When Ivan 3 began to rule. Ivan III: interesting facts

On January 22, 1440, a son was born to Grand Duke Vasily II and his wife Maria Yaroslavna in Moscow. The future heir to the throne was named Ivan in honor of St. John Chrysostom. The boy's happy and carefree childhood was overshadowed by an event that occurred in 1445 near Suzdal. The army of Vasily II was defeated by the Tatars. The prince was captured. Residents of Moscow, led by temporary ruler Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka, were in despair at the thought that the enemy could attack their city. But soon Vasily II returns from captivity. For this, Muscovites had to transfer an amount beyond their means to the Horde. The discontent of the people was to the advantage of Shemyaka and his supporters. They organized a conspiracy against the Grand Duke.

On the way to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Vasily II was captured and blinded. It was after this that they began to call him the Dark One. Fearing reprisals, Ivan and his younger brothers and boyars loyal to their father hid in Murom. Shemyaka lured Ivan to Uglich by cunning, where his father was imprisoned. But, for some unknown reason, Prince Vasily and his son were released. Once free, they, with the Tver prince Boris and a large army, appeared in Moscow. Shemyaka's power fell. In 1452, Ivan led the army sent by his father to capture the Kokshengu fortress. Upon returning to Moscow, Ivan was married to Princess Maria, daughter of Boris Tverskoy. Ivan's second wife was Sofia Paleolog. Dmitry Shemyaka was poisoned. His claims to the throne and bloody internecine wars are a thing of the past. In 1460, after the death of Vasily II, the throne passed to Ivan III.

He went down in history as Ivan the Great. First of all, the new sovereign worked to strengthen and expand the principality that belonged to him. The Moscow principality now included Yaroslavl, Rostov, Dmitrov, Novgorod. Historians call this process “gathering Russian land.” The famous stand on Uglich ended the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. During the last months of his life, Ivan III visited holy places. He died on October 22, 1505. He was buried in the Archangel Cathedral on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin.

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Biography of Ivan III

The future Ivan the Great, born January 22, 1440. Father was Vasily II, mother Maria Yaroslavna. Early childhood The upbringing at court was quite standard for grand ducal children.

Ivan's late childhood was beset by many great misfortunes. Father, as a result of the defeat at Suzdal, was captured by the Tatars. Rus' was threatened by a Tatar raid. A major fire occurred in Moscow. With the return of his father, the internal political situation became even more complicated. While Vasily was in captivity, the eldest of Kalita’s descendants, Dmitry Shemyaka, was in power. However, upon his return, Vasily brought with him a great debt. Shemyaka was forced to leave Moscow. Troubles were brewing in the capital, and as soon as the sovereign left the city, a riot broke out. Dmitry Shemyaka and his supporters captured Vasily and transported him to Moscow. There the Grand Duke forcibly lost his sight, because, according to the rebels, he fraternized with the Tatars and distributed lands to them. After being blinded, the Grand Duke was sent to prison in Uglich, where Shemyaka himself had previously been imprisoned.

Ivan was able to be rescued and transported to a city loyal to his father. However, having succumbed to the promises of the rebel Shemyaki, they returned to Moscow. The promises were false and the son, with other children, was exiled to his father. Some time later, Dmitry nevertheless decided to fulfill his promise, and allocated an entire inheritance for Vasily - Vologda. But the former Grand Duke did not accept defeat, and an internecine war broke out with new strength.

Ivan grew up and became a full-fledged participant in the internal war. It was only after about twenty-five years that the war finally subsided. By this time, Ivan was already married to Maria Borisovna, the daughter of the Tver prince. Their engagement was a consequence of the conclusion of an alliance between Grand Duke Vasily II and Prince of Tver Boris.

The war was over and a measured life awaited the prince, burdened with princely responsibilities. So, being an appanage prince, Ivan pays much more attention to military campaigns. Over the course of 5 years, he took part in several major campaigns against the Tatars. If in the first battles he was only nominally the commander, and the army was led by experienced commanders, then later, having gained experience, he actually commands. After his father's death, he generously divided the lands between his brothers according to his father's will. Ivan himself was appointed heir and ascended the throne on March 27, 1462. The transfer of the title took place without any problems, because the new sovereign was not greedy for power.

