Overthrow of the Tatar Mongol yoke. Rus' under the yoke

The Russian principalities before the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the Moscow state after gaining legal independence are, as they say, two big differences. It will not be an exaggeration that the unified Russian state, of which modern Russia is the direct heir, was formed during the period of the yoke and under its influence. The overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke was not only the cherished goal of Russian identity during the second half of the 13th-15th centuries. It also turned out to be a means of creating a state, national mentality and cultural identity.

Approaching the Battle of Kulikovo...

Most people’s idea of ​​the process of overthrowing the Tatar-Mongol yoke comes down to a very simplified scheme, according to which, before the Battle of Kulikovo, Rus' was enslaved by the Horde and did not even think about resistance, and after the Battle of Kulikovo, the yoke lasted another hundred years simply due to a misunderstanding. In reality, everything was more complicated.

The fact that the Russian principalities, although they generally recognized their vassal position in relation to the Golden Horde, did not stop trying to resist, is evidenced by a simple historical fact. Since the establishment of the yoke and throughout its entire length, about 60 major punitive campaigns, invasions and large-scale raids of Horde troops on Rus' are known from Russian chronicles. Obviously, in the case of completely conquered lands, such efforts are not required - this means that Rus' resisted, resisted actively, for centuries.

The Horde troops suffered their first significant military defeat on the territory controlled by Rus' about a hundred years before the Battle of Kulikovo. True, this battle took place during the internecine war for the grand-ducal throne of the Vladimir principality, which flared up between the sons of Alexander Nevsky . In 1285, Andrei Alexandrovich attracted the Horde prince Eltorai to his side and with his army went against his brother Dmitry Alexandrovich, who reigned in Vladimir. As a result, Dmitry Alexandrovich won a convincing victory over the Tatar-Mongol punitive corps.

Further, individual victories in military clashes with the Horde occurred, although not too often, but with stable consistency. Distinguished by his peacefulness and penchant for political solutions to all issues, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich, the youngest son of Nevsky, defeated the Mongol detachment near Pereyaslavl-Ryazan in 1301. In 1317, Mikhail Tverskoy defeated the army of Kavgady, which was attracted to his side by Yuri of Moscow.

The closer to the Battle of Kulikovo, the more confident the Russian principalities became, and unrest and unrest were observed in the Golden Horde, which could not but affect the balance of military forces.

In 1365, the Ryazan forces defeated the Horde detachment near the Shishevsky forest; in 1367, the Suzdal army won a victory at Pyana. Finally, in 1378, Dmitry of Moscow, the future Donskoy, won his dress rehearsal in the confrontation with the Horde: on the Vozha River he defeated an army under the command of Murza Begich, a close associate of Mamai.

Overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke: the great Battle of Kulikovo

It is unnecessary to talk once again about the significance of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, as well as to retell the details of its immediate course. From childhood, everyone knows the dramatic details of how Mamai’s army pressed on the center of the Russian army and how, at the most decisive moment, the Ambush Regiment hit the Horde and their allies in the rear, turning the fate of the battle. It is also well known that for Russian self-awareness it became an event of great importance when, for the first time after the establishment of the yoke, the Russian army was able to give a large-scale battle to the invader and win. But it is worth remembering that the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, with all its enormous moral significance, did not lead to the overthrow of the yoke.

Dmitry Donskoy managed to take advantage of the difficult political situation in the Golden Horde and embody his leadership abilities and the fighting spirit of his own army. However, just two years later, Moscow was taken by the forces of the legitimate khan of the Horde, Tokhtamysh (Temnik Mamai was a temporary usurper) and almost completely destroyed.

The young Principality of Moscow was not yet ready to fight on equal terms with the weakened but still powerful Horde. Tokhtamysh imposed an increased tribute on the principality (the previous tribute was retained in the same amount, but the population actually decreased by half; in addition, an emergency tax was introduced). Dmitry Donskoy undertook to send his eldest son Vasily to the Horde as a hostage. But the Horde had already lost political power over Moscow - Prince Dmitry Ivanovich managed to transfer power by inheritance independently, without any label from the khan. In addition, a few years later Tokhtamysh was defeated by another eastern conqueror, Timur, and for some period Rus' stopped paying tribute.

In the 15th century, tribute was generally paid with serious fluctuations, taking advantage of increasingly constant periods of internal instability in the Horde. In the 1430s - 1450s, the Horde rulers undertook several ruinous campaigns against Rus' - but in essence these were just predatory raids, and not attempts to restore political supremacy.

In fact, the yoke did not end in 1480...

In school exam papers on the history of Russia, the correct answer to the question “When and with what event did the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus' end?” will be considered “In 1480, Standing on the Ugra River.” In fact, this is the correct answer - but from a formal point of view, it does not correspond to historical reality.

In fact, in 1476, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, Akhmat. Until 1480, Akhmat dealt with his other enemy, the Crimean Khanate, after which he decided to punish the rebellious Russian ruler. The two armies met at the Ugra River in September 1380. The Horde's attempt to cross the river was stopped by Russian troops. After this, the Standing itself began, lasting until the beginning of November. As a result, Ivan III was able to force Akhmat to retreat without unnecessary loss of life. Firstly, there were strong reinforcements on the way to the Russians. Secondly, Akhmat’s cavalry began to experience a shortage of fodder, and illnesses began in the army itself. Thirdly, the Russians sent a sabotage detachment to the rear of Akhmat, which was supposed to plunder the defenseless capital of the Horde.

As a result, the khan ordered a retreat - and this ended the Tatar-Mongol yoke of almost 250 years. However, from a formal diplomatic position, Ivan III and the Moscow state remained in vassal dependence on the Great Horde for another 38 years. In 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed, and another wave of struggle for power arose in the Horde. In the difficult conditions of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Ivan III was not sure that the Horde would not be able to mobilize its forces again and organize a new large-scale campaign against Rus'. Therefore, being in fact a sovereign ruler and no longer paying tribute to the Horde, for diplomatic reasons in 1502, he officially recognized himself as a vassal of the Great Horde. But soon the Horde was finally defeated by its eastern enemies, so that in 1518 all vassal relations, even at the formal level, between the Moscow State and the Horde were terminated.

Alexander Babitsky

“Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword.”

Alexander Nevskiy

In the second half of the 13th century. the people repeatedly rebelled against the yoke and oppression perpetrated by the tribute collectors. Both individual cities and entire regions rose. All uprisings ended with retaliatory punitive expeditions of the Tatar-Mongols, who brutally crushed any attempts at resistance.

The internecine war within the Horde weakened control over the Russian lands, which contributed to the rise of Moscow over other principalities and its influence on them.

In 1380, Temnik Mamai, who came to power in the Horde after several years of internecine struggle, tried to restore the shaken dominance of the Golden Horde over the Russian principalities. Having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Jagiel, Mamai led his troops to Rus'.

On September 6, the united Russian army led by Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy approached the banks of the Don. On the night of September 8, Russian troops, on the orders of Dmitry Donskoy, crossed the river.

The battle took place on September 8, 1380 on the bank of the right tributary of the Don river. Nepryadva, in an area called Kulikovo Field. At first, the Horde managed to push back the Russian regiments. Then an ambush regiment under the command of Prince Vladimir Andreevich and the experienced governor Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky came out against them. Mamai's army could not withstand the onslaught of fresh Russian forces and fled. The battle turned into a pursuit of the enemy retreating in disorder.

The historical significance of the victory of Russian troops on the Kulikovo Field was enormous. The main forces of the Golden Horde were defeated. In the Russian lands, an idea began to emerge about the possibility of getting rid of Horde rule. The victory over Mamai strengthened the authority of Moscow as a center for uniting the disparate Russian principalities.

From the end of the 14th century. The gradual decline of the Golden Horde began. During the 15th century. the size of the tribute to the Horde was constantly decreasing, until Ivan III finally canceled its payment.

Khan Akhmat, trying to restore the Horde's former power, undertook in 1480. march to Rus'. He secured the alliance of Lithuania, but the Lithuanian prince never came to his aid. Waiting for the Lithuanians to approach, the Tatars did not dare to attack the Russian army. The confrontation between the Russian and Tatar troops on the Ugra River ended with the Tatars leaving without a fight. The Mongol-Tatar yoke was overthrown.

