons. In addition, Nikolai Nikolayevich, distinguished by modesty and decency, lived and died an honest Russian officer, remained faithful to the oath to the end.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

The Soviet people, as the most talented, have a large number of outstanding military leaders, but the main one is Stalin. Without him, many of them might not have been in the military.

Bagration, Denis Davydov...

The war of 1812, the glorious names of Bagration, Barclay, Davydov, Platov. An example of honor and courage.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

Full Knight of the Order of St. George. In the history of military art, according to Western authors (for example: J. Witter), he entered as an architect of the strategy and tactics of "scorched earth" - cutting off the main enemy troops from the rear, depriving them of supplies and organizing a guerrilla war in their rear. M.V. Kutuzov, after taking command of the Russian army, in fact, continued the tactics developed by Barclay de Tolly and defeated Napoleon's army.

Rurik Svyatoslav Igorevich

Year of birth 942 date of death 972 Expansion of the borders of the state. 965 the conquest of the Khazars, 963 the campaign to the south to the Kuban region the capture of Tmutarakan, 969 the conquest of the Volga Bulgars, 971 the conquest of the Bulgarian kingdom, 968 the foundation of Pereyaslavets on the Danube (the new capital of Russia), 969 the defeat of the Pechenegs in the defense of Kyiv.

John 4 Vasilyevich

Momyshuly Bauyrzhan

Fidel Castro called him a hero of World War II.
He brilliantly put into practice the tactics developed by Major General I.V. Panfilov of fighting with small forces against an enemy many times superior in strength, which later received the name "Momyshuly's spiral".

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

He was the Supreme Commander during the Great Patriotic War, in which our country won, and made all strategic decisions.

Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich

Without exaggeration - the best commander of the army of Admiral Kolchak. Under his command, in 1918, Russia's gold reserves were captured in Kazan. At the age of 36 - lieutenant general, commander of the Eastern Front. The Siberian Ice Campaign is associated with this name. In January 1920, he led 30,000 "Kappelevites" to Irkutsk to capture Irkutsk and release the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak, from captivity. The death of the general from pneumonia largely determined the tragic outcome of this campaign and the death of the Admiral ...

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

October 3, 2013 marks the 80th anniversary of the death in the French city of Cannes of a Russian military figure, commander of the Caucasian Front, hero of Mukden, Sarykamysh, Van, Erzurum (due to the complete defeat of the 90,000th Turkish army of Russia, Constantinople and the Bosphorus with the Dardanelles retreated), the savior of the Armenian people from the complete Turkish genocide, holder of three orders of George and the highest order of France, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, General Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich.

Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich

Commander of the First Cavalry Army of the Red Army during the Civil War. The First Cavalry Army, which he led until October 1923, played an important role in a number of major operations of the Civil War to defeat the troops of Denikin and Wrangel in Northern Tavria and the Crimea.

Stessel Anatoly Mikhailovich

Commandant of Port Arthur during his heroic defense. The unprecedented ratio of losses of Russian and Japanese troops before the surrender of the fortress is 1:10.

Most Serene Prince Wittgenstein Peter Khristianovich

For the defeat of the French units of Oudinot and MacDonald at Klyastits, thereby closing the road for the French army to St. Petersburg in 1812. Then in October 1812 he defeated the Saint-Cyr corps near Polotsk. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian-Prussian armies in April-May 1813.

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich

One of the best Russian generals of the First World War. In June 1916, the troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of Adjutant General Brusilov A.A., simultaneously striking in several directions, broke through the enemy’s defense in depth and advanced 65 km. In military history, this operation was called the Brusilovsky breakthrough.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. Under his leadership, the Red Army crushed fascism.

Yaroslav the Wise

Margelov Vasily Filippovich

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

The best Russian commander during the First World War. An ardent patriot of his Motherland.

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich

Commander of the 62nd Army in Stalingrad.

