"Keep my name honestly and menacingly!"
Ivan III
Ivan Vasilyevich was the second son of Grand Duke Vasily II and his wife Maria Yaroslavna. He was born in Moscow on January 22, 1440 in a turbulent historical period. In the country, now flashing, then fading, there was a strife between the descendants of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Dmitry Donskoy. Initially (from 1425 to 1434), Prince Yuri Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod and Galitsky fought for the Moscow throne, claiming his rights on the basis of his father's will, and his nephew Vasily II, who inherited the Moscow throne from his father Vasily I. After the death of Yuri Dmitrievich in 1434, the eldest took the Moscow throne son Vasily Kosoy, however, the younger brothers did not recognize his reign and with the words: “If it was not pleasing to God that our father reigned, then we ourselves do not want you” forced to give up the throne to Vasily II.
The figure of Ivan the Great on the monument "Millennium of Russia" in Veliky Novgorod. At his feet (from left to right) defeated Lithuanian, Tatar and Baltic German
In those years, it was also restless on the eastern borders of Rus' - numerous khans of the disintegrated Golden Horde regularly made devastating raids on Russian lands. Especially "distinguished" was Ulu-Muhammed, who headed the Great Horde, but in 1436 he was driven away by a more successful competitor. After wandering for some time, the khan at the end of 1437 captured the city of Belev, intending to wait out the winter here. An army led by Dmitry Shemyaka, the second son of the late Yuri Dmitrievich, advanced against him. The Russians, who had a numerical superiority, showed carelessness and in December 1437 were defeated. Encouraged, Ulu-Mohammed moved to the Volga and soon occupied Kazan, subsequently founding the Kazan Khanate. In the next ten years, he and his sons raided Russian lands three times. The last campaign of 1445 turned out to be especially successful - Grand Duke Vasily II himself was captured in the battle near Suzdal. And a few days later, Moscow burned down - even part of the fortress walls collapsed from the fire. The Tatars, fortunately, did not dare to attack the defenseless city.
In October of the same year, Ulu-Muhammed, having appointed a huge ransom, released Vasily Vasilyevich. The Tatar ambassadors accompanied the Grand Duke home, who were supposed to oversee the collection of ransoms in various Russian cities and villages. By the way, until the required amount was collected, the Tatars had the right to manage settlements. Of course, such an agreement with the enemy dealt a terrible blow to the prestige of Vasily II, which Dmitry Shemyaka took advantage of. In February 1446, Vasily Vasilyevich with his sons Ivan and Yuri went to the Trinity Monastery on a pilgrimage. In his absence, Prince Dmitry entered Moscow with his army and arrested the wife and mother of Vasily II, as well as all the boyars who remained loyal to the Grand Duke. Vasily Vasilyevich himself was taken into custody in Trinity. The conspirators in a hurry forgot about his children, and the Moscow governor Ivan Ryapolovsky secretly took princes Yuri and Ivan to Murom. And in mid-February, by order of Dmitry Shemyaka, their father was blinded (which is why he later received the nickname "Dark") and sent to prison in the city of Uglich.
Retaining power proved to be a much more difficult matter than seizing it. The old Moscow nobility, rightly fearing that Dmitri Shemyaka's people would be pushed out of office by people who had come from Galich, began to gradually leave Moscow. The reason for this was the actions of the newly-made Grand Duke, who gave the order to bring Yuri and Ivan Vasilyevich to him, while guaranteeing them not only full immunity, but also the release from their father's imprisonment. But instead, Dmitry Shemyaka sent the children to the same Uglich in custody. Already by the autumn of 1446, a vacuum of power arose, and in mid-September - seven months after the reign in the city of Moscow - the Grand Duke had to keep his promise and set the blind rival free, giving the city of Vologda a fiefdom. This was the beginning of his end - soon all the enemies of Dmitry gathered in the northern city. The abbot of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery freed Vasily II from the cross-kissing of Shemyake, and a year after the blinding, Vasily the Dark solemnly returned to Moscow. His opponent fled to his fiefdom and continued the fight, but in 1450 he was defeated in the battle and lost Galich. Having wandered with his people in the northern regions of Rus', Dmitry Shemyaka settled in Novgorod, where he was poisoned in July 1453.
One can only guess what feelings overwhelmed Prince Ivan Vasilyevich in his childhood. At least three times he had to be overwhelmed by mortal fear - a fire in Moscow and the capture of his father by the Tatars, an escape from the Trinity Monastery in Murom, an imprisonment in Uglich after being extradited to Dmitry Shemyaka - all this had to be endured by a five-six-year-old boy! His blinded father, having regained the throne, ceased to stand on ceremony not only with obvious opponents, but also with any potential rivals. For example, in July 1456, it is not known why he sent his brother-in-law Vasily Serpukhovsky to the Uglich dungeon. The rule of the blind man ended with public mass executions - an event previously unheard of in Rus'! Having learned about the decision of the service people to release Vasily Serpukhovsky from imprisonment, Vasily II ordered "imati, and beat with a whip, and cut their legs, and cut their hands, and cut off the heads of others." Vasily the Dark died at the end of March 1462 from a dry disease that tormented him (bone tuberculosis), transferring the great reign to his eldest son Ivan, and also endowing each of the other four sons with large estates.
By that time, twenty-two-year-old Ivan Vasilievich already had considerable political experience - from 1456 he had the status of a grand duke, thus being his father's co-ruler. In January 1452, the twelve-year-old heir to the throne formally led the Moscow army against Dmitry Shemyaka, and in the summer of the same year he married the even younger daughter of Prince Boris of Tver, Maria. Their only son was born in February 1458 and was also named Ivan. And the following year, Ivan Vasilyevich stood at the head of the Russian troops, who repulsed the attempt of the Tatars, led by Khan Seid-Akhmet, to cross to the northern banks of the Oka and invade Moscow lands. It is worth noting that in the future, Ivan Vasilyevich took part in campaigns only in case of extreme need, preferring to send one of the boyars or brothers instead of himself. At the same time, he prepared military operations very carefully, clearly explaining to each governor what exactly he should do.
Very little is known about the actions of Ivan III to strengthen power in the early years. The general nature of his domestic policy was reduced to a revision of the noble and boyar land ownership - if someone could not provide evidence of their rights to a particular village or village, the land was transferred to the Grand Duke. This had quite tangible results - the number of service people who were directly dependent on the Grand Duke increased. And this, in turn, led to an increase in the power of his personal army. The consequences affected quickly - already at the very beginning of his reign, Ivan III switched to offensive tactics. He operated mainly in the northeast and east directions. Having pacified Vyatka, a longtime ally of Dmitry Shemyaka, the Grand Duke organized several campaigns against the adjacent Finno-Ugric tribes: Perm, Cheremis, Yugra. In 1468, Russian troops made a successful campaign against the lands of the Kazan Khanate, and in 1469, having laid siege to Kazan, they forced Khan Ibragim to accept all the terms of peace - in particular, to return the captives who had fallen to the Tatars over the past forty years.
