Historians identify three main stages in the unification of lands around the Moscow Principality. (see appendix 2.)
1. The first stage of unification (the first half of the 14th century) is associated with the activities of the Moscow princes Daniil Alexandrovich (1276-1303) and Ivan Danilovich Kalita (1325-1340). Daniil Alexandrovich expanded the territory of his inheritance and achieved control over the Moscow River. In 1301 he occupied Kolomna. In 1302 he received the Pereyaslav inheritance according to his will. In 1303 Mozhaisk annexed Moscow. Under Yuri Danilovich (1303-1325) Muscovy became one of the most powerful in North-Eastern Rus', he was able to receive a label for the great reign. In 1325, Yuri was killed by the Tver prince Dmitry. The claims of the Tver princes become the main obstacle to the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow. Ivan Kalita managed to take Tver out of the political struggle. In 1328, he received a label for the Great Reign, achieved the abolition of the Baska system and took over the collection of Horde tribute from Rus'. As a result, Tatars did not appear in Rus' for 40 years, economic growth was ensured and economic conditions were created for unification and transition in the second half of the 14th century. to armed struggle against the Tatars. Ivan Danilovich acquired and annexed the Galician, Belozersk and Uglich principalities to Moscow.
2. The second stage of unification (second half of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries) is associated with the activities of the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (1359-1389), his son Vasily I (1389-1425) and grandson Vasily II the Dark (1425-1462). At this time, there was an awareness of the need for unification, the creation of a strong unified state and the overthrow of the power of the Mongol-Tatar khans. The main success in the reign of Dmitry Ivanovich was the first major victory over the Tatars on the Kulikovo field on September 8, 1380, which marked the beginning of the process of overthrow Tatar yoke. For this victory, Dmitry was named Donskoy. After the battle, Moscow was recognized as the center of the emerging unified state. The son of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily I, managed to strengthen the position of Moscow as the center of Russian lands. He annexed the Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Tarusa principalities, and some possessions of Veliky Novgorod. Further unification and liberation of the Russian lands was slowed down by the brutal princely civil strife of the second quarter of the 15th century, called the feudal war. The reason for it was a dynastic conflict between the princes of the Moscow house. After the death of Dmitry Donskoy's son Vasily I, his 9-year-old son Vasily and brother Yuri Dmitrievich became contenders for the throne. According to Donskoy's will, after the death of Vasily I, the throne was supposed to pass to Yuri Dmitrievich, but it was not specified what to do if Vasily had a son. The forces in the ensuing struggle were not equal: Yuri was known as a brave warrior, a builder of fortresses and temples, and the guardian of the 9-year-old boy was the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas. The death of Vytautas in 1430 freed Yuri's hands.
In 1433, he expelled Vasily from Moscow and took the grand-ducal throne. However, the Moscow boyars supported the young prince, and Yuri was forced to leave Moscow. The fight was continued by his sons Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. The princes did not disdain the most barbaric means: first Vasily Kosoy was blinded, and then Vasily Vasilyevich (who later received the nickname “Dark” - blind). The church and the Moscow boyars supported the Moscow prince. In 1447, Vasily the Dark entered Moscow. The feudal war lasted until 1453 and cost the country dearly: burned villages, hundreds of killed supporters of Shemyaka and Vasily the Dark, increased dependence of the Moscow principality on the Horde. The feudal war confirmed the need to unite the Russian lands, showing the danger of new princely strife. Subsequently, Vasily II significantly strengthened the grand ducal power. Moscow's influence in Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Ryazan and other lands increased. Vasily II also subjugated the Russian church, and after the fall of Constantinople under the blows of the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Grand Duke began to play a decisive role in choosing the metropolitan. In subsequent years, Dmitrov, Kostroma, Starodub, the Nizhny Novgorod principality and other lands were annexed to Moscow. In fact, the foundations of a unified Russian state were laid.
3. The third stage of unification (second half of the 15th - first quarter of the 16th centuries), associated with the activities of Grand Duke Ivan III (1462-1505) and his son Vasily III(1505-1533), completed the process of creating a unified Russian state. Ivan III annexed the Yaroslavl and Rostov principalities. The fight against Novgorod was more difficult for him. In July 1471, a battle took place on the Shelon River between the troops of the Moscow prince and the Novgorodians, which ended in the complete defeat of the latter. Novgorod was finally included in the Moscow Principality in January 1478. After the fall of Novgorod, the struggle for the annexation of the Tver principality began.
Since 1476, Ivan III did not send tribute to the Horde, as a result of which Khan Akhmat decided to punish Moscow and in 1480 launched a campaign against it. At the beginning of October 1480, Moscow and Tatar troops converged on the banks of the Ugra River (a tributary of the Oka River). Khan Akhmat's ally, the Lithuanian prince Casimir, did not appear; after the snow appeared, the cavalry became impossible to use and the Tatars left. Khan Akhmat died in the Horde, and the “stand on the Ugra” ended in victory for the Russian troops.
In September 1485, Moscow troops approached Tver, Tver Prince Mikhail fled, and the Tver lands became part of the Moscow state. From that moment on, Ivan III began to call himself the sovereign of all Rus'. In the new state, specific remnants coexisted with national institutions. The Grand Duke was forced to put up with the fact that the princes retained their power locally. But gradually the power of the sovereign became autocratic. The Boyar Duma was an advisory body. The number of Moscow boyars included princes of early independent principalities.
Central state machine had not yet taken shape, but its two highest bodies - the Palace and the Treasury - already existed. Administratively, the country was divided into counties, camps, and volosts, headed by governors and volostels. In 1497, the Code of Laws was the first code of laws of a unified state.
In 1472, Ivan III married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine I. The fall of Byzantium and the twinning with the ancient Palaiologan dynasty gave grounds for the Moscow sovereigns to proclaim themselves successors to the Byzantine Empire. At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. a well-known theory appears about Moscow as the successor of Constantinople - the “second Rome”. Moscow is proclaimed the “third Rome” - the capital of the Orthodox world. Ivan III takes upon himself the title “By the grace of God, Sovereign of all Rus',” adding a long list of his princely possessions. The concepts of “tsar” and “autocrat” appear for the first time. The coat of arms - a double-headed eagle - was borrowed from Byzantium.
Vasily III continued his father's work. He completed the unification of the country. In 1510 he annexed Pskov to Moscow, in 1514 Smolensk, in 1517 the Ryazan principality, in 1523 the Chernigov-Seversk land.
Formation of a centralized state
1. Stages of the formation of the Russian centralized state
The political unification of the Russian lands was a dramatic and lengthy process that took place over more than two centuries.
On initial stage This process (the end of the 13th - the first half of the 14th centuries) saw the formation of large feudal centers and the selection of the strongest among them. At this stage, a protracted and bloody rivalry for political supremacy in Rus' developed between the Moscow and Tver appanage principalities. This fight was waged with with varying success, but ultimately Moscow prevailed.
This is explained by a number of circumstances. One of them is considered to be the advantageous geographical location of Moscow. It was in the center of the then Russian world, protected by neighboring principalities from sudden attacks from the outside. Relative safety contributed to the settlement of the migrated population here. Tver, Uglich, and Kostroma occupied a similar position. However, the most important trade routes converged in Moscow: water (the Moscow River connected the Upper Volga with the middle Oka through its tributaries) and land (routes from Kyiv, Chernigov, Smolensk to Rostov and Vladimir passed through Moscow).
From the benefits of its geographical location, Moscow received enormous economic advantages over other lands (taxes from the growing population, duties on transit trade went to the treasury of the Moscow prince). Since 1147 - the time of the first mention in the chronicle - Moscow (Kuchkovo village) long time remained an insignificant and little-known town on the outskirts of the Rostov-Suzdal land.
