Having won the struggle for the great reign in Russia, the Moscow princes continued their efforts to unite the lands around Moscow. The reign of Ivan the 3rd (1462-1505) accelerated this process. In 1463, pursuing a unifying policy, he annexed the Yaroslavl principality.
Active resistance to the unification was provided by the Tver principality and the Novgorod Republic. To preserve their independence, the Novgorod boyars entered into an alliance with Lithuania and ended up under the partial rule of the Lithuanian prince Casimir 4th.
In 1471, Ivan the 3rd led an army to Novgorod and in the battle on the river. Shelony won. For the complete conquest of Novgorod, a second campaign was also needed. In 1478, Ivan the 3rd finally conquers the city (having survived the siege) and deprives it of its independence by abolishing local governments and eliminating symbols of independence (the veche Novgorod bell was taken to Moscow). With the fall of Novgorod, all of its vast territories fell into the possession of Moscow.
In 1472 he was conquered Perm region. In 1474, the Rostov Principality was redeemed. In 1485, Ivan the 3rd, at the head of a large army, approached Tver and took the city without loss in two days, taking advantage of the betrayal of the Tver boyars. Grand Duke Mikhailo Borisovich fled to Lithuania.
Having annexed Tver, Ivan the 3rd created a single state and began to title himself the sovereign of all Russia.
In the middle of the 15th century. Golden Horde broke up into several independent khanates. Ivan the 3rd began to behave towards them as an independent sovereign. He stopped paying the ransom and created an alliance with the enemy of the Golden Horde - the Crimean Khan.
The Golden Horde Khan Akhmat tried to restore his power over Russia. In 1480, having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian Grand Duke and the Polish King Casimir 4th, he led his troops to Moscow.
It all ended with a confrontation between Russian and Tatar troops on the river. Acne.
Without waiting for the allies, Akhmat did not dare to start the battle and in November 1480 he was forced to retreat. This meant the final fall of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. gravitated over Russia for more than two centuries.
Ivan the 3rd sought to further expand the state. In 1487 Kazan recognized its dependence on Moscow. By the end of the 15th century. the state includes territories in the northeast. Ivan the 3rd conquers a number of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands from Lithuania and Poland.
The unifying policy was continued by the son of Ivan the 3rd - Vasily 3rd. In 1503, having destroyed the Pskov feudal republic, he annexed Pskov. In 1514 he recaptured Smolensk from Lithuania. In 1517-1523. Vasily 3rd took Chernigov and the Ryazan principality.
Education process united state consisted in significant internal socio-economic and political changes. This was expressed in the formation of a regime of a class-representative monarchy, in which the autocracy is supported by various classes, primarily the nobility, the townspeople and the top of the capital's boyars, who were interested in creating a state and having a strong central authority in it.
The years of the reign of Ivan the 3rd are characterized by changes in the authorities. Boyar Duma becomes the supreme deliberative body, institutions are created that are in charge of various spheres of state life, the first orders are issued, governors are engaged in local administration and are supported by the territory they control.
In 1497, the Sudebnik of the Grand Duke Ivan the 3rd was published - a code of laws, the first code of the Russian state, which consolidated a unified system government controlled and regulated the activities government agencies. The Sudebnik set a deadline for peasant transitions (once a year, on St. George's Day) and payment for the use of the yard. The law limited the freedom of the peasants and attached them to the land.
During the reign of Ivan the 3rd and Vasily the 3rd (1505-1533), the process of unification of Russian lands was completed and the strengthening of Russian statehood continued.
The Russian centralized state has developed in the northeastern and northeastern western lands Kievan Rus, its southern and southwestern lands were included in Poland, Lithuania, Hungary. His education was accelerated by the need to fight against external danger, especially with the Golden Horde, and later with the Kazan, Crimean, Siberian, Astrakhan, Kazakh khanates, Lithuania and Poland.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Golden Horde yoke slowed down the socio-economic development of the Russian lands. Unlike advanced countries Western Europe the formation of a single state in Russia took place under the complete dominance of the traditional way of the Russian economy - on a feudal basis. This makes it possible to understand why a bourgeois, democratic, civil society began to take shape in Europe, and why serfdom, estates, and inequality of citizens before the laws will dominate in Russia for a long time to come.
