5. Mongol-Tatar invasion and German-Swedish expansion

By the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, Russia had been in feudal fragmentation for more than a hundred years. This weakened Russia both politically and militarily.

Gradually in the first third of the XIII century. the two most powerful states-principalities stood out, which became political leaders: Galicia-Volyn in the southwest and Vladimir-Suzdal in the northeast. These principalities pursued a policy of centralization and political unification of the Russian lands. However, this was prevented for many years by the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

The Russians suffered their first defeat from the Mongol-Tatars in 1223 during a clash near the Kalka River. The defeat at Kalka went down in history as one of the strongest and most difficult.

By the beginning of the invasion of Russia, the Mongols had a vast territory, a strong, organized army, and centralized power. The Tatar-Mongol invasion of Russia began in 1237 under the leadership of Batu Khan. Ryazan fell first.

Batu did not reach 100 versts to Novgorod and turned back. The following year, the main blow of the Mongol-Tatar expansion came to the south. Kyiv, Chernigov and many other cities were captured. The cities of Galicia-Volyn land were the last to be defeated.

In the 1240s. in the lower reaches of the Volga, the city of Sarai-Batu was founded, which became the capital of a huge Tatar-Mongolian state.

All the princes were confirmed on the thrones in Sarai-Batu, and later in Sarai-Berk. They were given labels - these are letters of the Tatar-Mongol khans for the right to occupy any throne. In order to know how much tribute could be collected, the first census was carried out. Those who could not pay tribute were sold into slavery.

The Mongol rulers kindled enmity between the Russian princes, preventing the centralization of Russian lands.

The Swedes and German knights attacked Russia from the west. In 1234 Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod defeated the German knights on the Embakh River. The Teutonic and Livonian Orders united and with the support of Germany and the Pope, they attacked Novgorod and Pskov. Together with the Germans, the Swedes also decided to act. They planned to seize the lands of the Gulf of Finland.

In the winter of 1240, the Swedes along the Neva approached the mouth of the Izhora River. The army of the young Prince Alexander Vsevolodovich approached the Neva on July 15 and defeated the Swedes on the shore and at sea. Since then, the Novgorod prince was nicknamed Alexander Nevsky.

In the spring of 1242, the famous Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi took place, during which Alexander Nevsky defeated the German knights. This victory put an end to the claims and aggression of the crusaders.

Ivan III stopped paying the Tatar "exit" and entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan, an opponent of the Golden Horde. In 1480, Khan of the Golden Horde Akhmat decided to restore his power. The enemy troops met on the Ugra River, not daring to start a battle. In early November, Khan Akhmat retreated from the Russian borders. In 1502, the Crimean Khan Shengli Giray dealt the final blow to the weakened Golden Horde.

Vasily III (1505-1533) - completed the unification of Great Russia. In 1510, he annexed Pskov to Moscow, and in 1517, the principality of Ryazan. In 1514, in the war with Lithuania, he took Smolensk.

6. Formation of the Moscow state in the XIV - early XVI centuries. Rise of Moscow

For the first time Moscow is mentioned in the annals of 1147 in connection with an invitation to Moscow by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky.

Moscow had a favorable location, being at the intersection of three main trade routes.

Thanks to this, Moscow became an important center of trade.

The support of the clergy played a big role in the rise of Moscow. Gradually, Moscow became the church capital of Russia.

In 1327, when Mikhail's son Alexander of Tverskoy was the Grand Duke, there was an uprising in Tver against the Khan's ambassador Shchelkay. This event was skillfully used by the new Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita. In 1328, Ivan Kalita received a label from Khan Uzbek for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.

Thus ensuring the external security of his principality.

In 1362, through the efforts of the Moscow boyars and Metropolitan Alexei, a label for a great reign was acquired for the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich.

The victory won by Dmitry Donskoy in 1380 on the Kulikovo field gave the Moscow prince the importance of a national leader.

The highest authority in the XVI-XVII centuries. was the Boyar Duma. Cases for its consideration were received by decree of the sovereign.