Conclusion

Thus ended the Mongol rule over Russia ingloriously. This difficult period did not pass, leaving a deep scar in the history of our fatherland that is noticeable to this day. The Mongol “reign” over the Russian lands, which lasted two centuries, slowed down the further development of the country for centuries.

this stage of history was simply necessary for Russia, no matter how bitter it is to admit, it showed that the fragmentation of the country, disagreements, the struggle for power in the circles of rulers could lead the state to disaster, to its enslavement by other countries, which is what happened... a seemingly barbaric tribe on an order lagging behind in development from the civilized society of Russia during this period of history was able to take over the country. I will highlight one, in my opinion, the most important reason - the fragmentation of Rus' in the 13th century.

The victory over the Mongols was not easy for the Russian people. Surprisingly, the same internecine struggle helped to escape from captivity in Russia, only not in the native state, but in the Golden Horde, thanks to which its influence on Rus' weakened, and the unification of Russian lands became possible.

Fragmentation is the disease of any civilization...

Yoke: a system of relations between Rus' and the Horde.

Until the beginning of the 12th century. The territory where modern Mongols live was inhabited by the Mongols themselves, Naiman, Tatars and many other tribes who waged constant wars among themselves. In the second half of the 12th century. The struggle for the unification of the Mongolian tribes and the creation of a single Mongolian state became especially intensified. In 1206, Genghis Khan was proclaimed Khan of all Mongolia at the All-Mongol Kurultai. The unified Mongol state was an absolute military-feudal monarchy, organized according to the decimal system. The entire territory of the country was divided into two large districts, which in turn were divided into “thousands” (with a population of 10 thousand people each), “thousands”, “hundreds” and “tens”. These military-administrative units were headed by nukers loyal to Genghis Khan. Around 1219, Mongol troops invaded Central Asia. This campaign became the initial stage of the Mongols' conquest of the countries of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. 10-20. 13th century conquered China; conquer Iran and pass along the shores of the Caspian Sea of ​​the North Caucasus. Rus' and the Horde in the XIII – XV centuries. The beginning of the political history of the Golden Horde dates back to 1243, when Batu returned from a campaign in Europe. In the same year, Grand Duke Yaroslav was the first of the Russian rulers to arrive at the headquarters of the Mongol Khan for a label to reign. The Mongols maintained local dynasties, did not station military garrisons, and did not persecute the church. The princes were vassals of Batu and his heirs. The Mongols used a hostage system. 1257-1259 - census of the Russian population to collect tribute. The main type of tribute collected in silver is called the Horde exit. There were 14 types of tribute in total, including blood tribute (young men were taken into the Mongol army). At first, tribute was collected by the Baskaks, and after the uprisings - by the princes. Relations between Rus' and the Horde took predictable and stable forms - a phenomenon called the “Mongol yoke” was born. At the same time, however, the practice of periodic punitive campaigns did not stop until the 14th century. Many Russian princes were subjected to terror and intimidation in order to prevent anti-Horde protests from them. The activities of the Orthodox diocese in the Horde were not in vain. After 1318, a stream of Orthodox Tatars moved to Rus'. Most of them were accepted into military service by the Moscow prince, who was in alliance with the Orthodox Church. Moscow eclipsed the power of other principalities, receiving into its squad warriors who had no equal due to their perfect combat training and special military solidarity. Already at the end of the 13th century, the Horde transferred the collection of tribute to the Russian princes, which facilitated their opportunities for financial and political maneuvering. Ivan Kalita and other descendants of Alexander Nevsky continued to pursue a policy of “humble wisdom,” gradually accumulating the prerequisites for a change in what was happening. The Golden Horde was divided into 2 parts along the Volga. 1371 tribute was no longer paid by Donskoy. Mamai needed to conquer Rus' again. The turning point occurred in 1380, when on the Kulikovo field the Moscow army, absorbing masses of volunteers from all Russian lands, opposed the Horde prisoner Mamai, supported by Lithuania and Genoa. Meanings: Rus' managed to defend its interests, relations between the Horde and Rus' are changing, the Mongols did not go out to open battle, tribute, restored after 1382, takes on the role of a farm-out, the Moscow army is strengthened, the idea of ​​unification becomes dominant. After the annexation of the Novgorod land, the Moscow principality turned into a large and strong state. By this time, the Golden Horde had collapsed. The Kazan, Astrakhan, Crimean and Siberian khanates separated from it, living in constant hostility among themselves. Having concluded an alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, Ivan III began to prepare for a break with the Horde. In 1478, Ivan III, in the presence of Moscow boyars and Horde ambassadors, tore up and trampled upon the agreement with the Horde, declaring that he would no longer obey the khan and pay tribute. The Khan's ambassadors were expelled from Moscow. The Horde yoke had a powerful impact on the course of Russian history. 200 years after the creation of the Mongol state by Khan Batu, it split into several components: the Great Horde, the Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimean, Siberian khanates, and the Nogai Horde. At the same time, Muscovite Rus', on the contrary, was consolidating and gaining power. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, its geopolitical inheritance inevitably had to pass to someone - it passed to Rus'. Main dates and events: 1237-1240. - Batu’s campaigns against Rus'; 1380 - Battle of Kulikovo; 1480 - standing on the Ugra River, liquidation of Horde rule in Rus'. Basic terms and concepts: yoke; label; Baskak. Historical figures: Batu; Ivan Kalita; Dmitry Donskoy; Mamai; Tokhtamysh; Ivan III. Answer plan: 1) main points of view on the nature of the relationship between Rus' and the Horde in the XIII-XV centuries; 2) features of the economic development of Russian lands under the rule of the Mongol-Tatars; 3) changes in the organization of power in Rus'; 4) Russian Orthodox Church under Horde rule; 5) the consequences of the rule of the Golden Horde on Russian lands. Material for the answer: The problems of Horde rule have caused and continue to cause different assessments and points of view in domestic historical literature. 1. S.M. Soloviev, V.O. Klyuchevsky and most historians  The yoke for Rus' was a great disaster. The yoke is a system of relations between the conquerors (Mongols) and the vanquished (Russians), which manifested itself in: - The political dependence of Russian princes on the khans of the Golden Horde, who issued labels (letters) for the right to reign in Russian lands ; - Tributary dependence of Rus' on the Horde. Rus' paid tribute to the Golden Horde (food, handicrafts, money, slaves); -Military dependence - the supply of Russian soldiers to the Mongolian troops. 2. N.M. Karamzin noted that Mongol-Tatar domination in Rus' had one important positive consequence - it accelerated the unification of Russian principalities and the revival of a unified Russian state. This gave grounds to some historians of later times to talk about the positive influence of the Mongols. 3. A. Fomenko, V. Nosovsky believe that there was no Mongol-Tatar yoke at all. The interaction of the Russian principalities with the Golden Horde was more reminiscent of allied relations: Rus' paid tribute (and its size was not so large), and the Horde in return ensured the security of the borders of the weakened and scattered Russian principalities. It seems that each of these points of view covers only part of the problem. It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “invasion” and “yoke”: in the first case, we are talking about Batu’s invasion, which devastated Rus', and about the measures that the Mongol khans took from time to time in relation to the rebellious princes; in the second - about the very system of relationships between Russian and Horde authorities and territories. The Russian lands were considered by the Horde as a part of its own territory that had a certain degree of independence. The principalities were obliged to pay a fairly significant tribute to the Horde (even those lands that were not captured by the Horde paid it); in preparation for new campaigns, the khans demanded from the Russian princes not only money, but also soldiers; finally, “living goods” from Russian lands were highly valued in the slave markets of the Horde. Rus' was deprived of its former independence. Princes could rule only after receiving a label to reign. The Mongol khans encouraged numerous conflicts and strife between the princes. Therefore, in an effort to obtain labels, the princes were ready to take any steps, which gradually changed the very nature of princely power in the Russian lands. At the same time, the khans did not encroach on the position of the Russian Orthodox Church - they, unlike the German knights in the Baltic states, did not prevent the population under their control from believing in their own God. This, despite the difficult conditions of foreign domination, made it possible to preserve national customs, traditions, and mentality. The economy of the Russian principalities after a period of complete ruin was restored quite quickly, and from the beginning of the 14th century. began to develop rapidly. Since that time, stone construction has been revived in cities, and the restoration of temples and fortresses destroyed during the invasion began. The established and fixed tribute was soon no longer considered a heavy burden. And since the time of Ivan Kalita, a significant part of the collected funds was directed to the internal needs of the Russian lands themselves. RELATIONS OF Rus' AND THE GOLDEN HORDE. 5.1. A form of dependence. After the invasion, Rus' became dependent on the Mongol state, which later received the name Golden Horde and stretched from the Carpathians to Western Siberia and Khorezm. Its capital was the city of Sarai, founded by Batu in the lower reaches of the Volga. The Mongols were exhausted, and in addition, the Russian lands, covered with forest, seemed wild to the nomads and unsuitable for cattle breeding. Therefore, Rus' retained its internal order. 5.1.1. Its economic dependence was limited to the payment of tribute (the so-called “Horde exit”, which until the beginning of the 18th century was collected by special representatives of the khan - the Baskaks), emergency levies, as well as the appointment of the Grand Duke of Vladimir as khan, who became the supreme overlord for the Russian princes - " king" in the terminology of that time. Only the clergy, as well as scientists, doctors and beggars, were exempt from taxes. The Mongols conducted a census of the Russian population - "number" - in order to be able to take into account household tribute. 5.1.2. Political and military dependence. In addition, Russian soldiers, by order of the supreme ruler, were forced to participate in military operations on the side of the Mongols, often far beyond the borders of Rus'. Only Alexander Nevsky managed to obtain a concession from the khan, exempting him from this duty of “blood.” Rus', while maintaining its statehood, became part of the Golden Horde - first the western ulus of the Mongol Empire, and by the 80s. XIII century an independent state. The vassal dependence of the Russian princes on the Horde khan was manifested in the receipt of the “senior” Russian prince’s label for the Great Reign of Vladimir. 5.2. Political development of Rus' under the yoke. The first prince to receive the label of great reign in the Horde was the brother of the deceased Yuri, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who was soon poisoned in Karakorum due to political intrigues. By the middle of the 111th century. Two groups emerged among the Russian princes. One, led by Andrei Yaroslavich (Grand Duke of Vladimir from 1249 to 1252) and Daniil Romanovich of Galitsk, supported by the princes of the western lands least affected by the invasion, opposed the recognition of dependence on the Horde. The other, which included mainly the princes of northeastern Rus', was inclined to agree. This position was also supported by the church, which received a number of privileges from the conquerors and was suspicious of the plans of representatives of the anti-Mongol group for an agreement with Western countries and the papal curia. Alexander Nevsky began to actively implement the policy of compromise with the Horde. Considering open opposition to the Mongols disastrous, he hoped to use their power to fight the Western Catholic danger, which in the minds of the people of that era was perceived as a more serious threat to the Orthodox faith, and, consequently, to the existence of Rus' itself. In addition, the West also pushed Rus' into a struggle that could completely exhaust its strength, due to fears of new Mongol campaigns, without intending to provide it with real military assistance. According to the Russian emigrant historian G.V. Vernadsky: - “Alexander Nevsky, in order to preserve religious freedom, sacrificed political freedom, and Alexander’s two exploits - his struggle with the West and his humility before the East - had a single goal - preserving Orthodoxy as a source of moral and political strength of the Russian people." With the help of the Tatars, Alexander overthrew his brother Andrei and received a label for the great reign (1252-1263). He had to suppress popular anti-Horde movements caused by the population census. (One of them broke out in 1257 in Novgorod under the leadership of his son Vasily). However, despite this, he remained in the memory of the people as a wise ruler and defender of the Russian land. 8. Features of the formation of the Russian state End of the 15th - beginning of the 16th At the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries, Rus' began to recover from ruin. Agriculture grew. Feudal fragmentation as a system of statehood began to conflict with the socio-economic development of the country. An external threat accelerated the process of unification of Russian lands. Moscow occupies a geographically important position: from the south and east it was protected from the Horde invasions by the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities, from the north-west by the Tver Principality and Veliky Novgorod. The forests around Moscow were impassable for the Mongol-Tatar cavalry. All this caused an influx of population to the lands of the Moscow Principality. Moscow became a center of developed crafts, agricultural production and trade. It turned out to be an important center for land and water trade routes. The rise of Moscow is also explained by the purposeful, flexible policy of the Moscow princes, who managed to attract other principalities and the church to their side. The founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniil. The growth of Moscow's power began during the reign of Ivan Kalita (1325-1340). He achieved recognition from the Golden Horde Khan as the Grand Duke over the entire Russian land. The strengthening of Moscow was also facilitated by the transfer of the metropolitan see to it. However, by the middle of the 14th century, another center for the unification of Russian lands was emerging - the Great Lithuanian-Russian Duchy. The struggle for reign after the tornado of Vytautas in 1430 - national and religious strife weakened this principality, while the Moscow principality continued to strengthen under the sons of Ivan Kalita, Simeon Gord (1340-1353) and Ivan the Red (1353-135U). . By the end of the 14th century. The Principality of Moscow included Murom, Nizhny Novgorod, and lands on the outskirts of Rus'. The territory has increased almost 30 times compared to the beginning of the century. In 1480 The Mongol-Tatar yoke, which had been oppressive for almost 240 years, was overthrown. By the middle of the 15th century, the Moscow principality had grown into a powerful massif. At the final stage of the unification of the Russian lands, the most acute struggle was with the Novgorod oligarchic republic. The local nobility, who defended their isolation, betrayed Rus' and recognized the supreme power of the Lithuanian prince. In July 1471, on the banks of the Sheloni River, the troops of the Novgorod feudal lords were defeated. In 1478, the lands of the great Novgorod became part of a single state. In 1485 Moscow annexed Tver. In 1510, the isolation of Pskov was eliminated, and in 1520 - of Ryazan. This basically completed the political unification of the Russian lands. At the end of the 15th century. with the support of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples, Russia began the struggle for the return of Russian lands captured by Lithuanian feudal lords on the left bank of the Dnieper, the Desna and the Oka. The final unification of the Russian lands around Moscow into a centralized state was completed during the reign of Ivan III, who was the first to take the title - Sovereign of All Rus'. At this time, the double-headed eagle became the emblem of our state, the Kremlin was built from red brick, the first code of law was created (1497), governing bodies began to be formed, and foreign ambassadors were received at the Chamber of Facets. Ivan III introduced the term “RUSSIA.” Under him, special signs of grand-ducal dignity were adopted: “Monomakh’s hat,” which became a symbol of autocracy, precious mantles - barmas and a scepter. The ideological justification for the unlimited power of the Grand Duke was the so-called “theory of the third Rome.” Its meaning was to recognize the Grand Duke as the heir of the Roman and Byzantine emperors. Under Ivan III, the foundations of an estate-representative monarchy were laid. Under Ivan III, the formation of central authorities - orders - began. Office work in the orders was carried out by clerks and clerks. At the beginning of the 16th century in Russia there were up to ten orders. Thus, the palace order was in charge of the Grand Duke’s own possessions, the ambassadorial order was in charge of foreign relations, the discharge order was in charge of military affairs, etc. Overcoming feudal fragmentation, education and The strengthening of the Russian state led to the gradual formation of a system of centralized government of the country. The Boyar Duma continued to function, central government institutions - orders - grew, the role of the nobility increased while limiting the rights of the feudal aristocracy. But the remnants of feudal fragmentation persisted and influenced the internal politics of Russia.