The completion of the process of unification of Russian lands around Moscow into a centralized state falls on the years of the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and Basil III (1505-1533).
Fragmentation gradually gave way to centralization. Ivan III, after the annexation of Tver, received the honorary title "by God's grace of the Sovereign of All Russia, the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov, and Tver, and Yugra, and Perm, and Bulgarian, and other lands."
Under Ivan III and his son Vasily III, 2 main ideas were formulated that remained unchanged for several centuries: the idea of the sovereign's choice by God and the independence of the Muscovite state. In order for this ideology to gain a foothold in the Russian minds, the creators of this ideology created a doctrine about the ancient origin of the power of the Grand Duke, as if it came from the Roman Emperor Augustus himself. This was thought about before, but only under Ivan III did Moscow declare from the pages of the annals that its power Grand Duke received from God himself, from ancient Kyiv ancestors. Also at the end of the XV century. the grand-princely power sought to resist the claims of the church for superiority over the "kingdom". By decree of Ivan IV, the Rurik family was extended back. At the beginning of the XVI century. hegumen Filofey put forward the theory "Moscow is the third Rome". This statement was recognized as serving the exaltation of the Moscow sovereigns (the main goal).
Under Ivan III, 2 state departments appeared: the Treasury and the Palace. These were the first organs state power in the new unified Moscow principality. The palace was in charge of the personal lands of the prince, and the Treasury was the repository of money, jewelry and papers. The political administration was guided by the Grand Duke, whose power was not limited by anyone or anything. The title "sovereign" itself denotes autocratic power.
The princes in the annexed lands became the boyars of the Moscow sovereign (“boyarization of the princes”). These principalities were now called uyezds and were ruled by governors from Moscow. The governors were also called "boyars-feeders", since they received food for managing the districts - part of the tax, the amount of which was determined by the previous payment for service in the troops. Localism is the right to occupy a particular position in the state, depending on the nobility and official position ancestors, their services to the Grand Duke of Moscow. Ivanchenko N.S. Russian history. - M.: Infra-M, 2004. - p. 214.
The Russian Church played a significant role in the unification process. After the election of the Ryazan Bishop Jonah as metropolitan in 1448, the Russian Church became independent (autocephalous).
On the western lands of Russia, which became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia, in 1458 a metropolitan was installed in Kyiv. Russian Orthodox Church split into two independent metropolises - Moscow and Kyiv. Their unification will take place after the reunification of Ukraine with Russia.
The intra-church struggle was associated with the appearance of heresies. In the XIV century. Heresy of the Strigolniks arose in Novgorod. On the head of the one who was accepted as a monk, the hair was cut crosswise. The strigolniki believed that faith would become stronger if it was based on reason.
At the end of the XV century. in Novgorod, and then in Moscow, the heresy of the Judaizers spread (a Jewish merchant was considered its initiator). The heretics denied the power of the priests and demanded the equality of all people. This meant that the monasteries did not have the right to own land and peasants.
For some time, these views coincided with the views of Ivan III. There was also no unity among the clergy. The militant churchmen, led by the founder of the Assumption Monastery, Joseph Volotsky (now the Joseph-Volokolamsky Monastery near Moscow), sharply opposed the heretics. Joseph and his followers (the Josephites) defended the church's right to own land and peasants. The opponents of the Josephites also did not support heretics, but objected to the accumulation of wealth and land holdings of the church. The followers of this point of view were called non-possessors or Sorians - after the name of Nil Sorsky, who retired to a skete on the Sora River in the Vologda region. History of Russia since ancient times / Textbook for universities, ed. Alexandrova N.V. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2003. - p. 256.
Ivan III at the church council of 1502 supported the Josephites. Heretics were executed. The Russian Church became both state and national. Church hierarchs proclaimed the autocrat an earthly king, with his power similar to God. Church and monastic land ownership was preserved.
