Which city was annexed by Vasily 3. Vasily III: what mark did Sofia’s son Paleologus leave in history?

Vasily III(25.03.1479 - 3.12.1533) ascended the throne in October 1505.

According to the spiritual charter of Ivan III, he inherited his father’s title, the right to mint coins, and received control of 66 cities. Among these cities are centers such as Moscow, Tver, Novgorod.

His brothers inherited 30 cities. They also had to obey Ivan as their father. Vasily III tried to continue his father’s work in both domestic and foreign policy.

He wanted to show his power, autocracy, while he was deprived of the abilities and merits of his father.

Vasily III strengthened Russia's position in the west, and did not forget about the return of the lands of Rus', which were under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Levon Order.

During the first war between Lithuania and the Moscow state in 1507 - 1508, the Polish king Sigismund I and Grand Duke The Lithuanians tried to unite the Moscow opponents together. But they didn’t succeed.

The rebel Mikhail Glinsky was supported by Moscow and Lithuania was forced to sign an eternal peace treaty with the Russians. Yes, the parties existed in peace for only four years. Already in 1512, a new war began, which lasted almost ten years.

Things were not calm in the south either; the danger from the Tatars did not decrease. Although we remember that the Great Horde fell in 1502. Crimean and Tatar Tatars instilled fear in the residents of the southern and eastern outskirts of the Russian state. And if the attackers managed to bypass the border, then they headed to the center and even threatened Moscow.

Vasily III sent gifts to the khans to achieve peace with him. But at the same time, he did not forget to bring the army to the bank of the Oka River in order to protect himself from the uninvited guest. Defensive stone fortresses were also built in Tula, Kolomna, Kaluga, and Zaraysk.

Domestically, Vasily III succeeded. He decided to finally subjugate it (1510), conquered Ryazan (1521). The support of the Grand Duke is the service people, the boyars and nobles. During their service to the sovereign, they were allocated an estate. The peasants who lived on these lands, by order of the Grand Duke, were obliged to support the landowners.

Peasants plowed and sowed the land (corvée), mowed hay and harvested crops, grazed livestock and fished. Also, ordinary people gave away part of the products of their labor (food rent). The distribution of land, during the unification of Russian lands, took on the character of a system. And it was just not enough. The government even wanted to take away the monastery and church lands, but it didn’t work out. The Church promised support for the authorities if only they would leave the land.

Under Vasily III development The manorial system led to the emergence of manorial estates throughout Russia, except for the northern territories. The persistent and cautious king ruled his state with political stability. Economic growth was noticed, new cities were built, crafts developed. In large villages that were located on large roads, markets appeared - a place of trade for artisans.

In such villages, courtyards of “uncultivated peasants” arose, that is, the courtyards of those who gave up plowing the land and took up crafts and trade. These were blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers, coopers and others. It must be said that the population was small; in Moscow, for example, it was about 100 thousand people. There were even fewer people in other cities.

Under Vasily III, the unification of the Russian principalities into one state was completed. In addition to the Russians, the state included Mordovians, Karelians, Udmurts, Komi and many other nationalities. The Russian state was multinational. The authority of the Russian state grew in the eyes of Eastern and European rulers. The Moscow “autocracy” was firmly entrenched in Russia. After the death of Vasily III, came, which was followed by the crowning of his son Vasily to the royal throne.

Vasily Ivanovich was born on March 25, 1479. He was the first son of Ivan III from his second marriage, with Sophia Paleologus, who was a representative of the last Byzantine imperial dynasty.

However, Vasily did not claim the throne, since Ivan III had an eldest son, Ivan the Young, from his first marriage, who, approximately eight years before the birth of Vasily, had already been declared co-ruler of Ivan III. In 1490, Ivan the Young died, and Vasily had a chance to lay claim to the great reign. A struggle between two factions broke out at court. One stood for the son of Ivan the Young - Dmitry Vnuk, and the other for Vasily. As a result, Ivan III himself proclaimed Vasily “Sovereign Grand Duke.”

Vasily's reignIII

Vasily's reign lasted six years, and after Ivan III died in 1505, he became an independent sovereign.

