Annexation of Novgorod to the Moscow state. Annexation of Veliky Novgorod and Tver New allies of Michael

After the end of the Livonian War, that is, in the words of the Russian general “along with concerns about restoring the charm of the Russian name in the far west of its possessions”, Moscow Grand Duke Ivan III continued to gather Russian lands into a single centralized state.

Let's compare the maps presented according to Figures 1 and 2. Any reader can easily find them on the Internet if desired. The maps clearly show how, over the centuries, step by step, an all-Russian state was created with its center in Moscow and the territories annexed to the Grand Duchy of Moscow under Ivan III are clearly shown (Figure 2). The work done under Ivan III to unify the Russian lands is impressive.

After liberation from the yoke of the Horde, in order to achieve the great goal of unifying Rus', however, as before the victory over it, Grand Duke Ivan III used a variety of methods to annex various state entities of that time on Russian soil to Moscow.

For example, the Vologda land was annexed as follows. Andrei Vasilyevich Menshoi (1452 - 1481), appanage prince of Vologda and the youngest of the seven sons of Vasily II the Dark, died at the age of twenty-nine. He never clashed with his older brother Ivan III, whom his victory at the crossings of the Ugra River made him Great. During strife in the grand ducal family in 1480, Prince Andrei Menshoi sided with the grand duke, was childless, and before his death bequeathed his inheritance to his elder brother.

Figure 1 – Growth of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Moscow

in 1300 – 1462

There were other appanage princes who, for a variety of reasons, bequeathed to transfer their lands to the Moscow Grand Duke after their death.

After the annexation of the Novgorod land, the issue of annexing the lands of the Tver Principality became acute on the agenda. The solution to this issue became a necessary condition for the further continuation of the development of statehood in Rus'.

Figure 2 – Growth of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Moscow

in 1462–1533 (under Ivan III and his son Vasily III)

Even a cursory analysis of the maps (Figures 1 and 2) gives a clear idea that immediately after standing on the Ugra, the question of the annexation and integration of the Tver land, which found itself practically surrounded by the lands of Moscow, became extremely urgent for the Moscow principality. Previously, the Horde could intervene in resolving the Tver issue, but now any threat of Horde intervention in Russian affairs was unrealistic. But the threat of Lithuanian intervention remained real.

Therefore, after 1480, Ivan III actively began to look for the possibility of annexing the Tver Principality to Moscow. The Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich (1453 - 1505) understood that the days of his principality’s existence were numbered. He clearly did not want to part with the grand-ducal power. In 1483, when Mikhail Borisovich was widowed, he decided to enter into a dynastic marriage with the granddaughter of Casimir IV, the ruler of Poland and Lithuania united by a treaty of union. And relations with Lithuania between the Moscow Principality remained extremely tense and no improvement in Russian-Lithuanian relations was expected. For example, the chronicle reports that in 1482, Ivan III actively pushed his ally, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, to raid Lithuanian lands. According to Figure 3, the chronicle reports about the next attack of the Crimean Horde on Podolia.

Figure 3 – PSRL. T. 12. VIII. A chronicle collection called the Patriarch's or Nikon's Chronicle. St. Petersburg: Printing house I.N. Skorokhodova, 1901.

Fragment of page 215

The bride of the Tver prince, the granddaughter of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, was, of course, a Catholic. According to the harsh laws of that time, marriage took place only in the church during the sacrament of wedding. This means that both spouses had to belong to only one denomination of the Christian church. It was not difficult to guess which of the future spouses Casimir IV would offer to change his faith. And Mikhail Borisovich Tverskoy, most likely, will not refuse his powerful father-in-law. The further consequences of this marriage were quite simple to calculate - the Roman Catholic Church in the very heart of Rus' would have received a springboard for missionary activity, and then armed struggle against Orthodox Christians. Therefore, when in 1483 Ivan III Vasilyevich learned about the matchmaking of the Tver prince, he naturally "overclockingѣ Vasya" and immediately decided to nip in the bud a possible Lithuanian-Tver dynastic union. According to Figure 4, the chronicle message is presented.