The final collapse of Russia in 1132 was inevitable. The development of feudal society always leads to this. In itself, this phenomenon is not negative for the society of the corresponding era. Of course, history lessons at school, as well as the study of ancient literature, instill in descendants a negative connotation of fragmentation. Suffice it to recall some authors who "reconciled" the princes, warned them about the danger of fragmenting the state. However, this process, on the contrary, leads to the development of the periphery, the flourishing of culture, productive forces in each land. Fragmentation "squeezes out" the maximum before uniting into a stronger state with a single market.
Fragmentation coincides with invasion
The formation of a centralized one was not fast, despite all the prerequisites. It's all to blame for the invasion in the 30s of the 13th century by hordes of Mongols-Tatars. Their expansion delayed the formation of a centralized Russian state for several centuries, and the specific centers of Russia from powerful rich cities turned into rundown villages. The princely administration during the period of the Mongol occupation ceased to care about the territories entrusted to them. Her main task is to collect tribute to the conquerors in time, while not forgetting about herself. The stronger the principality became, the more dangerous in the eyes of the Mongols it was considered.
Forgotten "exploits" of Alexander Nevsky
The history of this time has several cases of the total destruction of entire cities that dared to rebel against the power of the khans. The most remarkable thing is that such conspiracies were "drowned in blood" by the Russian princes. One of the main accomplices of the Mongols is our "defender" of the faith, Alexander Nevsky. Several times, on the orders of the khans, he personally led punitive expeditions against the rebels. However, it was Alexander Nevsky who began new dynasty, with which the unification of Russian lands around Moscow is connected.
Prerequisites for the formation of the Russian centralized state
Former Russia could not but unite into a single state. This was facilitated by:
- Single language.
- General Faith.
- Common traditions, laws.
- Unified counting measures.
- Family ties, etc.
Agricultural development
Until the development of productive forces reaches its peak in the regions, it is too early to talk about unification. But from the beginning, active economic cooperation between the once united lands begins. The reason for this is the intensive development of agriculture.
The lands have already learned to live under oppression. However, do not forget that the "Mongolian cap" reliably protected against large-scale wars and invasions. Peaceful development has led to the fact that the once empty territories began to develop again. In addition, the invaders showed new industries that the Russians had not previously mastered - animal husbandry and horse breeding. Economic zoning took place, without which active economic cooperation would be simply useless. Therefore, the formation of a centralized Russian state the need to create a single market. But most of all it was necessary for the big feudal lords. The largest of them was the church. It will be discussed further.
The role of the church
The Church plays an enormous role in the formation of the Russian centralized state. This is due to the fact that during the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the invaders did not touch it. On the contrary, they gave her complete freedom and independence. The wisdom of the Mongols knows no analogues in history - they never changed the conquered peoples. Being, as a rule, lower in cultural and technical development than the conquered peoples, the Mongol-Tatars tried to adopt all the significant results of their development. However, even what they did not need was preserved: religion, literature, art. Only political liberties were limited. As far as economic and cultural development is concerned, complete freedom of choice was given here, as long as the “exit” was paid on time.
Having adopted Islam, the Horde never once raised the issue of infringing on Orthodoxy in Russia and imposing another religion. They understood that for an ordinary person, tribute is considered a common thing. It doesn't matter where she goes - to Kyiv or to Sarai. However, an attempt on faith, on the soul - a person could not put up with this. Life was perceived as a temporary refuge before eternal bliss. Try to change this - and the Russian people will die in the fight against the invaders.
The occupation of Russia leads to the rise of the church
For this reason, the church in Russia not only did not die out, but, on the contrary, became rich. She was given empty lands that were devastated by war and devastation. In addition, the church was a powerful feudal lord. Offended and oppressed people ran to her. Here they received shelter, shelter, but they were obliged to work for her good. The conditions, of course, are much milder than those of ordinary feudal lords. The church was exempted from paying the obligatory Mongol "exit", and the holy fathers were more modest than secular aristocrats.
The growing power of the feudal lords demanded a unified state
The power of monasteries and large feudal lords demanded a single state in order to legislate their privileged position not in each individual principality, but on a single vast territory with a powerful administrative apparatus. Therefore, the church was the first of the feudal lords to support the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. It is the move here from Vladimir, the only metropolitan for all Russian lands, long before her elevation, that allows us to draw such conclusions.
