The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Latin ) was a Rus' principality of the Late Middle Ages centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the Tsardom of Russia in the early modern period. It was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, who had ruled Rus' since the foundation of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

in 862. Ivan III the Great titled himself as Sovereign and Grand Duke of All Rus' (russian: государь и великий князь всея Руси, gosudar' i velikiy knyaz' vseya Rusi). The state originated with the rule of

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...

of the

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...

dynasty, when in 1263, his son, Daniel I, was appointed to rule the newly created Grand Principality of Moscow, which was a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

to the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

(under the " Tatar Yoke"), and which eclipsed and eventually absorbed its parent duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal by the 1320s. It later absorbed its neighbors including the Novgorod Republic in 1478 and the Principality of Tver in 1485. It remained a vassal state of the Golden Horde until 1480 following the

Great Stand on the Ugra River The Great Stand on the Ugra River (russian: Великое cтояние на реке Угре, also russian: Угорщина, translit=Ugorshchina, derived from " Ugra") was a standoff between the forces of Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde, an ...

, though there were frequent uprisings and several successful military campaigns against the Mongols, such as an uprising led by

Dmitri Donskoy Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

against the ruler of the Golden Horde,

Mamai Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, tt-Cyrl, Мамай, translit=Mamay; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful military commander of the Golden Horde. Contrary to popular misconception, he was not a khan (king), but a warlord and a kingmaker f ...

, in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. Muscovites, Suzdalians and other inhabitants of the Rus' principality were able to maintain their Slavic, pagan, and Orthodox traditions for the most part under the Tatar Yoke. Ivan III further consolidated the state during his 43-year reign,

campaigning Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bli ...

against his major remaining rival power, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and by 1503 he had tripled the territory of his realm, adopting the title of

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

and claiming the title of "Ruler of all Rus. By his marriage to Sophia Palaiologina, niece of

Constantine XI Palaiologos Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last List of Byzantine em ...

, the last Byzantine emperor, he claimed Muscovy to be the successor state of the Roman Empire, the " Third Rome". The immigration of Byzantine people influenced and strengthened Moscow's identity as the heir of Orthodox traditions. Ivan's successor Vasili III also enjoyed military success, gaining Smolensk from Lithuania in 1512 and pushing Muscovy's borders to the Dnieper. Vasili's son

Ivan IV Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

(later known as ''Ivan the Terrible'') was an infant upon his father's death in 1533. He was crowned in 1547, assuming the title of

together with the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia (russian: Царство Русcкое, ''Tsarstvo Russkoye'').

Name

The English names ''Moscow'' and ''Muscovy'', for the city, the principality, and the river, descend from post-classical Latin , (compare Russian , "principality of Moscow"), and ultimately from the

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...

fully vocalized accusative form . In Latin, the Moscow principality was also historically referred to as ''Ruthenia Alba''. As with many medieval states, the country had no "official" name, but rather official titles for their rulers. "The Prince (

Knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

) of Moscow" () or "the Sovereign of Moscow" () were common short titles. After the unification with the Duchy of Vladimir in the mid-14th century, the dukes of Moscow might call themselves also "the Duke of Vladimir and Moscow", as Vladimir was much older than Moscow and much more "prestigious" in the hierarchy of possessions, although the principal residence of the dukes had always been in Moscow. In rivalry with other duchies (especially the

Grand Duchy of Tver The Principality of Tver (russian: Тверское княжество, la, TferiaeIvan Kalita to the throne of "All Russia" while

Simeon the Proud Simeon Ivanovich Gordiy (the Proud) (Семён Иванович Гордый in Russian) (7 September 1317 – 27 April 1353) was Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir. Simeon continued his father's policies aimed to increase the power ...

took the title of Grand Duke of All Russia. In spite of feudalism, the collective name of the Eastern Slavic land, Rus', was not forgotten, though it then became a cultural and geographical rather than the political term, as there was no single political entity on the territory. Since the 14th century various Moscow dukes added "of all Rus () to their titles, after the title of Russian metropolitans, "the Metropolitan of all Rus. Dmitry Shemyaka (died 1453) was the first Moscow duke who minted coins with the title "the ''Sovereign'' of all Rus. Although initially both "Sovereign" and "all Rus was supposed to be rather honorific epithets, since Ivan III is transformed into the political claim over the territory of all the former Kievan Rus', a goal that the Moscow duke came closer to by the end of that century, uniting eastern Rus'. Such claims raised much opposition and hostility from its main rival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which controlled a large (western) portion of the land of ancient Rus' and hence denied any claims and even the self-name of the eastern neighbor. Under the Polish-Lithuanian influence the country began to be called ''Muscovy'' ( la, Moscovia, Muscovy, french: Moscovie) in Western Europe. The first appearances of the term were in an Italian document of 1500. Initially ''Moscovia'' was the Latinized name of the city of Moscow itself, not of the state; later it acquired its wider meaning (

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common Engl ...