Figure 4 – Pskov Chronicles. Second issue. Edited by
A.N. Nasonova - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1955.

Fragment of page 66

Mikhail Borisovich Tverskoy was frightened by the wrath of the Moscow prince and immediately recognized himself as the younger brother of Ivan III Vasilyevich, that is, Mikhail from the great princes moved into the category of appanages. All agreements between Tver and Lithuania were terminated.

But Mikhail Borisovich slyly reconciled himself and continued negotiations with Lithuania. The Grand Duke of Moscow received very concrete evidence about these negotiations - a messenger from Prince Michael to the Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir IV was captured. In September 1485, the troops of Ivan III surrounded Tver. The Moscow prince forbade plundering the city and its environs. There were enough supporters of Moscow among the Tver residents, and the city was preparing for capitulation. Before the surrender of the city, Prince Mikhail Borisovich fled with the treasury to Lithuania, where his life’s journey ended in exile. Tver surrendered and became the personal inheritance of the heir to the Moscow throne - the young Prince Ivan Ivanovich. The Tver Chronicle's account of these events is presented in accordance with Figure 5.

Thus ended the almost two-hundred-year civil strife between Moscow and Tver, which was destroying the Russian people's consciousness and depleting the people's strength.

Figure 5 – Chronicle collection called the Tver Chronicle. St. Petersburg: Leonid Demis Printing House, 1863. Fragment of page 500

In Lithuania, Prince Mikhail Borisovich of Tver became completely naturalized - he married the granddaughter of Casimir IV (even then in Europe they showed some concern for Russian traitors - what if they were good for something), shaved his beard and dressed in Polish fashion. Apparently, the stolen treasury of the Tver principality also helped the prince to settle well in a foreign land. Surprisingly, modern Russian dissidents, including so-called human rights activists, for some reason are still partial to government money. There is something wrong with dissent here.

Prince Mikhail (Figure 6) wanted to regain the Tver throne and asked his father-in-law for troops for this purpose. But he wisely refused the fugitive prince.

Figure 6 - Prince of Tverskoy, in a cap and long clothes, in front of his belt is a saber covered with purple. Unknown artist of the 15th century (portrait, apparently for life)

Bibliography

1. Gumelev V.Yu., Postnikov A.A. The birth of the Russian kingdom. How the Livonians were punished // History and Archeology. – March 2014. – No. 3 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://history.snauka.ru/2014/03/887 (access date: 03/02/2014).
2. Nechvolodov A. The Legend of the Russian Land. In 5 volumes. Part three - M.: Prestige Book LLC, 2006. [Electronic resource] - electronic storage medium CD-ROM disk. Direct Media Publishing, 2007.
3. Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. Andrey Vasilievich Menshoy. [Electronic resource]. URL:
4. Borzakovsky, V.S. History of the Tver Principality [Text] / V.S. Borzakovsky. – St. Petersburg: Publication by bookseller I.G. Martynova, 1876. – 156 p.
5. PSRL. T. 12. VIII. Chronicle collection, called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle [Text] - St. Petersburg: Printing house I.N. Skorokhodova, 1901. – 267 p.
6. Pskov Chronicles. Second issue. Edited by A.N. Nasonova [Text] – M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1955. – 365 p.
7. PSRL. T. 15. Chronicle collection, called the Tver Chronicle [Text] - St. Petersburg: Leonid Demis Printing House, 1863. - 540 p.
8. Zhiznevsky, A.K. Portrait of Tver Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich [Text] / A.K. Zhiznevsky - Tver: Printing house of the provincial government, 1889. - 10 p.

The annexation of Tver to Moscow is an important event of the 15th century.

Introduction

The figure in the history of the Russian state is very ambiguous. He was always in the shadows. But it was he who played the main role in creating a state centered in Moscow.

Under him, a radical weakening of Novgorod and the famous stand on the Ugra happened, after which liberation from the Horde almost finally took place. An important milestone in the reign of Ivan III was the annexation of Tver to the Moscow state.