Having risen to power, Ivan first of all shows that the agreements concluded by his father will continue to be valid, and thus everyone wins. Next, the Grand Duke sets a course for the unification of Russian lands. Without any problems, we managed to annex the principalities: Yaroslavl, Dmitrov, Rostov. The Novgorod lands were next in line, however, to annex them it was necessary to equip an army. The campaign turned out to be successful, and Novgorod independence was lost.

One of the main merits of Ivan the Great was the liberation of Rus' from the long-term Tatar yoke. The Golden Horde was fragmented into new khanates and, in fact, no longer represented a single state. Thanks to this, as well as the unification of the Russian state, Ivan was able to enter into open confrontation with the Horde. Standing on the Ugra River confirmed that from now on Rus' is independent and free.

Next, Ivan had to face new threat. Relations with the neighboring Grand Duchy of Lithuania gradually deteriorated. Having reached a critical point, they escalated into open war. 7 years later, a peace treaty was concluded, according to which most of the lands captured during the conflict were part of the Russian state.

An important achievement of Ivan III’s foreign policy is also the conclusion of an alliance with the Crimean Khanate. Rus' acquired a valuable ally, albeit not for long.

In general, Ivan's foreign policy greatly strengthened Rus'.

On October 27, 1505, Ivan III died due to illness. By this time, he had been married twice, his second wife was Sophia Paleologue, and managed to have nine children.

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Interesting facts and dates from life

09.06.2016

The peculiarities of human memory are such that we more easily remember something outstanding, unusual, something that can greatly amaze the imagination, than ordinary life events and people who do not have pronounced personal character traits. This applies, inter alia, historical figures influencing the destinies of entire countries. So it is in the case of the two Russian Tsars Ivan: every schoolchild without hesitation will list the deeds of the “great and terrible” Ivan the Terrible, but will not immediately remember what distinguished his own grandfather, Ivan III. Meanwhile, the grandfather of Tsar the Terrible received the nickname of the Great among the people. What Ivan III the Great was like and what he did for Russia will be told by several interesting facts from his biography.

The fate of the future Grand Duke Ivan III was such that from a young age he became an indispensable assistant to his blind father, Vasily the Dark. Already in his youth, he gained experience in battles and learned to maneuver through the intricacies of intrigue that are inevitable under any throne. In his youth, Ivan took part in the fight against Dmitry Shemyaka.
The first wife of Prince Ivan was the meek-tempered Maria, who was destined to live short life. It is believed that she fell victim to the machinations of people close to the prince: she was allegedly poisoned during her husband’s absence.
On the monument in the Kremlin (in Veliky Novgorod), dedicated to the millennium of Rus', one can see, among other rulers, Grand Duke Ivan III. He stands, almost trampling underfoot his defeated enemies: a Tatar, a Lithuanian and a German. This is an allegorical depiction of the prince’s actual victories: he actually managed to save the Russian principality from expansion by the Baltic states and overthrow the Golden Horde yoke.
The standstill of the Ugra River is an event that in 1480 determined the entire further course Russian history. There was no battle. Thanks to patience and the ability to outwit the enemy, Ivan III, without losing his soldiers, was able to achieve the departure of the Tatars. From that moment on, Rus' became free - it was no longer oppressed by the heavy Golden Horde yoke. And for this feat the people gave Ivan the nickname Saint.
Under Ivan III, the unification of Russian lands is underway full swing. The principalities of Yaroslavl, Rostov, Tver, and Chernigov were annexed to the Moscow principality. Proud and rebellious Novgorod was conquered.
With the active participation of Ivan III Vasilievich and the Code of Laws was developed.
Ivan III assigned the peasants to the landowners, giving them the opportunity only twice a year to legally leave their landowners.
Historians, based on the testimony of contemporaries, having analyzed the activities of Ivan III, give him the following characteristics. Cold, calm, very cautious, unhurried in action and a secretive person. These qualities helped him to steadily pursue his policies without much bloodshed. He knew how to wait for the right moment and act deliberately, he knew how to sense the situation.
After the death of his first wife, Ivan III did not remain single for long. His new chosen one is the heiress of the Byzantine emperors - Zoya (Sophia) Paleologus. The Pope hoped to use this marriage to influence the head of the Russian state, but he was mistaken in his expectations. Of course, Sophia made changes in the life of the Grand Duke’s subjects, but this influence benefited only Rus', and not the pope. Sophia was a strong-willed and intelligent woman.
Having become the wife of Ivan III, Sophia now considered Rus' her patrimony and thought about its good. Under her influence, the princely court acquired splendor, beauty and grandeur. Sophia contributed to the construction of the Uspensky and Arkhangelsk Cathedrals. During her reign, the Chamber of Facets was built. Moscow was decorated and blossomed. Ivan consulted with his wife, including on political issues. The couple lived in perfect harmony for 20 years. Ivan grieved so much after Sophia’s death that he faded away after 2 years.

