Formation of the Russian centralized state (second half of the 15th - first half of the 16th)

Causes 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 process of formation of the Russian centralized state:

The main economic reason is further development feudal relations "in breadth" and "deep" - the appearance along with the estates of conditional feudal land tenure, which was accompanied by increased feudal exploitation and exacerbation of social contradictions. The feudal lords needed a strong centralized authority that could keep the peasants in subjection and limit the feudal rights and privileges of the patrimonial boyars.

· 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 princely power, seeking to subjugate the specific princes and boyars - estates. · 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 Russia of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for folding united state. Since, in Western Europe:

senior relations dominated

weakened the personal dependence of the peasants

cities and the third estate were strengthened

state-feudal forms prevailed

relations of personal dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords were just being formed

The cities were in a subordinate position in relation to the feudal nobility.

2. The leading role in the formation of the state of the foreign policy factor.

3. Eastern style of political activity.

Stages of political unification in Russia

Stage 1 (1301-1389).

Rise of Moscow (late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the XIII century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former importance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.

Stage 2 (1389-1462).

Moscow - the center of the struggle against the Mongols-Tatars (the second half of the 14th - the first half of the 15th centuries). The strengthening of Moscow continued under the children of Ivan Kalita - Simeon Proud (1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red (1353-1359). This inevitably had to lead to a clash with the Tatars.

Stage 3 (second quarter of the 15th century)

Feudal War- 1431-1453 Internecine war in the second quarter of the 15th century. The strife, called the feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century, began after the death of Basil I. By the end of the 14th century. in the Moscow principality, several specific possessions were formed, belonging to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. The largest of them were Galician and Zvenigorod, 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). The struggle after the death of Yuri was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. The struggle went according to all the "rules of the Middle Ages", i.e. blindness, and poisoning, and deceptions, 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 had 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 Russia.

Stage 4 (1462-1533).

The process of completing the formation of the Russian state falls on the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and Vasily III (1505-1533).

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 Russia, which lasted until the transfer of the capital by Peter I to St. Petersburg. Anxious 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 on the lot of Ivan III that the completion of the two-century process of unification of Russian lands and the overthrow of the Golden Horde yoke fell.

Ivan III pursued a consistent policy of uniting the Russian lands around Moscow and in fact was the creator of the Muscovite state. He inherited from his father the Principality of Moscow with a territory of 4,000 thousand km, and left his son a huge power: 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) were relatively easily annexed to Moscow, which had already lost real political power. Things related to the annexation of a strong and independent Novgorod were more complicated. It took Ivan III seven 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, who led the activities directed 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 launched a war against traitors. Novgorod land was devastated and destroyed. The Moscow army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Novgorodians on the river. Shelon. According to the Korostyn Treaty, 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 may be, from you, from the great princes, to us, your fatherland Veliky Novgorod, a free man, not surrender to any cunning, but to be us from you, from great princes, relentless towards anyone. Thus, the first step was taken towards the liquidation of the republic. The final, main blow to Novgorod was delivered by the campaign of 1478, as a result of which the Novgorod Boyar Republic ceased to exist. Veche system is liquidated, the bell, as a symbol of freedom, was taken to Moscow.

In 1485, Ivan III annexed another old enemy and rival of Moscow - Tver. Thus, Ivan III was able to connect the North-Eastern and North-Western Russia. In 1489, Vyatka was annexed to Moscow.

As an independent sovereign, Ivan III began to behave towards the Tatars. Back to the beginning of the reign of Ivan III Golden Horde has already broken up into several uluses. As she lost strength, Russia, on the contrary, strengthened its power. In 1476, Ivan III refused to pay them an annual tribute and entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan, an opponent of the Golden Horde. Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat, who considered himself the successor of the khans of the Golden Horde, which had disintegrated by this time, followed with alarm the strengthening of Moscow. In 1480, he gathered an army and moved to Russia, trying to restore the shattered power of the Horde. In the autumn, the army of Khan Akhmat approached the Ugra River, but a large Moscow army stood on the opposite bank. Khan Akhmat did not dare to join the battle and, having stood 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 restored its independence. End Information Tatar yoke contained in the Sophian Second Chronicle. “In 1480. The news came to the Grand Duke that Tsar Akhmat was indeed coming (against him) with his entire horde - with princes, ulans and princes, as well as with King Casimir in a common thought; king and led the king against the Grand Duke, wanting to ruin the Christians ...

