The final collapse of Rus' in 1132 was inevitable. The development of 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 - 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 Rus' 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 Rus' 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 of 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 Rus' and imposing another religion. They understood that for an ordinary person, tribute is considered a common thing. It doesn't matter where she goes - to Kyiv or to Sarai. 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 Rus' leads to the rise of the church

For this reason, the church in Rus' 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 monasteries and large feudal lords demanded a single state in order to legislate their 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 Rus' 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, she was not against the Khan, but against one of the Horde Murza - Mamai. In modern terms, "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 Rus', 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 the foreign policy of the 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 mistrust 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.

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

• The rise of Moscow - the end of the 13th - the beginning of the 11th centuries;
• Moscow - the center of the struggle against the Mongols-Tatars (second half of the 11th-first half of the 10th centuries);
• The completion of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow under Ivan III and Vasily III - the end of the 15th - the beginning of the 16th centuries.

Stage 1. Rise of Moscow. By the end of the 13th century, the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, and Vladimir were losing their significance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver rise. The rise of Tver began after the death of Alexander Nevsky (1263), when his brother, Prince Yaroslav of Tver, received a label from the Tatars for the Great Vladimir reign.

The beginning of the rise of Moscow is associated with the name of the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky - Daniel (1276-1303). Alexander Nevsky distributed honorary inheritances to his eldest sons, and Daniil, as the youngest, got a small village of Moscow with a district on the far border of the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Daniel rebuilt Moscow, developed agriculture and started crafts. The territory has tripled and Moscow has become a principality, and Daniel is the most authoritative prince in the entire Northeast.

Stage 2. Moscow is the center of the fight against the Mongols-Tatars. The strengthening of Moscow continued under the children of Ivan Kalita - Simeon Proud (1340-1353) and Ivan 2 the Red (1353-1359). This inevitably had to lead to a clash with the Tatars. The clash occurred under the grandson of Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (1359-1389). Dmitry Donskoy received the throne at the age of 9 after the death of his father Ivan 2 the Red. Under the young prince, the position of Moscow was shaken, but he was supported by the powerful Moscow boyars and the head of the Russian church, Metropolitan Alexei. The metropolitan was able to achieve from the khans that the great reign would henceforth be transferred only to the princes of the Moscow princely house.

This increased the authority of Moscow, and after Dmitry Donskoy built the Kremlin of white stone in Moscow at the age of 17, the authority of the Moscow principality became even higher. The Moscow Kremlin became the only stone fortress in the entire Russian Northeast. He became unapproachable.

In the middle of the 14th century, the Horde entered a period of feudal fragmentation. From its composition, independent hordes began to stand out, which waged a fierce struggle for power among themselves. All khans demanded tribute and obedience from Rus'. Tension arose in relations between Russia and the Horde.

Stage 3. Completion of the formation of the Russian centralized state. The unification of the Russian lands was completed under the great-grandson of Dmitry Donskoy Ivan 3 (1462-1505) and Vasily 3 (1505-1533).

Under Ivan 3:

1) Accession of the entire North - East of Rus'

2) In 1463 - Yaroslavl principality

3) In 1474 - Rostov Principality

4) After several campaigns in 1478 - the final liquidation of the independence of Novgorod

5) The Mongol-Tatar yoke has been dropped. In 1476 - Rus' refused to pay tribute. Then Khan Akhmat decided to punish Rus' and made an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir and set out on a campaign against Moscow with a large army. In 1480, the troops of Ivan 3 and Khan Akhmat met along the banks of the Ugra River (a tributary of the Oka). Akhmat did not dare to cross to the other side. Ivan 3 took a wait-and-see position. Help for the Tatars did not come from Casimir, and both sides understood that the battle was pointless. The power of the Tatars dried up, and Rus' was already different. And Khan Akhmat led his troops back to the steppe. This ended the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

6) After the overthrow of the yoke, the unification of the Russian lands continued at an accelerated pace. In 1485, the independence of the Tver Principality was liquidated.

Under Vasily 3, Pskov (1510) and the Ryazan principality (1521) were annexed

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 the further development of feudal relations "in breadth" and "deep" - the appearance along with the fiefdoms 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 Rus' of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for the formation of a single 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 Rus'

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 rise.

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 deceit, 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 Rus'.

