All about Vasily 3. Interesting facts about Vasily III

Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus' (1505-1533).

Vasily III Ivanovich was born on March 25, 1479. He was the son of the Grand Duke (1440-1505) and. The father sought to transfer full power to his son from his first marriage, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, and back in 1470 he declared him his co-ruler, but he died in 1490.

The ensuing struggle to determine the future heir to the throne ended in the victory of Vasily Ivanovich. First, he was declared the Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov, and in 1502 - the Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir and All Rus', autocrat, that is, he became his father’s co-ruler.

After his death in October 1505, Vasily III Ivanovich unhinderedly ascended the throne, receiving, according to his father’s will, the Great Reign of Moscow, the right to manage the capital and all its income, the right to mint coins, 66 cities and the title of “Sovereign of All Rus'.”

Having become the head of state, Vasily III Ivanovich continued his father’s policy - “gathering lands,” strengthening the grand-ducal power and defending the interests of Orthodoxy in Western Rus'. From the very beginning, he energetically fought for the centralization of the state, under him the last semi-independent Russian lands were annexed - (1510), Volotsky inheritance (1513), (1514), Ryazan (1521), Starodub and Novgorod-Seversky (1522) principalities.

In foreign policy, Vasily III Ivanovich, in addition to the fight for Russian lands, also waged periodic wars with the Tatars of the Crimean and Kazan khanates, who raided. The Grand Duke's diplomatic method to protect himself from attacks was to invite Tatar princes to Moscow service, who received vast lands.

In relation to more distant countries, he pursued as friendly a policy as possible. Vasily III Ivanovich negotiated with Prussia, inviting it to an alliance against Lithuania and Livonia; received the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, Turkey, and the Hindu Sultan Babur. He discussed with the Pope the possibility of union and war against Turkey. Trade relations were connected with Italy, France and Austria.

In his domestic policy, Vasily III Ivanovich, in order to strengthen the autocracy, fought against the noble boyars and feudal opposition. For speaking out against the policies of the Grand Duke, many boyars and princes, and even Metropolitan Varlaam, fell into disgrace over the years. Vasily III Ivanovich took measures to remove the remnants of appanage rule to new places. The result of this policy was the rapid growth of local noble land ownership, the limitation of the immunity and privileges of the princely-boyar aristocracy.

Also, Vasily III Ivanovich pushed the boyars away from participating in solving state issues. “Councils” with the boyar duma during his reign were mainly of a formal nature: all matters were decided personally by the Grand Duke or in contact with a few trusted people. However, the strength of tradition was such that the tsar had to appoint representatives of the boyars to significant positions in the army and administration.

The reign of Vasily III Ivanovich was also marked by the rise of Russian culture, the spread of the Moscow style of literary writing, which took a leading place among other regional literatures. At the same time, the architectural appearance of the Moscow Kremlin took shape, which turned into a well-fortified fortress.

Vasily III Ivanovich was married twice. His first marriage took place back in 1505. His wife then became the boyar's daughter Solomonia Saburova. Since this marriage was fruitless, Vasily III Ivanovich, despite the protests of the church, obtained a divorce in 1525. His second wife was the princess, whom he married in 1526. In this marriage were born the sons Ivan (future) and the feeble-minded Yuri.

Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich died on December 3, 1533. He was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The dying prince declared the three-year-old to be his heir under the regency of Elena Glinskaya.

Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow, sovereign of all Rus', who ruled from 1505 to 1533. In an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, for the first time in the history of Rus', he was named Emperor of the Rus. He continued his father’s policy of strengthening and centralizing the Russian state and fought the feudal opposition. Father .

Under Vasily III, the last semi-independent fiefs and principalities were annexed to Moscow. The Grand Duke limited the privileges of the princely-boyar aristocracy. He became famous for his victorious war against Lithuania.

Childhood and youth

The future emperor of the Rus was born in the spring of 1479. They named the grand-ducal son in honor of Vasily the Confessor, and at baptism they gave him the Christian name Gabriel. Vasily III is the first son born to her husband Sophia Paleologus, and the second eldest. At the time of his birth, his half-brother was 21 years old. Later, Sophia gave birth to her wife four more sons.