) and has been used alongside the older name, Russia. The term ''Muscovy'' persisted in the West until the beginning of the 18th century and is still used in historical contexts. The term remains current in Arabic as an alternative name for Russia. Derived from it is ''al-Muskubīya'' (المسكوبية), the Arabic name of the Russian Compound district of Jerusalem, where Czarist Russia established various institutions in the 19th century, and hence also the name of the

Al-Moskobiya Detention Centre The Al-Moskobiya, Moscobiyeh, Muscovite or Moscovia Detention Centre is an Israeli detention and interrogation facility and prison more commonly known as The Russian Compound, located in West Jerusalem. The center is used to interrogate Palestini ...

located there.

Origin

When the Mongols

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

the lands of Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, Moscow was still a tiny town within the

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

of Vladimir-Suzdal. Although the Mongols burnt down Moscow in the winter of 1238 and

pillage Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

d it in 1293, the outpost's remote, forested location offered some security from Mongol attacks and occupation, while a number of rivers provided access to the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

and Black Seas and to the Caucasus region.Library of Congress Country Studies – Russia
/ref> Moskovskiy Kreml pri Ivane Kalite

More important to the development of the state of Moscow, however, was its rule by a series of princes who expanded its borders and turned a small principality in the Moscow River Basin into the largest state in Europe of the 16th century. The first ruler of the principality of Moscow, Daniel I (d. 1303), was the youngest son of

of Vladimir-Suzdal. He started to expand his principality by seizing Kolomna and securing the bequest of Pereslavl-Zalessky to his family. Daniel's son Yury (also known as Georgiy; ruled 1303–1325) controlled the entire basin of the

Moskva River The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...

and expanded westward by conquering Mozhaisk. He then allied with the overlord of the Rus' principalities, Uzbeg Khan of the Golden Horde, and married the khan's sister. The

Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

allowed Yuriy to claim the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal, a position which allowed him to interfere in the affairs of the Novgorod Republic to the north-west. By the early 14th century, Moscow had improved its standing against other towns within its parent duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal, and by the 1320s, it emerged as the most influential, largely due to decisions made by the Mongol khan; aside from this, the metropolitan bishop of Rus’ started to be based in Moscow too. Yuriy's successor, Ivan I (ruled 1325–1340), managed to retain the title of Grand Duke by cooperating closely with the Mongols and by collecting tribute and taxes from other Rus' principalities on their behalf. This relationship enabled Ivan to gain regional ascendancy, particularly over Moscow's chief rival, the northern city of Tver, which rebelled against the Horde in 1327. The uprising was subdued by the joint forces of the Grand Duchy of

Suzdal Suzdal ( rus, Суздаль, p=ˈsuzdəlʲ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located on the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the admin ...

, the Grand Duchy of Moscow (which competed with Tver for the title of the Grand Duke of Vladimir), and Tatars. Ivan was reputed to be the richest person in Rus', as his moniker "Kalita" (literally, the "moneybag") testifies. He used his treasures to purchase land in other principalities and to finance the construction of stone churches in the

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

. In 1325 the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Metropolitan Peter (died 1326) transferred his residence from Kiev to Vladimir and then to Moscow, further enhancing the prestige of the new principality.

Dmitri Donskoi

Ivan's successors continued gathering the lands of Rus' to increase the population and wealth under their rule. In the process, their interests clashed with the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania, whose subjects were predominantly East Slavic and Orthodox. Grand Duke

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

of Lithuania allied himself by marriage with Tver and undertook three expeditions against Moscow (1368, 1370, 1372) but was unable to take it. The main bone of contention between Moscow and Vilnius was the large city of Smolensk. In the 1350s, the country and the royal family were hit by the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. Dmitry Ivanovich was aged nine when his parents died and the title of Grand Duke slipped into the hands of his distant relative, Dmitry of Suzdal. Surrounded by

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

ns and Muslim nomads, the ruler of Moscow cultivated an alliance with the

Rus' Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, which experienced a resurgence in influence, due to the monastic reform of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Educated by

Metropolitan Alexis Saint Alexius (''Алекси́й'' or ''Aleksij'' in Russian) (before 1296–1378) was Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia (from 1354), and presided over the Moscow government during Dmitrii Donskoi's minority. Biography Alexius, whose n ...