In the last quarter of the 13th century. begins fast growth Moscow. In the XIV century. This is already a large trade and craft center, where foundry, jewelry, and blacksmithing are developed, and the first Russian cannons are created. Trade ties between Moscow merchants “cloth makers” and “surozhans” stretched far beyond the borders of Russian lands. Evidence of Moscow's economic power was the rapid construction and expansion of the city itself, and the construction of the stone Kremlin in 1367.
All this, combined with the purposeful and flexible policy of the Moscow princes in relations with the Golden Horde and other Russian lands, determined the role of Moscow.
During the reign of Ivan Kalita, Moscow received favor and support from the Russian Church, which, in an atmosphere of specific fragmentation, remained a consistent champion of state unity. A close alliance and friendly relations developed between the Moscow prince and Metropolitan Peter. The Metropolitan died in Moscow in 1326 and was buried there. At the same time, his successor Theognost transferred the metropolitan see from Vladimir to Moscow, which thus turned into the church center of all Rus'. This decisively contributed to the further strengthening of the political positions of the Moscow princes.
The political weight of Moscow increased with the territorial growth and strengthening of the Moscow appanage principality. The beginning was made by the founder of the Moscow dynasty, Daniel (the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky), who in just three years (1301-1303) managed to almost double the territory of his principality (the capture of Kolomna, the annexation of Mozhaisk and Pereyaslavl lands). His son, Ivan Danilovich Kalita (1325-1340), went down in history under the name of “the first collector of the Russian land.” The foundation of Moscow's power was laid during his reign. In 1328, Ivan Kalita managed to receive a label (letter) from the Horde Khan for the great reign of Vladimir. At the same time, he used the anti-Horde uprising of the residents of Tver that occurred in 1327 to defeat his main rival Alexander Mikhailovich Tverskoy. Having taken part in the punitive campaign of the Horde against Tver, Kalita earned the trust of the khan and had the opportunity to establish the supremacy of Moscow. Uzbek Khan transferred to Kalita the right to collect tribute from all Russian lands and deliver it to the Horde, which led to the elimination of the Baska system. Having become the “servant” of the khan, Ivan Danilovich bought off the Horde with the correct payment of the “exit”, thereby giving Rus' a certain respite from the Tatar raids. His policy of “righting” money from the population of Russian lands was relentless and cruel. Ivan Kalita had the opportunity to concentrate significant funds in his hands and exert political pressure on other principalities. Relying on the power of money and skillfully adapting to the political situation, Ivan Kalita consistently expanded the boundaries of the Moscow principality. He left to his descendants 96 cities and villages and vast territories dependent on Moscow. Kalita's son Semyon the Proud (1340-1353), continuing his father's policy, was already laying claim to the title of “Grand Duke of All Rus',” seeking to turn other princes into his “helpers.” Moscow asserted its supremacy.
The second stage of the unification process (second half of the 14th - early 15th centuries) was characterized mainly by the emergence of elements of a single state. In the context of renewed Tatar invasions and aggressive actions of Lithuania, the Moscow Principality became a stronghold in the fight against the external enemy and Horde domination. In the 60-70s. XIV century Kalita's grandson Dmitry Ivanovich (1359-1389) managed to defend the Russian lands from the claims of Olgerd of Lithuania and receive all-Russian support in the fight against an old rival - Tver. Mikhail Tverskoy recognized himself as a vassal of the Moscow prince, and the great reign of Vladimir as the hereditary property of Dmitry of Moscow.
In the events of those years, Dmitry Ivanovich showed himself to be a sovereign, responsible for the principalities of the North-East. The Moscow prince began to be recognized as the supreme defender of Russian lands and arbiter in princely disputes. In 1380, for the Battle of Kulikovo, he managed to gather almost all of northern Rus' under Moscow banners (the princes of Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and the boyars of Novgorod evaded the fight against Mamai). As a result of the victory, the Moscow prince acquired the significance of the national leader of Rus'. According to the apt remark of V.O. Klyuchevsky, “The Moscow state was born on the Kulikovo field...”. Moscow became the recognized capital. The fight against the Horde yoke acquired a powerful moral resonance, and the process of unification received a new impetus.
The third stage of the unification process was the feudal war (second quarter of the 15th century). Outwardly, it looked like a dynastic dispute for the grand-ducal throne between two lines of descendants of Dmitry Donskoy. His uncle, the appanage Galician prince Yuri Dmitrievich, opposed the Great Moscow Prince Vasily II (1425-1462). After his death, the fight was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka - in a coalition with the appanage princes. Yuri justified his claims with the already outdated principle of clan seniority of uncles over nephews, while in the Moscow dynasty, since the time of Ivan Kalita, the tradition of transferring the throne from father to son has been strengthened.
Thus, the war was a clash of different political trends: the emerging hereditary monarchy as a form of centralized state and appanage order. The struggle was fierce and ended in the defeat of the coalition of appanage princes. At the same time, Vasily II relied on the support of the nobles, the Moscow boyars, the church, and townspeople, who were interested, albeit from different positions, in state unity and strengthening the central government. At the end of the reign of Vasily II, the territory of the Moscow Principality reached an impressive size - four hundred thousand square kilometers.
The reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) was the most important, final stage in the process of creating a single Russian state. This is the time of the formation of the main territory of Russia, the final liberation from the Horde yoke and the formation of the political foundations of a centralized state.
Continuing the unification of the Russian lands, the Moscow Grand Duke had large military forces at his disposal, but in many cases the submission to Moscow took place peacefully. In 1463, the Yaroslavl principality was annexed, in 1472 - the Perm region, in 1474 - the second half of the Rostov principality was acquired (the first was purchased by Vasily II). In 1478, Novgorod was conquered; in 1485, Tver, an old rival of Moscow, was conquered by a two-day siege without firing a single shot; in 1489, the Vyatka region was subjugated.
Thus, all of Great Russia was united under the rule of the Moscow Prince, except for the outlying lands of Pskov, Smolensk and Ryazan.
In relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ivan III used the art of war and diplomacy, taking advantage of discontent in the Western Russian lands with the dominance of Catholicism. As a result of the wars with Lithuania, Moscow managed to gain vast territories (70 volosts and 19 cities). With the annexation of the Novgorod, Vyatka, and Perm lands, the non-Russian indigenous peoples of these territories were included in the emerging Russian state. Moscow's influence extended to the Ugra land and Northern Pomerania. The united Russian state was emerging as a multinational one. Ivan III left his heir a vast empire with an area of over 2 million square meters. km.
Under Vasily III (1505-1533), the process of territorial unification was completed. In 1510, Pskov and its subordinate territories were annexed, in 1514 - the Smolensk region, in 1521 - the Ryazan principality, in 1517-1523. - the principalities of Starodubskoye and Novgorod-Severskoye. Vasily III went down in history as “the last collector of the Russian land.”
The struggle for the great reign during the period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke
Main directions of reforms in the system government controlled during the reign of Vasily II the Dark: - the territorial and administrative structure of the state was changed on a family basis - all inheritances belonged to the children of Vasily II...
The history of the creation of a centralized Russian state
Historians identify three main stages in the unification of lands around the Moscow Principality. (see appendix 2.) 1. The first stage of unification (first half of the 14th century...
Formation of the Russian centralized state in the IV-V centuries.
Despite the common patterns in the process of formation of centralized states for a number of countries, this process in Russia had some significant features. main feature was...
Formation of the Russian centralized state in the IV-V centuries.
After the end of the feudal war, the government of Vasily II destroyed some fiefs in the Moscow principality. In 1454, Vasily II organized a punitive campaign against the possessions of the appanage prince Ivan Andreevich of Mozhaisky “for his failure to correct.” In 1454...