Vasily III's path to the throne was thorny: Ivan the Young was considered the main heir and legal successor of the sovereign. The second competitor for the throne turned out to be the son of Ivan the Young, Dmitry, who was favored by his august grandfather.

In 1490, the eldest son of Ivan III died, but the boyars did not want to see Vasily on the throne and sided with Dmitry and his mother Elena Voloshanka. The second wife of Ivan III, Sophia Paleologue, and her son were supported by the clerks and boyar children who led the orders. Vasily's supporters pushed him into a conspiracy, advising the prince to kill Dmitry Vnuk and, having seized the treasury, flee from Moscow.

The sovereign's people uncovered the plot, those involved were executed, and Ivan III put his rebellious son in custody. Suspecting his wife Sophia Paleologue of bad intentions, the Grand Duke of Moscow began to beware of her. Having learned that sorcerers were coming to see his wife, the sovereign ordered the “dashing women” to be seized and drowned in the Moscow River under cover of darkness.

In February 1498, Dmitry was crowned prince, but a year later the pendulum swung in the opposite direction: the sovereign’s favor abandoned his grandson. Vasily, at the behest of his father, accepted Novgorod and Pskov into the reign. In the spring of 1502, Ivan III put his daughter-in-law Elena Voloshanka and grandson Dmitry into custody, and blessed Vasily for the great reign and declared autocrat of all Rus'.

Governing body

In domestic politics, Vasily III was a supporter of strict rule and believed that power should not be limited by anything. He dealt with dissatisfied boyars without delay and relied on the church in his confrontation with the opposition. But in 1521, Metropolitan Varlaam fell under the hot hand of the Grand Duke of Moscow: the priest was exiled for his unwillingness to side with the autocrat in the fight against the appanage prince Vasily Shemyakin.

Vasily III considered criticism unacceptable. In 1525, he executed diplomat Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev: the statesman did not accept the Greek innovations introduced into the life of Rus' by the sovereign’s mother Sophia.

Over the years, the despotism of Vasily III intensified: the sovereign, increasing the number of landed nobility, limited the privileges of the boyars. The son and grandson continued the centralization of Rus' begun by his father Ivan III and grandfather Vasily the Dark.

In church politics, the new sovereign sided with the Josephites, who defended the right of monasteries to own land and property. Their non-covetous opponents were executed or imprisoned in monastery cells. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible's father, a new Code of Law appeared, which has not survived to this day.

The era of Vasily III Ivanovich saw a construction boom, which was started by his father. The Archangel Cathedral appeared in the Moscow Kremlin, and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord appeared in Kolomenskoye.

The Tsar's two-story travel palace has also survived to this day - one of the oldest monuments of civil architecture in the Russian capital. There were many such small palaces (“putinkas”) in which Vasily III and the retinue accompanying the tsar rested before entering the Kremlin, but only the palace on Staraya Basmannaya has survived.

Opposite the “putinka” there is another architectural monument - the Church of St. Nikita the Martyr. It appeared in 1518 by order of Vasily III and was originally made of wood. In 1685, a stone church was built in its place. They prayed under the arches of the ancient temple, Fyodor Rokotov,.

In foreign policy, Vasily III was noted as a collector of Russian lands. At the beginning of his reign, the Pskovites asked to annex them to the Moscow Principality. The Tsar did with them as Ivan III had done with the Novgorodians earlier: he resettled 3 hundred noble families from Pskov to Moscow, giving their estates to service people.

After the third siege in 1514, Smolensk was taken, and Vasily III used artillery to conquer it. The annexation of Smolensk became the sovereign's greatest military success.

In 1517, the tsar put into custody the last prince of Ryazan, Ivan Ivanovich, who had conspired with the Crimean Khan. Soon he was tonsured a monk, and his inheritance was extended to the Principality of Moscow. Then the Starodub and Novgorod-Seversk principalities surrendered.

At the beginning of his reign, Vasily III made peace with Kazan, and after breaking the agreement, he went on a campaign against the Khanate. The war with Lithuania was a success. The results of the reign of the Sovereign of All Rus' Vasily Ivanovich was the strengthening of the country, and people learned about it beyond distant borders. Relations began with France and India.

Personal life

Ivan III married his son a year before his death. It was not possible to find a noble wife: Solomonia Saburova, a girl of a non-boyar family, was chosen as Vasily’s wife.