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 Rus', 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 grand dukes, to us, your fatherland Veliky Novgorod, a free man, do 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 Rus'. In 1489, Vyatka was annexed to Moscow.

As an independent sovereign, Ivan III began to behave towards the Tatars. By the beginning of the reign of Ivan III, the Golden Horde had already broken up into several uluses. As she 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 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 Rus', 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. Information about the end of the Tatar yoke is contained in the Sofia 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 Tsar, 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 Rus'", openly claiming the lands of Lithuanian Rus'. 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 of a huge state on its eastern borders, and Sultan Bayazet himself, before whom all of Europe trembled, for the first time heard arrogant speeches 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 Rus',” 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's letter of commendation to his nephews, the 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 component of 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. Monomakh's cap, a luxuriously decorated headdress of the ruler of the state, became a symbol of supreme power. 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 Rus', 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 of the 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 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. 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 serfdom, estates, and inequality of citizens before the law will long prevail in Russia.

The centralization of Russian lands included two processes:

1) the unification of Russian lands around the new center - Moscow;

2) the creation of a centralized state apparatus and power structure in the Muscovite state.

The system of suzerain-vassal relations has changed (princes become vassals of the Moscow prince), a system of feudal ranks and a hierarchy of court ranks are taking shape; the principle of parochialism is being formed (state positions are given depending on the candidate's generosity); the estate of the nobility is formed, the church becomes a serious political force, concentrating significant land holdings and determining the ideology of the state (the ideas of Moscow - the Third Rome, etc.).

The Russian centralized state took shape in the 14th-16th centuries.

Prerequisites for the formation of a Russian centralized state:

economic - the intensity of development of agricultural production, the growth of feudal land ownership and the inclusion of feudal economy in trade, the emergence of new cities - centers of trade and crafts, the expansion of economic ties and commodity-money relations;

social - the dependence of peasants on large landowners is increasing, and at the same time the resistance of the peasants is growing, the need for a strong centralized government is revealed;

political:

1) internal - in the XIV-XVI centuries. Moscow princes are building a state apparatus to strengthen their power, the power of the Moscow principality is significantly increasing and expanding;

2) foreign policy - the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which hindered the development of the Russian state and the restoration of the independence of Russia. This required a general unification against the Mongols from the south, Lithuanians and Swedes from the west.

The unification of the lands around Moscow and the Moscow principality took place from the end of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th century. Reasons for strengthening the role of Moscow:

• successful economic and geographical position;
• Moscow was isolated from foreign policy and became the center of the national liberation struggle;
• it was supported by the largest Russian cities - Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod;
• Moscow was the center of Orthodoxy in Rus';
• the absence of an internal struggle for the throne among the Moscow nobility.

Features of the unification of Russian lands into the Moscow principality:

• in Rus', the unification took place in the conditions of the flourishing of feudalism, and in Europe - with its weakening;
• the union of Moscow princes served as the basis for unification into the Muscovite state, in Europe the bourgeoisie became this base for unification;
• Initially, the reasons for the unification of Rus' were political reasons, while the European states were united for economic reasons.

The first Russian tsar was the prince of Moscow, under whose leadership the unification of the Russian lands took place. In 1478, after the unification of Novgorod and Moscow, Rus' finally freed itself from the yoke. In 1485, a number of other lands joined the Moscow state - Tver, Ryazan, etc.

The specific princes were controlled by proteges from Moscow. The Moscow prince becomes the supreme judge and considers important cases.

Even in the XII century. in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, a tendency to unite the lands under the rule of one prince appeared. Over time, the population of Rus' began to look at the Vladimir princes as the defenders of the entire Russian land.
At the end of the thirteenth century The Horde entered into a protracted crisis. Then the activity of the Russian princes intensified. It manifested itself in the collection of Russian lands. The gathering of Russian lands ended with the creation of a new state. It received the name "Muscovy", "Russian state", the scientific name - "Russian centralized state".
The formation of the Russian centralized state took place in several stages:

• The rise of Moscow - the end of the 13th - the beginning of the 11th centuries;
• Moscow - the center of the struggle against the Mongols-Tatars (second half of the 11th-first half of the 10th centuries);
• The completion of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow under Ivan III and Vasily III - the end of the 15th - the beginning of the 16th centuries.