The Grand Duke, took a blessing, went to the Ugra ... The king, with all his Tatars, went across the Lithuanian land, past Mtsensk, Lubutsk and Odoev, and, having reached, stood at Vorotynsk, waiting for help from the king. The king himself neither went to him, nor sent help, because he had his own affairs: at that time, Mengli-Girey, the king of Perekop, fought the Volyn land, serving the Grand Duke ...

And the Tatars were looking for roads where they would secretly cross (the river) and go hastily to Moscow. And they came to the river Ugra, 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 banks of the Ugra River and did not allow the Tatars to cross to this side ...

The tsar was afraid and ran away with the Tatars, because the Tatars were naked and barefoot, skinned ... When the tsar arrived at the Horde, he was killed by the Nogais there ... "

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 Russia", openly claiming the lands of Lithuanian Russia. Acting as a defender of the Orthodox faith and leading the movement for the creation of a Great Russian nation, Ivan III waged a series of successful wars with Lithuania, tearing away the Vekhi and Chernihiv-Seversky 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 collected under the rule of the Moscow prince.

Thus, at the end of the 15th century, a powerful state, Russia, arose in the east of Europe. According to Karl Marx, “Amazed Europe, at the beginning of Ivan’s reign, barely noticing the existence of Muscovy, squeezed between Tatars and Lithuanians, was struck by the sudden appearance on its eastern borders huge state, and Sultan Bayazet himself, before whom all of Europe trembled, for the first time heard the arrogant speeches of the Muscovite.

Being a far-sighted politician, Ivan III activated trade and diplomatic relations 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 Paleolog, 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 marriage (second) of Ivan III with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Sophia Fominichnaya Paleolog. “The marriage of Sophia with the Russian Grand Duke had the significance of transferring the hereditary rights of the offspring of the Palaiologos to the grand princely house of Russia,” wrote the Russian historian N. Kostomarov. - But most important and essential 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 also 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 letter of commendation nephews - Volotsk princes Fedor 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, because 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 George the Victorious, striking a snake with a spear - the enemies of the Fatherland. George the Victorious became the patron saint of the Grand Dukes of Moscow and the city of Moscow. Symbol supreme power became the cap of Monomakh, a luxuriously decorated headdress of the ruler of the state. The foundations of the personality cult of the top leadership, which later became known as the king, were laid: special ceremonies of going out to the people, meetings with ambassadors, signs of royal power.

The Moscow Grand Duke's court under Ivan III acquired a special splendor and magnificence. Unprecedented construction began 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. Erected under Prince Dmitry Donskoy, they fell into disrepair. During the years 1485-1495, the red-brick walls and towers of the Kremlin were raised, which still exist today.

Vasily III(1479-1533) - Grand Duke of Moscow and All Russia, was the eldest son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleolog. According to marriage agreements, the children of the Grand Duke from the Greek princess could not occupy the Moscow throne. But Sophia Paleolog could not accept this and continued to fight for power. By his second marriage, he married Elena Glinskaya, the mother of Ivan the Terrible, who ascended the throne in 1505, sought to continue the traditions of his father. Baron S. Herberstein visited the Russian state as an ambassador German Emperor. Subsequently, he created an extensive scholarly work in which he emphasized the desire of Basil III to strengthen centralization. “In the power he exercises over his subjects, he easily surpasses all the monarchs of the world. And he also finished what his father had begun, namely: he took from all the princes and other potentates all their cities and fortifications. In any case, he does not entrust fortresses even 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 go to war, or rule any embassy, ​​he is forced to do all this at his own expense. The exception is the young sons of the boyars, that is, noble persons with a more modest income; such persons, crushed by their poverty, he usually annually takes in and maintains, appointing a salary, but not the same.

During the reign of Basil III external The 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. Thus ends the process of gathering Russian lands around Moscow. In general, unlike the advanced countries of Western Europe, the formation of a single state in Russia took place under the complete dominance of the feudal mode of economy, i.e. on a feudal basis. This makes it possible to understand why a bourgeois, democratic, civil society began to take shape in Europe, and why Russia will be dominated for a long time by serfdom, class, inequality of citizens before the law.