The role of the Horde in the formation of Russian statehood in the concept of the Eurasians.

EURASIANism is one of the largest trends in Russian scientific and social thought of the twentieth century. It developed among the Russian emigration in 1921, and the period of its greatest prosperity occurred in the 20-30s. During this period, Eurasianists created scientific works devoted to geography, nature, the history of our country as a whole, and, in particular, the ethnic history of the peoples of Russia. In addition to Russian studies, Eurasianists were engaged in the creation and substantiation of qualitatively new principles of the national ideology of Russia and carried out political action on their basis.

The doctrine of the Eurasians is based on science of the highest grade. This is explained by the fact that the participants in the Eurasian movement were outstanding Russian scientists of the first half of the twentieth century, namely: the world famous philologist N.S. Trubetskoy (1890-1938), economist and geographer P.N. Savitsky (1895-1968), lawyer and philosopher N.N. Alekseev (1879-1964) and others. The statesman M.V., little known to modern readers, were convinced Eurasianists. Shakhmatov (1888-1943) and philosopher G.N. Colonels (1902-1973). One of the creators of the historical concept of Eurasianism was the historian G.V. Vernadsky. The religious philosopher V.N. belonged to the Eurasians. Ilyin.

The most important texts of classical Eurasianism, in which the main ideas of the doctrine are expressed, are the books “Exodus to the East”, “Eurasian Temporary”.

Over the past 10-15 years, many materials on the topic of Eurasianism have been published in scientific and other periodicals: articles by V.N. Toporova, A.V. Soboleva, I.A. Savkina, N.S. Semenkina, I.A. Tugarinov and others. Among them, it is worth noting the article by V.N. Toporov, which analyzes the works of N.S. Trubetskoy. Of significant interest are the publications of S.Yu. Klyuchnikov and V.V. Kozhinov in the magazine "Our Contemporary", which draws attention to the anti-Western views of Eurasians.