If necessary, special commissions were allocated from the general composition of the Duma - “reciprocal” (for negotiations with foreign ambassadors), “laid” (for drafting new codes), “judgmental” and “reprisal”. A joint meeting of the Duma and the "consecrated cathedral" was convened to resolve particularly important matters.

Zemsky Sobors were advisory in nature. The composition of the Zemsky Sobors included:

1) representatives of the higher clergy;

2) Boyar Duma;

3) representatives of the service and townspeople.

The central authorities in the Muscovite state were orders:

1) Ambassadorial order;

2) local order;

3) Discharge (military) order;

4) Slave order;

5) Robbery order (with the elders subordinate to him in the field);

6) Judgment order;

7) Order of a large treasury and a large parish;

8) several territorial orders.

In 1550, a new judicial code was published, the purpose of which was to improve the justice system and control the representatives of the local population.

In the 1550s a number of statutory letters of Ivan IV, the government abolished the administration of governors and volostels.

The ability to study historical sources in detail and conduct a comparative historical analysis. His methodology was based on fundamental knowledge, as V.O. Klyuchevsky defined it, in the form of “images of history”. These historical images determined the system by which M.M. Bogoslovsky approached the assessment and study of historical periods in the development of the Russian state. Examples of such historical...

The social and cultural character of American universities. During the war years, many of the professors volunteered for the military and (most importantly for the future study of Russian history) began working in government agencies, especially the State Department and the Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the CIA). Never before has the legendary "ivory tower"...

On the recognition of the insurance contract as invalid; · in other cases; · ahead of schedule - at the request of the insured or the insurer (in this case, insurance premiums are returned to the insured). 1.3. Legal bases of insurance in Russia. At present, in the Russian Federation, along with state insurance, insurance produced by private ...

Some steps have been outlined in studying the socio-economic consequences of the country's industrialization. Agrarian history and problems of the collectivization of agriculture in the historiography of the late 60s - the first half of the 80s. are presented by studies of various aspects of these processes. Historiographers noted: “The peculiarity of the historiography of the 70s is that the production relations of the peasantry are increasingly ...

Synopsis on the history of Russia

Simultaneously with the Tatar invasion, the Russian people in the 13th century had to wage a fierce struggle against German and Swedish invaders. The lands of Northern Russia and, in particular, Novgorod attracted invaders. They were not ruined by Batu, and Novgorod was famous for its wealth, since the most important trade route connecting Northern Europe with the countries of the East passed through it.

At the very beginning of the XIII century. in the Baltics have intensified German spiritual and chivalric orders: The Order of the Swordsmen (created in 1202) and the Teutonic Order (founded at the end of the 12th century). The military actions of these orders, aimed at capturing the Baltic states, met with the resistance of the local population, which found effective support from Novgorod, Polotsk and Pskov. However, the disconnected and uncoordinated actions of individual tribes did not allow stopping the onslaught to the East. By the end of 1220, the German knights reached the Russian borders. Their forces multiplied with the unification in 1237 of the Order of the Sword and the Teutonic Order into the Livonian Order.

Armed confrontation with the Germans was due to a number of reasons. The conquest of the Baltic states posed a threat to the sovereignty of the Russian states in the western part of Russia. In addition, the Russian princes lost control over a number of lands and costly tribute from the Baltic tribes. Finally, the actions of the Order destroyed trade, established political and economic ties in the region.

Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his son Alexander actively participated in this cruel and bloody war.

In agreement with the Order, they made an attempt to capture Novgorod Swedes. The pope himself became the coordinator of this double aggression. In 1238, the Swedish commander Eric Burr received the blessing of the pope for crusade against Russian lands. It was held under the slogan "Turn the Russians into true Christians." However, the goals of the war, in essence, were different. The Swedes sought to seize the Vot, Izhora and Karelian lands in their favor.