In the second half of the XIV century. in northeastern Russia, the tendency to unite the lands intensified. The center of the association was the Moscow principality, separated from Vladimir-Suzdal in the 12th century.

The reasons.

The role of unifying factors was played by: the weakening and collapse of the Golden Horde, the development of economic ties and trade, the formation of new cities and the strengthening of the social stratum of the nobility. In the Moscow principality, a system developed local relations: the nobles received land from the Grand Duke for their service and for the duration of their service. This made them dependent on the prince and strengthened his power. Also the reason for the merger was struggle for national independence.

Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

Speaking of "centralization" one should keep in mind two processes: the unification of Russian lands around a new center - Moscow and the creation of a centralized state apparatus, a new power structure in the Muscovite state.

The state was formed in the northeastern and northwestern lands of the former Kievan Rus; From the 13th century Moscow princes and the church begin to carry out a wide colonization of the Trans-Volga territories, new monasteries, fortresses and cities are formed, the local population is conquered.

The formation of the state took place in a very short time, which was associated with the presence of an external danger in the face of the Golden Horde; the internal structure of the state was fragile; the state at any moment could break up into separate principalities;

the creation of the state took place on a feudal basis; in Russia, a feudal society began to form: serfdom, estates, etc.; in Western Europe, the formation of states took place on a capitalist basis, and bourgeois society began to take shape there.

Features of the process of state centralization and boiled down to the following: Byzantine and Eastern influence led to strong despotic tendencies in the structure and politics of power; the main support of autocratic power was not the union of cities with the nobility, but the local nobility; centralization was accompanied by the enslavement of the peasantry and the strengthening of class differentiation.

The formation of the Russian centralized state took place in several stages:

Stage 1. Rise of Moscow(late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the XIII century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former importance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.

The rise of Tver began after the death of Alexander Nevsky (1263). During the last decades of the thirteenth century Tver acts as a political center and organizer of the struggle against Lithuania and the Tatars and tried to subdue the most important political centers: Novgorod, Kostroma, Pereyaslavl, Nizhny Novgorod. But this desire ran into strong resistance from other principalities, and above all from Moscow.

The beginning of the rise of Moscow is associated with the name of the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky - Daniel (1276 - 1303). Daniil got a small village of Moscow. For three years, the territory of Daniel's possession has tripled: Kolomna and Pereyaslavl have joined Moscow. Moscow became a principality.

His son Yuri (1303 - 1325). joined the Tver prince in the struggle for the throne of Vladimir. A long and stubborn struggle for the title of Grand Duke began. Yuri's brother Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita, in 1327 in Tver, Ivan Kalita went to Tver with an army and crushed the uprising. In gratitude, in 1327 the Tatars gave him a label for the Great reign.

Stage 2. Moscow - 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 Proud (1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red (1353-1359). Under the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, on September 8, 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place. The Tatar army of Khan Mamai was defeated.

Stage 3. Completion of the formation of the Russian centralized state (end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries). The unification of Russian lands was completed under the great-grandson of Dmitry Donskoy Ivan III (1462 - 1505) and Vasily III (1505 - 1533). Ivan III annexed the entire North-East of Russia to Moscow: in 1463 - the Yaroslavl principality, in 1474 - Rostov. After several campaigns in 1478, the independence of Novgorod was finally abolished.

Under Ivan III, one of the major events Russian history - the Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off (in 1480 after standing on the Ugra River).

The final collapse of Russia in 1132 was inevitable. Development feudal society always leads to this. In itself, this phenomenon is not negative for the society of the corresponding era. Of course, history lessons at school, as well as the study of ancient literature, instill in descendants a negative connotation of fragmentation. Suffice it to recall some authors who "reconciled" the princes, warned them about the danger of fragmenting the state. However, this process, on the contrary, leads to the development of the periphery, the flourishing of culture, productive forces in each land. Fragmentation "squeezes" the maximum out of the specific principalities before uniting into a stronger state with a single market.

