Completion of the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow. The years of the reign of Ivan III and Basil III

The end of the XV and the beginning of the XVI century - the boundary between the Middle Ages and the New Age, called the Renaissance, was the period of the final formation of most European states. At the same stage, the process of unification of Russian lands around the Moscow principality is also being completed. In the memory of the people, the names of its initiators and performers are alive. These were the great princes Ivan III, who ruled from 1462 to 1505 and his son Vasily III, who was in power from 1505 to 1533.

Features of centralization of countries of Western Europe and Russia

It should be noted immediately that in Russia and in leading European countries, the unification of previously fragmented lands took place in various historical realities. In the West, the creation of centralized states was stimulated by the growth of material production, which in turn was increased due to the improvement of commodity-money relations and the exit of the economy from the close framework of subsistence economy.

In Russia everything was different. Two centuries of the Horde yoke slowed the development of its economy and culture, and as a result, the unification of Russia took place against the backdrop of feudal organization of the economy, which undoubtedly served as an obstacle to this process. In addition, the very creation of a centralized state was possible only in the north-west and north-east of the country, since most of the southern lands, formerly part of Kievan Rus, was annexed to Hungary, Poland and Lithuania.

Fragility - the reason for the seizure of Russian lands

Undoubtedly, the main reason for the conquest of Particular Russia by the Golden Horde was its fragmentation, as exemplified by the Vladimir principality, divided after the death of its ruler, Prince Vsevolod, between the heirs, and after that became easy prey for the conquerors. And similar phenomena in the history of Russia of that period can be traced everywhere. Many great duchies, after their division into small possessions, lost their former power and lost the ability to resist the enemy. Domestic history is full of such examples.

However, according to the researchers, the existence of a constant threat from the Golden Horde, and later the separate khanates to which it disintegrated, and the aggressive policies of the western neighbors greatly accelerated the completion of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow, making it vital. Great credit for its realization belongs to Ivan III who ascended to the Grand Duke in 1462.

The Creator of a Unified State

Becoming subsequently a truly key figure in Russian history, this ruler got into his own hands the highest power for those times, when he was only twenty-two years old. Having recommended himself as a successful and far-sighted politician, he became the first in the history of Russia to be called the "Sovereign of All Russia". It was during the reign of his reign that our double-headed eagle became our emblem, and in Moscow the stone Kremlin was built.

Ivan III, after marrying the niece of the Byzantine emperor, introduced into court life magnificent ceremonies, not inferior to those that were adopted in the European courts. It was under his rule that the former word Rus began to be replaced by the present word, Russia. He carried out a cardinal administrative reform and became one of the authors of the famous Code of Law - a set of civil and criminal laws.

Code of Laws of Ivan III

According to this, a document that was very progressive for its time, the Boyar Duma was established under the Grand Duke. Its representatives received the authority to manage certain areas of state life, and also became governors in regiments and princely governors in cities.

There was also such an innovation as orders - the organs of centralized management, which were run by specially appointed boyars or clerks of the clergy. In rural areas, or otherwise - volosts, the leadership was carried out by so-called volostels - governing structures consisting of free people.

The Sudebnik established strict control of the center for the leadership of local boyars and stipulated possible penalties in case of non-observance of princely orders. A number of his articles dealt with the organization of the army. Instead of the former separate detachments of unit princes, a single army was created. Local noblemen-landlords were obliged, if necessary, to be at the disposal of the Grand Duke and at his own expense to arm a certain number of pedestrians and horse serfs brought with them. Their number depended on the size of the owner's estate.

The accession to Moscow of previously independent principalities

A wise, and sometimes very insidious politician, Ivan managed, avoiding open clashes, to annex the entire north-east of Russia to Moscow. The beginning of this was laid in 1468, when the specific Yaroslavl princes, recognizing the supreme power of Ivan, entered into his subordination.

Four years later, Perm's Great entered the structure of his principality. Rostov principality by that time remained independent only half - the second part of it was bought before (just like that!) By the father of Ivan III, the Moscow prince Vasily the Dark. In 1474 the deal was continued and as a result all the remaining territory was transferred to Russia.