Uvarov Fedor Petrovich

At the age of 27 he was promoted to general. Participated in the campaigns of 1805-1807 and in the battles on the Danube in 1810. In 1812 he commanded the 1st artillery corps in the army of Barclay de Tolly, and later - the entire cavalry of the combined armies.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Victory in the Great Patriotic War, saving the entire planet from absolute evil, and our country from extinction.
Stalin from the first hours of the war exercised control over the country, front and rear. On land, at sea and in the air.
His merit is not one or even ten battles or campaigns, his merit is the Victory, made up of hundreds of battles of the Great Patriotic War: the battle of Moscow, the battles in the North Caucasus, the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Kursk, the battle of Leningrad and many others before the capture Berlin, success in which was achieved thanks to the monotonous inhuman work of the genius of the Supreme Commander.

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Grand Duke of Novgorod, from 945 Kyiv. Son of Grand Duke Igor Rurikovich and Princess Olga. Svyatoslav became famous as a great commander, whom N.M. Karamzin called "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history."

After the military campaigns of Svyatoslav Igorevich (965-972), the territory of the Russian land increased from the Volga region to the Caspian Sea, from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea, from the Balkan Mountains to Byzantium. Defeated Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria, weakened and frightened the Byzantine Empire, opened the way for trade between Russia and Eastern countries

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

Suvorov Mikhail Vasilievich

The only one who can be called GENERALLISIMUS ... Bagration, Kutuzov are his students ...

Denikin Anton Ivanovich

The commander, under whose leadership the white army with smaller forces for 1.5 years won victories over the red army and captured the North Caucasus, Crimea, Novorossia, Donbass, Ukraine, the Don, part of the Volga region and the central black earth provinces of Russia. He retained the dignity of the Russian name during the Second World War, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis, despite his uncompromisingly anti-Soviet position

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

The great Russian commander, who did not suffer a single defeat in his military career (more than 60 battles), one of the founders of Russian military art.
Prince of Italy (1799), Count of Rymnik (1789), Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian land and sea forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops, grandee of the Sardinian kingdom and prince of royal blood (with the title "king's cousin"), knight of all Russian orders of their time, awarded to men, as well as many foreign military orders.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

The commander-in-chief of the Red Army, which repelled the attack of Nazi Germany, liberated Evroppa, the author of many operations, including "Ten Stalinist strikes" (1944)

Vorotynsky Mikhail Ivanovich

“The compiler of the charter of the guard and border service” is, of course, good. For some reason, we have forgotten the battle of YOUTH from July 29 to August 2, 1572. But it was precisely from this victory that Moscow's right to a lot was recognized. The Ottomans were recaptured a lot of things, they were very sobered by the thousands of destroyed Janissaries, and unfortunately they helped Europe with this. The battle of YOUTH is very difficult to overestimate

Pozharsky Dmitry Mikhailovich

In 1612, the most difficult time for Russia, he headed the Russian militia and liberated the capital from the hands of the conquerors.
Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (November 1, 1578 - April 30, 1642) - Russian national hero, military and political figure, head of the Second People's Militia, which liberated Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders. With his name and with the name of Kuzma Minin, the exit of the country from the Time of Troubles, which is currently celebrated in Russia on November 4, is closely connected.
After Mikhail Fedorovich was elected to the Russian throne, D. M. Pozharsky played a leading role in the royal court as a talented military leader and statesman. Despite the victory of the people's militia and the election of the tsar, the war in Russia still continued. In 1615-1616. Pozharsky, at the direction of the tsar, was sent at the head of a large army to fight against the detachments of the Polish colonel Lisovsky, who besieged the city of Bryansk and took Karachev. After the struggle with Lisovsky, the tsar instructed Pozharsky in the spring of 1616 to collect the fifth money from the merchants to the treasury, since the wars did not stop, and the treasury was depleted. In 1617, the tsar instructed Pozharsky to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the English ambassador John Merik, appointing Pozharsky as governor of Kolomensky. In the same year, the Polish prince Vladislav came to the Moscow state. The inhabitants of Kaluga and neighboring cities turned to the tsar with a request to send them D. M. Pozharsky to protect them from the Poles. The tsar fulfilled the request of the people of Kaluga and ordered Pozharsky on October 18, 1617 to protect Kaluga and the surrounding cities with all available measures. Prince Pozharsky fulfilled the tsar's order with honor. Having successfully defended Kaluga, Pozharsky received an order from the tsar to go to the aid of Mozhaisk, namely, to the city of Borovsk, and began to disturb the troops of Prince Vladislav with flying detachments, inflicting significant damage on them. However, at the same time, Pozharsky fell seriously ill and, at the behest of the tsar, returned to Moscow. Pozharsky, barely recovering from his illness, took an active part in the defense of the capital from the troops of Vladislav, for which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich rewarded him with new estates and estates.