In April 1467, Ivan Vasilyevich became a widower. His wife, apparently, was poisoned - the body after death was terribly swollen. Now the Grand Duke had to find a new wife. In 1469, thanks to the mediation of the merchant Gianbattista della Volpe, who lived in Moscow, ambassadors arrived from Italy with a marriage proposal. Ivan III was offered to marry his niece last emperor Byzantium of Constantine XI. The idea of intermarrying with such a famous family seemed tempting to Ivan Vasilyevich, and he agreed. In November 1472, Zoya Paleolog arrived in Moscow and was married to the Grand Duke. In Rus', she was nicknamed Sophia Fominishna, later she gave birth to the Grand Duke of six daughters (of whom three died in infancy) and five sons.
This marriage, by the way, had far-reaching consequences for Rus'. It was not at all about the royal origin of the girl, but about establishing strong ties with the northern Italian city-states, which at that time were the most culturally developed in Europe. It should be noted here that, having come to power in 1462, the young sovereign, among other things, took care of the radical restructuring of the old Moscow fortress. This task was not an easy one, and it was not only the paucity of the grand ducal treasury. Decades of cultural and economic decline that preceded the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich led to the fact that in Rus' the traditions of stone architecture were practically lost. This was clearly demonstrated by the construction of the Assumption Cathedral - at the end of the construction, the walls of the new building twisted and, unable to withstand their own weight, collapsed. Ivan III, using the connections of his wife Zoya Paleolog, turned to the Italian masters. The first sign was a resident of Bologna, Aristotle Fioravanti, known for his advanced technical solutions. He arrived in Moscow in the spring of 1475 and immediately set to work. Already in August 1479, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Theotokos in the Moscow Kremlin was completed and consecrated by Metropolitan Gerontius. Since that time, Aristotle was no longer involved in the construction of Orthodox churches, preferring to involve Russian masters who studied with an Italian. But on the whole, Ivan Vasilievich considered the experience gained successful, and following Aristotle Fiorovanti, other foreigners appeared in Rus' - Antonio Gilardi, Marco Ruffo, Pietro Antonio Solari, Aloisio da Caresano. Not only Italian builders came to Rus', but also cannon workers, doctors, masters of silver, gold and mining. The same Aristotle Fiorovanti was later used by the Grand Duke as a caster and cannon. He took part in many campaigns, prepared Russian artillery for battle, commanded shelling of besieged cities, built bridges and carried out many other engineering works.
In the 1470s, the main concern of Ivan III was the subjugation of Novgorod. From time immemorial, Novgorodians controlled the entire north of present-day European Russia up to the Ural Range inclusive, conducting extensive trade with Western countries, primarily with the Hanseatic League. Subordinating by tradition to the Grand Duke of Vladimir, they had considerable autonomy, in particular, carried out independent foreign policy. In the 14th century, in connection with the strengthening of Lithuania, Novgorodians made it a habit to invite Lithuanian princes to reign in their cities (for example, in Korela and Koporye). And in connection with the weakening of Moscow's influence, part of the Novgorod nobility had the idea of \u200b\u200b"surrendering" to the Lithuanians at all - the orders that existed there seemed to individuals more attractive than those that had historically developed in Moscow Rus'. The mood that had been brewing for a long time burst out at the end of 1470 - ambassadors were sent to the King of Poland, Casimir, with a request to take Novgorod under his protection.
Ivan Vasilievich tried to extinguish the conflict by peaceful means, but this did not lead to good. And then in the summer of 1471 Moscow army, divided into four detachments, went on a campaign. The people of Pskov also went to war at the behest of the Grand Duke. In Novgorod, meanwhile, vacillation and confusion reigned. King Casimir did not want to come to the rescue, and many of the inhabitants of the city - for the most part, commoners - absolutely did not want to fight with Moscow. This was shown by the battle on the Shelon River - in July, a small detachment of princes Fyodor Starodubsky and Danila Kholmsky easily defeated the Novgorod army, which outnumbered the Muscovites by eight (and according to some estimates - ten) times. In fact, the Novgorodians rushed to their heels immediately after the start of the battle. Shortly thereafter, a delegation from Novgorod headed by Archbishop Feofil came to Ivan Vasilyevich. The ambassadors humbly asked for mercy, and Ivan III relented. According to the concluded agreement, the Novgorodians pledged to pay a huge indemnity, give Vologda and Volok to Moscow and completely break ties with the Polish-Lithuanian state.
The consistency and clarity of the actions of the Grand Duke in the conquest of Novgorod is truly amazing. Ivan III did not allow any improvisations, and his every step - almost mathematically calculated - limited the living space of the "democracy" of Novgorod, which turned into an oligarchic regime in the 15th century. In October 1475, Ivan Vasilyevich again went to Novgorod. The purpose of this “campaign in peace” formally was to consider the numerous complaints received by the Grand Duke against the local authorities. Slowly moving along Novgorod lands, Ivan III almost daily received ambassadors from the Novgorodians, who presented rich gifts to the Grand Duke. At the end of November, Ivan Vasilyevich solemnly entered the city, and his army occupied the surroundings. After a trial, the Grand Duke arrested two boyars and three posadniks and sent them to Moscow in chains. The rest of the "wine" he released, having previously taken one and a half thousand rubles from them, which went in favor of the plaintiffs and to the treasury. From the beginning of December until the end of January, with minor interruptions, Ivan III feasted while visiting the boyars of Novgorod. In just forty-four days, seventeen (!) feasts were held, which turned into a nightmare for the Novgorod nobility. However, the complete subjugation of the Novgorod lands was still far away - already in 1479 the Novgorodians again turned to King Casimir for support. In the autumn of the same year, Ivan Vasilyevich, at the head of a huge army, laid siege to the city. The rebels chose to surrender, but this time the winner was not so merciful. After the search was carried out, more than a hundred "seditious" were executed, the entire Novgorod treasury was confiscated, and Archbishop Theophilus was arrested.
At the beginning of 1480, his brothers rebelled against Ivan III: Andrei Bolshoy and Boris Volotsky. The formal reason was the arrest of Prince Ivan Obolensky, who dared to leave the Grand Duke to serve Boris Volotsky. In general, this corresponded to ancient traditions, but it was them that Ivan Vasilyevich considered necessary to break - they contradicted his plan to become "the sovereign of all Rus'." Of course, such an attitude towards sovereign rights aroused the indignation of the brothers. They also had one more offense - the elder brother did not want to share the newly acquired lands. In February 1480, Boris Volotsky arrived in Uglich to Andrei Vasilyevich, after which they, together with a twenty thousandth army, moved to the border with Lithuania, intending to leave for King Casimir. However, he was not going to fight with Ivan III, allowing only the families of the rebellious Vasilyevich to live in Vitebsk. Ivan Vasilyevich, having urgently returned to Moscow from Novgorod, tried to negotiate with the brothers in an amicable way, giving them the word to cede a number of volosts. However, the relatives did not want to put up.