Stage 1. Rise of Moscow (late 13th - early 14th 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 rise.
The rise of Tver began after the death of Alexander Nevsky (1263), when his brother, Prince Yaroslav of Tver, received a label from the Tatars for the Great Vladimir reign. During the last decades of the thirteenth century Tver acts as a political center and organizer of the struggle against Lithuania and the Tatars. In 1304, Mikhail Yaroslavovich became the Grand Duke of Vladimir, who was the first to take the title of Grand Duke of "All Rus'" and tried to subjugate 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) . Alexander Nevsky distributed honorary destinies to his eldest sons, and Daniil, as the youngest, got a small village of Moscow with a district on the far border of the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Daniil had no prospects for taking the grand prince's throne, so he took up farming - he rebuilt Moscow, started crafts, and developed agriculture. It so happened that in three years the territory of Daniel's possession increased three times: in 1300 he took away Kolomna from the Ryazan prince, in 1302 the childless Pereyaslav prince bequeathed his inheritance to him. Moscow became a principality. During the reign of Daniel, the Moscow principality became the strongest, and Daniel, thanks to his creative policy, the most authoritative prince in the entire Northeast. Daniel of Moscow also became the founder of the Moscow princely dynasty. In Moscow, Daniel built a monastery, named it in honor of his heavenly patron Danilovsky. According to the tradition prevailing in Rus', sensing the approach of the end, Daniel accepted monasticism and was buried in the Danilovsky Monastery. Currently, the St. Danilov Monastery plays a significant role in the life of the Orthodox and is the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
After Daniel, his son began to rule in Moscow Yuri (1303 - 1325) . The Grand Duke of Vladimir at that time was Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver. He owned the throne of Vladimir "in truth" - the ancient right of inheritance, established by Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century. Mikhail of Tverskoy looked like an epic hero: strong, brave, true to his word, noble. He enjoyed the full disposition of the khan. The real power in Rus' left the hands of the descendants of A. Nevsky.
Yuri Danilovich - the grandson of Alexander Nevsky - had no rights to the first throne in Rus'. But he had one of the most powerful principalities in Rus' - Moscow. And Yuri Danilovich joined the Tver prince in the struggle for the throne of Vladimir.
A long and stubborn confrontation began for the title of Grand Duke in Rus' between the descendants of Alexander Nevsky - Danilovichi- and the descendants of the younger brother of Nevsky Yaroslav - Yaroslavichs, between Moscow princes and Tver. Ultimately, the Moscow princes became the winners in this struggle. Why did this become possible?
By this time, the Moscow princes had been vassals of the Mongol khans for half a century. The khans tightly controlled the activities of the Russian princes, using cunning, bribery, and betrayal. Over time, the Russian princes began to adopt stereotypes of behavior from the Mongol khans. And the Moscow princes turned out to be more "capable" students of the Mongols.
Yuri Moskovsky married the Khan's own sister. Not wanting to strengthen one prince, the khan gave a label to the Great reign to his relative Yuri. Not wanting clashes with Moscow, Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tverskoy renounced the great reign in favor of Yuri Danilovich. But the Moscow army constantly devastated the lands of the Tver principality. During one of these clashes, the Tverites captured Yuri's wife, Princess Agafya (Konchaka). She died in captivity.
Yuri Danilovich and Mikhail Yaroslavich were summoned to the Horde. In the Horde, the prince of Tver was accused of non-payment of tribute, the death of the Khan's sister, and was killed. The label for the Great reign was transferred to the Moscow prince.
In 1325, at the headquarters of the Khan, Yuri Danilovich was killed by the eldest son of Mikhail Yaroslavich Dmitry. Dmitry, by order of the Khan, was executed, but the label for the Great reign was transferred to the next son of Mikhail Yaroslavich - Alexander Mikhailovich. Together with Alexander Mikhailovich, the Tatar detachment of Cholkan was sent to Tver to collect tribute.
And in Moscow, after the death of Yuri, his brother began to rule Ivan Danilovich nicknamed Kalita, Ivan I (1325 - 1340). In 1327, an uprising against the Tatar detachment took place in Tver, during which Cholkan was killed. Ivan Kalita went to the Tverchi with an army and crushed the uprising. In gratitude, in 1327 the Tatars gave him a label for the Great reign.
More Moscow princes will not let go of the label for a great reign.
