During the internecine war of 1425-53. Between Vasily II and his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich, and then the latter’s sons Vasily Kosy and Dmitry Shemyaka, Moscow changed hands several times. During the wedding of Vasily II with the Serpukhov princess Maria Yaroslavna in February 1433, a quarrel between Vasily II and the Galician princes broke out; The army of Vasily II was defeated in the battle on the river. Klyazma (April 25, 1433), Vasily II fled from Moscow, which was occupied by Prince Yuri Dmitrievich. Dissatisfaction with the policies of Yuri Dmitrievich led to the departure of many service people from the city to Vasily II, who was in Kolomna. Soon Yuri Dmitrievich was forced to leave Moscow. After the new defeat of Vasily II in the battle on March 20, 1434 and the week-long siege of Moscow on March 31, the city was again occupied by supporters of Prince Yuri Dmitrievich, but after his imminent death (June 5, 1434), Vasily Kosoy declared himself heir to the Moscow throne. A month later, “having collected gold and silver, his father’s treasury and the entire city’s reserves,” Vasily Kosoy left for Kostroma. Vasily II re-entered Moscow and in January 1435 defeated the army of Vasily Kosoy. In 1436, by order of Vasily II, Dmitry Shemyaka, who arrived in Moscow, was captured, and the army of Vasily Kosoy was defeated on the river. Cherekh, Vasily Kosoy himself was brought to Moscow and blinded on May 21, 1436. In 1439, when the army of Khan Ulu-Muhammad “unknown” appeared under the walls of Moscow, Vasily II left the city, leaving Yuri Patrikeev as governor, and went to the Volga; Ulu-Muhammad burned the Moscow suburbs and, after a ten-day siege of the city, retreated, taking it completely. During the campaign against Kazan in July 1445, the wounded Vasily II was captured; power in Moscow passed to Dmitry Shemyaka. Soon after this, a fire broke out in the city, destroying almost all the wooden buildings; About 2 thousand people died, and unrest among the townspeople began. In October 1445, Vasily II was released from captivity and arrived in Moscow, accompanied by the Tatars; Dmitry Shemyaka fled to Uglich, where he gathered an army, and on February 12, 1446 captured Moscow; Vasily II was captured in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, taken to Moscow, blinded (hence the nickname Dark) and exiled to Uglich. But already in December 1446, Vasily II again occupied Moscow, and at the beginning of 1450 he inflicted a decisive defeat on Dmitry Shemyaka.
TRAGEDY "BASILI II"
If we were writing not just another chapter of a popular study of Russian PR, but a tragedy in the spirit of Shakespeare - under a completely Shakespearean title - then it would have to start with the characters...
Vasily II the Dark - Grand Duke of Moscow (1425-1462, with interruptions). He lost the throne several times, and then was blinded by Shemyaka (1446). After this he was nicknamed the Dark One. This nickname conveys tragedy and respect. The people saw him as a legitimate sovereign.
Sofya Vitovtovna is his mother. Lithuanian by nationality. Determined woman.
Yuri Galitsky - Grand Duke of Moscow (1433-1434), uncle of Vasily II.
Vasily Kosoy - Grand Duke of Moscow (1434, one month), son of Yuri Galitsky, respectively, cousin of Vasily II. He was blinded by Vasily II (1436), for which he received his unsympathetic nickname. The people didn't like him.
Dmitry Shemyaka - Grand Duke of Moscow (1446-1447), also the son of Yuri Galitsky. He blinded Vasily II himself in revenge for his brother. Was poisoned.
The circle is closed. Blinding, poisoning. Quite gloomy. But it all started with a partly comic episode. Shakespeare loved to insert such interludes into his tragedies. Unfortunately, Russian history was not familiar to him, otherwise instead of King Lear we would now be going to see Vasily II.
Medinsky V. R. Features of national PR. The true history of Rus' from Rurik to Peter. M., 2010
A TEXTBOOK EPISODE
But while Ivan Dimitrievich was persuading Yuri to renew his old claims, in Moscow, Yuri’s sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dimitri Shemyaka - were feasting at the grand ducal wedding. Vasily Kosoy arrived wearing a rich golden belt, set with expensive stones. The old boyar Pyotr Konstantinovich told the story of this belt to the Grand Duke's mother, Sofya Vitovtovna, a curious story: this belt was given by the Suzdal prince Dimitri Konstantinovich as a dowry for his daughter Evdokia, who was going to marry Dimitri Donskoy; the last thousand, Vasily Velyaminov, who was important at the princely wedding, replaced this belt with another, less expensive, and gave the real one to his son Nikolai, behind whom was another daughter of Prince Dimitri of Suzdal, Marya. Nikolai Velyaminov also gave the belt as a dowry for his daughter, who married our boyar, Ivan Dimitrievich; Ivan gave it as a dowry for his daughter to Prince Andrei, the son of Vladimir Andreevich, and after Andreeva’s death, having betrothed his daughter and his granddaughter to Vasily Kosoy, he gave the groom a belt, in which he appeared at the Grand Duke’s wedding. Sofya Vitovtovna, having learned that the belt was on Kosoy, in front of everyone, took it off the prince as the property of her family, which had unlawfully passed into someone else’s. The Yuryevichs, offended by such disgrace, immediately left Moscow, and this served as a pretext for war.
SHEMYAKIN COURT
Shemyakin court (treacherous, dishonest court).
This is Sidorov's truth and Shemyakin's court.
Wed. The case of these martyrs was raised and reconsidered; the Shemyakinsk sentences were overturned and the good name and honor of these innocent victims of falsehood... were restored...
N. Makarov. Memories. Preface.
Dmitry Shemyaka (1446) blinded Vasily the Dark and seized the throne (overthrown 1450).
Wed. From this time on, in great Russia, for every judge and admirer, the Shemyakin Court was nicknamed in reproaches.
Collection of figurative words and parables. 1904
RETURN OF THE GOVERNMENT
On July 7, 1445, in the battle of Suzdal with the sons of Ulug-Muhammad, the Grand Duke suffered an unexpected defeat, was wounded and captured. 1 Oct. In 1445 he was released from captivity with the obligation to pay a huge ransom, and Horde tribute collectors arrived with him in North-Eastern Rus'.
The incident dealt a strong blow to the authority of Vasily Vasilyevich. Part of Russian society - representatives of the nobility, Moscow merchants and even some monks of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery - began to be inclined to believe that Dmitry Shemyaka could become the best bearer of the grand-ducal rank. The organizers of the conspiracy against the Grand Duke were Dmitry Shemyaka and John of Mozhaisky. During a pilgrimage trip to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Vasily Vasilyevich was captured by the conspirators and on February 16, 1446 he was blinded (hence his nickname - the Dark One) in Moscow, in the Shemyaki courtyard in the Kremlin. The Grand Duke's table was taken by Dmitry Shemyaka, the former Grand Duke was imprisoned in Uglich.
Faced with significant resistance and church disapproval of his actions, Shemyaka was forced to release Vasily Vasilyevich and his family from prison. At the Council of the Clergy, which met in the fall of 1446, a reconciliation of the princes took place. Soon, however, the abbot of the Kirillov Monastery Trifon freed Vasily Vasilyevich from the oath. After this, the Grand Duke began to patronize the disciples of St. Kirill of Belozersky.
From Vologda, not wanting to obey Shemyaka, Vasily Vasilyevich went to Tver to Grand Duke Boris Alexandrovich, who offered him help. The union was sealed by the marriage of the daughter of the Tver prince Maria and the eldest son of Vasily Vasilyevich - John III Vasilyevich. Boyars and boyar children began to come to Tver, refusing to serve Shemyaka. The Horde princes Kasim and Yakub, sons of Ulug-Muhammad, expelled by their brother, offered their services to Vasily Vasilyevich. On the night of Christmas 1446, the Moscow-Tver army under the command of the Moscow boyar M. B. Pleshcheev captured Moscow in a sudden raid. A new war has begun. In order to attract the appanage princes to his side, the Grand Duke made new grants to them: the brother of the Grand Duke's wife Vasily Yaroslavich Serpukhovskaya received Dmitrov, Ivan Mozhaisky - Bezhetsky Verkh and half of Zaozerye, the other half of Zaozerye was received by his younger brother Mikhail Andreevich Vereisky.
After Vasily Vasilyevich returned to Moscow, the Russian clergy actively contributed to strengthening the power of the Grand Duke for the speedy end of the feudal war. An important step in this direction was a letter sent to Dmitry Shemyaka on December 29, 1447 by Russian bishops and abbots of monasteries. Shemyaka was given an ultimatum: to “correct himself” before the Grand Duke in a short time, otherwise he would be excommunicated from the Church. At the beginning of 1448, Shemyaka and his ally John of Mozhaisk were forced to give the Grand Duke “cursed letters”, which stated that if he violated his obligations of fidelity towards the Grand Duke, “do not awaken the mercy of God and His Most Pure Mother of God, and the prayers of the great miracle workers our lands,” and “blessings to all the bishop of the Russian land.”