Modern historians and philosophers have a rather ambivalent assessment of the role of Eurasianism in Russian social and philosophical thought. Here it is necessary to mention the works of such authors as M.G. Vandalkovskaya, N.A. Omelchenko, L.I. Novikova, I.N. Sizemskaya. From the point of view of these authors, Eurasianism is a rather original, contradictory current of Russian thought, which only partially arose under the influence of the 1917 revolution. The contrast between East and West, Russia and Europe among the early Eurasians is considered by these authors as a weak link in the philosophical and sociocultural concept of the Eurasians. In the works of L.I. Novikova and I.N. Sizemskaya analyzes the basic concepts of Eurasianism; special attention is paid to the relevance of the main provisions of the Eurasian doctrine. The two anthologies compiled by these authors, “Russia between Europe and Asia: The Eurasian Seduction” and “The World of Russia - Eurasia,” included the most important works of the intellectual leaders of the Eurasian movement.

It should be recognized that, at present, only a small part of the works of Eurasianists of the 20s - 30s has been republished. Most of the materials of the Eurasianists of the 30s are not only not republished, but also not published by the Eurasians themselves due to financial difficulties, and are stored in archives.

Although most modern scientific works concerning Eurasianism claim that Eurasianism of the 20–30s. well studied, however, it is obvious that without the presence of a more or less complete collection of works by Eurasians, it is hardly possible to talk about any final assessments. In fact, a serious scientific study of Eurasianism, which should be based on a solid textual base, is still ahead.

In this regard, the main goal of this work is an attempt to study in more detail the issues of the emergence and historical evolution of Russian Eurasianism, and as a result, to try to get a more complete understanding of this concept.

Prerequisites for the emergence of Eurasianism

Speaking about the reasons for the emergence of Eurasianism, many of its opponents (in particular, N.A. Berdyaev) argued that, although it was not original in its ideology, it arose exclusively spontaneously, under the influence of the catastrophic post-revolutionary situation. This is only partly true. Indeed, it was the World War and Revolution that forced many people, including future Eurasians, to seriously think about the fate of their homeland. But the conceptual basis of Eurasianism began to take shape in the minds of its two main leaders - P.N. Savitsky and N.S. Trubetskoy even before these events. A national change in the minds of the Russian intelligentsia had been brewing for a long time. The tragic circumstances of the first decades of the twentieth century only accelerated its onset.

Eurasianism did not arise out of nowhere; it developed in line with an original and vibrant tradition. The Eurasians considered their predecessors to be that tradition of social and philosophical thought in Russia, for which “...one should consider as characteristic the denial of European culture as universal to mankind,” writes K.I. Florovskaya, “in particular, the assertion of its unsuitability for transplantation on Russian soil; disclosure originality of Russian culture and its independence from European culture, due to the fact that Russian culture has its origins in Byzantine Orthodoxy and tribal autocracy.The Slavophiles F. M. Dostoevsky, K. N. Leontiev, N. Y. Danilevsky and, in special turns, D.I. Mendeleev, V.O. Klyuchevsky and many others" "If anyone can and should be considered the ideological predecessors of the Eurasians, then it is precisely these people, who in one way or another in their statements coincided with one or another statements of the Eurasians." - concludes K.I. Florovskaya.

It should be noted, however, that the Eurasians always separated themselves from the Slavophiles, saying that Slavophil ideas (but by no means its spirit itself) were partly outdated. Many Slavophile statements of the mid-nineteenth century. Eurasians have decisively reconsidered.

The predecessor of the geographical concept of P.N. Savitsky was a geographer and public figure V.I. Lamansky (1833-1914), the foundations of Russian geopolitics can also be found in the works of D.I. Mendeleev. Thus, Eurasianism, despite certain differences, continued, in general, the already established and fairly developed tradition of Slavophil and soil-based (post-Slavophile) thought (K.N. Leontiev, N.Ya. Danilevsky). The historical concept of Eurasianism, in which a significant place was given to the history of the nomadic peoples of Eurasia, the Mongol-Tatar yoke and its assessment, had a predecessor in the person of the conservative thinker of the first half of the 19th century M.L. Magnitsky (1778-1855), who in polemics with N.M. Karamzin also spoke about the positive aspects of the latter phenomenon.

Already in our century, V.F. can be considered a unique and striking predecessor of Eurasianism. Erna (1882-1917), religious philosopher and publicist. N.A. also pointed this out. Berdyaev, calling Ern “a typical Eurasian in mood.” But for Berdyaev, this analogy, apparently, was explained solely by the similarity of the emotional mood of both. However, modern researchers also point to Ern’s ideological anticipation of Eurasianism. We are talking about a series of his lectures “Time Slavophilizes...”, dating back to 1914, and caused by the national upsurge experienced by part of Russian society in connection with the outbreak of the Great War. This expression became a catchphrase and was used, among other things, in the Eurasian environment, where it was redone in a different way: “Time is Eurasizing.” Ern’s main thesis was that time itself, that is, the totality of new living conditions, is not abstract thinking, but a new historical reality encourages Slavophilism to revive, and it must regain strength. “By my position,” he wrote, “I want to say that whatever the mass consciousness of educated Russian people, we are actually entering the Slavophile eon [in general, eon is a term of Gnostic philosophy; here is a period] of our history.” He correctly noted the existing trend. Indeed, the old ideological guidelines of the intelligentsia towards unconditional Eurocentrism, which were based on the deification of European civilization, completely lost their humanistic pathos with the outbreak of the World War. History has unconditionally refuted such an ideology, and it is natural that Slavophile views, which had previously been in the background, awakened to a new life. The ground was prepared for the development of Eurasianism, and it marked a new and qualitatively different stage in the formation of the national idea from previous ones.

The emergence of Eurasianism was natural and conditioned by the entire logic of the development of original Russian thought. The Revolution and the Civil War, which ended with the defeat of the White movement, to which the Eurasians, one way or another, belonged, became only a pretext for the development of Eurasianism.

Eurasianism, having absorbed the most constructive elements of previous concepts of Russian national ideology, and formed in a completely new post-revolutionary situation, which placed increased demands on the bearers of Russian identity, became its pinnacle, embodying the most complete and at the same time modern national doctrine of Russia.

Classical Eurasianism (20-30s of the twentieth century)

Classical Eurasianism was the ideological heir of Slavophilism. However, despite the fact that, according to P.N. Savitsky: “Eurasianism, of course, lies in a common sphere with the Slavophiles... the problem of the relationship between both movements cannot be reduced to simple succession.” The uniqueness of Eurasianism, according to the author, lies in the fact that it was an original synthesis of three teachings:

Byzantium of the late Slavophiles, i.e. recognition of the Byzantine tradition and the Orthodox Church as a fundamental element of Russian culture, combined with rejection of the European civilization of the New Age;

orientalism “turn to the East (Asia)”, i.e. recognition of the positive role of the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the unity of the historical fate and culture of the Russian and Turanian (eastern) peoples;

an original political-economic doctrine, close to Marxism in its political conclusions (Eurasians fully accepted the tactics of the Bolsheviks in the sense of their organizational structure and political system).

The synthesis of these three teachings was based on an analysis of the culture and history of Russia, on the one hand, and on the other hand, on one of the world’s first theories of geopolitics, i.e. the correlation of political and national forms of organic existence of the life of peoples with geographical space, or the civilizational approach.

According to P.N. Savitsky, “Russia-Eurasia is the center of the Old World. Eliminate this center and all its other parts, this entire system of continental outskirts (Europe, Western Asia, Iran, India, Indochina, China, Japan) turns into a scattered temple... Europe and Asia equally represent the outskirts of the Old World.” From the Russian-Eurasian point of view, Europe is, as has been said, everything that lies to the west of the Russian border, and Asia is everything that lies to the south and southeast of it “... Russia is neither Asia nor Europe, but represents a special geographical world"

Let us consider the main historical milestones in the emergence and development of the ideology of classical Eurasianism. The starting point for it is considered to be the book by N.S. Trubetskoy “Europe and Humanity”, which was published in 1920 in Sofia. In this work he wrote: “The intelligentsia of Europeanized peoples must tear off the blindfold placed on them by the Romano-Germans and free themselves from the obsession of the Romano-Germanic ideology. She must understand quite clearly, firmly and irrevocably: ... European culture is not something absolute, ... but only the creation of a limited and specific ethnic or ethnographic group of peoples ... that, therefore, Europeanization is an absolute evil for every non-Roman-Germanic people ... and that there is only one true opposition: the Romano-Germans - and all other peoples of the world, Europe and Humanity"

In 1921, the first collection of Eurasians (Trubetskoy N.S., Suvchinsky P.P., Florovsky G.V., Savitsky P.N.) was published, called “Exodus to the East. Premonitions and accomplishments. Affirmation of the Eurasians." This collection outlined not only the problem of liberation from the dominance of Western culture, but also the political problem of the timeliness and justification of the Russian revolution.

