In parallel with the unification of the Russian lands, the creation of the spiritual basis of the national state, there was a process of strengthening Russian statehood, the formation of a centralized Russian state. The prerequisites for this process were laid during the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Researchers note that the vassal dependence of Russian lands on the Golden Horde to a certain extent contributed to the strengthening of Russian statehood. During this period, the volume and authority of the princely power within the country increases, the princely apparatus crushes the institutions of people's self-government, and the veche - the oldest body of democracy is gradually disappearing from practice throughout the historical core of the future Russian state

During the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, city liberties and privileges were destroyed. The outflow of money to the Golden Horde prevented the emergence of the "third estate", the backbone of urban independence in the countries of Western Europe.

Significant changes took place in the main sphere of production - agriculture. Agriculture became more productive. Trade in bread and other agricultural products acquired a more lively character. Rich buyers of bread and other products appeared in the localities (including in peasant villages). The largest of them conducted trading operations not only within the volost, but also in larger areas. A large consumer of imported bread, meat and other products was Moscow with its 100,000 population. Large trading operations in bread and other products were carried out by some monasteries, especially Trinity-Sergius and Solovetsky.

An important indicator of the strengthening of the social division of labor in the XV-XVI centuries. was the development of handicraft production. Trades and crafts developed both in the tree and especially in the city. In such large cities as Moscow, Novgorod, there were thousands of craft yards; in comparison with Ancient Russia, the number of handicraft specialties increased several times. At the same time, part of the artisans broke ties with agriculture and began to work specifically for the market.

The development of handicraft production and trade led to an increase in the number of cities and the strengthening of their role in the life of the country. In about a century, by the middle of the 16th century, the number of cities had more than doubled. At the end of the XV - the first half of the XVI centuries. Rows, market stalls, and settlements quickly grew in the localities, gradually turning into cities.

In Russian cities of the late XV - mid-XVI centuries. hardly more than 2-3% of the population lived, but many cities became centers of economic relations of the region, administrative and cultural centers, objectively turned into strongholds for the unification of the state, although, unlike Western Europe, they did not become the main force in this process.

Thus, the main objective prerequisites for the formation of a unified Russian state were economic development, the economic convergence of Russian lands. However, this process until the middle of the XVI century. was still far from complete and developed more slowly than in a number of Western European countries (England, Holland, France, etc.).

The slower development of production and commodity-money relations in Russia is primarily due to the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which destroyed and slowed down the development of productive forces for a long time. A great obstacle to the normal economic development of the southern regions of Russia was the constant raids of the Crimean Tatars, which continued in the 15th-16th centuries, which destroyed everything in their path and diverted significant forces of the Russian state.

Other factors were also involved. While in Western Europe in the XV-XVI centuries. the peasant community was intensively destroyed, in Russia it still retained its isolation, which also held back the development of commodity-money relations. The countries of Western Europe were also in more favorable natural and climatic conditions for the development of production, they had more convenient sea and other means of communication. Russia, with its vast expanses and harsh winters, was cut off from the seas, land roads stretched with the thinnest threads, rivers were covered with ice for half a year. This created additional difficulties for the development of production and trade.

The consequence of the economic development of Russia at this stage was not the decomposition, but the strengthening of the feudal system, a certain restructuring of the forms of feudal economy and the exploitation of the peasants. The value of land and labor increased. The need for land grew, especially from the service nobility. The Grand Dukes began to widely distribute black-taxed, state-owned lands to service people. But this fund could not be spent indefinitely, as the "state tax" and the revenues of the treasury were reduced. The struggle for land and for working hands within the feudal class intensified. The lordly plowing increased due to the reduction of peasant lands. If before the XV century. the predominant form was rent in kind (natural dues), then from the end of the XV-XVI centuries. labor rent - corvée - began to receive wide distribution. In Western Europe, it was already disappearing at that time.

Along with the corvée system, money rent began to develop, especially in the northeastern regions of Russia. The size of the corvee and cash dues grew.

All this led to an increase in the intensity of the feudal exploitation of the peasants and the process of their enslavement, which in turn was accompanied by an aggravation of class contradictions and class struggle. The class protest of the peasants and the urban lower classes took various forms. These were both open protests by townspeople and peasants (a number of urban uprisings of 1547-1550, numerous attacks by peasants on the possessions of feudal lords, arson, etc.), and the flight of peasants and townspeople to the outskirts of the state (at that time the Don Cossacks began to take shape), and numerous cases of unauthorized plowing by peasants of the lands of feudal lords, monasteries, cutting down forests, etc., and the intensification of the ideological struggle, which took the form of heresies (the appearance of sects of Josephites and non-possessors in the late XV - early XVI centuries). To suppress the class protest of the lower classes, to ensure the exploitation of the peasants in the new conditions, the class of feudal lords needed a strong unified state.

The formation of the Russian centralized state coincided in time mainly with the formation of the Great Russian people (the beginning of its formation dates back to the 14th-15th centuries). The formation of the Great Russian people on the basis of an economic, cultural, linguistic, and territorial community accelerated the growth of national self-consciousness and contributed to the unification of Russian lands. In turn, a single state contributed to the creation of a political community and the formation of the Great Russian people.

These are the internal socio-economic and political prerequisites for the formation of the Russian unified state.

Russia's foreign policy position played an important role in this process. Not a single large state of Western Europe at the time of centralization was in such unfavorable external conditions as Russia, over which the Tatar-Mongol yoke weighed for more than two hundred years and which for centuries had to ensure its security from the constant mass raids of the Crimean Tatars and the threat such at that time large and strong countries as Sweden, Turkey and others. History of the state and law of the USSR / Ed. Kalinina G. S. - M .: Legal Literature, 1972. - P. 148 All this led to severe destruction of the economy, to the death of thousands and thousands of people, to the diversion of huge forces and means to fight external enemies, for centuries it put pressure on the consciousness of Russians of people. The need for liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke and defense from the constant threat of invasions by other foreign invaders accelerated the formation of a unified Russian state.