In the summer of 1240, a 5,000-strong army led by Duke Birger approached the banks of the Neva on ships. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich of Novgorod, with his retinue and militia, made a lightning-fast transition from Novgorod and suddenly attacked the camp of the Swedes. The enemy camp was in turmoil. Alexander himself flew at the head of the Russian cavalry. Crashing into the thick of the Swedish troops, he struck down their commander with a spear. The success was complete. Alexander received an honorary title Nevsky and later canonized as a saint.

Alexander's victory on the Neva was of great historical significance. She preserved the shores of the Gulf of Finland for Russia, its trade routes to the countries of the West, and thereby facilitated the Russian people's long struggle against the Horde yoke.

But a month later, a new danger approached Novgorod. German crusader knights and Danish knights launched a big offensive against Russia. They captured Izborsk and Pskov, and in 1241 - Tesov and Koporye. An immediate threat hung over Novgorod. Under these conditions, the Novgorod boyars asked Alexander Nevsky to again lead the armed forces of the city. The squads of the Vladimir prince came to the aid of the Novgorodians, and a militia was convened. With these forces, in the winter of 1242, he moved to Pskov and liberated this ancient city. After that, Alexander began to look for a big battle in order to defeat the main forces of the Order.

famous battle" Battle on the Ice"took place on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus. The German army was built in the form of a wedge, with its tip facing the enemy. The tactics of the knights was to dismember the Russian army and then destroy it piece by piece. Anticipating this, Alexander built his army in such a so that the most powerful forces were on the flanks, and not in the center.At the decisive moment of the battle, when the German army wedged into the center of the Russian squads, it was the flank attack that made it possible to defeat the enemy.After the knights could not stand it and retreated, under the weight of their armor cracked ice, they began to sink. The remnants of the knightly army fled, and the Russian troops pursued them for about seven miles. The battle on the ice of Lake Peipsi was of great importance for all of Russia. The German aggressive advance to the east turned out to be stopped, Northern Russia retained its independence.

The loss of the state unity of Russia (feudal fragmentation) and princely strife, which were conducted, as a rule, in order to strengthen their principality and expand its borders at the expense of neighbors, undermined its political forces, which was immediately used by external enemies. At the end of the XII - the first half of the XIII century. North-Western Russia faced danger from the west in the person of German crusader knights, as well as Danish and Swedish feudal lords.

Reasons for the German-Swedish aggression on Russian lands:

1) in the XII century. the previously united state of Kievan Rus disintegrated into warring lands. Swedish and German feudal lords took advantage of the situation in Russia. Basically, they were attracted by the territory of the Baltic States, where at that time the tribes of the Western Slavs lived. The internecine strife of the latter made them easy prey.

2) The XII century was also the time of the expansion of the West to the East. The Roman Catholic Church handed out indulgences for military conquests in the hope of extending the church's sphere of influence to Northwestern Russia. For this purpose, in 1202, the German Order of the Sword was founded. In 1237, the Livonian Order was founded by German knights. Since the end of the XII century. The Germans began to capture Latvia. The expansion of Germany and Sweden to the east intensified at the beginning of the 13th century, after the call of the Pope, when crusades were organized against the peoples of Finland and the Baltic states who supported the Russians.

In the summer of 1240, the offensive of the knights especially intensified due to the weakening of Russia, which bled in the fight against the Mongol conquerors. In July 1240, the Swedish feudal lords tried to take advantage of the plight of Russia. The Swedish fleet with an army on board entered the mouth of the Neva. The Swedes wanted to capture the city of Staraya Ladoga, and then Novgorod. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, who was 20 years old at that time, with his retinue quickly rushed to the landing site. Alexander Yaroslavich was nicknamed Nevsky by the Russian people for the victory on the Neva. The significance of this victory is that it stopped the Swedish aggression to the east for a long time, retained Russia's access to the Baltic coast.

On July 15, 1240, the Russians were outnumbered. At the same time, very soon the German knights captured both Pskov and Izborsk. In this situation, the Novgorodians, although they were in a quarrel with Alexander Yaroslavovich, called on his squad for help. Prince Alexander with his retinue liberated the captured cities.