Golenishchev-Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich

(1745-1813).
1. GREAT Russian commander, he was an example for his soldiers. Appreciated every soldier. "M. I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov is not only the liberator of the Fatherland, he is the only one who outplayed the hitherto invincible French emperor, turning the "great army" into a crowd of ragamuffins, saving, thanks to his military genius, the lives of many Russian soldiers."
2. Mikhail Illarionovich, being a highly educated person who knew several foreign languages, dexterous, refined, able to inspire society with the gift of words, an entertaining story, served Russia as an excellent diplomat - ambassador to Turkey.
3. M. I. Kutuzov - the first to become a full cavalier of the highest military order of St. George the Victorious of four degrees.
The life of Mikhail Illarionovich is an example of service to the fatherland, attitude towards soldiers, spiritual strength for the Russian military leaders of our time and, of course, for the younger generation - the future military.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

In front of the Kazan Cathedral there are two statues of the saviors of the fatherland. Saving the army, exhausting the enemy, the battle of Smolensk - this is more than enough.

Osterman-Tolstoy Alexander Ivanovich

One of the brightest "field" generals of the early 19th century. Hero of the battles of Preussisch-Eylau, Ostrovno and Kulm.

Kazarsky Alexander Ivanovich

Captain Lieutenant. Member of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-29. He distinguished himself in the capture of Anapa, then Varna, commanding the Rival transport. After that, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed captain of the Mercury brig. On May 14, 1829, the 18-gun brig "Mercury" was overtaken by two Turkish battleships "Selimiye" and "Real Bey". Having accepted an unequal battle, the brig was able to immobilize both Turkish flagships, one of which was the commander of the Ottoman fleet himself. Subsequently, an officer from Real Bey wrote: “In the continuation of the battle, the commander of the Russian frigate (the infamous Raphael, which surrendered without a fight a few days earlier) told me that the captain of this brig would not give up, and if he lost hope, then he would blow up the brig If in the great deeds of ancient and our times there are feats of courage, then this act should overshadow all of them, and the name of this hero is worthy to be inscribed in gold letters on the temple of Glory: he is called Lieutenant Commander Kazarsky, and the brig is "Mercury"

Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich

The great commander of the ancient Russian period. The first Kyiv prince known to us, having a Slavic name. The last pagan ruler of the Old Russian state. He glorified Russia as a great military power in the campaigns of 965-971. Karamzin called him "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history." The prince freed the Slavic tribes from vassalage from the Khazars, defeating the Khazar Khaganate in 965. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 970, during the Russian-Byzantine war, Svyatoslav managed to win the battle of Arcadiopol, having 10,000 soldiers under his command, against 100,000 Greeks. But at the same time, Svyatoslav led the life of a simple warrior: “On campaigns, he didn’t carry carts or cauldrons behind him, he didn’t cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or beast, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate like that; he didn’t have a tent , but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in their heads - the same were all the rest of his warriors... And sent to other lands [envoys, as a rule, before declaring war] with the words: "I'm going to you!" (According to PVL)

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich

During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomin. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Evpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on the Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to flood the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors to defend Sevastopol from land.

Rumyantsev Petr Alexandrovich

Russian military and statesman, during the entire reign of Catherine II (1761-96) who ruled Little Russia. During the Seven Years' War he commanded the capture of Kolberg. For the victories over the Turks at Larga, Kagul and others, which led to the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace, he was awarded the title of "Transdanubian". In 1770 he received the rank of Field Marshal. Cavalier of the orders of the Russian St. Andrew the Apostle, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. George 1st class and St. Vladimir I degree, the Prussian Black Eagle and St. Anna I degree

Peter the Great

Because he not only won the lands of his fathers, but also approved the status of Russia as a power!

