Ivan 3: Results of the Board and Heritage

Among the Moscow princes, Ivan is particularly distinguished. The results of the reign of this monarch are really impressive. He managed to unite around Moscow almost all the Russian-speaking lands. When he was finally thrown off the Mongol yoke. These and other successes of Ivan Vasilyevich became possible due to his flexible diplomacy and wisdom.

Political situation

Ivan III was born in 1440 in the family of the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich of the Dark. His father had to fight almost all his reign with relatives - applicants for the throne. During the feud, Basil was blinded and the last years of his life almost incapacitated. The eldest son Ivan became his eyes and ears. From a young age the heir studied public administration. All the skills he received with his father, helped him later, when the Grand Duke had to make heavy and responsible decisions.

With the death of Vasily Vasilyevich in 1462, Ivan began to rule. The results of his father's reign, despite the feuds, were encouraging. Moscow has become the main Russian political center. Its neighbors were the Golden Horde, the Tver and Ryazan princedoms, Lithuania and the Novgorod Republic. All these states had periodic conflicts with the Kremlin, so Ivan Vasilyevich had to get used to the constant turmoil in foreign policy from the first years of government.

Fighting against Lithuania

In the era of Mongol rule, Moscow managed to unite most of the lands belonging to north-eastern Russia. These were the territories in the valley of the upper Volga and its tributary Oka. However, another force appeared in the west, which could become an alternative Russian center.

It was Lithuania, in which, despite the ruling Lithuanian dynasty, a significant majority of the population was the Eastern Slavs. In the XIV-XV centuries. This state went on rapprochement with Catholic Poland. Two countries have concluded a union and created the Commonwealth. To the new union was the Novgorod aristocracy, headed by Marfa Boretskaya. Such a development could not be tolerated by Ivan 3. The results of the reign of this sovereign showed that he was seriously aware of the Polish-Lithuanian threat and in every possible way tried to overtake his adversary in "gathering the land" at least a step.

The abolition of the Novgorod Republic

In 1471 the Moscow prince declared war on Novgorod. According to the Korostinsky peace treaty, the vassal independence of the republic from the Kremlin was confirmed. This compromise briefly calmed the situation.

Ivan had many spies in Novgorod, who looked after the moods of the local aristocracy. When they told the prince about a new attempt to send the ambassador to the Polish king, in Moscow it was decided to use this betrayal as an excuse for war. Novgorod almost gave up without a fight. So in 1478 he was finally joined to the emerging Russian state. The main symbol of the local freedom of the veche bell was taken to Moscow.

Accession of Tver

Ivan 3 also acted resolutely in disputes with other neighbors, the results of his reign showed the effectiveness of his offensive policy. In former times, Tver was the main opponent of Moscow. That era was left behind, and now the ruler of this principality, Mikhail Borisovich, tried to compromise with the Kremlin. When Ivan Vasilyevich was a youth, he was married to the sister of the Tver governor Maria. The couple had only one son. He was also called Ivan. On the maternal side, this boy became a pretender to the Tver throne.

When Mikhail tried to go to rapprochement with Poland, Ivan Vasilyevich immediately came with his army to his capital. Tver prince, understanding the hopelessness of his situation, fled abroad. So in 1485 Ivan managed to annex his inheritance without war.

At the same time, in the vassal position in relation to Moscow remained other "independent" Russian cities - Pskov and Ryazan. This success included the results of the board of Ivan 3. The table shows the main events related to his rule.

The End of the Khan's Yoke

Another important problem for the entire Russian people has long been the Tatar-Mongolian threat. For a long time khans collected tribute from the Slav princes. In 1380 Dmitry Donskoy defeated the Tatars in the Kulikovo battle. Since then, their influence has become much weaker, which was due to political fragmentation in the Golden Horde. The characterization and results of the board of Ivan 3 were in the final resolution of this problem.

The last khan who tried to make the Moscow prince his tributary was the khan of the Great Horde Akhmat. He no longer owned Siberia, the Crimea and the Nogai, like his predecessors, but he was still dangerous. In 1480 he went on a campaign against Moscow. Ivan Vasilyevich went to repel the enemy at the head of the squad. Two armies rose on the opposite banks of the Ugra River, and never clashed in battle because of Ahmad's indecisiveness. Realizing that he could not stand with the prince, he turned back. After this episode, the Tatar-Mongol yoke was finally dropped. The results of the reign of Ivan 3, in short, consisted in the fact that he was able to protect Moscow from an external threat. The prince died in 1505, overshadowed by his victories and successes.