Relations between Moscow and Tver before the reign of Ivan III

In the 12th-13th centuries, Tver was a center of trade, a thriving city, the residence of noble bishops and the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Everything was heading towards the fact that Tver would become the center of the future Russian state, but then Moscow came to the fore.

In 1339, Ivan Kalita transported the cathedral bell to Moscow, marking the victory over the Prince of Tver Alexander Mikhailovich. And from now on he is in the shadows. She could have succeeded if the khans of the Horde had defeated Moscow, but the khans did not want to break off relations with the Moscow principality.

Tver's hopes were also given by the internal struggle for the Moscow throne among the grandchildren. Tver Prince Boris supported Vasily the Dark in this fight and married his daughter to his son, the future Prince Ivan III, giving Tver 30 years of independence and prosperity. But everything changed after the death of Princess Maria Borisovna.

The final annexation of Tver to Moscow

With the passing of the sister of Tver Prince Mikhail Borisovich, hopes for a mutually beneficial alliance between Moscow and Tver also disappeared. The nobility, sensing changes, began to swear allegiance to the Moscow prince. The Prince of Tver began to look for allies, turning to the Lithuanian sovereign Casimir. Even taking as his wife a relative of the Lithuanian king. This news was recognized by Ivan III as a betrayal of all Rus' and Orthodoxy.

War was declared on Tver, which never received Lithuanian help. As a result, 2 cities were burned, and they had to ask for peace with Moscow. The Prince of Moscow was currently pursuing a very wise policy, enticing the Tver nobility. He began to give privileges to the boyars who swore allegiance to him, so that others could see all his kindness and generosity.

Mikhail again turned to Lithuania for help. But Casimir not only refused to cooperate, but also, not wanting additional hostility, reported to Moscow about all the betrayals and plans of the Tver prince. All this completely worsened Mikhail’s position. In 1485, Ivan III advanced his troops towards Tver and surrounded the city. All the noble residents of Tver, not wanting to quarrel, besought Ivan to be taken into Moscow service.

Prince Mikhail was left almost alone and chose the only way out to flee the city, thereby saving his life. Fleeing in the middle of the night saved us from unnecessary casualties. The city surrendered to the will of the winner. And Ivan’s son was installed as prince in Tver.

Conclusion

Thus, another dream of the Moscow princes came true; Tver completely lost its independence. The annexation of Tver to Moscow became one of the important milestones in the unification of all Russian lands.

3. Annexation of appanage principalities and Veliky Novgorod.

By the beginning of the reign of Ivan III, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was the largest, but not the only one. Over a quarter of a century, the Moscow prince significantly changed the political map of North-Eastern Rus', annexing vast territories. For the medieval pace of development, this was a genuine explosion in political relations, turning Ivan III in the eyes of his subjects into the sovereign of all Rus'.

The territorial growth of the Moscow principality began in the first years of the reign of Ivan III. In the mid-to-second half of the 60s, the Yaroslavl principality, whose princes had long been “helpers” of the Moscow rulers, finally lost its sovereignty.

In 1474, the remnants of the independence of the Rostov principality were liquidated even more calmly: the remnants of their princely rights were purchased from the local princes.

The difficult task was the annexation of the Novgorod land, where the traditions of independence were very strong. Part of the Novgorod boyars, led by the widow of the mayor Martha Boretskaya and her sons, sought an open break with Moscow and sought help from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in order to maintain their liberties. Other boyars hoped that good relations with the Grand Duke would help maintain the independence of Novgorod. In 1471, the Boretskys gained the upper hand. Novgorod entered into an agreement with the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir IU: Novgorod recognized Casimir as its prince, accepted his governor, and the “honest king” Casimir took an obligation if “the great prince of Moscow goes to Veliki Novgorod”, “to mount a horse ... against the great Prince and Boronites of Veliki Novgorod."