The totality of all these causes took shape and was clearly manifested by the second half of the 15th century. By this time, the forces capable of ensuring the unification of Russia had also developed.

In Western Europe, the decisive force in the formation of centralized states was the alliance of royalty and cities, supported by petty chivalry. In Russia, the growing cities often also united around the grand duke's power in the struggle for unification. Residents of a number of cities (Tver, Novgorod, etc.) with their active participation contributed to the annexation of lands to Moscow. But one can hardly speak of a strong and permanent alliance of cities with the Grand Duke. in Russia in the 15th century. in contrast to Western Europe, the townspeople have not yet become "more necessary to society than the feudal nobility." The main political force in the creation of a unified Russian, and then a centralized state, was the growing feudal nobility in alliance with the grand ducal power with the support of the cities. A strong unified state was also supported by some boyars, whose interests were closely connected with the great Moscow prince. The Russian Church as a whole also needed a strong state power to secure its privileges. However, she also entered into a struggle with princely power when it affected the land and other interests of the church and monasteries.

At the center of the entire economic and political process of the unification of Russia were peasants and urban townspeople. Their labor created economic conditions for the unification. Centuries of military labor, exploits and sacrifices of the people led to the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The popular masses stood for the elimination of internecine strife, for a strong state capable of defending the independence of the country.

On the way to the unification process, it was necessary not only to overthrow the foreign yoke, but also to overcome the resistance of the significant internal forces of the great and specific princes, the boyar elite. These elements were strong not in numbers, but in their economic and political power, influence on various groups of the population associated with them, and the strength of age-old traditions and habits.

The center of the unification of the Russian lands was the most developed and strong Moscow principality, which led all the Russian lands in the struggle against the Tatar-Mongols.

Causes and prerequisites for the formation of a centralized state.

At the end of the XIII century. the formation of a centralized state begins. This process continued until the 15th century. feature The unifying process was that the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion delayed the economic development of the Russian lands, contributed to the conservation of feudal fragmentation. Political centralization was far ahead of the beginning of overcoming economic disunity and was accelerated by the struggle for national independence.

One of the prerequisites for centralization was the approximate synchronism in the development of all principalities.

Causes the formation of a centralized state was the growth and development of feudal land ownership, and the absorption of the peasant community by the feudal lords (the feudal lords were interested in creating a centralized apparatus of power to suppress the resistance of the peasants); the rise of cities (the inhabitants of the cities were interested in the elimination of feudal fragmentation, which prevented free trade); princely strife ravaged the peasant lands, so the peasants were also interested in stabilizing power.

In addition, the estates (boyars) were interested in the unity of the country, since, for example, they did not have the right to buy land outside the borders of their principality.

Stages of formation of a centralized state.

Conventionally, the process of formation of a centralized state can be divided into three periods:

1) The end of the XIII - the first half of the XIV centuries - the movement of the economic center to the North-East; strengthening of the Moscow and Tver principalities, the struggle between them; the growth of the territory of the Moscow principality, its victory over Tver.

2) II half of the XIV - the beginning of the XV centuries - the defeat of Moscow in the 60-70s. its main rivals and the transition from the assertion of political supremacy to the state association of Russian lands around Moscow. Organization by Moscow of a nationwide struggle to overthrow the Horde yoke. The feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century was the defeat of a coalition of specific princes who were trying to defend the independence of their principalities.

3) The second half of the XV - the beginning of the XVI centuries. - subordination of Novgorod to Moscow; completion of the unification of lands around Moscow; liquidation of the Mongol-Tatar yoke; formation of statehood.

Fight between Moscow and Tver.

At the end of the XIII century. the center of economic life moves to the Northeast. About 14 principalities were formed here, of which the most significant were: Suzdal, Gorodetsky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl, Tver and Moscow. However, most of them could not maintain their political independence for a long time and were forced to submit, one way or another, to a stronger neighbor.

The main rivals in the late XIII - early XIV centuries. become Moscow and Tver.

The founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky. Daniel (1271-1303). The principality of Tver in 1247 was received by the younger brother of Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav Yaroslavich.

At the first stage, both principalities fought to increase their territories.

Alexander Nevsky allocated the Principality of Moscow to his youngest son when Daniel was only two years old, so until 1271 the principality was ruled by the governors of the Grand Duke of Vladimir. From the beginning of the 80s, Daniel began to actively participate in the struggle of his brothers (princes Dmitry Pereyaslavsky and Andrei Gorodetsky) for the reign of Vladimir. In 1301, Daniel captured Kolomna from the Ryazan princes; in 1302, according to the will of the childless "pereyaslavl prince Ivan Dmitrievich, who was at enmity with Tver, the Pereyaslavl principality passed to him; in 1303 Mozhaisk was annexed. Thus, in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga, the Moscow principality was formed, which included four cities, each of which he had his own fortress-Kremlin.In Moscow itself, two fortified monasteries are being built - Bogoyavlensky, next to the Kremlin, and Danilov (founded in 1298) - in the south, on the road along which the Tatars most often approached the city.In 1303 BC, before his death, Prince Daniel took the vows as a monk in the Donskoy Monastery.

After the death of Daniil, the Principality of Moscow passes to his eldest son, Yuri (1303-1325), who, after the death of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Yaroslavich, enters the struggle for the grand throne.

In 1304, Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver received a label in the Horde for a great reign.

In 1315, Yuri Danilovich went to the Horde. Having married the sister of Khan Uzbek - Konchaka (Agafya), and promising to increase tribute from the Russian lands, he finally received a label for a great reign. But the prince of Tver did not obey the decision of the khan, and began a war against Yuri. In December 1318, in the battle near the village of Bortenev, Mikhail defeated Yuri's squad and captured his wife. Agafya died in captivity, and Yuri blamed Mikhail for her death. The prince of Tver was summoned to the Horde and killed. In 1319, a Moscow prince received a label for a great reign.