On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on Lake Peipus, which was called the “Battle on the Ice”. The forces of the opponents were approximately equal, but Alexander managed to build troops more skillfully and during the battle to lure the enemy into a trap, the knights fled in a panic. The captured knights were led in disgrace through the streets of the Lord Veliky Novgorod. The significance of this victory lies in the fact that the military power of the Livonian Order was weakened. The response to the Battle of the Ice was the growth of the liberation struggle in the Baltic states. However, relying on the help of the Roman Catholic Church, the knights at the end of the XIII century. captured a significant part of the Baltic lands.

1) the crushing defeat in the battle bled the Germans and Danes for a long time.

2) as a result, the independence of North-Eastern Russia was preserved, the onslaught on the East was stopped. Novgorod remained independent economically and politically, in addition, it was the only unplundered land where Batu's troops did not reach. All these circumstances allowed Novgorod to pursue an independent policy, not to listen to the opinion of its neighbors.

Reasons for the German-Swedish aggression on Russian lands:

1) in the XII century. the previously united state of Kievan Rus disintegrated into warring lands. Swedish and German feudal lords took advantage of the situation in Russia. They were mainly attracted by the territory of the Baltic States, where at that time the tribes of the Western Slavs (Ests, Lats, Kirsh) lived. The internecine strife of the latter made them easy prey;

2) XII century. was also the time of expansion of the West to the East. The Roman Catholic Church handed out indulgences for military conquests in the hope of extending the church's sphere of influence to Northwestern Russia. To this end, in 1201, the German Order of the Sword was founded. In 1237, the Livonian Order was founded by German knights. Since the end of the XII century. The Germans began to capture Latvia. The expansion of Germany and Sweden to the east intensified at the beginning of the 13th century, after the call of the Pope, when crusades were organized against the peoples of Finland and the Baltic states who supported the Russians.

Summer 1240 the Swedes went up the Neva. Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavovich gathered sufficient forces to repulse the enemy.

15 July 1240 The Russians were outnumbered. At the same time, very soon the German knights captured both Pskov and Izborsk. In this situation, the Novgorodians, although they were in a quarrel with Alexander Yaroslavovich, called on his squad for help.

Prince Alexander with his retinue liberated the captured cities.

5 April 1242 A battle took place on Lake Peipus, which was called "Battle on the Ice". The forces of the opponents were approximately equal, 15 thousand soldiers on each side, but Alexander managed to build troops more skillfully and during the battle to lure the enemy into a trap.

Battle results:

1) the crushing defeat in the battle bled the Germans and Danes for a long time;

2) as a result, the independence of North-Eastern Russia was preserved, the onslaught on the East was stopped. Novgorod remained independent economically and politically, in addition, it was the only unplundered land where Batu's troops did not reach. All these circumstances allowed Novgorod to pursue an independent policy, not to listen to the opinion of its neighbors.

The Novgorod feudal republic successfully existed until the reign of Ivan III, who completed the unifying policy of the Moscow princes.

The German-Swedish aggressors did not succeed in capturing the Russian lands proper. Later, up to the 13th century, they carried out several more attacks on Pskov, but the Russian troops managed to prevent them relatively easily.

AT 1250 the Swedes, taking advantage of the struggle of Novgorod with the Germans, completely captured Finland. In 1282 they raided Ladoga, but were defeated by the Novgorodians.

Separate Russian lands were captured in the XIII century. Lithuanians (Minsk, Polotsk, Turov, Pinsk), but in some way this conquest turned out to be beneficial for their population. Formed on the Lithuanian and Russian lands, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for a long time preserved numerous political and economic traditions of Kievan Rus, very successfully defended itself both from the Livonian Order and from the Mongolo-Tatars.