Painting by N. S. Shustov “Ivan III overthrows the Tatar yoke, tearing the image of the Khan and ordering the death of ambassadors” (1862)
Back in 1472, Russian troops successfully repelled an attempt by the Tatars to cross the Oka. From that moment on, Ivan Vasilyevich stopped paying tribute to the Tatars. The long-term tormentors of the Russian lands, of course, did not like this state of affairs, and in the summer of 1480 Khan Akhmat, the head of the Great Horde, concluded an alliance with King Casimir in order to take and ruin Moscow. Russian rati from all lands subject to Ivan Vasilyevich, except for Pskov and Novgorod, took up a position on the northern bank of the Oka River, waiting for the enemy. And soon the Tverichi came to the rescue. Akhmat, meanwhile, having reached the Don, hesitated - the situation in Lithuania escalated, and Casimir, fearing a conspiracy, decided not to leave his castle. Only in September, without waiting for an ally, Akhmat went towards the Lithuanian possessions to the west and stopped near Vorotynsk. Ivan Vasilievich, having learned about this, gave his son the order to take up defense on the Ugra, and in the meantime he himself returned to Moscow. By this time, his brothers Boris and Andrei, having robbed the land of Pskov, were finally convinced that they could not see support from King Casimir, and decided to make peace with the Grand Duke. To the credit of Ivan III, it is worth noting that he forgave the rebellious relatives, ordering them to go to war with the Tatars as soon as possible.
Ivan III himself, having sent the treasury and family to Beloozero, began to prepare Moscow for a siege. In early October, the Tatars reached the river, but after four days of fighting, they did not succeed in crossing the Ugra. The situation stabilized - from time to time the Tatars made attempts to overcome the natural line of defense of the Russians, but each time they received a decisive rebuff. Successful operations on the Ugra gave Ivan III hope for a victorious end to the war. In mid-October, the Grand Duke headed to the place of hostilities, stopping fifty kilometers north of the river, in Kremenets. Such a disposition gave him the opportunity to quickly lead the Russian forces located on a plot of seventy kilometers, and in case of failure, a chance to avoid capture, since Ivan Vasilyevich never forgot about the fate of his father. At the end of October, frost hit, and a few days later the river was covered with ice. Grand Duke ordered the troops to retreat to Kremenets, preparing to give the Tatars a decisive battle. But Khan Akhmat did not cross the Ugra. Having sent a formidable letter to Ivan III demanding to pay tribute, the Tatars retreated - by that time they, having completely ruined the upper reaches of the Oka, turned out to be "barefoot and naked." Thus, the last major attempt of the Horde to restore its power over Russia failed - in January 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed, and soon the Great Horde ceased to exist. Having victoriously ended the war with the Tatars, Ivan III signed new treaties with his brothers, giving several large villages to Boris Volotsky, and the city of Mozhaisk to Andrei Bolshoy. He was not going to give in to them anymore - in July 1481, another son of Vasily the Dark, Andrey Menshoy, died, and all his lands (Zaozerye, Kubena, Vologda) passed to the Grand Duke.
Diorama "Standing on the Ugra"
In February 1481, Ivan III sent to the aid of the Pskovites, long years fought with Livonia on their own, twenty thousandth army. In severe frosts, Russian soldiers, according to the chronicler, "captured and burned the German lands, for their revenge of twenty or more." In September of the same year, Ivan Vasilievich, on behalf of the Pskovians and Novgorodians (such was the tradition), concluded a ten-year peace with Livonia, having achieved some peace in the Baltic states. And in the spring of 1483 Russian army led by Fyodor Kurbsky and Ivan Saltyk Travin, went on a campaign to the east against the Vogulis (they are also Mansi). Having reached the Irtysh with fighting, the Russian rati boarded the ships and got on them to the Ob, and then sailed along the river to the very lower reaches. Having subdued the local Khanty there, by the onset of winter the army managed to safely return home.
In October 1483 Ivan III became a grandfather - the eldest son Ivan Ivanovich and his wife Elena - the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great - had a son Dmitry. This was the beginning of a long-term family conflict, which had the most serious consequences. The Grand Duke, who decided to reward his daughter-in-law, discovered the disappearance of part of the family heirlooms. It turned out that his wife Sofya Fominishna (aka Zoya Paleolog) donated part of the treasury to her brother Andrei, who lived in Italy, as well as to her niece, who was married to Prince Vasily Vereisky. Ivan Vasilievich ordered the attackers to "catch". Vereisky and his wife managed to escape to Lithuania, but soon after that the Vereisk-Belozersky inheritance ceased to exist. A much more significant event was that Ivan III lost confidence in Sofya Fominishna for many years, bringing his daughter-in-law Elena closer to him.
In 1483, Ivan III actually added the city of Ryazan to his possessions - after the death of Vasily Ryazansky, his nephew concluded an agreement with the Grand Duke, according to which he completely renounced the rights of external relations. In the same year, Ivan Vasilievich again took up the recalcitrant Novgorodians. A new batch of seditious was brought to Moscow and tortured, after which they were sent to dungeons in various cities. The final point in the "pacification" of Novgorod was the resettlement of over a thousand of the most noble and wealthy Novgorodians in Russian cities, followed by about seven thousand black and living people. The allotments of the evicted were transferred to the landlords who arrived in the land of Novgorod from the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. This process continued for more than a decade.
In the autumn of 1485 Ivan Vasilyevich conquered Tver. Tver land, surrounded by the possessions of Moscow on almost all sides, was doomed. Back in the spring, a treaty was imposed on the local prince Mikhail Borisovich, obliging him to renounce all contacts with Lithuania - the only state capable of guaranteeing Tver's independence. Muscovites soon learned that the Prince of Tverskoy did not comply with the terms of the agreement. But Ivan III was just waiting for this - in early September, his troops besieged the city, Mikhail Borisovich fled to Lithuania, and the townspeople preferred to surrender to the mercy of the winner. Two years later, the Grand Duke was waiting for a new success. Having intervened in the struggle of the Kazan "kings", in the spring of 1487 he sent a huge army to Kazan. In early July, Ali Khan, seeing the Russian army under the walls of the city, opened the gates. The winners put their protege named Mohammed-Emin on the Kazan throne. In addition, a Russian garrison settled in the city. Almost until the death of Ivan III, the Khanate of Kazan remained a vassal of Russia.
In addition to the unification of the Russian lands, the Grand Duke also pursued an energetic foreign policy. His greatest achievement was the establishment of strong ties with the German emperors Frederick II and his son Maximilian. Contacts with European countries helped Ivan Vasilyevich develop a National emblem Russia and court ceremonial. And in 1480, Ivan III managed to conclude a strategically extremely beneficial alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. Crimea fettered the forces of both the Polish-Lithuanian state and the Great Horde. The raids of the Crimeans, often coordinated with Moscow, ensured the calm of the southern and a number of western borders of the Russian state.
By the beginning of 1490, all the lands that had ever been part of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir submitted to Ivan Vasilyevich. In addition, he managed to eliminate almost all princely destinies - evidence of the country's past fragmentation. The “brothers” who remained by that time did not even think about rivalry with the Grand Duke. Nevertheless, in September 1491, Ivan III, having invited his brother Andrei the Great to visit him, ordered him to be “caught”. Among the list of old grievances of the Grand Duke there was one new one. In the spring of 1491, for the first time in history, Russian troops launched an offensive campaign against the Tatars in the steppe. Ivan III sent a huge army to help his ally Mengli-Girey, who fought against the Great Horde, but Andrei Vasilyevich did not give people and did not help in any way. By the way, there was no need to fight then - one demonstration of force was enough. The massacre with his brother was cruel - Prince Andrei, imprisoned in iron, died in November 1493, and his Uglich inheritance passed to the Grand Duke.
