In 1490, the eldest son of Ivan III died from his first marriage, who also bore the name Ivan. The question arose, who should be the heir: the second son of the sovereign - Vasily or grandson Dmitry, the son of the deceased prince? Noble, dignitaries really did not want the throne to go to Vasily, the son of Sophia Palaiologos. The late Ivan Ivanovich was titled Grand Duke, was, as it were, equal to his father, and therefore his son, even according to the old family accounts, had the right to seniority. But Vasily, on his mother's side, came from the famous royal root. The courtiers were divided: some stood for Dmitry, others for Vasily. Prince Ivan Yurievich Patrikeev and his son-in-law Semyon Ivanovich Ryapolovsky acted against Sophia and her son. These were persons very close to the sovereign, and all the most important things went through their hands. They and the widow of the deceased Grand Duke - Elena (Dmitry's mother) used all measures to persuade the sovereign to the side of his grandson and cool him to Sophia. Supporters of Dmitry started rumors that Sophia had plagued Ivan Ivanovich. The sovereign apparently began to lean towards the side of his grandson. Then the supporters of Sophia and Vasily, for the most part, humble people - boyar children and clerks, plotted in favor of Vasily. This plot was opened in December 1497. At the same time, Ivan III realized that some dashing women with a potion came to Sophia. He was furious, and did not want to see his wife, and ordered his son Vasily to be kept in custody. The main conspirators were executed by a painful death - first they cut off their arms and legs, and then their heads. The women who came to Sophia were drowned in the river; many were thrown into prison.

The desire of the boyars was fulfilled: on January 4, 1498, Ivan Vasilyevich crowned his grandson Dmitry with unprecedented triumph, as if to annoy Sophia. In the Assumption Cathedral, an elevated place was arranged among the church. Three chairs were placed here: the Grand Duke, his grandson and the Metropolitan. On the tarp lay Monomakh's cap and barm. The Metropolitan served a prayer service with five bishops and many archimandrites. Ivan III and the Metropolitan took their places on the dais. Prince Dmitry stood before them.

“Father Metropolitan,” Ivan Vasilyevich said loudly, “from ancient times our ancestors gave great reign to their first sons, so I blessed my first son Ivan with a great reign. By the will of God, he died. I now bless his eldest son, my grandson Dmitry, with me and after me with the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod. And you, father, give him your blessing."

After these words, the metropolitan invited Dmitry to stand in the place intended for him, put his hand on his bowed head and prayed loudly that the Almighty would vouchsafe him with His mercy, that virtue, pure faith and justice, etc., live in his heart, etc. Two archimandrites gave the metropolitan first barm, then Monomakh's hat, he handed it to Ivan III, and he already laid them on his grandson. This was followed by a litany, a prayer to the Theotokos, and many years; after which the clergy congratulated both Grand Dukes. “By the grace of God, rejoice and hello,” the Metropolitan proclaimed, “rejoice, Orthodox Tsar Ivan, Grand Duke of All Russia, autocrat, and with his grandson, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, of All Russia, for many years!”

Then the metropolitan greeted Dmitry and gave him a brief instruction so that he would have the fear of God in his heart, love the truth, mercy and righteous judgment, and so on. The prince repeated the same instruction to his grandson. With this, the coronation ceremony ended.

After mass, Dmitry left the church wearing barm and a crown. At the door he was showered with gold and silver money. This shedding was repeated at the entrance to the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedral, where the newly married Grand Duke went to pray. On this day, a rich feast was arranged at Ivan III. But the boyars did not rejoice at their triumph for long. And less than a year later, a terrible disgrace befell the main opponents of Sophia and Vasily - the princes Patrikeev and Ryapolovsky. Semyon Ryapolovsky was beheaded on the Moscow River. At the request of the clergy, the Patrikeyevs were shown mercy. The father was tonsured a monk in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, the eldest son in Kirillo-Belozersky, and the youngest was kept in custody in Moscow. There are no clear indications why the sovereign's disgrace befell these strong boyars. On one occasion, only Ivan III expressed himself about Ryapolovsky, that he was with Patrikeev " high-minded". These boyars, apparently, allowed themselves to annoy the Grand Duke with their advice and considerations. There is also no doubt that some of their intrigues against Sophia and Vasily were revealed. At the same time, Elena and Dmitry fell into disgrace; probably, her participation in the Jewish heresy also damaged her. Sophia and Vasily again took up their former position. From that time on, the sovereign began, according to the chroniclers, "not to take care of his grandson", and declared his son Vasily the Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov. The Pskovites, not yet knowing that Dmitry and his mother had fallen out of favor, sent to ask the sovereign and Dmitry to keep their fatherland in the old way, would not appoint a separate prince to Pskov, so that the Grand Duke who would be in Moscow would also be in Pskov.

This request annoyed Ivan III.

“Am I not free in my grandson and in my children,” he said in anger, “to whom I want, I will give the principality!”

He even ordered two of the ambassadors to be imprisoned. In 1502, Dmitry and Elena were ordered to be kept in custody, not to commemorate them at litanies in the church and not to call Dmitry the Grand Duke.

Sending ambassadors to Lithuania, Ivan ordered them to say this if their daughter or anyone else asked about Vasily:

“Our sovereign granted his son, made him a sovereign: as he himself is a sovereign in his states, so is his son with him in all those states a sovereign.”

The ambassador, who went to the Crimea, had to talk about the changes at the Moscow court like this:

“Our sovereign granted his grandson Dmitry, but he began to be rude to our sovereign; but after all, everyone favors the one who serves and strives, and who is rude, the one for which to favor.

Sofia died in 1503. Ivan III, already feeling weak in health, prepared a will. Meanwhile, it was time for Vasily to get married. An attempt to marry him to the daughter of the Danish king failed; then, on the advice of a courtier, a Greek, Ivan Vasilyevich followed the example of the Byzantine emperors. It was ordered to the court to gather the most beautiful girls, daughters of the boyars and boyar children, for the bride. They collected fifteen hundred of them. Vasily chose Solomonia, the daughter of the nobleman Saburov.

This method of marriage later became a custom among the Russian tsars. There was little good in him: when choosing a bride, they valued health and beauty, they did not pay much attention to temper and mind. Moreover, a woman who accidentally came to the throne, often from an ignoble state, could not behave like a real queen: in her husband she saw her master and merciful, she was not a friend for him, but a slave. She could not recognize herself as an equal with the king, and it seemed out of place for her to sit on the throne next to him; but at the same time, as a queen, she had no equal among those around her. Alone in the brilliant royal chambers, in precious jewelry, she was like a prisoner; and the king, her lord, was also alone on the throne. The manners and customs of the court also responded to the life of the boyars, and among them the separation of women from men, even seclusion, intensified even more.

In the same year that Vasily's marriage was completed (1505), Ivan III died on October 27, at the age of 67.

According to the will, all his five sons: Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry, Simeon and Andrei received allotments; but the eldest was assigned 66 cities, the richest, and the remaining four received 30 cities together; besides, they were deprived of the right to judge criminal cases in the destinies and to mint coins.

Therefore, the younger brothers of Ivan III certainly could not be called sovereigns; they were even obliged by an oath to keep the Grand Duke as master "honestly and menacingly, without offense." In the event of the death of an older brother, the younger ones had to obey the son of the deceased as their master. Thus, a new order of succession to the throne was established from father to son. Even during his lifetime, Ivan Vasilyevich ordered Vasily to conclude a similar agreement with Yuri, his second son; moreover, the will said: “If one of my sons dies and leaves neither a son nor a grandson, then his entire inheritance goes to my son Vasily, and the younger brothers do not enter into this inheritance.” The grandson of Dmitry was no longer mentioned.

All his movable property, or "treasury", as it was then said (precious stones, gold and silver items, furs, dresses, etc.), Ivan III bequeathed to Vasily.

After the death of Ivan III, his son Vasily took the throne, but this was far from an obvious choice. The future Grand Duke went through a difficult path to win the trust of his father and the throne. The main contender for the throne was at first the eldest son of Ivan III from his first wife Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Prince of Tver. Ivan Young was born in 1458, when the boy was not even 10 years old, his mother died. There were rumors that she was allegedly poisoned, and all those involved in this fell into disgrace. Maria died 25 years old, but her husband did not appear at the funeral, but remained in Kolomna.

The second wife of Ivan III was the Byzantine princess Zoya (Sophia) Paleolog, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. She was offered as a wife to the Grand Duke by the Pope, who hoped through her to influence Ivan III and convince him of the need to recognize the union. In 1469, the Grand Duke, after conferring with his mother, the boyars and the metropolitan, decided to agree to this marriage. Negotiations about the union lasted three years and ended with the arrival of Sophia. In 1472, the prince married a foreign princess.

Relations between the new wife and the eldest son of Ivan III were tense. Very soon, two groups formed at the court - those who supported Ivan Ivanovich the Young, and those who supported Sophia. At the same time, contemporaries noted the inconstancy of the mood of the Grand Duke in relation to his son. If in 1476 Ivan the Young was out of favor with his father because of feuds with his stepmother, then a year later he was already mentioned as co-ruler of Ivan III. The son even took part in the famous "standing on the Ugra", which spoke of the attitude of the Grand Duke towards him.

But soon the situation began to change. In 1479, Sophia gave birth to Ivan III a boy, who was named Vasily. Then they had four more sons and four daughters, the number of heirs grew. Got a family and Ivan Molodoy. At the beginning of 1483, he married the daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Elena Voloshanka. In the autumn they had a son, who was named Dmitry. After the annexation of Tver, the father gave these lands to Ivan the Young to reign, and in the sources Ivan III and his son are referred to as "autocrats".

The positions of Ivan the Young at that time were quite strong, which cannot be said about Sophia. She was unable to obtain positions for her relatives, the plan of the Pope with the Union also failed, and the escape of Sophia's niece and her husband to Lithuania affected the Grand Duchess not in the best way. But in 1490, the eldest son of the Grand Duke suddenly fell ill with gout. The wife of Ivan III writes a doctor from Venice, who swears to heal the heir, but he does not succeed. In March 1490, Ivan the Young dies. The Grand Duke executes the charlatan doctor, and rumors spread around Moscow that the heir was poisoned. Despite the fact that a hundred years later this version became the main one, there is still no evidence to support it.

