This historical event, described in all textbooks on the History of Russia, has a special memorable relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church. That is why on the territory of the Vladimir Skete, discovered not far from the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage, a diorama museum dedicated to this event was opened, and the first monument in Russia to Grand Duke John III was erected.

In May 2007, in the village of Palaces of the Kaluga Region, 20 kilometers from the city of Kaluga, 175 km from the city of Moscow, the construction of the Vladimir Skete began in memory of a great event from Russian history, which is referred to as "The Great Standing on the Ugra River in 1480" . The skete was created on the initiative and work of the Monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage, which is located nearby, at a distance of about 3 kilometers.

To date, a temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Vladimirskaya" has been opened on the territory of the monastery, a museum-diorama dedicated to the Great Standing on the Ugra River, a monument to Grand Duke John III. The opening of the monument took place on July 8, 2017 and it preceded the opening of another monument to this great tsar, who is referred to in the History of Russia as Ivan III Vasilyevich. The church traditionally calls him John III in Old Church Slavonic.

We wrote about the opening of the monument to Ivan III in the city of Kaluga in front of the administration building of the Kaluga region in the article Monument to Ivan III Vasilyevich in Kaluga.

We drive up to the museum and see such beauty.

Opposite the main entrance to the territory of the Vladimir Skete, there is a monument to Grand Duke John III. Having captured the monument in the photo, we hurried on an excursion. A tour of the museum-diorama is held every hour, an adult ticket costs 300 rubles.

In the first hall of the museum there are paintings by the artist Pavel Ryzhenko. One painting depicts the Monk Tikhon of Kaluga. This holy elder was a direct participant in the events of the Great Stand on the Ugra River. It was he who was the founder of the monastery, later named in his honor the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage.

This painting depicts the Reverend Father Sergius blessing Dmitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo. A detailed explanation of the picture can be seen in the photo below.

In this picture, the artist depicts the Grand Duke John III, who is holding a sword in his hands and, apparently, is going to battle with the Tatars. On the faces of his interlocutors, one can see both agreement in the need for the upcoming battle, and uncertainty in victory.

Photography is allowed in this room. But in the next room, where the diorama of the battle itself is located, photography is prohibited. A general view of the diorama can be seen on the museum's website. The diorama was made by the studio of military artists named after M.B. Grekov. Honored Artist of Russia Pavel Ryzhenko on a huge canvas measuring 23.6 meters wide and 6.7 meters high depicted 155 characters, picturesquely showed the spirit and life of the Russian military camp.

The guide said that the artist completed his work in two months!!! He was very passionate about the work, in a hurry to do it quickly. But, unfortunately, after finishing the painting, the artist died, the cause of death was a stroke. He was only 44 years old. I thought maybe he was overtired. Because 2 months is some kind of simply unrealistic period. Artists have been painting for years. Very sad news.

The diorama is best viewed from the top tier, so the whole view of the battle is better visible. In the background is the Ugra River, which makes a loop in this place. On one side were the troops of John III, on the other - the troops of Khan Akhmat. Across the river, countless tents of the Tatar army are visible. The Russian camp is in the foreground. Here you can see warriors, craftsmen, priests, captured Tatars. In the picture, the artist depicted the Monk Tikhon, as well as himself, rear view.

In the very foreground, the composition of the diorama is complemented by figures of people, which makes it possible to well imagine the theater of war in three dimensions. When viewing, the voice of the announcer sounds, the shots of cannons, the clatter of hooves, the voices of people, the singing of birds, the ringing of bells, the smell of autumn leaves is felt. In general, all human organs of perception are involved.

After viewing the diorama, we moved to the second floor of the museum, where we could see exhibits related to the events of that time.

In this photo we see an image of the Ugra River and the place where historical events took place from a bird's eye view, in our modern time. The landscape of the area has probably changed since that time, but hardly so much. We see that the place where the Russian troops were stationed is protected by the Ugra River, like a belt. Therefore, apparently, such a name "Ugra - the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos" arose.

Here you can see the clothes and ammunition of the warriors of that time.

On the pedestal is a plaster model of the monument to John III, installed in front of the museum building.

From the window of the hall you can also see the original monument to the Grand Duke.

The diagram shows the plan of the military company.

As well as a map of memorable places associated with this event.

The next hall of the museum is dedicated to the artist, creator of the diorama, Pavel Ryzhenko. He was born in the city of Kaluga on July 11, 1970. He graduated from the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, studied with Professor Ilya Glazunov. He completed postgraduate studies at the academy, receiving the title of associate professor. He died suddenly on July 16, 2014 in Moscow.

Having finished our tour, we went to the monastery tea room, where we tasted delicious monastery tea with gingerbread.

They also watched a film about the construction of the Vladimir Skete, a diorama museum and about the artist Pavel Ryzhenko.

The tea room is beautifully decorated and all the treats are extremely tasty.

After tea drinking, I still walked around the yard, examined the rest of the buildings.

Another main attraction of the Vladimir Skete is the temple in honor of the Vladimirskaya Icon of the Mother of God. The temple is also very beautiful, I did not go inside the temple.

In this building under construction, it is planned to open a museum dedicated to Russian statehood.

In the tower of the museum building there is an observation deck, climbing on which you can explore the surroundings.

See the rest of the photos below.