Entrepreneurship in medieval Rus'
During this period, Novgorod remained the center of Russian entrepreneurship. Trade here was based on the exploitation of the richest forestry industries, the purchase of raw materials throughout Rus' for export to the Hanseatic cities, trade with the Volga region...
The process of historical development of state symbols of Russia
The predecessors of Ivan III, who occupied the Moscow “table” in the 14th - 15th centuries. - Ivan Kalita, Simeon the Proud, Dmitry Donskoy played a huge role in the unification of Russian lands and the fight against the Mongol-Tatar yoke...
Russian cooperation on the eve of the First World War
Russian centralized state in the 16th century
Ivan IV (the Terrible) is called the first of the Moscow kings who felt himself anointed by God. “He became a shrine to himself and in his thoughts created a whole theology of political self-adoration in the form of a scientific theory of his royal power”...
Specifics of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow
In the history of the political unification of Rus', historians usually distinguish the following stages: I. The end of the XIII - the first half of the XIV centuries. Strengthening the Moscow Principality and the beginning of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. II. Second half of the XIV - beginning of the XV centuries...
Formation of a unified state of Moscow Rus'. Unified All-Russian Code of Law 1497
The formation of the Russian state was an objective and natural process of further development state forms on the territory of the East European Plain...
Evolution of the Russian monarchy
TEST
on national history
Formation of the Russian centralized state
Introduction
The Russian centralized state emerged in the 14th - 15th centuries. precisely during this period in the territory modern Russia a natural stage occurred in the development of society, which was at the stage of developed and late feudalism. This progressive stage is usually called centralization. The unification of lands and the formation of the Russian unified state occurred under the influence of a set of prerequisites, from which economic, socio-political and foreign policy can be distinguished. In Russia, socio-political and spiritual factors had a predominant influence, in contrast to countries Western Europe, where the basis of the unification was the development of commodity-money relations and the establishment of economic ties between individual regions. The process of centralization took place in three stages, as a result of which a single Russian state emerged, with a vast territory that united the center of Eastern Europe and its north. The territory was formed from multinational and numerous nationalities, united by a common historical memory and similar ideological and cultural structures in public life. The creation of a unified state contributed to the emergence of favorable conditions for the development of economic life, including ensuring equality of all Russian lands in trade and attracting specialists in all fields of science and crafts to Rus', and also made it possible to strengthen the country's defense capability and free itself from the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
Prerequisites, course and features of political centralization of Rus'
Socio-economic prerequisites.
Revival towards the end of the 14th century. economic potential of the Russian land, the spread of the three-field farming system, some revival of crafts and trade in the restored cities in the second half. XV century, “internal colonization” (i.e., the development of the forests of North-Eastern Rus' from the mid-XV century for arable land), a noticeable demographic rise in villages, the development of crafts in them become the basis of the country’s progress, hidden from a superficial glance, a prerequisite for its political consolidation. One of the main socio-economic factors of the unification was the growth of the boyar class and feudal land ownership in certain lands of North-Eastern Rus'. The main source of the spread of boyar estates was princely grants of land from peasants. But in conditions of political “dispersal” (by the beginning of the 14th century, there were more than ten independent principalities in the system of the Vladimir reign), there was an increasing shortage of arable land, which limited the development of the boyar class, and, consequently, undermined the strength of the prince, especially the military. The formation of a unified state was also facilitated by the development of local land ownership, which became widespread in the second half of the 15th century. largely due to the expansion of the area of arable land. The prince's servants, "freemen" and "servants under the court" (hence the later term - nobles) received land as a conditional holding, i.e. they could not freely dispose of it and owned it only under the terms of service. They supported the prince in his policies, hoping with his help to strengthen their position and gain new lands. The rapid growth in the number of serving nobility became the basis for strengthening the military potential of the Moscow Grand Dukes, the key to the success of their unification policy.
The princes, interested in strengthening their military forces, became cramped within the framework of small principalities. As a result, contradictions between the princes, supported by their boyar groups, intensified.
This led to a struggle to expand the possessions of one at the expense of the other. Thus, the rivalry between the Tver and Moscow principalities gradually emerged, the struggle between which largely predetermined the development of the process of unification of Rus'. The Great Principality of Vladimir, the significance of which was actually restored by the Tatars, was a ready-made institution of power for the future unified state. In addition, the prince, who owned the label for the great reign, had additional economic and military resources, and enjoyed authority that allowed him to subjugate the Russian lands. The Orthodox Church was also interested in unifying the lands. The desire to preserve and strengthen a single church organization, to eliminate the threat to its positions from both the West and the East (after the Horde adopted Islam as the state religion) - all this forced the church to support the unifying policy of the prince who would be able to unite Rus'.
Foreign policy prerequisites.
The main political prerequisite for the merger of fragmented lands was the urgent task of liberating the country from the Horde yoke. In addition, the confrontation between the North-Eastern principalities and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which also claimed to be the unifier of Russian lands, played a role.
Cultural and generally spiritual prerequisites facilitated future unification. In conditions of fragmentation, the Russian people maintained a common language, legal norms, and most importantly, the Orthodox faith. The developing common national identity, which began to manifest itself especially actively from the middle of the 15th century, relied on Orthodoxy. (After the fall of Constantinople, the center of Orthodoxy fell into the hands of the Turks, which caused a feeling of “spiritual loneliness” among the Russian people). Under these conditions, the desire for unity intensified, the desire to submit to the authority of the strongest prince, in whom they saw an intercessor before God, a defender of the land and the Orthodox faith. The mood of the people unusually raised the authority of the Grand Duke of Moscow, strengthened his power and made it possible to complete the creation of a unified state.
The first stage is the rise of Moscow and the beginning of unification.
At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. The political fragmentation of Rus' reached its apogee. In the Northeast alone, 14 principalities appeared, which continued to be divided into fiefs. By the beginning of the 14th century. The importance of new political centers increased: Tver, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, while many old cities fell into decay, never regaining their positions after the invasion. The Grand Duke of Vladimir, being the nominal head of the entire land, having received the label, practically remained the ruler only in his own principality and did not move to Vladimir. The grand reign provided a number of advantages: the prince who received it disposed of the lands that were part of the grand ducal domain and could distribute them to his servants; he controlled the collection of tribute, as the “eldest” represented Rus' in the Horde. Which ultimately raised the prince’s prestige and increased his power. That is why the princes of individual lands fought a fierce struggle for the label. The main contenders in the 14th century were the Tver, Moscow and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes. In their confrontation, it was decided which way the unification of Russian lands would take place. At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. the predominant positions belonged to the Tver principality. After the death of Alexander Nevsky, the grand-ducal throne was taken by his younger brother, Prince Yaroslav of Tver (1263-1272). The favorable geographical position in the Upper Volga and fertile lands attracted the population here and contributed to the growth of the boyars. The Moscow principality, which went to the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniil, became independent only in the 1270s. and, it seemed, did not have any prospects in competition with Tver. However, the founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes, Daniel, managed to make a number of land acquisitions (in 1301, take away Kolomna from Ryazan, and in 1302, annex the Pereyaslavl principality) and, thanks to prudence and frugality, somewhat strengthen the Moscow principality. His son Yuri (1303-1325) had already waged a decisive struggle for the label with Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver. In 1303, he managed to capture Mozhaisk, which allowed him to take control of the entire Moscow River basin. Having entered into the confidence of Uzbek Khan and married his sister Konchak, Yuri Danilovich in 1316 received a label taken from Prince of Tver. In 1327, a spontaneous popular uprising broke out in Tver, caused by the actions of a Tatar detachment led by Baskak Chol Khan. The successor of Moscow Prince Yuri, Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita, took advantage of this (Kalita was the name given to a purse for money). At the head of the Moscow-Horde army, he suppressed the popular movement and devastated the Tver land. As a reward, he received a label for a great reign and did not miss it until his death. After the Tver uprising, the Horde finally abandoned the Baska system and transferred the collection of tribute to the hands of the Grand Duke. Collection of tribute, establishment of control over a number of neighboring territories (Uglich, Kostroma, northern Galich, etc.), and in connection with this - some expansion of land holdings, which attracted the boyars, ultimately strengthened the Moscow principality. Kalita himself acquired and encouraged the purchase by his boyars of villages in other principalities. This was contrary to the rules of law of that time, but strengthened the influence of Moscow and brought boyar families from other principalities under Kalita’s rule. In 1325, taking advantage of the quarrel between Metropolitan Peter and the Tver prince, Ivan managed to move the metropolitan see to Moscow. The authority and influence of Moscow also increased in connection with its transformation into the religious center of North-Eastern Rus'.