At the age of 46, Vasily III was seriously concerned that his wife had not given him an heir. The boyars advised the king to divorce the barren Solomonia. Metropolitan Daniel approved the divorce. In November 1525, the Grand Duke separated from his wife, who was tonsured a nun at the Nativity Convent.

After the tonsure, rumors arose that the ex-wife imprisoned in the monastery gave birth to a son, Georgy Vasilyevich, but there is no convincing evidence of this. According to popular rumor, the grown son of Saburova and Vasily Ivanovich became the robber Kudeyar, sung in Nekrasov’s “Song of the Twelve Thieves.”

A year after the divorce, the nobleman chose the daughter of the late Prince Glinsky. The girl conquered the king with her education and beauty. For the sake of it, the prince even shaved off his beard, which went against Orthodox traditions.

4 years passed, and the second wife still did not give the king the long-awaited heir. The Emperor and his wife went to Russian monasteries. It is generally accepted that the prayers of Vasily Ivanovich and his wife were heard by the Monk Paphnutius of Borovsky. In August 1530, Elena gave birth to her first child, Ivan, the future Ivan the Terrible. A year later, a second boy appeared - Yuri Vasilyevich.

Death

The Tsar did not enjoy fatherhood for long: when his first-born was 3 years old, the Tsar fell ill. On the way from the Trinity Monastery to Volokolamsk, Vasily III discovered an abscess on his thigh.

After treatment, there was short-term relief, but after a couple of months the doctor pronounced a verdict that only a miracle could save Vasily: the patient had developed blood poisoning.

In December, the king died, blessing his first-born son to the throne. The remains were buried in the Moscow Archangel Cathedral.

Researchers suggest that Vasily III died of terminal cancer, but in the 16th century doctors did not know about such a disease.

Memory

• During the reign of Vasily III, a new Code of Law was created, the Archangel Cathedral and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord were built.
• In 2007, Alexey Shishov published the study “Vasily III: The Last Gatherer of the Russian Land.”
• In 2009, the premiere of the series “Ivan the Terrible,” directed by the director, took place, in which the actor played the role of Vasily III.
• In 2013, Alexander Melnik’s book “Moscow Grand Duke Vasily III and the Cults of Russian Saints” was published.

Reign of Vasily III (briefly)

Reign of Vasily III (briefly)

On March 25, 1479, Vasily the Third, the future ruler, was born. Vasily was born into the family of Ivan the Third and was his second son. For this reason, in 1470, the prince announced Ivan the Young (eldest son) as his co-ruler, intending to transfer complete rule to him in the future. However, unfortunately, Ivan died in 1490, and already in 1502, Vasily the Third Ivanovich, who at that time was already the Pskov and Great Novgorod prince, was declared co-ruler and future full heir of Ivan the Third.

In his policy, Vasily the Third fully adhered to the course that was chosen by his father. Its main goals were:

· centralization and strengthening of power;

· defending the interests of the Orthodox Church.

During the reign of Vasily the Third, the Starodub and Novgorod-Seversky principalities, as well as the lands of Ryazan, Smolensk and Pskov, were annexed to the Moscow principality.

Trying to protect Russian borders from active regular Tatar raids from the Crimean and Kazan kingdoms, Vasily the Third introduced the practice of introducing Tatar princes into the service, giving them considerable territories for this. The policy of this ruler in relation to distant states was quite friendly. Vasily even discussed with the Pope about the possibility of a union against Turkey, which was disadvantageous for both, and also tried to develop trade contacts with Austria, Italy and France.

In domestic politics, Vasily the Third concentrated his efforts on strengthening the autocracy, which soon led to the “curtailment” of the privileges of the boyar and prince families. For example, they were removed from solving important state issues, which from now on were taken exclusively by Vasily the Third and his circle of close advisers. At the same time, representatives of the boyar class were able to retain important places in the prince’s army.

Historians indicate that the prince was married twice. The first time was with Solomonia Saburova, who herself was from a noble boyar family, but turned out to be childless. And the second time he married Elena Glinskaya, who bore him two sons, the youngest of whom, Yuri, suffered from dementia.

On December 3, 1533, Moscow Prince Vasily the Third died from a blood poisoning disease, after which he was buried in the Moscow Kremlin (Archangel Cathedral). In subsequent years, the boyars Belsky and Glinsky acted as regents for the young Ivan.