The grandson of Ivan III Dmitry remains the heir to the throne. Now he is fighting for the attention of the Grand Duke with his eldest son Vasily Paleolog. By 1497, the confrontation reaches its peak. The Grand Duke wants to resolve the issue of succession to the throne and is going to crown Dmitry. Basil's supporters are preparing a conspiracy, which was revealed in December 1497. The plan provided not only for the “departure” (transfer to the service of another overlord) of Vasily, but also for the murder of Dmitry and the seizure of the grand ducal treasury. Probably, the conspiracy failed, because it did not find support among the higher boyars and people close to the Grand Duke. After that, Sophia fell into disgrace, Vasily was put under house arrest, and the main conspirators from among the boyar children were executed. In addition, it turned out that Sophia turned to various witches and soothsayers, over whom the angry prince also perpetrated reprisals. In February 1498, the coronation of Dmitry Vnuk finally took place. It was attended by all the noble boyars, the metropolitan and the highest hierarchs of the church, only Sophia and her son were not at the ceremony. Ivan III blessed his grandson and granted him a great reign. They put the cap of Monomakh on Dmitry, and rolled a rich feast in honor of the holiday. By the end of the year, Dmitry began to be mentioned in official documents as the Grand Duke.

It would seem that the coronation took place, Dmitry is now the "Grand Duke", but Vasily does not intend to give up. Despite the official title, Dmitry received neither land nor real power. By 1499, the situation inside the country was heating up, Ivan III ordered the execution of a number of his boyars. At the same time, it is not known exactly what caused their disgrace: either disagreements over foreign policy, or the ongoing dynastic struggle. Be that as it may, at the same time, Basil's position is being strengthened. He manages to regain his father's trust, and Ivan III grants Novgorod and Pskov to his son. The people of Pskov, of course, were indignant, but by the autumn the conflict was settled.

With the beginning of the next Russian-Lithuanian war, Vasily finally pulls the blanket over himself. In 1500, the influence of the son of Palaiologos grows, despite the fact that there were suggestions that the Lithuanians tried to capture Basil and even that he himself was going to go over to the side of the enemy. Be that as it may, but by September Vasily is already referred to as the Grand Duke of "All Russia." From that moment on, Basil's position strengthened, and in 1502 the dynastic struggle ended altogether. Dmitry, along with his mother Elena, fell into disgrace, Ivan III ordered that they no longer be commemorated in church services and put them under house arrest. A few days later, Vasily was granted a great reign, and the grandson of Ivan III and his mother went to prison. There they died some time later. The long-term enmity of the two groups ended with the victory of Prince Vasily Ivanovich, who became the co-ruler of his father, and after his death in 1505, the heir to a huge power.

Famous women of Moscow Russia. XV-XVI centuries Morozova Lyudmila Evgenievna

Chapter 3. ELENA VOLOSHANKA

ELENA VOLOSHANKA

The widow of Ivan the Young Elena Stefanovna, nicknamed Voloshanka for being the daughter of the Moldavian (Volosh) ruler Stephen the Great, was one of the main figures in the struggle for the throne of the Grand Duke at the end of the 15th century. Therefore, without studying her life and work, it is difficult to understand the course of events in the emerging Russian centralized state during this period.

SOURCES

The sources relating to the biography of the Grand Duchess Elena Stefanovna are very insignificant. These are fragmentary information about her in the annals, brief data in the act material, diplomatic documents relating to ties with Moldavia - the birthplace of Elena, the Chin of the wedding of Dmitry the grandson to the great reign, a veil embroidered in the workshop of the princess, and the news of her heretical views in the writings of Joseph Volotsky.

Information about Elena is found in the following chronicles: Uvarovskaya, Ermolinskaya, abridged vaults of the late 15th century, Simeonovskaya, Sofia I, Lvovskaya, Nikonovskaya, Voskresenskaya.

The most detailed information about the Moldavian princess is placed in the Uvarov Chronicle. So, it says that in January 1483 "the great prince Ivan Ivanovich married and took for himself Princess Elena, daughter of the Volosh governor Stefan." In the abridged vaults of the late XV century. clarified that the wedding was on January 12 (456). The same date is repeated in the Sofia Chronicle I (457).

The Uvarov Chronicle also reported the birth of a son, Dmitry, by Elena. This event took place on October 10, 1483. Soon after, there was a conflict between Ivan III and Sophia Palaiologos over the decorations of the first wife of the Grand Duke. According to the existing tradition, Ivan Ivanovich's wife should have received them, i.e. Elena Stefanovna, but Sofya, not knowing about it, gave them to her relatives (458).

It should be noted that data on this conflict are absent in the abridged collections of the late 15th century, in the Simeonovskaya, Ermolinskaya, Sofia I and Voskresenskaya chronicles. It is described only in the Lvov and Nikon chronicles, in the same version as in the Uvarov chronicle.

Further, in the Uvarov Chronicle, the name of Elena Stefanovna is mentioned in connection with the move of the family of the Grand Duke to the new palace in 1492, a description of the magnificent meeting of the Grand Duchess Anna of Ryazan, who fell into disgrace, fell on Elena and her son in 1502. The latest data relate to her death in 1505 city ​​(459)

In the rest of the chronicles, except for the Lvov one, information about Elena is in many respects similar to Uvarovskaya, but more concise. Only the Lviv Chronicle contains Additional Information about the fact that Andrei and Petr Mikhailovich Pleshcheevs went to Moldavia for the bride of Ivan Ivanovich, and that on the way to Moscow through the Lithuanian lands, Elena received gifts from the Polish king (460).

Additional data on the circumstances of the marriage of Elena Voloshanka and Ivan Molodoy are contained in diplomatic documents related to the Crimea. They were discovered by K.V. Bazilevich (461) .

Information about Russia's relations with Moldova at the end of the 15th century. are contained in the Inventory of the State Archive of the 16th century, reconstructed by A.A. Zimin. From this document you can learn that in April 1481 the ambassadors Andrei and Petr Mikhailovich Pleshcheev were sent to Moldova, about the return of these ambassadors to Moscow in December 1482 with Elena Stefanovna, about the embassy to Moldova P. Zinoviev in February 1490. , about the embassy to Moldova I.D. Likharev in August 1490 and their return in January 1491 to Moscow with the Moldavian ambassador Stetsky. It contains data on the embassies of 1492 and 1496. I.A. Pleshcheev to Moldavia, about the missions of Ivan Oshcherin and Ivan Pitar in 1497, about the messages of Stephen the Great to Ivan III in 1499, about the mission of Ivan Isaev to Moscow in 1500 (462)

In addition, there is information about Elena in the cases of Moscow-Novgorod heretics, considered in detail in the works of Soviet researchers N.A. Kazakova, Ya.S. Lurie, A.A. Zimina, A.I. Alekseeva and others (463)

The biography of Grand Duchess Elena Stefanovna, nicknamed Voloshanka in Russia, was of interest to researchers only in connection with her marriage to Ivan the Young and the dynastic struggle that flared up in the Russian state at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. between Prince Vasily and Dmitry the grandson. At the same time, the personality of the princess herself did not attract the attention of historians. They only tried to find out the reasons why she became the wife of the son of Ivan III and what forces supported the claims of her son Dmitry to the Moscow throne. N.M. Karamzin believed that the initiator of the marriage of Elena and Ivan was the Moldavian ruler Stefan, the father of the bride, who was interested in supporting Ivan III in his struggle with Turkey and Lithuania. To maintain independence, he had to maneuver between neighboring countries, so an alliance with the Russian sovereign was beneficial to him (464). Karamzin considered Elena's supporters the princes Patrikeyevs and Semyon Ryapolovsky, who allegedly slandered Sophia Paleolog and her son Vasily (465).

CM. Solovyov agreed with Karamzin's opinion that the princes Patrikeev and Ryapolovsky supported Elena Voloshanka and her son. In his opinion, the support of the widow of Ivan the Young and Dmitry the grandson at the Moscow court was the highest nobility - princes and boyars. Sophia and Vasily were supported only by the boyar children and clerks. In addition, Elena had close ties with the Novgorod-Moscow heretics (466).

In the works of Soviet researchers, a different conclusion was drawn. S.B. Veselovsky and Ya.S. Lurie believed that Elena and Dmitry were supported by the highest bureaucratic businessmen of the capital, affected by heretical free-thinking. Its leader was the clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn. The Tver circles also supported them (467).

The most detailed question of concluding a marriage union between Elena and Ivan was considered by K.V. Bazilevich. Among the diplomatic documents on Russia's relations with the Crimea, he found data on negotiations regarding this marriage as early as 1480. They were initiated by a certain Princess Feodosia Alexandrovna, the wife of Prince Semyon Yuryevich. Perhaps Theodosia was Helen's aunt (468).

S.M. paid some attention to the issue of the marriage of a Moldovan princess with a Moscow prince. Chestnuts. He even considered, following Ya.S. Lurie that one of the editions of the official chronicle, compiled in 1495, came out of the office of Metropolitan Zosima, who was close to Elena Stefanovna. Therefore, the events associated with the dynastic struggle of Prince Vasily with Dmitry the grandson were covered from the position of the Moldavian princess (469). True, A.I. Alekseev doubts the involvement of Metropolitan Zosima in the annals (470).

A.A. Zimin also examined in sufficient detail all the events in which Elena Voloshanka was somehow involved, and concluded that she was a fairly experienced politician and actively fought for the rights of her son to the grand throne. In addition, she took part in a heretical movement (471).

Recently, a new moment in the study of the heretical movement of the late XV - early XVI century. introduced by A.I. Alekseev. His conclusions make it possible to clarify some data in the biography of Elena Voloshanka (472) .

In general, in the works of the post-Soviet period, the issue of the marriage of Elena Stefanovna and Ivan Molodoy is not considered from any other positions than before, since no new sources have been found.

In this study, an attempt was made to collect all the information about Elena Voloshanka in a variety of sources and to conclude whether she played any role in the process of shaping the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian centralized state of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. and the development of social thought in it.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The sources did not retain any information about when Elena was born and what her childhood was like. It is only known that her father was the Moldavian ruler Stephen III, nicknamed the Great, and her mother was Princess Evdokia Olelkovna.