, Dmitri posed as a champion of Orthodoxy and managed to unite the warring principalities of Rus' in his struggle against the Horde. He challenged Khan's authority and defeated his commander

in the epic Battle of Kulikovo (1380). However, the victory did not bring any short-term benefits; Tokhtamysh in 1382 sacked Moscow hoping to reassert his vested authority over his vassal, the Grand Prince, and his own Mongol hegemony, killing 24,000 people. Nevertheless, Dmitri became a national hero. The memory of

Kulikovo Field Kulikovo Field (russian: Куликово поле, or Kulikovo Pole; lit. "snipes' field") is a field near Yepifan, Tula Oblast in Russia where the Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380 and was won by prince Dmitri, who became known ...

made the Rus' population start believing in their ability to end Tatar domination and become a free people. In 1389, he passed the throne to his son

Vasily I Vasily I Dmitriyevich ( rus, Василий I Дмитриевич, Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich; 30 December 137127 February 1425) was the Grand Prince of Moscow ( r. 1389–1425), heir of Dmitry Donskoy (r. 1359–1389). He ruled as a Golden Horde ...

without bothering to obtain the Khan's sanction.

Vasily I and Vasily II

(1389–1425) continued the policies of his father. After the Horde was attacked by Tamerlane, he desisted from paying tribute to the Khan but was forced to pursue a more conciliatory policy after Edigu's incursion on Moscow in 1408. Married to the only daughter of the Grand Duke Vytautas of

, he attempted to avoid open conflicts with his powerful father-in-law, even when the latter annexed Smolensk. The peaceful years of his long reign were marked by the continuing expansion to the east (annexation of Nizhny Novgorod and

, 1392) and to the north (annexation of Vologda, Veliky Ustyug, and Perm of Vychegda, 1398). Nizhny Novgorod was given by the Khan of the Golden Horde as a reward for Muscovite help against a rival.Richard Pipes, Russia under the Old Regime (1995), p.80. The reforms of St. Sergius triggered a cultural revival, exemplified by the icons and frescoes of the monk

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev ( rus, Андре́й Рублёв, p=ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf , also transliterated as ''Andrey Rublyov'') was a Muscovite icon painter born in the 1360s who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is considered to be one of the ...

. Hundreds of monasteries were founded by disciples of St. Sergius in distant and inhospitable locations, including

Beloozero Belozersk (russian: Белозе́рск), known as Beloozero (russian: Белоозеро, label=none) until 1777, is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the southern bank of Lake Be ...

and Solovki. Apart from their cultural functions, these monasteries were major landowners that could control the economy of an adjacent region. In fact, they served as outposts of Moscow influence in the neighboring principalities and republics. Another factor responsible for the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Moscow was its favorable dynastic situation, in which each sovereign was succeeded by his son, while rival principalities were plagued by dynastic strife and splintered into ever-smaller polities. The only lateral branch of the House of Moscow, represented by

Vladimir of Serpukhov Vladimir Andreyevich the Bold (; July 15, 1353 – 1410) was the most famous prince of Serpukhov. His moniker alludes to his many military exploits committed in the wars waged by his cousin, Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow. Biography A grandson of Iva ...

and his descendants, was firmly anchored to the Moscow Duchy. The situation changed with the ascension of Vasily I's successor, Vasily II (r. 1425–62). Before long his uncle,

Yuri of Zvenigorod Yury Dmitrievich (26 November 1374 in Pereslavl-Zalessky – 5 June 1434 in Galich), also known as George II of Moscow, Yury of Zvenigorod and Jurij Zwenihorodski, was the second son of Dmitri Donskoi. He was the Duke of Zvenigorod and Galich ...

, started to advance his claims to the throne and Monomakh's Cap. A bitter family conflict erupted and rocked the country during the whole reign. After Yuri's death in 1432, the claims were taken up by his sons,

Vasily Kosoy Vasiliy Yuryevich Kosoy (the Squint) (russian: Василий Юрьевич Косой; ca. 1401–1448) was prince of Zvenigorod from 1421. He continued his father's claim on the title of Grand Prince of Moscow in 1434. Life Vasily Kosoy was t ...

and Dmitry Shemyaka, who pursued the

Great Feudal War The Muscovite War of Succession, or Muscovite Civil War, was a war of succession in the Grand Duchy of Moscow (Muscovy) from 1434 to 1453. The two warring parties were Vasily II of Moscow, Vasily II, the son of the previous Grand Prince of Moscow ...