As we can see, the Russian Orthodox Church has a great memorable attitude to the historical event "The Great Standing on the Ugra River in 1480". Therefore, even in ancient times, the monastery of Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage was built here, and in our time, the Vladimir Skete is being built and developed. This event is called "standing" because it was bloodless and all thanks to the intercession of God and the Queen of Heaven.

The Kaluga newspaper "Vest" comments on this attitude in the following way:

There is a historical fact that on June 23, 1480, on the eve of the terrible events of the autumn of 1480, the revered miraculous icon of the Vladimir Mother of God was delivered from Vladimir to Moscow. For a long time, this image, according to legend, written by the Evangelist Luke, was kept in Kyiv, until it was transported by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky to the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. Before the icon, they began to perform continuous prayers, which was extremely important for the spiritual state of the Russian soldiers.

The patronage of the Mother of God, as we know from the annals and, in particular, the Personal Chronicle, accompanied many episodes of the Great Stand.

It was precisely because of this that Ugra, after the victory over the Horde, became known as the Belt of the Most Holy (Pure) Mother of God. The chronicler tells us about it this way: "... and I can call that river (Ugra) the belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, like a firmament protecting the Russian land from the filthy." The Belt of the Virgin is a truly Russian expression, built on traditional symbols: the Virgin as the intercessor of the Russian land and the belt - a talisman against evil forces. It is no coincidence that the struggle for this “belt” was perceived by the people as a fateful event for the Fatherland.

In memory of the Great Stand and in gratitude for the salvation of the Fatherland, our ancestors began to build Orthodox monasteries and churches along the banks of the Ugra, consecrating these lands and securing them for our Fatherland. Among them: the Spaso-Vorotynsky Monastery of the 16th century with the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the former Yukhnov Kazan Monastery of the same time with the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Assumption Cathedral in Przemysl, the Assumption Gremyachev and Assumption Sharovkin monasteries on the Oka and Zhizdra, the Assumption Cathedral of St. Tikhon's Hermitage and, finally, the Vladimir Cathedral of the skete of this monastery.

I hope that our story was interesting, and even more interesting, of course, to visit the museum and the diorama on your own.

The Ugra is a left tributary of the Oka, it flows through the Kaluga and Smolensk regions. In 1480, this river was destined to become famous thanks to a battle that never took place. They say that the reason for this was the indecision of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich, who hid during the military campaign in Kolomna, while his son, Ivan Molodoy, led the Russian army.

Plans of Khan Akhmat

Standing on the Ugra River lasted from October 8 to November 11, 1480. Khan Akhmat brought a huge army to force Russia to pay tribute to the Mongol-Tatars again. The troops of the Grand Duchy of Moscow advanced to meet him. Both military forces stood opposite each other for more than a month, but things did not go beyond small skirmishes. Fearing defeat, almost simultaneously, the two armies dispersed in peace, without entering into a decisive battle.

Such an outcome of the confrontation was in the hands of Ivan III, since from that moment Russia was freed from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, by that time the Golden Horde no longer existed. Once a powerful state broke up into several separate countries. The Crimean and Kazan khanates declared their sovereignty, the Nogais also ceased to obey the former rulers. In the lower reaches of the Volga and the foothills of the Caucasus, the so-called Great Horde still existed. Since 1471, this fragment of the formerly great state was single-handedly headed by Akhmat, the youngest son of Khan Kichi-Mohammed.

The new ruler planned to return the lost lands and former greatness by restoring the Golden Horde. In 1472, he undertook the first campaign against Russia, which ended in failure. The troops of the Moscow principality did not allow the invaders to cross the Oka, stopping the offensive. Khan Akhmat realized that he was not yet ready for a big battle. He decided to gather strength and then return to Russian soil.

Then all the attention of the ruler of the Great Horde switched to the Crimean Khanate, which he tried to subjugate. And only in the summer of 1480, Khan Akhmat moved towards Moscow, having secured a promise of military assistance from Casimir IV, who was at the same time the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Another circumstance that contributed to the attack on Russia was the civil strife that began between Ivan III and his brothers: Andrei Bolshoi and Boris Volotsky. The Tatars were going to take advantage of the fact that there is no unity between the Russians.

Dynastic struggle

Most historians positively assess the results of the activities of Ivan III Vasilyevich (1440-1505), during which the country was freed from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, and Moscow established itself in the status of the capital of Russian lands. This ruler proclaimed himself the sovereign of all Russia. However, his brothers did not like such an exaltation of the prince.

The first wife of Ivan III, Princess Maria Borisovna of Tver, died in her youth, having given birth to the wife of the legitimate heir, who remained in history as Ivan the Young (he received such a nickname because he was the namesake of his father). A few years after the death of his first wife, the Grand Duke of Moscow married Sophia Palaiologos, the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI. The new Grand Duchess gave birth to her wife five sons, as well as four daughters.

Naturally, two parties formed in the ruling circles: one stood up for Ivan the Young, and the other for Vasily, who was the eldest son of the second wife of the Grand Duke. The chronicles of various Russian cities even mention three high-ranking supporters of Sophia Paleolog: the princely devious Grigory Mamon and Ivan Oshchera, as well as the equestrian Vasily Tuchko.