Ivan III was one of those sovereigns who know how to set goals methodically, unhurriedly, but with confident steps go to her. His whole life shows: the main subject of his thoughts, his tireless concerns was the good of the state. He even chose his wife not based on personal preferences (Sophia was not very beautiful), but thinking about the future of Russia, about strengthening its international position. Ivan III deserves the grateful memory of his descendants. His contemporaries understood this - it was not for nothing that he became a Saint and Great during his lifetime.

Ivan 3 was appointed by fate to restore autocracy in Rus'; he did not suddenly accept this great cause and did not consider all means permitted.
Karamzin N.M.

The reign of Ivan 3 lasted from 1462 to 1505. This time went down in Russian history as the beginning of the unification of the lands of appanage Rus' around Moscow, which created the foundations of a single state. It was also Ivan 3 who was the ruler under whom Rus' got rid of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted almost 2 centuries.

Ivan 3 began his reign in 1462 at the age of 22. The throne passed to him according to the will of Vasily 2.

Government

Beginning in 1485, Ivan 3 proclaimed himself sovereign of all Rus'. From this moment on, a unified policy begins, aimed at strengthening the country’s international position. As for internal governance, the prince’s power can hardly be called absolute. General scheme management of Moscow and the entire state under Ivan 3 is presented below.

The prince, of course, rose above everyone, but the church and the boyar duma were quite a bit inferior in importance. It is enough to note that:

The power of the prince does not extend to church lands and boyar estates.
The church and boyars have the right to mint their own coins.

Thanks to the Code of Law of 1497, a feeding system took root in Rus', when princely officials received broad powers in terms of local government.

Under Ivan 3, a system of transfer of power was first implemented, when the prince appointed a successor for himself. It was also during this era that the first Orders began to be formed. The Treasury and Palace orders were founded, which were in charge of the receipt of taxes and the distribution of land to the nobles for their service.

The unification of Rus' around Moscow

Conquest of Novgorod

During the period when Ivan III came to power, Novgorod retained the principle of government through the veche. The veche elected a mayor who determined the policy of Veliky Novgorod. In 1471, the struggle between the boyar groups of “Lithuania” and “Moscow” intensified. This was ordered into a massacre at the assembly, as a result of which the Lithuanian boyars, led by Marfa Boretskaya, the wife of the former mayor, won. Immediately after this, Martha signed the vassal oath of Novgorod to Lithuania. Ivan 3 immediately sent a letter to the city, demanding recognition of the supremacy of Moscow in the city, but Novgorod veche was against it. This meant war.

In the summer of 1471, Ivan 3 sent troops to Novgorod. The battle took place near the Sheloni River, where the Novgorodians were defeated. On July 14, a battle took place near the walls of Novgorod, where the Muscovites won, and the Novgorodians lost about 12 thousand people killed. Moscow strengthened its position in the city, but retained self-government for the Novgorodians. In 1478, when it became obvious that Novgorod was not stopping its attempts to come under Lithuanian rule, Ivan 3 deprived the city of all self-government, finally subordinating it to Moscow.