well into the 1450s. Although he was ousted from Moscow on several occasions, taken prisoner by

Olug Moxammat Ulugh Muhammad (1405–1445; ; tt-Cyrl, Олуг Мөхәммәт, translit=Oluğ Möxəmmət; written as Ulanus by orientalists) was a medieval Tatar statesman, Gengisid, Khan of the Golden Horde (before 1436), ruler of Crimea (1437), and the ...

of Kazan, and blinded in 1446, Vasily II eventually managed to triumph over his enemies and pass the throne to his son. At his urging, a native bishop was elected as Metropolitan of Moscow, which was tantamount to a declaration of independence of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Patriarch of Constantinople (1448).

Ivan III

Outward expansion of the Grand Duchy in the 14th and 15th centuries was accompanied by internal consolidation. By the 15th century, the rulers of Moscow considered the entire Rus' territory their collective property. Various semi-independent princes of

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

stock still claimed specific territories, but Ivan III (the Great; r. 1462–1505) forced the lesser princes to acknowledge the grand prince of Moscow and his descendants as unquestioned rulers with control over military, judicial, and foreign affairs. Moscow gained full sovereignty over a significant part of the ethnically Rus' lands by 1480, when the overlordship of the Tatar Golden Horde officially ended after its defeat in the ''

''. By the beginning of the 16th century, virtually all those lands were united, including the Novgorod Republic (annexed in 1478) and the

Grand Duchy of Tver The Principality of Tver (russian: Тверское княжество, la, TferiaePrincipality of Ryazan, and the princes of Rostov and

Yaroslavl' Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...

subordinated themselves to him. The northwestern city of Pskov, consisting of the city and a few surrounding lands, remained independent in this period, but Ivan's son, Vasili III (r. 1505–33), later conquered it. Having consolidated the core of Russia under his rule, Ivan III became the first Moscow ruler to adopt the titles of

and ''"Ruler of all Rus'"''. Ivan competed with his powerful northwestern rival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, for control over some of the semi-independent former principalities of Kievan Rus' in the upper Dnieper and

Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Don ...

river basins. Through the defections of some princes, border skirmishes, and the long inconclusive Russo-Lithuanian Wars that ended only in 1503, Ivan III was able to push westward, and the Moscow state tripled in size under his rule. The reign of the Tsars started officially with

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

, the first monarch to be crowned Tsar of Russia, but in practice, it started with Ivan III, who completed the centralization of the state (traditionally known as ''the gathering of the Russian lands'').

Court

The court of the Moscow princes combined ceremonies and customs inherited from Kievan Rus' with those imported from the Byzantine Empire and Golden Horde. Some traditional Russian offices, like that of tysyatsky and veche, were gradually abolished in order to consolidate power in the hands of the ruling prince. A new elaborate system of court precedence, or '' mestnichestvo'', predicated the nobleman's rank and function on the rank and function of his ancestors and other members of his family. The highest echelon of hereditary

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

was composed of

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

s. They fell into three categories: *

princes of

Upper Oka towns In Russian historiography the term Upper Oka Principalities (russian: Верховские княжества - literally: "Upper Principalities") traditionally applies to about a dozen tiny and ephemeral polities situated along the upper course of ...

, Rostov, Yaroslavl, etc. that lived in Moscow after their hereditary principalities had been incorporated into Duchy of Moscow (e.g., Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Repnin, Romodanovsky); *Foreign princes from

and Golden Horde, claiming descent either from Grand Duke Gediminas (e.g., Belsky,

Mstislavsky Mstislavsky (Russian Мстиславский) was a Russian princely family of Gediminid origin who prior to their move to Russia ruled the principality of Mstislavl. In the following, the Mstislavsky family produced some notable military commande ...

, Galitzine, Trubetskoy) or from

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

; * Ancient families of Moscow nobility that have been recorded in the service of Grand Dukes from the 14th century (e.g., Romanov,

Godunov Godunov (russian: Годунов) is a Russian surname. Godunov can refer to the following: * Two Tsars of Russia and their kin: ** Tsar Boris Fyodorovich Godunov a regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 ** Tsar Fyodo ...