When this agreement was violated, the clergy of the Moscow Metropolitanate began to consider Shemyaka as excommunicated from the Church, communication with whom Christians were prohibited. On the campaign against Galich, the appanage capital of Shemyaki, undertaken by Vasily Vasilyevich in the spring of 1449, the Grand Duke was accompanied by the recently installed Metropolitan Jonah and bishops. In January of the following year, Vasily Vasilyevich’s troops took the city, Shemyaka fled to Veliky Novgorod, where he found help and support, military operations moved to the lands of the Russian North. Perm Bishop St., taken prisoner by Shemyaka. Pitirim refused to lift his excommunication. When the residents of Vyatka, together with the Galich prince, began to attack the lands of Vasily Vasilyevich, Metropolitan. Jonah threatened to excommunicate them from the Church, and promised the priests to deprive them of their dignity if they did not stop acting together “with Prince Dmitry Shemyaka, who was excommunicated from God’s Church.” At the same time, the saint addressed a message to Novgorod Archbishop Euthymius II and the residents of Veliky Novgorod with a demand not only to refuse Shemyaka support, but also to “neither eat nor drink” with him, since he “excommunicated himself from Christianity with his fratricide, their betrayals." After the death of Dmitry Shemyaka, who was poisoned in 1453 on the orders of Vasily Vasilyevich in Veliky Novgorod, Metropolitan Jonah forbade commemorating the Galich prince at funeral services.
Chistyakov P.P. At the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark, Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna takes away from Prince Vasily Kosoy, Shemyaka’s brother, a belt with precious stones that once belonged to the Yuryevichs, which the Yuryeviches took possession of incorrectly (fragment). 1861
In the period from 1425 to 1453, power in the Moscow Principality passed from hand to hand. The struggle continued for almost thirty years. During this time, many events occurred that radically influenced not only the history of Russia, but also the entire world. Naturally, we are talking about the decline of the Mongol Khanate. Let's talk about the events of this era and find out what they led to.
Origins of the principality
The Principality of Moscow was formed in the middle of the 18th century on the territory of North-Eastern Rus'. Moscow became the specific capital of the state. The principality played a big role because it stood on the route of water, land and trade routes. But the main factor why the feudal war of 1425-1453 began was that since the 14th century, Moscow rulers had been fighting for political supremacy over other lands. This confrontation led to a centralized monarchy, which was necessary for further political development. From the middle of the 14th century, Moscow rulers were called grand dukes.
In the 1360s, the crown passed into the hands of Dmitry Donskoy. It was his victories that finally secured the supremacy of the Moscow principality over other lands. But at the same time, the ruler created the problem of succession to the throne, which subsequently marked the beginning of a struggle that went down in history as the feudal war of 1425-1453.
Background to the dispute
Dmitry Donskoy, grandson of Grand Duke Ivan I Kalita, reigned from 1359 to 1389. He had 12 children, but only two sons claimed their father’s power: the eldest, Vasily (known as Vasily I Dmitrievich, born in 1371) and the youngest, Yuri (popularly called Yuri of Zvenigorod, born in 1374).
But another prince planned to sit on the throne - his cousin, also the grandson of Ivan I Kalita, Vladimir Andreevich Brave. The man argued that the prince’s successor should be the eldest of his closest relatives, that is, he. This all happened in 1388, when Dmitry Donskoy was already hopelessly ill. He rejected his brother’s candidacy and bequeathed Moscow to his eldest son Vasily. He gives Yuri Galich, Zvenigorod and Ruza. He is allowed to take the throne only in the event of the death of his elder brother. These are the main causes of feudal war.
Misunderstandings in the family
After Donskoy’s death in 1389, his place was taken by his 15-year-old son Vasily I. He comes to an agreement with his uncle Vladimir Andreevich the Brave (he previously recognizes Dmitry Donskoy as his father, and his sons as his older brothers) and with his younger brother Yuri.
Vasily had nine children, but due to the pestilence, four of the five boys died. The prince passed away in 1425. His son Vasily Vasilyevich II, who was ten years old at that time, was proclaimed ruler.
The feudal war began because Yuri Dmitrievich, who was the uncle of Vasily II, began to challenge the legality of the actions. He and his supporters believed that another son of Dmitry Donskoy, Yuri, should become the successor. Donskoy himself spoke about this, because this was the order of succession to the throne.
In addition to the crisis in the family, many officials were not happy that the country was actually ruled by the Lithuanian prince Vytautas, who was Vasily II’s maternal grandfather. This was another reason why the feudal war began.
First period of the war
Immediately after the death of his brother, Yuri Dmitrievich was supposed to arrive in Moscow and swear allegiance. Instead, he went to Galich and began preparations for war. One of Vasily’s supporters, Metropolitan Photius, tried to settle the dispute. In 1428, Yuri declared his nephew his elder brother. But the future ruler had to be determined in the Golden Horde. Then the label for reign was given to Vasily, although the Zvenigorod prince had high hopes for this trip. This event took place in 1431.
The feudal war continued when Yuri, who did not agree with the khan's decision, began to prepare an army.
The period from 1425 to 1431 was not too bloody. Yuri Dmitrievich tried to come to power legally. But after the death of the regent, the Lithuanian Prince Vytautas, in 1430, the man offended by the Horde began to act decisively.
Confrontation between uncle and nephew
In 1433, Yuri and his two sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka - went to Moscow. Another reason for such a struggle on Yuri’s part was personal prerogatives. The feudal war of the 15th century was also started because the father wanted to leave a significant inheritance to his sons. And for this it was necessary to win back what he considered to be his by right. Thus, the army of father and sons won on the Klyazma River. The Grand Duke and his boyars fled to Kolomna, which Yuri gave to Vasily II. Then the sons quarreled with their father and also preferred the side of Vasily Vasilyevich. Having won the war, but being left alone, Yuri disregarded his pride and made peace with his nephew, returning the throne to him. This truce did not last long.
Some of Vasily II's comrades betrayed him. During the battles near the Kusya River and in the struggle near Rostov, Yuri's children again gained the upper hand. The feudal war gained new momentum when Yuri Dmitrievich died on June 5, 1434. Sources indicate that the cause of death was poison. He left the Moscow principality to his son Vasily Kosoy.
The fight between the Dark One and the Oblique
Even his relatives did not accept the new ruler. They teamed up with Vasily II (the Dark). Yuryevich fled from Moscow, taking the treasury with him. In Novgorod, he gathered an army and subsequently captured Zavolochye and Kostroma. In 1435 it was partially defeated by opponents near Moscow.
The feudal war in Rus' passed to Rostov. In 1436, Vasily Yuryevich lost the battle and was captured. There one of his eyes was gouged out, for which Vasily was nicknamed “squinty”. This is where the evidence about him ends. It is further mentioned that he died in prison in 1448.
Brother Dmitry was allocated lands and a high status in the state.
The end of the struggle for power
The feudal war in Rus' continues. In 1445, Vasily II was captured. His principality is headed by law by the closest heir - Dmitry Yuryevich. When Vasily Vasilyevich returns to his lands, he sends his brother to Uglich. But many boyars went over to his side and defended the power of the new prince. So Vasily II ended up in captivity, where he was blinded. For this they called him the Dark One. People who were dissatisfied with the power of Dmitry Yuryevich came to his aid. Taking advantage of the absence of the new prince, on February 17, 1447, Vasily the Dark again ascended the throne. His opponent tried several more times to seize power. Dmitry died of poisoning in 1453.
The results of the feudal war are as follows: the people and the authorities understood the need to unite into one state with the center in Moscow. The price for such knowledge was thousands of deaths and the deterioration of economic and cultural life. In addition to the above, the influence of the Golden Horde on Russian lands increased. Many territories joined. Another significant event was the Yazhelbitsky Peace Treaty. Vasily II was succeeded by his son Ivan III, who completed the unification of Rus' around the Moscow principality.
The essence of the conflict
Starting from the $20-30s of the $15th century, the process of centralization and unification of lands slowed down somewhat. The reason was disagreements within the Moscow dynasty. Clashes occurred between Vasily II And Yuri Dmitrievich Galitsky. The first was the son of Vasily I, and Yuri was the second son of Dmitry Donskoy.
It must be said that the family principle essentially strengthened the position of the grand ducal power. The war between the descendants of Dmitry Donskoy became the last internecine war in Rus'.