Fragmentation coincides with invasion

The formation of a centralized one was not fast, despite all the prerequisites. It's all to blame for the invasion in the 30s of the 13th century by hordes of Mongols-Tatars. Their expansion delayed the formation of a centralized Russian state for several centuries, and the specific centers of Russia from powerful rich cities turned into rundown villages. The princely administration during the period of the Mongol occupation ceased to care about the territories entrusted to them. Her main task is to collect tribute to the conquerors in time, while not forgetting about herself. The stronger the principality became, the more dangerous in the eyes of the Mongols it was considered.

Forgotten "exploits" of Alexander Nevsky

The history of this time has several cases of the total destruction of entire cities that dared to rebel against the power of the khans. The most remarkable thing is that such conspiracies were "drowned in blood" by the Russian princes. One of the main accomplices of the Mongols is our "defender" of the faith, Alexander Nevsky. Several times, on the orders of the khans, he personally led punitive expeditions against the rebels. However, it was Alexander Nevsky who started a new dynasty, with which the unification of Russian lands around Moscow is connected.

Prerequisites for the formation of the Russian centralized state

Former Russia could not but unite into a single state. This was facilitated by:

• Single language.
• General Faith.
• Common traditions, laws.
• Unified counting measures.
• Family ties, etc.

Agricultural development

Until the development of productive forces reaches its peak in the regions, it is too early to talk about unification. But from the beginning, active economic cooperation between the once united lands begins. The reason for this is the intensive development Agriculture.

The lands have already learned to live under oppression. However, do not forget that the "Mongolian cap" reliably protected against large-scale wars and invasions. Peaceful development has led to the fact that the once empty territories began to develop again. In addition, the invaders showed new industries that the Russians had not previously mastered - animal husbandry and horse breeding. Economic zoning took place, without which active economic cooperation would be simply useless. Therefore, the formation of a centralized Russian state was influenced by the need to create a single market. But most of all it was necessary for the big feudal lords. The largest of them was the church. It will be discussed further.

The role of the church

The Church plays an enormous role in the formation of the Russian centralized state. This is due to the fact that during the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the invaders did not touch it. On the contrary, they gave her complete freedom and independence. The wisdom of the Mongols knows no analogues in history - they never changed the conquered peoples. Being, as a rule, lower in cultural and technical development than the conquered peoples, the Mongol-Tatars tried to adopt all the significant results of their development. However, even what they did not need was preserved: religion, literature, art. Only political liberties were limited. As far as economic and cultural development is concerned, complete freedom of choice was given here, as long as the “exit” was paid on time.

Having adopted Islam, the Horde never once raised the issue of infringing on Orthodoxy in Russia and imposing another religion. They understood that for common man tribute is considered customary. It doesn't matter where she goes - to Kyiv or to Saray. However, an attempt on faith, on the soul - a person could not put up with this. Life was perceived as a temporary refuge before eternal bliss. Try to change this - and the Russian people will die in the fight against the invaders.

The occupation of Russia leads to the rise of the church

For this reason, the church in Russia not only did not die out, but, on the contrary, became rich. She was given empty lands that were devastated by war and devastation. In addition, the church was a powerful feudal lord. Offended and oppressed people ran to her. Here they received shelter, shelter, but they were obliged to work for her good. The conditions, of course, are much milder than those of ordinary feudal lords. The church was exempted from paying the obligatory Mongol "exit", and the holy fathers were more modest than secular aristocrats.

The growing power of the feudal lords demanded a unified state

The power of the monasteries and big feudal lords demanded a single state in order to legislate its privileged position not in each individual principality, but on a single vast territory with a powerful administrative apparatus. Therefore, the church was the first of the feudal lords to support the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. It is the move here from Vladimir, the only metropolitan for all Russian lands, long before her elevation, that allows us to draw such conclusions.

Creation of a unified state: stage one (end of the 13th century - 1462)

The creation of a centralized Russian state took place in several stages. First, the question of the future capital was decided. Today it is hard to believe, but the formation of a centralized Russian state could have taken place under the flag of Tver, and not Moscow, since it had much more chances for this:

• advantageous geographical position;
• major center;
• initial support for khans;
• economic and military strength.