Simultaneously with the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, the Swedish and German feudal lords attempted to seize Russian land in the northwest. The rich Baltic lands also attracted conquerors. At the beginning of the 13th century, Estonians, Lats, and Kirshs were going through the period of the formation of an early feudal state and were disunited. Peaceful relations existed between the Baltic and Russian tribes.

The beginning of the XIII century is the time of expansion to the east of Western European countries and religious and political organizations. Eastern European lands have long attracted the attention of Swedish, German, Danish feudal lords with their wealth and advantageous geographical position. The ideological justification for the conquests was given by the Roman Catholic Church, which called for the speedy baptism of the pagans and sought to establish its influence in the Baltic region.

The invasion of the German invaders into the Baltic took place in 1201, when the Germans founded the fortress of Riga at the mouth of the Western Dvina. In order to further expand in the city of Riga in 1202, the Order of the Sword Bearers was founded (there was an image of a sword and a cross on the order clothes). In 1237, the Order of the Swordsmen united with the Teutonic Order, located in Prussia, and thus the Livonian Order arose - the main military and colonization support of the Vatican in Eastern Europe.

Swedish and Danish feudal lords invaded the north of the Baltic. The Danes founded Revel Castle (Tallinn) - the center of expansion to the east, the Swedes capture the island of Ezel. Yuryev (Tartu) became the center of Estonian resistance to invaders in 1222–1223. Despite the joint defense of Yuryev by Estonians and Russians, the city fell due to the inequality of forces in numbers (the Balts were divided) and weapons.

In the summer of 1240, a Swedish flotilla under the command of Birger (the founder of Stockholm) ascended the Neva and stopped at the mouth of its tributary, the Izhora, for a short rest. Novgorod Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, hastily gathering his squad and Novgorod warriors (militia), approached the parking lot of the Swedish fleet. Scandinavian sources indicate that Birger had 5 thousand soldiers. Alexander's army was much smaller. But everything was decided by the suddenness of the attack and the talent of the commander. On July 15, 1240, Alexander's cavalry squad unexpectedly struck along Izhora at the center of the location of the Swedish troops. At the same time, the “foot”, led by the Novgorodian Misha, marched along the Neva, crowding the enemy and cutting off the knights from the fleet. According to the chronicler, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich in this battle "... put a seal on Birger's face with your sharp copy." Only 20 people died in the battle of Novgorodians and Ladoga. For courage and valor, the people nicknamed Alexander Nevsky. As a result of the victory, the shores of the Gulf of Finland remained with Russia, which made it possible to continue trade exchange with European countries.

At the same time, the knights of the Livonian Order came to the Russian land. The Livonians, led by Vice-Master of the Order Andreas von Velven, captured the fortress of Izborsk (1240), defeated the Pskov army, laid siege to Pskov, and after a seven-day siege took the city (thanks to the betrayal of the posadnik Tverdila and other Pskov boyars). The Germans also captured part of the Novgorod land; there was a danger of them capturing Novgorod. The squad of Alexander Nevsky could resist the invaders, but the latter was in Pereyaslavl. There are different versions of his departure from Novgorod. First, a quarrel with the Novgorod boyars. According to the Soviet researchers I. B. Grekov and F. F. Shakhmagonov, the reason for Alexander’s departure was Batu’s dissatisfaction with him, but the intensification of the onslaught of the German crusaders forced Batu to rely on the prince, proven in military affairs ... The Novgorodians turned to Alexander Nevsky with a request to return to Novgorod. The Suzdal army, led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, liberated Koporye, Pskov (1242) and moved to the land of the Estonians to Derpt. The fate of the Novgorod land was decided on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus, where the famous Battle of the Ice took place. We find a description of the battle in one of the chronicles: “And - there was an evil and great slaughter for the Germans and Chud, and the crack of breaking spears and the sound of swords were heard, so that the ice on the frozen lake broke, and no ice was visible, because he was covered in blood. And the Germans turned to flight, and the Russians drove them in battle as if through the air ... and 500 Germans fell, and countless miracles, and 50 of the best German governors were taken prisoner and brought to Novgorod, and other Germans drowned in the lake, because it was spring. Others ran away seriously wounded.