Stephen's year of birth is unknown, but there is evidence that he ascended the Moldavian throne in 1457, in 1467 he already won the war with Hungary, in 1475 he defeated the Turkish army and thus glorified himself throughout Europe.

Elena's mother, the Lithuanian princess Evdokia, was the daughter of the Kyiv prince Alexander (Olelko) Vladimirovich and the Moscow princess Anastasia, daughter of Vasily I.

Through her mother, Elena was related to the Moscow Grand Duke's house. She was a second cousin to her future husband. This relationship was considered close, and the permission of the church was required for marriage between such relatives. In addition, through her cousin Sophia (daughter of Semyon Olelkovich), she was related to the princes of Tver, since Sophia was the wife of the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich. True, shortly after Elena's marriage, she died (in April 1483), leaving no offspring (473).

It is known that Elena's grandmother, Princess Anastasia Vasilievna, maintained close ties with her parents and even went to Moscow to visit them (474). She was constantly interested in events in Moscow and often sent her messengers to her brother, for example, in 1447 (475)

Undoubtedly, Princess Anastasia was an Orthodox believer and tried to raise her children in this faith - Semyon and Mikhail, as well as Elena's mother Evdokia. Therefore, when discussing the issue of the marriage of the Moldavian princess with the Moscow prince, the problems of religion were not discussed.

However, as noted by A.I. Alekseev, Orthodoxy in the families of the Lithuanian princes and in Moldova had some differences from the faith in the Muscovite state. For example, in the retinue of Uncle Elena, Prince Mikhail Olelkovich, who arrived in Novgorod in 1470–1471, there was a “Jew named Skharia”. He openly preached his doctrine, which characterized him as "a sorcerer, warlock and astrologer." Among the Novgorod clergy immediately there were those wishing to follow the teachings of this Jew. Among them were not only priests, but also their relatives, wives, children, brothers, sons-in-law and just acquaintances. It is likely that Prince Mikhail Olelkovich himself was influenced by the views of Skhariya (476). Helen was an uncle.

Researchers believe that the well-known Kyiv scribe Zechariah ben Aron Ga Cohen was called Skhariya in Russian sources. In 1481 he was engaged in the correspondence of books in Kyiv (477).

It is likely that Zechariah's Judaism, based on the Old Testament Bible, resonated with the Kievan nobility, as it canceled the end of the world, which, according to the Orthodox faith, was supposed to come in 1492.

Elena Voloshanka's father Stefan also revered the Old Testament. After victories over enemies, he gave praise not to Christ, but to the "highest god of hosts." He called Jesus only "the son of the living God" (478).

Therefore, the assumption arises that Princess Elena, from childhood, had a special reverence for the Old Testament, and therefore for Judaism, which then began to spread in Novgorod and Moscow at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries.

In general, the upbringing and education of Elena, apparently, did not differ much from what the girls received in the family of the Grand Dukes of Moscow. After all, her grandmother was brought up at the Moscow court. She had to transfer her skills and knowledge to her daughter Evdokia, and she was already Elena.

There is no information in the chronicles about who initiated the marriage of Elena and Ivan the Young. But K.V. managed to clarify this issue on the basis of various diplomatic documents. Bazilevich. In the Crimean embassy files, he found information that back in the second half of the 70s. 15th century Sovereign Stefan asked his wife's relatives to arrange the marriage of his daughter Elena with the heir to the Moscow throne, Ivan Ivanovich. The Moldavian ruler, whose country was squeezed between hostile Turkey and Poland, benefited from an alliance with the ever-increasing Russian state (479).

Princess Feodosia Olelkovna, the sister of his wife, took on the task of helping Stefan. Elena's aunt. She also attracted her nephew, the son of another sister, Prince Ivan Yuryevich Pronsky, to this case. Elena was her cousin. At the family council, it was decided to turn to the mother of Ivan III, Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna, and ask her to become an intermediary in marriage negotiations. But in the late 70s. this issue could not be resolved (480) .

Negotiations about marriage resumed in 1480, already with the active participation of Ivan III. He apparently realized that his eldest son-heir, who has reached the age of 22, is long overdue to start a family. The sons born to Sophia Palaiologos should not have looked like his rivals in obtaining the throne and create a pretext for conflicts in the grand ducal family. After all, at that time everyone knew that only a married person was considered a truly adult.

In addition, the changed political situation pushed Ivan III to an alliance with Stephen the Great. The Grand Duke sharply aggravated relations with the Horde Khan Akhmat, who concluded an agreement on mutual assistance with his enemy, the Polish king Casimir. In the fight against two strong opponents, Moscow needed new allies. In this regard, the Moldavian ruler was a suitable candidate, since Casimir was also his enemy.

The researchers found out that in April 1480 Stephen III sent his ambassador to Moscow. He was supposed to raise again the question of the marriage of Prince Ivan and his daughter Elena and the union of Moldavia with Russia. In response, Ivan III sent his envoy, "a young man" to Stephen (481).

Negotiations on marriage ended with the fact that in April 1482 Ivan III sent his representatives to Stefan - Andrei and Pyotr Mikhailovich Pleshcheev. They were instructed to bring Ivan the Young's bride to Moscow.

King Casimir, not wanting to immediately break off good-neighborly relations with both Moldova and Russia, allowed Elena Stefanovna to pass through his territory and even sent her gifts when she was in the Novgorod-Seversky region. As a result, already in December 1482, the wedding cortege arrived in Moscow. Whether the Moldavian princess had any dowry is unknown. Perhaps this issue was stipulated in the articles of the treaty between Ivan III and Stephen, but its text has not been preserved (482).

They did not delay the wedding of Ivan and Elena. It was played on January 12, 1483. But the celebrations continued for several more days. After some time, another wedding took place - the nieces of Sophia Paleolog Maria and the son of the Vereisk prince Mikhail Andreevich - Vasily. It soon became clear that both of these events are closely related.

Since the union of Elena and Ivan the Young, apparently, turned out to be successful, then on the night of October 10 of the same 1483, the Moldavian princess gave birth to a son, Dmitry. In memory of Dmitry Thessalonica, on October 26, he was baptized. After that, Ivan III wanted to give a gift to his young daughter-in-law and give her the jewelry of Ivan the Young's mother Maria Tveryanka, which were kept by his second wife Sophia Paleolog. However, it turned out that she did not have them. Not knowing about the customs of the Moscow court, she first gave part of the jewelry of her predecessor to her brother Andrei, then she gave everything else to her niece Maria during her wedding with the Vereisk prince (483) .

Upon learning of this, Ivan III was very angry, but did not dare to punish his wife. He only demanded that Prince Vasily Mikhailovich Vereisky give back the jewelry donated by Sophia. However, the offended prince chose to flee with his wife to Lithuania (484).

This incident finally spoiled the relationship between Ivan the Young and Sophia Paleolog and set Elena Voloshanka against her mother-in-law. The fact that conflicts in the family are inevitable, apparently, was understood by Ivan III. To prevent them, he decided to single out his eldest son for an independent reign.

Thus, already in the first year of her marriage, Elena Stefanovna did not have the best relationship with Sophia Paleolog. The young daughter-in-law probably immediately saw a rival in her mother-in-law and did not enter into a trusting relationship with her.

Ivan III, feeling like a man full of strength, apparently did not want to share the lands with his eldest son. Therefore, he began to look for him some principality to which he could lay claim to his rights. Such a suitable possession turned out to be the neighboring Tver Principality. It was ruled by the childless uncle of Ivan the Young, Prince Mikhail Borisovich, married to the cousin of Elena Voloshanka.

The Grand Duke of Moscow tried to control all the actions of the Prince of Tver, intercepting his messengers to neighboring countries. So he managed to find out that after the death of his wife, Princess Sofia Semyonovna in April 1483, Mikhail Borisovich decided to intermarry with the Polish King Casimir and decided to marry his granddaughter. The proposed union had a clear anti-Moscow orientation. But this has not yet become a reason for breaking off relations with the Tver prince.

Mikhail Borisovich himself provoked the gap. He did not want to receive the Moscow ambassador V. Gusev, who arrived in Tver with the news of the birth of Ivan the Young son Dmitry. But after that he sent a messenger to Casimir with a proposal to conclude an alliance of mutual assistance. In response, the angry Ivan III broke off peaceful relations with the Tver principality and sent an army to plunder and burn the frontier lands. Mikhail Borisovich was forced to admit his guilt and sign a humiliating treaty with the Moscow prince. According to him, he recognized himself as the lesser brother of the Grand Duke (485).

Naturally, such a situation could not suit the Grand Duke of Tver, whose ancestors competed with the Moscow princes for the throne of Vladimir. So he sent a messenger to King Casimir for help. However, this time the Tver envoy was intercepted by the people of Ivan III. The content of Mikhail Borisovich's letter outraged the Grand Duke so much that he decided to finally deal with his neighbor. In August 1485, he personally at the head of the army went to Tver.

The campaign of the Muscovites frightened the prince of Tver, and he fled to Lithuania. His boyars en masse went over to the side of Ivan III (486).

The fate of the Tver principality was decided. Having entered Tver on August 15, 1485, the Grand Duke in the Spassky Cathedral solemnly handed over power to his son Ivan Ivanovich as the new prince of Tver. Three days later, he moved his family to the city and became the sovereign ruler in it as the grandson of the Grand Duke of Tverskoy Boris Alexandrovich. Ivan III himself returned to Moscow (487).

Thus, for a while, the conflict in the grand-ducal family was extinguished. Sophia remained in Moscow as the sole mistress of the Grand Duke's palace, and Elena Voloshanka began to settle down in the former possessions of the Tver princes.

It should be noted that at first the marriage of Ivan Molodoy and Elena Stefanovna contributed to the strengthening of ties between Russia and Moldova. K.V. Bazilevich collected information that in the 80s and 90s. 15th century Ivan III's contacts with Stefan were quite frequent. For example, in 1484, the ambassador to Hungary, Fyodor Kuritsyn, was supposed to take with him to Moscow the envoy of the Moldavian ruler. In 1488, Ivan III sent Vasily Karamyshev to Stefan. In February 1490, Prokofy Zinovievich went "to Volokhi", in August - Ivan Likhorev. He returned in January 1491 with the Moldavian ambassador Stetsko. In July 1491, Prokofy Zinovievich again went to Stefan (488).