Weakness is the main advantage

However, the features of the formation of the Russian centralized state is that the above-mentioned advantages in the struggle for leadership often turned into disadvantages. The khans were distrustful of such centers. First, they disarmed the city of Vladimir, making it only a nominal center. Recall that the main title in Russia was called "Grand Duke of Vladimir". With him, the Russian princes received a label for administrative leadership in all cities. However, the city of Vladimir itself turned into a village, as the Mongols watched the impossibility of its rise. They feared that he might become the banner of the liberation struggle against the khans.

Winners are not judged

Under the first Daniil Alexandrovich (1282-1303), only the surrounding villages within a radius of 40 km departed from Moscow. However, the descendants of the winner of the Germans and Swedes in 80 years did, perhaps, everything that was possible: they became related to the khan, saved up money, bought up all the free boyar estates in other principalities, transferred the residence of the metropolitan to themselves, and also brutally suppressed the uprising in Tver against Khan, razing this city to the ground.

First resistance

By 1380, having believed in his own strength, Prince Dmitry decided to give resistance to the Horde. Of course, no matter what the chronicles and ancient Russian authors say, it was not against the Khan, but against one of the Horde Murza - Mamai. talking modern language, "upstarts", who had no legitimate power in the entire Horde. But the fact of disobedience in itself gave rise to the fact that already official 2 years later, in 1382, he personally took part in the campaign against Moscow and burned it to the ground. History textbooks talk a lot about the Battle of Kulikovo, its significance, victory. However, only two lines in them mention the punitive reprisals against the Russians after this event.

Unification can't be stopped

In addition to the battle with the Golden Horde, Dmitry Donskoy continued the formation of a centralized Russian state. Dmitrov, Uglich, Starodub, Kostroma, and the territories of Beloozero were annexed to Moscow.

By the end of the 14th century, the first steps were taken towards annexation. However, it was not even possible to secure the right to the Dvina land. Novgorod is a serious richest shopping center not only in Russia, but also in the world. Huge finances allowed her to give any rebuff to the invaders. Only later, after the annexation of all the lands that supplied bread for the freedom-loving republic, did Moscow, with the help of blackmail and an economic blockade, make a hole in the defense of Novgorod. Novgorod's dependence on grain played a cruel joke on the republic.

Final stage

The final stage of the unification is attributed to the year 1462-1533 - from the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) to the end of the reign of his son Vasily III (1505-1533). After them, a single state will exist peacefully only under Ivan the Terrible. If, of course, this time can be called peaceful. After that, a long period of the Time of Troubles and interventions will come.

The formation of the Russian centralized state (14th-15th centuries) is associated with the following major events:

• Joining Tver.
• Annexation of Novgorod.

After the overthrow of the Horde in 1480, there was no longer any force capable of hindering such a process as the formation of a centralized Russian state.

Accession timeline

• 1478 - Ivan III annexes Novgorod by force. Moscow doubles its territory.
• 1485 - finally joins the main political enemy of Moscow - Tver.
• 1489 - Vyatka land with a large non-Russian population.
• 1510 - Pskov, which at one time separated from Novgorod. After that, the accession of the latter remained only a matter of time.
• 1514 - Moscow, during the war with Lithuania, recaptures the ancient Russian city of Smolensk. This city in the future will become a stumbling block in foreign policy Russian state and will lead to constant wars with the Commonwealth.
• 1521 - Ryazan formally joins, although in fact, long ago, the Moscow princes won over all the Ryazan boyars to their side.

I would like to say that Muscovy, as our country was then called, was the largest in Europe. But the formation and development of the Russian centralized state was not peaceful. The processes were accompanied by constant wars, bribery, executions, and betrayal.

Formation of a centralized Russian state. Politics of Ivan III and Vasily III

After the unification process was completed, a policy of enslaving the peasants began. Actually, what the feudal lords, including the church, were striving for. It was in the judicial record of Ivan III of 1497 that the restriction of the right to leave the peasants from the landowners was first recorded. Of course, the screws were not tightened to the end, but such a restriction itself was already a serious shock. So far, peasants were allowed to cross one week before St. George's Day, at the end of November, and one week later, at the beginning of December. However, the Sudebnik of 1550 of Ivan the Terrible will also cancel this rule. This is where the saying goes: "Here you are, grandmother, and St. George's Day," which rightly reflects the initial distrust when it was introduced.