Vasily III continued the centralizing policy of his father. In 1506, the Grand Duke's governor established himself in Perm the Great. In 1510, the formal independence of the Pskov land was abolished. In 1521, the Ryazan Principality joined the Grand Duchy. The Grand Duke waged the fight against the appanages with the most different ways. Sometimes inheritances were simply destroyed purposefully, sometimes brothers were not allowed to marry and, therefore, have legitimate heirs.

The local system was strengthened, which helped ensure the combat effectiveness of the army and limit the independence of the aristocracy. The land was given to the nobles as conditional possession for the duration of the “princes’ service.”

Localism developed - a system of hierarchy in which positions and titles were held exclusively in accordance with the birth of the prince or boyar.

The general strengthening of the state, political and ideological necessity gave impetus to the development of theories justifying the special political rights of the Grand Dukes of Moscow.

Foreign policy

In 1514, Smolensk, one of the largest Russian-speaking centers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was conquered. The campaigns against Smolensk were led personally by Vasily III, but the defeat of Russian troops near Orsha stopped the movement of Russian troops to the west for some time.

Russian-Crimean relations remained tense. In 1521, the Crimean Khan Mohammed-Girey launched a campaign against Moscow. The Crimean Tatars reached almost Moscow. The country suffered heavy damage. Vasily III had to concentrate his efforts on the defense of the southern borders along the Oka River.

Vasily III began to deepen contacts between Russia and the Orthodox peoples conquered Ottoman Empire, including with Athos. Attempts were made to improve relations with the Holy Roman Empire and the Papal Curia against the Ottoman Empire.

Personal life

In 1505, Vasily III married Solomonia Saburova. For the first time, a representative of a boyar rather than a princely family became the chosen one of the Grand Duke. For twenty years there were no children in this marriage, and Vasily III married a second time. The new wife of the sovereign was Elena Glinskaya, who came from Lithuanian boyars. From this marriage the future Tsar of All Rus' was born.

Vasily 3 (reigned 1505-1533) was marked by the final gathering of Russian lands around Moscow. It was under Vasily III that the process of unifying the lands around Moscow was completed and the process of creating the Russian state continued to take shape.

Most historians agree that Vasily 3, as a ruler and personality, was greatly inferior to his father, Ivan 3. It is difficult to say for sure whether this is true or not. The fact is that Vasily continued the business (and successfully) started by his father, but did not have time to start his own important business.

The end of the appanage system

Ivan 3 transferred all power to Vasily 3, and younger sons ordered to obey his older brother in everything. Vasily 3 got 66 cities (other sons 30), as well as the right to determine and lead foreign policy countries and mint coins. The appanage system was preserved, but the power of the Grand Duke over others became increasingly stronger. The system of Rus' of that period was very accurately described by Joseph Volotsky (church leader), who called the reign of Vasily 3 the reign of the “Sovereign Sovereign of All Russian Lands.” Sovereign, Sovereign- that’s how it really was. There were sovereigns who owned appanages, but over them there was a single sovereign.

In the fight against the estates, Vasily 3 showed cunning - he forbade his brothers, the owners of the estates, to marry. Accordingly, they had no children and their power died away, and the lands became subordinate to Moscow. By 1533, only 2 estates were settled: Yuri Dmitrovsky and Andrei Staritsky.

Domestic policy

Land unification

The domestic policy of Vasily 3 continued the path of his father, Ivan 3: the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. The main initiatives in this regard were as follows:

• Subjugation of independent principalities.
• Strengthening the borders of the state.

In 1510, Vasily 3 subjugated Pskov. The Pskov prince Ivan Repnya-Obolensky, who was a cruel and unprincipled man, contributed greatly to this. The people of Pskov did not like him and staged riots. As a result, the prince was forced to turn to the main Sovereign, asking him to pacify the citizens. After this there are no exact sources. It is only known that Vasily 3 arrested the ambassadors who were sent to him from the townspeople, and offered them the only solution to the problem - submission to Moscow. That's what they decided on. To strengthen himself in this region, the Grand Duke sends to central regions countries of the 300 most influential families of Pskov.

In 1521, the Ryazan principality submitted to the authorities of Moscow, and in 1523, the last southern principalities. Thus, the main task of the internal politics of the reign of Vasily 3 was solved - the country was united.