Some difficulties arose with the addition of Tver, which had previously been surrounded by a ring of Moscow lands. Her boyars until the last attempted to argue with Ivan, defending their independence, but the sight of his numerous squadron, who came to the walls of the city, was such a convincing argument that they also hastened to take the oath of allegiance.

The subsequent process included the accession in 1489 of the Vyatka lands, which were an important fishing area. They replenished the treasury with the most important currency, valued on the international market - furs.

As a result of the policy of centralization of Russia, which was consistently pursued by Ivan III, besides the steady growth of its economy and military power, the prestige of the state also increased. This contributed to the fact that in the first years of the 16th century, a significant number of Russian princes, originating from the western regions of the country, but for various reasons, transferred to the service of Lithuanian rulers, returned to their homeland.

The tragedy of Novgorod

However, not at all of its stages the completion of the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow was so smooth. An example of this is the dramatic events that unfolded around Novgorod, which until then remained an independent boyar republic. In it, as a result of the management reform carried out in 1410, the power of the oligarchic boyars was strengthened, and by the decree of Vasily the Dark from 1456, the highest judicial power was given to the local prince.

Fears (and not without reason) to lose a significant part of the privileges after Moscow's subordination to Moscow prompted the boyars, led by the widow Martha Boretska, to seek help from the Lithuanian prince Casimir, agreeing to vassalage in case of his support in the fight against Ivan III. In response, the Moscow prince took the most drastic measures as a result of which, in 1471, a united army, composed of the squads of all Moscow-dominated princedoms, moved to the rebellious city.

An essential argument that enabled Ivan III to assemble such an impressive army in a short time was the desire of the Novgorodians to come under the authority of the Catholic ruler, thus giving rise to accusing them of wanting to exchange the Orthodox faith for the "Latin one." In contrast to the Moscow squads, the rebels collected a very numerous, but untrained and poorly armed militia. During the decisive battle that took place on the Shelon River, they were defeated and fled.

However, despite the complete defeat, the Novgorodians managed to negotiate with the prince, and, having paid a fair contribution, for some time to preserve the remains of former independence. Finally, Novgorod was annexed to Moscow in 1478. The symbolic gesture of forfeiting the right to self-determination was the withdrawal from Novgorod of their vocal bells, which had been convening them from time to time to solve important vital issues.

After the subordination of Novgorod, the Moscow prince was to conquer the Tver principality, which until then remained independent. Here the same story repeated the same way as in Novgorod. The Prince of Tver, rightly believing that he can not resist the superior forces of Moscow, turned to the same Lithuanian ruler for assistance as Novgorodians, and as a result suffered their fate.

During all forty-three years of his reign, Ivan III pursued a single goal - the unification of disparate Russian lands. For this he entered the Russian history as "Collector of the Russian lands". He subjugated many of the formerly independent great principalities.

End of the Horde yoke

But, among other things, his rule was marked by such an important event as the end of the period of the Horde yoke, which marked the victory of the troops of the Moscow prince over the horde of Ahmed Khan on the river Ugra in 1480. It was achieved not so much by military superiority as by skillful diplomacy, as a result of which Ivan III succeeded in making his ally the Crimean Khan, who was the worst enemy of his current enemy, and at the same time neutralizing the actions of Ahmed Khan's ally, the Lithuanian king. As a result, realizing the hopelessness of the battle, the Tatars abandoned their positions and retreated.

The continuer of the father's business

In 1505 the son of Ivan III Basil III joined the Moscow Grand Prince's throne, who from the first days of the reign showed himself to be the continuer of his father's business. As a true autocrat, he led a strict policy, whose goal was to destroy the old system of destinies and add to Moscow still remaining at that time independent principalities of Russia.

It is fair to note that the young prince did not concede to his father either in the determination of his actions or in the ability to choose the most favorable moment for them. In this respect, the accession to the Moscow principality of Pskov, which until then was under the control of Lithuania, is very characteristic. For this Vasily took advantage of its weakening, caused by the invasion of the Crimean Tatars.