Novgorod was now ruled by the Moscow governor, and the famous bell, symbolizing the freedom of the Novgorodians, was sent to Moscow.

Annexation of Tver, Vyatka and Yaroslavl

Prince Mikhail Borisovich of Tver, wanting to preserve the independence of his principality, married the granddaughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kazemir 4. This did not stop Ivan 3, who started the war in 1485. The situation for Mikhail was complicated by the fact that many Tver boyars had already gone into the service of the Moscow prince. Soon the siege of Tver began, and Mikhail fled to Lithuania. After this, Tver surrendered without resistance. Ivan 3 left his son Ivan to rule the city. This is how the subordination of Tver to Moscow took place.

Yaroslavl, under the reign of Ivan 3, formally retained its independence, but this was a gesture of good will by Ivan 3 himself. Yaroslavl was completely dependent on Moscow, and its independence was expressed only in the fact that local princes had the right to inherit power in the city. The wife of the Yaroslavl prince was Ivan III's sister, Anna, so he allowed her husband and sons to inherit power and rule independently. Although all important decisions were made in Moscow.

Vyatka had a control system similar to Novgorod. In 1489, Tver submitted to the authority of Ivan III, coming under the control of Moscow along with the ancient city of Arsk. After this, Moscow strengthened as a single center for uniting Russian lands into a single state.

Foreign policy

The foreign policy of Ivan 3 was expressed in three directions:

Eastern - liberation from the yoke and a solution to the problem of the Kazan Khanate.
Southern – confrontation with the Crimean Khanate.
Western – solution of border issues with Lithuania.

East direction

The key task of the eastern direction is to rid Rus' of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The result was a stand on the Ugra River in 1480, after which Rus' gained independence from the Horde. 240 years of yoke were completed and the rise of the Moscow state began.

Wives of Prince Ivan 3

Ivan 3 was married twice: the first wife was the Tver princess Maria, the second wife was Sophia Paleologus from the family of Byzantine emperors. From his first marriage, the prince had a son, Ivan the Young.

Sophia (Zoe) Palaeologus was the niece of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine 11, but after the fall of Constantinople she moved to Rome, where she lived under the patronage of the Pope. For Ivan III, this was an excellent option for marriage, after which he would marry Princess Maria. This marriage made it possible to unite ruling dynasties Russia and Byzantium.

An embassy was sent to Rome for the bride in January 1472, headed by Prince Ivan Fryazin. The Pope agreed to send Palaiologos to Russia under two conditions:

Russia will persuade the Golden Horde to war with Turkey.
Russia will accept Catholicism in one form or another.

The ambassadors accepted all the conditions, and Sophia Paleolog went to Moscow. On November 12, 1472, she entered the capital. It is noteworthy that at the entrance to the city, traffic was stopped for several days. This was due to the fact that Catholic priests were heading the delegation. Ivan 3 considered admiration for someone else’s faith a sign of disrespect for one’s own, so he demanded that the Catholic priests hide the crosses and move deeper into the column. Only after these demands were met did the movement continue.

Succession to the throne

In 1498, the first dispute about succession to the throne arose. Some of the boyars demanded that his grandson Dmitry become the heir of Ivan 3. This was the son of Ivan the Young and Elena Voloshanka. Ivan the Young was the son of Ivan 3 from his marriage to Princess Maria. Another group of boyars spoke out for Vasily, the son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus.

Grand Duke suspected his wife that she wanted to poison Dmitry and his mother Elena. A conspiracy was announced and some people were executed. As a result, Ivan 3 became suspicious of his wife and son, so on February 4, 1498, Ivan 3 named Dmitry, who was 15 years old at that time, as his successor.

After this, a change occurred in the Grand Duke’s mood. He decided to re-investigate the circumstances of the assassination attempt on Dmitry and Elena. As a result, Dmitry was already taken into custody, and Vasily was appointed prince of Novgorod and Pskov.

In 1503, Princess Sophia died, and the prince’s health became noticeably worse. Therefore, he gathered the boyars and declared Vasily, the future Prince Vasily 3, his heir.