Shelter in Kolomna

Being a skilled diplomat and negotiator, skillfully selecting personnel, Ivan III did not differ in personal courage. During the first campaign of Khan Akhmat to Russia in 1472, the Grand Duke sat out in Kolomna with his personal guard. He not only did not honor the troops with his presence, but also left Moscow, because he believed that the Tatars would win and then ravage the recalcitrant capital. The prince valued his safety above all else.

So in June 1480, having only heard about the campaign being prepared in the Great Horde, Ivan III - already out of habit - decided to sit out the hostilities in Kolomna. The inhabitants of Moscow hoped for their prince, who was to lead the fight against the invaders. But he took only a wait-and-see attitude. The troops towards the Tatars were led by the ruler's heir, Ivan Molodoy, who was assisted by his uncle, the appanage prince Andrei Menshoi.

In September 1480, the troops of Khan Akhmat crossed the Oka in the Kaluga region, the invaders decided to pass through the lands that were then in the power of the Lithuanian crown. The Tatars freely reached the banks of the Ugra, beyond which the possessions of the Moscow prince began. Upon learning of this, Ivan III thought that it was not safe to remain in Kolomna, and on September 30 he returned to Moscow under the official pretext of an urgent meeting with the boyars. The aforementioned supporters of Sophia Paleolog - Vasily Tuchko, Ivan Oshchera, Grigory Mamon and a number of other boyars - began to convince the ruler that victory over the Tatars was impossible. They believed that the best thing in this situation would be to flee for the sake of saving their own lives. Ivan III heeded the advice of the boyars. He settled in Krasnoye Selo, located north of Moscow, and sent his wife with children and the treasury even further - to Beloozero, where the appanage prince Mikhail Vereisky ruled. Muscovites were upset by this behavior of their ruler.

Ivan III also worried about his eldest son, ordering him to leave the area of ​​​​possible hostilities in order to avoid death. But Ivan the Young disobeyed his father. He declared that he must be with his army and repulse the enemy.

Meanwhile, the people began to demand decisive steps from the prince in order to protect the Russian lands. It is known that around October 15-20, Ivan III received a message from Rostov Archbishop Vassian with an appeal to show courage and fortitude. As a result, the prince nevertheless left his refuge, but he never reached the area of ​​​​the proposed battle, remaining with his guards in the town of Kremenets (the village of Kremenskoye, Kaluga region).

Stayed and parted

Khan Akhmat did not take any active steps, as he was waiting for the approach of the Polish-Lithuanian army of Casimir IV. But he never fulfilled his promise, because he was busy repelling the troops of the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray, who attacked Podillya by agreement with the Russians. In addition, the squads of the rebellious brothers of Ivan III, Boris Volotsky and Andrei Bolshoi, hastened to help the army of the Moscow principality. Forgetting about personal differences in a difficult time, the specific princes united their troops for the sake of a common cause.

Knowing that the entire army of Khan Akhmat was on the Ugra, cautious and prudent Ivan III sent a mobile sabotage group behind enemy lines. It included Zvenigorod troops under the command of voivode Vasily Nozdrevaty, as well as a detachment of the Crimean prince Nur-Devlet, sent by his father to help the Russian allies. In such a situation, Khan Akhmat did not dare to fight. He took his army home, plundering and ruining 12 cities belonging to the Lithuanian crown along the way: Mtsensk, Kozelsk, Serpeisk and others. It was revenge on Casimir IV for not keeping this word.

So Ivan III got the glory of the collector of Russian lands. But the fate of Ivan the Young was sad. The legitimate heir died in 1490 under unclear circumstances. There were rumors that he was poisoned by supporters of Sophia Palaiologos. The dynastic struggle was won by her son Vasily Ivanovich.

According to the traditional story, in 1476 the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde, and in 1480 he refused to recognize the dependence of Russia on it. Despite this, according to the American historian Charles Halperin, the lack of evidence in the annals that fixes the exact date when the tribute was stopped does not allow us to prove that the tribute was stopped in 1476; the dating and the very authenticity of the label of Khan Akhmat to Grand Duke Ivan III, containing information about the cessation of paying tribute, remains the subject of discussion in the academic environment. According to the Vologda-Perm Chronicle, Khan Akhmat in 1480, during negotiations, reproached Ivan III for not paying tribute for the ninth year. On the basis, in particular, of this document, A. A. Gorsky concluded that the payment of tribute was stopped in 1472, on the eve of the battle of Aleksin.

Khan Akhmat, busy fighting the Crimean Khanate, only in 1480 began active operations against the Grand Duchy of Moscow. He managed to negotiate with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV on military assistance. Meanwhile, the Pskov land was attacked by the Livonian Order in early 1480. The Livonian chronicler reported that Master Bernhard von der Borg:

“... he gathered such a force of the people against the Russian that no master had ever collected before him or after ... This master was involved in a war with the Russians, took up arms against them and gathered 100 thousand troops from foreign and native soldiers and peasants; with these people, he attacked Russia and burned the suburbs of Pskov, without doing anything else. .

In January 1480, his brothers Boris Volotsky and Andrei Bolshoy rebelled against Ivan III, dissatisfied with the strengthening of the power of the Grand Duke.

Course of events in 1480

Start of hostilities

Using the current situation, Khan Akhmat in June 1480 organized reconnaissance of the right bank of the Oka River, and in the autumn he set out with the main forces.

