Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III ruled in 1505-1533. His era was the time of continuation of the accomplishments of his father Ivan III. The prince united the Russian lands around Moscow and fought against numerous external enemies.
Succession
Vasily Rurikovich was born in 1479 in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow John III. He was the second son, which means he did not claim the throne after the death of his father. However, his older brother John the Young tragically died at the age of 32 from a fatal illness. He developed a foot ailment (probably gout) that caused terrible pain. The father sent a famous European doctor from Venice, who, however, could not overcome the disease (he was later executed for this failure). The deceased heir left his son Dmitry.
This led to a dynastic dispute. On the one hand, Dmitry had the right to power as the son of a deceased heir. But the Grand Duke had younger sons alive. At first, John III was inclined to transfer the throne to his grandson. He even arranged a wedding ceremony for him to the kingdom(this was the first such ceremony in Russia). However, Dmitry soon fell into disgrace with his grandfather. It is believed that the reason for this was the conspiracy of the second wife of John (and mother of Basil) Sophia Paleolog. She was from Byzantium (by this time Constantinople had already fallen under the pressure of the Turks). The wife wanted the power to pass to her son. Therefore, she and her loyal boyars began to persuade John to change his mind. Shortly before his death, he agreed, denied Dmitry his rights to the throne and bequeathed to Vasily to be the Grand Duke. The grandson was imprisoned and soon died there, having briefly outlived his grandfather.
Struggle against specific princes
Grand Duke Vasily 3, whose foreign and domestic policies were a continuation of his father's deeds, ascended the throne in 1505, after the death of John III.
One of the key principles of both monarchs was the idea of absolute autocracy. That is, the Grand Duke tried to concentrate power only in the hands of the monarchs. He had several opponents.
First of all, other specific princes from the Rurik dynasty. And we are talking about those who were the direct representative of the Moscow house. The last major turmoil in Russia began precisely because of disputes over power around uncles and nephews, who were descendants of Dmitry Donskoy.
Vasily had four younger brothers. Yuri received Dmitrov, Dmitry - Uglich, Semyon - Kaluga, Andrey - Staritsa. At the same time, they were only nominal governors and were completely dependent on the Moscow prince. This timeThe Rurikovichs did not make the mistake that was made in the 12th century, when the state with its center in Kyiv collapsed.
Boyar opposition
Another potential threat to the Grand Duke was the numerous boyars. Some of them, by the way, were distant descendants of the Rurikovichs (such as the Shuiskys). Vasily 3, whose foreign and domestic policy was subject to the idea of the need to fight against any threats to power, nipped the opposition at its very root.
Such a fate, for example, awaited Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky. This nobleman was suspected of correspondence with the Lithuanian prince. Shortly before this, Vasily managed to win back several ancient Russian cities. Shuisky became the governor of one of them. After the prince became aware of his alleged betrayal, the disgraced boyar was imprisoned, where he died in 1529. Such an uncompromising struggle against any manifestations of disloy alty was the core of the policy to unite the Russian lands around Moscow.
Another similar incident happened to Ivan Beklemishev, nicknamed Bersen. This diplomat openly criticized the Grand Duke for his policies, including his desire for everything Greek (this trend became the norm thanks to the prince's mother Sophia Palaiologos). Beklemishev was executed.
Church disputes
Church life was also the object of attention of the Grand Duke. He needed the support of religious leaders to ensurethe legitimacy of their own decisions. This union of the state and the church was considered the norm for the then Russia (by the way, the word "Russia" began to be used under John III).
At this time in the country there was a dispute between the Josephites and non-possessors. These two church-political movements (mainly within the monasteries) had opposing views on religious issues. Their ideological struggle could not pass by the ruler. The nonpossessors sought reforms, including the abolition of land ownership in monasteries, while the Josephites remained conservative. Basil III was on the side of the latter. The external and internal policy of the prince corresponded to the views of the Josephites. As a result, the church opposition was repressed. Among its representatives were such famous people as Maxim Grek and Vassian Patrikeyev.
Unification of Russian lands
Grand Duke Vasily III, whose foreign and domestic policies were closely intertwined, continued to annex the remaining independent Russian principalities to Moscow.