Results of the reign of Ivan 3

In 1505, Prince Ivan 3 dies. After himself, he leaves a great legacy and great deeds, which his son Vasily was destined to continue. The results of the reign of Ivan 3 can be characterized as follows:

Eliminating the causes of fragmentation of Rus' and unifying the lands around Moscow.
The creation of a unified state began
Ivan 3 was one of the strongest rulers of his era

Ivan 3 was not an educated man, in the classical sense of the word. He could not receive enough education as a child, but this was compensated for by his natural ingenuity and intelligence. Many call him a cunning king, because he very often achieved the results he needed by cunning.

An important stage in the reign of Prince Ivan III was the marriage with Sophie Paleologue, as a result of which Russia became a strong power, and it began to be discussed throughout Europe. This, undoubtedly, gave impetus to the development of statehood in our country.

Key events of the reign of Ivan III:

1463 – annexation of Yaroslavl
1474 – annexation of the Rostov Principality
1478 – annexation of Veliky Novgorod
1485 – annexation of the Tver Principality
Liberation of Rus' from the Horde yoke
1480 – standing on the Ugra
1497 – adoption of the code of law of Ivan 3.

Negotiations dragged on for three years. On November 12, the bride finally arrived in Moscow.

The wedding took place on the same day. The marriage of the Moscow sovereign with the Greek princess was important event Russian history. He opened the way for connections between Muscovite Rus' and the West. On the other hand, together with Sophia, some orders and customs of the Byzantine court were established at the Moscow court. The ceremony became more majestic and solemn. The Grand Duke himself rose to prominence in the eyes of his contemporaries. They noticed that Ivan, after marrying the niece of the Byzantine emperor, appeared as an autocratic sovereign on the Moscow grand-ducal table; he was the first to receive the nickname Grozny, because he was a monarch for the princes of the squad, demanding unquestioning obedience and strictly punishing disobedience. He rose to a royal, unattainable height, before which the boyar, prince and descendant of Rurik and Gediminas had to reverently bow along with the last of his subjects; at the first wave of Ivan the Terrible, the heads of the seditious princes and boyars lay on the chopping block.

It was at that time that Ivan III began to inspire fear with his very appearance. Women, contemporaries say, fainted from his angry gaze. The courtiers, fearing for their lives, had to amuse him during his leisure hours, and when he, sitting in his armchairs, indulged in a doze, they stood motionless around him, not daring to cough or make a careless movement, so as not to wake him. Contemporaries and immediate descendants attributed this change to the suggestions of Sophia, and we have no right to reject their testimony. The German ambassador Herberstein, who was in Moscow during the reign of Sophia’s son, said about her: “ She was an unusually cunning woman; at her inspiration, the Grand Duke did a lot".

War with the Kazan Khanate 1467 - 1469

A letter from Metropolitan Philip to the Grand Duke, written at the beginning of the war, has been preserved. In it he promises martyr's crown to everyone who sheds their blood" for the holy churches of God and for Orthodox Christianity».

At the first meeting with the leading Kazan army, the Russians not only did not dare to start a battle, but did not even make an attempt to cross the Volga to the other bank, where the Tatar army was stationed, and therefore simply turned back; So, even before it began, the “campaign” ended in shame and failure.

Khan Ibrahim did not pursue the Russians, but made a punitive foray into the Russian city of Galich-Mersky, which lay close to the Kazan borders in Kostroma land, and plundered its surroundings, although he could not take the fortified fort itself.

Ivan III ordered strong garrisons to be sent to all border cities: Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Kostroma, Galich and to carry out a retaliatory punitive attack. The Tatar troops were expelled from the Kostroma borders by the governor Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Striga-Obolensky, and the attack on the lands of the Mari from the north and west was carried out by detachments under the command of Prince Daniil Kholmsky, which even reached Kazan itself.

Then the Kazan Khan sent a response army in the directions: Galich (the Tatars reached the Yuga River and took the Kichmensky town and occupied two Kostroma volosts) and Nizhny Novgorod-Murmansk (under Nizhny Novgorod The Russians defeated the Tatar army and captured the leader of the Kazan detachment, Murza Khoja-Berdy).