But in 1325, Yuri Danilovich was killed in the Horde by the Tver prince Dmitry Mikhailovich. Khan executed Dmitry, but the label was again transferred to Tver (Prince Alexander Mikhailovich).

Ivan Kalita.

The youngest son of Daniil Alexandrovich, Ivan Kalita (1325-1341), becomes prince of Moscow.

In 1326 Metropolitan Peter moved his residence from Vladimir to Moscow. Officially, it was transferred under Feognost in 1328. In 1327, an uprising broke out in Tver against the Horde. The Tatar took the horse from the local deacon, and he called for help from fellow countrymen. The people fled, rushed to the Tatars. Baskak Chol Khan and his associates took refuge in the princely palace, but they set it on fire along with the Horde. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich at first tried to dissuade the townspeople from the uprising, but, in the end, he was forced to join them.

Ivan Danilovich, together with the Horde troops, appeared in Tver and crushed the uprising. The prince of Tver fled to Pskov, but Metropolitan Feognost, an ally of Kalita, cursed the people of Pskov and excommunicated them from the church. Alexander Mikhailovich had to flee to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Having crushed the uprising in Tver, Ivan Kalita in 1328 received a label for the Great reign of Vladimir. In addition, he receives the right to collect tribute 6 Russian principalities and its delivery to the Horde.

Under Ivan Kalita, the boundaries of the Moscow principality expanded significantly; Galich, Uglich, Beloozersk principalities submitted to him. Active construction is underway - four stone churches are being built in the Moscow Kremlin: the Assumption Cathedral (1326), the Church of Ivan Lestvichnik (1329), the Church of the Savior on Bor (1330), the Archangel Cathedral (1333).

Historians assess the role of Ivan Kalita in the formation of a centralized state in different ways. Some believe that Ivan Kalita did not set himself big state tasks, but pursued only selfish goals of enrichment and strengthening of personal power. Others, on the contrary, believe that he sought to make the Principality of Moscow not "just one of the largest in Russia, but precisely the center of the unification of lands. Ivan Kalita died on March 31, 1341.

Simon Proud.

Semyon the Proud (1341-1353) becomes the Grand Duke after his death. During this period of time, four great principalities actively operate on the political scene in North-Eastern Russia: Moscow, Tver, Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan. From the mid-40s, a long internecine struggle began in the Tver principality, which Moscow skillfully supported. At the same time, the Moscow princes had to put up with the loss of the Nizhny Novgorod territories, which in 1341 Khan Uzbek transferred from the Grand Duchy of Vladimir to the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Principality. The conflict with Ryazan over Lopasna did not continue either. Relations with Novgorod became more complicated - they managed to be adjusted only under Ivan the Red. Tensions are growing in relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1353-1357, a plague epidemic passed in Moscow, from which Metropolitan Feognost died in March 1353, and later Semyon the Proud. His brother, Ivan the Red (1353-1359), became his heir. Under the sons of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow principality included the Dmitrov, Kostroma, Starodub principalities and the Kaluga region. At the same time, the independence of most Russian lands is increasing.

The second stage in the creation of a centralized state begins in the second half of the 14th century.

Dmitry Donskoy.

After the death of Ivan Ivanovich the Red in 1359, his son, nine-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich, became prince of Moscow. Taking advantage of his infancy, the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich tried to get a label in the Horde for the Great reign. However, Metropolitan Alexei and the Moscow boyars succeeded in 1362 in transferring the yarlyk to Dmitry Ivanovich. Soon, in 1363, Dmitry Konstantinovich received the label again, but this time his great reign lasted only 12 days - the Moscow army devastated the outskirts of Vladimir, and the prince himself was expelled. In 1366, he renounced his claims to the Grand Duke's throne, and even married his daughter Evdokia to Dmitry Ivanovich.

In 1367, the construction of the stone Kremlin in Moscow began.

Tver remained a serious rival of Moscow. Relying on an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich attacked Moscow several times. Unable to subjugate the Muscovites by force, he turns to the Horde and in 1371 receives a label for the Great reign. But the inhabitants of Vladimir did not let Mikhail in. In 1375, Mikhail again received a label, but Dmitry refused to recognize it. Dmitry was supported by Yaroslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and even Novgorod, and the inhabitants of Tver themselves, after a three-day siege of the city by Moscow regiments, demanded that their prince renounce his claims to the Grand Duke's throne. The Peace of Tver and Moscow in 1375 continued until 1383.

The struggle for the Grand Duke's throne showed a new balance of power - the Horde increasingly supported the opponents of Moscow, but itself had already weakened (from the end of the 50s, fragmentation began in the Horde) and was unable to actively support its henchmen. In addition, the very appeal to the Horde compromised the princes. On the other hand, the Moscow princes already enjoy considerable prestige and support from other Russian lands.

It was at this moment that the policy of the Moscow princes towards the Horde changed. If earlier the Moscow princes were somehow forced to maintain peaceful relations with the Horde, now they are leading the all-Russian campaign against the Mongol-Tatars. The beginning of this was laid in 1374 at the congress of princes in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

Having united his allies, Prince Dmitry wins the first major victory over the Mongol-Tatars - in 1380 on the Kulikovo field. And although after some time it will be necessary to resume the payment of tribute to the Horde, the prestige of the Moscow princes increases significantly.

In 1389, Dmitry Donskoy, drawing up his will, handed over to his eldest son the Vladimir Grand Duke's throne as the "patrimony" of the Moscow princes, without mentioning the label. Thus, the territory of the Vladimir and Moscow principalities merged.