With the help of Ivan III, the Moldavian ruler managed to conclude friendly relations with the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. Together they carried out raids against the Polish King Casimir until his death in 1492 (489)

It turned out that during the life of Ivan the Young, his marriage to the Moldavian princess brought tangible benefits to the Russian state. The prince himself got the opportunity to become an independent ruler in the Tver lands.

According to A.A. Zimin, Ivan III did not plan to create a separate Tver principality. Ivan the Young was only supposed to manage the Tver lands until he ascended the throne of Moscow (490). In Tver, the heir to the Grand Duke gained experience and received significant funds to support his family. Unfortunately, Elena had no more children. The reason for this, perhaps, was a close relationship with her husband. It can be recalled that Ivan III himself and his first wife, his second cousin, had only one child.

CM. Kashtanov, analyzing the Tver letters for the 80s, concluded that Ivan Ivanovich did not constantly manage the Tver lands. Approximately in June 1488, he apparently moved to Moscow, since foreign ambassadors began to bow to him (491).

This could be due to the fact that Ivan III launched an active attack on the Kazan Khanate and was interested in the fact that the eldest son was close to him. In addition, in 1488, the Grand Duke's relations with his brother Andrei of Uglitsky and the people of Novgorod worsened (492).

In Moscow, Ivan Molodoy again had to meet quite often with Sophia Paleolog, whom he, judging by the recollections of foreigners (primarily Contarini), did not like very much. It must have been unpleasant for him to learn that his stepmother continued to regularly give birth to children, while his young wife was able to give birth to only one son. An even more unpleasant impression on the prince, obviously, was the arrival in Moscow at the end of 1489 of Sophia's brother Andrei with the ambassadors of the Grand Duke, brothers Dmitry and Manuil Ralev, who traveled to Italy. They brought with them many Italian craftsmen, architects, builders, casters, jewelers, and even the doctor Leon (493) .

Official receptions and feasts were arranged in their honor. Sophia, surrounded by children, undoubtedly felt at that time at the height of fame and, apparently, demonstrated this to her foe, her stepson.

Ivan Ivanovich, no doubt, was irritated at the sight of the triumphant Sofya Fominichna. As a result, after a while he fell ill with "kamchuha in the legs" (494) .

Some researchers, as already noted, decided that the prince had gout. But it should be repeated that in explanatory dictionary» V. Dahl indicated that Kamchuga was a genus of leprosy, expressed in the appearance of a red rash and scabs on the skin (495) . Now leprosy is considered a nervous disease that cannot be cured.

The illness of his son worried Ivan III very much, and he ordered the foreign doctor Leon to examine him. He, apparently, had not met with such a disease before and decided that it was not serious. Therefore, he boldly promised to cure Ivan the Young. Otherwise, he was ready to lay down his head on the chopping block.

In the annals, it was noted that Leon gave Ivan Ivanovich some kind of medicine and began to put jars on him (“the jars began with vials over the body, pouring hot water”). But from this treatment, the patient became even worse, and on March 7, 1490, he died (496).

The death of his son, undoubtedly, caused Ivan III not only deep sorrow, but also anger. Therefore, he ordered to cut off the head of a negligent doctor. His execution took place on April 22 "on Bolvanovye" (497).

It should be noted that not all chronicles contain detailed information about the death of Ivan the Young. For example, there is no data about this event in the Moscow code of the end of the 15th century; it is very briefly described in the Ermolinskaya and Voskresenskaya annals. Detailed news is placed only in a short code of 1497, in the Simeonovskaya and Lvov Chronicles. This suggests that not all scribes were interested in the details of the death of the heir to the throne.

For Elena Stefanovna, the death of her husband was a great grief. After all, at the Moscow court, he was her main support. Now the main task of the widow was the upbringing of the infant son Dmitry, who had a chance to take the grand throne, since his father already bore the title of grand duke. True, Ivan Ivanovich did not rule the entire state on his own, and because of this, his son did not have indisputable rights to supreme power. It turned out that the future of the grandson depended on the will of his grandfather Ivan III.

Soviet researchers believed that after the death of Ivan the Young, Elena Voloshanka entered into a fight with Sophia Paleolog, hoping in this way to achieve the throne for her son Dmitry. In their opinion, both women were powerful persons and relied on various court groups (498) .

True, there is no evidence in the sources that Elena was distinguished by imperiousness and had her own entourage at the Moscow court, on which she could rely. There is no information in them that the confrontation between the two women began immediately after the death of Ivan the Young. Based on the data of chronicles and diplomatic documents, it can be concluded that the young widow and her son lived in the Kremlin Grand Duke's Palace. In the family hierarchy, Elena Stefanovna officially occupied a place below Sofya Fominichna, and Dmitry the grandson was below the eldest sons of Ivan III (499).

Therefore, there is a doubt that Elena Voloshanka was able to help her son in any way. The outcome of his struggle with Vasily for supreme power depended only on the decision of Ivan III himself. He, apparently, thought first of all about the ability of each of the contenders for the throne to continue his great deeds to expand the territory of the Russian state and strengthen it.

In addition, in 1490, both Vasily (born 1479) and Dmitry (born 1483) were still too small to rule on their own. Both needed to learn. Therefore, Ivan III had a lot of time to choose the most worthy among them.

In 1491, Ivan III sent an embassy to Moldova with a message about the death of Ivan Ivanovich. In a letter to Stefan, he apparently promised that he would take care of his daughter and common grandson (500) .

Elena and her son, as already noted, settled in the grand ducal palace. When its restructuring began in 1492, they, along with the rest of the members of the grand-ducal family, temporarily moved to the new court of the boyar Prince Yuri Patrikeevich (501) .

In 1496, Ivan III decided to test how well his eldest sons, Vasily and Yuri, and grandson Dmitry, mastered the sciences of government. To do this, in October, together with Dmitry and Yuri, he went on a long trip to Novgorod. In Moscow, Sophia Paleolog and her son Vasily were left “on the state”. The Grand Duke returned home only in March 1497 (502)

In the annals there is no information about any events in the grand ducal family at that time. Apparently, all the princes who were being tested passed the test, and the Grand Duke could not give preference to anyone. But he soon sent an embassy to Stephen the Great, for what purpose is unknown. On the way back, his envoys Ivan Oshcherin and Luka Voloshenin were robbed by the son of the Crimean Khan Yepancha. So they had to go back to Stefan. The ruler immediately sent his messengers to Khan Mengli Giray and asked to punish the robbers. Khan quickly investigated this case, but he could not fully return the goods taken from the Russian ambassadors.

In August they arrived in Moscow and told Ivan III about the incident. With them was the Moldavian ambassador Ivan Pitar with the elders of the Athos St. Panteleimon Monastery (503).

The message of the ambassadors about Stephen the Great helping them, apparently, convinced the Grand Duke that it was beneficial for him to be friends with the Moldavian ruler, who enjoys great authority in the Crimea. This, obviously, began to persuade him to choose Dmitry from the two contenders for the throne.

In addition, another international event took place in September, which pushed Ivan III away from Sofya Fominichna and her children. From his informants, the Grand Duke learned that his son-in-law, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander, together with his brother the Polish king Albrecht, were going to attack Stephen the Great. Ivan III immediately sent a messenger to Alexander with a request not to fight with his relative. He feignedly promised not to participate in his brother's campaign, but sent his governors to help him. This became clear after Stephen defeated the Polish army, captured the cannons and forced the king to flee in disgrace (504).

This event once again showed the Russian sovereign that Stephen should be friends, and his son-in-law Alexander cannot be trusted. It turned out that their common daughter Elena with Sophia Fominichnaya had no influence on her husband. This means that her marriage did not bring any benefit to the Russian state. So, apparently, Ivan III thought, deciding who to officially name his heir: the son of Vasily or the grandson of Dmitry. In November 1497, as is known, he finally bowed in favor of his grandson.

A.A. Zimin believed that persons from Elena Stefanovna's entourage, the main of which was her distant relative Prince I.Yu. Patrikeyev, took part in the compilation of the Sudebnik of 1497. This contributed to the growth of the authority of the widow of Ivan the Young and her son Dmitry and convinced Ivan III that he should rely on them (505) .

However, there are no data in this regard in the sources. Therefore, it is not known whether Elena Voloshanka and her relatives had anything to do with the compilation of the Sudebnik.

It can be assumed that at the end of 1497 the sovereign's clerks were ordered to develop a procedure for Dmitry's wedding to the great reign. It was supposed to become public, solemn and be recorded in a special document - the rite of the wedding. As a model, apparently, the ceremony of placing Russian hierarchs as metropolitans, as well as the ceremony of crowning the heirs of the Byzantine emperors (506) was taken.

This, according to the plan of the Grand Duke, should have hurt Sophia Paleologus especially painfully, who never forgot about her high origin and constantly reminded of him. different ways. Including pompous inscriptions on their embroideries.

The activities of the clerks in compiling the Chin for the wedding of Dmitry the grandson became known to those who were in the entourage of Prince Vasily. The main among them was the nobleman Vladimir Gusev, who more than once carried out various diplomatic missions of Ivan III (he traveled to Tver to the Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich with a message about the birth of Dmitry the grandson, accompanied Princess Elena to Vilna, etc.) (507) .

Gusev informed Prince Vasily and Sofya Paleolog that soon Dmitry the grandson would be officially declared heir to the Grand Duke's throne. This, of course, outraged them and forced them to take retaliatory measures. Vasily, on the advice of his nobles, decided to flee to Vologda in order to seize the treasury there and start fighting with an opponent (508) .

But the prince's plan failed, because Ivan III had spies everywhere. The enraged Grand Duke ordered the execution of all the nobles guilty of the conspiracy. He only imposed disgrace on his son and wife - they were taken into custody (509).

After this incident, Elena and her son significantly strengthened their position and began to prepare for the most important event in their lives. The Moldavian princess, as you know, in her workshop took up the manufacture of a veil, on which she embroidered images of all members of the family of Ivan III during the celebration of Palm Sunday in 1497. Naturally, she placed herself and Dmitry in the most honorable place next to Ivan III, Sophia Paleolog with daughters - below, from the left edge. This veil has survived to our time, being a clear evidence of the triumph of Dmitry the grandson in 1498 (510).