Pskov Republic during the reign of John III became a vassal of the southern neighbor. In 1509, a veche gathered in the city, at which the inhabitants expressed dissatisfaction with the rule of Vasily. He arrived in Veliky Novgorod to discuss this conflict. As a result, the veche was canceled, and Pskov was annexed to the Moscow estate.
However, such a decision could cause unrest in the freedom-loving city. To avoid "fermentation of minds", the most influential and noble aristocrats of Pskov were resettled in the capital, and Moscow appointees took their place. Thisan effective technique was used by John when he annexed Veliky Novgorod.
Ryazan Prince Ivan Ivanovich in 1517 tried to make an alliance with the Crimean Khan. Moscow was inflamed with anger. The prince was taken into custody, and Ryazan became part of the united Russian state. The domestic and foreign policy of Vasily 3 proved to be consistent and successful.
Conflict with Lithuania
War with neighbors is another important point that distinguished the reign of Vasily 3. The domestic and foreign policy of the prince could not but contribute to the conflicts of Muscovy with other states.
The Principality of Lithuania was another Russian center and continued to claim a leading position in the region. It was an ally of Poland. Many Russian Orthodox boyars and feudal lords were in the service of the Lithuanian prince.
Smolensk has become the main bone of contention between the two powers. This ancient city became part of Lithuania in the 14th century. Vasily wanted to return it to Moscow. Because of this, there were two wars during his reign (in 1507-1508 and 1512-1522). As a result, Smolensk was returned to Russia.
So Vasily 3 resisted many opponents. Foreign and domestic policy (the table is an excellent format for a visual depiction of what we have said) of the prince, as already mentioned, was a natural continuation of the actions of Ivan 3, taken by him to defend the interests of the Orthodox Church and centralize the state. Below we will discuss what all this resulted in.
| Foreign policy | Domestic policy |
| War with Lithuania | Fight against boyar opposition |
| War with the Tatars | Fight against pretenders to the throne |
| Accession of independent Russian principalities | Union of State and Church |
War with the Crimean Tatars
Success accompanied the measures taken by Vasily 3. Foreign and domestic policy (briefly the table shows this well) was the key to the development and enrichment of the country. Another cause for concern was the Crimean Tatars. They made constant raids on Russia and often entered into an alliance with the Polish king. Vasily 3 did not want to put up with this. Domestic and foreign policy (it is unlikely that it will be possible to briefly talk about this) had a clearly defined goal - to protect the lands of the principality from invasions. To this end, a rather peculiar practice was introduced. Tatars from the noblest families were invited to the service, while allocating land to them. The prince was also friendly towards more distant states. He sought to develop trade with European powers. Considered the possibility of concluding a union (against Turkey) with the Pope.
Family problems
As in the case of any monarch, it was very important who Vasily 3 married. Foreign and domestic policy were important areas of his activity, but the future fate of the state depended on the presence of a successor to the family. First marriagestill heir to the Grand Duchy was organized by his father. For this, 1,500 brides from all over the country arrived in Moscow. The prince's wife was Solomonia Saburova from a small boyar family. This was the first time that a Russian ruler married not with a representative of the ruling dynasty, but with a girl from official circles.
However, this family union was unsuccessful. Solomonia was barren and could not conceive a child. Therefore, Vasily III divorced her in 1525. At the same time, some representatives of the Church criticized him, since formally he had no right to such an act.
The very next year, Vasily married Elena Glinskaya. This late marriage gave him two sons - John and Yuri. After the death of the Grand Duke, the eldest was declared heir. John was then 3 years old, so the Regency Council ruled instead of him, which contributed to numerous squabbles at court. Also popular is the theory that it was the boyar turmoil that the child witnessed in childhood that spoiled his character. Later, the already matured Ivan the Terrible became a tyrant and cracked down on objectionable close associates in the most cruel ways.
Death of the Grand Duke
Vasily died in 1533. During one of the trips, he discovered that he had a small tumor on his left thigh. She festered and led to blood poisoning. Using modern terminology, we can assume that it was an oncological disease. On his deathbed, the Grand Duke accepted the schema.