In 1490, Ivan Vasilievich announced a new foreign policy goal - to unite all primordially Russian territories under his authority, becoming, not in words, but in deed, "the sovereign of all Rus'." From now on, the Grand Duke did not recognize the seizures of Russian lands, once carried out by Poland and Lithuania, as legal, which was reported to the Polish ambassadors. This was tantamount to declaring war on the Polish-Lithuanian state, which at that time controlled not only the current Belarusian and Ukrainian, but also Verkhovsky and Bryansk lands, which are now part of Russia. In fairness, it should be noted that this war has already been going on since 1487. Initially, it was in the nature of small border skirmishes, and the initiative belonged to the subjects of Ivan Vasilyevich. The Grand Duke denied any involvement in such actions, but the inhabitants of the disputed lands were made clear that peace would come only when they decided to join "Rusiya". Another factor that allowed Ivan III to intervene in the internal affairs of the Lithuanian state was the increasing episodes of the imposition of the Catholic faith and the infringement of the rights of the Orthodox.
In June 1492, the Polish king Casimir died and at the congress of the nobility his eldest son Jan Albrecht was chosen as the new sovereign. Alexander became the Grand Duke of Lithuania at the same congress, who, in order to stop the border war, offered Ivan Vasilyevich Fominsk, Vyazma, Berezuisk, Przemysl, Vorotynsk, Odoev, Kozelsk and Belev, and also wooed the daughter of the Grand Duke Elena. Ivan III agreed to the marriage, which, after long negotiations, was concluded in February 1495. However, all this only delayed the war for a short time. The reason for the start of hostilities was the news that Grand Duke Alexander, in violation of the terms of the "marriage contract", was trying to impose the Catholic faith on his wife, as well as on Russian princes who had land in the east of the country, which came in April 1500.
The answer of Ivan III was quick and terrible - already in May, three ratis moved in the directions of Dorogobuzh-Smolensk, Bely, Novgorod-Seversky-Bryansk. The priority was south direction, and it was here that the greatest results were achieved - Trubchevsk, Mtsensk, Gomel, Starodub, Putivl, Chernigov came under the authority of Moscow. In July 1500, on the Vedrosha River, the Russian army defeated the main forces of the Lithuanians, capturing their commander, Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky. The results of the war could have been even more impressive if Livonia had not come out on the side of Lithuania. At the end of August 1501, the Livonian army, led by Master Walter von Plettenberg, defeated the Russians on the Seritsa River, and then laid siege to Izborsk. The Russian army returned the debt already in November - the famous commander Daniil Shchenya, having invaded the lands of Livonia, defeated german army under Helmed. Having taken considerable trophies in the Derpt and Riga archbishoprics, the Russian forces safely returned to Ivangorod. The next meeting with the Germans took place a year later. In September 1502, they laid siege to Pskov, but thanks to the timely approach of the main army, the Pskovites managed to defeat the Livonians and capture the enemy's convoy. In general, the need to keep a significant army in the Baltic region limited the possibilities in the Lithuanian direction, and the siege of Smolensk undertaken at the end of 1502 did not bring results. However, the truce, concluded in the spring of 1503, consolidated the successes of the first months of the war.
Ivan III Vasilievich. Engraving from "Cosmography" by A. Teve, 1575
At the end of his life, Ivan Vasilievich got the opportunity to visually see the fruits of his labors. During the forty years of his reign, Rus' from a semi-fragmented power turned into a powerful state that instilled fear in its neighbors. The Grand Duke managed to destroy almost all appanages on the lands of the former Grand Vladimir Principality, to achieve complete subordination of Tver, Ryazan, Novgorod, to significantly expand the borders Russian state- that's how it was called from now on! The status of Ivan III himself changed radically. Grand dukes were called "sovereigns" as early as the middle of the 14th century, but Ivan Vasilyevich was the first to present the state as a system of power in which all subjects, including relatives and relatives, are only servants. The man-made treasure of Ivan III - the Moscow Kremlin - is still one of the main symbols of Russia, and among the miraculous achievements of the Grand Duke, one can single out the Sudebnik put into effect in the fall of 1497 - a single legislative code urgently required by Rus' in connection with the unification of previously fragmented lands in single state.
It should be noted that Ivan III was a cruel ruler. He terrified many with one of his “fierce eyes” and, without hesitation, could send a person to death for completely innocent reasons today. By the way, there was one force left in Russia that Ivan Vasilyevich could not overcome. It was the Russian Orthodox Church, which turned into a stronghold of the opposition. Deprived of estates and volosts, the boyars and princes were partly forced, partly voluntarily tonsured monks. The former nobility did not want to indulge in asceticism, as befits the blacks, and strove for all kinds of expansion of the monastery lands, seizing them from the peasants by force or receiving them as a gift from the landowners (on the eve of the 7000th (1491) year from the creation of the world, most of the boyars and nobles in anticipation of the second arrival Christ donated vast land holdings to the monasteries free of charge). It was the desire to subdue the Church, as well as to curb the uncontrolled growth of church lands, that prompted Ivan Vasilyevich to ties with a group of freethinkers, later called “Judaic” (after their organizer, a certain “Jew Sharia”). In their teachings, Ivan III was attracted by criticism of church acquisitions, which determine the purpose of the Church not in the accumulation of wealth, but in serving God. Even after the condemnation of the religious movement at the church congress of 1490, adherents of this trend remained surrounded by the Grand Duke. Disappointed in them later, Ivan III made a bet on the "non-possessors" - the followers of Nil Sorsky, who condemned the monks and church hierarchs who were mired in luxury. They were opposed by the "Josephites" - supporters of Joseph Volotsky, who stood up for a rich and strong Church.
The story of the issue of succession to the throne, which arose after the death of the eldest son of Grand Duke Ivan Ivanovich in March 1490, is curious. In 1498, Ivan Vasilyevich, still not trusting his wife, declared not his second son Vasily, but grandson Dmitry, the heir to the throne. However, the support of the fifteen-year-old youth by the Boyar Duma did not please the Grand Duke, and exactly one year later - at the beginning of 1499 - Ivan III, fearing to lose the reins of government of the country, released his son Vasily from imprisonment. And in the spring of 1502, he subjected his grandson and his mother to disgrace, transferring them from house arrest to prison, where they died years later.
In the summer of 1503, Ivan Vasilievich had a stroke, and since then he "walks on his own two feet." By the middle of 1505, the Grand Duke became completely incapacitated, and on October 27 of the same year he died. The Russian throne went to his son Vasily III. He ruled autocratically and did not tolerate objections, however, not having the talents of his father, he managed to do very little - in 1510 he put an end to the independence of Pskov, and four years later annexed Smolensk to his lands. However, under his rule, relations with the Kazan and Crimean khanates escalated.