Map of the Russian state under Vasily 3

A map showing the last stages of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. Most of these changes took place during the reign of Prince Vasily Ivanovich.

Foreign policy

Extension Russian state under Vasily 3 it also turned out to be quite extensive. The country managed to strengthen its influence, despite its rather strong neighbors.

Western direction

War of 1507-1508

In 1507-1508 there was a war with Lithuania. The reason was that the border Lithuanian principalities began to swear allegiance to Rus'. The last to do this was Prince Mikhail Glinsky (before that the Odoevskys, Belskys, Vyazemskys and Vorotynskys). The reason for the reluctance of the princes to be part of Lithuania lies in religion. Lithuania banned Orthodoxy and forcibly introduced Catholicism to the local population.

In 1508, Russian troops besieged Minsk. The siege was successful and Sigismund 1 asked for peace. As a result, all the lands that Ivan III annexed were assigned to Russia. This was a big breakthrough and an important step in foreign policy and in strengthening the Russian state.

War of 1513-1522

In 1513, Vasily 3 learned that Lithuania had reached an agreement with the Crimean Khanate and was preparing for a military campaign. The prince decided to take the lead and besieged Smolensk. The assault on the city was difficult and the city repelled two attacks, but ultimately, in 1514, Russian troops took the city. But in the same year, the Grand Duke lost the battle of Orsha, which allowed the Lithuanian-Polish troops to approach Smolensk. It was not possible to take the city.

Minor battles continued until 1525, when peace was signed for 5 years. As a result of the peace, Russia retained Smolensk, and the border with Lithuania now ran along the Dnieper River.

Southern and eastern directions

Eastern and south direction The foreign policy of Prince Vasily Ivanovich should be considered in its entirety, since the Crimean Khan and the Kazan Khan acted together. Back in 1505, the Kazan Khan invaded Russian lands with plunder. In response, Vasily 3 sends an army to Kazan, forcing the enemy to again swear allegiance to Moscow, as was the case under Ivan 3.

1515-1516 - the Crimean army reaches Tula, devastating the lands along the way.

1521 - the Crimean and Kazan khans simultaneously began a military campaign against Moscow. Having reached Moscow, the Crimean Khan demanded that Moscow pay tribute, as it was before, and Vasily 3 agreed, since the enemy was numerous and strong. After this, the Khan's army went to Ryazan, but the city did not surrender, and they returned to their lands.

1524 - the Crimean Khanate captures Astrakhan. All Russian merchants and the governor were killed in the city. Vasily 3 concludes a truce and sends an army to Kazan. Kazan ambassadors arrive in Moscow for negotiations. They dragged on for several years.

1527 - on the Oka River, the Russian army defeated the army of the Crimean Khan, thereby stopping constant raids from the south.

1530 - the Russian army is sent to Kazan and takes the city by storm. A ruler is installed in the city - a Moscow protege.

Key dates

• 1505-1533 – reign of Vasily 3
• 1510 – annexation of Pskov
• 1514 – annexation of Smolensk

The king's wives

In 1505, Vasily 3 decided to get married. A real show was organized for the prince - 500 noble girls from all over the country came to Moscow. The prince's choice settled on Solomnia Saburova. They lived together for 20 years, but the princess could not give birth to an heir. As a result, by the decision of the prince, Solomnia was tonsured as a nun and sent to the Suzdal convent of the Intercession.

In fact, Vasily 3 divorced Solomonia, violating all the laws of that time. Moreover, for this it was even necessary to remove Metropolitan Varlaam, who refused to arrange a divorce. Ultimately, after the change of metropolitan, Solomonia was accused of witchcraft, after which she was tonsured a nun.

In January 1526, Vasily 3 married Elena Glinskaya. The Glinsky family was not the most noble, but Elena was beautiful and young. In 1530, she gave birth to her first son, who was named Ivan (the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible). Soon another son was born - Yuri.

Maintain power at any cost

Board of Vasily 3 for a long time it seemed impossible, since his father wanted to pass the throne to his grandson from his first marriage, Dmitry. Moreover, in 1498, Ivan 3 crowned Dmitry as king, declaring him heir to the throne. The second wife of Ivan 3, Sophia (Zoya) Paleologus, together with Vasily, organize a conspiracy against Dmitry in order to get rid of a competitor for the inheritance of the throne. The plot was discovered and Vasily was arrested.