Basil I (1389-1425) continued his father's policy. In 1392, he bought a label for the Nizhny Novgorod principality, and then annexed Murom, Tarusa and Gorodets to Moscow. The annexation of these lands made it possible to create an all-Russian system of border defense. But the attempt to annex the Dvina land ended in failure.

After the death of Vasily I, the ten-year-old son of Vasily I, Vasily, and the younger brother of Vasily I, Yuri Dmitrievich, became contenders for the throne of the Grand Duke.

According to the will of Dmitry Donskoy, after the death of Vasily, the Grand Duke's throne was to pass to Yuri, but it was not agreed that this order would continue after the birth of Vasily's son. The guardian of the young Vasily was the father of Vasily I's wife, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, so Yuri recognized his nephew as "the elder brother" and the Grand Duke. But in 1430 Vitovt died, and Yuri opposed Vasily. In 1433 and 1434 he captured Moscow, but could not stay there. After the death of Yuri (June 5, 1434), his sons continued the struggle: Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. In 1445, the Kazan Khan Ulu-Muhammed captured Vasily II, and Shemyak seized power. Soon, however, Basil returned, promising a ransom for the khan. In February 1446 Shemyaka again seized power in Moscow. The arrested Vasily II was blinded and sent into exile in Uglich. In September, Vasily swore that he would not aspire to the Grand Duke's throne and became a specific prince in Vologda.

But Shemyaka caused dissatisfaction among the Muscovites: the Moscow boyars were pushed aside by Shemyakin's confidants; when the independence of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod principality was restored, the estates captured or bought by the Moscow boyars were returned to the local feudal lords; the collection of funds for the payment of a ransom to the Kazan Khan continued. Vasily the Dark was supported not only by the close boyars, but also by the Tver Grand Duke Boris Alexandrovich (this union was sealed by the betrothal of Vasily II's six-year-old son Ivan and the four-year-old Tver princess Marya).

At the end of 1446, Shemyaka was expelled from Moscow, but the feudal war continued until his death (1453).

In 1456, Vasily the Dark defeated the Novgorod troops and in Yazhelbitsy concluded an agreement with Novgorod, according to which the power of the prince was strengthened in Novgorod (he, and not the veche, was now the highest judicial authority). Novgorod lost the right to external relations; paid a large indemnity and pledged not to support Moscow's opponents. The cities of Bezhetsky Verkh, Volok Lamsky, Vologda were assigned to Moscow.

Feudal war second quarterXVin.

After the death of Vasily the Dark, his son Ivan III (1462-1505) becomes the Grand Duke. Under him, Yaroslavl (1463-1468) and Rostov (1474) principalities lost their independence.

Fight between Moscow and Novgorod.

But the main task remained the fight against Novgorod.

After the defeat of the Novgorodians on the Shelon River, inflicted by the troops of Ivan III (July 14, 1471), and the execution of Dmitry Boretsky, the independence of Novgorod was further reduced - the Grand Duke acquired control over the judicial activities of the Novgorod authorities.

November 23, 1475 Ivan III enters Novgorod for "trial". As a result, many boyars were arrested, some of them were sent to Moscow.

In 1477, in Novgorod, some of Moscow's supporters were killed at a veche. As a result, a new campaign against Novgorod was undertaken. In January 1478 the Novgorod authorities capitulated. Veche was canceled, the veche bell was taken to Moscow. Instead of posadniks and thousandths, Moscow governors began to rule the city. The confiscation of boyar lands began.

In 1480, after standing on the Ugra River, the yoke of the Mongol-Tatars was finally overthrown.

In September 1485, Tver was annexed. On September 8, Moscow troops approached Tver. On the night of September 11-12, Mikhail Borisovich fled to Lithuania. On September 15, Ivan III and his son Ivan solemnly entered Tver.

Completion of land consolidation. Formation of statehood.

The annexation of Tver meant the creation of a single state. It was from this moment that Ivan III titled himself the sovereign of all Russia.

In 1489, the Vyatka land was annexed.

After the death in 1490 of the son of Ivan III, the six-year-old grandson Dmitry Ivanovich remained from the Tver princess Maria Borisovna Ivan; on the other hand, from the marriage with the niece of the Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleolog 1, there was a ten-year-old son Vasily.

In the late 90s. between these two contenders for the throne, a struggle for power unfolds, and Ivan III himself first supported his grandson (in 1498 he was crowned for a great reign), then - his son (crowned in 1502).

In October 1505, Ivan III died and Vasily III (1505-1533) became the Grand Duke. Under him, in 1510, Pskov was annexed, and in 1521, Ryazan. In 1514, Smolensk, conquered from Lithuania, was included in the Moscow lands.

In addition, the size of appanages and the rights of appanage princes were reduced: escheated appanages were to go to the Grand Duke, the court in the Moscow villages of appanage princes was to be carried out by the governor of the Grand Duke. The brothers of the Grand Duke were forbidden to mint independent coins, trade in Moscow, and even enter Moscow unnecessarily.

After twenty years of fruitless marriage with Solomonia Saburova, in 1526 Vasily divorced her (Solomonia was forcibly tonsured a nun) and

marries Elena Glinskaya. From this marriage in August 1530, Elena gave birth to a son, Ivan, and later, Yuri.

In December 1533, Vasily III died.

The social and political structure of the new state.

So, by the first quarter of the 16th century. the process of creating a centralized state is practically completed, although many vestiges of feudal fragmentation will still persist for quite a long time.

The state is formed in the form monarchy with strong royal power. The Grand Duke already systematically used the title "sovereign" (since 1485, Ivan III began to be called the sovereign of all Russia), and the features of an autocrat were manifested in his power.

The advisory body under the Grand Duke was the Boyar Duma. The Duma included about 24 people (duma ranks - boyars and roundabouts). In the XVI century. duma boyars will begin to favor princes (which actually lowered the status of princes and deprived them of the remnants of independence).