In 1922, a new collection “On the Paths” was published. Affirmation of the Eurasians”, in which a programmatic article by P.N. Savitsky was published. "Steppes and Settlement". This article argues for the positive role of the “steppe” in the formation of Russia. It was the Tatar-Mongols with their invasion, in the words of P.N. Savitsky, “...gave Russia the ability to organize itself militarily, create a state-compulsory center, and achieve stability; they gave it the quality of becoming a powerful horde.”

In the same collection G.V. Florovsky expressed the attitude of the Eurasians to the revolution and the Bolsheviks: “No matter how one views the Bolshevik program in the sense of its correspondence to the real needs of life, it is necessary to recognize the loyalty of the instinct that guided them; they understood that they needed to break down and create anew"

What are the main tasks that Eurasianism set itself as an ideological and political movement in these years?

Starting from the rejection of Romano-Germanic civilization, it set the task of creating an original Russian civilization (Russia-Eurasia), established on the principles of Orthodoxy. P.N. Savitsky in his article “Eurasianism” wrote: “Eurasians... stand on the basis of tradition. ...They perceive Russia-Eurasia as a unity... The point is to find within its borders the proper forms of cohabitation of nations. Eurasians understand Russia as a “cathedral of peoples” and they are confident that the so-called national characteristics will develop into a kind of harmony and will give rise to phenomena of broad and creative pan-Eurasian nationalism.”

But besides this, in order to assert their position, the Eurasians needed to refute the common ideas of Eurocentric ideologies about Asia as a dark and wild mass of uncultured peoples, thus undermining the idea of ​​​​the exclusivity of the Western Enlightenment. This idea was brilliantly developed by N.S. Trubetskoy in the article “A look at Russian history not from the West, but from the East.”

Eurasians also set themselves the task of understanding the Russian Revolution of 1917. and Marxist ideology in general with its pros and cons. Understanding the revolution was necessary in order to justify the Russian people and Russian culture in the eyes of the white emigration, who had lost faith in the old Slavophile ideal of a “God-bearing people.”

Based on studying the experience of building a new statehood in Russia by Bolshevism, the Eurasians developed a rather original political strategy, putting forward the doctrine of ideocracy. Trubetskoy N.S. wrote: “...an ideocratic state has its own system of beliefs, its own idea-ruler (the bearer of which is the ruling stratum united in one single state-ideological organization)... The idea of ​​the ruler of a genuine ideocratic state can only be the good of the totality of peoples inhabiting a given autarkic special world. » Eurasians stated that the existing structure of political authorities in the USSR corresponds to their ideas. However, the Eurasians intended to replace the Bolshevik elite, which was leading the people to state capitalism (meaning the NEP), with a Eurasian national elite. Orthodoxy, like other traditional religions, was supposed to become absolutely free from the state in this project and pursue its own independent policy in society. However, the Eurasians themselves considered themselves Orthodox and recognized Orthodoxy as the most important religion for the existence of Russia-Eurasia as a single whole. Having come to power, they intended to complement the Marxist socio-economic model, replacing in it state capitalism with compulsory economic regulation with a “public-private economy system”, i.e. combining a paternalistic model of state economic management and broad private initiative from below (similar to the modern Chinese economic model). According to N.N. Alekseeva “...private property is a privilege. ...The state must not only regulate the order of private property, but it is also called upon to tell the private owner: if you have a privilege, manage it well, dispose of your rights not to the detriment, but to the general benefit.”

The true development of Eurasianism occurred in the period from 1925 to 1927. Just at this time, the OGPU operation “Trust” was taking place (an operation to control the white emigration and its military-political organizations through imitation of the emergence of the anti-Bolshevik underground Monarchist Organization of Central Russia (MOCR)) and the ideological basis for the congress was being prepared. The Eurasians came into contact with the agents of the OGPU, believed their promises and tried to direct the imaginary anti-Bolshevik organization towards the path of Eurasianism.

In 1928, the Trust was exposed. Several Eurasians died in Russia. The emigre press made extensive use of this. And, although many other emigrant political organizations took part in the Trust, it was the Eurasians who began to be accused of having connections with the communists. Under the influence of all these factors, the Eurasian organization was forced to switch to a semi-legal struggle, to the publication of the newspaper “Eurasia”.

October 24, 1928 can be considered the beginning of the decomposition of the Eurasian ideological and political current. Leaders of Eurasianism N.S. Trubetskoy, P.N. Savitsky, N.N. Alekseev turned to the editors of the newspaper “Eurasia” and stated that the position it expressed had nothing in common with Eurasianism. So Trubetskoy wrote: “The split is a fact that cannot be hushed up. In particular, it should be noted that the newspaper “Eurasia” in the issues published so far has reflected almost exclusively only one of the currents of Eurasianism, moreover, a trend inclined to replace orthodox Eurasian ideological positions with elements of other teachings that have nothing in common with Eurasianism (Marxism , Fedorovism)... Therefore, I declare my resignation from the newspaper “Eurasia” and the Eurasian organization. I do not renounce my convictions..., but under the current conditions I cannot and do not want to bear responsibility for the current evolution of Eurasianism.”

As a result, almost all the leaders of Eurasianism left the Eurasian movement. P.P. took the side of the Eurasia newspaper. Suvchinsky, P.S. Arapov, L.P. Karsavin. In parallel with this, preparations were underway for the Second Eurasian Congress, which was supposed to eliminate contradictions. However, this congress, held in 1931, did not eliminate the contradictions and led to the fact that Eurasianism became one of the small emigrant movements and lost its former significance.

In 1932, the last Eurasian collection was published. Although the publishing activity of the Eurasians continued after 1932 until 1938 (Eurasian Notebooks were published), it was no longer connected with their ideological unity.

So, after 1928, the decline of Eurasianism begins: their activity weakens, emigration turns away from them due to their connection with Operation Trust, ideological differences begin in their ranks, which in 1931 lead to collapse, and by 1938 Eurasianism fades away. The main reasons for this collapse were:

Eurasianism, with its criticism of the most diverse political movements both in emigration and in Soviet Russia, actually placed itself outside the cultural-historical process of Russian thought, making itself the judge of history. Eurasians subjected the most severe criticism to both the old Westernizing and new “white” liberals, and the old Slavophiles and Black Hundreds, and the Bolsheviks, rejecting their social idea as the main one, criticizing them for the “dictatorship of the intelligentsia” and for Westernizing Marxism;

The image of Eurasianism was greatly damaged by his connection with the Trust. The Eurasians were charged with a grave and completely fair accusation of short-sightedness: they did not notice how, behind their idea of ​​​​changing the Bolshevik elite, they themselves became a convenient means for spying on and controlling emigration;

It was in the early 30s that Bolshevism as an ideology changed; those features that the Eurasians denounced (complete disregard for the national principle, denial of historical memory, the entire previous culture, class morality, etc.) disappeared from it. Purified from extremes, Bolshevism becomes similar to Eurasianism. Even the leader of left Eurasianism N. Ustryalov, who returned to the USSR in the 30s, noted that many of Stalin’s speeches reminded him of the Eurasianist program in a reduced form. As a result, some Eurasianists (Karsavin, Suvchinsky) move to the positions of left Eurasianism, while the conservative center remains in its previous positions.

Eurasianism failed as a socio-political movement, but its ideas turned out to be very fruitful.

The struggle of the Russian people against the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Overthrow of the yoke of the Golden Horde.

Formation of the Mongol Empire. The Mongols (also called Tatars after the name of the main tribe), who occupied in the 12th century. vast territory of Central Asia, experienced a period of decomposition of the clan system and the emergence of early feudal relations. The Mongolian state was headed by the nobility, who had vast pastures and herds of livestock. The numerous wars waged by the Mongols were dictated by the predatory interests of feudal lords who were looking for new sources of enrichment. The Mongolian aristocracy relied on military squads. In an effort to strengthen power, the Mongolian feudal lords in 1206 at a kurultai (congress) proclaimed one of the most prominent rulers of the steppe aristocracy, Temujin, as the all-Mongolian ruler, the Great Khan, under the name of Genghis Khan.