• In 1499, Ivan 3 pardoned his son Vasily and released him from prison.
• In 1502, Dmitry himself was accused and imprisoned, and Vasily was blessed to reign.

In light of the events of the struggle for the rule of Russia, Vasily 3 clearly understood that power at any cost is important, and anyone who interferes with this is an enemy. Here, for example, are the words in the chronicle:

I am king and lord by right of blood. I didn’t ask anyone for titles or buy them. There are no laws that require me to obey anyone. Believing in Christ, I reject any rights begged from others.

Prince Vasily 3 Ivanovich

Vasily III Ivanovich (1479 - 1533) - Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow from 1505, son of Ivan III Vasilyevich and Sophia Paleologus - niece of the last Byzantine emperor. Father of Ivan IV the Terrible.

Grand Duke Vasily III

According to existing marriage arrangements, the children of the Grand Duke of Moscow and the Byzantine princess Sophia could not occupy the Moscow throne. But Sophia Paleologue did not want to come to terms with this. In the winter of 1490, when the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young (the eldest son from his first marriage), fell ill, a doctor was called in on Sophia’s advice, but he died 2 months later. Poisoning was suspected at court, but only the doctor was executed. The new heir to the throne was the son of the deceased heir, Dmitry.

On the eve of Dmitry's 15th birthday, Sophia Paleologus and her son hatched a plot to kill the official heir to the throne. But the boyars exposed the conspirators. Some supporters of Sophia Paleolog were executed, and Vasily Ivanovich was put under arrest. House arrest. Sophia managed to restore with great difficulty a good relationship with husband. The father and his son were forgiven.

Soon the positions of Sophia and her son became so strong that Dmitry himself and his mother Elena Voloshanka fell into disgrace. Vasily was proclaimed heir to the throne. Before the death of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Vasily Ivanovich was considered the Grand Duke of Novgorod, and in 1502 he also received the great reign of Vladimir from his father.

Marriage of Vasily III and Solomonia Saburova

At the age of 26, they decided to marry Prince Vasily. To choose a bride, his father, Grand Duke Ivan III, ordered the first beauties from all the Russian principalities to be collected in Moscow, since he was unable to find a bride for Vasily among the foreign ruling houses. 1,500 girls arrived in Moscow - very beautiful, noble and ignorant, of which 300 were gradually selected, then the 200, 100 and 10 best were shown to Vasily, who chose the daughter of eminent Moscow boyars, Solomonia Saburova.

Saburova, Solomonia Yurievna

In 1505 the wedding took place, 4 months later Ivan III died, Vasily became the Grand Duke. The marriage was long and happy, but there were no children. The grand ducal couple traveled to monasteries, made rich deposits, but still there were no children, the marriage remained childless. Vasily III had four brothers to whom he did not want to leave the throne and did not allow them to marry. According to their father's will, the brothers received 30 cities into their possession, and Vasily - 66. Vasily III almost hated the brothers, who considered their father's will unfair, awaiting his death and the transfer of supreme power to one of them.

Having fallen ill, Vasily III even intended to transfer the right of inheritance to the throne to the husband of his sister Evdokia - the Tatar prince Kuidakul, in Orthodoxy Peter, but he died suddenly (most likely, he was poisoned). Vasily III learned of rumors about his own infertility. He also learned that his wife had turned to fortune-tellers and witches several times so that they could save the grand-ducal couple from childlessness. The Church categorically forbade (and forbids) turning to fortune-tellers and sorcerers, and evaluates such actions as a great sin.

Then such actions of the queen were assessed not only as a sin, but also as harm to her husband, who turned out to be a victim of damage. One of the fortune tellers confidently told the queen that they would never have children. Vasily III began to think about the inevitability of their divorce, and to resolve this issue he assembled a council of clergy and boyars. Moscow Metropolitan Daniel expressed his readiness to take the sin of the prince’s divorce upon his soul. Some boyars and clergy openly opposed divorce (Prince Patrikeev - monk Vassian Kosoy, monk Makrsim the Greek, Prince Semyon Kurbsky), all of them were severely punished and imprisoned for this. Most people were against the divorce, condemned the intention of Vasily III, but were afraid of his anger and remained silent.