"All Christian blood will fall on you because, having betrayed Christianity, you run away, without putting up a fight with the Tatars and without fighting them, he said. - Why are you afraid of death? You are not an immortal man, a mortal; and without fate there is no death for man, bird, or bird; give me, an old man, an army in my hands, and you will see if I turn my face before the Tatars!"

Ashamed, Ivan did not go to his Kremlin courtyard, but settled in Krasnoye Selets.

From here he sent an order to his son to go to Moscow, but he decided it would be better to incur his father’s wrath than to go from the coast. " I'll die here and won't go to my father", he said to Prince Kholmsky, who persuaded him to leave the army. He guarded the movement of the Tatars, who wanted to secretly cross the Ugra and suddenly rush to Moscow: the Tatars were repulsed from the shore with great damage.

Meanwhile, Ivan III, having lived for two weeks near Moscow, somewhat recovered from his fear, surrendered to the persuasion of the clergy and decided to go to the army. But he didn’t get to Ugra, but stopped in Kremenets on the Luzha River. Here again fear began to overcome him and he completely decided to end the matter peacefully and sent Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with a petition and gifts, asking for a salary so that he would retreat away. Khan replied: " I feel sorry for Ivan; let him come to beat with his brow, as his fathers went to our fathers in the Horde".

However, gold coins were minted in small quantities and for many reasons did not take root in the economic relations of the then Rus'.

In the year, the all-Russian Code of Law was published, with the help of which legal proceedings began to be carried out. The nobility and the noble army began to play a larger role. In the interests of the noble landowners, the transfer of peasants from one master to another was limited. The peasants received the right to make the transition only once a year - a week before the autumn St. George's Day to the Russian Church. In many cases, and especially when choosing a metropolitan, Ivan III behaved as the head of the church administration. The metropolitan was elected by the episcopal council, but with the approval of the Grand Duke. On one occasion (in the case of Metropolitan Simon), Ivan solemnly conducted the newly consecrated prelate to the metropolitan see in the Assumption Cathedral, thus emphasizing the prerogatives of the Grand Duke.

The problem of church lands was widely discussed by both the laity and the clergy. Many laymen, including some boyars, approved of the activities of the Trans-Volga elders, aimed at the spiritual revival and cleansing of the church.

The right of monasteries to own land also called into question religious movement, which actually denied the entire institution Orthodox Church: ".

Potin V.M. Hungarian gold of Ivan III // Feudal Russia in the world-historical process. M., 1972, p.289

Ivan III Vasilievich (Ivan the Great) b. January 22, 1440 - died October 27, 1505 - Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505, sovereign of all Rus'. Collector of Russian lands around Moscow, creator of an 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 towards which all other regions gravitated; each of these centers carried out completely independent domestic policy and resisted all external enemies.

Such centers of power were Moscow, Novgorod the Great, 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 subjugated the weak to the strong. The possibility of creating a unified state arose.

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, Russian princess of the Serpukhov branch of the house of Daniil. He was born on the day of memory of the Apostle Timothy and in his honor received his “direct name” - Timothy. Nearest religious holiday It 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 his childhood, the prince suffered all the hardships of civil strife. 1452 - he was already sent as the nominal head of the army on a campaign against the Ustyug fortress of Kokshengu. The heir to the throne successfully fulfilled the order he received, cutting off Ustyug from the Novgorod lands and brutally ruining the Koksheng volost. Returning from the campaign with a victory, on June 4, 1452, Prince Ivan married his bride. Soon, the bloody civil strife that had lasted for a quarter of a century began to subside.

In subsequent years, Prince Ivan became his father's co-ruler. The inscription “Ospodari of All Rus'” appears on the coins of the Moscow State; he himself, like his father, Vasily, bears the title “Grand Duke”.