The results of the victory on Lake Peipsi are the preservation of the independence of the Novgorod and Pskov lands, the refusal of the knights from claims to the Russian land.

But there was still a third enemy who took advantage of the Tatar pogrom, seized Russian lands and began to spread his predatory raids far: these were the Lithuanians. Alexander Nevsky defeated the Lithuanians three times, killed many of their princes and forced them to leave Northern Russia alone.

However, Prince Alexander Nevsky believed that Russia at the moment did not have any means to fight the Tatars, who would come with a whole people and “destroy the land completely; it is necessary, therefore, to wait until the Tatars are divided, begin to exterminate each other in internecine wars, weaken, and until then it was necessary to reconcile, recognize the supreme power of the khans, go to them with a bow and pay tribute. A different position was taken by the brothers of Alexander Nevsky. Prince Andrei of Vladimir and Yaroslav of Tver entered into an anti-Horde alliance with Galician-Volynian Daniil Romanovich. Daniil Galitsky and Vladimir Prince Andrei were ready to challenge the Horde. In 1252, the Horde moved two armies at once: the voivode Nevryuya - to Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, and the voivode Kurems to Galicia-Volyn. Shortly before the Nevryuev invasion of North-Eastern Russia, Alexander traveled to Sarai to Batu, where he was appointed Grand Duke of All Russia (1252). But this did not save Russia from another ruin: the Tatars, led by Nevryuy, terribly devastated the Russian land. Prince Andrei of Vladimir fled to Sweden.

The prince of Galicia-Volyn Rus Daniil Galitsky, who in 1254 accepted the royal title from the Pope, tried to fight the Horde. He repelled the attack of the Mongol-Tatars under the leadership of Kuremsa. Batu sent an even larger army of Burundai against the rebellious prince. Not having the strength to fight him, Daniel was forced, at the request of the Horde commander, to tear down a fortress in the Galicia-Volyn principality.

Prince Alexander Nevsky was forced in 1257-1259 to allow the Tatars to conduct a census to streamline the collection of tribute. Some of his contemporaries considered his policy towards the Tatars to be cowardly.

In 1262, the inhabitants of Rostov, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Suzdal, Ustyug dealt with the tribute collectors (bessermen). The Horde did not forgive resistance, and in 1263 Alexander went to Saray for the fourth time, now to Khan Berke, who replaced the deceased Batu. He achieved the granting of Russia the right to collect "exit" (tribute) - this became the lot of the Russian princes. On the way back, on November 14, 1263, Alexander Nevsky, being at an advanced age, died.

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde controlled a vast territory from the Danube to the Irtysh (Crimea, the North Caucasus, part of the lands of Russia located in the steppes, the former lands of Volga Bulgaria and nomadic peoples, Western Siberia and part of Central Asia). The capital of the Golden Horde was the city of Sarai, located in the lower reaches of the Volga (a shed in Russian means a palace). It was a state consisting of semi-independent uluses, united under the rule of the khan. They were ruled by the Batu brothers and the local aristocracy.

The role of a kind of aristocratic council was played by the Divan, which resolved military and financial issues. Being surrounded by the Turkic-speaking population, the Mongols adopted the Turkic language. The local Turkic-speaking ethnic group assimilated the newcomers-Mongols. A new people was formed - the Tatars. In the first decades of the existence of the Golden Horde, its religion was paganism.

The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of its time. At the beginning of the XIV century, she could put up a 300,000th army. The heyday of the Golden Horde falls on the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312-1342). Under him (1312), Islam became the state religion of the Golden Horde. Later, like other medieval states, the Horde experienced a period of fragmentation. Already in the 14th century, the Central Asian possessions of the Golden Horde separated, and in the 15th century, the Kazan (1438), Crimean (1443), Astrakhan (mid-15th century) and Siberian (end of the 15th century) khanates stood out.