Kalita achieved the collection of tribute in Rus' instead of the Mongols. He had the opportunity to hide part of the tribute and use it to strengthen the Moscow principality. Collecting tribute, Kalita began to regularly travel around the Russian lands and gradually form an alliance of Russian princes. The cunning, wise, cautious Kalita tried to maintain the closest ties with the Horde: he regularly paid tribute, regularly traveled to the Horde with generous gifts to the khans, their wives, and children. With generous gifts, Kalita in the Horde endeared everyone to him. The khanshi were looking forward to his arrival: Kalita always brought silver. In the Horde. Kalita constantly asked for something: labels for individual cities, entire reigns, the heads of his opponents. And Kalita invariably got what he wanted in the Horde.
Thanks to the prudent policy of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow principality constantly expanded, grew stronger and for 40 years did not know the Tatar raids.
Ivan Kalita sought to ensure that Moscow, and not Vladimir, became a religious center. For the head of the Russian Church - the metropolitan - he built comfortable chambers. Metropolitan Peter liked to stay in Moscow for a long time: Kalita cordially received him, made generous gifts to the Church. Metropolitan Peter predicted that if Kalita builds a cathedral in Moscow to the glory of the Mother of God, as in Vladimir, and puts him to rest in it, then Moscow will become a true capital. Ivan Kalita built the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow (as in Vladimir) and laid to rest the head of the Russian Church in it. For the Russians, this was God's sign, a sign of Moscow's chosenness. The next metropolitan - Feognost - finally moved from Vladimir to Moscow. This was a great achievement for Ivan Kalita.
Moscow became the religious center of Russian lands.
But historians believe that the main merit of Ivan Kalita was the following. During the time of Ivan Kalita, due to religious persecution, crowds of refugees from the Horde and Lithuania poured into Moscow. Kalita began to take on the service of everyone. The selection of service people was carried out solely on the basis of business qualities, subject to the adoption of the Orthodox faith. All those who converted to Orthodoxy became Russians. A definition began to take shape - "Orthodox means Russian."
Under Ivan Kalita, the principle of ethnic tolerance was established, the foundations of which were laid by his grandfather, Alexander Nevsky. And this principle in the future became one of the most important on which the Russian Empire was built.
Stage 2. 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 - Simeone Gordom(1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red(1353-1359). This inevitably had to lead to a clash with the Tatars.
The collision took place during the reign of the grandson of Ivan Kalita Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (1359-1389) . Dmitry Ivanovich received the throne at the age of 9 after the death of his father Ivan II the Red. Under the young prince, the position of Moscow, as the first principality in Rus', was shaken. But the young prince was supported by the powerful Moscow boyars and the head of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Alexei. The metropolitan understood that if Moscow loses the label for a great reign, then its many years of efforts to collect Russian lands would be nullified.
The metropolitan was able to achieve from the khans that the great reign would henceforth be transferred only to the princes of the Moscow princely house. This increased the prestige of the Moscow principality among other Russian principalities. The authority of Moscow increased even more after the 17-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich built the Kremlin in Moscow from white stone (stone was a rare building material in Moscow. The Kremlin wall made of stone so impressed the imagination of contemporaries that since that time the expression "Moscow white stone" has arisen ). The Moscow Kremlin became the only stone fortress in the entire Russian Northeast. He became unapproachable.
In the middle of the fourteenth century The Horde entered a period of feudal fragmentation. Independent hordes began to emerge from the Golden Horde. They waged a fierce struggle for power among themselves. All the khans demanded tribute and obedience from Rus'. Tension arose in relations between Russia and the Horde.
In 1380, the Horde ruler Mamai moved to Moscow with a huge army.
Moscow began to organize a rebuff to the Tatars. In a short time, regiments and squads from all Russian lands, except those hostile to Moscow, became under the banner of Dmitry Ivanovich.
And yet, it was not easy for Dmitry Ivanovich to decide on an open armed uprising against the Tatars.
Dmitry Ivanovich went for advice to the rector of the Trinity Monastery near Moscow, Father Sergius of Radonezh. Father Sergius was the most authoritative person both in the Church and in Rus'. Even during his lifetime, he was called a saint, it was believed that he had the gift of foresight. Sergius of Radonezh predicted victory for the Moscow prince. This instilled confidence in Dmitry Ivanovich, and in the entire Russian army.
September 8, 1380 at the confluence of the Nepryadva River in the Don took place Battle of Kulikovo. Dmitry Ivanovich and the governors showed military talent, the Russian army - unbending courage. The Tatar army was defeated.
The Mongol-Tatar yoke was not thrown off, but the significance of the Battle of Kulikovo in Russian history is enormous:

• on the Kulikovo field, the Horde suffered its first major defeat from the Russians;
• after the Battle of Kulikovo, the amount of tribute was significantly reduced;
• The Horde finally recognized the supremacy of Moscow among all Russian cities;
• the inhabitants of the Russian lands had a feeling of a common historical destiny; according to historian L.N. Gumilyov, "inhabitants of different lands went to the Kulikovo field - they returned from the battle as the Russian people."

Contemporaries called the Battle of Kulikovo the "Mamaev Battle", and Dmitry Ivanovich during the time of Ivan the Terrible received the honorary nickname "Donskoy".
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 Basil III (1505 - 1533). Ivan III annexed the entire North-East of Rus' 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 most important events in Russian history took place - the Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off. In 1476 Rus' refused to pay tribute. Then Khan Akhmat decided to punish Rus'. He made an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir and set out on a campaign against Moscow with a large army.
In 1480, the troops of Ivan III and Khan Akhmat met along the banks of the Ugra River (a tributary of the Oka). Akhmat did not dare to cross to the other side. Ivan III took a wait-and-see attitude. Help for the Tatars did not come from Casimir. Both sides understood that the battle was pointless. The power of the Tatars dried up, and Rus' was already different. And Khan Akhmat led his troops back to the steppe.
The Mongol-Tatar yoke ended.
After the overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the unification of the Russian lands continued at an accelerated pace. In 1485, the independence of the Tver principality was abolished. During the reign of Vasily III, Pskov (1510) and the Ryazan principality (1521) were annexed. The unification of the Russian lands was basically completed.
Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

• the state was formed in the northeastern and northwestern lands of the former Kievan Rus; its southern and southwestern lands were part of Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary. Ivan III immediately put forward the task of returning all Russian lands that were previously part of Kievan Rus;
• 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 "raw"; 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.