Having created a well-armed, mobile army, subject to strict discipline, he began to conquer neighboring countries and peoples. As a result of wars of conquest in the first half of the 13th century. The Mongol feudal empire (power) emerged. It included Siberia, Northwestern China, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia. The Mongols reached the steppes of the North Caucasus through mountain gorges and, having defeated the Polovtsians and Alans, began moving towards the Russian borders.

The struggle of the Russian people against the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The first meeting of the combined forces of the Russian princes (Kyiv, Galician, Chernigov, Smolensk) and the Polovtsians with the Mongol troops took place on May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River. A bloody battle took place. The uncoordinated actions of the Russian and Polovtsian troops led to a brutal defeat. The Mongol troops, having reached the Dnieper, turned back to Asia. After the Battle of Kalka, the Mongol feudal lords strengthened their decision to move west. The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu (Batu), was placed at the head of numerous troops, who in 1236 conquered the territories of the Kama Bulgarians and in the winter of 1237 entered the Ryazan principality. After a five-day battle, in which Russian soldiers and generals died, Ryazan was taken and all the inhabitants were killed. In a short period of time, Kolomna, Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Tver, Kostroma and other cities were captured and devastated. Before reaching 100 kilometers to Novgorod, Batu turned his army back. The invaders passed through the eastern lands of the Smolensk and Chernigov principalities. Everywhere the enemies met courageous resistance. This forced the Mongol troops to withdraw beyond the Volga. But in the fall of 1239, Batu Khan again moved to Rus', now to the South and South-West. After fierce resistance, Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny, Chernigov, Kyiv, Galich, Vladimir-Volynsky and other Russian cities were taken. Only the Polotsk-Minsk and Novgorod lands survived the invasion. Rus' was devastated and plundered. The Mongol conquest led to a long-term economic, political and cultural decline of the Russian lands.

Upon returning from a campaign in Europe in 1243, Batu Khan and the nobility around him settled in the Lower Volga, where a new state arose - the Golden Horde, with its capital in Sarai-Batu (near modern Astrakhan), in the first half of the 14th century. the capital was transferred to Saray-Berke (founded by Khan Berke). The territory under the rule of the Golden Horde stretched from the Irtysh to the Danube, including the lands of the peoples of the Volga and Urals regions, in the south - the Crimea and the North Caucasus. The Golden Horde was an artificial and fragile state association with a diverse population: Volga Bulgarians, Mordovians, Russians, Greeks, etc. The bulk of the nomads were Turkic tribes of the Polovtsians, Tatars, Kyrgyz, etc. The indigenous Russian lands were not part of the Golden Horde, but were in vassal dependence on her they paid tribute (yasak).

The Khan's tribute fell heavily on the Russian people, who could not reconcile and did not stop fighting against the conquerors. Every now and then, uprisings broke out against the Mongols in Novgorod, Pskov, Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir, etc. In 1327, a major uprising took place in Tver.

The beginning of the unification of Russian lands. From the second half of the 14th century. Moscow became the center of resistance to the Horde. The power of the khans in Rus' was weakening. The strengthening of Moscow caused alarm in the Horde, which was under the rule of the temnik Mamai and by the end of the 70s. XIV century intensified raids on Russian cities. Trying to break the power of the Russian people and again subjugate the Russian lands, Mamai began to prepare a big campaign against Moscow. The entire Russian people rose to defend the Motherland. The leadership was carried out by Prince Dmitry Ivanovich (future Donskoy). He skillfully organized reconnaissance and constantly kept the initiative in his hands. Carefully monitoring the advance of Mamai's troops, he chose a location convenient for Russian troops on the Kulikovo field, where the famous Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380. The battle ended with a remarkable victory of the Russian army over the forces of the Mamayev Horde, which suffered complete defeat. The Battle of Kulikovo was of great international importance. It marked the beginning of the end of the Golden Horde and the liberation of a number of peoples from the yoke of conquerors. This was the first nationwide success. The victory on the Kulikovo Field showed that the united forces of the Russian principalities could rid the country of foreign rule. But only a century later the Mongol-Tatar yoke was finally overthrown.

Fall of the Golden Horde. In the 15th century The Golden Horde, as a result of internecine struggle, broke up into separate khanates. In 1476, Russian Tsar Ivan III stopped paying Horde tribute. Khan Ahmad in 1480 made several attempts to achieve obedience from Ivan III. But he showed great firmness and determination, as a result of which the Russian state finally stopped paying tribute to the Horde.

Mongol-Tatar rule was finally overthrown. In the process of the struggle against the conquerors, the unity of the people grew, and the revival of Russian statehood took place. The victory over the conquerors, prepared by the heroic people's liberation struggle, had enormous historical significance. It ensured the further independent development of Russia.

The process of overcoming, led by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the political and tributary dependence of the lands of the great reign of Vladimir and Veliky Novgorod from the Golden Horde in the 15th century, which took place under the conditions of the collapse of the Golden Horde into several khanates (Great Horde, Crimean, Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberian khanates, Nogai Horde ).

Background

A significant part of the territory of the Russian principalities, which became dependent on the Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde in the middle of the 13th century, was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland in 1320-1404, thereby ending the political dependence of these lands on the Golden Horde, but it is known about the temporary resumption of tributary dependence on the Horde of the southern Russian lands within Lithuania in the 2nd half of the 14th century. The most impressive success was achieved by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd Gediminovich, who in 1362 defeated the Horde at Blue Waters during the period of the “great turmoil” (struggle for power) in the Horde after the death of Khan Berdibek (1359). Having defeated the Horde in 1380 at the Battle of Kulikovo, the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich was able to transfer the great reign to his son Vasily without the khan's label for the first time in 140 years (1389). Khan Tokhtamysh, who united the Horde (1380) and restored the tributary dependence of the great reign of Vladimir and Veliky Novgorod (1384), was defeated by Timur in the Battle of the Terek in 1395. Timur's protege Edigei in 1399 was able to defeat the Lithuanian-Russian troops of Vytautas in the Battle of Vorskla, in which some of the main heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo died, reunite the Horde and obtain from Vasily I the resumption of payment of tribute (1408), but soon the rulers of Moscow followed the rulers The Lithuanians themselves began to interfere in the struggle for power in the Horde.

The origin of the conflict. Vasily Dark

In 1425, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I Dmitrievich, dying, ordered

In 1426, the Horde throne was occupied by the ally of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas Ulu-Mukhammed. In 1431, a contender for the Moscow throne, Yuri Dmitrievich, and Vasily Vasilyevich’s representative, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, came to Sarai, and if Yuri used the tradition of inheritance and the will of Dmitry Donskoy as arguments, then Ivan Vsevolozhsky referred to the khan’s labels to Vasily Vasilyevich himself and his father:

Ulu-Muhammad confirmed Vasily as a great reign and in the same year issued a label for the Lithuanian-Russian lands to Svidrigail Olgerdovich, who took the throne after the death of Vytautas, during which the confrontation between the Polish and Lithuanian-Russian nobility on the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania resulted in an open war, accompanied on both sides robbery of churches and reprisals against the clergy. Having been overthrown from the throne in 1436 by his nephew, Ulu-Muhammad strengthened himself on the middle Volga, became the Kazan Khan, in 1439 he took Nizhny Novgorod and launched a campaign against Moscow. Vasily II entrusted the defense of the capital to governor Yuri, and he himself left for the Volga. Ulu-Muhammad reached Moscow, but could not take it, he only burned the settlements.

The son of Ulu-Muhammad, Prince Mustafa, also went on a campaign against Moscow in 1441-1444. He reached the Ryazan lands, occupied Pereyaslavl-Ryazan, but was soon expelled from the city. When Vasily II sent an army against Mustafa, it overtook the prince on the banks of the Listani River. Mustafa was killed in the battle.

In 1444-1445, Ulu-Muhammad with his sons Mahmud and Yakub again took Nizhny Novgorod and moved to Murom. Vasily the Dark spoke out against them, enlisting the support of Suzdal and Vasily Yaroslavich Serpukhovsky. On July 7, 1445, Vasily’s one and a half thousand army attacked 3,000 Tatars near the Efim’s Monastery. As a result, the Russians were defeated, and Vasily II and his cousin Mikhail Vereisky were captured. To confirm the capture of the Grand Duke, the Tatars sent his pectoral cross to Moscow. Soon Ulu-Mukhammed set out from Nizhny Novgorod to Kurmysh on Sura, closer to Kazan. In September 1445, having paid a huge ransom and agreed to allocate an inheritance in the Meshchera land to Ulu-Muhammad's son Kasim, Vasily II returned to Moscow. In 1446, Vasily II was captured in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and blinded on behalf of Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka, Ivan Mozhaisky and Boris Tverskoy, who, as historian N.M. Karamzin writes, ordered him to say:

In 1439, under pressure from the Ottoman Turks, the Greek church hierarchs, hoping for help from European states, agreed to conclude the Union of Florence, which was not recognized by the Moscow Metropolitanate. In 1444, the king of Poland and Hungary, Wladyslaw III, died in a battle with the Turks. In 1453, Constantinople fell under the attacks of the Turks, and in 1458 the Kiev Metropolis, independent of Moscow, was formed.