Creation of a unified state: stage one (end of the 13th century - 1462)
The creation of a centralized Russian state took place in several stages. First the question was future capital. Today it is hard to believe, but the formation of a centralized Russian state could have taken place under the flag of Tver, and not Moscow, since it had much more chances for this:
- advantageous geographical position;
- major center;
- initial support for khans;
- economic and military strength.
Weakness is the main advantage
However, the peculiarities of the formation of the Russian centralized state are that the above-mentioned advantages in the struggle for leadership often turned into disadvantages. The khans were distrustful of such centers. First, they disarmed the city of Vladimir, making it only a nominal center. Recall that the main title in Russia was called "Grand Duke of Vladimir". With him, the Russian princes received a label for administrative leadership in all cities. However, the city of Vladimir itself turned into a village, as the Mongols watched the impossibility of its rise. They feared that he might become the banner of the liberation struggle against the khans.
Winners are not judged
Under the first Daniil Alexandrovich (1282-1303), only the surrounding villages within a radius of 40 km departed from Moscow. However, the descendants of the winner of the Germans and Swedes in 80 years did, perhaps, everything that was possible: they became related to the khan, saved up money, bought up all the free boyar estates in other principalities, transferred the residence of the metropolitan to themselves, and also brutally suppressed the uprising in Tver against Khan, razing this city to the ground.
First resistance
By 1380, having believed in his own strength, Prince Dmitry decided to give resistance to the Horde. Of course, no matter what the chronicles and ancient Russian authors say, it was not against the Khan, but against one of the Horde Murza - Mamai. talking modern language, "upstarts", who had no legitimate power in the entire Horde. But the fact of disobedience in itself gave rise to the fact that already official 2 years later, in 1382, he personally took part in the campaign against Moscow and burned it to the ground. History textbooks talk a lot about the Battle of Kulikovo, its significance, victory. However, only two lines in them mention the punitive reprisals against the Russians after this event.
Unification can't be stopped
In addition to the battle with the Golden Horde, Dmitry Donskoy continued the formation of a centralized Russian state. Dmitrov, Uglich, Starodub, Kostroma, and the territories of Beloozero were annexed to Moscow.
By the end of the 14th century, the first steps were taken towards annexation. However, it was not even possible to secure the right to the Dvina land. Novgorod is a serious richest shopping center not only in Russia, but also in the world. Huge finances allowed her to give any rebuff to the invaders. Only later, after the annexation of all the lands that supplied bread for the freedom-loving republic, did Moscow, with the help of blackmail and an economic blockade, make a hole in the defense of Novgorod. Novgorod's dependence on grain played a cruel joke on the republic.
Final stage
The final stage of the unification is attributed to the year 1462-1533 - from the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) to the end of the reign of his son Vasily III (1505-1533). After them, a single state will exist peacefully only under Ivan the Terrible. If, of course, this time can be called peaceful. After that, a long period of the Time of Troubles and interventions will come.
The formation of the Russian centralized state (14th-15th centuries) is associated with the following major events:
- Joining Tver.
- Annexation of Novgorod.
After the overthrow of the Horde in 1480, there was no longer a force capable of hindering such a process as the formation of a centralized Russian state.
Accession timeline
- 1478 - Ivan III annexes Novgorod by force. Moscow doubles its territory.
- 1485 - finally joins the main political enemy of Moscow - Tver.
- 1489 - Vyatka land with a large non-Russian population.
- 1510 - Pskov, which at one time separated from Novgorod. After that, the accession of the latter remained only a matter of time.
- 1514 - Moscow, during the war with Lithuania, recaptures the ancient Russian city of Smolensk. This city in the future will become a stumbling block in foreign policy Russian state and will lead to constant wars with the Commonwealth.
- 1521 - Ryazan formally joins, although in fact, long ago, the Moscow princes won over all the Ryazan boyars to their side.