Based on the materials of the book by R.G. Skrynnikov "Ivan III" and the weekly publication "Our History. 100 Great Names.
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Although his son, Ivan the Terrible, is remembered more often, it was Vasily III who largely determined both the vectors of state policy and the psychology of the Russian government, ready to do anything to preserve itself.
spare king
Vasily III was on the throne thanks to the successful struggle for power, which was carried out by his mother, Sophia Palaiologos. As early as 1470, Vasily's father, Ivan III, announced his eldest son from Ivan the Young's first marriage as his co-ruler. In 1490, Ivan the Young suddenly died of an illness and two parties began to fight for power: one supported the son of Ivan the Young Dmitry Ivanovich, the other - Vasily Ivanovich. Sophia and Vasily overdid it. Their conspiracy against Dmitry Ivanovich was revealed and they even fell into disgrace, but this did not stop Sophia. She continued to influence the government. There were rumors that she even cast spells against Ivan III. Thanks to the rumors spread by Sophia, Dmitry Ivanovich's closest associates fell out of favor with Ivan III. Dmitry began to lose power and also fell into disgrace, and after the death of his grandfather, he was shackled and died 4 years later. So Vasily III, the son of a Greek princess, became the Russian Tsar.
solomonia
Vasily III chose his first wife as a result of a review (1500 brides) during his father's lifetime. She became Solomonia Saburova, the daughter of a scribe-boyar. For the first time in Russian history the ruling monarch did not take as his wife a representative of the princely aristocracy or a foreign princess, but a woman from the highest stratum of “service people”. The marriage was fruitless for 20 years, and Vasily III took extreme, unprecedented measures: he was the first of the Russian tsars to exile his wife to a monastery. In terms of children and the inheritance of power, Vasily, accustomed to fight for power in all possible ways, had a "fad". So, fearing that the possible sons of the brothers would become contenders for the throne, Basil forbade his brothers to marry until his son was born. The son was never born. Who is to blame? Wife. Wife - in the monastery. It must be understood that this was a very ambiguous decision. Vassian Patrikeev, Metropolitan Varlaam, and the Monk Maxim the Greek, who opposed the dissolution of the marriage, were exiled, and the metropolitan was defrocked for the first time in Russian history.
Kudeyar
There is a legend that during the tonsure, Solomonia was pregnant, gave birth to a son, George, whom she handed over "in safe hands", and announced to everyone that the newborn had died. After that, this child became the famous robber Kudeyar, who, with his gang, robbed rich convoys. Ivan the Terrible was very interested in this legend. The hypothetical Kudeyar was his older half-brother, which means he could claim power. This story is most likely folk fiction. The desire to “ennoble the robber”, as well as to allow oneself to believe in the illegitimacy of power (and therefore the possibility of its overthrow) is characteristic of the Russian tradition. In our country, every ataman is a legitimate king. With regard to Kudeyar, a semi-mythical character, there are so many versions of his origin that would be enough for half a dozen atamans.
Lithuanian
By the second marriage, Vasily III married a Lithuanian, young Elena Glinskaya. "All in the father," he married a foreigner. Only four years later, Elena gave birth to her first child, Ivan Vasilyevich. According to legend, at the hour of the birth of a baby, a terrible thunderstorm seemed to break out. Thunder struck from a clear sky and shook the earth to its foundations. The Kazan khansha, having learned about the birth of the tsar, announced to the Moscow messengers: “Your tsar was born, and he has two teeth: with one he will eat us (Tatars), and with the other you.” This legend is among many composed about the birth of Ivan IV. There were rumors that Ivan was an illegitimate son, but this is unlikely: an examination of the remains of Elena Glinskaya showed that she had red hair. As you know, Ivan was also red. Elena Glinskaya was similar to the mother of Vasily III, Sophia Palaiologos, she controlled power no less confidently and passionately. After the death of her husband in December 1533, she became the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Moscow (for this, she removed the regents appointed by her husband). Thus, she became the first Grand Duchess Olga (with the exception of Sophia Vitovtovna, whose power in many Russian lands outside the Moscow principality was formal) was the ruler of the Russian state.
Italianomania
Vasily III inherited from his father not only a love for strong-willed overseas women, but also a love for everything Italian. Hired by Vasily the Third, Italian architects built churches and monasteries, kremlins and bell towers in Russia. Vasily Ivanovich's guards also consisted entirely of foreigners, including Italians. They lived in Nalivka, a "German" settlement in the area of present-day Yakimanka.
fighter
Vasily III was the first Russian monarch to be free of chin hair. According to legend, he cut his beard to look younger in the eyes of Elena Glinskaya. In a beardless state, he did not last long, but this almost cost Rus' independence. While the Grand Duke was flaunting his smooth-shaven youth, the Crimean Khan Islyam I Gerai came to visit, complete with armed, red-bearded fellow countrymen. The case threatened to turn into a new one. Tatar yoke. But God saved. Immediately after the victory, Vasily again let go of his beard. In order not to wake up dashing.
The fight against nonpossessors
The reign of Vasily III was marked by the struggle of the “non-possessors” with the “Josephites”. For a very short time, Vasily III was close to the "non-possessors", but in 1522, instead of Varlaam, who fell into disgrace, Daniel, a disciple of Joseph Volotsky and the head of the Josephites, was appointed to the metropolitan throne, becoming an ardent supporter of strengthening the grand ducal power. Vasily III sought to substantiate the divine origin of the grand duke's power, relying on the authority of Joseph Volotsky, who in his works acted as the ideologist of strong state power and "ancient piety." This was facilitated by the increased authority of the Grand Duke in Western Europe. In an agreement (1514) with the emperor of the "Holy Roman Empire" Maximilian, Vasily III was even named king. Vasily III was cruel with his opponents: in 1525 and 1531. twice condemned Maxim the Greek, who was imprisoned in a monastery.
Ivan 3
Biography of Ivan 3 (briefly)
Ivan Vasilyevich was born in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Vasilyevich. On the eve of his death, Ivan's father made a will, according to which the lands are distributed among his sons. So the eldest son Ivan receives 16 central cities, including Moscow, into his possession.
Having entered into possession, after the death of his father, he issues a decree according to which gold coins are minted with the names of the king and his son. The first wife of Ivan 3 dies early. In order to intermarry with Byzantium, the king remarries Sophia Paleolog. In marriage, their son Vasily is born. However, the tsar appoints not him to the throne, but his grandson Dmitry, whose father was Ivan Young, the son from his first marriage, who died early. The tsar blamed the second wife for the death of Ivan the Young, who was hostile to her stepson, but was subsequently forgiven. The grandson Dmitry, who had previously been declared the heir to the throne, along with his mother Elena, fell into disgrace, they were imprisoned, where Elena was subsequently killed. A little earlier, Sophia also dies. Despite mutual hatred during their lifetime, both of them are buried side by side in the Church of the Ascension.
After the death of his second wife, the king becomes seriously ill, he goes blind in one eye and his hand stops moving, which indicates brain damage. On October 27, 1505, Tsar Ivan III dies. According to his will, power passes to his son from his second marriage, Vasily 3.