The solemn ceremony of the wedding of Dmitry the grandson to the great reign took place on February 4, 1498 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. It was attended by Metropolitan Simon with 13 representatives of the higher clergy, Ivan III and the hero of the occasion Dmitry. Previously, in the center of the temple, three chairs covered with expensive fabrics were installed on a special platform. Grand ducal regalia were placed on the nala: Monomakh's hat and barmas (shoulders), covering them with a veil.

The ceremony began with the fact that the Grand Duke and his grandson entered the central doors of the cathedral. Metropolitan Simon met them there and blessed them with a cross. After that, the deacons began to sing to them many years. Then began a prayer service in honor of the Most Holy Mother of God. After him, the metropolitan and Ivan III sat down on their chairs and beckoned to Dmitry, who was standing with princes Yuri and Dmitry.

Addressing the Metropolitan, the Grand Duke said the following: “Father Metropolitan! By God's command from our forefathers, the great princes, our antiquity now and then to these places: the fathers of the great princes gave their first son a great principality, and my father, the great prince, blessed me with a great principality, and he blessed his first son John with him with a principality. God's will was fulfilled, my son John died, and he left his first son Dmitry, and his God is my son's place for me. And now I bless his language with me and after me with the great principality of Volodimer and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Tfer. And you, father, would bless him with a great principality ”(511).

The Metropolitan blessed Dmitry, said a series of prayers and ordered the archimandrites to bring barmas. They were handed over to the Grand Duke, and he entrusted them to Dmitry. Then they brought Monomakh's hat, and Ivan III laid it on his grandson's head. In these regalia, Dmitry sat next to his grandfather and the Metropolitan on a prepared chair.

After prayers and many years to the two Grand Dukes, everyone began to congratulate them. Among the first were princes Yuri and Dmitry Zhilka. At the end of the ceremony, the metropolitan and Ivan III gave instructions to Dmitry the grandson, in which the main words were: “Have the fear of God in your soul, be obedient to the sovereign, love the truth, mercy and justice, have care from the heart for all Orthodox Christianity” (512) .

It all ended with a visit by Dmitry the main Kremlin cathedrals. During the exit from them, prince Yuri showered him with gold and silver coins. After the completion of the celebration, the grandson went first to his grandfather, apparently to express gratitude, then to his mother Elena Stefanovna. She, obviously, was not supposed to attend the wedding in the Assumption Cathedral (513).

In Chin's text, there is no evidence that Prince Vasily and Sophia Paleolog were also present at the ceremony. But it is noted that Ivan III informed his nephews, the appanage princes Ivan and Fedor Borisovich, that he blessed Dmitry the grandson for the great reign. Messages about this event were also sent to Ryazan, Pskov, Novgorod and Kazan (514).

After the wedding of his grandson to the great reign, Ivan III began to actively defend Stephen the Great from the attacks of the Poles. In the spring of 1498, he sent Fyodor Aksentiev to him, who was supposed to establish close relations between the ruler and the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. As a result, the khan even set out to conclude an agreement with Stefan against the Polish king Jan Albrecht and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Kazimirovich (515).

Researchers suggest that in 1498 Ivan III was already planning to start a war with his son-in-law Alexander Kazimirovich, so he went for a close rapprochement with Stephen the Great and Mengli Giray, seeing them as real allies (516) .

It turned out that the rise of Dmitry happened not because he was chosen by the Grand Duke as the most worthy heir, but because it was beneficial to him in preparing the war with the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Both the grandson and Elena Voloshanka were only pawns in big game Ivan III on international arena. Their own merit and deeds apparently did not play any role. After all, they could not play any independent role at the grand ducal court. Dmitry was only 15 years old, and Elena was in the position of the widow of a prince who had not ascended the throne.

Ivan III needed a war with Alexander Kazimirovich in order to secure the lands of the Lithuanian princes who had fled to the Moscow court and to attract the Orthodox population of Lithuania to his side. After all, he set as his goal the unification of all ancient Russian lands under the rule of Moscow (517).

Among his main allies, the Grand Duke saw the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray and Stephen the Great. But at the same time, he tried to establish friendly relations with the Turkish Sultan Bayazid, who at that time had good neighborly relations with both the Crimean Khan and the Moldavian ruler. However, in the autumn of 1498, Moscow learned that Stephen had entered into an anti-Ottoman alliance with Poland, betraying the interests of the Russian state (518).

This testified that for Russia in the fight against Lithuania, the Moldavian ruler could no longer be considered a reliable assistant. Therefore, at the end of the year, Ivan III, apparently, realized that he had vainly relied on his grandson and put his son and wife in disgrace. In addition, news reached him from Vilna that his daughter Elena was being persecuted for her loyalty to Orthodoxy, but she did not deviate from her faith. It turned out that either her husband Alexander Kazimirovich violated the marriage contract, or this contract was drawn up unsuccessfully and left loopholes for Elena's inclination to Catholicism (519) .

By order of Ivan III, an investigation into this issue began. In the course of it, according to some researchers, the fault of the persons who negotiated with Alexander Kazimirovich about his marriage to the Moscow princess was revealed. These are the princes Patrikeev and S. Ryapolovsky. All of them were severely punished (520).

True, S.M. Solovyov believed that these princes were opponents of Sophia Paleolog and her son. They, in his opinion, supported Dmitry the grandson and Elena Voloshanka and paid for it (521). Although there are no data on this in the sources, Solovyov's opinion was supported by Soviet researchers, in particular A.A. Zimin. He believed that the Patrikeyevs, like Fyodor Kuritsyn, were part of the group of Elena Voloshanka and her son (522).

This opinion was criticized by S.B. Veselovsky, who believed that it was Sophia and Vasily who were "the leaders of the aristocratic circles, while Elena and Dmitry were the leaders of the nobility" (523). As a result, in the writings of historians, the situation at the court of Ivan III at the end of the 15th century. It was presented as a struggle between the groups of Sophia and Elena for leadership. The Grand Duke allegedly watched her from the side.

In our opinion, the main thing at that time was the active entry of Ivan III into the struggle with Lithuania for the “Kiev heritage”. Therefore, he treated the people around him only from the point of view of the benefit that they could bring to him in this case. He severely punished all voluntary or involuntary opponents, he rewarded assistants and brought them closer to him.

The deterioration of relations between the Grand Duke and Stephen the Great led to the fact that already in March 1499, Prince Vasily was finally forgiven. He not only received the title of Grand Duke, like Dmitry, but also the administration of Novgorod and Pskov (524).

However, this did not yet mean the final fall of Dmitry the grandson and Elena Voloshanka. Both heirs were at this time in almost the same position. Ivan III continued to prepare for the war with Lithuania and, apparently, could not finally decide who would be the most reliable assistant for him.

In the spring of 1500, the Moldavian ambassador Fyodor Isaev arrived in Moscow with an order from Stefan. He had to persuade the Grand Duke to make peace with his son-in-law Alexander Kazimirovich. It was clear that the Moldavian ruler acted at the request of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and in his interests. This means that he could no longer be an ally of Ivan III (525).

At the same time, Ivan III learned from his ambassador to the Crimea, I. Mamyrev, that Stefan the Great persuaded Mengli-Giray to make peace with Alexander Kazimirovich, explaining that “the great prince of Moscow is far away from us, and the Lithuanian one is our closest neighbor” (526) .

This was already a real betrayal of Russia's interests. Moreover, it happened when the Grand Duke decided to start active military operations against Lithuania in defense of the vast land holdings of Princes Semyon Mozhaisky and Vasily Shemyachich, who had come into his service (527).

It seems that the visit of the Moldovan ambassador and the news from I. Mamyrev finally decided the fate of Elena Voloshanka and her son Dmitry. The Grand Duke stopped trusting them and began to alienate them from his court. Their entourage came under the close attention of persons close to the Grand Duke. They found out that Elena Stefanovna was in a trusting relationship with those representatives of the clergy whom the Russian hierarchs accused of heretical delusions.

About this heresy, which first appeared in Novgorod, Archbishop Gennady wrote to Moscow as early as 1487. But Ivan III did not pay attention to his information, because he did not consider the heretics dangerous for the church. In addition, as it turned out later; The main ideologists of the heretical movement were two Novgorod priests Denis and Alexei invited by him to Moscow. Serving in the main Kremlin cathedrals, they actively promoted their teachings among the representatives of the nobility. Soon they were joined by a prominent diplomat, clerk F. Kuritsyn and his brother Ivan (528).

At the same time, the sermons of Denis and Alexei apparently found a response in the soul of Elena Voloshanka, since from childhood she was accustomed to respect the Bible of the Old Testament. Therefore, she also became one of the main patrons of heretics. But until a certain time, the religious views of the daughter-in-law, apparently, did not interest Ivan III. Only after her arrest with Dmitry in April 1502 were church hierarchs instructed to deal with the denunciation of heretics (529).

A great influence on the fate of Elena and Dmitry, in our opinion, was Stefan's refusal to let the Russian ambassadors Dmitry Ralev and Matvey Karacharov, who traveled to Italy for various masters, go to Moscow. They set off from Moscow back in March 1499, hired cannons, builders of fortresses, casters, jewelers in Italy, and with them in 1500 set off through Moldavia on their way back. Unexpectedly for the Moscow envoys, Stefan the Great detained them. Apparently, he also needed experienced craftsmen.

I.E. Zabelin claimed that the Moldavian ruler kept the four most experienced craftsmen. Then he even demanded that the Russian government reimburse him for the costs of maintaining the ambassadors, whom he himself forcibly kept (530) .

As a result, the Russian ambassadors were able to leave Moldova only in July 1503. After that, they had to stay in the Crimea for more than a year. They ended up in Moscow only in November 1504 (531)

Ivan III regarded this behavior of Stephen as undoubtedly hostile and severed friendly and family relations with him. Therefore, neither Dmitry the grandson nor his mother Elena Voloshanka were needed by the Grand Duke. In April 1502, as already noted, they fell into disgrace. They were taken into custody, and the clergy were forbidden to commemorate them among the grand ducal relatives during the church service (532).