Rules for the transition of peasants

As for the timing of the transition, everything is logical here. The cycle of agricultural work was limited. If the workers leave the landowner in the middle of the cycle, then this will turn into ruin for him. There were two innovations during the transition:

• A short period, equal to two weeks of autumn.
• The need to pay "old".

The last point means that the peasant did not have the right to simply leave the feudal lord. It was also necessary to pay for the working hands plus for the stay, that is, for living in the house. If the worker occupied the yard for more than four years, then he was obliged to pay the full cost of the new building.

Thus, the formation of a single state led to the beginning of the enslavement of the peasants on the land, as there was an administrative opportunity to control their movements.

Chronology

• 1276 - 1303 Reign of Daniil Alexandrovich. Formation of the Moscow principality.
• 1325 - 1340 Reign of Ivan Danilovich Kalita.
• 1462 - 1505 Reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich.
• 1480 “Standing” on the Ugra River, liberation of Russian lands from the Golden Horde yoke.

Rise of Moscow

The rulers of the principalities that entered into rivalry with Moscow, not possessing sufficient on their own, were forced to seek support in the Horde or Lithuania. Therefore, the struggle of the Moscow princes against them acquired the character of an integral part of the national liberation struggle and received the support of both the influential church and the population interested in the state unification of the country.

From the end of the 60s. 14th century a long struggle began between the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich (1359 - 1389) and the creative prince Mikhail Alexandrovich, who entered into an alliance with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd.

By the time of the reign of Dmitry Ivanovich, the Golden Horde entered a period of weakening and protracted strife between the feudal nobility. Relations between the Horde and the Russian principalities became more and more tense. At the end of the 70s. Mamai came to power in the Horde, who, having stopped the disintegration of the Horde, began preparations for a campaign against Russia. The struggle to overthrow the yoke and ensure security from external aggression became the most important condition for the completion of the state-political unification of Russia begun by Moscow.

In the summer of 1380, having gathered almost all the forces of the Horde, which also included detachments of mercenaries from the Genoese colonies in the Crimea and the vassal Horde peoples of the North Caucasus and the Volga region, Mamai went to the southern borders of the Ryazan principality, where he began to expect the approach of the troops of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello and Oleg Ryazansky. The terrible threat looming over Russia raised the entire Russian people to fight against the invaders. In a short time, regiments and militias from peasants and artisans from almost all Russian lands and principalities gathered in Moscow.

On September 8, 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place- one of the largest battles of the Middle Ages, which decided the fate of states and peoples

Battle of Kulikovo

This battle showed the power and strength of Moscow as a political and economic center - the organizer of the struggle to overthrow the Golden Horde yoke and unite the Russian lands. Thanks to the Battle of Kulikovo, the amount of tribute was reduced. In the Horde, the political supremacy of Moscow among the rest of the Russian lands was finally recognized. For personal bravery in battle and military merits, Dmitry received the nickname Donskoy.

Before his death, Dmitry Donskoy transferred the great reign of Vladimir to his son Vasily I (1389 - 1425), no longer asking for the right to a label in the Horde.

Completion of the unification of Russian lands

At the end of the fourteenth century in the Moscow principality, several specific possessions were formed that belonged to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. After the death of Vasily I in 1425, his sons Vasily II and Yuri (the youngest son of Dmitry Donskoy) began the struggle for the grand ducal throne, and after the death of Yuri, his sons Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. It was a real medieval struggle for the throne, when blinding, poisoning, conspiracies and deceptions were used (blinded by opponents, Vasily II was nicknamed the Dark One). In fact, it was the largest clash between supporters and opponents of centralization. As a result, according to the figurative expression of V.O. Klyuchevsky "under the noise of specific princely quarrels and Tatar pogroms, the society supported Vasily the Dark". The completion of the process of unification of Russian lands around Moscow into a centralized state falls on the years of government

Ivan III (1462 - 1505) and Vasily III (1505 - 1533).