Beginning of the war, $1433$ year
Vasily II was $10$ years old when his father Vasily I died. The patron of the young prince was his grandfather, the Lithuanian prince Vytautas. Such impressive support had to be reckoned with, so Yuri Dmitrievich recognized his nephew as Grand Duke. However, almost immediately after the death of Vytautas, in $1433$ Vasily II was expelled Yuri from Moscow. But the Moscow boyars followed the prince to Kolomna. Yuri had to leave the city.
Note 2
It should be noted that the refusal of the boyars to support Yuri demonstrates that at that time the differences in the statuses of the great and appanage princes were clearly clear.
In addition, the boyars believed that when Yuri the existing parochial hierarchy would undergo changes. Overall, these factors were sufficient to end the dynastic war, but Vasily II distinguished by political and military failure.
Second period of the war, $1434-$1436
In $1434$ year Yuri Dmitrievich managed to defeat the troops near Galich Vasily II, and then sit again on the Moscow throne. True, Yuri soon died. His struggle was continued by his son - Vasily Kosy. At the same time, the younger sons of Yuri Dmitry Shemyaka And Dmitry Krasny supported Vasily II. As soon as in $1436$ the result battles on the Cherekha River Vasily II achieved victory and captured Vasily Kosoy, he immediately blinded him. Such an act of cruelty, as well as the increased execution of captured nobles instead of ransom or exchange, indicate an intensification of the struggle.
Third period
After occupying the Moscow throne Vasily II in $1436 there was a pause in military operations within the state. But in foreign policy the situation was very tense, the Horde was disintegrating and at the same time intensifying the pressure on Rus'. In $1445$ year, in the summer, the prince Vasily II lost the battle and was captured by the Kazan Khan Ulu Mohammed. A huge ransom was set for the prince; its burden fell on the common people. The Muscovites were very dissatisfied with their prince. I took advantage of this circumstance Dmitry Shemyaka and made a coup in February $1446$. He blinded Vasily II, who then received the nickname Dark . Prince Vasily was exiled to Uglich. However, after this act, the Moscow boyars began to leave the city following Vasily, the prince was supported by the ruler of Tver. In addition, the church also provided support to the prince. It allowed Vasily II regain the throne in $1447$. Dmitry Shemyaka fled to Novgorod, in fact the war ended with his death in $1453, he was poisoned.
The Grand Duke of Vladimir Vasily I Dmitrievich died on February 25, 1425. According to the prince’s will, his ten-year-old son Vasily became the heir under the regency of Princess Sophia Vitovtovna, her father, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, as well as princes Andrei and Peter Dmitrievich. The rights of Vasily II (1425-1462) to the great reign were immediately challenged by his eldest uncle, the Galician prince Yuri Dmitrievich. A talented commander who had extensive possessions (Galich, Zvenigorod, Ruza, Vyatka), he relied in his claims on the spiritual charter of Dmitry Donskoy, which provided for the transfer of power to the eldest in the family. Yuri Dmitrievich also had an advantage in the struggle for the great reign because Vasily II ascended the throne without the sanction of the Horde khans. The Moscow government began military operations against Yuri, but he avoided a decisive battle, preferring to enlist the support of the Horde. In an effort to avoid bloodshed, Metropolitan Photius, one of the main figures in the government of Basil II, achieved a truce. According to the agreement concluded in mid-1425, Prince Yuri promised not to “seek” the great reign himself, but to transfer the final solution to the issue to the Horde. A trip in the fall of 1431 to the Horde by Yuri Dmitrievich and Vasily Vasilyevich brought success to the latter.
Prince Yuri did not accept defeat and, returning from the Horde, began to prepare for military action. The confrontation turned into a war that began in the spring of 1433. Yuri Dmitrievich and his two eldest sons, Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka, set out on a campaign against Moscow. On April 25, a battle took place with Vasily II on the river. Klyazma. The Grand Duke was defeated and fled to Tver and then to Kostroma. Yuri Dmitrievich entered Moscow. Following tradition, the winner granted Vasily II the Moscow appanage of Kolomna. The boyars and Moscow service people began to go to Kolomna to their prince. As a result, Yuri Dmitrievich was forced to return the throne to his nephew, concluding an agreement with him to recognize Vasily II as his “eldest brother.” However, the war was continued by the sons of Prince Yuri, who in September 1433 defeated Moscow troops near Galich. Vasily II set out on a campaign against the Galician princes. The decisive battle between them took place in March 1434 and ended in the complete defeat of the troops of Vasily II. Yuri entered Moscow for the second time.
The steps then taken by Yuri Dmitrievich testify to his desire to establish autocracy in Rus'. He tried to rebuild the system of relationships between the Grand Duke, his relatives and allies. Yuri even carried out a coin reform. Coins began to be issued - kopecks with the image of St. George the Victorious slaying a serpent with a spear (the serpent symbolized the Horde). Having created a coalition of princes against Vasily II, he sent his sons Dmitry Shemyaka and Dmitry the Red on a campaign against Nizhny Novgorod, where he was hiding. But in June 1434, Prince Yuri unexpectedly died, which led to an aggravation of the situation. Yuri's eldest son, Vasily Kosoy, declared himself the heir to the grand ducal power. However, the brothers did not support him and took the side of Vasily II, as a result of which Vasily Kosoy left Moscow. In May 1436, the troops of Vasily II defeated the Galician prince. Vasily Kosoy was captured and blinded, and an agreement was concluded between Dmitry Shemyaka and Vasily II, according to which the Galician prince recognized himself as a “young brother.” It was obvious that this was a temporary compromise and the struggle would flare up again. Relations became even more strained when in 1440, after the death of Shemyaka’s younger brother Dmitry the Red, Vasily II took away most of his inheritance and reduced Dmitry Shemyaka’s judicial privileges.
Significant changes that influenced the course of the struggle for autocracy in Rus' also occurred in the Horde. Khan Ulu-Muhammad, having been defeated by one of the sons of Tokhtamysh, in 1436-1437. settled in the Middle Volga region. He used the internecine "jam" in Rus' to capture Nizhny Novgorod and raid deep into Russian lands. In the summer of 1445, in the battle of Suzdal, the sons of Ulu-Muhammad defeated the Russian army and captured Vasily II. Power in Moscow passed to Shemyaka. Soon Vasily II was released by the Horde for a large ransom. Upon learning of his return, Shemyaka fled to Uglich. The military defeat, the hardships of the ransom and the violence of the Tatars who arrived to receive it led to the emergence of widespread opposition. Many Moscow boyars, merchants and clergy went over to Shemyaka’s side. A conspiracy arose against Vasily II. In February 1446, Shemyaka captured Vasily, who had come on a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and blinded him. This gave rise to Vasily’s nickname - Dark.
Dmitry Shemyaka's position as Grand Duke was difficult. His reprisal against Vasily II caused indignation. To raise his authority, Shemyaka tried to enlist the support of the church, as well as enter into an alliance with Veliky Novgorod. The fragility of the position of the new Grand Duke forced him to enter into negotiations with Vasily the Dark. In September 1446, Vasily II was released to the inheritance of Vologda, granted to him by Dmitry, which became a gathering place for supporters of his return. Prince Boris Alexandrovich of Tver provided effective assistance to Vasily II. At the beginning of 1447, near Uglich, Dmitry Shemyaka was defeated by the troops of Vasily I, and on February 17 he returned to Moscow in triumph. The Galician prince still tried to continue the fight, but its outcome was already a foregone conclusion. Shemyaka was defeated in the battle of Galich (1450), and then of Ustyug (1451). In 1453 he died in Novgorod under rather mysterious circumstances. After his death, the internecine war ended.
The struggle for the great reign showed the inevitability of the unification of the Russian lands into one state. Its main reason was the achievement of power: which of the princes would rule in Moscow - the already recognized capital of north-eastern Rus'. At the same time, the contenders for the grand-ducal throne of Moscow had two opposing trends in the further development of the country. The Galician princes relied on trade and craft settlements and the free peasantry of the North. Vasily II supported by military service landowners of the central regions. The victory of the center over the north foreshadowed the establishment of serfdom.
Strengthening the power of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II largely depended on the success of the fight against political separatism. In the summer of 1445, he organized a punitive campaign against the Mozhaisk prince Ivan Andreevich as punishment “for his failure to correct himself.” Basil II was afraid of Ivan Andreevich’s contacts with Lithuania. Moscow troops occupied Mozhaisk, the appanage was liquidated, and its territory was divided between the Grand Duke and the Serpukhov Prince Vasily Yaroslavich. In the spring of 1456, after the death of the Ryazan prince, who left his young son in the care of Vasily the Dark, Moscow governors were sent to Ryazan. In the summer of the same year, Prince Vasily Yaroslavich of Serpukhov was unexpectedly captured and sent to prison. His inheritance, like Mozhaisk, became the “fatherland” of the Grand Duke.