I would like to say that Muscovy, as our country was then called, was the largest in Europe. But the formation and development of the Russian centralized state was not peaceful. The processes were accompanied by constant wars, bribery, executions, and betrayal.
Formation of a centralized Russian state. Politics of Ivan III and Vasily III
After the unification process was completed, a policy of enslaving the peasants began. Actually, what the feudal lords, including the church, were striving for. It was in the lawsuit of Ivan III of 1497 that the restriction of the right to leave the peasants from the landowners was first recorded. Of course, the screws were not tightened to the end, but such a restriction itself was already a serious shock. So far, peasants were allowed to cross one week before St. George's Day, at the end of November, and one week later, at the beginning of December. However, the Sudebnik of 1550 of Ivan the Terrible will also cancel this rule. This is where the saying goes: "Here you are, grandmother, and St. George's Day," which rightly reflects the initial distrust when it was introduced.
Rules for the transition of peasants
As for the timing of the transition, everything is logical here. The cycle of agricultural work was limited. If the workers leave the landowner in the middle of the cycle, then this will turn into ruin for him. There were two innovations during the transition:
- A short period, equal to two weeks of autumn.
- The need to pay "old".
The last point means that the peasant did not have the right to simply leave the feudal lord. It was also necessary to pay for the working hands plus for the stay, that is, for living in the house. If the worker occupied the yard for more than four years, then he was obliged to pay the full cost of the new building.
Thus, the formation of a unified state led to the beginning of the enslavement of the peasants on the land, as the administrative ability to control their movements appeared.
Remember what role the posadnik played in the administration of Veliky Novgorod. Could a merchant become a posadnik?
The posadnik was selected from among the local boyars. He was in charge of all the Novgorod lands, headed the court of Novgorod, appointed and dismissed various officials, observed the activities of the prince, acted with him at the head of the army, led foreign policy. A merchant could not become a posadnik. He could have been chosen as the 1000th.
Remember which of the Russian princes for the first time refused to pay tribute to the Horde. When it was?
Prince Mikhail received a label for the reign of Vladimir. However, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich refused to obey and declared that he would not give up the reign to anyone. Khan agreed to leave the label with Dmitry. All this suggests that the fate of the throne of Vladimir was decided not in the Horde, but in Russia. And in 1374 Dmitry Donskoy refused to pay tribute to the Horde.
Checking our knowledge
1. Tell us about the annexation of Novgorod to the Muscovite state. What is the significance of this event?
Two groups fought in the Novgorod boyars. The boyars were the first to believe that Novgorod's liberties could only be preserved by relying on the support of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The boyars of the second group advocated close ties with Moscow. In 1471, the Boretsky group concluded an agreement on behalf of Novgorod with the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland, Kazimir IV Yagailovich. Novgorod recognized Casimir as its prince, and Casimir pledged to lead its defense in the event of Moscow's campaign against Novgorod.
Upon learning of this, Ivan III gathered the regiments of all the lands subordinate to Moscow and moved to Novgorod. In July 1471, on the Shelon River, Moscow troops defeated the Novgorod militia. Ivan ordered to cut off the heads of four captured leaders of the Novgorod army. Casimir IV did not come to the aid of the allies.
The Moscow prince concluded an agreement with Novgorod. The city retained its independence, but paid Moscow a significant amount of money and refused an alliance with the Lithuanian prince. Ivan III again became Prince of Novgorod.
In the autumn of 1475, Ivan III went to Novgorod. Along the way and in the city itself, residents turned to him with numerous complaints about the abuses of the boyars. Ivan, violating the Novgorod traditions, judged and carried out the massacre himself, sent some of the boyars in chains to Moscow to continue the investigation there. All the accused boyars were opponents of Moscow. Ivan, thus, not only acted as a public defender, but also destroyed his rivals, weakened the Novgorod freemen.
In the spring of 1477 Novgorod ambassadors arrived in Moscow. When referring to Ivan, they used the title "sovereign", while earlier the Grand Duke was called "master": "Mr. Velikiy Novgorod"He negotiated with" Mr. Grand Duke ". This slip was used by Ivan Vasilyevich. He sent his ambassadors to Novgorod to find out what state the ambassadors were talking about.