Vasily III was guided state interests in personal life. After difficult thoughts, Vasily III decided to divorce. With the permission of Metropolitan Daniel, he divorced and received the right to remarry. Ex-wife Vasily III imprisoned Solomonia Saburova in the Moscow Nativity Monastery in 1525, then she was taken to the Suzdal Intercession Monastery, where she lived for 14 years and died, having survived ex-husband and his new wife.

Venerable Sophia, in the world Solomonia, Grand Duchess,

The legend claims that Solomonia, abandoned by the king, allegedly secretly gave birth to a son and he was secretly raised in one of the boyar houses. According to another version, he allegedly became the famous robber Kudeyar.

Vasily III Vasiliy III 1505-1533.

Vasily III probably felt sorry for his divorced wife in his soul, at least partially reproaching himself for the sin of divorce, and as best he could (within the bounds of decency) showed concern for her and the city and monastery where she ended up. So, in the Suzdal Kremlin in 1528-1530. At the behest and with the assistance of Vasily III, the restoration of the Nativity Cathedral was carried out. For the proper maintenance of the divorced queen in the Suzdal Intercession Monastery, he allocated the village of Vysheslavskoye with peasants to the monastery. In the Intercession Monastery, by order of Vasily III, a small room for a separate altar was built in the gate church, intended only for one nun - Sophia, his divorced wife. In general, Vasily III somehow in advance singled out the Intercession Monastery from other women’s monasteries, almost guessing about its special role in the fate of the grand-ducal couple. During the first decade family life with Solomonia Saburova, he came to the Intercession Monastery, allocated significant funds, which laid the foundation for the monastery’s well-being and made it possible to begin detailed stone construction in it.

Marriage of Ivan III with Elena Glinskaya

The tsar's second wife was Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya (1509-1538), in whose veins Lithuanian blood flowed. Her uncle Alexander fled from Lithuania to Russia. This meant that the tsar’s chosen one came from a family of fugitives and traitors who had disgraced themselves in their homeland, Lithuania.

Elena Glinskaya Grand Duchess of Moscow

The fact is very unpleasant: the great princes usually chose their wives from glorious boyar families or from respected families - royal, royal - outside Russia. Contemporaries wrote that Tsar Vasily III fell passionately in love with the young Elena Glinskaya, in order to please her, he decided to do an unprecedented thing: he began to look younger and even shaved his beard and used cosmetics.

Two months after the divorce and tonsure of Solomonia Saburova, Tsar Vasily III married Elena Glinskaya (he was 48 years old, she was 18). The tsar, in love with his young wife, did not notice in her retinue her former lover, Prince Ivan Fedorovich Telepnev-Obolensky-Saburov-Ovchina (he was soon elevated to noble ranks of the state and, perhaps, is the father of the next tsar - Ivan IV, born in 1530) .

Vasily III Ivanovich

For seven years the king enjoyed life with his young wife, who bore him sons Ivan and Yuri(the first then became Tsar Ivan the Terrible). The fate of the young queen was hardly enviable.

Only after the death of her husband was she able, by adding more honorary positions to I.F. Telepnev-Obolensky, to somehow legitimize him as her practically official favorite; this happened for the first time in a grand-ducal family in Rus'.

E.V. Glinskaya and her prince brothers and I.F. Telepnev-Obolensky after the death of Vasily III began to rule Moscow and Russia. But the fate of all of them was bad: Glinskaya was poisoned in 1538, Telepnev-Obolensky was starved to death in captivity, etc. This was retribution for feigned love for the king and the desire for power, profit, and wealth by any means.

PRINCE VASILY III IVANOVICH

Vasily III Ivanovich. Miniature from the Tsar's titular book. 1672

In 1505, the dying father asked his sons to make peace, but as soon as Vasily Ivanovich became the Grand Duke, he immediately ordered Dmitry to be put in a dungeon, where he died in 1508. The accession of Vasily III Ivanovich to the grand-ducal throne caused discontent among many boyars.