The largest state entity, along with the Moscow Principality, remained "Mr.
Veliky Novgorod": during the period of the "lockdown" he managed to maintain his privileges, maneuvering between the warring parties. After the death of Dmitry Shemyaka, Novgorod provided patronage to his family. In their confrontation with Moscow, part of the Novgorod boyars and clergy relied on the support of Lithuania. In 1456, Vasily The Dark One went on a campaign against Novgorod. Having defeated the Novgorod militia near Russa, Vasily II forced the Novgorodians to sign peace. In addition to the huge indemnity, the agreement concluded in Yazhelbitsy included conditions that limited the Novgorod “old times”, Novgorod was deprived of the right to foreign relations and was obliged not to continue. to provide support to the opponents of the Grand Duke, the legislative power of the veche was abolished.
In 1460, Vasily II made a “peaceful” campaign against Novgorod, during which he agreed on the payment by the inhabitants of the Novgorod land of the “black forest” - tribute to the Grand Duke. All this foreshadowed the end of Novgorod freedom. In the same 1460, Pskov turned to Grand Duke Vasily II with a request to protect him from the Livonian Order. The son of Vasily the Dark, Yuri, was appointed to the reign of Pskov and concluded a truce with the Order. By the end of the reign of Vasily II, the territory under his rule disproportionately exceeded the possessions of the rest of the Russian princes, who by that moment had lost their sovereignty and were forced to obey Moscow.
During the period of the great reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462-1505), who became co-ruler of the Moscow state during his father’s lifetime, the “gathering of lands under the hand of Moscow” continued. Distinguished by his intelligence and great willpower, this great Moscow prince annexed Yaroslavl (1463), Rostov (1474), Tver (1485), Vyatka (1489), and abolished the independence of “Mr. Veliky Novgorod.” First, the siege and capture of the city were undertaken (1478), and then the lands of the Novgorod boyars were gradually confiscated and their owners were resettled in the central regions. Since 1476, Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde, and in 1480 the confrontation between Russian and Horde troops at one of the tributaries of the Oka (“standing on the Ugra”) ended bloodlessly, marking the symbolic liberation of Rus' from vassal Horde dependence. Ivan III actually became the creator of the Moscow state. It was he who laid the foundations of the Russian autocracy , not only significantly expanding the territory of the country (in addition to the Russians, it also included other nationalities: Mari, Mordovians, Komi, Pechora, Karelians, etc.), but also strengthening its political system and state apparatus, significantly increasing the international prestige of Moscow. The final fall of Constantinople under the blows of the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and the marriage of Ivan III to the niece of the last Roman emperor, Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus in 1472 allowed the Grand Duke of Moscow to proclaim himself the successor of the Byzantine emperors, and Moscow as the capital of the entire Orthodox world. This was reflected in the concept of “Moscow - the Third Rome”, formulated at the beginning of the 16th century. The Moscow state under Ivan III inherits from Byzantium the state emblem - a double-headed eagle, and the Grand Duke himself in 1485 takes the title of Great Sovereign of All Rus'. Under him, our state began to be called Russia.
In an effort to elevate the grand-ducal power over the boyar-princely nobility, Ivan III consistently formed a multi-level system of service classes. The boyars, swearing allegiance to the Grand Duke, assured their allegiance with special “letters of oath.” The Moscow sovereign could impose disgrace, remove from public service, and confiscate estates. The “departure” of princes and boyars from Moscow was considered high treason, and they lost the right to own their estates.
Under Ivan III, a local system was introduced - granting service people (nobles) possession of free lands (estates) on the basis of non-inheritable personal property for performing military or civil service. Thus, in the Moscow state, in addition to appanage land ownership, three more of its forms developed: state, which included the palace appanage of the grand duke, church-monastery and local. The functions of public administration gradually became more complex. Positions appeared state clerk - manager State yard, And clerks, were in charge of office work. From the end of the 15th century. issued Boyar Duma - the highest state advisory body to the “great sovereign”. In addition to the Moscow boyars, the Duma also included former appanage princes. In order to centralize and unify judicial and administrative activities, a new set of laws was introduced in 1497 - the Code of Laws, which established uniform tax norms and a general procedure for conducting investigations and trials. The Code of Law of Ivan III primarily protected the life and property of the feudal landowner; established (Article 57) the right of peasants to leave their feudal lord for other lands only within a strictly defined period - a week before the autumn Yuri Day (November 26) and within a week after it with mandatory payment "elderly" (ransom). With the introduction of the Code of Law, the process begins attaching peasants to the land. Legislative restrictions on servitude in cities increased the number of taxpayers (“taxpayers”) among their population.
United by Moscow “under the hand of the great sovereign,” the Russian lands experienced a rise not only in the sphere of government. It is no coincidence that Russian culture of this period is assessed in modern literature as a genuine “Russian Renaissance”.
Dynastic War
The reign of Vasily I's son, Vasily II, who received the nickname Dark in history, was a difficult period in the development of the Moscow principality. This time is like a transitional stage from the era of Moscow’s self-assertion as the head of the Russian lands to the flourishing of Moscow’s great power under Ivan III and Vasily III. This transition was accompanied by a tragic breakdown, expressed primarily in a quarter-century of internecine war between two families of the Kalita clan. This strife for primacy and power over Russia brought great troubles to the Moscow principality, but it was able to emerge from it even stronger and more seasoned. At the same time, Tatar activity continues, although the issue of relations between the Horde and Moscow is no longer as acute as before. Nevertheless, the Horde was still quite a formidable force, and Vasily II had to be the last of the Moscow princes to go there for a label. The situation at the beginning of Vasily’s reign was complicated by the fact that at the time of his accession to the Grand Duke’s throne, the prince was only 10 years old, and, of course, he alone, without the help of devoted people, would not have been able to retain power in his hands.
Vasily Vasilyevich was born on March 10, 1415, and his birth, according to chroniclers, was accompanied by remarkable phenomena. On her son’s birthday, Sofya Vitovtovna became so ill that it seemed she was about to die. Vasily I sent to the monastery of St. John the Baptist, which is beyond the Moscow River, to an old man known for his righteous life, so that he would pray for the health of the princess. The elder replied that Sophia would be healthy and that evening she would give birth to a son, which came true. Immediately after the baby was born, someone knocked in the cell of the Grand Duke's confessor in the Spassky Monastery and said: “Go, name the Grand Duke Vasily.” Having opened the door, the confessor, however, did not find anyone, but nevertheless decided to go to the grand-ducal palace. After naming the prince, the holy father tried to find out who had sent for him before, but could not get an answer from anyone. Thus, as if by God's providence, the name of the newborn was indicated.
After the death of Vasily I, since the new Moscow prince was still a child, real political power was concentrated in the hands of his energetic and power-hungry mother, Sophia Vitovtovna, as well as the active Metropolitan Photius and boyar Ivan Dmitrievich Vsevolozhsky, who began to play a large role at the Moscow court. The situation was complicated by the fact that the young prince had several uncles, among whom Yuri (George) Dmitrievich, Prince of Zvenigorod, who inherited the passionarity of his great father, Dmitry Donskoy, especially stood out.
From the very first days of the reign of Vasily II, Yuri acted as a contender for the Moscow grand-ducal throne. There were some reasons for this. In his claims, the prince relied on the will of Dmitry Donskoy. The fact is that in this will, written shortly before the death of the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo, in 1389, there was the following passage: “And because of sin, God will take away my son Prince Vasily, and whoever will be under that my son, otherwise my son Prince Vasilyev inheritance, and my princess will share their inheritance.” That is, in the event of the death of Vasily I, the Moscow table should have passed to the next oldest son of Dmitry Donskoy, which was Yuri. Donskoy's intentions can be easily explained: he wanted the Moscow table to remain in his family, and not pass, for example, to Vladimir the Brave, that is, to another branch of the Kalita family. When the spiritual document was compiled, Vasily I was not yet married and had no children. Also, the other sons of Dmitry Donskoy had no descendants. Therefore, Donskoy spoke only about his children, and not about his grandchildren who had not yet been born. Vasily I, dying, passed on his inheritance to his son. Thus, there was a contradiction between the two documents. When Yuri laid claim to the table, he literally interpreted his father's will, not based on its internal meaning. Vasily II, on the contrary, proceeded from the real state of affairs. It seems that Yuri realized the incorrectness of his claims, but decided to “cling on” to the letter of the spiritual charter, which was 35 years old. Yuri Dmitrievich was a man who had already passed the 50-year mark of his life, and had four young, already independent sons aged 20 - 24 years old, who strived for self-affirmation. In general, this entire family posed a great danger to young Vasily.