Such an agreement was a legal pretext for war against Novgorod. Ivan III gathered the troops of all the princes subordinate to him, including those of Tver, and set out on a campaign. On the Sheloni River in July 1471, the Novgorodians were defeated. Casimir, realizing that he did not have full support in Novgorod, did not fulfill the agreement. The Novgorod archbishop did not allow his regiment to participate in the battle, and this was a considerable part of the militia. This position of Casimir and the archbishop was explained by the fact that anti-Lithuanian sentiments were widespread among the boyars, and especially among the urban lower classes. The victory in the Battle of Shelon strengthened the power of Ivan III over Novgorod. The anti-Moscow group suffered damage: the mayor Dmitry Boretsky, Martha’s son, who was captured, was executed. But Novgorod remained independent for now.

Ivan III did not strive to increase the dependence of Novgorod, but to completely annex it. To do this, he first decided on his positions in the Novgorod land. In 1475 he undertook a trip there with a large armed force. On November 21, 1475, Ivan arrived in the capital of the veche republic “in peace.” Everywhere he accepted gifts from residents, and with them complaints about the arbitrariness of the authorities. Thus, he simultaneously solved two problems: before the black people he acted as a defender of the people, and weakened the group of boyars hostile to him. Many boyars were arrested, some of them were sent for further investigation to Moscow, which was a gross violation of Novgorod law. In February 1476, the Grand Duke returned to Moscow, but, nevertheless, continued to accept petitions and summon boyars for trial, acting not as a traditional Novgorod prince, but as a feudal monarch.

The star of Novgorod the Great was inexorably approaching sunset. The society of the veche republic has long been divided into parts. In February 1477, Novgorod ambassadors arrived in Moscow. Welcoming Ivan Vasilyevich, they called him not “Mr.,” as usual, but “Sovereign.” At that time, such an address expressed complete submission. To the question of Ivan III: “What kind of state do their fatherland, Veliky Novgorod, want?” - Novgorod authorities responded that the ambassadors did not have the authority to make such an appeal. In Novgorod, some of Moscow's supporters were killed at a veche. This gave rise to a reason to march on Novgorod. In the fall, Ivan's troops moved towards the city. The Grand Duke and his army walked across the ice of Lake Ilmen and stood under the very walls of Novgorod. Every now and then reinforcements arrived. The veche authorities did not dare to resist, and Ivan III presented them with a harsh ultimatum: “we want a ruler in our fatherland, Veliky Novgorod, the same as our state in the Nizovsky land in Moscow,” which meant the elimination of the peculiarities of the political system in Novgorod. Further, Ivan explained what exactly he means: “I will ring the bell in our fatherland in Novgorod, but we will keep our dominion.”

In January 1478, the Novgorod authorities capitulated, the veche was cancelled, the veche bell was taken to Moscow, and instead of posadniks and thousand, the city was now ruled by Moscow governors. The lands of the boyars most hostile to Ivan were confiscated, but Ivan III promised not to touch other boyar estates. He did not keep this promise: soon new confiscations began. In total for 1484 - 1499. 87% of lands changed their owners; except for the smallest owners - “homeowners”, all Novgorod patrimonial lands lost their possessions. The lands of the evicted Novgorodians were given to Moscow service people.

Thus, the annexation of Novgorod can be attributed to one of the most important results of the activities of Ivan III, the Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus'.

Following Novgorod, the time came for the liquidation of the independence of the Tver land. After the annexation of Novgorod, it found itself sandwiched between Moscow's possessions, bordering only a short distance in the west with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Tver Prince Mikhail Borisovich felt that his power was coming to an end. This prince was not taught anything by the experience of the Novgorod boyars, who waited in vain for the promised help from Casimir IU: Mikhail Borisovich entered into an alliance with the king. Then Ivan III threw his troops at the principality, and Mikhail Borisovich quickly capitulated. Apparently not fully understanding the current situation, he soon sent a messenger to Casimir with letters, but he was intercepted on the way by the people of Ivan III. This was the desired reason for Ivan to finally solve the Tver problem. On September 8, 1485, Moscow troops approached the city, and already on the night of September 11-12, Mikhail Borisovich with a group of boyars loyal to him fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On September 15, Ivan III and his son Ivan solemnly entered the city. Ivan Ivanovich, who was the grandson of the Tver Grand Duke Boris Alexandrovich on his mother’s side, became the Grand Duke of Tver. The independent Grand Duchy of Tver ceased to exist.