Like his father, he continued the policy of “gathering lands” and strengthening the grand ducal power. During his reign, Pskov (1510), the Ryazan and Uglich principalities (1512, Volotsk (1513), Smolensk (1514), Kaluga (1518), and the Novgorod-Seversky principality (1523) went to Moscow.

The successes of Vasily Ivanovich and his sister Elena were reflected in the treaty between Moscow and Lithuania and Poland in 1508, according to which Moscow retained his father’s acquisitions in the western lands beyond Moscow.

Since 1507, constant raids began Crimean Tatars to Rus' (1507, 1516-1518 and 1521). The Moscow ruler had difficulty negotiating peace with Khan Mengli-Girey.

Vasily III Ivanovich.

Later, joint raids of Kazan and Crimean Tatars on Moscow began. The Prince of Moscow in 1521 decided to build fortified cities in the area of ​​the “wild field” (in particular, Vasilsursk) and the Great Zasechnaya Line (1521-1523) in order to strengthen the borders. He also invited Tatar princes to Moscow service, giving them vast lands.

Chronicles indicate that Prince Vasily III Ivanovich received the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, and Turkey, and discussed with the Pope the possibility of war against Turkey. At the end of the 1520s. relations between Muscovy and France began; in 1533, ambassadors arrived from Sultan Babur, a Hindu sovereign. Trade relations connected Moscow with Italy and Austria.

Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich

POLITICS IN THE REIGN OF VASILY III IVANOVICH

In his domestic policy In the fight against the feudal opposition, he enjoyed the support of the Church. The landed nobility also increased, and the authorities actively limited the privileges of the boyars.

Vasily III treated the boyars carefully; not one of them, except for the comparatively humble Bersen Beklemishev, was subjected to death penalty, and there was little opal. But Vasily III did not pay much attention to the boyars; he consulted with the boyar duma, apparently more for form and “meeting”, that is, he did not like objections, deciding matters mainly with clerks and a few trusted people, among whom he occupied a prominent place butler - Ivan Shigona, a clerk from the Tver boyars.

The years of the reign of Vasily III Ivanovich were marked by the rise of Russian culture and the widespread spread of the Moscow style of literary writing. Under him, the Moscow Kremlin turned into an impregnable fortress.

According to the stories of his contemporaries, the prince was of a harsh disposition and did not leave a grateful memory of his reign in folk poetry.

The Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus' Vasily Ivanovich died on December 4, 1533 from blood poisoning, which was caused by an abscess on his left thigh. In agony, he managed to become a monk under the name of Varlaam. He was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. 3-year-old Ivan IV (the future Tsar the Terrible), the son of Vasily Ivanovich, was declared heir to the throne, and Elena Glinskaya was appointed regent.

Vasily was married twice.
His wives:
Saburova Solomonia Yurievna (from September 4, 1506 to November 1525).
Glinskaya Elena Vasilievna (from January 21, 1526).

There were 2 children (both from the 2nd marriage): Ivan IV the Terrible (1530 -1584) and Yuri (1532-1564).

Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Ivanovich III(1505 - 1533, born in 1479) is most famous for the fact that during his reign the gathering of the fragmented appanages of North-Eastern Rus' into a single state was completed. Under Vasily III, the veche city of Pskov (1510) and the last appanage principalities - Ryazan (1517) and Chernigov-Seversky (1517-1523) were annexed to Moscow. Vasily continued the domestic and foreign policies of his father, Ivan III, whom he resembled in his stern, autocratic character. Of the two main church parties of the time, in the first years of his reign, the predominance belonged to non-covetous people, but then it passed to the Josephites, whom Basil III supported until his death.

Vasily III. Miniature from the Tsar's title book

The former, purely service composition of the Moscow boyars, as the Russian North-East was unified, was replenished with recent appanage princes, people much more influential and demanding. In this regard, Vasily treated the boyars with suspicion and distrust, consulting with him only for show, and even then rarely. He conducted the most important affairs not with the help of the boyars, but with the help of humble clerks and nobles (like his close butler Shigona Podzhogin). Vasily treated such rootless nominees rudely and unceremoniously (deacon Dolmatov paid with imprisonment for refusing to go to the embassy, ​​and Bersen-Beklemishev was executed for contradicting the Grand Duke). During the reign of Vasily III, the conflict between the grand-ducal power and the boyars, which during the reign of his son, Ivan the Terrible, led to the horrors of the oprichnina, began to gradually intensify. But Vasily behaved with the boyars still very restrained. Neither of noble representatives of the boyar class were not executed under him. Vasily, for the most part, limited himself to taking oaths from the boyars (Shuisky, Belsky, Vorotynsky, Mstislavsky) that they would not leave for Lithuania. Only Prince Vasily Kholmsky fell into disgrace under him (for what, it is unknown).