Immediately after the death of Vasily I, Metropolitan Photius sent his boyar Akinf Oslebyatev to Zvenigorod. The envoy was supposed to invite Yuri to the capital to take the oath to the new prince. The choice of the ambassador was successful - a relative of the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo, Oslyabi, had to inspire confidence in the son of Dmitry Donskoy. However, Yuri declined the invitation. Fearing, perhaps, a trap, he not only did not go to Moscow, but also left Zvenigorod, going to distant Galich. This was the beginning of the Moscow strife of 1425-1453. Already from Galich, Yuri sent his ambassadors to Moscow to ask for a temporary truce until the end of June, to which he received a positive response. Yuri used this respite to prepare for the implementation of his insidious plans. In Galich, troops loyal to Yuri began to gather for a campaign against Moscow.
But even in Moscow they “didn’t sleep.” With the support of his other uncles, who were then in the capital, Vasily managed to gather a large militia. It moved towards Kostroma, thus wanting to prevent Yuri's actions. Yuri, obviously, was not ready for the fight and fled to Nizhny Novgorod, and from there even further - across the Sura River. His younger brother Konstantin Dmitrievich was sent in pursuit of the rebellious prince. But his actions were not successful; he soon returned to Moscow, where Yuri’s ambassadors then arrived, returning to Galich when the danger had passed. The Zvenigorod prince again asked Vasily for a truce for a year.
In June 1425, Metropolitan Photius left for Galich, who was supposed to negotiate peace with Yuri, and not a temporary truce. Yuri Dmitrievich gathered many people from his cities and villages and placed them on a suburban mountain along which the Metropolitan was passing. Thus, Yuri wanted to show the metropolitan, and at the same time the Moscow prince, that he had significant forces for a war with Moscow. Arriving in Galich, Photius prayed in the cathedral church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and then, looking around the crowd of people, turned to Yuri with the following words: “... son, I haven’t seen a table of people in sheep’s wool, I’m all wearing sheepskin coats.” The Metropolitan's caustic remark negated the intended effect of the demonstration organized by Yuri. Photius spoke to the prince about peace, but Yuri insisted only on a truce. The prince needed it in order to accumulate strength and begin negotiations in the Horde.
It should be noted that Yuri decided in his future policy to try to use the authority of the Horde, which still remained a terrible force. According to the Zvenigorod prince, the establishment of the great Moscow and Vladimir prince should have occurred at the behest of the Golden Horde khan. In this case, Yuri would look like a law-abiding ruler loyal to the khan, and Vasily would look like a rebel and apostate. The negotiations ended in a breakdown. Photius left the city in anger and did not give a blessing to either Yuri or his supporters. At this time, a pestilence suddenly began in Galich. Yuri, attaching great importance to this as punishment for contradicting the Metropolitan, quickly mounted his horse and set off in pursuit. He caught up with Photius in the village of Pasynkovo and barely persuaded him to return to the city. This time the Zvenigorod prince turned out to be more compliant. It was possible to approve a peace according to which Yuri agreed not to seek the Grand Duke's throne himself, while at the same time the controversial issue of succession to the throne had to be resolved in the Horde by the khan. This compromise probably suited both sides. Photius blessed the Galicians, and the pestilence stopped. There was a slight respite again.
At this time, the restless Lithuanian prince Vitovt became more active, not giving up hope of seizing power in the northern Russian cities of Pskov and Novgorod. In 1426, Vitovt invaded the lands of the Pskov state and approached Opochka (the Horde also made up a significant force in Vitovt’s army). The city residents came up with a trick. They built a bridge on the way to Opochka, which was held on by thin ropes, and under the bridge they placed a palisade with the sharp ends of the stakes facing up. When the soldiers of the Lithuanian prince rushed across the bridge to the city, the Russians cut the ropes, and the enemies fell down onto the stakes. Many Lithuanians were captured and executed. Vitovt retreated to the city of Voronach. But here, too, failures accompanied him. A terrible thunderstorm broke out over the prince's camp. The hurricane shook Vytautas so much that this formidable warrior, clinging to the tent pole in fear, screamed incessantly, thinking that the ground under him was about to open up and swallow him. Meanwhile, the Pskovites communicated with the Grand Duke, who sent an embassy to his grandfather asking for peace. The Pskov residents added 3,000 rubles to their words. Vitovt, for some reason taking only 1000 and heeding Vasily’s petitions, concluded peace with Pskov and went home.
Meanwhile, the question of the princes’ trip to the Horde was delayed. In 1428, uncle and nephew entered into a new agreement, very beneficial for Yuri, who recognized himself as a “younger brother” in relation to the Moscow prince. Yuri's destiny was limited to Galich and Vyatka. At the same time, Vasily pledged to help the Galician prince, which he soon proved in practice. In 1429, the Horde approached Galich. They besieged the city for about a month, but could not take it, ravaging only the surrounding area. On Epiphany (January 6, 1429), Kostroma and two other small towns were raided. Having captured the booty, the Horde went to the Volga. Vasily sent a chase after them under the leadership of princes Andrei and Konstantin Dmitrievich and several governors. The campaign was unsuccessful; only individual detachments managed to defeat small groups of enemies and recapture the entire army. “The Tsarevich and the Prince” Alibaba was never caught up. The ungrateful Yuri in the winter of 1430 “broken the peace” with Vasily, and the Moscow prince sent his uncle Konstantin to Galich. The situation of 1425 was repeated exactly: Yuri fled to Sura, and Konstantin was unable to cross the river and returned to Moscow. Yuri moved to Nizhny Novgorod, and then returned to Galich.
In 1430, Vasily went to Vytautas for a feast in Troki on the occasion of his expected coronation. There, in addition to the Moscow prince and Metropolitan Photius, there came the princes of Tver, Ryazan, representatives of the Horde, ambassadors of Byzantium, the Wallachian ruler who was in exile, King Jagiello of Poland, the Grand Master of Prussia, Land Marshal of Livonia and some other, smaller rulers. But the coronation was upset due to the active opposition of the Polish magnates, and Vytautas was left without a crown. This failure, apparently, undermined his strength so much that in the same year he died, and another Gediminovich, Jagiello’s brother, Svidrigailo, became the Lithuanian prince. With the death of Vitovt, an entire era in the history of Lithuania and Russian-Lithuanian relations disappeared into oblivion. The following year, on July 2, Metropolitan Photius also died. The departure of such major figures from the political arena freed Yuri’s hands, who decided that he could now achieve success in the Horde. Both princes began preparations for departure.
In August, after long prayers and distribution of alms to the monasteries, having dined in the meadow opposite the Simonov Monastery, Vasily II went to the Horde to the court of Khan Ulu-Muhammad, accompanied by the cunning and dexterous boyar Ivan Dmitrievich Vsevolozhsky, a descendant of the Smolensk appanage princes, who served in Moscow. A little later, in mid-September of the same year, 1431, Yuri also hurried to the Horde, returning the 1428 agreement with the “folding together” to the Grand Duke. Both candidates went to the khan with rich gifts, without which, as usual, not a single matter was resolved. In the Horde, Vasily found an influential patron - a certain nobleman Minbulat, who showed the Moscow prince “great honor.” He kept Yuri “in languor,” that is, simply in captivity. But a patron also stood up for Yuri - the noble Horde member Teginya from the famous Shirin family. He “by force” took the Galician prince from the Minbulat and went with him to the Crimea, where they spent the whole winter. Teginya promised Yuri support, but the Muscovites did not sit idly by. Boyar Vsevolozhsky carried out a lot of “work” among the Horde aristocracy in favor of Vasily. Prince Aidar enjoyed particular influence here, to whom Vsevolozhsky managed to instill the idea that if the label was transferred to Yuri, his influence at the court of Tegini would increase, which threatened Aidar and other princes with serious complications (“what will happen to you then?”). In addition, Yuri was the “brother” of Svidrigailo, with whom the Horde nobles had complex relations.
The power of the khan in the Horde became more and more dependent on the influence of certain strengthened nobles; it was no longer the former autocracy, so the voices of Aidar and other Horde members reached their goal. Ulu-Muhammad decided to hand over the table to Vasily and ordered to kill him as soon as Teginya appeared. In the spring of 1432, Teginya and Yuri arrived from Crimea. They were warned by loyal people about the khan's decision, but Yuri decided to go to the end. A dispute between the princes flared up, each presented his own arguments, but the outcome of the matter was decided by the same Vsevolozhsky. He gave a speech to the khan, in which he noted that Yuri wants to become a prince not by the will of the khan, but by “the dead letter of his father.” Vasily, on the contrary, seeks, first of all, the khan’s label, since he recognizes himself as a vassal of the Horde, and Rus' is its ulus. In addition, the cunning courtier, as if by chance, noticed that Vasily had been sitting on the throne for many years, regularly serving “you, his sovereign.” These words decided the outcome of the proceedings: Ulu-Mukhammed gave the label to Vasily, but, fearing Tegini, added the escheated Dmitrov to Yuri’s possessions. Yuri was supposed to lead his horse under Vasily as a sign of submission, but the magnanimous Grand Duke freed his uncle from such humiliation. Upon his return to Rus', Vasily was installed in Moscow on the grand-ducal table by the Horde ambassador, Tsarevich Mansyr-ulan on October 5, 1432. Yuri went to his place in Galich, Vasily Dmitrov soon annexed it to his possessions. But the calm in Rus' again turned out to be only temporary.
Further struggle for Moscow flared up on the initiative of the same boyar Vsevolozhsky.
The Moscow prince had reached adulthood, and it was necessary to think about the future of the throne. Therefore, in the fall of 1432, Vasily’s betrothal took place to the sister of the Serpukhov and Borovsk prince Vasily Yaroslavich, Maria. This event dismayed Vsevolozhsky. The cunning adventurer strove for a leading position in the political life of Rus'. Carrying out a skillful matrimonial policy, he wanted to subordinate almost all the major principalities to his influence. Vsevolozhsky himself was married to the granddaughter of Vasily Velyaminov, the Moscow thousand, one of the daughters of Ivan Dmitrievich was the wife of the son of Vladimir the Brave - Andrei of Radonezh. Their daughter, in turn, became engaged to Vasily Yuryevich, the son of Yuri of Zvenigorod and Galicia. Another daughter of Vsevolozhsk married the Tver Grand Duke. Vsevolozhsky also dreamed of a relationship with Vasily, intending to marry some of his relatives to him. And now the schemer’s plans were crumbling. Wanting to achieve revenge, Vsevolozhsky went to Uglich to see Konstantin Dmitrievich, then to Tver, but finding support neither here nor there, finally arrived in Galich to Yuri.
Meanwhile, on February 8, 1433, the wedding of Vasily II and Maria Borovskaya took place in Moscow. Yuri was not present at the wedding, but his two sons were invited - Vasily and Dmitry Shemyaka (Shemyaka’s nickname comes from the Tatar word “chimek” - outfit; in addition to Dmitry Yuryevich, two more princes from the Rurikovichs bore this nickname - Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Pronsky, a descendant of the Ryazan princes, who lived in the 16th century, and Prince Dmitry Danilovich Gagarin, from the family of Starodub princes, who served as governor in Sviyazhsk in 1571). During the feast, Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna saw on Vasily Yuryevich a precious belt that once belonged to Dmitry Donskoy. According to legend, this belt was Evdokia’s dowry, but at Donskoy’s wedding Vasily Velyaminov allegedly replaced it. Then the belt passed to Velyaminov’s son, Mikula, from him to his daughter, who became the wife of Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and then, through family ties, it ended up in the hands of Vasily Yuryevich. Sophia, in anger, tore off Vasily’s belt right at the feast, and the offended Yuryevichs left Moscow to join their father. (This historical moment later served as the subject for the famous painting by P. P. Chistyakov, which is kept in the Russian Museum today.) According to some news, the belt on Vasily was identified by the boyar Zakary Ivanovich Koshkin, the ancestor of the Romanovs, who was Maria Yaroslavna’s cousin.
Passions flared up, long-standing enmity flared up with renewed vigor. Yuri gathered an army and marched on Moscow. The Grand Duke learned about his uncle's actions when he was already in Pereyaslavl. Vasily II hastily sent an embassy to Yuri, which arrived at him at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The peace proposal was rejected mainly thanks to the same restless Vsevolozhsky. The boyar did not allow the ambassadors “to say a word about peace,” as a result of which between the boyars “there was great fighting and inappropriate words.” The Grand Duke's ambassadors returned to Moscow “idle,” that is, having achieved nothing. Vasily II, having gathered as many soldiers as he could, set out on a campaign and met his uncle on the banks of the Klyazma, 20 versts from Moscow. The disorganized regiments of Vasily II could not withstand the battle, the Moscow militia generally showed themselves from the worst side, the Muscovites did not provide any real help: “for many of them drank byahu, and brought honey from them, so that they could drink more.” Arriving in Moscow, Vasily took his wife and mother and rushed to Tver, and from there to Kostroma. Yuri went after him and captured the Grand Duke. Vasily II had to beat the new Moscow prince with his forehead. Yuri gave his nephew Kolomna as an inheritance and after the feast he sent him there along with all the boyars. The former Zvenigorod prince himself finally achieved his desired goal: he took the Moscow grand-ducal table.
Under Yuri, the leading position in government was taken by his favorite boyar Semyon Morozov. It was through Morozov that Vasily II secured Kolomna for himself. This caused the displeasure of many boyars who were determined to fight Vasily II. Having established himself in Kolomna, Vasily “began to invite people from everywhere.” Prominent boyars loyal to Vasily began to leave Moscow. Dissatisfaction with Morozov also increased, which contributed to the flight of some of Yuri’s boyars from the city. All this made Yuri's power fragile and his position precarious.
Morozov also displeased Yuri’s sons, Vasily and Dmitry Shemyaka. In the vestibule of the Kremlin palace, a stormy scene broke out between them, as a result of which the brothers killed Morozov, and they themselves, fearing their father’s wrath, fled to Kostroma. Yuri, apparently realizing that he would not be able to retain power, himself turned to Vasily with a proposal for peace. Arriving in Moscow, Vasily concluded an agreement with his uncle, according to which Yuri refused for himself and for his youngest son Dmitry the Red not to accept or support his older sons, returned to Vasily II all his possessions, including Dmitrov, as well as everything captured in Moscow and prisoners . After this, Yuri left for Zvenigorod, and then to Galich. Boyar Vsevolozhsky, a traitor and traitor, was captured and blinded, and all his property went to the treasury.
In the same 1433, Vasily II sent an army under the leadership of his governor, Prince Yuri Patrikeevich (this is the ancestor of the princes Khovansky, Golitsyn and Kurakin) to Kostroma against the Yuryevichs. A battle took place on the Kusi River in which the army of the Grand Duke was defeated (September 28, 1433). Yuri Dmitrievich apparently violated his agreement, since his regiments also fought on the side of the Yuryevichs. In response, Vasily II with a large army approached Galich and burned it. Yuri fled to Beloozero, and then returned to the devastated Galich, from where he called on his sons to unite in the fight against Vasily II. In the spring of 1434, Yuri's army met with the army of Vasily II in the Rostov region. The Moscow prince was defeated and fled to Novgorod. On March 31, 1434, Yuri easily captured Moscow, captured both grand duchesses and sent them to Zvenigorod. So Yuri became the prince of Moscow for the second time.
Vasily II, meanwhile, moved to Nizhny Novgorod, where Yuri sent an army led by his sons to capture the former Moscow prince. But on the way, the Yuryevichs learned about the sudden death of their father on June 5, 1434. Vasily Yuryevich took the Moscow table, but did not stay on it for more than a month. His brothers Dmitry Shemyaka and Dmitry Krasny did not support him and invited Vasily II to Moscow. Vasily Yuryevich fled to Kostroma, Vasily II again became a Moscow prince, and Shemyak received Uglich and Rzhev. Vasily Yuryevich tried to take revenge and set off from Kostroma to Moscow, but on January 6, 1435, in the battle on the Kotorosl River, between Rostov and Yaroslavl, he was defeated and fled back. Vasily II moved to Kostroma, but it didn’t come to a battle; Vasily Yuryevich recognized himself as the “younger brother” of the Moscow prince and was content with Dmitrov.
Once again the completion proved short-lived. Having stayed in Dmitrov for only a month, Vasily Yuryevich sent “letters of marking” to the Moscow prince, and he himself left for Kostroma. In the winter of 1435/36 he captured Galich and Ustyug. Meanwhile, Dmitry Shemyaka came to Moscow to invite Vasily II to his wedding in Uglich. The Moscow prince ordered to seize him. This caused the displeasure of Shemyaka’s supporters, and his entire court went over to the side of Vasily Yuryevich. The war began again. The troops of the two Vasilys met in a battle on the Cherekha River (Rostov land) on May 14, 1436. Vasily Yuryevich’s army was completely defeated, and the unlucky adventurer himself was captured. He was brought to Moscow and taken into custody. On May 21, 1436, Vasily Yuryevich was blinded by order of Vasily II and thus became “Oblique,” going down in history under this nickname. Another opponent of Vasily II was defeated. Kosoy lived after this for 12 years (apparently in prison) and died in 1448. After the victory over Kosyi, Vasily II summoned Shemyaka, who had previously been sent to live in Kolomna, and Dmitry Yuryevich arrived in Moscow in fear. The Grand Duke entered into an agreement with his cousin and released him to his inheritance (Uglich and Rzhev). However, Shemyaka harbored a grudge against the Moscow prince, which later became the cause of another round of the great Moscow strife.