, Sheremetev). Rurikid and Gediminid boyars, whose fathers and grandfathers were independent princelings, felt that they were kin to the grand prince and hence almost equal to him. During the times of dynastic troubles (such as the years of Ivan IV's minority), boyardom constituted an internal force that was a permanent threat to the throne. An early form of the monarch's conflict with the boyars was the '' oprichnina'' policy of

. During such conflicts, Ivan,

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

, and some later monarchs felt the necessity to counterbalance the boyardom by creating a new kind of nobility, based on personal devotion to the tsar and merits earned by faithful service, rather than by heredity. Later these new nobles were called ''dvoryans'' (singular:

dvoryanin The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire. Up until the February Revolutio ...

). The name comes from the Russian word ''dvor'', meaning ''tsar's dvor'', i.e., The Court. Hence the expression ''pozhalovat ko dvoru'', i.e., to be called to (serve) The Court.

Relations with the Horde

Relations between the Moscow principality and the Horde were mixed. In the first two decades of the 13th century Moscow gained the support of one of the rivaling Mongol statesmen, Nogai, against the principalities that were oriented towards Sarai khans. After the restoration of unity in the Golden Horde in the early 14th century, it generally enjoyed the favor of khans until 1317, but lost it in 1322–1327. The following thirty years, when the relations between the two states improved, allowed Moscow to achieve sufficient economic and political potential. Further attempts to deprive its rulers of the status of grand dukes of Vladimir were unsuccessful after the Khanate sank into internecine war and proved to be fruitless during the reign of a relatively powerful khan such as

, whereas Tokhtamysh had no other choice but to recognize the supremacy of Moscow over northern and eastern Russian lands. The traditional Mongol principle of breaking up larger concentrations of power into smaller ones failed, and the following period is characterized by the lack of support from the Horde. Although Moscow recognized khans as the legitimate authority in the early years of the Tatar yoke, despite certain acts of resistance and disobedience, it refused to acknowledge their suzerainty in the years 1374–1380, 1396–1411, 1414–1416 and 1417–1419, even in spite of the growing might of the Golden Horde. The power of the Horde over Moscow was greatly limited in the reign of Dmitri Donskoi, who gained recognition of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir as a hereditary possession of Moscow princes: while the Horde collected tribute from his land, it could no longer have a serious impact on the internal structure of northern Russian lands. In the years of Vasily II and Ivan III, the Grand Duchy of Moscow acquired the idea of tsardom from the fallen Byzantine Empire, which was incompatible with the recognition of the suzerainty of the khan, and started to declare its independence in diplomatic relations with other countries. This process was complete by the reign of Ivan III.

Assessment

The development of the modern-day Russian state is traced from Kievan Rus' through Vladimir-Suzdal and the Grand Duchy of Moscow to the Tsardom of Russia, and then the Russian Empire. The Moscow Duchy drew people and wealth to the northeastern part of Kievan Rus'; established trade links to the Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, and to Siberia; and created a highly centralized and autocratic political system. The political traditions established in Muscovy, therefore, exerted a powerful influence on the future development of Russian society.

Society

;Structure: *

Muscovite manorialism The development of feudal society in the region of Rus' took a different course to that in Western Europe. In particular, under the version of manorialism practised in Rus', knights granted land by a prince were not bound in allegiance to that p ...

;Class: *

Izgoi Izgoi is a term that is found in medieval Kievan Rus'. In primary documents, it indicated orphans who were protected by the church. In historiographic writing on the period, the term was meant as a prince in Kievan Rus' who was excluded from succe ...

* Kholop *

Posad people Posad People (Black Townspeople, Townspeople, Civilians) were a class of medieval (feudal) East Slavic lands (Kievan Rus, Grand Duchy of Moscow, Russian Tsardom, etc.), whose duties were to bear the tax (black people), that is, pay monetary and ...

* Service class people *

Smerd A smerd ( orv, смердъ) was a free peasant and later a feudal-dependent serf in the medieval Slavic states of East Europe. Sources from the 11th and 12th centuries (such as the 12th-century ''Russkaya Pravda'') mention their presence in K ...

Culture

Muscovite Russia was culturally influenced by Slavic and Byzantine cultural elements. In Muscovite Russia

supernaturalism Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

was a fundamental part of daily life. Traveling by sleigh, Muscovy, 16th c

References

Sources

* * Moss, Walter G (2005). "History of Russia - Volume 1: To 1917", Anthem Press, p. 80

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moscow, Grand Duchy Of States and territories established in 1283 States and territories disestablished in 1547 1283 establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Russia 1547 disestablishments in Europe

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

Former Slavic countries Former monarchies of Europe 13th century in Russia 14th century in Russia 15th century in Russia 16th century in Russia 16th century in Moscow States and territories disestablished in the 1540s Former countries Vassal and tributary states of the Golden Horde Christian states