Historians explain in different ways the reasons for the transformation of Moscow from a seedy principality of North-Eastern Rus' into the strongest economically and military-politically. Some advantages were geographical location: important trade routes passed through Moscow, it had relatively fertile lands that attracted the working population and boyars, and was protected from attacks by individual Mongol troops by forests. But similar conditions existed in Tver, which stood on the Volga and was even further from the Horde. Moscow was the spiritual center of Russian lands.
The main role was played by the policies of the Moscow princes and their personal qualities. Having relied on an alliance with the Horde and continued the line of Alexander Nevsky in this regard, realizing the role of the church in the conditions of the Horde’s departure from the policy of religious tolerance, the Moscow princes of the first half of the 14th century. used all means to achieve their goals. As a result, humiliating themselves before the khan and brutally suppressing anti-Horde protests, hoarding, enriching themselves and collecting Russian land bit by bit, they managed to elevate their principality and create conditions for both unifying the lands and entering into an open fight with the Horde. An important role was also played by the fact that as a result of the conciliatory policy of Kalita and his sons, the Moscow land did not know Mongol raids for several decades. The Moscow rulers, moreover, for a long time managed to maintain the unity of the princely house, which saved Moscow from the troubles of internal strife.
Second stage of unification.
If at the first stage Moscow only became the most significant and powerful economically, military-political principality, then at the second stage it turned into the undisputed center of both unification and the struggle for independence. The power of the Moscow prince increased, an active struggle against the Horde began, and the yoke gradually weakened. Kalita's grandson Dmitry Ivanovich (1359-1389) at the age of 9 found himself at the head of the Moscow principality. Taking advantage of his early childhood, the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich obtained a label from the Horde. But the Moscow boyars, rallying around Metropolitan Alexei, managed to return the great reign into the hands of their prince. His opponent was Lithuania, on which Tver relied. In 1375, Dmitry Ivanovich, at the head of a coalition of princes of North-Eastern Rus', attacked Tver, took away the label, which, as a result of intrigue, ended up in the hands of the Tver prince, and forced him to recognize vassal dependence on Moscow
Advance from the late 1350s. "Great trouble" in the Horde itself, expressed in frequent and violent changes of khans, in 1375 power was seized by the temnik Mamai, who, not being a Genghisid, had no legal rights to the "royal throne", gave an advantage to Dmitry Ivanovich, and he refused to pay tribute, under the pretext of the illegality of the reign of Khan Mamai. The decisive battle took place on the Kulikovo field on September 8, 1380.
Thanks to the patriotism and courage of Russian soldiers, united by a common faith and unified leadership, as well as the skillful actions of the ambush regiment at the decisive moment, which managed to turn the tide of the battle, a brilliant victory was won. The historical significance of the victory lay in the fact that Rus' was saved from ruin, which threatened to become no less terrible than Batyev’s. Moscow finally secured for itself the role of a unifier, and its princes - the defenders of the Russian land. This first strategically important victory, which gave Dmitry the nickname “Donskoy,” made the Russian people believe in their strength and strengthened them in the correctness of their faith. It is important that detachments from various Russian lands acted at the hand of the Moscow prince. The Battle of Kulikovo has not yet brought liberation. In 1382, Khan Tokhtamysh, a Genghisid who led the Horde after the murder of Mamai, burned Moscow. Dmitry, having lost a lot of strength in the Battle of Kulikovo, left before the Horde arrived from the city in order to have time to recruit a new militia. As a result, Rus' resumed paying tribute, but political dependence on the Horde became much weaker. In his will, Dmitry Donskoy transferred to his son Vasily I (1389-1425) the right to a great reign, without referring to the will of the khan and without asking his permission. Under Vasily Dmitrievich, Moscow's positions continued to strengthen. In 1392 he managed to annex the Nizhny Novgorod principality. Some local princes moved into the category of service princes - servants of the Moscow prince, i.e. became governors and governors in counties that had previously been independent principalities. In the first quarter of the 15th century. the struggle for power was between representatives of one ruling house"Kalita". A conflict arose over the succession of power. Contrary to the will of Dmitry Donskoy in favor of his brother Yuri Galitsky, the throne, with the intervention of the Horde, passed to the grandson of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily II. Yuri Galitsky, later and his sons Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka fought against Vasily II. In 1446, Vasily II won the final victory. The end of the feudal wars made it possible to restore the economy of the Russian lands and continue centralization.
The third stage is the completion of the unification of Russian lands.
Grand Duke Ivan III (1462-1505) by 1468 completely subjugated the Yaroslavl principality, and in 1474 he liquidated the remnants of the independence of the Rostov principality. The annexation of Novgorod and its vast possessions took place more intensely. Of particular importance to the struggle with Novgorod was the fact that there was a clash between two types of state system - the veche-boyar and the monarchical, with a strong despotic tendency. Part of the Novgorod boyars, trying to preserve their liberties and privileges, entered into an alliance with Casimir IV, the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Polish king. Ivan III, having learned about the signing of an agreement in which Novgorod recognized Casimir as its prince, organized a campaign and defeated it in 1471 on the river. Sheloni Novgorod militia, and in 1478 he completely annexed it. Ivan III gradually evicted the boyars from the Novgorod land, transferring their possessions to Moscow service people. In 1485, Tver, surrounded by the troops of Ivan III and abandoned by its prince Mikhail Borisovich, forced to seek salvation in Lithuania, was included in the Moscow possessions. The annexation of Tver completed the formation of the territory of the state, which filled the title previously used by the Moscow prince - sovereign of all Rus' - with real content. As a result of the wars with Lithuania (1487-1494, 1500-1503) and the transfer of Russian Orthodox princes from Lithuania to Moscow service with their lands, the Grand Duke of Moscow managed to expand his possessions. Thus, the principalities located in the upper reaches of the Oka and the Chernigov-Seversky lands became part of the Moscow state. Under the son of Ivan III, Vasily III, Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), and in 1521 Ryazan were annexed. Thus, the basis of the third stage was the annexation of the remaining territories of North-Eastern and Northern Rus' to the Moscow Principality.
One of the main conquests of Rus' during the reign of Ivan III was the complete liberation from the Horde yoke. In 1480, the 240-year Horde yoke ended. The Horde broke up into a number of independent khanates, which the Russian state fought against throughout the 16th-18th centuries, gradually incorporating them into its composition. This is how the Russian centralized state arose.
Formation of the political system and social structure of the Russian state in the 15th century.
The main task of Ivan III and his heirs was “state building”: the transformation of the totality of former principalities, lands and cities into a single state. The rapid unification of territories with their own way of life and legal norms at a relatively low level of economic development and trade relations made the new power internally fragile, since the conditions were not yet ripe for the unity of numerous former appanages, cities and heterogeneous layers of noble and ignorant patrimonial owners and “free servants.”
The solution was found in the construction of a centralized administrative apparatus and the development of a conditional form of feudal land tenure, that is, a form of providing military and civil service that made the landowner directly dependent on the sovereign and the central authorities.
At the head of the state was the Grand Duke, the supreme owner of all lands. From the end of the 15th century. he began to call himself an autocrat. The Grand Duke had full legislative power. Advisory functions
under the prince, it was carried out by the Boyar Duma - a permanent council government agency. The term “Duma” first appears in sources in 1517: 5 - 10 boyars and the same number of okolnichys acted as the sovereign’s closest advisers.
The basis for the formation of a new management system was the grand-ducal economy - the palace and the sovereign's court.
Gradually, all the feudal lords - from yesterday's Prince Rurikovich to the ordinary "son of a boyar" - moved to the position of direct "service people" of the Moscow Grand Duke.
The administration of state affairs was headed by the Palace, a body within which the Treasury was a major department. Over time, the Treasury became the main body for centralized financial management.
Along with the position of treasurer (head of the Treasury), other key positions of the state administration apparatus were identified: printer (keeper of the grand ducal seal), butler (head of the princely palace household). Auxiliary management functions were entrusted to clerks - people from the lower strata of feudal lords.
Governors and volostels were selected from the “court”, whom the Grand Duke placed at the head of new territorial units - counties, divided into volosts and camps.
A district was a territory that was dependent on a city. The district was the main administrative-territorial unit. The volost was a small administrative-territorial unit that arose on the basis of a peasant community. The volosts were governed by volostel-feeders. Governors and volostels exercised local government in cities and volosts. In the absence of a ready-made administrative apparatus, the governors came to work with their “court” - free servants and slaves. The local administration was in charge of tax collection and the courts. Remuneration was received directly from the population in the form of so-called “feed” (money, food). Hence the name of the governors and volostels - “feeders”. The activities of governors in such positions were regulated by special charters that determined the scope of powers and the amount of content. The governor held court for criminal and civil cases and collected fines and court fees (“judgment”) in his favor. But in order to avoid abuses, he had to judge only with the participation of local elected councilors and good people, and his decisions could be appealed in Moscow. The formation of a new political system was accompanied significant changes social relations. Former independent princes, in the past owners of their own lands, turned into service princes bearing military service to the Grand Duke. The boyars of the once independent princes left their courts and went to serve the Grand Duke of all Rus'. Thus, the previous hierarchical structure of the ruling class was broken, a new layer of boyar children (small and medium-sized service landowners) was formed, which made up the court of the Grand Duke. Along with the old boyar aristocracy, new powerful families associated with the grand ducal court appeared. All of them (primarily the boyars' children), organized and united by territory, made up the Russian army. The formation of a new socio-political system of the state was accompanied by changes in the field of land relations. At the end of the 15th century. In the most developed lands of the Russian state, processes of redistribution of land holdings began. Along with the old patrimonial land ownership, conditional land ownership began to spread more and more - the estates of military and administrative servants of the Grand Duke. Unlike a patrimony, an estate could not be inherited, which forced the landowner to carry out many years of military service. It was these landowners who were directly subordinate to the head of state, conditional holders of the land, who began to play a significant role in the country.
In connection with the spread of the local form of land ownership, the issue of land became particularly acute. Despite the expansion of grand ducal land ownership at the expense of appanage lands, in general the fund of state and palace lands was very fragmented, scattered and partly plundered during the years of feudal wars. The government solved the problem of expanding state lands through confiscations in the newly annexed territories. So, after the annexation of Novgorod, the lands of the local boyars were confiscated and the service people of the Grand Duke from North-Eastern Rus' were placed on them. The Novgorod boyars were resettled to other lands, which weakened their economic power and old political ties. The confiscation of lands from the Tver boyars was carried out in a similar way. Large Russian feudal lords were not characterized by huge estates-latifundia, which would be located compactly within one territory. Service to the Grand Duke was rewarded with new land grants in different districts (sometimes in five or six). Moreover, the feudal lord could be the owner of both estates and estates. The scattered nature of land holdings across many districts strengthened the desire of the feudal lords to preserve a unified state and made them supporters of the grand ducal policy.
Relations between clans and appointments in the service were regulated by localism - an order that determined the appointment of members of service families to military and other government positions and placed one higher and the other lower by a certain number of “places”. The children, nephews and grandchildren of one boyar had to serve in such a relationship with the descendants of another in which their ancestors had once served. “Fatherly honor” depended on origin: it was accepted that “the sovereign rewards his service with estates and money, and not with the fatherland,” and this forced the Moscow princes to appoint people of “pedigree” to responsible positions.
On the other hand, localism was based on precedents (“cases”), and the clans that had served the Moscow princes for a long time and faithfully strengthened their positions. The inherited “fatherly honor” had to be constantly supported by service. The merits of both the ancestors and the applicant himself were taken into account, therefore the imposition of the grand-ducal punishment - disgrace - for fleeing the field. The formation of a new socio-political system of the state was accompanied by changes in the field of land relations. At the end of the 15th century. In the most developed lands of the Russian state, processes of redistribution of land holdings began. Along with the old patrimonial land ownership, conditional land ownership began to spread more and more - the estates of military and administrative servants of the Grand Duke. Unlike a patrimony, an estate could not be inherited, which forced the landowner to carry out many years of military service. It was these landowners who were directly subordinate to the head of state, conditional holders of the land, who began to play a significant role in the country.
The supreme judge in local disputes was the sovereign himself: “Whose clan is loved is the clan that rises.”
The centralization of the state required the development of uniform legislation for the entire country. Pre-existing legal documents - the so-called charters - regulated land relations and judicial disputes. But they reflected the local characteristics of governance in the former independent territories. The new conditions of the end of the 15th century, when a single state emerged, required the streamlining and unification of legal proceedings. It was these goals that were met by the creation under Ivan III in 1497 of a new Sudebnik - an all-Russian code of laws.
This document classified in detail the types of crimes, regulated the conduct of judicial duels, the norms of court fees and the procedure for issuing judicial acts. For the first time, the principle of questioning representatives of the local population under oath was introduced in the absence of indisputable evidence against the suspect; at the same time, the voices of feudal lords and other “good Christians” were equal. The Code of Law somewhat eased the position of serfs: now, according to the law, a serf who escaped from captivity or a person assigned to the city economy of a feudal lord was exempt from serf status. In relation to all privately owned peasants, the Code of Law established, instead of the various periods of peasant transfers from one owner to another that previously existed in different territories, a unified procedure and a single deadline for “exit”. It was possible to leave a week before and a week after Saint George's Day (November 26), subject to payment of an elderly fee (a fee in favor of the feudal lord) from 25 money to 1 ruble.
This was the first step towards attaching all privately owned peasants to the land. IN everyday practice Ivan III and his clerks systematically limited the judicial rights of large landowners when issuing letters of grant: the most serious crimes were removed from their jurisdiction - “murder, robbery and red-handed theft.”
The formation of a new army and administration, as well as active foreign policy, required funds, so by the end of the 15th century. A new taxation system has emerged. Under Ivan III, the treasury of the sovereign received all the duties that previously went to the appanage princes of the Moscow house. Since the 60s of the 15th century. Scribe books began to be compiled - descriptions of arable land and peasant households for each district and each possession, on the basis of which direct land taxes were calculated: from a certain amount of land (plow), a certain amount was collected into the treasury, which was distributed among the communal peasants themselves.