For 150 years before Ivan III, there was a gathering of Russian lands and the concentration of power in the hands of the Moscow princes. Under Ivan III, the Grand Duke rises above the rest of the princes not only in the amount of power and possessions, but also in the amount of power. It is no coincidence that a new title “sovereign” appears. The double-headed eagle becomes a symbol of the state when, in 1472, Ivan III marries the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleolog. Ivan III, after the annexation of Tver, received the honorary title "by the grace of God the sovereign of All Russia, the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov, and Tver, and Yugra, and Perm, and Bulgarian, and other lands."

The princes in the annexed lands became the boyars of the Moscow sovereign. These principalities were now called uyezds and were ruled by governors from Moscow. Localism is the right to occupy one or another position in the state, depending on the nobility and official position of the ancestors, their merits to the Grand Duke of Moscow.

A centralized control apparatus began to take shape. The Boyar Duma consisted of 5-12 boyars and no more than 12 okolnichi (boyars and okolnichi - the two highest ranks in the state). In addition to the Moscow boyars from the middle of the 15th century. local princes from the annexed lands, who recognized the seniority of Moscow, also sat in the Duma. The Boyar Duma had advisory functions on the “affairs of the land.” With an increase in the function government controlled there was a need to create special institutions that would lead the military, judicial, financial affairs. Therefore, “tables” were created, controlled by clerks, who later turned into orders. The prikaz system was a typical manifestation of the feudal organization of state administration. It was based on the principles of inseparability of judicial and administrative power. In order to centralize and unify the procedure for judicial and administrative activities throughout the entire state, under Ivan III in 1497, the Sudebnik was compiled.

In 1480 it was finally overthrown. This happened after the clash of Moscow and Mongol-Tatar troops on the Ugra River.

Formation of the Russian centralized state

At the end of the XV - beginning of the XVI centuries. Chernigov-Seversky lands became part of the Russian state. In 1510, the Pskov land was included in the state. In 1514, the Russian old City Smolensk. And finally, in 1521, the Ryazan principality also ceased to exist. It was during this period that the unification of the Russian lands was basically completed. A huge power was formed - one of the largest states in Europe. Within the framework of this state, the Russian people were united. This is a natural process historical development. From the end of the XV century. the term "Russia" began to be used.

Socio-economic development in the XIV - XVI centuries.

The general trend in the socio-economic development of the country during this period is intensive growth of feudal landownership. Its main, dominant form was the patrimony, the land that belonged to the feudal lord by right of hereditary use. This land could be changed, sold, but only to relatives and other owners of estates. The owner of the patrimony could be a prince, a boyar, a monastery.

nobles, those who left the court of a prince or boyar owned an estate, which they received on the condition of serving on the patrimony (from the word “estate” the nobles were also called landowners). The term of service was established by the contract.

In the XVI century. there is a strengthening of feudal-serfdom orders. The economic basis of serfdom is feudal ownership of land in its three forms: local, patrimonial and state. A new term “peasants” appears, which has become the name of the oppressed class of Russian society. According to their social status, the peasants were divided into three groups: the possessive peasants belonged to various secular and church feudal lords; palace peasants who were in the possession of the palace department of the Moscow grand dukes (tsars); black-mouse (later state) peasants lived in volost communities on lands that did not belong to any owner, but were obliged to perform certain duties in favor of the state.

The defeat of old, large cities, such as Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov, etc., a change in the nature of economic and trade ties and routes led to the fact that in the XIII - XV centuries. new centers received significant development: Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Kolomna, Kostroma, etc. In these cities, the population increased, stone building, the number of artisans and merchants grew. Great success was achieved by such branches of craft as blacksmithing, foundry, metalworking, and coinage.

The creation of the Russian centralized state is the most important stage in the historical development of our country. It is associated with overcoming feudal fragmentation, the unification of Russian lands under the leadership of Moscow and as a result of this - the elimination of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

The formation of a single state created the necessary conditions for the further economic and political development of Russia, the development of domestic statehood and the Russian legal system. The role of Russia increased both in European and world history.

FROM early XIV in. the fragmentation of the Russian principalities stops, giving way to their unification. It was based on economic reasons, in particular, the strengthening of economic ties between the Russian lands. The starting point in the development of the feudal economy was the progress of agriculture. Agricultural production is characterized in this period by the increasing spread of the arable system, which becomes the predominant method of cultivating the land in the central regions of the country. The arable system is gradually replacing the slashing system. Equally important was the constant expansion of sown areas through the development of new and previously abandoned lands.