Officially, apparently, it was believed that Elena and Dmitry were punished for their inclination to heretical teachings. After all, heretics began to be exposed just before their arrest - at the end of December 1501 - the beginning of 1502. In the annals, these events follow one after another (533).

Researchers of the heretical doctrine that appeared in Novgorod and Moscow at the end of the 15th century considered it a mixture of Judaism and Christian rationalism. His followers rejected the Trinity, the divine essence of Christ, the veneration of saints, icons, monasticism, etc. At the same time, they were distinguished by learning and possessed such theological books that the Orthodox clergy did not have (534).

These qualities of heretics, apparently, attracted Elena Voloshanka, who was brought up in Moldova in conditions of religious tolerance. At the court of her father, there were many people who professed Judaism. Supporters of the heretical doctrine, as already noted, were the most educated sovereign clerks Ivan and Fyodor Kuritsyn, who were also involved in international affairs. Elena probably often communicated with them, wanting to know about her father and the situation in Moldova. With the help of the clerks, she apparently understood the essence of the heretical teaching and decided that it was more understandable to her than Orthodoxy. Joseph Volotsky claimed that Ivan III's daughter-in-law Elena "brought into Judaism" Ivan Maksimov, son-in-law of Archpriest Alexei and son of priest Maxim, who was convicted at the council of 1490 (535)

Some researchers believe that Elena Voloshanka herself led a circle of Moscow heretics (536) . However, this is unlikely, since the position of women at the grand ducal court was not so free that they could meet with strangers without any specific need. Most likely, the widow of Ivan the Young only talked with those representatives of the clergy who preached heretical teachings.

Stephen the Great, having learned about the disgrace to his daughter and grandson, became actively interested in their fate. He asked the Russian ambassadors to the Crimea and the Crimean envoys about this. At the same time, he apparently did not realize that he himself provoked their punishment by betraying the interests of Ivan III, who was preparing for a war with Lithuania, and by delaying his embassy with specialists from Italy for a long time (537).

The Moldavian ruler, obviously, did not know that the Russian ruler had his own people everywhere, ready to reveal other people's secrets for a fee. At the same time, Ivan III put the interests of his country much higher than personal attachments and for their sake he was ready to break even family ties. This, apparently, was very well understood by Sophia Paleolog, who recruited experienced Italian craftsmen with the help of relatives and acquaintances to realize her husband's plans.

It can be assumed that in the fall of 1502 Stephen tried to establish relations with the Grand Duke and even captured a number of Lithuanian cities on the Dniester. But it was already too late. Ivan III ordered his envoy to the Crimea, Ivan Beklemishev, to explain the reason for the disgrace to his daughter-in-law and grandson in the following way: and he is our sovereign for that misconduct of theirs, he took the grand principality from his grandson. Later, the explanation became more specific: “Our sovereign granted his grandson; and he taught our sovereign to be rude; after all, it favors every one who serves and strives; and to whom he is rude, why complain about him? (538)

These explanations show that the Grand Duke considered his relatives as subjects who were obliged to serve him and please him in everything. Only for this he was ready to favor and reward them. This once again suggests that any warm family feelings were unusual for him.

Soviet researchers believed that after the disgrace of Elena and Dmitry - the main patrons of heretics - they began severe persecution. In April 1503, a church council was assembled against them, which decided to severely punish the apostates, up to the burning of their teachers. As a result, in December 1504 Volk Kuritsyn, Mitya Konoplev and Elena Voloshanka's mentor Ivan Maksimov were burned in a cage. This apparently made such a negative impression on the disgraced Grand Duchess that she died on January 18, 1505 (539).

Some researchers believe that Elena Voloshanka left a certain mark on Russian writing and decorative art. So, S.M. Kashtanov believed that at her court in 1495 an annals with the news of Tver was compiled. It included materials on Russian-Moldovan relations at the end of the 15th century. (540)

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From the book History of Sins. Release 1 author Egorova Elena Nikolaevna

DESCENDANTS OF IVAN III VASILIEVICH

At the beginning of the XVI century. the offspring of Dmitry Donskoy greatly thinned out. After the death of Ivan III, his sons survived: Vasily and his brothers Andrei, Yuri, Simeon, Dmitry Zhilka, as well as the grandson from his eldest son, Dmitry, who would die in prison in 1509. Only Andrei, Prince Staritsky, had son Vladimir, the rest of the brothers of Vasily III were childless. The cousins ​​of Vasily III - Ivan and Dmitry, the sons of Andrei Vasilyevich Bolshoi, were imprisoned.

Vasily's serious rivals were his brothers Andrei Staritsky and Yuri, Prince Dmitrovsky. After the death of Vasily III, both brothers opposed the young heirs - Ivan and Yuri, but Yuri Dmitrovsky soon (in August 1536) died.

Vasily III Ivanovich(1478-1533). The eldest son of Ivan III from Sophia Paleolog. After a short disgrace, in 1499 Ivan returned his position to him, and Vasily was declared heir to the throne. In August 1505, the prince married the boyar daughter of Solomonia Saburova, chosen from ten applicants as a result of grandiose brides, to which 500 brides were brought. The wedding took place on September 4, and in October Ivan III died, and Vasily became the Grand Duke of All Russia. According to his father's will, he got 66 cities, while his brothers - only 30. Yuri received Dmitrov and Ruza, Dmitry - Uglich, Semyon - Kaluga, but all of them were actually completely dependent on the Grand Duke.

In 1510, the Pskov land lost its last remnants of independence. The reason for the complete subjugation of Pskov was the dissatisfaction of the Pskovites with the Grand Duke's governor - Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Repney-Obolensky. In the autumn of 1509, Vasily III was in Novgorod. The Pskov delegation came to him with a complaint about Repnya, and Repnya himself with his claims against the Pskovites. Sources describe the situation itself and the positions of the warring parties in different ways, but the fact remains that Vasily demanded complete obedience from the Pskovites. This should be confirmed by such a ritual act as the removal of the veche bell - a symbol of Pskov's independence. January 24, 1510 Vasily arrived in Pskov and expressed his will; about 300 families were expelled from Pskov: posadniks, boyars, merchants - all those in whom the Grand Duke saw champions of Pskov liberties.

An important event was the return of Smolensk to the Russian state. This was preceded by a sharp deterioration in relations with Lithuania: it became known in Moscow that the Polish king Sigismund was inciting the Crimean Khan to raid Russia; in the fall of 1512, he imprisoned Elena Ivanovna - the widow of Alexander Kazimirovich (brother of Sigismund), sister of Vasily III. The Smolensk operation was difficult: Vasily sent his regiments to Smolensk three times, and only in the summer of 1514, after a fierce shelling and a decisive assault, the fortress fell. On August 1, the Grand Duke solemnly entered the city.

Vasily was no less worried about the eastern and southern borders. He constantly fought for Russian influence in Kazan, striving to install friendly khans on the Kazan throne, played a complex diplomatic game with the Crimean Khanate, which at that time was perhaps the main source of danger. Russia experienced a severe test in 1521, when the Crimean Khan Mohammed Giray invaded the central regions of the country with a huge army. Russian barriers on the Oka were broken through at Serpukhov and Kashira, the governors were killed or captured. According to some reports, the Tatars reached the village of Vorobyov near Moscow. Vasily left the capital and was forced to give the khan a letter with the promise of "tribute and exit." However, this letter was obtained by cunning and destroyed by the Ryazan governor - Prince I.V. Khabar. The Tatars returned home with a huge crowd. This raid by Muhammad Giray was, fortunately, the only enemy invasion during the reign of Basil.

Vasily was also worried about internal affairs. He sought to prevent the strengthening and even more confrontation of his younger brothers, he was especially afraid of Yuri. Vasily was also worried about the absence of an heir: Solomonia was barren. In 1525, after considerable hesitation, overcoming the resistance of some church hierarchs, Vasily decided on a divorce; Solomonia was forcibly tonsured a nun. Two months later, the Grand Duke married the young beauty Elena Glinskaya. His choice was probably influenced not only by the fact that Elena was distinguished by "the beauty of her face and the goodness of her age", but also by the generosity of the family: the Glinskys descended from the khans of the Great Horde. Elena's uncle - Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky was the most influential magnate and political rival of King Sigismund.

Vasily died in 1533. In September, having prayed at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the days of the memory of Sergius of Radonezh, he went to Volok Lamsky to hunt. But an unexpected illness forced an interruption in the fun; “If he had a small sore on his left side, on the stem (thigh) ... from a pinhead.” So unpretentiously began the disease, which brought the Grand Duke to the grave, despite the efforts of doctors. The dying prince was most worried about the fate of the throne: he declared his son Ivan, who at that time was only three years old, to be his heir, and appointed boyars D. F. Belsky and M. L. Glinsky as regents. On December 3, Vasily died. Describing him, A. A. Zimin wrote: “He was a cautious and sober politician. A man of the Renaissance, Basil combined an ardent interest in knowledge with the Machiavellianism of an ambitious ruler... His foreign policy distinguished by thoughtfulness and purposefulness, the ability to use the international situation to carry out military actions ”(Zimin A.A. Russia on the threshold of a new time. M., 1972. S. 419-421). After the last Ryazan prince Ivan Ivanovich was arrested in Moscow in 1520 and the Ryazan principality became part of the Russian state, Vasily could already rightly be considered the Grand Duke of "All Russia" - with feudal fragmentation it was over. Vasily left a vast and powerful state to his young heir.

Source: The Tale of the Pskov Capture // PLDR: The end of the XV - the first half of the XVI century. pp. 364-375; The Tale of the Illness and Death of Vasily III // PLDR: The Middle of the 16th Century. pp. 18-47.

Lit .: Zimin A. A. Russia on the threshold of a new time. M., 1972.

Ivan IV Vasilyevich(1530-1584). Ivan the Terrible is one of the most prominent statesmen of pre-Petrine Russia. The most extensive literature is devoted to his reign, therefore we recall only the main milestones of his life.