The annexation of Novgorod, Tver, and Ryazan to Moscow was often accompanied by the “withdrawal” of the local nobility and the confiscation of their lands. In Novgorod alone, from 1475 to 1502, Ivan III took away from the boyars and the church about 1,000,000 dessiatines, on which Moscow natives were “settled,” including the lower servants of the “palace” and yesterday’s slaves.
In addition to the noble militia, under Ivan III, infantry armed with firearms appeared. In Moscow there was an Armory Chamber (arsenal) and a Cannon Yard, where guns perfect for that time were cast.
Period XIV - early XVI centuries. became the time of the formation of a single territory and the formation of the socio-political system of the Russian centralized state. Due to historical circumstances, the emerging Russian state was characterized by certain features. Strict centralization and weakening of democratic traditions that were established during the period of Ancient Rus'. This was facilitated by the long-term dependence of the Russian principalities on the Golden Horde. The priority of the state and statehood in the mentality of the Russian people. The state acquired during the struggle for independence was considered the main national asset and achievement. The corporatism of Russian society. Each person was associated with a specific corporate unit: a clan corporation of the nobility, a townsman community, a merchant hundred, a peasant or Cossack community. By the beginning of the 16th century. The Russian state had a single territory, an established system of governance, unified legislation and supreme power. At the same time, during the creation of a strong state, trends that differed from the European path of development emerged. This is the desire for further centralization, the elimination of centers of independence and independence, the absence of strong social strata in the person of the landed aristocracy and the trade and craft population of the cities, capable of stopping the excessive strengthening of the “autocracy” of the Moscow sovereigns, their desire for universal control over society and its unification.
centralization Russian land Moscow
Conclusion
At the turn of the XV - XVI centuries. The process of unification of Russian lands was completed. A Russian centralized state arose, owning a vast territory and including the center of Eastern Europe and its north. The state was formed as a multinational one, it included numerous nationalities. The creation of a unified state created favorable conditions for the development of economic life, made it possible to liberate Russian lands from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, and strengthen the country's defense capability. But the preservation of the remnants of the traditions of the period of feudal fragmentation put forward the task of searching for a new system of political structure of the state. The Russian state was made up of completely independent principalities, between which there was constant economic communication, which created the preconditions for the formation of an internal market and political unification. Ideological and cultural unity, as well as the need to fight external enemies such as the Golden Horde, Lithuania and Poland, influenced the unification of the principalities into a centralized state. It was the central government that could unite the capabilities of the entire Russian people and ensure their free independent development along their own historically and economically determined path.
Bibliography
1. Alekseev YUG. Under the banner of Moscow. M., 1992.
Zimin A.A. Russia at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: Essays on socio-political history. M., 1982.
Zimin A.A. Knight at a crossroads. Feudal war in Russia in the 15th century. M., 1991.
History of Russia from ancient times to 1861 (edited by N.I. Pavlenko) M., 1996.
Kobrin V.B. Power and property in medieval Russia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. M., 1985.
Kuchkin V.I. Dmitry Donskoy // Questions of History, 1995, No. 5-6.
Sakharov A.M. Education and development of the Russian state in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. M., 1969. Ch.1-3.
Russian history: tutorial 2nd edition, Ekaterinburg: publishing house of the Ural State Economic University, 2006
Tutoring
Need help studying a topic?
Our specialists will advise or provide tutoring services on topics that interest you.
Submit your application indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………3
1. Formation of a centralized Russian state……………….4
2. Formation of an estate-representative monarchy in Russia.…………7
3. Institute of serfdom –
an important element of Russian statehood……………………………..14
4. Social and political crisis in Russia
at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th century…………………………………………………………..16
5. Strengthening Russian statehood
in the 2nd half of the 17th century……………………………………………………...21
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………25
List of used literature……………………………………………………..26
Introduction
At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. The more than two-century struggle of the Russian people for their state unity and national independence ended with the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow into a single state.
Despite the commonality of socio-economic and political facts underlying the state-political centralization that took place in the XIII-XV centuries. In many European countries, the formation of the Russian centralized state had its own significant features. Catastrophic consequences Mongol invasion detained economic development Rus', marked the beginning of its lag behind the advanced Western European countries that escaped the Mongol yoke. Rus' bore the brunt of the Mongol invasion. Its consequences largely contributed to the preservation of feudal fragmentation and the strengthening of feudal-serf relations. Political centralization in Rus' was significantly ahead of the beginning of the process of overcoming the economic disunity of the country and was accelerated by the struggle for national independence, for organizing resistance to external aggression. The tendency towards unification manifested itself in all Russian lands. The Russian state was formed during the XIV-XV centuries. on a feudal basis in conditions of the growth of feudal land ownership and economy, the development of serfdom and the intensification of the class struggle. The unification process ended with the formation at the end of the 15th century. feudal-serf monarchy.
The purpose of this work is to analyze state reforms of the 16th-17th centuries. To achieve it, it is necessary to identify the features of the formation of a centralized state in Russia, consider the social and state system, as well as the development of the legal policy of autocracy in the 16th-17th centuries.
1. Formation of a centralized Russian state
In parallel with the unification of Russian lands, the creation of the spiritual basis of the national state, a process was underway strengthening Russian statehood, formation of a centralized Russian state. The prerequisites for this process were laid during the period Tatar-Mongol yoke. Researchers note that the vassal dependence of Russian lands on the Golden Horde to a certain extent contributed to the strengthening of Russian statehood. During this period, the volume and authority of princely power within the country increased, the princely apparatus crushed the institutions of popular self-government, and the veche - the oldest organ of democracy - gradually disappeared from practice throughout the entire territory of the historical core of the future Russian state.
During the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, city liberties and privileges were destroyed. The outflow of money to the Golden Horde prevented the emergence of the “third estate,” the pillar of urban independence in Western Europe. The wars with the Tatar-Mongol invaders led to the destruction of most of the warriors - the feudal lords. The feudal class began to be reborn on a fundamentally different basis. Now princes distribute lands not to advisers and comrades, but to their servants and stewards. All of them are personally dependent on the prince. Having become feudal lords, they did not cease to be his subordinates.
Due to the political dependence of the Russian lands on the Golden Horde, the unification process took place under extreme conditions. And this left a significant imprint on the nature of power relations in the emerging Russian state. The process of annexing other states, “principalities-lands” to the Moscow principality most often relied on violence and assumed the violent nature of power in the unifying state. The feudal lords of the annexed territories became servants of the Moscow ruler. And if the latter, in relation to his own boyars, according to tradition, could retain some contractual obligations that came from vassal relations, then in relation to the ruling class of the annexed lands he was only a master for his subjects. Thus, due to a number of historical reasons in the formation of statehood of the Moscow kingdom is dominated by elements of eastern civilization . The relations of vassalage, established in Kievan Rus before the Tatar-Mongol yoke, are inferior to the relations of submission.
Already during the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505), a system of authoritarian power, which had significant elements of eastern despotism. The “Sovereign of All Rus'” had a volume of power and authority immeasurably greater than that of European monarchs. The entire population of the country - from the highest boyars to the last smerd - were the tsar's subjects, his slaves. Citizenship relations were introduced into law Belozersk charter of 1488. According to this charter, all classes were equalized in the face of state power.
The economic basis of subject relations was predominance of state ownership of land. In Russia, noted V.O. Klyuchevsky, the tsar was a kind of patrimonial owner. The whole country for him is property, with which he acts as a rightful owner. The number of princes, boyars and other patrimonial lords was constantly declining: Ivan IV (1533-1584) reduced their share in economic relations in the country to a minimum. The decisive blow to private land ownership was dealt by the Institute oprichnina. From an economic point of view, the oprichnina was characterized by the allocation of significant territories in the west, north and south of the country to a special sovereign inheritance, which were declared the personal possessions of the tsar. This means that all private owners in the oprichnina lands had to either recognize the sovereign rights of the tsar or be subject to liquidation, and their property was confiscated. The large estates of princes and boyars were divided into small estates and distributed to the nobles for the sovereign's service as hereditary possessions, but not as property. In this way, the power of appanage princes and boyars was destroyed, and the position of serving landowners and nobles under the unlimited power of the autocratic tsar was strengthened.