And when one of the supporters of the Moscow prince was killed at the Novgorod veche, Ivan considered this a weighty reason for a new campaign. The Grand Duke's troops took Novgorod into the encirclement. The besieged Novgorodians were forced to agree to all the demands of the Moscow prince.
In January 1478, the independence of Novgorod was liquidated, the veche was dissolved, and the veche bell - the symbol of the Novgorod freemen - was taken to Moscow. Elected posadniks and thousandths were replaced by Moscow governors.
Initially, Ivan III promised not to take away the estates from the Novgorod boyars. However, he soon began to drive the owners from their homes and give it to people who served the Moscow prince.
2. Tell us about the overthrow of the Horde yoke. What circumstances predetermined the inevitability of this event?
In 1473 Ivan III stopped sending tribute. But in 1480 the situation in the Muscovite state became more complicated. Brothers of Ivan III offended by the that Ivan did not attach part of the Novgorod lands that were part of the Moscow principality to their destinies, entered into an alliance with Casimir IV. The troops of the Livonian Order attacked the Pskov land. It was restless in the newly annexed Novgorod.
One of the Horde khans Akhmat took advantage of this. He managed to attract almost all the military forces of the former Golden Horde to the campaign against Russia. He made an alliance with the Lithuanian prince and went to Russia to force the Grand Duke to pay tribute.
On October 8, 1480, the Horde troops approached the Ugra River, a tributary of the Oka, where the Russian-Lithuanian border passed, and began to wait for the troops of the Lithuanian prince, with whom Akhmat made an alliance. But Ivan III also managed to make an alliance with the Crimean Khan, a long-time enemy of Akhmat. And he raided southern lands Lithuania. In addition, a conspiracy of an influential group of Orthodox princes was brewing in Lithuania itself. In such circumstances, Casimir IV again did not dare to oppose Moscow. Besides Ivan III managed to make peace with their brothers, and their detachments also approached the Ugra.
For more than a month, Moscow and Horde troops stood on opposite banks of the Ugra. After the first failed attempt to cross the river Akhmat no longer dared to join the battle. He was waiting for Casimir. Ivan III dragged out time, negotiating with Akhmat. In the meantime, early cold weather came, snow covered the remains of the grass, which the Horde horses did not have time to eat. On November 11, 1480, Akhmat turned back, devastating the Lithuanian possessions on the Upper Oka and its tributaries. So, almost bloodlessly, ended the Horde dominion that lasted 240 years.
3. What is the significance of creating a unified Russian state?
1. Allowed to stop internecine strife.
2. Contributed to the development of the economy and culture of the state.
3. A strong state could withstand an external threat.
4. Show on the map the territories annexed to the Moscow principality at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century.
Tver and Novgorod lands, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Putivl, Rylsk, Bryansk, Pskov, Smolensk, Ryazan principality.
5. Compose an oral story based on the painting by A. D. Kivshenko “Sending Martha Boretskaya and the Novgorod veche bell to Moscow in 1478”, placed in the textbook. What, from your point of view, is the significance of this event in the process of formation of a unified Russian state?
On January 29, 1478, Novgorod capitulated. This meant the loss of independence by Novgorod. The symbol of Novgorod independence - the bell - was removed and taken to Moscow. And he confiscated the lands of the local nobility who opposed Ivan III, including Martha Boretskaya. Martha, accompanied by guards, along with her children, was sent to Moscow.
Learning to be historians
1. Find out the origin of the name of the river Ugra. In what areas modern Russia does it flow?
Ugra is a river in the Smolensk and Kaluga regions of Russia. Ugra - "strong, mighty, huge."
2. Try to act as a chronicler, telling your descendants about the great standing on the Ugra (write no more than 60 words).
For more than a month, the opponents stood on opposite banks of the Ugra River. And Akhmat tried to cross the river. And he didn't succeed. And Akhmat did not dare to join the battle. Prince Ivan III exhausted the enemy with anticipation. And the cold came. Seeing that the battle would be unsuccessful, Khan Akhmat turned his troops back.