Meanwhile, political changes occurred in the Horde. Here, one of the sons of Tokhtamysh, Seid-Akhmed, expelled Ulu-Muhammad, and he with a small detachment came to the area of the city of Belev on the Russian border, set up a town there and decided to spend the winter (1437). This, of course, could not please Vasily II. The Moscow prince sent an army led by Dmitry Shemyaka and Dmitry the Red against the former khan. Until recently, Vasily went to Ulu-Muhammad to pay his respects, and now the khan himself was forced to seek salvation in the Russian lands. On the way to Belev, the Yuryevich brothers behaved like real robbers: “having robbed everything from their own Orthodox Christianity, and tormented people from the spoils, and slaughtered animals, I sent them back to themselves, plundering everything and an inappropriate and nasty deed.” Initially, success accompanied the Moscow army; the Horde were defeated and thrown back into the city. The Khan sent an embassy to the Yuryevichs, offering his son as a hostage and promising (in the event of taking the Khan's throne) all possible assistance to Moscow and refusal of Russian tribute. The former ruler of the Golden Horde, thus, almost found himself in the position of a prisoner. Vasily's governors rejected all the khan's proposals and decided to finish off the Horde. On December 5, 1437, a new battle took place, in which, thanks to the betrayal of the Mtsensk governor Grigory Protasyev, Ulu-Muhammad managed to defeat the Russian regiments. Subsequently, Protasyev was “caught” and, on Vasily’s orders, blinded. From near Belev, Ulu-Muhammad retreated to the Volga, where the Kazan Khanate was formed. The former khan of the Golden Horde became the ruler of this state.
Encouraged by the success of the Belevshchina, on July 3, 1439, Ulu-Muhammad suddenly approached the walls of Moscow with large forces. The actions of Vasily II were not original. Without having time, of course, to prepare for the enemy’s repulse, he left Moscow for the Volga. The defense of the city was led by governor Yuri Patrikeevich. The Horde stood near Moscow for 10 days; they failed to take the city, but they burned the settlement and captured a large town. On the way back, the khan burned Kolomna “and took many people into captivity, and massacred others.” After the departure of Ulu-Muhammad, Vasily sent Dmitry the Red to Moscow as governor, and he himself lived the whole winter in Pereyaslavl and Rostov, “for the settlements were destroyed by the Tatars, and the people were flogged, and the stench from them was great.” During the siege of Moscow, Shemyaka did not send his regiments to help the Grand Duke.
Hostile relations between the cousins soon resulted in another conflict. In the fall of 1441, Vasily unexpectedly went to Uglich. For Shemyaka this was a complete surprise, and he could have been captured if not for the warning of clerk Kuludar Irezhsky. Subsequently, the clerk was stripped of his title and punished by order of Vasily with a whip. Prince Dmitry fled to Bezhetsky Verkh, from where he sent to Novgorod to ask the Novgorodians to accept him. The townspeople’s answer was evasive: “If you want, prince, you can come to us too; but if you don’t like it, it’s whatever you like.” Shemyaka, apparently, decided that it was not worth getting involved with the Novgorodians for now, and, having gathered an army, moved towards Vasily. Yuryevich was also joined by Prince Alexander Czartoryski, a descendant of Gediminas, who had recently killed the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund along with his brother Ivan.
At the Trinity Monastery, the enemies were reconciled by Abbot Zinovy. Vasily and Dmitry drew up an agreement according to which the inheritance of Shemyaka included Galich, Ruza, Vyshgorod, Uglich and Rzheva.
The Horde continued to raid Russian lands. In the winter of 1443, Tsarevich Mustafa went to the Ryazan land, burned the villages and took away a large full. Then he sold the prisoners to the Ryazan people themselves. The winter turned out to be severe, there were bitter frosts, and Mustafa returned to Ryazan again, but this time not as an invader, but for the winter. Having learned about this, the Grand Duke sent an army to Mustafa under the leadership of the governors of princes Vasily Obolensky and Andrei Fedorovich Goltyaev. The Mordovians also joined them on skis. The battle took place on the Listani River. The Horde could not shoot from their ice-covered bows, but they fought desperately, not wanting to surrender. The Tatar army was defeated, and Mustafa was among the dead.
Kazan Khan Ulu-Mukhammed also continued to disturb the Russian borders. In the winter of 1444, he entered Nizhny Novgorod, and then captured Murom. In Nizhny, a small group of residents locked themselves in a fortress built by Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich and withstood the Horde siege. Vasily II managed to drive the Tatars out of Murom, but in the spring news came to Moscow that Ulu-Muhammad had sent his sons Mamutyak and Yakub to attack the Grand Duke. Having gathered an army, Vasily set out on a campaign and was soon in Yuryev. The Nizhny Novgorod governors also came running here. Driven to extremes by hunger and unable to withstand a long siege, they set fire to the fortress at night and fled. Vasily's campaign was poorly organized. Shemyaka did not come to help at all. On July 6, 1445, the Russian army reached the Kamenka River and stopped at the Spaso-Evfimev Monastery not far from Suzdal. Early in the morning of July 7, Vasily received news that the Horde had crossed the Nerl River. The battle at the monastery turned out to be a tragedy for the Russians. The Grand Duke of Moscow was captured.
The Horde who stayed at the Euthymius Monastery sent one of their own to Moscow with news to the Grand Duchesses about the capture of Vasily II. As proof, the Horde member carried the pectoral cross of the Moscow prince. Having learned about what happened, Muscovites were alarmed. The situation was aggravated by a terrible fire on July 14, during which the city was badly damaged and 2,000 people burned in the fire. Panic began in Moscow. Everyone was expecting the arrival of Ulu-Muhammad. The Grand Duchesses left for Rostov, and many townspeople also began to leave Moscow. However, the panic subsided when the Muscovites themselves organized themselves: they began to strengthen the city gates, and those who wanted to escape were grabbed and chained. Power in the city passed to Dmitry Shemyaka, who brought Sofya Vitovtovna back by force. Ulu-Muhammad sent his ambassador Begich to Shemyaka, he was received by the new prince and released “with honor” along with clerk Fyodor Dubensky, through whom Shemyaka asked the khan not to release Vasily from captivity.
But events turned differently. Having not received news from Begich for a long time, Ulu-Mukhammed decided that he had been killed by Shemyaka, and on October 1 he released Vasily II and other captives to Rus' with the condition of a ransom. Together with Vasily, a large Horde detachment moved to Moscow. Begich's embassy was intercepted, and Murza himself died. Shemyaka fled to Uglich in horror. On November 17, Vasily drove up to Moscow and stopped in Vagankovo, in his mother’s house, and then moved to the house of Prince Yuri Patrikeevich, since after the fire the city had not yet been rebuilt.
Dmitry Yuryevich, however, was not at all going to put up with his situation and decided to use the anti-Horde sentiments of Russian society to create a coalition against Vasily. Appealing, first of all, to the fact that Vasily brought the Tatars to Rus' and wants to give them all the Russian lands, and to settle in Tver himself, Shemyaka managed to win over to his side Prince Ivan Andreevich of Mozhaisk, Prince Boris Alexandrovich of Tver, many boyars, governor , even the monks of the Trinity Monastery. The conspirators were only waiting for an opportunity to carry out their plans. At the beginning of February 1446, Vasily went on a pilgrimage to the Trinity Monastery to venerate the relics of St. Sergius. Taking advantage of this, Shemyaka and Ivan Andreevich suddenly took Moscow on the night of February 12. They captured both grand duchesses and the entire grand ducal treasury. Shemyaka sent the Mozhaisk prince to the Trinity Monastery to capture Vasily. The Moscow prince was warned of the danger, but limited himself to installing a “watchman” on the mountain near Radonezh.
Ivan Andreevich used a trick. A convoy of sleighs approached Radonezh, two warriors hid in the sleigh under the matting, and the third walked behind the sleigh, as if a cabman with an ordinary cart. When the convoy passed the guards, Ivan’s soldiers jumped out of the sleigh and captured all of Vasily’s guards. Then Shemyaka's supporters broke into the Trinity Monastery and captured the Moscow prince. On the night of February 13-14, Vasily II was brought to Moscow and blinded. Since then, he became “Dark”, going down in history under this nickname. The unfortunate prince, who experienced the horror of this execution, which he himself had used several times before, was sent to Uglich, Sofya Vitovtovna was exiled to Chukhloma. Vasily’s children managed to escape from the Trinity Monastery and took refuge in Murom. A new Moscow reign began, with Dmitry Shemyaka becoming the head of state.
