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The second half of the 15th century was the
turning point for any military, cultural and political activities undertaken in
Russia by its capable and ruthless ruler Ivan
III (1462-1505). His success was facilitated by the intestinal fights
between Mongol khans which resulted that once powerful Golden Horde was now
broken into several independent Khanate. Ivan III even had his Mongol vassal,
the khan of Kasimov who entered his services and helped him repeatedly keep the
reduced Golden Horde divided from the other khanates. The coalition of the khan
of the Golden Horde, Ahmad, and the Polish and Lithuanian King, Casimir, aimed
to force Ivan III to recognize Ahmad's suzerainty never materialized because
Casimir had to rush his troops to the part of Ukraine which he controlled and
which had been attacked by Ivan's ally the Crimean khan, Mengly-Geray. The two
armies, Ivan's and Ahmad's never went into action. On the contrary they both
hastily retreated from the two sides of Ugra river where they faced each other
after Ivan's cavalry detachment raided Ahmad's harem near Saray. This rather
curious, uncharacteristic event, which happened in 1480, represents
historically the end of the Mongol yoke domination.
When Tatar Khan sent a mission to Ivan III to collect tribute and, as was the
custom, to invite the new Grand Duke to the Horde to receive the
"Yarlik," instead of complying with the Khan's wish, Ivan tore the
"Basma," (written credentials of the Khan's delegation) into pieces,
and ordered all members killed with the exception of one, whom he let go back
to tell the Khan what had happened and that "The hen which used to lay
golden eggs for the Tatars has died." In 1480 Tatars' domination was
thrown off; Russia became an independent and powerful state with Moscow as its
center.
The Mongol invasion of Russia, amongst other things, brought an end to the
existence of "Veche" - the only democratic Russian form of
government, in all central and southern principalities. However in Novgorod and
Pskov and some other northern and western localities, Veche survived the Tatar
invasion and functioned until these provinces were annexed forcefully to his
realm . Ivan III, grand duke of Moscow, took advantage of the internal fights
between various parties and of Novgorod's dependance on imported bread from the
southern Russian provinces If appears that the unification of Russian
principalities was possible only if imposed by a strong central hand. The
representative of this new force was Ivan III and the system he introduced
resembled the one which the Golden Horde practiced. The majority of Russian
scholars call it Moscow autocracy. Under his rule the voice of the people was
less and less heard and it disappeared completely when people acquired the
habit to be governed without rasing its head and without questioning anything
or anybody. It is also true that the primitive democracy, as practiced by the
Veche could not last for ever.. New time need new forms of government
preferably better, for the people but neither Ivan III nor his son made a great
effort to find it, and Russians had to wait until "Zemskii sobor"
came into existence.
On the local front Ivan III did very much to speed up the process of
unification of the country. His expeditions, some of them punitive, put the end
to Novgorod and Tver independence and both were annexed to Moscow. Many
Novgorod boyars and rich merchants were simply executed and many more together
with middle class families were deported to eastern parts of Russia and
replaced by Muscovites. Their confiscated lands were turned over to new
settlers conditionally, depending on the services they would render to the
Grand Duke which, of course, further increased his authority. Speaking about
the "unification" of Russian lands, both Lenin and Stalin praised
Ivan for not delaying his actions. Ivan III also neglected the boyars. Most of
Ivan's counselors and members of his government belonged to faithful to him
families or individuals, the class which is known in Russia under the name of
"Dvorianstvo," which will continue to play an ever increasing role in
the Russian history. In order to reward them for their services, Ivan III
introduced a new system of military fiefs (pomestie). Of course many boyars
also volunteered and took part in the government, but the majority became the
first Russian opposition in the broad sense of the word.
Ivan III was married for the first time when he was only twelve. His bride
Maria Borisovna, was the nine-year old daughter of the Prince of Tver. This
political marriage, arranged by the parents, was intended to bring together the
two powerful and important principalities. When the young couple grew-up they
had one son who was also baptized Ivan Ivanovich. Maria died suddenly in 1467.
To make sure that the son, tsarevich Ivan, would succeed to the Moscow throne,
and thus that the principle of primogeniture would be preserved, Ivan III named
his son Grand Duke and ordered that in all official documents both names
appear, one next to the other. This did not last long, for in 1490? The son
also died and left an infant child Dimitri. The father, Ivan III was already
married to his second wife Princess Zoe Paleologue, daughter of the brother of
the last Byzantine Emperor. Her family moved to Rome after the fall of
Constantinople, where the former Byzantine princess, a contemporary of Leonardo
Da Vinci and Bramante, received an excellent education. In Italy the
Renaissance was already in full swing. Ivan III and Zoe married in 1472, and
she officially became Grand Duchess Sophia Fominichna. This marriage with one
of the Paleologues marked the beginning of Moscow's ambition to replace the
defunct Byzantine empire.
The Pope blessed their union, in the hope that it would help the Catholic
Church to establish some religious and eventually, political influence, in
Russia. It did not work this way, though, and Sophia, though educated in
Catholic schools, returned to her Orthodox faith. Ivan, however, took his new
role seriously, and adopted the Byzantine coat of arms - the double headed
black eagle as Russia's new emblem. Then he introduced the coronation ceremony
for Grand Dukes. It was similar to the Byzantine ceremony, and was used later
for the coronation of Russian tsars up to Peter the Great.
The crown of Vladimir Monomakh, (Shapka Monomakha), meaning cap allegedly
received from Emperor Constantine, but actually looking very much like the caps
of Tatar Khans, served to crown the head of each new ruler. The entire ceremony
was performed for the first time in 1498, in the newly built cathedral of the
Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, after which Ivan III decided to
"crown" his grandson Dimitri as his rightful successor. Fortune would
soon abandon the tsarevich, when the grandfather started forgetting about the
right of inheritance which he wanted so much to preserve before. In 1502 both
Dimitri and his mother Helen were put under house arrest. This change of heart
was not without Sophia's's back-stage interference. She found that her eldest
son by Ivan, Gabriel (Gavril), had more right to succeed the father than the
grand-son Dimitri. Despite the opposition of several influential boyars, some
of whom were liquidated or forced to enter monasteries, Gabriel, the future
Vasili III, was proclaimed heir to Moscow's throne. Dimitri and his mother died
in prison in 1509.
The complete insecurity and exasperation of occupation by Tatars, prompted many
to look for "Uteshenie" in the monastical life where one worked and
meditated. In the 14th and the 15th centuries many new monasteries were opened
and they became the only source of knowledge for all those who cherished
literacy and books. Many chronicles and lives of the recent saints and
prominent persons were recorded, and old chronicles compiled and many important
books rewritten. Thanks to these monasteries some old books and chronicles were
saved. Within their walls some rich people found shelter and offered all their
fortunes to the monastery. This negatively reflected on the intellectual level
of the monks, some of them spoiled by the rich life in the monastery. Later
heated discussions took place regarding moral and judicial qualifications of
the monasteries to possess big estates, fortunes and serfs. Amongst those who
entered monasteries was boyar Vasili Ivanovich Patrikeev, better known as monk
Vasian Kosoy, one of the leading Russian intellectuals of the time.
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