Dzhugashvili Joseph Vissarionovich

Gathered and coordinated a team of talented military leaders

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

Outstanding commander of the second half of the XVI century. Oprichnik.
Genus. OK. 1520, died on August 7 (17), 1591. At the voivodship posts since 1560. Participated in almost all military enterprises during the independent reign of Ivan IV and the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich. He has won several field battles (including: the defeat of the Tatars near Zaraisk (1570), the Battle of Molodin (during the decisive battle he led the Russian detachments in Gulyai-gorod), the defeat of the Swedes at Lyamits (1582) and not far from Narva ( 1590)). He led the suppression of the Cheremis uprising in 1583-1584, for which he received the boyar rank.
According to the totality of the merits of D.I. Khvorostinin is much higher than M.I. Vorotynsky. Vorotynsky was more noble and therefore he was more often entrusted with the general leadership of the regiments. But, according to the commander's talents, he was far from Khvorostinin.

Shein Mikhail Borisovich

He led the Smolensk defense against the Polish-Lithuanian troops, which lasted 20 months. Under the command of Shein, repeated attacks were repulsed, despite the explosion and a breach in the wall. He held and bled the main forces of the Poles at the decisive moment of the Time of Troubles, preventing them from moving to Moscow to support their garrison, creating an opportunity to assemble an all-Russian militia to liberate the capital. Only with the help of a defector, the troops of the Commonwealth managed to take Smolensk on June 3, 1611. The wounded Shein was taken prisoner and was taken away with his family for 8 years in Poland. After returning to Russia, he commanded an army that tried to return Smolensk in 1632-1634. Executed on boyar slander. Undeservedly forgotten.

Udatny Mstislav Mstislavovich

A real knight, recognized as a fair commander in Europe

Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich

Colonel, Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment. He showed himself most clearly in the Persian Company of 1805; when, with a detachment of 500 people, surrounded by a 20,000-strong Persian army, he resisted it for three weeks, not only repelling Persian attacks with honor, but taking fortresses himself, and finally, with a detachment of 100 people, made his way to Tsitsianov, who was going to help him.

Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich

He defeated the Khazar Khaganate, expanded the boundaries of Russian lands, successfully fought with the Byzantine Empire.

Denikin Anton Ivanovich

One of the most talented and successful commanders of the First World War. A native of a poor family, he made a brilliant military career, relying solely on his own virtues. Member of the REV, WWI, graduate of the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. He fully realized his talent commanding the legendary "Iron" brigade, then deployed into a division. Participant and one of the main characters of the Brusilov breakthrough. He remained a man of honor even after the collapse of the army, a prisoner of Bykhov. Member of the ice campaign and commander of the All-Russian Union of Youth. For more than a year and a half, having very modest resources and far inferior in number to the Bolsheviks, he won victory after victory, freeing a huge territory.
Also, do not forget that Anton Ivanovich is a wonderful and very successful publicist, and his books are still very popular. An extraordinary, talented commander, an honest Russian man in a difficult time for the Motherland, who was not afraid to light a torch of hope.

Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich

The youngest and one of the most talented Soviet military leaders. It was during the years of the Great Patriotic War that his great military leadership talent, the ability to quickly and correctly make bold decisions, was revealed. This is evidenced by his path from the commander of the division (28th Panzer) to the commander of the Western and 3rd Belorussian fronts. For successful military operations, the troops commanded by I.D. Chernyakhovsky were noted 34 times in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Unfortunately, his life was cut short at the age of 39 during the liberation of the city of Melzak (now Poland).

Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko (1828-1901)

General, hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. The Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which marked the liberation of the Balkan peoples from the centuries-old Ottoman rule, brought forward a number of talented military leaders. Among them should be mentioned M.D. Skobeleva, M.I. Dragomirova, N.G. Stoletova, F.F. Radetsky, P.P. Kartseva and others. Among these famous names there is one more - Iosif Vladimirovich Gurko, whose name is associated with the victory at Plevna, the heroic transition through the winter Balkans and victories off the banks of the Maritsa River.