The principles of inseparability of judicial and administrative power lay at the heart of the organization of state administration. Functional governing bodies have only just begun to take shape.

Until the middle of the XVI century. two nationwide departments were formed and operated: the Palace and the Treasury.

The palace, headed by a court (butler) was in charge of the personal lands of the Grand Duke. In his submission were "servants under the court" (worthy boyars), who controlled the "ways" - separate branches of the princely economy (horsemen, stewards, bowlers, hunters, falconers, etc.). Over time, the functions of butlers became wider: they considered litigations about land ownership, judged the population of some counties, were in charge of collecting taxes, etc. As new lands were annexed to Moscow, local “palaces” were created to manage them (Dmitrovsky, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Ryazan, Tver, Uglitsky).

Another department - the Treasury - was in charge not only of financial affairs, but also of the state archive and the state seal. Since 1467, the posts of a state clerk and clerks in charge of office work appeared.

With the increase in the functions of state administration, it became necessary to create special institutions that would manage military, foreign, judicial and other affairs. Inside the Grand Palace and the Treasury, special departments began to form - "tables" controlled by clerks. Later they developed into orders. The first mention of orders dates back to 1512. Some historians believe that they arose a little earlier, and by the time of the death of Vasily III there were already about 20 orders. According to others, the order system began to take shape only in the middle of the 16th century.

There was no clear division of functions in the state apparatus. There was no clear administrative-territorial division. The country was divided into

counties, and those, in turn, to camps and volosts. Governors ruled counties, camps and volosts - volostels. These positions were given, as a rule, for the previous military service and there was no strict order in these appointments.

Speaking about the structure of local government, historians express almost opposite points of view on a number of issues. For example, some argue that "feeding" was given for a limited time, others - that this is a lifetime retention. Some believe that the “feed income” (part of the collected taxes) and “award” (judicial fees) were remuneration for judicial and administrative activities, while others believe that this remuneration is not for the performance of administrative and judicial duties, but for former service in troops, etc.

In order to centralize and unify the procedure for judicial and administrative activities throughout the entire state, in 1497 Sudebnik 1 was drawn up, which established uniform norms for tax liability and the procedure for conducting investigations and trials. In addition, the Code of Practice defines in general terms the competence of individual officials.

The strengthening of centralized power also contributed to the change social structure of society.

If at the beginning of the formation of a centralized state there was a complex system of feudal vassalage, and the immune rights of feudal lords developed, then gradually the independence of individual landowners is reduced. The Grand Duke becomes not just the head of the hierarchy - he is considered "instead of a father." The number of specific princes has decreased, their rights are being significantly curtailed. Princely land holdings are approaching patrimonial ones. The "charming of the princes" begins; "departure" is prohibited.

The independence of the boyars is significantly limited. In the XV century. the boyars lost the right to free passage. Now they were obliged to serve not the specific princes, but the Grand Duke of Moscow, and swore allegiance to him in this. He, in turn, had the right to take away the boyar estates, impose disgrace, deprive of property and life.

In the XV century. a stratum of "service princes" also appears, who went over to the service of the Moscow prince (from Lithuanian). Gradually, the number of service people increases significantly. It was they who became the force on which the central government relies in the fight against local separatism. receiving

lands on terms of service in favor of the Grand Duke, service people - landowners - more than all other social groups were interested in stable grand ducal power.

Local landownership was given to service people on certain conditions (administrative management or military service) for a certain period. The main difference was that the estates were forbidden to sell and donate, they were not inherited and formally belonged to the Grand Duke.

Another large category of feudal lords is the church. Large church land ownership is attracting more and more attention of the grand ducal authorities, seeking to find a way to take away its land from the church. A confrontation between church and state is brewing. It is expressed in the support of "heresies" by the secular authorities and active intervention in the struggle of non-possessors and Josephites.

As for the feudal-dependent population, the position of its various categories is gradually converging - in the XIV century. for all a single term appeared - "peasants".

According to the degree of involvement in feudal dependence, peasants can be divided into black-mallowed(the feudal lord in relation to them, according to most historians, was the state) and privately owned: a) living in the patrimony of a prince or boyar or on church and monastery lands; b) belonging personally to the Grand Duke.

Article 57 of the Sudebnik of 1497 limited the right of a peasant to transfer from one feudal lord to another a week before and a week after the autumn St. George's Day (November 26); for leaving, the peasant had to pay "old": a ruble in the steppe and a half in the forest areas (a quarter of this amount for each lived year). Some historians believe that the "old" was a payment for the use of real estate (house) on land owned by the feudal lord. Others believe that this was a kind of compensation for the loss of an employee.

The social structure of the urban population was determined both by the existing mode of production in general and by the specific occupation of the townspeople. In the structure of cities, “white” settlements began to form, the population of which was in personal feudal dependence on secular or spiritual feudal lords and did not pay city taxes. The personally free population, who paid the tax, lived on the black lands (black hundreds 1). The top of the urban population were merchants and urban feudal lords.

In the second half of the XIV century. in northeastern Russia, the tendency to unite the lands intensified. The center of the association was the Moscow principality, separated from Vladimir-Suzdal in the 12th century.

Causes.

The role of unifying factors was played by: the weakening and collapse of the Golden Horde, the development of economic ties and trade, the formation of new cities and the strengthening of the social stratum of the nobility. In the Moscow principality, a system developed local relations: the nobles received land from the Grand Duke for their service and for the duration of their service. This made them dependent on the prince and strengthened his power. Also the reason for the merger was struggle for national independence.

Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

Speaking of "centralization" one should keep in mind two processes: the unification of Russian lands around a new center - Moscow and the creation of a centralized state apparatus, a new power structure in the Muscovite state.