He was not devoid of the cunning inherent in his father. So, for example, in 1509 Vasily ordered the representatives of the Pskov Posad to come to Novgorod to meet him in Novgorod, as well as all those who were dissatisfied with his desire to bring Pskov under Moscow jurisdiction. He accused all the arrivals on his orders of distrust of him and most of them executed.

The reign of Basil 3 put an end to the former independence of the city. After the execution of the town's representatives in Pskov, the last veche took place in its history, at which it was decided to fulfill unconditionally all the requirements of the prince. The Pskov Veche bell, as its Novgorod brother once was, was removed and permanently taken from the city.

In order to protect themselves from possible opposition in the future, having added the city to their possessions, the young prince evicted from him the three hundred richest families and replaced them with an equal number of residents who were obviously loyal to him from other regions. However, this idea belongs not to him, but to his father Ivan III, who also did the same with the rich inhabitants of the conquered Novgorod in his time. Having abolished the previous veche formation in Pskov, Basil III entrusted the administration of his deputies.

Further process of land consolidation

Four years later, continuing his association of Rus, Vasily III annexed to his principality Smolensk, which he won in 1514 from the Lithuanians. The memory of this event was immortalized by the creation in Moscow of the Novodevichy Convent. The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, recognized as a miracle-working one, was revered in it, and revered as the original defender of Russia's borders.

The final completion of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow was achieved after the Ryazan principality entered the state in 1521. It was formerly in a certain dependence on the Moscow princes, but at the same time retained some independence. However, it was the turn of Ryazan's residents to become citizens of Moscow.

The main state governance bodies

This was the completion of the collection of Russian lands in a single state, which became the largest in Europe, and has since been called Russia. But this process has affected only the territories located in the north-east and north-west of Russia. Bringing the Moscow scepter of principalities in the south-western lands and continuing to remain under the jurisdiction of Hungary, Poland and Lithuania was a matter of the future.

The completion of the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow required the creation of an apparatus capable of ensuring the centralized management of the newly created state. They became a boyar duma. It included representatives of the two highest classes of boyars and okolnichy, but from the middle of the 15th century its membership was supplemented by princes of lands annexed to Moscow, loyal to the supreme ruler. The boyar Duma was deprived of legislative power and had the character of only an advisory body.

In the reign of Basil 3, two state departments were established, which laid the foundation for the subsequent mandated system. It was the so-called Palace and the Treasury. The first exercised control over the lands belonging to the Grand Duke, and in charge of the second were finances, archives and the state press.

According to most researchers, the completion of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow was largely achieved thanks to the role played by the Russian Orthodox Church in this process. Strengthening of its importance in solving pressing state issues was facilitated by the erection in 1448 of the metropolitan throne of Ryazan Metropolitan Ion on the metropolitan throne. Since that time the church in Russia has received the status of autocephalous, that is independent and independent from other local churches, and could actively influence the internal and foreign policy of the state.

Diplomacy of a new level

The Moscow principality of the 16th century, formed as a result of the unification of previously disparate lands, acquired a completely different status in international policy issues. If before it consisted only of relations with the Horde khans and a limited circle of appanage princes, then after the country began to represent the unification of the Great Russian nationality, and its ruler was called the sovereign, she took her proper place in Europe.

Russian diplomacy has reached a completely different level. After the unification of the lands of North-Eastern Russia was completed, foreign embassies began to arrive in Moscow in the old days, not risking to go deeper into the Russian expanse beyond Novgorod. Of course, this has made a certain complexity, since previously we had to deal only with specific princes who professed the same faith and spoke the same language. Now during negotiations it was necessary to take into account the peculiarities of other religions and to use the services of translators, and later to learn the languages themselves.

The merits of two Moscow princes Ivan III, as well as his son and the successor to the affairs of Basil III are undeniable. Thanks to their works, the diplomas sent abroad have since been signed by the title "Prince of Moscow and All Russia". This meant that all of Rus closed in a monolith, capable of resisting any tests from now on.