When Vasily died, Ivan was three years old; five years later, in 1538, Elena Glinskaya died. There are suggestions that actively intervening in political life Ivan's mother was poisoned. The orphaned boy was a witness to the unattractive and cruel struggle of the groups that claimed the championship - Glinsky, Shuisky, Belsky. They paid no attention to the prince. Subsequently, Ivan recalled the neglect of his guardian (see below). During the next palace “hush”, the conspirators, led by Ivan Shuisky, broke into “the bed mansions at the wrong time, three hours before light”, frightening the thirteen-year-old Ivan a lot. A year later, Ivan's favorite, the boyar Vorontsov, was beaten right there in the palace, his clothes were torn off, kicked, and dragged from the entrance to the square. Only the intercession of Ivan saved his life, Vorontsov was exiled to Kostroma. In 1546, a crowd of disgruntled squeakers (warriors armed with squeakers) tried to break through with a petition to Ivan, who was going hunting; the protection of the Grand Duke detained them, several people died in the battle. Those accused of incitement to rebellion were executed, although, of course, regular temporary workers dealt with their rivals on behalf of Ivan.

In 1547 Ivan was crowned king. This was the official adoption of the new title, although Vasily III was already called the king in the documents. In the same year, Ivan married Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, the daughter of a boyar. Some princely families regarded this marriage as a dishonor, for Ivan married "his slave."

The year 1547 was ominous: Moscow burned three times, and during the last, June fire, 25,000 households burned down and, according to the chronicler's estimates, 1,700 people died.

Starting from 1549, his like-minded people and assistants were grouped around Ivan, whom Andrei Kurbsky would later call the “Chosen Rada”. It was Alexei Adashev, a deceiver, Duma clerk Ivan Viskovaty, Metropolitan Macarius, priest Sylvester. The time of reforms aimed at strengthening the autocratic power of the tsar began.

In 1552, the Russian army, led by the tsar himself, besieged and took Kazan. The Kazan Khanate was liquidated. Kazan is included in Russia, the threat of Tatar raids from the east has passed forever.

The following year, Ivan fell seriously ill, and at some point his death was expected from hour to hour. The tsar demanded that the boyars swear allegiance to his son Dmitry (in the same year, the baby Dmitry would die). But he had a strong rival - Ivan's cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky. The opinions of the boyars were divided, as the tsar later wrote, many of them “reeled like drunkards, decided that we were already in oblivion, and, forgetting our good deeds, and even more so, our souls and the oath ... decided to put our distant relative on the throne ". Ivan would remember these hesitations at his bedside later and take cruel revenge both on those who really hesitated in recognizing Dmitry as the heir, and on those whom it was beneficial for Ivan to declare his enemy.

In 1558, the war began in the Baltic states: Ivan intended to annex Livonia to Russia and open the country's access to the Baltic Sea. The tsar expected to rely on the local population, which received from the Russian state various benefits and freed from the power of the German feudal lords. Although at first the Russians achieved significant success, it continued until the beginning of the 80s. the war brought nothing but huge casualties, depletion of the treasury and loss of authority. According to the agreements concluded with Poland and Sweden, Ivan not only lost Livonia, but even part of the original Russian lands: only a small section of the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva remained in the hands of the state.

In the early 1960s, the Chosen Rada disintegrated, and former associates of the tsar were sent to prison. Ivan's beloved wife, Anastasia, died, and the tsar married the Kabardian princess Temryuk, who received the name Maria at baptism.

A sharp turn in domestic politics the tsar was accomplished in 1565. Ivan unexpectedly leaves Moscow, explaining his departure with anger at his subjects for the fact that they “did many losses to people and emaciated his sovereign treasuries”, while the boyars and governors “received his sovereign lands for themselves and their friend and tribe ... handed out. True, the tsar announced in a letter sent to the merchants and all the "christianity of the city of Moscow" that he had "anger ... and no disgrace" against them. When a deputation sent from Moscow beat him with a brow, begging the tsar to return and do as he pleases, and “who will be traitors and villains to him, the sovereign, and his state, and over those in the stomach and in execution his sovereign will”, Ivan did not fail to take advantage obtained "permission". He announced the creation of the "oprichnina" - he allocated significant territories on which the employees of his royal court - the guardsmen, who made up the military corps of the king, received allotments.

At first there were 570 oprichiks, then their number grew to five thousand. Unheard-of terror is unleashed in the country: mass executions, deportation from the cities of central Russia to distant outskirts. The time of brutal reprisals lasted for several years. In 1565, an experienced governor was executed, the hero of the capture of Kazan - Prince A. B. Humpbacked fifteen year old son, okolnichiy P. P. Golovin, impaled by D. F. Shevyrev. In 1568, the boyar I.P. Fedorov-Chelyadnin, a man of impeccable reputation and great authority, was killed. Then 150 of his nobles and servants were executed. The boyars M. I. Kolychev, M. M. Lykov, A. I. Katyrev-Rostovsky were executed. In 1569, Maria Temryukovna died. Grozny accused his rival Vladimir Staritsky of being involved in her death and forced him to drink poison. In 1570, the guardsmen unleashed a bloody massacre in Klin, Torzhok, Tver, Novgorod, whose inhabitants were subjected to especially sophisticated abuse and torment. In Moscow, on July 25, about 120 convicts were executed on the square “near the Poganaya Puddle”, and among them were the most influential people yesterday: treasurer Nikita Funikov and chancellor Ivan Viskovaty.

In 1572, the oprichnina was abolished, and many guardsmen were themselves executed. Painfully suspicious, everywhere looking for conspirators, the king negotiated a possible departure to England. In 1575, Grozny unexpectedly transferred the royal title to the baptized Tatar Simeon, and began to call himself the “specific prince of Moscow”, derogatoryly calling himself “Ivashka”. With ostentatious humility, Ivan asks Simeon for this or that “mercy”, which the insignificant and absolutely non-authoritative Simeon, of course, does not dare to refuse him. Ivan re-forms the oprichnina army and unleashes new executions on the tormented country. A year later, Simeon was quietly dethroned and sent to reign in Tver, and Ivan regained his former title.

In 1581 Ivan the Terrible's eldest son died. By. according to contemporaries, the king watched with envy and anxiety the growing authority of his son and often quarreled with him. Once, going into his son's chambers, Grozny found his daughter-in-law - pregnant Elena - in her underwear. The king considered this a gross violation of decency and beat her with a staff; Ivan, who stood up for his wife, was also beaten. Elena the next night gave birth to a dead baby, and Ivan Ivanovich died a few days later: either from a nervous shock, or as a result of a wound in the head. The absurd death, in essence, the murder of his son shocked Grozny: he left the only heir - the feeble-minded Fyodor (Dmitry, the son of the last, seventh wife of Tsar Maria Nagoy, was not yet born).

In recent years, Grozny began to get sick often. He was tormented by bad forebodings, and he called on astrologers and sorceresses to find out his fate. According to the Englishman Jerome Horsey, who personally knew the king, the witches correctly predicted the day of his death. But Ivan, it would seem, did not even think of dying: he took a bath, ordered the chess table to be brought in and began to arrange the pieces himself, but suddenly he suddenly weakened, fell on his back and soon expired.

Ivan the Terrible undoubtedly strengthened autocratic power, eliminated the very possibility of feudal opposition, and improved the administration of the country. But we must not forget about the other side of his reign: bloody repressions, cruel executions, oprichnina terror. Experienced commanders, brilliant diplomats, and wise clerks perished in the bacchanalia of massacres. The sword of the oprichnina cut off, first of all, the heads of the most authoritative, influential, and intelligent. The intellectual potential of the country was immeasurably weakened. In the oprichnina pogroms, not only princes and boyars perished, but also tens of thousands of townspeople, peasants, and soldiers who were far from high politics. The country's economy was undermined, the central regions of Russia were devastated and devastated, through which a wave of oprichnina terror swept with the greatest fury. Such was the terrible legacy of Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible was married seven times: to Anastasia Zakharyina-Romanova (in 1547), to Maria Temryukovna (in 1561), to Martha Sobakina (in 1571), Anna Koltovskaya (in 1572), Anna Vasilchikova and Vasilisa Melentyeva (in 1575) and Maria Nagoya (in 1580). From Anastasia, he had sons Ivan (d. 1581), Dmitry (d. 1553) and Fedor, from Maria Nagoy - Dmitry.

Source: Messages of Ivan the Terrible. M.; L., 1951; Correspondence between Ivan the Terrible and Andrei Kurbsky. M., 1978; Kazan history // PLDR: The middle of the XVI century. pp. 300-565; Correspondence of Andrei Kurbsky with Ivan the Terrible; Messages of Ivan the Terrible // PLDR: The second half of the 16th century. pp. 16-217; Andrei Kurbsky. The story of the Grand Duke of Moscow // Ibid. pp. 218-399; The story of the coming of Stefan Batory to the city of Pskov // Ibid. pp. 400-477.

Lit .: Zimin A. A. 1) Reforms of Ivan the Terrible: Essays on the socio-economic and political history of the middle of the 16th century. M., 1960; 2) Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible. M., 1964; Skrynnikov R. G. Ivan the Terrible. M., 1975; Zimin A.A., Khoroshkevin A.L. Russia in the time of Ivan the Terrible. M., 1982; Kobrin V. Ivan the Terrible. M., 1989; Grekov I.B., Shakhmagonov F.F. World of history: Russian lands in the 16th century. M., 1990.

Fedor Ivanovich(1557-1589). Ivan the Terrible was succeeded by his son, weak in body and spirit. According to a contemporary, “he is heavy and inactive, but he always smiles, so that he almost laughs ... he is simple and weak-minded ... he has no inclination for war, is little capable of political affairs and is extremely superstitious. In addition to the fact that he prays at home, he usually goes on a pilgrimage every week to one of the nearby monasteries ”(D. Fletcher. On the Russian State. St. Petersburg, 1906. P. 122). Naturally, Fedor could not rule. State affairs were conducted by his brother-in-law - the brother of Tsarina Irina Boris Godunov, elevated by Fyodor during the coronation to the high rank of equerry.

During the reign of Fedor, the struggle of political groups again intensified. Representatives of the old aristocracy, pushed aside in the last years of Ivan the Terrible's reign by his favorites and temporary workers, again raised their heads. Boris Godunov was especially viciously attacked, but he managed to prevail in a complex political intrigue when the opposition, led by Metropolitan Dionysius and the influential Ivan Petrovich Shuisky, demanded that Fyodor divorce Irina, who was accused of infertility. Fyodor flatly refused, and Godunov removed Dionysius from the metropolitan throne. Accused of treason and exiled to Beloozero, Ivan Shuisky was tonsured a monk and soon died under strange circumstances. Fedor did not leave a will, which became a formal reason for the unrest that began after his death.