Unification of Muscovite Rus' under Ivan III and Vasily III

But Vasily treated close relatives who, due to dynastic kinship, could challenge his power with the usual severity of his predecessors. Vasily's rival, his nephew Dmitry Ivanovich (grandson of Ivan III from his eldest son, Ivan), died in prison. Vasily III established strict supervision over his brothers, Yuri and Andrei. Andrei was allowed to marry only when Vasily III himself became the father of two children. Vasily's brothers hated his favorites and the new order.

Not wanting to transfer the throne to either Yuri or Andrei, Vasily, after a long childless marriage, divorced his first wife, the barren Solomonia Saburova, and married (1526) Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya, the niece of the famous Western Russian nobleman Mikhail Glinsky. From her his sons Ivan were born (in 1530, future Ivan Grozny) and Yuri (1533). Solomonia Saburova was imprisoned in the Suzdal Intercession Monastery, and opponents of the divorce (Metropolitan Varlaam, as well as the leaders of non-covetous people Vassian Kosoy Patrikeev and the famous Byzantine scientist Maxim the Greek) also suffered.

Solomonia Saburova. Painting by P. Mineeva

Foreign policy of Vasily III

After the death of his son-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander of Lithuania (1506), Vasily decided to take advantage of the turmoil that arose among the noble lords of Lithuania. Among them, Mikhail Glinsky, who was insulted by Alexander's brother and successor, Sigismund, stood out for his education, military glory, wealth and land holdings. Mikhail Glinsky in response went into the service of Vasily III. This circumstance, as well as the poor treatment in Lithuania of Vasily’s sister (Alexander’s wife) Elena, who died in 1513, as was suspected of poison, caused a war between Lithuania and Moscow. During it, Glinsky lost all his former Lithuanian possessions, in return for which he received Medyn and Maloyaroslavets from Vasily. Sigismund's alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey caused the second war between Vasily III and Lithuania in 1512. On August 1, 1514, Vasily, with the assistance of Glinsky, took Smolensk from the Lithuanians, but on September 8 of the same year, Sigismund’s commander, Prince Ostrozhsky, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Moscow army at Orsha. However, according to the truce of 1522, concluded through the ambassador of the German Emperor Maximilian I, Herberstein, Smolensk remained with Moscow.

Crimean Tatar archer

Besides Lithuania, the main concern of the reign of Vasily III was Tatar relations, especially Crimean ones. Having submitted to powerful Turkey at the end of the 15th century, Crimea began to receive strong support from it. The raids of the Crimean Tatars alarmed the Moscow state more and more (raid on the Oka in 1507, on the Ryazan Ukraine in 1516, on the Tula in 1518, the siege of Moscow in 1521). Russia and Lithuania alternately gave gifts to the Crimean robbers and embroiled them in their mutual squabbles. The strengthened Crimean khans tried to subjugate Kazan and Astrakhan in order to restore the former Golden Horde– from the Upper Volga region and the Urals to the Black and Caspian seas. Vasily III did his best to oppose the annexation of Kazan to Crimea, which in 1521 led to the most dangerous Tatar raid on Rus' from the south and east. However, Kazan, torn apart by internal strife, became more and more subordinate to Moscow (the siege of Kazan in 1506, peace with its khan, Muhammad-Amen in 1507, the appointment from Moscow of the Kazan king Shah-Ali (Shigaleya) in 1519. and Jan-Ali in 1524, the construction by Vasily on the border with the Kazan possessions of the powerful fortress of Vasilsursk in 1524, etc.). With this constant pressure on Kazan, Vasily also anticipated the achievements of Ivan the Terrible. In 1523, the Crimean Khan Muhammad-Girey captured Astrakhan, but was soon killed there by the Nogais.