Foreign policy of Ivan 3
During the reign of Ivan 3, the long-term dependence on the Horde ceases, moreover, he vehemently supports the opponents of the Horde. The final formation of the Russian independent state is taking place.
Foreign policy was also successful in the eastern direction, thanks to the right combination of military force and diplomatic negotiations, the tsar managed to add the Kazan Khanate to the Moscow policy.
Sudebnik Ivan 3
One of the important moments of the reign was the Sudebnik of Ivan 3, adopted in 1497. The Sudebnik was a set of laws that were applied at that time in Rus'. This kind of municipal act fixed: a list of duties of officials, the right of peasants to transfer to another feudal lord, only on the eve or after St. George's Day, with the obligatory payment of tax for accommodation. These were the first prerequisites for the further rooting of serfdom. According to Sudebnik, lynching was not allowed under any circumstances, there was control and adjustment of trade transactions. A new form of land tenure was introduced - local, according to which landowners work and submit to the king.
Domestic policy of Ivan 3
During the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich, most of the lands around Moscow itself united, and Moscow itself became the center of the state. The structure included: Novgorod land, Tver, Yaroslavl, Rostov principality. After the victory over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Chernigov, Bryansk and Novgorod-Seversky were annexed. Thanks to politics and conquests, Russia gained the right to make its own decisions. Appeared prikaznaya and local system of government. In domestic politics a course was taken to centralize the country. During the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich, culture reached an unprecedented rise: the Assumption Cathedral was erected, and the chronicle developed rapidly.
The reign of Ivan 3 was successful and the tsar himself was called "Great".
Prince Ivan Vasilyevich 3rd was the son of Vasily Vasilyevich 2nd Dark from the Rurik dynasty. The reign of Ivan the 3rd was remembered for the unification of a significant part of the Russian lands around Moscow, turning it into the center of the Russian state. Besides, important achievement was complete release Rus' from under the power of the hated Golden Horde. Was accepted legal act or vault state laws- Sudebnik, - as well as reforms were carried out that laid the foundation for a local system of land tenure, which differed from the patrimony.
Ivan the Great was born in January 1440. His direct name was Timothy, but in honor of John Chrysostom, the prince was named Ivan. The first mention of Ivan the 3rd as a "Grand Duke" falls around 1449, and in 1452 he becomes the head of the army, which successfully liberated the fortress of Kokshengu. D. Shemyaka, who ruled the state for a short time, was poisoned, and the lasting bloody unleashed, not without his participation, began to wane.
The reign of Ivan the 3rd begins together with his father. He manages Pereslavl-Zalessky, which at that time was one of the key cities in the Muscovite state. The formation of his views is influenced by military operations and campaigns. Being at first a nominal commander, later he led the army, which closed the way to Moscow for the invading Tatars.
In 1462, the years of the reign of Ivan the 3rd begin, when, after the illness and death of his father, he receives the right to inherit the throne and most of the state territory. He owns 16 cities, and Moscow belongs to him along with his brothers. Having fulfilled the will of his dying father, he divided the land according to his will among all his sons. As the eldest son, he comes to the throne. The reign of Ivan the 3rd begins with the issuance of gold coins, with which he marked the beginning of the reign.
The country's foreign policy during this period was aimed at uniting the lands of Rus' (north-eastern regions) into a single Muscovite state. I would like to note that it was precisely such a policy that turned out to be extremely successful for Rus'. The reign of Ivan the 3rd, which is marked in history by the beginning of the unification of the Russian lands, did not suit everyone. For example, it was contrary to Lithuanian interests, so relations with were tense, and border skirmishes occurred constantly. The successes that were achieved due to the expansion of the country contributed to the growth and development of international relations with Europe.
Another important point is the reign of Ivan the 3rd. This is a design for the Russian State of Independence. Nominal dependence on the Golden Horde was terminated. The government makes an alliance with Crimean Khanate, actively speaking on the side of the opponents of the Horde. Skillfully combining military force and diplomacy, Ivan the 3rd successfully orients foreign policy in an easterly direction
It is worth noting separately Much has been done to unite the Russian principalities. Also, tribute payments to the Horde Khan were finally stopped, which brought considerable benefits to Rus'.
difficult times began in 1480, when the Lithuanian prince entered into an alliance with the Khan of the Horde, and marched against Pskov against the backdrop of a Lithuanian rebellion. The situation was resolved as a result of a bloody battle in favor of the Russian state, which received the desired independence.
The Russo-Lithuanian war, which was a confrontation between the two states, which lasted from 1487 to 1494, ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty, during which most of the conquered lands, including the Vyazma fortress, passed to Russia.
You can also note the positive results of the reign of Ivan the 3rd in domestic politics. At this time, the foundations were laid in the management of the order and local system, the centralization of the country and the fight against fragmentation were carried out. The era was also marked by a cultural upsurge. The flowering of chronicle writing, the construction of new architectural structures everywhere took place during this period of time. This once again emphasizes that Ivan the 3rd was an outstanding ruler, and his nickname "The Great" characterizes him in the best way.
Grand Duchess Sophia (1455-1503) from the Greek Palaiologos dynasty was the wife of Ivan III. She came from a family of Byzantine emperors. Marriage with the Greek princess, Ivan Vasilyevich emphasized the connection between his own power and that of Constantinople. Once Byzantium gave Rus' Christianity. The marriage of Ivan and Sofia closed this historical circle. Their son Basil III and his heirs considered themselves the successors of the Greek emperors. In order to transfer power to her own son, Sophia had to wage many years of dynastic struggle.
Origin
The exact date of birth of Sophia Palaiologos is unknown. She was born around 1455 in the Greek city of Mistra. The girl's father was Thomas Paleolog - the brother of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. He ruled the Despotate of Morea, located on the Peloponnese peninsula. Sophia's mother, Catherine of Achaia, was the daughter of the Frankish prince Achaia Centurione II (Italian by birth). The Catholic ruler was in conflict with Thomas and lost a decisive war to him, as a result of which he lost his own possessions. As a sign of victory, as well as the accession of Achaea, the Greek despot married Catherine.
The fate of Sophia Paleolog was determined by the dramatic events that happened shortly before her birth. In 1453 the Turks captured Constantinople. This event was the end of a thousand years of history Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. Having occupied the city, the Turks opened their way to the Balkans and old light generally.
If the Ottomans defeated the emperor, then the other princes did not pose a threat to them at all. The Despotate of Morea was already captured in 1460. Thomas managed to take his family and flee from the Peloponnese. First, the Palaiologoi came to Corfu, then moved to Rome. The choice was logical. Italy became a new home for many thousands of Greeks who did not want to remain under Muslim citizenship.
The girl's parents died almost simultaneously in 1465. After their death, the story of Sophia Paleologus turned out to be closely connected with the story of her brothers Andrei and Manuel. The young Palaiologos were sheltered by Pope Sixtus IV. In order to enlist his support and ensure a peaceful future for the children, Thomas converted to Catholicism shortly before his death, abandoning the Greek Orthodox faith.
