Joining Novgorod to Moscow. In what century did Veliky Novgorod join Moscow

In the middle of the 15th century, the most important task with which Ivan III was to cope was the accession to Moscow of Veliky Novgorod. But he was not the only contender for these lands. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania also tried to present its rights to them.

The beginning of conflict

It is no secret that the history of Moscow has always been closely connected with Novgorod. The roots of the conflict go back to the feudal war that broke out among the descendants of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, which lasted several decades - from 1425 to 1453.

The main opposing sides were Vasily the Dark and Dmitry Shemyaka. After the defeat in the battle for power, the latter took refuge in Novgorod. Vasily the Dark One succeeded in 1449 to conclude an advantageous contract for himself with the Lithuanian prince and then Polish King Casimir IV that each side would not accept on its territory political opponents of each other. In addition, Lithuania agreed to abandon the encroachment on Novgorod. After 4 years, Basil with the help of his faithful people poisoned Shemyaka.

The Jelizbitskiy World

The history of Veliky Novgorod knows a lot of bloody battles. One of them occurred in 1456 near a town called Rusa. Then the Moscow troops managed to take it easily enough and almost without resistance. But soon they were attacked by the Novgorod cavalry. Muscovites, led by their voivode Striga and Basenka, hid behind a snow-covered hill. They began to shoot arrows not in the Novgorod warriors, but in their horses. There was confusion. The Novgorodians were dressed in heavy armor, so they could not fight alongside Muscovites. As a result, most of the boyars were taken prisoner or killed.

Thus, Moscow won a complete victory over Novgorod. At the same time, the strength of the troops of the first party was 20 times less than the second. After some time in Yazhelbitsy Vasily the Dark took the embassy, which was headed by the Novgorodian archbishop Evfimiy II with the purpose of concluding a peace treaty. After brief negotiations, the parties signed a bilateral agreement. According to him, the losers had to pay the winner a large enough contribution, amounting to 8 thousand rubles. But the accession of Novgorod to Moscow did not take place. For the time being, he remained independent.

The situation after the conclusion of peace

The history of Novgorod says that as far back as 1136 it became the first free republic in the territory of Kievan Rus. It operated such a democratic institution as the Veche. It lasted until the events that led to the annexation of Novgorod to Moscow. But, despite this, not all the townspeople advocated the independence of their lands and were ready to fight for it.

It is worth noting that the rights of ordinary, poor citizens were most often not observed, and the poorest population, which consisted of smerds, was generally deprived of the right to attend the veche. The gap between the poor and the rich was too great, so ordinary Novgoroders were not eager to fight with Moscow for the rights of the boyars.

In 1460 Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich arrived with the embassy in Novgorod for negotiations. But the townspeople opposed him and even tried to kill him. So another conflict broke out, which was resolved by Bishop Iona, who intimidated the Novgorodians with the invasion of the Tatars along with the Muscovites.

Three years after the visit to Novgorod by the Moscow prince, this republic refused military support to Pskov, who asked him to help him fight off the attacks of the Livonian knights. Help came from Moscow. After this, Novgorod took an openly hostile attitude towards Pskov. This time the conflict resolved the wise policy of Prince Ivan III.

New disagreements

The Novgorod elite was constantly under constant pressure from the two neighboring rather powerful states - Moscow and the Lithuanian principality. Boyars perfectly understood that they will be able to preserve their possessions only in the event that they conclude an alliance with one of them.

The history of Moscow points to the fact that disagreements over the accession of land existed also in Veliky Novgorod itself. Boyars fought for an alliance with the Lithuanian principality, because they expected to retain all their privileges, whereas ordinary citizens supported the Moscow tsar, since in his person they saw, first of all, an Orthodox ruler.

Causes of hostilities

The reason, which served for the campaign in May 1471 in Veliky Novgorod, was rumors that allegedly that most of the boyars, headed by Martha Boretskaya, the widow of the posadnik, signed an agreement with the Lithuanian side on vassalage. Many historians believe that this talk was only a reason for punishment. But nevertheless there is also the fact that the Novgorodians asked to become their governor of the Lithuanian prince. In addition, they also tried to create their own church , independent of Moscow. That is why the campaign to Novgorod the Great took the form of war against the apostates and for the restoration of the Orthodox faith.

Next campaign

This time the military actions against the republic were led by the Moscow prince Daniel Kholmsky. I must say that this was a considerable risk, since the spring was rather cold that year, and a large number of snow that had not melted could significantly slow the progress of the troops forward. But it was impossible to postpone the trip. The Golden Horde and the Lithuanian principality were ready to come to the aid of Novgorod.

In the first days of the trip there were almost no fights. The Moscow army, without much effort, captured the cities of the republic one by one. Only in the middle of July was the Battle of Shelons. On the battlefield came together the army of Novgorod, consisting of 40 thousand people, and 12 thousandth host of their enemies. The final outcome of this battle was decided by a powerful attack by the Moscow cavalry. Poorly organized Novgorod could not withstand such an onslaught.

Two weeks after the Battle of Shilon, another battle took place near the Shilenga River. It also ended in the victory of Muscovites. After that, negotiations began to conclude peace in Korostyn.

Consequences of the truce

As a result, Novgorod had to abandon the patronage of the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV. In addition, the defeated paid about 15 thousand rubles, and in fact recognized the supremacy of the Moscow prince. So the campaign of 1471 proved to be more than successful. He proved that ordinary Novgorodians, unlike boyars, do not want to fight with their neighbors.

Partly the fate of this republic has already been sealed. But the final accession of Novgorod to Moscow will take place only after 7 years.

The Last Campaign

In the spring of 1477, it was not the first Novgorod embassy that arrived in Moscow. But it turned out that it was sent not by a century, but by a bunch of boyars. They wanted a speedy and final recognition of Moscow's supremacy, which would give them the right to preserve all their lands and wealth. This was learned in Novgorod. At the next veche several pro-Moscow boyars were killed, and the supporters of the Lithuanian prince came to power. But their reign was short-lived.

In October 1477 the last expedition to the republic took place under the leadership of Ivan III. This time the Novgorod army did not go beyond the city limits. Long negotiations began. After 2 months, the Muscovites put forward the final requirements. They consisted in the abolition of the post of a landlord and the termination of the existence of the veche. With these two requirements, the Novgorodians agreed, but the discussion about the preservation of their patrimonies by the boyars was delayed. In the end, they still had to give the Moscow prince the monastery and sovereign lands. The negotiations were concluded. On January 15, the Moscow prince and his entourage, accompanied by his retinue, entered the city without a fight.

Results

In the history of 1478 - this is the year of joining Novgorod to Moscow. Wars are finally over. This time there were no executions, but many boyar families were deported outside Novgorod. Among them was posadnitsa Marfa Boretskaya with her grandson. Later she was tonsured into a nun, and her possessions were confiscated.

When Novgorod joined Moscow, four governors began to rule all the lands, which had the right to dispose of the lot and conduct the courts. Trade, agriculture and industry were now under the control of the new government.

The boyar leadership and the veche were liquidated. The symbol of independence of Veliky Novgorod - the veche bell - was taken out. From that moment it became a secondary city, and the possessions of Muscovy increased almost 2 times. Thus ended the history of Veliky Novgorod as a republic, which lasted more than three centuries.