To control the Russian lands, the institution of Baskak governors was created - the leaders of the military detachments of the Mongol-Tatars, who monitored the activities of the Russian princes. The denunciation of the Baskaks to the Horde inevitably ended either with the summoning of the prince to Saray (often the prince lost his label, and even his life), or with a punitive campaign in the unruly land. Suffice it to say that in the last quarter of the 13th century alone, 14 such campaigns were organized in Russian lands.

Control questions and tasks

1. Who was elected leader of the Mongol tribes at the Khural of the Mongol nobility in 1206?

2. When did the first battle between the Mongols and the Russians take place? What are the reasons for the defeat of the Russian squads.

3. Tell us about the campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars in the 30-40s of the XIII century to Russia.

4. Determine the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia and the Golden Horde yoke.

5. Knights of which orders were united by the Livonian Order? Tell us about their activities.

6. Neva battle. Tell us about this event. What are its results?

7. Battle on the Ice. Tell us about this event, determine its results and consequences for the further development of North-Western Russia.

8. Tell us about the relationship of Alexander Nevsky with the Mongol-Tatars.

9. What is the name of the Khan during whose reign the Golden Horde flourished.

10. Tell us about the state of the Golden Horde.

11. Relations between the Russian lands and the Golden Horde: main trends and results.

CHAPTER III
ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN LANDS
INTO A SINGLE STATE IN THE XIV-XV CENTURIES

At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century, more than two centuries of heroic struggle of the Russian people for state unity and national independence ended with the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow into a single Russian state.

The restoration of the economy and a new economic upsurge in the Russian lands in the XIV-XV centuries took place in the direction of the further development and strengthening of feudal landownership, serfdom and feudal relations in breadth and depth. This purely feudal nature of the economic development of the Russian lands predetermined a number of significant features of the unification process in Russia, which began almost simultaneously with the formation of national states in a number of other countries of Western Europe. In Western European countries, the victory of royal power over the forces of feudal decentralization was achieved to a large extent thanks to its alliance with the cities, in which bourgeois elements formed from the medieval estate of urban burghers became increasingly important. In Russia, due to the weaker development of cities after the invasion and their feudal nature, the grand ducal power in its unifying policy relied primarily on the bulk of the ruling class of feudal lords. The system of feudal fragmentation became an obstacle to the expansion and development of feudal landownership and economy, and the involvement of peasants in more severe forms of feudal dependence and exploitation. An important factor in the unification process in Russia was the nationwide struggle for their national independence and statehood, for the overthrow of the alien yoke, which ensured the support of the grand ducal power from the most diverse social strata of society.

main content initial stage The unification process (the end of the 13th - the first half of the 14th centuries) was the formation of large feudal centers in North-Eastern Russia and the selection of the strongest among them as the future political center and territorial core of the formation of a centralized state - the Moscow Principality. Beginning in the second half of the 14th century second phase unification process. The main content of the second stage: the defeat by Moscow in the 60-70s of the 4th century of its main political opponents; Moscow established its political supremacy in Russia, and the state unification of the Russian lands around it began; Moscow became the center of organizing a nationwide struggle to overthrow the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Moscow's successes in the state-political unification of the Russian lands were consolidated by its victory over a coalition of specific princes who, during the feudal war unleashed by them in the second quarter of the 15th century, tried to restore the crumbling orders of feudal fragmentation. The unification process ended with the liquidation in the last third of the 15th century - the first quarter of the 16th century, the lands and principalities that still retained their independence. But this was already a new stage in the history of the Russian state, in which the completion of the unification process was inextricably linked with the beginning of the struggle for state centralization and for the final elimination of the Golden Horde yoke.

In the XIV-XV centuries, the formation of the Great Russian (Russian), Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities took place. The territorial core of the formation of the Great Russian people was the Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod lands. Its ethnic basis was the tribes of Krivichi, Vyatichi and Novgorod Slovenes who lived in these lands since ancient times. It also included the non-Slavic tribes Merya and Murom, who inhabited the interfluve of the Oka and Volga.