The growing need for agricultural tools led to the development of handicrafts. The process of separation of handicraft from agriculture is intensively going on. There is a need for the exchange of products of labor between the artisan and the peasant. Based on this exchange, local markets are created. The establishment of internal economic relations was facilitated by the development foreign trade. All this urgently demanded the political unification of the Russian lands, the creation of a single state. Wide circles of Russian society were interested in his education, and first of all, the nobility, merchants and artisans.

Another prerequisite for the unification of Russian lands was the aggravation of social class contradictions. The rise of agriculture prompted the feudal lords to intensify the exploitation of the peasants. They sought not only economically, but also legally to secure the peasants for their estates and estates, to enserf them. Such a policy, of course, aroused the resistance of the peasant masses. The feudal lords needed guarantees that the process of enslavement would be brought to an end. This task could be solved only by a powerful centralized state.

The factor that accelerated centralization was an external danger that forced the Russian lands to rally in the face of a common enemy. It is noteworthy that the process of state consolidation made the Battle of Kulikovo possible, with which the liberation of Russia from the Tatar-Mongol yoke begins. When, under Ivan III, it was possible to collect almost all Russian lands, this yoke was finally overthrown.

The Russian centralized state developed around Moscow, which eventually became its capital. It became the center of association because, by virtue of its geographical location was better protected from external enemies, was at the crossroads of river and land trade routes.

Founded in the 12th century, Moscow was at first a small city, which the Rostov-Suzdal princes gave as inheritance to their younger sons. Only from the end of the XIII century. it became the capital city of an independent principality with a permanent prince. The first Moscow prince was the son of Alexander Nevsky - Daniel, under whom at the turn of the XIII and XIV centuries. the process of all-Russian state consolidation began. His successors, continuing the policy of uniting Russian lands, bought up or seized by force the lands of neighboring principalities, concluded agreements with the weakened specific princes, making them their vassals. The territory of the Moscow Principality also expanded due to the settlement of the Upper Trans-Volga region.

The foundation of Moscow's power was laid under the second son of Daniel, Ivan Kalita (1325-1340), who managed to get a label from the Tatars for a great reign and, thus, acquired the right to collect tribute in their favor from all Russian lands. This right was later used by the Moscow princes in order to unite these lands under their rule. When in 1326 the metropolitan see was transferred to Moscow from Vladimir, it became the center and Orthodox Church. Expanding the territory of the Muscovite state, the Grand Dukes of Moscow turned the destinies into simple estates. Appanage princes, falling under their power, became boyars - subjects of the great Moscow prince.

By the end of the XIV century. The Moscow principality became so strong that it was able to lead the struggle of Russia for the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol oppression. The Horde was dealt the first sensitive blows - the most significant on the Kulikovo field. Under Ivan III, the unification of Russian lands entered its final stage. Novgorod the Great, Tver, part of the Ryazan principality, Russian lands on the Desna were annexed to Moscow.

In 1480, after the well-known "standing on the Ugra", Russia finally freed itself from the Tatar yoke. The unification process was completed at the beginning of the 16th century. Grand Duke Vasily III annexed the second half of the Ryazan principality to Moscow. Pskov, Smolensk liberated from Lithuanian domination. Together with Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm and other lands, non-Russian peoples also became part of the Moscow state: Meshchers, Karelians, Saami, Nenets, Udmurts, etc. Russian state, like Kyiv, became multinational.

Along with the unification of Russian lands, the annexation of other territories, the power of the great Moscow princes also grew. The Moscow principality gradually turned into a powerful public education, in which the former division into appanages was replaced by a division into administrative-territorial units, headed by governors and volosts sent from Moscow.

More on the topic Prerequisites for the formation of the Russian centralized state:

1. PREREQUISITES FOR THE FORMATION OF THE RUSSIAN CENTRALIZED STATE. FEATURES OF THE RUSSIAN CENTRALIZED STATE
2. 6. Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia and its impact on the development of the state and legal system. Prerequisites for the formation of a centralized Russian state
3. § 2. Court and investigation during the period of unification of Russian lands and the formation of a centralized Russian state