The victories of Ivan III strengthened the Russian state and contributed to the growth of its international prestige. Western European countries and, first of all, the Roman curia and the German emperor are trying to conclude an alliance with the new state. The relations of the Russian state with Venice, Naples, Genoa are expanding, relations with Denmark are becoming more active. Rus''s ties with the countries of the East are also growing. All this indicates that the Russian state is becoming the strongest and plays a significant role in international affairs.
The specifics of the formation of a unified Russian state in the XV - early. 16th century The unification of the Russian lands and the final liberation from the Tatar yoke and the general socio-economic changes taking place in the country led to the establishment of autocracy and created the preconditions for the transformation of the great Moscow reign into a class-representative monarchy.
The Moscow prince was the supreme ruler in the state. He was the supreme owner of the land, had full judicial and executive power. Under the prince there was Boyar Duma, which included the most noble feudal lords, clerics. A significant role in the state began to play the Metropolitan and Consecrated Cathedral - assembly of the higher clergy. Public bodies emerged Castle And Coffers . Butlers were in charge of the personal lands of the Grand Duke, sorted out land disputes, judged the population. The treasury was in charge of public finances. The formation of the central authorities began - orders. The palace order was in charge of the Grand Duke's own possessions, the embassy order was in charge of external relations, the bit order was in charge of military affairs, etc. Office work was carried out by clerks and clerks.
Under Ivan III, local government remained conservative. As before, it was based on the system of feeding - one of the sources of enrichment of the upper classes at the expense of the population. "Feeders", i.e. governors and volostels (volost governors) were kept by the local population - they were fed in the literal sense. Their powers were varied: rulers, judges, collectors of princely taxes. The princes, boyars, former "free servants" of the Grand Duke had the right to receive feedings.
Institute was important localism, according to the system of which all boyar surnames were distributed along the steps of the hierarchical ladder, and all their appointments (military and civilian) had to correspond to generosity.
For the first time after Yaroslav the Wise, Ivan III began to streamline legislation. In 1497 a new collection of laws was published - Sudebnik. The new collection of laws established a unified procedure for judicial and administrative activities. An important place in Sudebnik was occupied by laws on land use, especially the law on St. George's Day. In Rus', there was an old custom: in the fall, after harvesting, the peasants could move from one owner to another. By the beginning of the XVI century. this custom took on the character of a disaster: the peasants left their master before the harvest, and often the fields remained unharvested. The Sudebnik of Ivan III limited the right of peasants to move from one owner to another two weeks a year - before and after St. George's Day (November 26).
In Rus', the folding of serfdom began. Serfdom- this is the dependence of the peasant on the feudal lord in personal, land, property, legal relations, based on attaching them to the land.
It was still the period when they ruled in the old way, having gathered all together in agreement, - catholic: all authoritative forces were involved in solving the most important issues of the country - the Grand Duke himself, the Boyar Duma, the clergy. The Grand Duke was a strong and respected figure, but the attitude towards him was "simple", in the eyes of the Russians he was only the eldest among equals.
Under Ivan III, important changes took place in the system of state administration: the process of folding an unlimited monarchy began.
The reasons for the folding of an unlimited monarchy are the Mongol and Byzantine influence.
Mongolian influence - by this time, the Mongol-Tatar yoke lasted more than 200 years in Rus'. Russian princes began to adopt the style of behavior of the Mongol khans, the model of the political structure of the Horde. In the Horde, the khan was an unlimited ruler.
Byzantine influence - the second marriage of Ivan III was married to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleolog. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell under the blows of the Ottoman Turks. The emperor died on the streets of Constantinople, defending the city. His niece Sophia took refuge with the Pope, who later had the idea of ​​marrying her off to a widowed Russian ruler. The Byzantine princess brought the idea of ​​absolute monarchy to distant Rus'.
The first of the Russian princes, Ivan III began to pursue a policy of elevating the power of the Grand Duke. Prior to this, the specific princes and boyars were free servants. At their request, they could serve the Grand Duke of Moscow, leave for service in Lithuania, Poland. Now they began to swear allegiance to the Moscow prince and sign special oaths. From now on, the transfer of a boyar or prince to the service of another sovereign began to be regarded as treason, a crime against the state. Ivan III was the first to take the title "Sovereign of All Rus'". IN 1497 Ivan III for the first time adopted the unofficial coat of arms of Byzantium as the coat of arms of the Moscow State - the double-headed eagle - a sacred religious symbol (By this time, the double-headed eagle in Byzantium symbolized the unity of spiritual and secular power). Under him, signs of grand ducal dignity were adopted: the "cap of Monomakh", which became a symbol of autocracy, precious mantles - barmas and a scepter. Under the influence of Sophia, at the court of Ivan III, a magnificent court ceremonial was introduced according to the Byzantine model.
The ideology of the times of Ivan III and Vasily III. At the end of the XNUMXth century. A number of important events took place in Russian statehood:

• the unification of the Russian lands was basically completed;
• in 1480 the Russian lands were liberated from the Mongol-Tatar yoke;
• Ivan III in the Byzantine manner began to call himself the title "king".