Life in Rome
Sophia was taught by the Greek scientist and humanist Vissarion of Nicaea. Most of all, he was famous for the fact that he became the author of the project for the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, concluded in 1439. For a successful reunion (Byzantium made this deal, being on the verge of death and hoping in vain for the help of Europeans), Bessarion received the rank of cardinal. Now he became the teacher of Sophia Palaiologos and her brothers.
Biography of the future Moscow Grand Duchess with early years bore the seal of Greco-Roman duality, of which Bessarion of Nicaea was an adept. In Italy, she always had an interpreter with her. Two professors taught her Greek and Latin. Sophia Palaiologos and her brothers were supported by the Holy See. Papa gave them more than 3,000 crowns a year. Money was spent on servants, clothes, a doctor, etc.
The fate of the brothers Sophia has developed in the opposite way from each other. As the eldest son of Thomas, Andrew was considered the legal heir to the entire Palaiologos dynasty. He tried to sell his status to several European kings, hoping that they would help him regain the throne. The crusade did not happen. Andrew died in poverty. Manuel returned to his historical homeland. In Constantinople, he began to serve the Turkish Sultan Bayezid II, and according to some sources, even converted to Islam.
As a representative of the extinct imperial dynasty, Sophia Paleologus from Byzantium was one of the most enviable brides in Europe. However, none of the Catholic monarchs with whom they tried to negotiate in Rome agreed to marry the girl. Even the glory of the name of the Palaiologos could not overshadow the danger posed by the Ottomans. It is known for sure that Sophia's patrons began to marry her to the Cypriot king Jacques II, but he answered with a firm refusal. Another time, the Roman Pontiff Paul II himself offered the girl's hand to the influential Italian aristocrat Caracciolo, but this attempt to marry failed.
Embassy to Ivan III
Moscow learned about Sophia in 1469, when the Greek diplomat Yuri Trakhaniot arrived in the Russian capital. He proposed to the recently widowed, but still very young Ivan III, a project of marriage with the princess. The Roman Epistle delivered by a foreign guest was composed by Pope Paul II. The pontiff promised Ivan support if he wanted to marry Sophia.
What made Roman diplomacy turn to the Grand Duke of Moscow? In the 15th century, after a long period of political fragmentation and Mongolian yoke Russia reunited and became the largest European power. In the Old World there were legends about the wealth and power of Ivan III. In Rome, many influential people hoped for the help of the Grand Duke in the struggle of Christians against Turkish expansion.
One way or another, but Ivan III agreed and decided to continue negotiations. His mother Maria Yaroslavna favorably reacted to the "Roman-Byzantine" candidacy. Ivan III, despite his tough temper, was afraid of his mother and always listened to her opinion. At the same time, the figure of Sophia Palaiologos, whose biography was associated with the Latins, did not like the head of the Russian Orthodox Church- Metropolitan Philip. Realizing his impotence, he did not oppose the Moscow sovereign and distanced himself from the upcoming wedding.
Wedding
The Moscow embassy arrived in Rome in May 1472. The delegation was headed by the Italian Gian Batista della Volpe, known in Russia as Ivan Fryazin. The ambassadors were met by Pope Sixtus IV, who shortly before had succeeded the deceased Paul II. As a sign of gratitude for the hospitality, the pontiff received a gift a large number of sable fur.
Only a week passed, and a solemn ceremony was held in the main Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, at which Sophia Palaiologos and Ivan III got engaged in absentia. Volpe was in the role of the groom. Getting ready for important event The ambassador made a serious mistake. The Catholic rite required the use of wedding rings, but Volpe did not prepare them. The scandal was hushed up. All the influential organizers of the engagement wanted to complete it safely and turned a blind eye to the formalities.
In the summer of 1472, Sophia Paleolog, along with her own retinue, the papal legate and Moscow ambassadors, set off on a long journey. At parting, she met with the pontiff, who gave the bride his final blessing. Of several routes, the satellites of Sofia chose the path through Northern Europe and the Baltic. The Greek princess crossed the entire Old World, arriving from Rome to Lübeck. Sophia Palaiologos from Byzantium endured hardships with dignity long journey Such trips were not the first time for her. At the insistence of the pope, all Catholic cities organized a warm welcome for the embassy. By sea, the girl reached Tallinn. This was followed by Yuriev, Pskov, followed by Novgorod. Sophia Paleolog, whose appearance was reconstructed by specialists in the 20th century, surprised Russians with her alien southern appearance and unfamiliar habits. Everywhere the future Grand Duchess was greeted with bread and salt.
On November 12, 1472, Princess Sophia Paleolog arrived in the long-awaited Moscow. The wedding ceremony with Ivan III took place on the same day. The rush had an understandable reason. The arrival of Sophia coincided with the celebration of the day of memory of John Chrysostom - the patron saint of the Grand Duke. So the Moscow sovereign gave his marriage under heavenly protection.
For the Orthodox Church, the fact that Sophia is the second wife of Ivan III was reprehensible. The priest who would crown such a marriage had to risk his reputation. In addition, the attitude towards the bride as someone else's Latina was entrenched in conservative circles from her very appearance in Moscow. That is why Metropolitan Philip shied away from the obligation to conduct a wedding. Instead of him, the ceremony was led by Archpriest Hosea of Kolomna.
Sophia Palaiologos, whose religion remained Orthodox even during her stay in Rome, nevertheless arrived with a papal legate. This messenger, traveling through Russian roads, defiantly carried a large Catholic crucifix in front of him. Under pressure from Metropolitan Philip, Ivan Vasilyevich made it clear to the legate that he was not going to tolerate such behavior, embarrassing his Orthodox subjects. The conflict was settled, but the "Roman glory" haunted Sophia until the end of her days.
Historical role
Together with Sophia, her Greek retinue arrived in Russia. Ivan III was very interested in the heritage of Byzantium. Marriage with Sophia became a signal for many other Greeks wandering in Europe. A stream of co-religionists aspired to settle in the possessions of the Grand Duke.
What did Sofia Palaiologos do for Russia? She opened it to Europeans. Not only Greeks, but also Italians went to Muscovy. Masters were especially appreciated and learned people. Ivan III took care of Italian architects (for example, Aristotle Fioravanti), who built a large number of masterpieces of architecture in Moscow. For Sophia herself, a separate courtyard and mansions were built. They burned down in 1493 during a terrible fire. Together with them, the treasury of the Grand Duchess was lost.
In the days of standing on the Ugra
In 1480, Ivan III went to aggravate the conflict with the Tatar Khan Akhmat. The result of this conflict is known - after the bloodless standing on the Ugra, the Horde left the borders of Russia and never again demanded tribute from it. Ivan Vasilievich managed to throw off a long-term yoke. However, before Akhmat left the possessions of the Moscow prince in disgrace, the situation seemed uncertain. Fearing an attack on the capital, Ivan III organized Sophia's departure with their children to White Lake. Together with his wife was the grand ducal treasury. If Akhmat captured Moscow, she had to run further north closer to the sea.