The state was formed in the northeastern and northwestern lands of the former Kievan Rus; From the 13th century Moscow princes and the church begin to carry out a wide colonization of the Trans-Volga territories, new monasteries, fortresses and cities are formed, the local population is conquered.

The formation of the state took place in a very short time, which was associated with the presence of an external danger in the face of the Golden Horde; the internal structure of the state was fragile; the state at any moment could break up into separate principalities;

the creation of the state took place on a feudal basis; in Russia, a feudal society began to form: serfdom, estates, etc.; in Western Europe, the formation of states took place on a capitalist basis, and bourgeois society began to take shape there.

Features of the process of state centralization and boiled down to the following: Byzantine and Eastern influence led to strong despotic tendencies in the structure and politics of power; the main support of autocratic power was not the union of cities with the nobility, but the local nobility; centralization was accompanied by the enslavement of the peasantry and the strengthening of class differentiation.

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

Stage 1. Rise of Moscow(late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the XIII century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former importance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.

The rise of Tver began after the death of Alexander Nevsky (1263). During the last decades of the thirteenth century Tver acts as a political center and organizer of the struggle against Lithuania and the Tatars and tried to subdue the most important political centers: Novgorod, Kostroma, Pereyaslavl, Nizhny Novgorod. But this desire ran into strong resistance from other principalities, and above all from Moscow.

The beginning of the rise of Moscow is associated with the name of the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky - Daniel (1276 - 1303). Daniil got a small village of Moscow. For three years, the territory of Daniel's possession has tripled: Kolomna and Pereyaslavl have joined Moscow. Moscow became a principality.

His son Yuri (1303 - 1325). joined the Tver prince in the struggle for the throne of Vladimir. A long and stubborn struggle for the title of Grand Duke began. Yuri's brother Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita, in 1327 in Tver, Ivan Kalita went to Tver with an army and crushed the uprising. In gratitude, in 1327 the Tatars gave him a label for the Great reign.

Stage 2. Moscow - the center of the fight against the Mongol-Tatars(second half of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries). The strengthening of Moscow continued under the children of Ivan Kalita - Simeon Proud (1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red (1353-1359). Under the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, on September 8, 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place. The Tatar army of Khan Mamai was defeated.

Stage 3. Completion of the formation of the Russian centralized state (end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries). The unification of Russian lands was completed under the great-grandson of Dmitry Donskoy Ivan III (1462 - 1505) and Vasily III (1505 - 1533). Ivan III annexed the entire North-East of Russia to Moscow: in 1463 - the Yaroslavl principality, in 1474 - Rostov. After several campaigns in 1478, the independence of Novgorod was finally abolished.

Under Ivan III, one of the most important events in Russian history took place - the Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off (in 1480 after standing on the Ugra River).

13. Sudebnik of 1497. General characteristics. The evolution of law.

Sudebnik of 1497- code of laws of the Russian state; a normative legal act created in order to systematize the existing rules of law.

A monument of Russian feudal law of the 15th century, created during the reign of Ivan III. The compilation of the Sudebnik was attributed to the deacon Vladimir Gusev for a long time, however, according to L. V. Cherepnin, supported by other historians, there was a typo in the original document and it was about the execution of the mentioned Gusev. According to the same Cherepnin, the most likely compilers of the Sudebnik were Prince I. Yu. Patrikeev, as well as clerks: Vasily Dolmatov, Vasily Zhuk, Fedor Kuritsyn.

Prerequisites for the adoption of the Sudebnik:

1. extending the power of the Grand Duke to the entire territory of the centralized state;

2. destruction of the legal sovereignties of individual lands, appanages and regions;

3. the presence of a central administration and a court in the absence of their formal consolidation.

Sources of Sudebnik:

1. statutory letters of local government;

2. Pskov Judicial Charter;

3. customs, isolated cases (precedents), judicial practice;

4. Russian Truth.

Features of the Sudebnik of 1497:

1. The legislation of the veche is equated with the acts of the “Grassroots State;

2. the text of the Sudebnik is an amended Pskov Judicial Charter;

3. The Code of Laws is poorer than the Pskov Judicial Letter in terms of language, legal concept and editorial art.

The system of the Grand Duke's Judiciary:

1. the first part (articles 1-36) - about the central court;

2. the second (articles 37-44) - about the provincial (viceroy) court;

3. third part (Articles 45–55 and 67–68) – substantive law.

Procedural law was regulated by the Code of Laws in detail. The process is adversarial with elements of the inquisitorial. Torture appears as a means of proof (for example, in cases of tatba) and written records of the court session.

The court was carried out with the participation of the "best people", who were part of the court together with the grand ducal (royal) governor (an analogue of the modern jury).

The process and procedural actions are paid, at the expense of the plaintiff.

The process as a whole was adopted by the Sudebnik from the Pskov Judicial Charter.

A higher (second) court appeared - the Boyar Duma and the Grand Duke (Tsar).

The substantive law according to the Sudebnik dealt with property, inheritance rights, contracts, the transfer of peasants, and servility. The Law Code allowed the application of customary law.

Civil law: The Sudebnik of 1497 establishes the procedure for the transition of peasants on St. George's Day and during the week before and after this day, the transition is possible after paying the elderly.

According to the Sudebnik of 1497, city keykeeping appears - a new source of servility.

Kholop received release in case of escape from Tatar captivity.

The Sudebnik duplicates the contractual law of the Pskov Judicial Letter, but expands the application of the personal contract, and the sale should now be carried out only in front of witnesses.

The Sudebnik of 1497 regulated bankruptcy.

According to the Sudebnik, the following were distinguished types of inheritance:

1. by law;

2. by will ("manuscript").

Criminal law: the crime began to be understood as "dashingly business" (these are serious crimes attributed to the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke).

Sudebnik 1497 expanded the number of crimes new formulations:

1. sedition (state crime);

2. rise (anti-government agitation);

3. arson for the purpose of causing great damage (terrorist act);

4. head tatba (theft of slaves, theft of people in general or theft that led to the murder).