« The same summer, the evil-named Tsar Akhmat ... went to Orthodox Christianity, to Russia, to the holy churches and to the Grand Duke, boasting of destroying the holy churches and capturing all Orthodoxy and the Grand Duke himself, as if under Batu Besh.»

The boyar elite in the Grand Duchy of Moscow split into two groups: one (“ money-loving rich and belly”), led by the devious Ivan Oshchera and Grigory Mamon, advised Ivan III to flee; the other defended the need to fight the Horde. Perhaps Ivan III was influenced by the position of the Muscovites, who demanded decisive action from the Grand Duke.

Ivan III began to draw troops to the banks of the Oka, sending his brother, Prince Andrei the Less of Vologda, to his fiefdom, Tarusa, and his son Ivan the Young to Serpukhov. The Grand Duke himself arrived on June 23 to Kolomna, where he stopped in anticipation of further developments. On the same day, the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Vladimir to Moscow, with whose intercession the salvation of Russia from the troops of Tamerlane was associated back in 1395.

Meanwhile, the troops of Khan Akhmat moved freely across the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, accompanied by Lithuanian guides, through Mtsensk, Odoev and Lubutsk to Vorotynsk. Here the khan expected help from King Casimir IV, but did not wait for it. The Crimean Tatars, allies of Ivan III, distracted the Lithuanian forces by attacking Podolia. Knowing that Russian regiments were waiting for him on the Oka, Khan Akhmat decided, having passed through the Lithuanian lands, to invade Russian territory through the river Ugra. Grand Duke Ivan III, having received information about such intentions, sent his son Ivan and brother Andrei the Less to Kaluga and to the banks of the Ugra. However, according to Michael Khodarkovsky, Khan Akhmat had no intention of using the effect of surprise and ravaging the Principality of Moscow, relying instead on the traditional tactics of intimidating with superior numbers of troops and forcing him into submission.

Standing on the Ugra

On September 30, Ivan III returned from Kolomna to Moscow. for advice and thought with the metropolitan and the boyars. The Grand Duke received a unanimous reply, " to stand firmly for Orthodox Christianity against bezsernosti". On the same days, ambassadors from Andrei the Great and Boris Volotsky came to Ivan III, who announced the end of the rebellion. The Grand Duke forgave the brothers and ordered them to move with their regiments to the Oka. On October 3, Ivan III left Moscow and headed for the city of Kremenets (now the village of Kremenskoye, Medynsky district, Kaluga region), where he remained with a small detachment, and sent the rest of the troops to the banks of the Ugra. At the same time, Russian troops stretched along the river in a thin line for as much as 60 miles. In the meantime, an attempt by one of the detachments of Khan Akhmat to force the Ugra in the area of ​​​​the Opakov settlement, where it was repulsed, failed.

On October 8, Khan Akhmat himself tried to force the Ugra, but his attack was repulsed by the forces of Ivan the Young.

« And the Tatars came and the Muscovites began to shoot, and the Muscovites began to shoot at them and squealed to let go and beat many Tatars with arrows and piercers and repulsed them from the shore ...».

This happened in the area of ​​​​the five-kilometer section of the Ugra, up from its mouth, to the confluence of the Rosvyanka River. Subsequently, the attempts of the Horde to cross over continued for several days, were repelled by Russian artillery fire and did not bring the desired success to the troops of Khan Akhmat. They retreated two versts from the Ugra and stood in Luz. The troops of Ivan III took up defensive positions on the opposite bank of the river. The famous " standing on the Ugra". Skirmishes broke out periodically, but neither side decided on a serious attack.

In this position, negotiations began. Akhmat demanded that the Grand Duke himself or his son, or at least his brother, come to him with an expression of humility, and also that the Russians pay the tribute that they owed for seven years. As an embassy, ​​Ivan III sent the boyar son Tovarkov Ivan Fedorovich " associates with gifts". On the part of Ivan, the demands for tribute were rejected, the gifts were not accepted by Akhmat - the negotiations were interrupted. It is possible that Ivan went for them, trying to buy time, since the situation was slowly changing in his favor, since

On the same days, October 15-20, Ivan III received a fiery message from the Archbishop of Rostov, Vassian, urging him to follow the example of the former princes:

« ... who not only defended the Russian land from the filthy(i.e. non-Christians) , but other countries also subjugated ... Just take heart and be strong, my spiritual son, like a good warrior of Christ, according to the great word of our Lord in the Gospel: “You are a good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...»

End of confrontation

Upon learning that Khan Akhmat, in an effort to achieve a numerical advantage, mobilized the Great Horde as much as possible, so that there were no significant reserves of troops left on its territory, Ivan III allocated a small but combat-ready detachment, under the command of the Zvenigorod governor, Prince Vasily Nozdrevaty, who was supposed to go down the Oka, then along the Volga to its lower reaches and commit a devastating sabotage in the possessions of Khan Akhmat. The Crimean prince Nur-Devlet also took part in this expedition with his nukers.