The historical process in Rus' was headed by Moscow princes. Moscow princes rose rapidly. According to the ancient right of inheritance, they did not have the right to the first throne in Rus'. "In truth" the princes of Tver were to hold the first throne. The Moscow princes, using a whole range of political means, "wrested" the right to all-Russian primacy from the princes of Tver.
And now the moment has come when the Moscow princes had to prove to everyone by what right they own the Russian land.
In addition, Ivan III needed to establish himself among the Western European monarchs. The Russian state appeared at the beginning of the 16th century. suddenly for Western Europe. The large Western European states had already taken shape, the system of relations between them had also already taken shape, the most important trade routes were already occupied.
To survive in these conditions, the huge Muscovite state needed ideas, ideology, which would reflect the dominant position in Rus' of the Moscow princes, the antiquity of the state, the truth of the Orthodox faith, the importance, the need for the existence of Muscovy among other states. Such ideas appeared at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century.
Three ideas became the most important.
1. The idea of ​​the succession of the power of the Moscow princes from the princes of Vladimir and Kyiv. Chronicles appeared in which it was stated that the Moscow princes received power over the Russian land from their forefathers - the princes of Vladimir and Kyiv. After all, the head of the Russian Church lived - the metropolitan - first in Kyiv, then in Vladimir (1299 - 1328) and Moscow (since 1328). Therefore, the Kievan, Vladimir, and then Moscow princes also owned the Russian land. This idea also emphasized the idea that the source of grand ducal power is the will of the Lord himself. The Grand Duke is the vicar of the Lord - God on earth. The Lord - God handed over to the Grand Duke the Russian land in control. Therefore, the Russian sovereign was personally responsible before the Lord - God for how he ruled the Russian land. Since it was handed over by the Lord Himself - God, the Orthodox sovereign should not share his power (responsibility) with anyone. Any renunciation of power is sacrilege.
2. The idea of ​​the relationship of Russian princes with the Roman emperors. At this time, the "Legend of the princes of Vladimir" appears. The Tale is based on two legends. One contained the assertion that the family of Russian princes was connected with the king of the "universe" Augustus. In Rome from 27 BC. e. Octavian ruled. He managed to unite under his rule all the territories of the inhabited world. After that, the Roman state began to be called an empire, and Octavian was given the title "Augusta", i.e. "divine". The Tale says that Augustus had a younger brother named Prus. Prus Augustus sent the ruler to the banks of the Vistula and the Neman (this is how Prussia arose). And Prus had a descendant of Rurik. It was this Rurik that the Novgorodians called to reign in Novgorod (It should be noted that almost all Western European monarchs tried to connect their ancestry with the Roman emperors). Another legend told that in the XII century. Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh, the heir to the Roman emperors, handed over to his grandson, the Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh, the symbols of imperial power: a cross, a crown (in Rus' they began to call the Monomakh's cap), a bowl of Emperor Augustus and other items. From this it followed that the Russian rulers (Monomashichi) had a legal right to the title "caesar" (in Rus', the king).
3. The idea of ​​Moscow as the guardian of the true Christian faith. This idea is better known under the name "Moscow - the third Rome". This idea was formulated by the monk of the Pskov Eleazarov Monastery Philotheus in his letters to Vasily III in 1510-1511. Monk Philotheus was sure that Moscow was called upon to play a special role in history. After all, it is the capital of the last state, where the true, Christian faith has been preserved in its original, unspoiled form. In the beginning, the purity of the Christian faith was kept by Rome. But the apostates muddied the pure source, and as a punishment for this, in 476 Rome fell under the blows of the barbarians. Rome was replaced by Constantinople, but even there they abandoned the true faith, agreeing to a union (unification) with the Catholic Church. By the middle of the XNUMXth century. The Byzantine Empire perished under the blows of the Ottoman Turks. Hoping for help from the Western European powers, the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1439 in Florence signed a union with the Pope. Under the terms of the union, the Orthodox recognized the supremacy of the Pope of Rome, and not the Orthodox Patriarch, switched to Catholic dogmas during worship, but Orthodox rites were preserved. Prior to this, the power of the Patriarch of Constantinople was of ecumenical significance. It spread to Byzantium, Rus', Serbia, Georgia, Bulgaria. The conclusion of a union with the pope meant the Greeks' refusal from the universal mission of the guardians of the Orthodox tradition, which they had taken upon themselves. The Russian Orthodox Church did not recognize the union and broke off relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Philotheus wrote that for the retreat from Orthodoxy - the true Christian faith - ancient Constantinople was captured by the Turks. Since then, the center of world Orthodoxy, the "third Rome" has become Moscow - the capital of the largest Orthodox state. "Observe and listen, as if two Romes have fallen, and the third (Moscow) is standing, and the fourth will not be," wrote Filofey. Therefore, the role of Rus' in world history is to be the patroness of all Orthodox peoples.

TO THE BEGINNING OF THE TOPIC

Control questions

1. What stages can be identified in the formation of the Russian centralized state?
2. What Russian principalities fought among themselves for the all-Russian superiority in the first half of the 14th century?
3. Indicate what are the results of Ivan Kalita's activities for the Moscow Principality?
4. When did the Battle of Kulikovo take place and what is its significance?
5. Specify the features of the formation of the Russian centralized state.
6. What were the organs of power and administration in the Muscovite state at the beginning of the 16th century?

additional literature

1. Borisov N.S. Ivan III. - M.: Mol. guard, 2000.
2. Sinitsyna N.V. Third Rome. Origins and evolution of the Russian medieval concept. / XV - XVI centuries / - M .: Publishing house "Indrik", 1998.
3. Cherepnin L.V. Formation of the Russian centralized state in the XIV - XV centuries. essays on the socio-economic and political history of Rus'. - M., 1960.