Sudebnik introduces new punishments, now the criminal law has become punitive. The death penalty, the commercial penalty (beating with sticks on the trading floor) are applied, the fine is a thing of the past.

The centralization of Russian lands included two processes:

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

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

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

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

Prerequisites for the formation of a Russian centralized state:

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

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

political:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The process of formation of the Russian centralized state began in the second half of the 13th century and ended at the beginning of the 16th century.

Certain economic, social, political and spiritual prerequisites led to the process of formation of the Russian centralized state:

The main economic reason is the further development of feudal relations.

Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

1. The absence in Russia of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for the formation of a single state.

2. The leading role in the formation of the state of the foreign policy factor.

3. Eastern style of political activity.

Stages of political unification in Russia:

Stage 1- the end of the XIII-first half of the XIV century - strengthening Moscow principality and the beginning of the unification of Russian lands headed by Moscow.

Rise of Moscow

The first "senior prince" to receive a label from Batu, became Alexander Nevskiy. Alexander Nevsky skillfully pursued the policy of the Mongol-Tatars, especially in matters of collecting tribute, suppressing by force the speeches of other specific princes who were dissatisfied with his policy. Khan Batu also contributed in every possible way to strengthening the sole power of Alexander Nevsky as the only Grand Duke of Russia and protege Golden Horde .

After the death of Alexander Nevsky in 1263. the process of centralization of Russian lands went through:

The transformation of the label for a great reign from elective to hereditary and its gradual assignment to the descendants of Alexander Nevsky

Elevations of Moscow, where the descendants of Alexander Nevsky reigned

Gradual expansion of Moscow, incorporation into the Moscow Principality, headed by the descendants of Alexander Nevsky, other specific principalities

The transformation of the specific Moscow principality into the Muscovite state, dominating all the principalities of northeastern Russia.

The first mention of Moscow dates back to 1147. The prince of Kyiv is considered the founder of Moscow Yury Dolgoruky, who founded the city on the land of the boyar Kuchka.
In 1276 the son of Alexander Nevsky, the Moscow appanage prince Daniil Aleksanrovich received a label from the Mongol-Tatars for a great reign and Moscow became one of the political centers.

The rise of the Moscow principality

Moscow, which was before the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars a small point of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, at the beginning of the XIV century. turned into an important political center of that time.

Reasons for the rise of Moscow:

one). Moscow occupied a geographically advantageous central position among the Russian lands.

2). Moscow was a center of developed handicrafts, agricultural production and trade.

3). Moscow turned out to be an important junction of land and water routes, which served both for trade and for military operations.

4). The rise of Moscow is also explained by the purposeful, flexible policy of the Moscow princes, who managed to win over not only other Russian principalities, but also the church.

The positions of Moscow were further strengthened under the son of Daniil Alexandrovich and the grandson of Alexander Nevsky - Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita. (money bag), which received a label for a great reign in 1325.

Ivan 1 Danilovich (Ivan Kalita) - the grandson of Alexander Nevsky, who ruled in 1325-1340:

He was the best tribute collector for the Golden Horde;

At the head of the Golden Horde army, he brutally suppressed the anti-Horde uprising in Tver, Moscow's main rival for primacy in Russia;

He earned the full confidence of the Mongol-Tatar khans, who in every possible way assisted him in subordinating other specific princes;

He achieved from the Mongol-Tatars the label for a great reign on the hereditary principle - behind the branch of Alexander Nevsky of the Rurik dynasty (in fact, with the assistance of the Mongol-Tatars and under their rule, the formation of the ruling Russian dynasty began);

He went down in history as one of the first "collectors of Russian lands" (he bought neighboring lands for money and increased the territory of the Moscow principality by 5 times.);

Part of the land (Kostroma) received from the Mongol-Tatars for faithful service;

Convinced the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church Peter in 1325. move from Tver to Moscow, as a result of which Moscow became the center of Russian Orthodoxy and the spiritual center of the Russian lands.

2nd stage- the second half of the XIV-beginning of the XV century - the successful development of the process of unification and the emergence of elements of a single state.

The policy of Ivan Kalita - winning the confidence of the Mongols, strengthening the power of the Moscow prince, expanding the Moscow principality, was continued by the sons of Ivan Kalita:

Simeon Ivanovich ( Simeon the Proud) - 1340-1353.

Ivan II Ivanovich ( Ivan Red) - 1353-1359

During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy (1359-1389), the balance of power in Russia changed in favor of Moscow

The following contributed to this process:

In just two years, the impregnable white stone Kremlin of Moscow (1364) was built - the only stone fortress in the territory of northeastern Russia;

The claims to the all-Russian leadership of Nizhny Novgorod and Tver were repulsed, the campaigns of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd were repulsed;

For the first time, military clashes began between the Moscow principality and the Golden Horde - the battle on the river. Vozhe - 1378

A sharp change in relations between Russia and the Golden Horde had an external impetus:

In the 137s. hordes of nomads (including Tamerlane from Central Asia) began to attack the Golden Horde from the south, as a result of which the Golden Horde weakened several times;

Inside the Horde - a leapfrog of khans, strife among the top of the Mongol-Tatars led to the situation of the collapse of the Golden Horde and the beginning of the formation of Tatar specific principalities.

The grandson of Ivan Kalita, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy of Moscow, took advantage of the resulting political situation and became the first prince to attempt to overthrow the Mongol-Tatra yoke. In 1376 for the first time in history he refused to pay tribute to the Horde, and in 1377. forced the newly created Kazan Khanate to pay tribute to the Moscow principality. To pacify Russia in 1378. an army was sent from the Golden Horde led by the commander Begich. During the battle on the Vozha River, the Russian army defeated Begich's army.