In 1449, Vasily the Dark concluded a peace treaty with the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV, which included the terms of mutual recognition of the borders of the great principalities of Lithuania and Moscow, Casimir’s renunciation of claims to Novgorod and the refusal of both sides to help the internal political opponents of the other side. Soon, Vasily the Dark managed to eliminate the contender for the Moscow throne, Dmitry Shemyak (1453), and impose the unequal Yazhelbitsky Peace Treaty on the Novgorod Republic (1456). The spiritual charter of Vasily II (died in 1462) contains a phrase similar to the phrase from the spiritual charter of his father:

In 1449, 1451, 1455 the Horde made new raids. In 1459, the eldest son and heir of Vasily the Dark, Ivan, repelled the attack of Seid-Akhmed.

The struggle of Ivan the Great with the Kazan Khanate

In 1467, Kasim, the ruler of the Kasimov Khanate, an ally of Moscow, together with Russian troops launched a campaign against Kazan against Khan Ibrahim. However, Ibrahim did not allow Kasim's army to cross the Volga, and he had to return.

In April 1469, the collection of another detachment began in Nizhny Novgorod to fight the Kazan Khanate. Already in May, troops arrived in the city from Kolomna, Murom, Vladimir, Suzdal, Dmitrov, Mozhaisk, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Kostroma. Voivode Konstantin was appointed to command them. From Moscow a detachment under the command of Prince Peter Obolensky. Another army was assembled in Ustyug, where the detachment of the Grand Duke and the Vologda detachment of Prince Andrei the Lesser were located. Soon, governor Konstantin Bezzubtsev was replaced by Ivan Runo, who was ordered by the Grand Duke to go to Kazan. On May 21, 1469, the Russian army of Ivan Runo approached Kazan, captured the settlement, but could not withstand the battle with the superior forces of the Tatars and retreated. Meanwhile, the second army was moving north on ships along the Vyatka and Kama. She approached Kazan when the Volga troops had already retreated. The Tatars met Russian ships at the confluence of the Kama and the Volga. As a result of a fierce battle, with many losses, the Russians still managed to break through to the Volga.

In August 1469, the ships and cavalry detachments of Prince Yuri Vasilyevich were involved in a new campaign. This time we managed to besiege Kazan. According to the peace treaty on September 1, 1469, the Kazan Khanate released all captured prisoners.

In 1478, after the Kazan people marched against Khlynov, Russian troops again marched on Kazan, and a new peace treaty was concluded on the same terms as in 1469.

After the death of Khan Ibrahim (1479), the Kazan Khanate began to experience constant diplomatic and military pressure from Moscow. The struggle began to take place mainly within the Khanate between the pro-Moscow party and its opponents of eastern orientation. In 1487, Ivan III took the title of "Prince of Bulgaria"; Russia's influence on the Kazan Khanate increased significantly.

Relations with the Great Horde and the Crimean Khanate

Khan Akhmat came to power in the Horde in 1468, and in the same year the Horde raided the Ryazan principality and Galich-Mersky. In 1471, the Novgorod Ushkuiniki made a daring raid down the Volga and plundered Sarai.

In 1472, Ivan III refused to pay tribute and entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, while Akhmat at the same time entered into an alliance with Casimir IV against Moscow. Akhmat moved with the main forces towards Moscow. Ivan sent the people of Kolomna with the governor Fyodor the Lame against him. Then this detachment was joined by the detachments of Danila Kholmsky and the Pskov governor Ivan Vasilyevich Striga Obolensky. In July 1472, the brothers of Ivan the Great stationed a detachment on the banks of the Oka. On July 29, Akhmat’s detachment attacked the weakly defended city of Aleksin, and after a short time burned it down. The detachment of Ivan III began to move towards Kolomna, and his son Ivan the Young moved with the detachments to Rostov. Meanwhile, Akhmat made an attempt to cross the Oka. He was resisted by the small detachments of Pyotr Chelyadnin and Semyon Beklemishev. It seemed that the battle would be lost, but the detachments of Vasily Mikhailovich Belozersky and Yuri Dmitrovsky who arrived in time helped to hold positions on the Oka. Prince Ivan III and his detachment were near Rostislavl, Daniyar, the Kasimov prince - in Kolomna, and Prince Andrei Bolshoi - in Serpukhov. At the same time, Akhmat received news of an attack on his own yurt by Muhammad Sheybani. Khan Akhmat hastily retreated.

In 1476, Ivan III refused to come to the Horde to receive a label for the great reign. In 1476, Akhmat managed to capture Crimea, but already in 1478, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, with Turkish military support, was able to return to Crimea as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.

Ivan III had disagreements with the brothers Boris and Andrei Bolshoi over the division of the estates of the deceased Yuri Vasilyevich. In 1479, an open conflict almost arose when the servants of Ivan III captured a boyar who had left Moscow service right in Boris’s courtyard. Boris and Andrey with their troops retreated to the western border and tried to establish contacts with Novgorod and Lithuania.

Lithuania and the Horde determined the date of the attack - spring 1480. The Lithuanians were going to field about 8 thousand people led by experienced captains. Ivan III re-entered an alliance with the enemy of the Great Horde, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, who promised to strike Lithuania if Moscow rose against Akhmat.

In May 1480, Akhmat's campaign began. Russian troops began to take positions on the Oka. In June, the Horde ravaged the lands between Kaluga and Serpukhov. Ivan the Young advanced towards the Horde. The main forces of the Horde were rising up the Don. Small skirmishes between guard detachments took place on the Oka River. Ivan the Great set out from Moscow, leading a large detachment to Kolomna. Meanwhile, Pskov was besieged by German knights. The Livonian chronicler reported that Master Bernd von der Borch

In anticipation of Casimir's army, Akhmat moved through Mtsensk and Odoev to the mouth of the Ugra River and settled on its right, southern bank, that is, on Lithuanian territory. The detachments of Ivan Ivanovich and Andrei Menshy soon arrived on the opposite bank of the Ugra. Soon the main forces of Ivan III and Akhmat simultaneously approached Ugra.

Both sides tried to cross the river several times. One of them was undertaken by the Horde in Opakov, 60 kilometers above the mouth of the Ugra. Soon, detachments of princes Andrei and Boris arrived in Kremenets, the location of Ivan III’s camp, and Ivan III chose to make concessions to them in this situation. The Lithuanians were unable to come to the aid of Akhmat due to the attack of the Crimean Khan on Podolia. Soon the Horde began to experience food shortages. Khan Akhmat received information about a rebellion in the Great Horde and about the advance of another Russian army down the Volga in the direction of Sarai. Soon Ivan led his troops to Borovsk, as if inviting Akhmat to cross the already frozen Ugra for a decisive battle, but at the same time to exclude the possibility of a spontaneous start to the battle. On November 11, Akhmat decided to retreat, which marked the final liberation of Rus' from the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Retreating, Akhmat plundered twelve volosts along the right bank of the upper Oka, including Kozelsk - the possession of Casimir IV. Having learned about his pursuit by troops of Ivan III's brothers, he returned to the steppes. Soon, on January 6, 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed by Tyumen Khan Ibak.

Consequences

In 1480-1481, Casimir managed to suppress the rebellion of his relatives and thereby destroy Ivan III’s plan to spread the influence of the Moscow principality to the Kyiv lands. However, almost immediately after this, in 1482, Mengli-Girey ravaged Kyiv and, as a sign of the general victory, sent the chalice and paten from the St. Sophia Cathedral to Ivan III. Since 1492, Mengli-Girey began annual campaigns against lands belonging to Lithuania and Poland.

In 1491, the Grand Duke ordered the brothers to send their governors to help Mengli-Girey, Andrei the Great disobeyed the order, was captured and imprisoned (September 19, 1492), where he died in 1493. When the Metropolitan grieved for Andrei, the Grand Duke responded like this:

In 1501-1502, Ivan III, busy with the war with Lithuania, expressed his readiness to admit his “servility” and resumed paying tribute to Akhmat’s son Sheikh-Ahmed, the last khan of the Great Horde before its liquidation. The liquidation of the Great Horde (1502) created the common borders of the Moscow state with the Crimean Khanate, and in the same year, disagreements arose between Ivan III and Mengli-Girey: the Crimean Khan did not approve of the exile of the Kazan Khan Abdul-Latif captured by the Russians. After the death of Ivan III (1505), constant raids of the Crimeans began on lands that belonged to the Russian state.

The Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus' began in 1237. Great Rus' disintegrated, and the formation of the Moscow state began.

The Tatar-Mongol yoke refers to the brutal period of rule in which Rus' was subordinate to the Golden Horde. The Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' was able to last for almost two and a half millennia. To the question of how long the Horde’s arbitrariness lasted in Rus', history answers 240 years.

The events that took place during this period greatly affected the formation of Russia. Therefore, this topic has been and remains relevant to this day. The Mongol-Tatar yoke is associated with the most severe events of the 13th century. These were wild extortions of the population, the destruction of entire cities and thousands and thousands of dead.

The rule of the Tatar-Mongol yoke was formed by two peoples: the Mongol dynasty and the nomadic tribes of the Tartars. The overwhelming majority were still Tatars. In 1206, a meeting of the higher Mongol classes took place, at which the leader of the Mongol tribe, Temujin, was elected. It was decided to begin the era of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The leader was named Genghis Khan (Great Khan). The abilities of Genghis Khan's reign turned out to be magnificent. He managed to unite all nomadic peoples and create the prerequisites for the development of the cultural and economic development of the country.

Military distributions of the Tatar-Mongols

Genghis Khan created a very strong, warlike and rich state. His warriors had surprisingly very hardy qualities; they could spend the winter in their yurt, in the midst of snow and winds. They had a thin build and a thin beard. They shot straight and were excellent riders. During attacks on states, he had punishments for cowards. If one soldier escaped from the battlefield, the entire ten were shot. If a dozen leaves the battle, then the hundred to which they belonged is shot.

The Mongol feudal lords closed a tight ring around the Great Khan. By elevating him to chieftainship, they planned to receive a lot of wealth and jewelry. Only an unleashed war and uncontrolled plunder of the conquered countries could lead them to the desired goal. Soon, after the creation of the Mongolian state, the campaigns of conquest began to bring the expected results. The robbery continued for approximately two centuries. The Mongol-Tatars longed to rule the whole world and own all the riches.

Conquests of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

• In 1207, the Mongols enriched themselves with large volumes of metal and valuable rocks. Attacking the tribes located to the north of the Selenga and in the Yenisei valley. This fact helps explain the emergence and expansion of weapons property.
• Also in 1207, the Tangut state from Central Asia was attacked. The Tanguts began to pay tribute to the Mongols.
• 1209 They were involved in the seizure and robbery of the land of Khigurov (Turkestan).
• 1211 A grandiose defeat of China took place. The emperors' troops were crushed and collapsed. The state was plundered and left in ruins.
• Date 1219-1221 The states of Central Asia were defeated. The result of this three-year war was no different from the previous campaigns of the Tatars. The states were defeated and plundered, the Mongols took away talented artisans with them. Leaving behind only burnt houses and poor people.
• By 1227, vast territories in the east of the Pacific Ocean to the west of the Caspian Sea passed into the possession of the Mongol feudal lords.

The consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion are the same. Thousands of killed and the same number of enslaved people. Destroyed and plundered countries that take a very, very long time to recover. By the time the Tatar-Mongol yoke approached the borders of Rus', its army was extremely numerous, having gained experience in combat, endurance and the necessary weapons.

Conquests of the Mongols

Mongol invasion of Rus'

The beginning of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus' has long been considered 1223. Then the experienced army of the Great Khan came very close to the borders of the Dnieper. At that time, the Polovtsians provided assistance, since the principality in Rus' was in disputes and disagreements, and its defensive capabilities were significantly reduced.

• Battle of the Kalka River. May 31, 1223 A Mongol army of 30 thousand broke through the Cumans and faced the Russian army. The first and only ones to take the blow were the princely troops of Mstislav the Udal, who had every chance of breaking through the dense chain of Mongol-Tatars. But he did not receive support from other princes. As a result, Mstislav died, surrendering to the enemy. The Mongols received a lot of valuable military information from Russian prisoners. There were very large losses. But the enemy’s onslaught was still held back for a long time.
• Invasion begins on December 16, 1237. Ryazan was the first on the way. At that time, Genghis Khan passed away, and his place was taken by his grandson, Batu. The army under the command of Batu was no less fierce. They swept away and robbed everything and everyone they met along the way. The invasion was targeted and carefully planned, so the Mongols quickly penetrated deep into the country. The city of Ryazan lasted five days under siege. Despite the fact that the city was surrounded by strong, high walls, under the pressure of enemy weapons, the walls of the city fell. The Tatar-Mongol yoke robbed and killed the people for ten days.
• Battle near Kolomna. Then Batu’s army began to move towards Kolomna. On the way, they met an army of 1,700 people, subordinate to Evpatiy Kolovrat. And despite the fact that the Mongols outnumbered Evpatiy’s army many times over, he did not chicken out and fought back the enemy with all his might. As a result, causing significant damage to him. The army of the Tatar-Mongol yoke continued to move and went along the Moscow River, to the city of Moscow, which lasted five days under siege. At the end of the battle, the city was burned and most of the people were killed. You should know that before reaching the city of Vladimir, the Tatar-Mongols carried out defensive actions all the way against the hidden Russian squad. They had to be very careful and always be ready for a new battle. There were many battles and skirmishes with the Russians on the road.
• Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich did not respond to requests for help from the Ryazan prince. But then he himself found himself under threat of attack. The prince wisely managed the time that was between the Ryazan battle and the Vladimir battle. He recruited a large army and armed it. It was decided to select the city of Kolomna as the site of the battle. On February 4, 1238, the plan of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich began its implementation.
• This was the most ambitious battle in terms of the number of troops and the heated battle of the Tatar-Mongols and Russians. But he too was lost. The number of Mongols was still significantly higher. The Tatar-Mongol invasion of this city lasted exactly a month. Ended on March 4, 1238, the year the Russians were defeated and also plundered. The prince fell in a heavy battle, causing a great loss to the Mongols. Vladimir became the last of fourteen cities conquered by the Mongols in Northeastern Rus'.
• In 1239 the cities of Chernigov and Pereslavl were defeated. A trip to Kyiv is planned.
• December 6, 1240. Kyiv captured. This further undermined the already shaky structure of the country. Powerfully fortified Kyiv was defeated by huge battering guns and rapids. The path to Southern Rus' and Eastern Europe opened.
• 1241 The Principality of Galicia-Volyn fell. After which the Mongols' actions stopped for a while.

In the spring of 1247, the Mongol-Tatars reached the opposite border of Rus' and entered Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Batu placed the created “Golden Horde” on the borders of Rus'. In 1243, they began to accept and approve the princes of the regions into the horde. There were also large cities that survived against the Horde, such as Smolensk, Pskov and Novgorod. These cities tried to express their disagreement and resist Batu's rule. The first attempt was made by the great Andrei Yaroslavovich. But his efforts were not supported by the majority of ecclesiastical and secular feudal lords, who, after so many battles and attacks, finally established relations with the Mongol khans.

In short, after the established order, the princes and church feudal lords did not want to leave their places and agreed to recognize the power of the Mongol khans and the established tribute exactions from the population. The theft of Russian lands will continue.

The country suffered more and more attacks from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. And it became increasingly difficult to give a worthy rebuff to the robbers. In addition to the fact that the country was already pretty tired, the people were impoverished and downtrodden, the princely squabbles also made it impossible to get up from their knees.

In 1257, the Horde started a population census in order to reliably establish the yoke and impose an unbearable tribute on the people. Become the unshakable and undisputed ruler of Russian lands. Rus' managed to defend its political system and reserved for itself the right to form a social and political stratum.

The Russian land was subjected to endless painful invasions of the Mongols, which would last until 1279.

Overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

The end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus' came in 1480. The Golden Horde began to gradually disintegrate. Many large principalities were divided and lived in constant conflict with each other. The liberation of Rus' from the Tatar-Mongol yoke is the service of Prince Ivan III. Reigned from 1426 to 1505. The prince united the two large cities of Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod and moved towards the goal of overthrowing the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

In 1478, Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Horde. In November 1480, the famous “standing on the Ugra River” took place. The name is characterized by the fact that neither side decided to start a battle. After staying on the river for a month, the overthrown Khan Akhmat closed his camp and went to the Horde. How many years the Tatar-Mongol rule lasted, which ravaged and destroyed the Russian people and Russian lands, can now be answered with confidence. Mongol yoke in Rus'