Accession to the throne

1462, March - Ivan's father, Grand Duke Vasily, became seriously ill. Shortly before this, he had drawn up a will, according to which he divided the grand-ducal lands between his sons. As the eldest son, Ivan received not only the great reign, but also the bulk 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 main goal The country's foreign policy was the unification of northeastern Rus' into a single state. Becoming the Grand Duke, Ivan III started its unification activities with the confirmation of previous agreements with neighboring princes and the general strengthening of positions. Thus, 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 remaining Russian principalities intensified sharply. The first was the Yaroslavl principality, which finally lost the remnants of independence in 1471. 1472 - Prince of Dmitrov 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 his mother's inheritance.

Capture of Novgorod

The situation with Novgorod developed differently, which is explained by the difference in the nature of the statehood of the appanage principalities and the trade-aristocratic Novgorod state. An influential anti-Moscow party was formed there. A collision with Ivan III could not be avoided. 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 the Novgorod land, a week later the army of Striga Obolensky set out on a campaign, and on June 20, 1471, Ivan III himself began a 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 idle. A militia was formed from the townspeople; the number of this army reached 40,000 people, but its combat effectiveness, due to the hasty formation of townspeople not trained in military affairs, was low. On July 14, a battle began between the opponents. In the process, the Novgorod army was completely defeated. The losses of the Novgorodians amounted to 12,000 people, about 2,000 people were captured.

1471, August 11 - a peace treaty was concluded, according to which Novgorod agreed to pay an indemnity of 16,000 rubles, retained its government system, but could not “surrender” to the power 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 order was abolished, and the veche bell and the city archive were sent to Moscow.

Invasion of the Tatar Khan Akhmat

Ivan III tears up the Khan's letter

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

1472 - Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat began a campaign against Rus'. 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 inevitably should have led to new clashes.

1480, summer - Khan Akhmat moved to Rus'. Ivan III, having gathered his 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 begin offensive actions. Finally, in September 1480, Khan Akhmat crossed the Oka River south of Kaluga and headed through Lithuanian territory to the Ugra River. Fierce clashes began.

Attempts by the Horde to cross the river were successfully repulsed by Russian troops. Soon, Ivan III sent ambassador Ivan Tovarkov to the khan with rich gifts, asking him to retreat away and not ruin the “ulus”. 1480, October 26 - the Ugra River froze. The Russian army, having gathered together, retreated to the city of Krements, 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 the Komi, Karelian lands, was annexed. The Russian centralized state was becoming a multinational superethnos. 1489 - Vyatka, remote and largely mysterious lands beyond the Volga for modern historians, was annexed to the Russian state.

The rivalry with Lithuania was of great importance. Moscow's desire to subjugate all Russian lands constantly encountered 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 led by Prince Fyodor Telepnya Obolensky.

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

Personal life of Ivan III

Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue

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 propose that the Grand Duke marry the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologus, who lived in exile after the fall of Constantinople. Ivan III, having overcome his religious rejection, sent the princess out of Italy and married her in 1472. In October of the same year, Moscow welcomed its future empress. The wedding ceremony took place in the still unfinished Assumption Cathedral. The Greek princess became Grand Duchess Moscow, Vladimir and Novgorod.

The main significance of this marriage was that the marriage to Sophia Paleologus contributed to the establishment of Russia as the successor to 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 Rus' and forced them to recognize it. Ivan was called “the sovereign of all Rus'.”

Formation of the Moscow State

At the beginning of Ivan's reign Muscovy surrounded the lands of other Russian principalities; dying, he handed over to his son Vasily the country that united most 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 Russian lands and principalities into a powerful power required a 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 the listed centers, semi-dependent appanage 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 could do it first would have a strong rear in the fight against neighbors and an increase in their own military power. To put it another way, the greatest chance of victory was not the state that had the most perfect, softest and most democratic legislation, but the state whose internal unity would be unshakable.

Before Ivan III, who ascended the grand-ducal throne in 1462, such a state had not yet existed, and hardly anyone could have imagined the very possibility of its emergence in such a short period of time and within such impressive borders. In all of Russian history there is no event or process comparable in significance to the formation at the turn of the 15th–16th centuries. Moscow State.