By 1380 the situation in the Horde stabilized warlord Mamai who established his dictatorship in the Horde. Wanting to curb the rebellious Russia, Mamai gathered an international army and together with him invaded the Russian lands. In response, Dmitry Ivanovich created an all-Russian army, which included both the army of the Moscow principality and the troops of other principalities. For the first time in several centuries, Russian troops acted as a united front. September 7-8, 1380 On the Kulikovo field in the upper reaches of the Don, a battle took place between the armies of Mamai and Dmitry.

Battle of Kulikovo showed the power and strength of Moscow as a political and economic center - the organizer of the struggle for the overthrow of the Golden Horde yoke and the unification of Russian lands. Thanks to the Kulikovo victory, the amount of tribute was reduced. Residents from various Russian lands and cities went to Kulikovo Field - they returned from the battle as the Russian people. Before his death, Dmitry Donskoy handed over the Grand Duchy of Vladimir to his son Vasily (1389-1425) by will as the “fatherland” of the Moscow princes, without asking the right to a label in the Horde. There was a merger of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and Moscow.

As a result of the Battle of Kulikovo, Mamai's army was defeated, and Russia overthrew the Mongol-Tatar yoke for 2 years 140 years after the invasion of Batu.
In 1382 the Mongol-Tatar yoke was restored. Khan Tokhtamysh, who overthrew Mamai and restored the unity of the Golden Horde, invaded Russia, burned Moscow and forced the Moscow principality after a 5-year break to pay tribute again.

Stage 3- second quarter of the 15th century: feudal war - 1431-1453. Internecine war in the second quarter of the 15th century.

The strife, called the feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century, began after the death of Basil I. By the end of the XIV century. in the Moscow principality, several specific possessions were formed, belonging to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. The largest of them were Galician and Zvenigorod, which were received by the youngest son of Dmitry Donskoy, Yuri. After the death of the Grand Duke, Yuri, as the eldest in the princely family, began the struggle for the Grand Duke's throne with his nephew, Vasily II (1425-1462).

The struggle after the death of Yuri was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. The feudal war ended with the victory of the forces of centralization. By the end of the reign of Vasily II, the possessions of the Moscow principality had increased 30 times compared to the beginning of the 14th century. The Moscow Principality included Murom (1343), Nizhny Novgorod (1393) and a number of lands on the outskirts of Russia.

Stage 4- the second half of the XV beginning of the XVI century: the formation of a single centralized state.

The Russian centralized state took shape in the northeastern and northwestern lands of Kievan Rus, its southern and southwestern lands were included in Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary. His education was accelerated by the need to fight against external danger, especially the Golden Horde, and later with the Kazan, Crimean, Siberian, Astrakhan, Kazan khanates, Lithuania and Poland. The Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Golden Horde yoke slowed down the socio-economic development of the Russian lands. The formation of a single state in Russia took place under the complete dominance of the traditional way of the Russian economy - on a feudal basis. The completion of the process of unification of Russian lands around Moscow into a centralized state falls on the years of the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and Vasily III (1505-1533).
1. Ivan III (1462-1505)

Blind father Vasily II early made his son Ivan III co-ruler of the state. Ivan III was the first to take the title of "Sovereign of All Russia". Under him, the double-headed eagle became the emblem of our state. Under him, the red brick Moscow Kremlin, which has survived to this day, was erected. Under him, the Golden Horde yoke was finally overthrown. With him in 1497. The first Sudebnik was created, national government bodies of the country began to form. Under him, in the newly rebuilt Chamber of Facets, they received ambassadors not from neighboring Russian principalities, but from the Pope, the German Emperor, the Polish King. Under him, the term Russia began to be used in relation to our state.

Ivan III, relying on the power of Moscow, managed to complete the unification of northeastern Russia almost without bloodshed. In 1468, the Yaroslavl principality was finally annexed, whose princes became the service princes of Ivan III. In 1472, the annexation of Perm the Great began. Even Vasily II the Dark bought half of the Rostov Principality, and in 1474 Ivan III acquired the rest. Finally, Tver, surrounded by Moscow lands, passed to Moscow in 1485, after its boyars swore allegiance to Ivan III. In 1489, the Vyatka land, important in terms of trade, became part of the state. In Novgorod in 1410, a reform of the posadnik administration took place: the oligarchic power of the boyars increased.

Vasily the Dark in 1456. established that the prince is the highest court in Novgorod (Yazhelbitsky world). Fearing the loss of their privileges in the event of submission to Moscow, part of the Novgorod boyars, led by the posadnik Marfa Boretskaya, concluded an agreement on the vassal dependence of Novgorod from Lithuania. Having learned about the collusion of the boyars with Lithuania, Ivan III took drastic measures to subjugate Novgorod. Novgorod was finally annexed to Moscow seven years later, in 1478. The veche bell was taken from the city to Moscow. The accession to Moscow of the Novgorod, Vyatka and Perm lands with the non-Russian peoples of the north and northeast living here expanded the multinational composition of the Russian state.

The Muscovite state was gaining strength and international prestige. Ivan III married Sophia Paleolog, niece of the last emperor of Byzantium. Therefore, the young Moscow state was declared the political and spiritual successor of Byzantium.

This found its expression both in the slogan: "Moscow is the third Rome", and in the borrowing of Byzantine symbols and symbols of power:

Coat of arms of Byzantium - the double-headed eagle was taken as the coat of arms of the newly formed Russian (Moscow) state

Gradually, a new name for the country, Russia, was borrowed from Byzantium.

Russian Byzantine symbols of power like the scepter and Monomakh's cap.

Vasily III (1505-1533) annexed to Moscow:

Pskov 1510;

Grand Duchy of Ryazan 1517;

Principality of Starodubskoe and Novgorod - Severskoe 1517-1523;

Smolensk 1514

Vasily III actually completed the unification of Great Russia and turned the Moscow principality into a national state.