The decision to evacuate, which was made by Ivan 3 and Sophia Paleolog, caused outrage among the people. Muscovites with pleasure began to recall the "Roman" origin of the princess. Sarcastic descriptions of the empress' flight to the north have been preserved in some chronicles, for example, in the Rostov Vault. Nevertheless, all the reproaches of contemporaries were immediately forgotten after the news came to Moscow that Akhmat and his army decided to retreat from the Ugra and return to the steppes. Sophia from the Palaiologos family arrived in Moscow a month later.
Heir problem
Ivan and Sofia had 12 children. Half of them died in childhood or infancy. The rest of the grown children of Sophia Paleolog also left behind offspring, however, the Rurik branch, which began from the marriage of Ivan and the Greek princess, died out approximately in the middle XVII century. The Grand Duke also had a son from his first marriage with the Tver princess. Named after his father, he is remembered as Ivan Mladoy. According to the law of seniority, it was this prince who was to become the heir to the Moscow state. Of course, Sophia did not like this scenario, who wanted power to pass to her son Vasily. A loyal group of court nobility formed around her, supporting the claims of the princess. However, for the time being, she could not influence the dynastic issue in any way.
Since 1477, Ivan Mladoy was considered the co-ruler of his father. He participated in standing on the Ugra and gradually learned the princely duties. For many years, Ivan the Younger's position as the rightful heir was undeniable. However, in 1490 he fell ill with gout. There was no cure for "aching legs". Then the Italian doctor Mister Leon was discharged from Venice. He undertook to cure the heir and vouched for the success with his own head. Leon used rather strange methods. He gave Ivan a certain potion and burned his feet with red-hot glass vessels. Treatment only made the disease worse. In 1490, Ivan the Younger died in terrible agony at the age of 32. In anger, the husband of Sophia Paleologus imprisoned the Venetian, and after a few weeks he executed him in public.
Conflict with Elena
The death of Ivan the Younger brought Sofia little closer to fulfilling her dream. The deceased heir was married to the daughter of the Moldavian sovereign, Elena Stefanovna, and had a son, Dmitry. Now Ivan III faced a difficult choice. On the one hand, he had a grandson Dmitry, and on the other, a son from Sofia, Vasily.
For several years, the Grand Duke continued to waver. The boyars split again. Some supported Elena, others - Sofia. The first supporters had much more. Many influential Russian aristocrats and nobles did not like the story of Sophia Palaiologos. Some continued to reproach her for her past with Rome. In addition, Sofia herself tried to surround herself with her native Greeks, which did not benefit her popularity.
On the side of Elena and her son Dmitry was a good memory of Ivan Mlad. Basil's supporters resisted: he was a descendant of the Byzantine emperors by his mother! Elena and Sofia were worth each other. Both of them were distinguished by ambition and cunning. Although the women observed palace decency, their mutual hatred of each other was not a secret to the princely entourage.
Opala
In 1497, Ivan III became aware of a conspiracy being prepared behind his back. Young Vasily fell under the influence of several careless boyars. Fedor Stromilov stood out among them. This clerk was able to assure Vasily that Ivan was about to officially declare Dmitry as his heir. Reckless boyars offered to get rid of a competitor or seize the sovereign's treasury in Vologda. The number of like-minded people involved in the venture continued to grow until Ivan III himself found out about the conspiracy.
As always, the Grand Duke, terrible in anger, ordered the execution of the main noble conspirators, including the deacon Stromilov. Basil escaped the dungeon, but guards were assigned to him. Sophia also fell into disgrace. Rumors reached her husband that she was bringing imaginary witches to her and was trying to get a potion to poison Elena or Dmitry. These women were found and drowned in the river. The sovereign forbade his wife to catch his eye. To top it off, Ivan really declared his fifteen-year-old grandson to be his official heir.
The fight goes on
In February 1498, celebrations were held in Moscow on the occasion of the coronation of young Dmitry. The ceremony in the Assumption Cathedral was attended by all the boyars and members of the grand ducal family, with the exception of Vasily and Sophia. The disgraced relatives of the Grand Duke were defiantly not invited to the coronation. They put on Dmitry the Cap of Monomakh, and Ivan III arranged a grand feast in honor of his grandson.
Elena's party could triumph - it was her long-awaited triumph. However, even supporters of Dmitry and his mother could not feel too confident. Ivan III has always been impulsive. Because of his tough temper, he could disgrace anyone, including his wife, but nothing guaranteed that the Grand Duke would not change his preferences.
A year has passed since Dmitry's coronation. Unexpectedly, the favor of the sovereign returned to Sophia and her eldest son. There is no evidence in the annals that speaks of the reasons that prompted Ivan to reconcile with his wife. One way or another, but the Grand Duke ordered to reconsider the case against his wife. Upon re-investigation, new circumstances of the court struggle were revealed. Some denunciations against Sophia and Vasily turned out to be false.
The sovereign accused the most influential defenders of Elena and Dmitry, princes Ivan Patrikeev and Simeon Ryapolovsky, of slander. The first of them was the chief military adviser to the Moscow ruler for more than thirty years. Ryapolovsky's father defended Ivan Vasilyevich as a child, when he was in danger from Dmitry Shemyaka during the last Russian internecine war. These great merits of the nobles and their families did not save them.
Six weeks after the boyar disgrace, Ivan, who had already returned his favor to Sophia, declared their son Vasily the Prince of Novgorod and Pskov. Dmitry was still considered the heir, but the members of the court, sensing the change in mood of the sovereign, began to leave Elena and her child. Fearing to repeat the fate of Patrikeyev and Ryapolovsky, other aristocrats began to demonstrate loyalty to Sophia and Vasily.
Triumph and death
Three more years passed, and finally, in 1502, the struggle between Sophia and Helen ended in the fall of the latter. Ivan ordered that guards be assigned to Dmitry and his mother, then he sent them to prison and officially deprived his grandson of grand ducal dignity. Then the sovereign declared Vasily his heir. Sophia was jubilant. Not a single boyar dared to contradict the decision of the Grand Duke, although many continued to sympathize with the eighteen-year-old Dmitry. Ivan was not even stopped by a quarrel with his faithful and important ally - Elena's father and the Moldavian ruler Stefan, who hated the owner of the Kremlin for the suffering of his daughter and grandson.
Sophia Paleolog, whose biography was a series of ups and downs, managed to achieve the main goal of her life shortly before her own death. She died at the age of 48 on April 7, 1503. The Grand Duchess was buried in a sarcophagus from white stone placed in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. Sophia's grave was next to the grave of Ivan's first wife, Maria Borisovna. In 1929, the Bolsheviks destroyed the Ascension Cathedral, and the remains of the Grand Duchess were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral.
For Ivan, the death of his wife was a strong blow. He was already over 60. In mourning, the Grand Duke visited several Orthodox monasteries, where he diligently indulged in prayers. Last years life together was overshadowed by the disgrace and mutual suspicions of the spouses. Nevertheless, Ivan III always appreciated Sophia's mind and her help in public affairs. After the loss of his wife, the Grand Duke, feeling the proximity of his own death, made a will. Basil's rights to power were confirmed. Ivan followed Sophia in 1505, dying at the age of 65.