But the usurper prince did not stay on the table for long. His position was precarious. Vasily's supporters formed a strong conspiracy to free the former Grand Duke.
Trying to somehow neutralize the enemies, Shemyaka convened something like a church council in Moscow, which was also attended by prominent boyars. He addressed those gathered with a request for advice on what to do next. The hierarchs spoke in favor of negotiations with Vasily. Together with the council members, Shemyaka went to Uglich, where he met with the Grand Duke. Vasily II publicly repented of his sins, namely, violating the kiss of the cross, killing many people, etc. He blamed everything on himself and even said that he was worthy of the death penalty and was alive only by the grace of Shemyaka. Vasily’s words had an effect. Shemyaka reconciled with him, released him from prison on September 15, 1446 and gave Vologda as his inheritance. Now Vologda, and then Tver, where Vasily moved, became the center of opposition to Shemyaka. In Tver, the betrothal of Vasily’s son, Ivan, the future III, to the daughter of Prince Boris, Maria, also took place.
Shemyaka and Ivan Mozhaisky set out from Moscow to meet their enemies and stopped in Volokolamsk. Meanwhile, a detachment of Vasily’s supporters suddenly captured Moscow on Christmas Day (December 25, 1446). Then the widow of Prince Vasily Vladimirovich (this is the son of Vladimir the Brave) Ulyana left the capital, and on this occasion the city gates were open. Having captured Moscow, Vasily’s governors swore in the residents and began to fortify the city. The main forces of Vasily from Tver went to Volok. Having learned about the capture of Moscow, Shemyaka and Ivan Andreevich, whose army was disintegrating and melting every day, hastily fled to Galich, then to Chukhloma, and then to Kargopol.
Vasily entered Moscow on February 17, 1447, and soon achieved the release of Sophia Vitovtovna from Shemyaka. In 1448, the cousins made peace, which was broken the next year. In 1449, Ivan of Mozhaisk went over to the side of the Grand Duke. Finally, in January 1450, the army of the Moscow prince approached Galich. In the battle on January 27, Shemyaka suffered a crushing defeat and barely escaped. Yuryevich “dug in” in Novgorod, from where he once again tried to change the situation, trying to capture Ustyug. But Vasily, with the help of Horde troops, stopped this attempt.
The end to the long-term enmity of the princes was put only on July 18, 1453, when Shemyaka died suddenly in Novgorod, poisoned by the “agents” of Sofia Vitovtovna. Clerk Beda, who brought the news of Shemyaka’s death to Moscow (July 23), was granted the position of clerk.
Thus ended the Great Moscow strife. Vasily II won it and moved further along the path of strengthening the Moscow state. Horde dependence faded into oblivion, and from enemies the Tatars more and more often began to turn into allies of the Grand Duke. True, in 1451, the son of Khan Seyid-Akhmed, Prince Mazovsha, made a campaign against Moscow. Not having time to gather strength, Vasily went out to meet the enemy, but turned back. Leaving Sofya Vitovtovna, Metropolitan Jonah, son Yuri and the boyars in Moscow, the prince and his son Ivan went to the Volga, and sent his wife and young children to Uglich. On July 2, the Horde approached Moscow and set fire to the settlement. There was intense heat, the fire spread very quickly, spread to the Kremlin, churches were burning, and nothing could be seen from the smoke... Finally, the fire died down and the smoke cleared. Muscovites began to make forays outside the city gates. The liberation of Moscow was facilitated by a strange phenomenon. One night, the Horde heard a terrible noise in the city: thinking that it was Vasily who had come with the army, they abandoned all their loot and fled in a hurry from under the walls of the city. Having received news of the retreat of the Tatars, the Grand Duke returned to the capital.
An attempt by Seyid-Akhmed Saltan's other son to achieve success in Russian lands did not lead to revenge of the Horde (1455). Subsequent invasions of the Tatars into Russian borders (1459 and 1460, the second time the Tatars were led by Khan Akhmat, the future opponent of Ivan III on the Ugra River) were also unsuccessful. At the end of his life, Vasily went on a campaign against Kazan, but the matter was limited to peace with the new Khanate.
Having dealt with Shemyaka, Vasily tried to establish his influence in other Russian principalities. In 1456, he carried out three “events”: he went on a campaign against Novgorod, defeated his army, took a ransom of 1000 rubles and concluded an agreement with the city of Yazhelbitsy. Then he ordered the capture of Prince Vasily Yaroslavich of Serpukhov-Borovsk, who had always served him faithfully. Vasily, who was also the brother of the Grand Duke’s wife, was sent to prison, where he died in 1483. And finally, the Ryazan prince Ivan Fedorovich gave the Dark One both his land and his son-heir. Vasily II, however, did not dare to annex Ryazan to his possessions and limited himself to establishing control over it. Thus, Novgorod was again subjugated, the Serpukhov-Borovsk inheritance and the dynasty of the descendants of Vladimir the Brave were liquidated, and Ryazan was almost deprived of its independence.
In 1462, the nobles of Vasily Yaroslavich formed a conspiracy to free their prince. However, their plan was revealed, and Vasily II ordered them to be executed with a terrible death: the unfortunates were beaten with a whip, their hands were cut off, their nostrils were torn out and their heads were cut off.
Soon after the executions, the Grand Duke fell ill. The disease progressed, and Vasily wanted to take monastic vows, but his family kept him from doing so. On March 27, 1462, Vasily the Dark died and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin. He divided his principality between his sons. His eldest son Ivan (01/22/1440 - 10/27/1505) became the heir to the great reign of Moscow and Vladimir; Yuri (1441 - 1473) received Dmitrov, Mozhaisk, Serpukhov and some other cities; Andrey the Elder (1446 - 1494) - also a number of cities, including Uglich, Ustyuzhna, Bezhetsky Verkh, Zvenigorod; Boris (1449 - 1494) - Rzhev, Volok and Ruzu; Andrey the Lesser (1452 - 1481) - Vologda with Kubena and Zaozerye and some Kostroma volosts; The widow Maria Yaroslavna inherited, among other things, Rostov and Nerekhta.
The reign of Vasily II was marked not only by wars, but also by other important events. As a result of the monetary reform, for example, a single mint was created in Moscow and a single weight of coins was established, which contributed to the unity of Rus'. Changes also occurred in church life. From the late 1430s, the Byzantine emperors, wanting to protect themselves from the threat of Turkish conquest, entered into negotiations with the Pope about the possibility of a union, that is, the unification of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. On this occasion, in 1438-1439, a church council was held in Ferrara and Florence, which on July 5, 1439 proclaimed a union, that is, in fact, the unification of both branches of Christianity under the supremacy of the pope. The union was also signed by Moscow Metropolitan Isidore, a widely educated Greek humanist, who came to the council at the request of the elderly Patriarch of Constantinople Joseph II. In March 1441, Isidore returned to Moscow and, during the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral, solemnly proclaimed the bull of Pope Eugene IV on the reunification of the churches. This caused indignation among the prince, the clergy, and the laity. On the fourth day after his arrival, Isidore was arrested and imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery. A church council was urgently convened, at which the Suzdal Bishop Abraham played a major role, signing the union with Isidore and then renouncing it. The Council unanimously condemned the “Latinism” of Isidore. In September 1441, Isidore escaped from custody, first to Tver, from there to Lithuania and then to Rome. Moscow authorities sent a message to the Patriarch of Constantinople Mitrofan asking for de facto autocephaly of the Russian Church. The resolution of the issue dragged on, and only on December 15, 1448, Bishop Jonah of Ryazan, who took an active part in the events of the strife, became the Russian metropolitan (he was even Shemyaka’s involuntary accomplice for some time). From now on, the election of a metropolitan became the matter of the Russian high priestly council, and not the prerogative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Russian church, in fact, became independent.
In 1453, Constantinople fell, the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist, and from that moment on, Rus' became the main support of Orthodoxy. The awareness of this, expressed in the concept of Moscow - the Third Rome, took shape already during the time of Vasily III.
An important result of the reign of Vasily II was not only the strengthening of the unity of the Moscow state, but also the actual elimination of the Horde yoke. Vasily was the last of the Russian princes to travel to the Horde. Under him, the Kasimov Khanate was created on the Volga, a vassal state of Russia and a kind of buffer on the border with the Great Horde. Moscow emerged from the turbulent time of bloody strife and rebellion stronger and more seasoned. Now nothing stood in the way of finally forming a strong state, freeing ourselves from the Horde, eliminating the remnants of appanage Rus' and standing on a par with other great European powers. It fell to the lot of Vasily’s successor, the Sovereign of All Rus', Ivan the Great, to implement all this.
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