The oprichnina policy was carried out with extreme cruelty. Evictions and confiscation of property were accompanied by bloody terror and accusations of conspiracy against the tsar. The most severe pogroms were carried out in Novgorod, Tver, and Pskov. As a result of the oprichnina, society submitted to the unlimited power of a single ruler - the Moscow Tsar. The serving nobility became the main social support of power. Boyar Duma was still preserved as a tribute to tradition, but became more manageable. Owners who were economically independent from the authorities, who could serve as the basis for the formation of a civil society, have been eliminated.
In addition to state property, corporate, i.e., collective property, was quite widespread in the Muscovite kingdom. The collective owners were the church and monasteries. Free communal peasants (chernososnye) had collective ownership of land and holdings. Thus, in the Russian state there was practically no institution of private property, which in Western Europe served as the basis for the principle of separation of powers and the creation of a parliamentary system.
However, Russian statehood cannot be fully attributed to Eastern despotism. For a long time, it operated such public representation bodies like the Boyar Duma, Zemstvo self-government and Zemsky Sobors.
2. Formation of an estate-representative monarchy in Russia
From the middle of the 16th century. begins new period in the history of the state, which in Russian historiography is called the period of class-representative monarchy. Estates-representative monarchy - this is a form of government in which the power of the sovereign is limited to a certain extent by the presence of some body of class representation. Through this body, the authorities have the opportunity to contact society and learn about public demands. In European countries, a monarchy with class representation arose during the period of mature feudalism. In England, the parliament became the body of class representation, in France - the Estates General, in Spain - the Cortes, in Germany - the Reichstag, etc. In Russia, the body of class representation became Zemsky Sobors .
Unlike the corresponding bodies in European countries, zemstvo councils were not a permanent institution and did not have competence defined by law. They did not ensure the rights and interests of the entire people. The role of the third estate was much weaker compared to similar institutions in Western European countries. In fact, zemstvo councils did not limit, like representative institutions of Europe, but strengthened the power of the monarch. The largest researcher of history Zemsky Sobors L.V. Cherepnin counted 57 cathedrals. It is possible that there were more of them. As a rule, representatives of the clergy, boyars, nobility, dyacry and merchants were present at the councils.
Zemstvo councils can be conditionally divided into four groups: 1) convened by the tsar, 2) convened by the tsar on the initiative of the estates, 3) convened by the estates or on their initiative in the absence of the tsar, 4) elective for the tsar. Most cathedrals belong to the first group.
Formation of the Russian centralized state (second half of the XV - first half of the XVI)
Reasons and features of the formation of a single state
The process of formation of the Russian centralized state began in the second half of the 13th century and ended at the beginning of the 16th century.
Certain economic, social, political and spiritual prerequisites led to the formation of the Russian centralized state:
· the main economic reason is the further development of feudal relations “in breadth” and “in depth” - the emergence, along with fiefdoms, of conditional feudal land ownership, which was accompanied by increased feudal exploitation and aggravation of social contradictions. The feudal lords needed a strong centralized power that could keep the peasants in obedience and limit the feudal rights and privileges of the patrimonial boyars.
· the internal political reason is the rise and growth of the political influence of several feudal centers: Moscow, Tver, Suzdal. There is a process of strengthening of princely power, seeking to subjugate appanage princes and boyars - patrimonial lords. · the foreign policy reason was the need to confront the Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:
1. The absence in Rus' of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for the formation of a single state. Since, in Western Europe:
· seigneurial relations prevailed
· personal dependence of peasants was weakened
· cities and the third estate grew stronger
· state-feudal forms prevailed
· relations of personal dependence of peasants on feudal lords were just emerging
· cities were in a subordinate position in relation to the feudal nobility.
2. The leading role in the formation of the state is the foreign policy factor.
3. Eastern style of political activity.
Stages of political unification in Rus'
Stage 1 (1301-1389).
The rise of Moscow (late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the 13th century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former significance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.
Stage 2 (1389-1462).
Moscow is the center of the fight against the Mongol-Tatars (second half of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries). The strengthening of Moscow continued under the children of Ivan Kalita - Simeon Gordom (1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red (1353-1359). This would inevitably lead to a clash with the Tatars.
Stage 3 (second quarter of the 15th century)
Feudal War - 1431-1453 Civil war of the second quarter of the 15th century. The feuds, called the feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century, began after the death of Vasily I. By the end of the 14th century. In the Moscow principality, several appanage estates were formed, belonging to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. The largest of them were Galitskoye and Zvenigorodskoye, which were received by the youngest son of Dmitry Donskoy, Yuri. After the death of the Grand Duke, Yuri, as the eldest in the princely family, began the struggle for the Grand Duke's throne with his nephew, Vasily II (1425-1462). After the death of Yuri, the fight was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. The fight followed all the “rules of the Middle Ages”, i.e. Blinding, poisoning, deception, and conspiracies were used. The feudal war ended with the victory of the forces of centralization. By the end of the reign of Vasily II, the possessions of the Moscow principality increased 30 times compared to the beginning of the 14th century. The Moscow Principality included Murom (1343), Nizhny Novgorod (1393) and a number of lands on the outskirts of Rus'.
Stage 4 (1462-1533).
The process of completing the formation of the Russian state occurred during the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and Vasily III (1505-1533).
On March 28, 1462, Moscow welcomed its new ruler - Ivan III Ivan. III - (1440-1505) Grand Duke of Moscow, son of Vasily II and Princess Maria Yaroslavovna. Opens the era of Muscovite Rus', which lasted until Peter I moved the capital to St. Petersburg. A troubled childhood taught the future Grand Duke a lot. He was ten years old when his blind father appointed him as his co-ruler. It was Ivan III who completed the two-century process of unifying Russian lands and overthrowing the Golden Horde yoke.
Ivan III pursued a consistent policy of unifying Russian lands around Moscow and was in fact the creator of the Moscow state. He inherited from his father the Principality of Moscow with a territory of 4,000 thousand km, and left a huge power to his son: its area increased 6 times and amounted to more than 2.5 million square meters. km. The population was 2-3 million people.
Under him, the Grand Duchy of Yaroslavl (1463) and Rostov (1474), which had already lost their real political power, were relatively easily annexed to Moscow. Things related to the annexation of a strong and independent Novgorod were more complicated. Ivan III needed seven for long years during which, with the help of military and diplomatic measures, Veliky Novgorod lost its independence. In Novgorod there was a struggle between pro-Moscow and anti-Moscow parties. The Boretskys intensified their activities and led activities aimed against the strengthening of the pro-Moscow party. The Boretsky party pursued a policy aimed at bringing Novgorod closer to Lithuania. Ivan 3 in July 1471 went to war against the traitors. The Novgorod land was devastated and destroyed. The Moscow army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Novgorodians on the river. Shelon. According to the Treaty of Korostyn, signed on August 11, 1471, Novgorod recognized itself as the fatherland of the Moscow prince. From the document “And for the king and for the Grand Duke of Lithuania, whoever the king or grand duke in Lithuania is, from you, from the great princes, we, your fatherland Veliky Novgorod, are a free husband, not to give in to any cunning, but to be from you, from great princes, unrelenting to anyone." Thus, the first step was taken aimed at eliminating the republic. The final, main blow to Novgorod was dealt by the campaign of 1478, as a result of which the Novgorod boyar republic ceased to exist. The veche system was liquidated, the bell, as a symbol of freedom, was taken to Moscow.