In 1489, Vyatka, a remote and largely mysterious land beyond the Volga for modern historians, was annexed to the Russian state. With the annexation of Vyatka, the work of collecting Russian lands that were not part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was completed. Formally, only Pskov and the Grand Duchy of Ryazan remained independent. However, they were dependent on Moscow, because often needed the help of the Grand Duke.

The peoples of the North were also included in the Russian state. In 1472, “Great Perm”, inhabited by the Komi, Karelian lands, was annexed. The Russian centralized state was becoming a multinational superethnos.

Thus, the unification of Russian lands successfully carried out by Ivan III contributed not only to the development of the productive forces of the state, but also strengthened the international position of Rus'.

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Then he set to work on the principalities that remained outside of Moscow. In 1483, the prince of the Tver principality Mikhail Borisovich strengthened his alliance with Lithuania by marrying a relative of Casimir 4th. Having received news of what had happened, Ivan the 3rd went to war in the Tver lands. Mikhail was defeated and had no choice but to submit to Ivan.

Pretending that he had resigned himself, Mikhail secretly made attempts to contact Lithuania, wanting to disconnect from Moscow. Ivan again went to Tver, and in 1485 the Tver principality finally surrendered. Residents and boyars gladly sided with Moscow, and Mikhail fled to Lithuania.

As in Novgorod, Ivan settled Moscow nobles and boyars in the Tver lands, creating a strong support for himself, and at the same time exiled the Tver feudal lords to various regions of the Moscow state. In the same year, Ivan annexed the last inheritance - Vereisky.

In 1489, the second feudal republic of Vyatka was added to the territory of the Moscow lands. From a legal point of view, Pskov and Ryazan remained independent from Moscow. But Ivan’s governor was in Pskov, with his help the Pskovskaya was implemented, and Ivan felt like a complete master there.

In Ryazan, Ivan was actually considered the ruler, since the last Ryazan princes were his own nephews. One of them died, he had no children, and half of Ryazan went to Moscow. The other half retained its independence until 1521.

In the 11th century, the Old Russian state broke up into several independent principalities. After the invasion of the Tatars and the establishment of the Mongol yoke, the influence of Moscow began to grow. This small town became the political center of all Russian lands. The Moscow princes led the fight against the steppes. After Dmitry Donskoy defeated Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo, this leadership position was further strengthened.

Annexation of Novgorod

However, besides Moscow, there were still several rich and important cities that enjoyed independence. First of all, these were Novgorod and Tver. They were annexed to Moscow in the years (1462-1505).

Mister Veliky Novgorod has always stood out among other Russian cities. In the 12th century, a republican system of government was established here. Power in the city primarily belonged to the veche. This was a meeting of townspeople at which key issues of governing Novgorod were decided through voting. Such democracy existed only in Pskov. Novgorodians chose a prince for themselves. As a rule, these were rulers from whom the prince could not transfer his power by inheritance, as was done in other ancient Russian cities.

The annexation of Novgorod and Tver to the Moscow principality led to a break in the traditions familiar to local residents. Ivan III did not like the love of freedom that reigned on the banks of the Volkhov. In the first years of his reign, there was an agreement according to which the Novgorodians recognized the Moscow autocrat as their patron. However, there was a party of aristocrats that did not want Ivan’s influence to increase. This group of boyars, led by the mayor, entered into an alliance with Lithuania. Ivan regarded this act as betrayal. He declared war on the disobedient. In 1478, his troops finally entered Novgorod and annexed it to the possessions of the Moscow prince. The main symbol of freedom for local residents - the veche bell - was dismantled.

Position of Mikhail Borisovich

At this time, Tver was still independent from Moscow. It was ruled by the young prince Mikhail Borisovich. Ivan III was temporarily distracted from his relations with Tver due to the war with the Mongols. In 1480, a stand took place. After him, Ivan Vasilyevich finally got rid of the status of a tributary of the Golden Horde.