Source: Job. The Tale of the Life of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich // PLDR: The end of the XVI-beginning of the XVII century. pp. 74-129.

Lit .: Skrynnikov R. G. Boris Godunov. L., 1978.

Dmitry Ivanovich(1583-1591). The youngest son of Ivan IV from Maria Nagoya would hardly deserve mention if it were not for his unexpected death, which served as the basis for the appearance of impostors and gave rise to the legend of Boris Godunov's involvement in his death. A legend that has taken a firm place in Russian historiography. The investigations of recent years (in particular, the work of R. G. Skrynnikov) allow us to be skeptical about the version of the murder.

The circumstances of the death of the prince were clarified by a special commission, which included the prince and boyar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, Metropolitan Gelvasy, okolnichiy Kleshnin and Duma clerk Vyluzgin. It is worth noting that Shuisky was an enemy of Godunov and probably would not have justified him if he had found reason to suspect of involvement in the death of the heir to the throne. But the commission established that the death happened by accident: the prince was "amusing" in the palace courtyard (he lived in Uglich with his mother) playing "poke" (in "knives") with his peers. Dmitry had a seizure - the boy was an epileptic - and, having fallen, he ran into a knife with his throat. The version of the murder arose immediately: the prince's mother beat the nanny Vasilisa Volokhova and began to shout that the boy had been killed by Volokhov's son Osip. When the clerk of Uglich, Mikhail Bityagovsky, tried to prevent the massacre of the Volokhovs, the crowd, excited by the calls of the Nagi - Maria and her brother Mikhail - killed Bityagovsky, his son and nephew, and Osip Volokhov. They also tried to deceive the commission - they were presented with a knife smeared with chicken blood, with which Bityagovsky's nephew allegedly stabbed the prince. In reality, the fault lay only with the nannies and nurses, who did not have time to come to the aid of the boy who was struggling in a fit. After an investigation, Maria Naguya was tonsured a nun, and her brothers were imprisoned.

Lit .: Skrynnikov R. G. Boris Godunov. L., 1978. S. 67-84.

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Ivan III - the first sovereign of all Russia

The ruler who completed the efforts of his Danilovich ancestors and laid the foundations of the Russian centralized state was Ivan III Vasilievich (born in 1440, reigned 1462-1505). He gained experience in public administration under his father, the blind Vasily II. Of all the 75 Russian monarchs (until 1917), as well as subsequent leaders of the state, Ivan III Vasilyevich actually ruled the state for the largest number of years. His most important deeds were: 1. The overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. In 1477, the payment of tribute ceased, and in 1480, after an almost bloodless “standing on the river. Ugra "dependence on the Horde was finally destroyed. 2. International recognition of the sovereign Russian state, the establishment of diplomatic relations, the recognition of Ivan III of the title of "sovereign of all Russia" by the Pope, the Livonian Order, Germany, the Crimean Khanate and other states. D. During the reign of Ivan III, the territorial core of the Russian centralized state was formed. He annexed Yaroslavl (1463), Novgorod (1478), Tver (1485), Vyatka, Perm and others. Under Ivan III, the territory of the Russian state increased 6 times and reached 2.6 million square meters. km. The population was 2-3 million people. He began a political, diplomatic and armed struggle for the return of primordially Russian lands that were once part of Ancient Russia, and their inclusion in the Muscovite state as the successor to the Old Russian state. Under Ivan III, land ownership was developed and the political significance of the nobility grew, on which the ruler relied in the implementation of foreign and domestic policy. 4. Centralization and strengthening of political power, the foundation of autocratic rule. The Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III was called the Sovereign of All Russia. The foundations of the cult of the king's personality were laid: special ceremonials for going out to the people, meetings with ambassadors, clothes, signs of royal power. The state emblem appeared - a double-headed eagle. 5. In 1497, Ivan III approved the Code of Laws, the all-Russian code of laws, which replaced the Russkaya Pravda. The Code of Law determined the competence of officials, established procedural norms, punishments, including the death penalty for the most important crimes. 6. Ivan III in 1503 made the first unsuccessful attempt to secularize monastic and church properties. 7. From the second half of the XV century. the Russian state began to be regarded as the protector of all Orthodox, most of whom were suppressed.

Years of life: 1440-1505. Reign: 1462-1505

Ivan III is the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II the Dark and Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the Serpukhov prince.

In the twelfth year of his life, Ivan was married to Maria Borisovna, princess of Tver, in the eighteenth year he already had a son, Ivan, nicknamed Young. In 1456, when Ivan was 16 years old, Vasily II the Dark appointed him as his co-ruler, and at the age of 22 he became the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Even as a youth, Ivan participated in campaigns against the Tatars (1448, 1454, 1459), had seen a lot, and by the time he ascended the throne in 1462, Ivan III had an already established character, was ready to make important government decisions. He had a cold, judicious mind, a strong temper, an iron will, and was distinguished by a special lust for power. By nature, Ivan III was secretive, cautious, and did not rush to the intended goal quickly, but waited for an opportunity, chose the time, moving towards it with measured steps.

Outwardly, Ivan was handsome, thin, tall and slightly round-shouldered, for which he received the nickname "Humpback".

Ivan III marked the beginning of his reign by issuing gold coins, on which the names of Grand Duke Ivan III and his son Ivan the Young, heir to the throne, were minted.

The first wife of Ivan III died early, and the Grand Duke entered into a second marriage with the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI, Zoya (Sophia) Paleolog. Their wedding took place in Moscow on November 12, 1472. She immediately became involved in political activities, actively helping her husband. Under Sophia, he became more severe and cruel, demanding and power-hungry, demanded complete obedience and punished disobedience, for which Ivan III was the first of the Tsars to be called the Terrible.

In 1490, the son of Ivan III from his first marriage, Ivan Molodoy, unexpectedly died. From him there was a son Dmitry. The question arose before the Grand Duke, who should inherit the throne: son Vasily from Sophia or grandson Dmitry.

Soon a conspiracy against Dmitry was uncovered, the organizers of which were executed, and Vasily was taken into custody. February 4, 1498 Ivan III crowned his grandson to the kingdom. This was the first coronation in Russia.

In January 1499, a conspiracy against Sophia and Vasily was uncovered. Ivan III lost interest in his grandson and reconciled with his wife and son. In 1502, the tsar placed Dmitry in disgrace, and Vasily was declared the Grand Duke of All Russia.

The great sovereign decided to marry Vasily to a Danish princess, but the Danish king declined the offer. Fearing not to have time to find a foreign bride before his death, Ivan III chose Solomonia, the daughter of an insignificant Russian dignitary. The marriage took place on September 4, 1505, and on October 27 of the same year, Ivan III the Great died.

Domestic policy of Ivan III

The cherished goal of Ivan III's activity was to collect lands around Moscow, to put an end to the remnants of specific disunity for the sake of creating a single state. The wife of Ivan III, Sophia Paleolog, strongly supported her husband's desire to expand the Muscovite state and strengthen autocratic power.

For a century and a half, Moscow extorted tribute from Novgorod, took away land and almost brought the Novgorodians to their knees, for which they hated Moscow. Realizing that Ivan III Vasilievich finally wants to subjugate the Novgorodians, they freed themselves from the oath to the Grand Duke and formed a society for the salvation of Novgorod, headed by Marfa Boretskaya, the widow of the mayor.

Novgorod concluded an agreement with Casimir, the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, according to which Novgorod passes under his supreme power, but at the same time retains some independence and the right to the Orthodox faith, and Casimir undertakes to protect Novgorod from the encroachments of the Moscow prince.

Twice Ivan III Vasilyevich sent ambassadors to Novgorod with good wishes to come to their senses and enter the Moscow lands, the Metropolitan of Moscow tried to convince the Novgorodians to "correct", but all in vain. Ivan III had to make a trip to Novgorod (1471), as a result of which the Novgorodians were defeated first on the Ilmen River, and then Shelon, Casimir did not come to the rescue.

In 1477, Ivan III Vasilyevich demanded from Novgorod the full recognition of him as his master, which caused a new rebellion, which was suppressed. On January 13, 1478, Veliky Novgorod completely submitted to the authority of the Moscow sovereign. In order to finally pacify Novgorod, Ivan III replaced the Novgorod archbishop Theophilus in 1479, moved unreliable Novgorodians to Moscow lands, and settled Muscovites and other residents on their lands.

With the help of diplomacy and force, Ivan III Vasilyevich subjugated other specific principalities: Yaroslavl (1463), Rostov (1474), Tver (1485), Vyatka lands (1489). Ivan married his sister Anna to a Ryazan prince, thus securing the right to interfere in the affairs of Ryazan, and later inherited the city from his nephews.

Ivan acted inhumanly with his brothers, taking away their inheritances and depriving them of the right to any participation in state affairs. So, Andrei Bolshoy and his sons were arrested and imprisoned.

Foreign policy of Ivan III.

During the reign of Ivan III in 1502, the Golden Horde ceased to exist.

Moscow and Lithuania often fought over the Russian lands under Lithuania and Poland. As the power of the great sovereign of Moscow increased, more and more Russian princes with their lands passed from Lithuania to Moscow.

After Casimir's death, Lithuania and Poland were again divided between his sons, Alexander and Albrecht, respectively. The Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander married the daughter of Ivan III Elena. Relations between son-in-law and father-in-law worsened, and in 1500 Ivan III declared war on Lithuania, which was successful for Russia: parts of the Smolensk, Novgorod-Seversky and Chernigov principalities were conquered. In 1503, a truce agreement was signed for 6 years. Ivan III Vasilyevich rejected the offer of eternal peace until Smolensk and Kyiv were returned.

As a result of the war of 1501-1503. the great sovereign of Moscow forced the Livonian Order to pay tribute (for the city of Yuryev).

Ivan III Vasilyevich during his reign made several attempts to subdue the Kazan kingdom. In 1470, Moscow and Kazan made peace, and in 1487 Ivan III took Kazan and enthroned Khan Mahmet-Amin, who had been a faithful novice of the Moscow prince for 17 years.