The onset of cold weather and the upcoming freeze-up forced Ivan III to change his previous tactics to prevent the crossing of the Horde across the Ugra by a Russian army stretched for 60 miles. On October 28, 1480, the Grand Duke decided to withdraw troops to Kremenets and further concentrate them at Borovsk in order to fight there in a favorable situation. Khan Akhmat, having learned that a sabotage detachment of Prince Nozdrevaty and the Crimean prince Nur-Devlet was operating in his deep rear, intending to capture and plunder the capital of the Horde (perhaps he also received information about the impending attack of the Nogai Tatars), and also lacking food, did not dare follow the Russians and at the end of October - early November also began to withdraw their troops. On November 11, Khan Akhmat decided to go back to the Horde. On the way back, the Horde plundered the settlements and districts of 12 Lithuanian cities (Mtsensk, Serpeisk, Kozelsk and others), which was revenge on King Casimir IV for unprovided military assistance.

Results

For those who watched from the sidelines as both troops turned back almost simultaneously (within two days), without bringing matters to a decisive battle, this event seemed either strange, mystical, or received a simplified explanation: the opponents were afraid of each other, fearing accept the fight. In Russia, contemporaries attributed this to the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, who saved the Russian land from ruin. Apparently, this is also why the river Ugra began to be called the “belt of the Virgin”. Grand Duke Ivan III returned to Moscow with all his troops, and rejoicing, and rejoicing all the people with great joy».

The results of “standing” in the Horde were perceived differently. On January 6, 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed as a result of a sudden attack by the Tyumen Khan Ibak (probably carried out by prior agreement with Ivan III) on the steppe headquarters, to which Akhmat retired from Saray, probably fearing assassination attempts. Civil strife began in the Great Horde.

In "Standing on the Ugra" the Russian army used new tactical and strategic techniques:

• coordinated actions with an ally, the Crimean Khan Mengli I Girey, distracting the military forces of the Polish king Casimir IV from the clash;
• Ivan III sent a detachment to the rear of Khan Akhmat to the Great Horde along the Volga to destroy the defenseless Khan's capital, which was a new military-tactical trick and caught the Horde by surprise;
• the successful attempt of Ivan III to avoid a military clash, in which there was neither military nor political necessity - the Horde was greatly weakened, its days as a state were numbered.

It is traditionally believed that "standing" put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The Russian state became sovereign not only in fact, but also formally. The diplomatic efforts of Ivan III prevented Poland and Lithuania from entering the war. The people of Pskov also contributed to the salvation of Russia, stopping the German offensive by autumn.

The acquisition of political independence from the Horde, along with the spread of Moscow's influence on the Kazan Khanate (1487), played a role in the subsequent transition under the rule of Moscow of part of the lands that were under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1502, when Ivan III, for diplomatic reasons, flatteringly” pleaded himself a slave of the Khan of the Great Horde, her weakened army was defeated by the Crimean Khan Mengli I Girey, and the Horde itself ceased to exist.

In Russian historiography, the term "Tatar yoke", as well as the provision on its overthrow by Ivan III, originates from N. M. Karamzin, who used the word "yoke" in the form of an artistic epithet in the original meaning of "a collar worn around the neck" (" bowed the neck under the yoke of the barbarians"), possibly borrowing this term from the 16th-century Polish author Maciej Miechowski.

A number of modern American researchers deny the historical significance of "Standing on the Ugra", which goes beyond an ordinary diplomatic incident, and its connection with the overthrow of the Horde yoke (as well as the very concept of the "Tatar yoke") is considered as a historiographical myth. So, according to Donald Ostrovsky, although the payment of tribute was reduced by seven times, it did not stop, and the rest of the changes affected only the minting of coins. The accusation of passivity in relation to the Horde, put forward to Ivan III in the "Message to the Ugra" by Archbishop Vassian, he considers evidence that contemporaries did not see qualitative changes in the position of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Charles Halperin believes that in 1480 there were no texts that raised the issue of Russian liberation from the Tatar yoke (this also applies to the “Message to the Ugra”, the date of which is 1480, moreover, is not indisputable).

In contrast to this opinion, V. N. Rudakov writes about a serious struggle surrounded by Ivan III between those who believed that the Grand Duke had the right to fight the "godless king", and those who denied him such a right.

Monument "Standing on the Ugra 1480"

The overthrow of the “Horde yoke”, the idea of ​​which stems from the biblical texts about the “Babylonian captivity”, and in one form or another is found in Russian sources from the 13th century, was applied to the events of 1480 starting from the “Kazan History” (not earlier than 1560- x years). The Ugra River acquired the status of the last and decisive confrontation from the historiographers of the 16th century for the reason that it was the last major invasion of the Great Horde into the lands of the Moscow Principality.

Memory

The stele "Confrontation of the Tatar-Mongol yoke" is located opposite the village of Znamenka, Ugransky district, Smolensk region, at the same time, the location of the cultural heritage object belongs to the Velikopolevsky rural settlement.

In 1980, during the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Standing on the Ugra, a monument was unveiled on the bank of the river in the Kaluga region in honor of this significant event in Russian history.

Standing on the river Ugra- hostilities that took place from October 8 to November 11, 1480 between Khan Akhmat and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, who was in alliance with the Crimean Khanate. It is believed that it was standing on the Ugra River that put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke in the north and northeast of Russia, where the process of establishing an independent Russian state was eventually completed.

Standing on the river Ugra is short.

Background.

In 1472, Khan Akhmat approached the Grand Duchy of Moscow, but the Horde soldiers met the Russian army and could not cross the Oka. The Horde's army burned the city of Aleksin and killed its entire population, but in the end the Horde was forced to retreat, and attacked the Moscow principality. In 1476, Grand Duke Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde (according to other sources, this happened in 1472, as a result of which Khan Akhmat attacked the Moscow principality), and in 1480 declared the independence of Russia from the Horde.

Khan Akhmat, who was busy with the war with the Crimean Khanate, was able to start active operations against the Moscow principality only in 1480. The Horde entered into an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian king and agreed to help in the war against Russia. In the same 1480, his brothers rebelled against Ivan III.

War activities.

In the autumn of 1480, taking advantage (the civil strife of the princes and an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian king), Khan Akhmat attacked the Moscow principality with the main forces.

Ivan III began to draw Russian troops to the banks of the Oka. The troops of the Horde, meanwhile, unhindered through the Lithuanian territory, where they were even accompanied by local guides. But Khan Akhmat did not wait for help from Casimir IV, the Polish-Lithuanian king, since the allies of Ivan III, the Crimean Tatars, attacked Podolia.

Khan Akhmat decided not to go to the Oka, in front of the Russians; he went through the Lithuanian lands to the Russians, which were separated by the Ugra River. Ivan III, having learned this, sent Ivan Ivanovich and Andrei the Less to the banks of the Ugra.

On September 30, 1480, Ivan III gathered a council in Moscow, where he received an order to defend Russian territory. Soon the brothers of Ivan III announced the end of the rebellion and joined with their regiments the army stationed at the Oka.

On October 3, Ivan III went to the famine of Kremenets with a small detachment, and sent the rest of the Russian troops to the banks of the Ugra.

The Tatars, in order to cover their rear, ravaged the upper reaches of the Oka for 100 kilometers.

On October 8, 1480, Khan Akhmat tried to cross the Ugra, but Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III, repulsed the attack. For several days, under the fire of Russian artillery, the Horde tried to cross to the other side, but to no avail. The troops of Ivan III organized a defense on their shore, the Tatars stood on their own. The great "standing on the Ugra" began. Neither side dared to launch a full attack.

Negotiations began. Akhmat demanded obedience from the princes and the payment of tribute for 7 years. Ivan III sent an ambassador with gifts and a rejection of the tribute demand. Khan did not accept gifts. It is likely that Ivan III was simply playing for time, since the troops of Andrei the Great and Boris Volotsky were already on the way, and the ally of Khan Akhmat fought off the Crimean Khan and could not help the Horde. Also, the horses of the Tatars used up the supply of food, and an epidemic broke out among the Tatars themselves. Everything at that moment was on the side of the Russians.

Akhmat mobilized the Great Horde to win the battle. Upon learning this, Ivan III singled out a small detachment and sent it to the possessions of Akhmat for sabotage.

Having received information about the impending attack of the Crimean Tatars, as well as sabotage in the rear, lacking food, at the end of October he began to withdraw his troops. On November 11, 1480, Khan Akhmat decided on a complete retreat. The Horde yoke was overthrown, and the Moscow principality gained independence. On January 6, 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed, and civil strife began in the Great Horde.

One of the main national tasks of Russia was the desire to put an end to the Horde dependence. The need for liberation was the main prerequisite for the unification of Russian territories. Only having embarked on the path of confrontation with the Horde during the reign, Moscow acquired the status of a national center for collecting Russian lands.

Moscow managed to build relations with the Horde in a new way. By the end of the 15th century, the Golden Horde as a single power no longer existed. In place of the Golden Horde, autonomous khanates arose - Crimean, Astrakhan, Nogai, Kazan, Siberian and the Great Horde. Only Akhmat, the khan of the Great Horde, which occupied a significant area of ​​the Middle Volga region, sought to recreate the former unity of the Golden Horde. He wanted to receive tribute from Russia, as from a vassal of the Horde, to give labels to Russian princes. Other khans during the time of Ivan III did not make such demands on Muscovite Russia. On the contrary, they considered the Moscow prince as an ally in the fight against Akhmat's claims to the Golden Horde throne and power.

Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat, who considered himself the heir of the Golden Horde kings, in the 1470s. began to demand tribute from Ivan III and a trip to the Horde for a label. It was very inopportune for Ivan III. He was in friction with his younger brothers - specific Moscow princes Andrei Galitsky and Boris Volotsky. (They were dissatisfied with the fact that the Grand Duke did not share with them the Dmitrov inheritance of their brother Yuri, who died childless in 1472.) Ivan III compromised with his brothers, and sent an embassy to Akhmat in 1476. We have no information - whether it carried tribute to the khan. Obviously, the matter was limited to gifts, because soon Khan Akhmat again demanded a "horde exit" and the personal appearance of the Moscow prince in the Great Horde.

According to the legend, which N.M. Karamzin placed in his “History of the Russian State”, Ivan III trampled on the khan’s basma (letter) and ordered to tell Akhmat that if he did not leave him alone, the same thing would happen to the khan as to his basma. Modern historians consider the Basma episode nothing more than a legend. Such behavior does not correspond either to the character of Ivan III - as a politician, or to his actions in the summer and autumn of 1480.

In June 1480, Akhmat set out on a campaign with a 100,000-strong army. He was going to attack Ivan of Moscow even earlier, but the Crimean Khan, a friend of Moscow and an enemy of the Great Horde, attacked Akhmat and frustrated his plans. Akhmat's ally in the campaign of 1480 was the Polish king and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV, but he did not help the khan, since civil strife began in Lithuania, and the Crimeans began to devastate the Lithuanian possessions.

Akhmat approached the tributary of the Oka Ugra, which flowed in the Ryazan land near the southern Russian borders. The Russian army, led by Ivan III and Ivan the Younger, took up defensive positions. The whole of August and September passed in minor fights. The Russians, armed with cannons, fire squeakers and crossbows (crossbows), inflicted significant damage on the Tatar cavalry. Seeing this, Prince Ivan Molodoy, as well as many governors, counted on success and wanted to fight the Tatars. But the Grand Duke doubted. In his inner circle were people who advised Ivan III to make peace with the khan.

Meanwhile, Moscow was preparing for the invasion. Built on the orders of Ivan III, the new brick Kremlin could withstand a siege. However, the cautious Ivan III ordered his second wife, Grand Duchess Sophia, to take refuge in the north in Beloozero. With Sophia, the Moscow treasury also left the capital. Muscovites were confused by this. When the Moscow prince arrived in the capital, the townspeople greeted him with indignation, thinking that he did not want to defend them. The clergy sent two letters to Ivan III. In their messages, the fathers of the Russian Orthodox Church urged the Grand Duke to resolutely fight the Horde. Ivan III still had doubts. He decided to hold a big council in Moscow and summoned his co-ruler son. However, Ivan Molodoy, at the behest of his father, refused to leave Ugra and come to Moscow. The Moscow ruler had to return to the Ugra.

In October, the Horde twice tried to cross the Ugra, but both times were repulsed. Ivan III, still not believing in victory, went to negotiate with Akhmat. Akhmat set humiliating conditions: he would grant the prince if he asked for peace at the stirrup of the khan's horse. As a result, negotiations broke down. Akhmat still stood at the Ugra, and on November 11, 1480, he led his troops to the Volga steppes. Soon Akhmat died: his rival, the Siberian Khan Ivak, stabbed him while sleeping. Ivak sent a messenger to Moscow to say: "Your and my enemy, the villain of Russia, lies in the grave." The Great Horde began to disintegrate, plundered by the neighboring khanates. Thus, the yoke that had lasted for 240 years fell. Russia became completely independent.

"GOD SAVE YOUR KINGDOM AND GIVE YOU VICTORY"

Then they heard in Moscow about the campaign of Akhmat, who walked slowly, waiting for news from Casimir. John foresaw everything: as soon as the Golden Horde moved, Mengli-Girey, his faithful ally, attacked Lithuanian Podolia with him, and thereby distracted Casimir from cooperating with Akhmat. Knowing that this latter left only wives, children and elders in his Uluses, John ordered the Crimean Tsarevich Nordoulat and the Governor of Zvenigorod, Prince Vasily Nozdrevaty, with a small detachment, to board ships and sail there along the Volga in order to defeat the defenseless Horde, or at least intimidate Khan. Moscow in a few days was filled with warriors. The advanced army was already standing on the banks of the Oka. The son of the Grand Duke, young John, set out with all the regiments from the capital to Serpukhov on June 8; and his uncle, Andrey the Lesser, from his Lot. The Sovereign himself still remained in Moscow for six weeks; finally, having learned about the approach of Akhmat to the Don, on July 23 he went to Kolomna, entrusting the storage of the capital to his uncle, Mikhail Andreevich Vereisky, and Boyar Prince Ivan Yuryevich, the clergy, merchants and people. In addition to the Metropolitan, there was the Archbishop of Rostov, Vassian, an elder zealous for the glory of the fatherland. Ioannov's wife left with her court for Dmitrov, from where she retired on ships to the borders of Belaozero; and his mother, Nun Martha, heeding the convictions of the clergy, remained in Moscow to the consolation of the people.

The Grand Duke himself took command of the army, beautiful and numerous, which stood on the banks of the Oka River, ready for battle. All of Russia awaited the consequences with hope and fear. John was in the position of Demetrius of the Don, who was going to fight with Mamai: he had better organized regiments, the most experienced Governor, more glory and greatness; but due to the maturity of his years, natural composure, caution disposable not to believe in blind happiness, which is sometimes stronger than valor in battles, he could not calmly think that one hour would decide the fate of Russia; that all his magnanimous plans, all his slow, gradual successes, can end in the death of our army, the ruins of Moscow, the new most difficult bondage of our fatherland, and only from impatience: for the Golden Horde today or tomorrow had to disappear due to its own, internal causes of destruction. Dimitri defeated Mamai in order to see the ashes of Moscow and pay tribute to Tokhtamysh: the proud Vitovt, despising the remnants of the Kapchak Khanate, wanted to crush them with one blow and destroyed his army on the banks of the Vorskla. John had the love of glory not of a warrior, but of the Sovereign; and the glory of the latter lies in the integrity of the State, not in personal courage: integrity preserved by prudent evasiveness is more glorious than proud courage, which exposes the people to disaster. These thoughts seemed prudence to the Grand Duke and some of the Boyars, so that he wished, if possible, to remove the decisive battle. Akhmat, hearing that the banks of the Oka to the Ryazan limits were everywhere occupied by the John's army, went from the Don past Mtsensk, Odoev and Lubutsk to the Ugra, hoping to join the Royal regiments there or enter Russia from that side, from where he was not expected. The Grand Duke, having ordered his son and brother to go to Kaluga and stand on the left bank of the Ugra, himself came to Moscow, where the inhabitants of the settlements moved to the Kremlin with their most precious estate and, seeing John, imagined that he was fleeing from the Khan. Many shouted in horror: “The Sovereign betrays us to the Tatars! He burdened the land with taxes and did not pay tribute to the Orda! He angered the Tsar and does not stand up for the fatherland! This public displeasure, according to one Chronicler, upset the Grand Duke so much that he did not enter the Kremlin, but stopped at Krasnoe Selo, announcing that he had arrived in Moscow to consult with the matter, the Clergy and the Boyars. "Go boldly to the enemy!" - said to him unanimously all the spiritual and worldly dignitaries. Archbishop Vassian, a gray-haired, decrepit old man, in a generous outburst of zealous love for the fatherland, exclaimed: “Should mortals be afraid of death? Rock is inevitable. I am old and weak; but I will not be afraid of the Tatar sword, I will not turn my face away from its splendor. - John wanted to see his son and ordered him to be in the capital with Daniil Kholmsky: this ardent young man did not go, answering his parent: “We are waiting for the Tatars”; and Kholmsky: “It is better for me to die here than to retire from the army.” The Grand Duke yielded to the general opinion and gave his word to strongly oppose the Khan. At this time, he made peace with the brothers, whose ambassadors were in Moscow; promised to live in harmony with them, to endow them with new volosts, demanding only that they rush to him with their military squad to save the fatherland. Mother, Metropolitan, Archbishop Vassian, good advisers, and most of all the danger of Russia, to the credit of both sides, stopped the enmity of consanguineous people. - John took measures to protect the cities; sent Dmitrovtsev to Pereslavl, Moskvitians to Dmitrov; ordered to burn the settlements around the capital and on October 3, having accepted the blessing from the Metropolitan, he went to the army. No one more zealously interceded then for the freedom of the fatherland and for the need to approve it with the sword. High Hierarch Gerontius, marking the Sovereign with a cross, said with tenderness: “May God preserve your Kingdom and give you victory, like ancient David and Constantine! Take courage and be strong, O spiritual son! like a true warrior of Christ. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep: you are not a hireling! Deliver the verbal flock handed to you by God from the now coming beast. The Lord is our champion!” All the Spiritual Ones said: Amen! be taco! and begged the Grand Duke not to listen to the imaginary friends of the world, insidious or cowardly.

"MANY ROADS WILL BE TO RUSSIA"

Akhmat, who was not allowed beyond the Ugra by Moscow regiments, boasted all summer: “God give winter to you: when all the rivers become, then there will be many roads to Russia.” Fearing the fulfillment of this threat, John, as soon as the Ugra became on October 26, ordered his son, brother Andrei the Less and the governors with all the regiments to retreat to Kremenets in order to fight with united forces; this order terrified the military men, who rushed to flee to Kremenets, thinking that the Tatars had already crossed the river and were chasing them; but John was not satisfied with the retreat to Kremenets: he gave the order to retreat from Kremenets to Borovsk, promising to fight the Tatars in the vicinity of this city. The chroniclers again say that he continued to obey evil people, money-lovers, rich and fat Christian traitors, Busurman takanikovs. But Akhmat did not think of taking advantage of the retreat of the Russian troops; having stood on the Ugra until November 11, he went back through the Lithuanian volosts, Serenskaya and Mtsensk, devastating the lands of his ally Casimir, who, being busy with household chores and distracted by the raid of the Crimean Khan on Podolia, again did not fulfill his promise. One of the sons of Akhmatovs entered the Moscow volosts, but was driven away by the news of the proximity of the Grand Duke, although only the brothers of the Grand Dukes went in pursuit of him. The chronicles say differently about the reasons for Akhmatov's retreat: it is said that when the Russians began to retreat from the Ugra, the enemy, thinking that they were yielding the coast to him and wanting to fight, ran in fear in the opposite direction. But suppose that the Tatars thought that the Russians were retreating to lure them into battle; yet they retreated, not attacked; consequently, the Tatars had nothing to run for; then the Grand Duke ordered his troops to retreat from the Ugra, when this river became, it became on October 26; let us suppose that several days elapsed between its establishment and the order of the Grand Duke, but still not fifteen, for the khan left the Ugra only on November 11; therefore, even if we assume that the Tatars fled, seeing the retreat of the Russians, then we will have to admit that they then stopped and, having waited until November 11, then they had already finally set out on the return campaign. Other chroniclers say more plausibly that from Dmitriev's Day (October 26) it became winter and the rivers all became, severe frosts began, so it was impossible to look; the Tatars were naked, barefoot, skinned; then Akhmat got scared and ran away on November 11th. In some chronicles we find the news that Akhmat fled, frightened by the reconciliation of the Grand Duke with his brothers. All these reasons can be taken together: Casimir did not come to the rescue, severe frosts even interfere with looking, and at such and such a time of the year it is necessary to go forward, to the north, with a naked and barefoot army, and above all to endure the battle with a numerous enemy, with whom after Mamaia Tatars did not dare to engage in open battles; finally, the circumstance that had mainly prompted Akhmat to attack John, namely the feud between the latter and his brothers, now no longer existed.