After this, the annexation to the Moscow principality of Tver began. Ivan III had influence and a large army on his side. Tver became a new victim of the policy of “gathering Russian lands” also because the possessions of Mikhail Borisovich were driven like a wedge between Moscow and Novgorod.

History of Tver

Before this, in the 14th century, Tver had every chance to become the center of the unification of all East Slavic principalities. For some time, the city's rulers even took possession of Vladimir, the ancient capital of the region. However, the rapid rise of the Tver princes alarmed the Tatars and other Russian rulers. As a result, the city became a victim of several wars, during which all its neighbors united against it. Three Tver princes at different times lost their heads in the Horde. Thanks to this, Moscow won the struggle for supremacy over the Russian lands. Ivan III only finished the work that his predecessors began.

Union of Moscow and Tver

The rulers of Tver, having lost their former influence, tried to conclude an alliance with Moscow in which they would be equal members. Under Ivan III's father, Vasily the Dark, turmoil began in his domain. The war between the grandchildren of Dmitry Donskoy (claimants to the throne) led to the fact that the then Tver prince Boris decided to help one of them. His choice fell on Vasily the Dark. The rulers agreed that Ivan III would marry the daughter of the Tver prince. When Vasily finally secured the throne (despite the fact that he was blinded), this alliance was finally formalized.

However, it was the marriage of Ivan III that made it possible to join the Moscow principality of Tver. His first son (also Ivan), thanks to his mother, had all the rights to his grandfather's throne.

Cooling relationships

A crack in relations between neighbors appeared when the wife of the Moscow prince Maria Borisovna suddenly died. After this event, ambitious and perspicacious Tver boyars began to move to Moscow, anticipating a future war. Among them was, for example, Daniil Kholmsky, a famous governor and commander. The annexation of Tver to the Moscow principality had to happen for inevitable historical reasons, and the emergence of a reason was only a matter of time. Ivan III elevated the defectors, making it clear to other boyars that it was best for them to go into his service. These measures made joining the Moscow principality of Tver an easy undertaking. The elite of the absorbed city did not resist the inevitable event.

The next blow to Mikhail Borisovich was the appointment of Vassian as Bishop of Tver. In the world, he was the son of one of the commanders of Ivan III. The new bishop became the sovereign's eye in the neighboring city. He did a lot to ensure that Tver was annexed to the Moscow principality. Year after year, the bishop sent dispatches to Ivan about the state of mind of the local aristocracy.

Mikhail's new allies

Mikhail Borisovich's last hope for maintaining independence could be an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian state. The annexation of Tver to the Moscow principality would be complicated if its western neighbors stood up for it. At first, Mikhail focused on Orthodox magnates and descendants of Gediminas. He entered into dynastic marriages, but they did not bring any dividends.

In 1483, Mikhail was widowed. He decided to send a secret embassy to the Polish king Casimir. The prince wanted to marry his granddaughter and get a reliable ally. The Poles were Catholics, and in Moscow they were treated more than coolly. Soon Ivan III learned about Mikhail's secret relations. After this, he decided to begin annexing Tver to the Moscow principality. The date of this event was inexorably approaching.

Fall of Tver

At the end of August 1485, Ivan III gathered loyal regiments. With them he went to Tver, declaring war on Mikhail Borisovich. The principality had nothing to resist. Mikhail fled to Poland. The boyars who remained in the city asked Ivan to accept them into his service, which completed the annexation of Tver to the Moscow principality. Year after year, Ivan gradually left his neighbor without supporters and resources. In the end, Tver was annexed to the Moscow principality. No matter who the townspeople lived under now, they could not resist the central government. Moscow expansion was the natural result of a centuries-long struggle between appanage principalities, in which one had to win. Under Ivan III's son Vasily, Pskov and Ryazan were also annexed, which completed the unification of Russia. Moscow became a national political center, which was no longer disputed by anyone.

The last Tver prince, Mikhail Borisovich, remained in Poland, where he died peacefully in 1505 (in the same year as Ivan III). From Casimir he received several estates, in which he lived until his death.