In 1485, Ivan III annexed another long-time enemy and rival of Moscow - Tver. Thus, Ivan III was able to unite North-Eastern and North-Western Rus'. In 1489, Vyatka was annexed to Moscow.
As an independent sovereign, Ivan III began to behave towards the Tatars. Even by the beginning of the reign of Ivan III, the Golden Horde had already split into several uluses. As it lost strength, Rus', on the contrary, strengthened its power. In 1476, Ivan III refused to pay them an annual tribute and entered into an alliance with Crimean Khan, an enemy of the Golden Horde. Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat, who considered himself the successor to the khans of the Golden Horde that had disintegrated by this time, watched with alarm the strengthening of Moscow. In 1480, he gathered an army and moved to Rus', trying to restore the shaky power of the Horde. In the autumn, the army of Khan Akhmat approached the Ugra River, but on the opposite bank there was a large Moscow army. Khan Akhmat did not dare to enter the battle and, after standing for two months, returned to the Nogai steppes, where he died in a skirmish with the Siberian Tatars. “Standing on the Ugra” ended the hated Horde yoke. The Russian state regained its independence. Information about the end of the Tatar yoke is contained in the “Second Sofia Chronicle”. "In 1480. The news came to the Grand Duke that King Akhmat was definitely coming (against him) with his entire horde - with princes, lancers and princes, as well as with King Casimir in the general Duma; king and led the king against the Grand Duke, wanting to ruin the Christians...
The Grand Duke took the blessing and went to the Ugra... The Tsar with all his Tatars walked across the Lithuanian land, past Mtsensk, Lyubutsk and Odoev and, having reached it, stood at Vorotynsk, expecting help from the king. The king himself did not go to him, nor did he send help, because he had his own affairs: at that time Mengli-Girey, the king of Perekop, was fighting the Volyn land, serving the Grand Duke...
And the Tatars were looking for roads where they could secretly cross (the river) and quickly go to Moscow. And they came to the Ugra River, near Kaluga, and wanted to ford it. But they were guarded and let the son of the Grand Duke know. The Grand Duke, the son of the Grand Duke, moved with his army and, having gone, stood on the bank of the Ugra River and did not allow the Tatars to cross to this side...
The king was afraid and ran away with the Tatars, because the Tatars were naked and barefoot, they were ragged... When the king arrived in the Horde, he was killed there by the Nogais..."
Ivan III himself played a significant role in overthrowing the yoke, who, in the difficult situation of 1480, showed prudence, reasonable restraint and diplomatic skill, which made it possible to unite Russian forces and leave Akhmat without allies.
In 1493, Ivan III was the first of the Moscow princes to call himself the sovereign of “all Rus'”, openly laying claim to the lands Lithuanian Rus'. Acting as a defender of the Orthodox faith and leading the movement for the creation of the Great Russian nation, Ivan III fought a series of successful wars with Lithuania, tearing away the Vekhi and Chernigov-Seversk principalities from it. Under the terms of the truce with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander (1503), 25 cities and 70 volosts went to Moscow. So, by the end of the reign of Ivan III, the bulk of the Russian lands were again gathered under the rule of the Moscow prince.
Thus, at the end of the 15th century, a powerful state arose in eastern Europe - Russia. According to Karl Marx, “amazed Europe, which at the beginning of Ivan’s reign barely noticed the existence of Muscovy, squeezed between the Tatars and Lithuanians, was amazed by the sudden appearance of a huge state on its eastern borders, and Sultan Bayazet himself, before whom all of Europe was in awe, heard arrogant speeches for the first time Moscovita."
Being a far-sighted politician, Ivan III intensified trade and diplomatic ties with the countries of Western Europe. Under Ivan III, diplomatic relations were established with Germany, Venice, Denmark, Hungary and Turkey. This was facilitated by his second marriage to Sophia Paleologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. Having become the head of a vast Orthodox power, Ivan III considered the Russian state as the successor to the Byzantine Empire. Moscow is beginning to be called the “third Rome”. It was at this time that the name “Russia” appeared.
Important symbolic and political significance was attached to the (second) marriage of Ivan III with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Fominichna Paleolog. “Sophia’s marriage to the Russian Grand Duke had the significance of transferring the inheritance rights of the descendants of the Paleologians to the grand-ducal house of Rus',” wrote the Russian historian N. Kostomarov. - But most important and significant was the internal change in the dignity of the Grand Duke, strongly felt and clearly visible in the actions of the slow Ivan Vasilyevich. The Grand Duke became an autocrat."
The equality of Ivan III with the first monarchs of Europe was emphasized by the appearance on the seal of the Russian sovereign of a double-headed eagle, crowned with two crowns. With this seal in 1497, Ivan III sealed the sovereign's letter of grant to his nephews, the Volotsk princes Fyodor and Ivan. The images placed on the seal of 1497 formed the basis of Russian state symbols. Its later interpretation is as follows: the first head of the eagle is turned to the east, the second - to the west, for it is impossible to survey such great expanses of the Russian state with one head. Another integral part The coat of arms inherited from Byzantium was the horseman St. George the Victorious, striking a serpent with a spear - the enemies of the Fatherland. George the Victorious became the patron saint of the Moscow Grand Dukes and the city of Moscow. The symbol of supreme power became the Monomakh cap, a luxuriously decorated headdress of the ruler of the state. The foundations were laid for the cult of personality of the top leadership, which later became known as the tsar: special ceremonies of appearances to the people, meetings with ambassadors, signs of royal power.
The Moscow Grand Duke's court under Ivan III acquired special pomp and splendor. Unprecedented construction has unfolded on the territory of the Kremlin. It was at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century that the Kremlin ensemble was formed, which amazes with its grandeur and monumentality.
In 1485, construction began on the new residence of the sovereign - the princely palace. Particular attention was paid to the fortress walls. Built during the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, they fell into disrepair. During the years 1485-1495, the red brick walls and towers of the Kremlin rose, which still exist today.
Vasily III (1479-1533) - Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus', was the eldest son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus. According to the marriage agreements, the children of the Grand Duke from the Greek princess could not occupy the Moscow throne. But Sophia Paleologue could not come to terms with this and continued to fight for power. With his second marriage he married Elena Glinskaya, the mother of Ivan the Terrible. He ascended the throne in 1505 and sought to continue his father’s traditions. Baron S. Herberstein visited the Russian state as an ambassador of the German Emperor. Subsequently, he created an extensive scientific work, in which he emphasized the desire of Vasily III to strengthen centralization. “The power he exercises over his subjects easily surpasses all the monarchs of the world. And he also finished what his father began, namely: he took away all their cities and fortifications from all the princes and other rulers. In any case, he does not even entrust fortresses to his own brothers, not trusting them. He oppresses everyone equally with cruel slavery, so that if he orders someone to be at his court or to go to war, or to rule some embassy, he is forced to do all this at his own expense. The exception is the young sons of boyars, that is, noble persons with more modest incomes; He usually accepts such persons, oppressed by their poverty, every year and supports them, assigning a salary, but not the same.”
During the reign of Vasily III, the foreign policy of the Russian state also continued the traditions of its predecessor. Under him, Pskov (1510) and Ryazan (1521) were completely annexed. In addition, successful wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania led to the annexation of the Seversk and Smolensk lands. This completes the process of gathering Russian lands around Moscow. In general, in contrast to the advanced countries of Western Europe, the formation of a single state in Russia took place under the complete dominance of the feudal method of economy, i.e. on a feudal basis. This allows us to understand why a bourgeois, democratic, civil society began to form in Europe, while in Russia serfdom, class, and inequality of citizens before the law will dominate for a long time.