- (1479 1533), Grand Duke of Moscow from 1505. Son of Ivan III. He completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow by annexing Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521). Source: Encyclopedia Fatherland (baptized Gabriel, schema Varlaam) IVANOVICH ... ... Russian history

- (1479 1533), Grand Duke of Moscow from 1505. Son of Ivan III. Completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow with the annexation of Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521) ... Modern encyclopedia

- (1479 1533) Grand Duke of Moscow from 1505. Son of Ivan III. Completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow with the annexation of Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521) ...

Vasily III- (1479 1533), Grand Duke of Moscow from 1505. Son of Ivan III. He completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow with the annexation of Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521). ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1479, Moscow 1533, ibid.), Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow, sovereign of All Rus' (from 1505). Son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus. He married (1505) Solomonia Saburova, who came from an Old Moscow boyar family. Under the rule of Vasily III... ... Moscow (encyclopedia)

Vasily III (1479, Moscow 1533, ibid.), Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow, sovereign of All Rus' (from 1505). Son and He married (1505) Solomonia Saburova, who came from an Old Moscow boyar family. Passed under the rule of Vasily III... ... Moscow (encyclopedia)

- (1479 1533), Grand Duke of Moscow, Sovereign of All Rus' (from 1505). Son of Grand Duke Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus. He killed in prison (1509) the nephew of Dmitry Ivanovich, crowned Ivan III (1498) for the great reign. Achieved strict obedience... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (14791533), Grand Duke of Moscow from 1505. Son of Ivan III. Completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow annexed Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Vasily III- VASILY III (14791533), Grand Duke of Moscow from 1505. Son of Ivan III. Completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow annexed Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521) ... Biographical Dictionary

Drawing from the book Title Book. 1672… Collier's Encyclopedia

Books

• Moscow autocrats. Ivan III. Vasily III, Nikolai Kostomarov, Sergei Solovyov, Vasily Klyuchevsky, Sergei Platonov. The library of the project “History of the Russian State” is the best monuments of historical literature recommended by Boris Akunin, which reflect the biography of our country, from its very…

Vasily the Third Ivanovich was born on March twenty-fifth, 1479 in the family of Ivan the Third. However, Ivan the Young, his eldest son, was announced as Ivan’s co-ruler back in 1470. There was no hope that Vasily would gain power, but in 1490 Ivan the Young died. Soon Vasily the Third is declared heir. At the same time, he became his father’s official heir only in 1502. At that time, he was already the Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov.

Like foreign policy, domestic policy was a natural continuation of the course begun by Ivan the Third, who directed all his actions towards centralizing the state and defending the interests of the Russian church. In addition, his policies led to the annexation of vast territories to Moscow.

So in 1510 Pskov was annexed to the Moscow Principality, four years later Smolensk, and in 1521 Ryazan. A year later, the Novgorod-Seversky and Starodub principalities were also annexed. The careful innovative reforms of Vasily the Third led to a significant limitation of the privileges of the princely-boyar families. All important state affairs were now accepted personally by the prince, and he could receive advice only from trusted persons.

The policy of the ruler in question had a clearly defined goal of preserving and protecting the Russian land from regular raids, which periodically occurred “thanks to” the detachments of the Kazan and Crimean Khanates. To resolve this issue, the prince introduced a rather interesting practice, inviting noble Tatars to serve and allocating vast territories for them to rule. In addition, in foreign policy, Vasily the Third was friendly to distant powers, considering the possibility of concluding an anti-Turkish union with the Pope, etc.

During his entire reign, Vasily the Third was married twice. His first wife was Solomonia Saburova, a girl from a noble family of boyars. However, this marriage union did not bring heirs to the prince and was dissolved for this reason in 1525. A year later, the prince marries Elena Glinskaya, who gave him two sons, Yuri and Stepan.

On December 3, 1533, Vasily the Third died of blood poisoning, after which he was buried in the Moscow Kremlin. Historians consider the most important result of the era of his reign to be the unification of the northeastern and northwestern territories of Rus'. After Vasily the Third, his young son Ivan ascended to the Russian throne under the regency of Glinskaya, who became the most famous Tsar of Rus'.

Video lecture by Vasily III: