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Russian
00:00:19
Alexander Nevsky felt that it was necessary to humble his pride.00:00:22
In fact, we don't know what the word ‘Russians’ means. There are many versions on this score.00:00:28
Legends begin from the ‘Tale of Bygone Years’ and further towards Rurik.00:00:34
The task was to convert Russia to the Catholic faith. What could this lead to?00:00:39
Let's remember Danila Kozlovsky in the role of Vladimir the Baptist.00:00:46
The eldest brother inherited a mill, the second arable fields, the third a house, and the youngest of the brothers got a Puss in Boots.00:00:54
They would create a colossal country, the largest state, the largest power in the history of mankind.00:01:04
HISTORY FACULTY00:01:11
Dear friends, good day. We continue our ultra-short course of Stories from Russian History in which we shall try to take a fleeting glimpse at the entire Russian history from the moment of the birth of the Russian state to the present day.00:01:26
HISTORY FACULTY00:01:31
Last time we stopped at the death of Alexander Nevsky, who was 42 years old at that time, on the road, on the way from the capital of the Horde, Karakorum. And what was happening in Russia at that time in general? 00:01:40
On the one hand, the so-called feudal fragmentation, but fragmentation, I emphasize, only in a political sense, since in a spiritual, religious sense, the Russian Land remained united, i.e. with a single culture and a single Orthodox faith, which was the most important factor of that time.00:01:56
That is, a single Church, as an institution that served to pull together parts of the Russian Land that had disintegrated into little pieces, separate principalities that were dependent on the Horde. 00:02:08
This dependence consisted firstly in the obligation for local Princes to approve their own appointment and other key personnel decisions first in Karakorum, and then in the capital of the Golden Horde after the collapse of the Genghisid Empire.00:02:21
Secondly, they had to ensure the regular flow of tribute to the Horde; and thirdly, to take an active part in military operations under the joint command of the Genghisid army. Frankly speaking, Russian Princes did not cope with this third function very successfully and tried to avoid their participation in these joint campaigns as much as they could.00:02:45
This is a very crude analogy, but it was similar to the current dependence of some quasi-sovereign states on the United States of America, where this dependence is not direct, but indirect and without complete sovereignty. So, part of our territory had fallen into vassalage to the Horde, and part of the western lands had been quickly captured by Lithuania and Poland.00:03:07
That is, a classic territorial and political redistribution took place and two centres of power were formed on Russian soil, namely the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, future Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where the Lithuanians were the ruling dynasty, and nine-tenths of its territories consisted of native Russian lands. 00:03:30
There, the spoken language was Russian, clerical work was conducted in Russian and 90% of the population was Orthodox. The Lithuanians themselves were pagans and worshipped many things, even sacred snakes. Thus, the dilemma of who the Russian lands would follow, Lithuania or Moscow, arose; and this matter lay on the scales of history.00:03:57
THE RISE OF NORTHEASTERN RUSSIA00:04:02
Alexander Nevsky was the founder of the Moscow dynasty, and, as we remember, he handed Moscow over to his youngest son, Daniel as an inheritance, creating a separate principality there. It was a small plot of land along the course of the Moskva River with the small fortress town of Moscow, and the second town of Zvenigorod. That was all.00:04:24
In the south, the Moscow Principality bordered on the possessions of the large Ryazan Principality, and in the west on the Smolensk Principality. However, let's straight away reproduce the backbone of our history, name by name, in order to better understand who followed whom in order of succession.00:04:43
So, Alexander Nevsky was the founder of the Moscow Rurikovichi dynasty. His son, Daniel, was the first Moscow appanage Prince. He could not become Grand Duke of Vladimir; it did not work out. After Daniel, his two sons ruled successively.00:05:08
By the way, we should remember that the specific system of inheritance in the ancient Russian state meant inheritance not from father to son, but, as a rule, from older brother to younger, i.e. first all brothers had to go up the inheritance ladder, and only then their sons, which sometimes caused confusion.00:05:27
Daniel’s first son was Yuri, and his second son was Ivan, Ivan Kalita, which was not a surname, but a nickname. Then, two of Ivan Kalita’s sons ruled on the same principle - his first son, Simeon, who was also called Simeon the Proud, and then his second son, also Ivan, Ivan II the Red. 00:05:53
So that you understand, all these nicknames, such as Vsevolod the Big Nest, Alexander Nevsky, Yuri Dolgoruky, etc., were usually given not during their lifetime, but after their deaths, either by the people or by historians in order to make it easier to distinguish them.00:06:19
And further, the last name on this list although it was not a surname, but, again, a nickname that everyone in our country knows, and even those who have never studied history - Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. You see how simple it is - Alexander Nevsky, Ivan Kalita is his grandson, Ivan II the Red is his great-grandson, and Dmitry Donskoy is his great-great-grandson. 00:06:48
Now that we have drawn the backbone of Russian history for that period of circa 150 years, let's add a few specifics. After the Mongol invasion, there was a fight going on between the Russian north and the Russian south. By the Russian north, we do not mean Novgorod, but the northeastern lands, that is. Moscow. 00:07:11
By the Russian south we mean the territory of modern Ukraine, which then did not exist even in the most long-term plans, i.e. Kiev, Chernigov and Galich. Of course, the southern lands were much richer with their fertile soils, but the northern lands were safer.00:07:29
In the northern lands, there was a slightly different system of power organisation. Of course, the northeast was then some kind of distant province; there was just not enough good arable land and all territories were already divided and all places under the sun taken.00:07:46
Therefore, the most initiative-minded of people, boyars or princes who did not have a large inheritance, all sought to get to the northeast. So, the most enterprising men along with their military squads went there because it was all Russian land, and an ancient one.00:08:03
Take, for example, the city of Rostov - it was first mentioned in 862, and this was the year when Rurik arrived in Novgorod. The city of Suzdal is tiny today, but it is an ancient city - next year we are going to celebrate its millennium; it is older than Moscow. Or Yaroslavl, which was founded by the legendary Yaroslav the Wise. 00:08:26
All these cities are ancient, but as they are surrounded by solid forests, there were very few people in them and practically no trade, at least when the route from the Varangians to the Greeks along the Dnieper was actively in use. Therefore, only the most proactive went up there.00:08:41
In this regard, I really like a comparison: whereas the development of the Russian northeast was similar to that of North America and the United States by immigrants from Europe. Thus, we, northeastern Russia, relate to southern Russia in a sense, as the United States relate to England. Although this is a very strained analogy, because in the time of Rurik, cities already existed in the northeast of Russia.00:09:11
It was more that the flow of migrants to this area was just increasing all the time. At first, the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh ruled in Rostov, then in the small town of Pereyaslavl, then they moved to Suzdal, then on to Vladimir, and each time this territory was named differently: first, Rostov Land, then Vladimir Land, then Vladimir-Suzdal Land.00:09:32
Alexander Nevsky, when he received in Karakorum a token for his reign and became the Grand Duke of Kiev, decided not to go to Kiev after all, because this city was not at all attractive to him, but rule from his ancestral domain in Vladimir. From that moment, the centre of power finally began to move from Kiev to Vlawhichdimir.00:09:56
The role of Moscow, which had been received as inheritance by the appanage prince Daniel, Alexander Nevsky's two-year-old son, was so great in collecting Russian lands and, indeed, in our whole perception of history as so Moscow-centric that I can't but tell you about it in a little more detail, thus reminding someone of a school history course although some of you may learn something new.00:10:23
THE MAKING OF MOSCOW00:10:28
We do not know exactly what year Moscow was founded, and the year 1147 is absolutely conditional. According to chronicle legends, that year, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky invited his ally to a solemn feast. It was the father of Prince Igor, the one who sings "Oh give me, give me freedom!" in the opera of the same name.00:10:54
The invitation sounded like this: "Come, brother, to my place in Moscow." Moscow was a certain tiny place that belonged to Yuri Dolgoruky's vassal, Boyar Kuchka, so it was sometimes called Moscow, and sometimes Kuchkovo. But, Prince Yuri called this place Moscow in his invitation, and this was the first mention of Moscow as such.00:11:19
The dinner was sumptuous. Yuri Dolgoruky was presented with a hunting snow leopard as a gift because it was such a fashion then to hunt with the help of feline animals. Yuri Dolgoruky had set the tradition of such hospitable behaviour towards his allies, although, apparently, he did not intend to establish his capital in this town of Moscow and never once in his life returned to this small place.00:11:43
On the contrary, he had such an idea, as Peter the Great later had - he was building himself an incredible castle of sorts near Suzdal and, perhaps, wanted to establish the capital of his principality there, but in the end, it did not work out. As for the age of Moscow, the absolute authority here is Academic Yanin.00:12:01
He conducted a study of objects found during excavations in the centre of Moscow and with absolute certainty attributed a lead hanging seal from Kiev found on one of the sites, to the time of Svyatoslav Izyaslavich’s reign, around the end of the 11th century, i.e. at least 50 years later than that memorable meal of two Princes in the town of Moscow had taken place.00:12:30
At first, there was no fortress in Moscow, but Andrei Bogolyubsky, son of Yuri Dolgoruky and elder brother of Vsevolod the Big Nest; at the time was doing a lot to strengthen the power of the Vladimir-Suzdal Land. He built numerous churches and in general, greatly contributed to the prosperity of Vladimir and Suzdal. It was under him that the well-known Golden Gate, like the one in Kiev, was built.00:12:54
Once, before he became Grand Duke of Kiev, he rode into the town of Moscow and, as a chronicler wrote, I quote: "Having ascended the hill and surveyed with his eyes both banks of the Moskva River and the area beyond the Neglinnaya River, he loved these surroundings and ordered to build a small wooden town." 00:13:17
Translated from this beautiful Old Slavic language, he ordered the construction of a border military wooden fortress at the junction of the Neglinka and Moskva rivers. Following the Mongol invasion in 1238, Moscow, or rather this small wooden fortress, was burned down to the ground. 00:13:38
What Russian lands were there to collect and what kind of Russian reconquista are we talking about?! Then, there was only one objective - to survive. And yet, Moscow miraculously began to gradually become bigger and bigger, gathering the fragmented Russian lands around itself.00:13:56
MOSCOW AS A POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTRE00:14:01
Here's a textbook cliché for you: collecting lands around Moscow. How do you imagine it was possible to approach this task and start collecting possessions and lands, real estate and property around a tiny town burned down by the Tatars? Actually, there were several opportunities and ways to do this.00:14:26
Firstly, the land could be inherited or acquired as a dowry, for example. The second option was just to buy it, one or more villages at a time. This is what Ivan Kalita would do later; he would gradually buy out neighbouring property from other princes who owned territories around Moscow. 00:14:49
The third option was to take these lands under protectorate: military or economic. To do this, it was necessary that your neighbour should really need something, such as protection from enemies, money on loan or an opportunity to pay off tax arrears to the Horde. 00:15:06
And if you had financial relations with your neighbour and were trusted, then this way could you gradually take him under your protection and then absorb, integrate into your field of economic activity. However, it was a long and difficult path of soft power, as they say now.00:15:22
Fourth, you could just capture someone's land, as has always been custom, and even more so in the Middle Ages. However, there could be a problem with this option - even if you conquered a neighbour, then you had to go and approve your conquest at the Khan's headquarters.00:15:38
And finally, you could get a token to govern some territory. To do this, you had to prove to the Horde that you could manage this land better than some current prince, or if some prince died without heirs, then the Khan did not need to look for a replacement, but could give this territory to you if you were ready to bear the appropriate financial and military obligations.00:16:05
So, there were five main ways for Moscow to increase its holdings. There were several centres of gravitation and collection of Russian lands at that time, and we shall also talk about this in detail. How was all this explained to us in school textbooks? 00:16:22
Supposedly, Moscow became the assembly point of Russian lands in a natural way - this was due to its convenient geographical location and being at the crossroads of trade routes, as well as its remoteness from the Horde and, consequently, being a safer place. And all this ensured the rise of Moscow.00:16:42
In one of the school textbooks, I even read an enchanting story about how Moscow rose thanks to one ford. Those who have a rough idea of Moscow's geography know that where the Crimean Bridge and Gorky Park are now located, in Zamoskvorechye, there was a place where the river could be waded.00:17:04
That is, there was no bridge then, and when merchants travelled with their goods, at this point they could ford the Moscow River with their caravan and carry on further on their trading business. 00:17:14
At the same time, there was no need to pay a toll for crossing via a bridge, because each bridge was built by someone who wanted a return on his investment and, therefore, meant payment for passage. So, there exist even these peculiar narratives. 00:17:27
In general, everything related to the thesis of an advantageous geographical location is a dead stilted formula, very detached from life. Look, the city of Tver was in a much more advantageous position than Moscow - according to this logic, it was even further away from the Horde and thus, safer, and stands on the Volga. And Yaroslavl was also much more convenient from this point of view.00:17:45
So, what were the real reasons for Moscow's rise? First, Moscow was not a city in the full sense of the word, but was founded as a military frontier fortress. It was specifically built for this from the very beginning. In it, all power belonged to the Prince, and there was no people's assembly; that is, democracy. There was just one person who made the decisions and was fully responsible.00:18:11
Strangely enough, such a system of lack of urban self-government distinguished Moscow from the first days of its existence from Tver or Rostov, and needless to say, from the classic veche, or people's assemblies, as in Pskov or Novgorod.00:18:25
Thus, decisions were made quickly, and most importantly, it was clear to the Horde who to deal with. After all, as often happened with Tver, the Horde could agree on something with the local Prince, and then the people's assembly began to resist these decisions or try to do it differently.00:18:39
The prince then tried to explain that people were against it or did not understand, but no one needed such excuses. Unlike in Moscow, where there was one person who decided and was responsible for everything. Secondly, this approach is quite simple, but for some reason, it was Moscow that used it to the maximum extent.00:18:58
It was Moscow Princes who understood from the very beginning what a huge role the Orthodox Church played in the soul of every Russian person, and how important it was to attract the hierarchs of the Сhurch to their side.00:19:15
After all, the faith of our ancestors was simple and very sincere - there was heaven and hell, beneficence and sin. They understood what was good and what was bad internally, and not according to any statute. They just felt it; and in their minds, figuratively speaking, the pans on which sinners were fried in hell really sizzled.00:19:44
And if priests and hierarchs of the Church chose Moscow as their principal city, then in fact it was the principal city. This meant not just the maxim "we are Russians and God is with us", but that God supported Moscow in all its endeavours, because the Church was with Moscow.00:20:09
The Moscow Princes had done a lot to attract the Metropolitan and Orthodox shrines to Moscow. And it is no coincidence that a lot of the very first saints of the Russian Orthodox Church served in their earthly lives in Moscow.00:20:22
Thirdly, Muscovites were very flexible - they had no national, ethnic or religious prejudices whatsoever, and when it was necessary, Moscow Princes married their equals from Lithuania, and, for example, Alexander Nevsky himself fraternised with the son of Batu Khan, as we well remember.00:20:40
The fourth factor, money, was the most important. Moscow received a token for collecting tribute, or tax funds, from all surrounding territories, centrally collected it and transferred to the Horde. This function of a revenue inspector had greatly helped Moscow in all respects.00:20:57
Firstly, it is clear that by collecting taxes from everyone around and transferring these funds to the Horde, Moscow Princes retained a small margin for their efforts, which led to the constant enrichment of the Moscow Principality and its consistent rise. 00:21:14
How could you not pay tribute to Moscow when it was collecting tribute not for itself, but for the Horde Khan, who, for refusing to pay, could come down on you with all his might. And, in this case, Moscow acted not as a bloodsucking parasite, but rather as a benefactor. 00:21:33
Since it was impossible to refuse, it was better to pay tribute to the Muscovites so that they could sort out the Mongols themselves. It was a very convenient and advantageous position for Moscow. In addition, Moscow princes were apt to competently work with people, as they would say now.00:21:46
When merging neighbouring territories, and this would continue until the last days of the Empire, Moscow always left in place local authorities and elites of the absorbed principalities, integrated and elevated them for their loyalty. 00:22:05
It supported and in every possible way attracted active boyars and princes to public administration and did not make a difference, as in other countries, between its own and co-opted dignitaries. This approach frankly attracted local elites, as they felt in demand in this ever-growing state and saw more prospects in front of them. 00:22:36
A big country meant more money, more wealth, a bigger market, a bigger army and thus, greater security. Moscow state was then already becoming a land of opportunity for the adjacent elites. Under Moscow rule, a quality management team gradually formed, since many boyars not from the Rurik family thus firmly stood up for the Moscow Prince. 00:23:02
And finally, the personality factor of Moscow Princes played an important role. They were people of ‘long will’, as it is now customary to say - cunning, consistent, greedy for power, but effective. 00:23:15
It is no coincidence that for a long time, as some researchers note, Moscow Princes did not claim their ascendance to Rurik at all, but emphasized their origin from Alexender Nevsky’s grandson, Ivan Kalita, and called themselves Kalitovichi.00:23:32
Our great historian, Karamzin once remarked in his immortal work: "Moscow owes all its greatness to the Horde Khans. The Batu invasion was one of the greatest disasters; however, the beneficial effects of this invasion are undeniable."00:23:45
Aptly said, especially since Karamzin himself was actually Kara-Murzin and came from the same Tatars who had migrated to Moscow. Yes, Moscow was in some ways held in high esteem among the Horde, for Moscow Princes had been building relations with it from generation to generation, but who prevented other Grand Dukes from building the same relations with the Mongols?00:24:11
It was a long-term and consistent policy, and by and large, Moscow owed its rise not to the Tatar Khans, but completely and only to itself. A little philosophical deviation is required here. I once heard a curious phrase in a conversation between academics: "History as a science no longer exists, only narratives remain."00:24:37
What does it mean? Firstly, I do not really agree with this thesis, for history as a science certainly exists. But narratives, the presentation of historical events in a certain light, those in which some ideological postulates are laid down, really fill our consciousness and some find it much easier to be guided not by a dry scientific theory, but by these narratives about specific events.00:25:08
And these narratives, clinging one to another, thus form a whole chain although they may be very far from historical facts, indeed they may replace these historical facts or serve to replace lacunae when there are insufficient facts, but when someone wants to build some sort of a coherent narrative logic.00:25:28
I'll give you an example: Sergiy Radonezhsky and Dmitry Donskoy. We all know the story perfectly well about how, before the battle on Kulikovo Field, Dmitry Donskoy went to Sergius of Radonezh for a blessing for an epoch-making battle with the Horde. He received his blessing, as well as two combat monks, and thus went inspired, with unfurled banners, to face Mamai's army.00:26:00
Such is the narrative, but historians are still arguing about whether there are any historical facts behind it. The era we are talking about is really an era of uncertain historical facts, an era of legends, myths and tales. Besides my task to try to present this narrative to you as simply and fascinatingly as possible 00:26:24
I also strive to deliver a thought that those people did sincerely believe that they were not just getting rich by annexing new territories, guided by their own needs and wishes, but were fulfilling a global mission of reclaiming the lands of their ancestors. And this faith, this idea, was probably one of the main driving factors of Moscow's success. 00:26:41
After all, it's not money that rules the world, but ideas. And the idea that possessed several generations of Moscow Princes and elites, the idea of assembling paternal lands and thus fulfilling a sacred task before God and before people - that was this idea that was the core for the formation of Moscow as a centre of gravity and subsequent growth.00:27:18
HISTORY FACULTY00:27:34
So, Alexander Nevsky's youngest son, Daniel, inherited this small Moscow Principality that was similar to inheriting a puss in boots. And since Moscow had not been its main city before, he made this small border wooden fortress his capital. All in all, there were two towns in his domain, Moscow itself and Zvenigorod.00:27:57
Daniel Alexandrovich was a fairly peaceful man and fought little although chronicles mention one of his victories over the Tatars. Once, a detachment of Tatars had violated the borders of his principality, and Daniel, with his military squad, in the best traditions of Russian princes, ruthlessly dealt with the enemy unit. 00:28:17
It happened somewhere near Ryazan, i.e. he even went beyond the boundaries of his own domain. Since this detachment was not the official army of the Khan, but wanted to plunder the Russians on its own initiative, the Horde did not stand up for these too enterprising knuckleheads. 00:28:33
In 1300, the city of Kolomna went from Ryazan to the rule of Moscow. It was the first new acquisition in the foundation of the future Empire. It would seem that this was just a small town south of Moscow, but in fact it was strategically very important. 00:28:45
Since it stands at the confluence of the Oka and Moscow Rivers, then all the way from Kolomna to Moscow and a little further, Daniel thus had gained control over all shipping and commodity flows along the Moscow River.00:28:59
In 1302, Daniel got lucky - his relative, the Prince of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, died. Today this town is considered small, but then, despite its smallness, it was symbolic, for it was the birthplace and ancestral patrimony of Alexander Nevsky. Thus, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky came under the rule of Daniel, as direct heir.00:29:20
By the end of Daniel's reign, the size of the Moscow Principality had doubled, and although he failed to become the Grand Duke of Vladimir, his two sons did succeed. Daniel had several sons and two of them successively appeared on the Moscow throne - first Yuri Danilovich and after some time Ivan Danilovich, aka Ivan I Kalita.00:29:43
Yuri Danilovich has earned a bad reputation in our historiography. He was considered a tough and greedy ruler, a sneak who constantly travelled to the Horde to complain about his neighbours. He began his reign with a raid - he went on a campaign against the neighbouring principality and captured Mozhaisk, approximately where Borodino is now.00:30:06
Then, he somehow received a token from the Horde to collect taxes from the adjacent principalities and collected tribute from many, including Tver. And then everything went as it did here in the 90s - Yuri Danilovich decided not to immediately take this money to the Horde, but because of his special relationship with Novgorod merchants, to engage in usury, to become a loanshark. 00:30:36
He gave the collected funds on loan at interest, and when asked where the money was, he explained that Tver residents continued to delay payment. At a face-to-face questioning from the Horde, the Tver Prince, Dmitry Fearsome Eyes, became so enraged by such a brazen lie that he took out his sword and cut down Yuri Danilovich right before the Khan.00:30:55
For such self-willed behaviour, the Tver Prince was brutally executed on the spot. As a result, Ivan I Kalita became new ruler of the Moscow Principality, and this is a very interesting historical figure. By the way, they were two brother Princes who complemented each other - Ivan carried out many assignments of his older brother Yuri and always did it most efficiently.00:31:15
When Ivan Danilovich became the Grand Duke, it turned out that he was a very, very extraordinary person. He was popularly nicknamed Kalita. Kalita is an old Russian name for a money bag or purse, i.e. where petty money was kept.00:31:30
Again, according to one version, he was so called because he always willingly gave away petty money to the poor and beggars, and according to another version, he, on the contrary, collected any money he could put his hand on into this purse of his. All in all, Ivan Kalita is associated with a large purse full of coins.00:31:51
IVAN KALITA'S REFORMS00:31:56
Ivan Kalita was a very atypical ruler. He was a Prince who solved problems not with a sword, as was customary in those medieval times, but with a ruble. Ivan explained to the Mongols this way: look, you used to have your own revenue service and send baskaks, i.e. tax collectors, accompanied by a detachment of guards.00:32:15
Your baskaks, poor lads, had to travel through towns and villages collecting tribute, but everyone around cheated on them, because they couldn’t tell how much they had to take from whom. Some would not pay but make a stash and blame it all on crop failure. 00:32:26
The baskaks themselves had to be paid, for they worked not for a salary but for a percentage; the risks were great because some could be killed, some could get lost in the wilderness of the forest expanse, and some could just run away with money, God forbid.00:32:36
Whereas I know all ins and outs and people just won't be able to hide money from me, so I promise you that without any baskaks and problems, I shall collect for you; let's say, one thousand two hundred rubles a year from the territories entrusted to me and personally bring the money with zero problems for you.00:32:55
Naturally, the Mongols liked this system very much, and Ivan Danilovich had thus acquired unlimited opportunities to enrich his own domain as well as strengthen his influence on neighbouring principalities. On the other hand, what was the interest in it for those adjacent principalities?00:33:12
He told them: so, these baskaks would come, and you wouldn't know what's in their heads, what mood they would be in; maybe they wouldn't like something and complain to the Khan, or suddenly they would wish to raise the amount of tribute on their own accord and pocket the difference, etc., but with me everything would be done smoothly, in a neighbourly manner.00:33:26
So, Ivan Kalita had clearly defined the imputed tax. How was its amount calculated back then? To be honest, we don't have exact data, but if it was about landowners, then of course it was tied to the size of cultivated land. Different amounts at different times and in different historical documents are quoted, but at some stage the tax was 1/2 grivna of silver (circa 100 gr.) for 1 plough.00:33:49
This was determined differently in different regions, but a plough was a floating measure of a volume of land holdings; in other words, approximately how much land one peasant household, read one family, could cultivate with one plough. 00:34:02
Apparently, this amounted to several dozen hectares. And for such a household, the landowner had to pay direct to the Horde, or through Ivan Kalita. It was possible, of course, not to pay, but then a punitive expedition would come. 00:34:19
And Kalita explained: either you want to be proud and dead, or you want to stay alive and raise your children in peace. You give the payment to me, and I shall solve all the problems with the Mongols. And even if you can't pay at some point, I'll pay for you and deal with the Mongols myself.00:34:39
What did Ivan Kalita invest his money in? He did not save it and did not create gold and foreign exchange reserves. He also did not engage in unnecessary decoration of his capital - he did not build churches with golden domes; that is, he built stone churches, yes, but only then to attract the hierarchs of the Church to his side and so that they would come to Moscow to serve and would stay here.00:35:09
Moreover, he paid them special monetary subsidies if only they would move to Moscow, in which he succeeded. Ivan Kalita was guided by Mark Twain's principle "Buy land, because no one produces it anymore." All the available funds that he had, he immediately invested in development - the acquisition of villages and towns near Moscow.00:35:34
He bought what he could in whole, and what he could not buy in whole, he bought in pieces. Ivan Kalita had caught all the highwaymen in the area and thus ensured safe trade. He used his military squad not to fight with neighbours, but to eradicate banditry and robbery. 00:35:49
Therefore, merchants preferred to travel through Moscow, even if they had to make a small detour. Gradually, not just cities, but entire profitable businesses came under the rule of Ivan Kalita, and the Moscow Principality of Kalita had become a kind of corporation with a constant prospect of growth.00:36:06
RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOURS00:36:11
Ivan Kalita, of course, was not all nice and kind - the story of the suppression of Tver uprising in 1327 alone spoke for itself. He took advantage of the first chance that came up to deal with the nearest competitor in the most brutal way.00:36:25
This story is canonical, showing once again how much can change in history due to an incredible combination of small circumstances or the actions of the most insignificant person in a particular place at a particular moment. One day, a large delegation from the Horde arrived in Tver.00:36:48
And so, one of the Tatars noticed how one of the Tver residents led his, as historians describe, very stout mare to a watering hole. This mare was very much liked by one of the Mongolian baskaks, a member of this delegation that had come to Tver specifically for some purpose, apparently just to collect tribute.00:37:08
A fight broke out over this mare. Several more Tatars came running to help their comrade as well as many townspeople to help their fellow citizen. As a result, the whole city was outraged, the alarm was sounded, and the Tatars barricaded themselves somewhere in the Prince's mansion; but in the end, they were all taken out and slaughtered.00:37:26
The Prince of Tver, who at first did not know what position to take and what to do, eventually decided not to suppress this popular outrage, which he should have done as a loyal vassal of the Horde, but on the contrary to lead it, which would seem noble, but short-sighted.00:37:42
The capabilities of the Tver small army were incomparable with the military power of the Horde, and it was completely unreasonable for the local Prince to imagine that it was possible to somehow withstand alone. 00:37:57
Ivan Kalita was the first to rush to the Horde in order to inform the Khan about what had happened as well as offer his services as someone who would deal with this rebellion on his own, naturally with just a little military help from the Horde troops.00:38:12
Kalita brought the Horde to Tver and with colossal cruelty they suppressed this popular uprising. Yes, it looks exactly like that today - Kalita was a traitor and a Russian killed Russians. But in fact, the Princes of Tver and Moscow then perceived themselves as competitors, as rivals. 00:38:31
There were a lot of mutual resentment and claims between them. Tver also acted quite harshly on Moscow, given an occasion, so it was a typical internal showdown. This was by no means some kind of civil conflict within a single state because then there was just no single state anywhere in sight. 00:38:49
Kalita had just made use of his chance one hundred percent. There is even a story that the Monomakh Hat is actually not a hat at all, but a Tatar skullcap presented by one of the Horde Khans to Ivan Kalita. 00:39:01
He took this Horde skullcap, simply decorated it with a Christian cross, trimmed it with sable fur and used it as a permanent headdress. The most important result of Ivan Kalita's reign was forty years of peace without a single punitive expedition against Moscow.00:39:22
FROM SIMEON THE PROUD TO DMITRY DONSKOY00:39:27
After his death, the princely throne was occupied in turn by two sons of Ivan Kalita, Simeon and also Ivan. Kalita, as befitted an effective manager, had gone to the shareholders, or rather to the board of directors at the Horde and had personally introduced Simeon as his successor, so the latter encountered no problems getting a token for the grand reign.00:39:52
Simeon's problems arose during the plague epidemic, which reached Russia. His children died in infancy from the plague, and Simeon himself most likely fell victim to it. After him, Ivan II the Red, i.e. the handsome one, ruled but he also died early. 00:40:09
However, these two tragic deaths, and the fact that only a few of their children had survived the plague, had positive consequences for the Moscow Principality because the Principality itself remained undivided and passed in its entirety on to Ivan II Krasny's son, Dmitry Ivanovich.00:40:29
His tutor was Metropolitan Alexy, who was formally titled Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, although in fact, he had left Kievan pulpit quite some time ago, and by that time, had moved over to Moscow for good. 00:40:41
Russian Church enjoyed great privileges among the Mongols, since it was supposed that it prayed for the Khan's health. If the Russians prayed for something, and if it was not for a rebellion against the current government, but on the contrary in its support, then please, let them.00:40:55
Metropolitan Alexy became the tutor of two boys, cousins, namely Dmitry, future Donskoy, and his cousin Vladimir, future Prince Vladimir of Serpukhov. While Prince Dmitry was a minor, Metropolitan actually served as prime minister to him, and many documents of that time were sealed with the metropolitan seal.00:41:17
What did Dmitry Donskoy look like when he grew up? A rather tall, large man, black-bearded, energetic, a typical warrior and fighter. Being Ivan Kalita’s grandson and, accordingly, Alexander Nevsky’s great-great-grandson, he had inherited little family semblance from his grandfather, but he definitely took up from his great-great-grandfather that military character and spirit.00:41:37
He waged endless wars with Tver, which then had a serious protection, in modern terms. Through family ties, Tver was under the patronage of its most powerful neighbour, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Three times did the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Algirdas, try to take Moscow and three times was Moscow saved by the white stone Kremlin, a successful investment made by Dmitry Donskoy.00:42:07
The Lithuanians could not take such a strong fortress. It was then, under Dmitry Donskoy, that Moscow was named belokamennaya, i.e. made of white stone. Back then, there were almost no kremlins of this level and quality in Russia. It was huge, with an area of 26 hectares, located on an island.00:42:20
A kremlin is a triangle, you can imagine. The white-stone Kremlin was almost identical in its borders to the current one, made of special red bricks. Now the Moskva River runs only on its one side, but before, you must understand, it was as follows.00:42:34
Firstly, the Kremlin stood on a hill, the Moskva River flowed on its one side and the Neglinka River on the other. The Kremlin was built at their confluence, and on the third side, at the base of the triangle, the rivers were connected by an artificial channel, a moat, which was flooded in case of an assault threat. 00:42:53
Thus, the Kremlin instantly turned into an island and became unapproachable. By the way, it was built in stages, using the right technology. It wasn't like they built one wall, then the second, and then the next. No, at first a fairly low solid wall was built in a complete triangle, with towers, which already provided at least some protection. 00:43:10
And then this whole structure was built up higher and higher, gradually reaching the inaccessibility that did not allow anyone to take the Kremlin by storm. Question: how many attempts were there to take over the Kremlin by storm? Look up this information; I wonder what you will find.00:43:29
THE BATTLE ON KULIKOVO FIELD00:43:34
Meanwhile, the Horde had completely disintegrated and part of it ended up under the rule of one of the Khan’s temniks, Mamai. A temnik was a commander of a tumen, and a tumen was a military unit of ten thousand soldiers. That is, Mamai was in fact a division commander. His native ulus, or a khanate, was Crimea and therefore the right bank of the Volga River was under his control.00:43:54
Dmitry Donskoy, by that time already an experienced warrior who had fought with Tver, Lithuania and individual Tatar detachments, refused to pay tribute to Mamai, whom he did not consider to be a real Khan. He suggested that the Tatars sort out among themselves who would be in charge, and when all the internal squabbles were over, he would deal with the real ruler.00:44:15
However, it was Mamai who had issued the token to Donskoy's rule, and thus, in his eyes, Donskoy was, in effect, an ungrateful rebel. Several times Mamai tried to shake him down with a small army, but did not succeed. Then he attempted to pass over the token to the Prince of Tver so that he would begin to collect tribute from all Russian lands. 00:44:37
But Donskoy had turned into a great authority by that time and no one wanted to pay tribute through the Prince of Tver. Why would they do that? They were used to giving part of the money to Donskoy, who was thus consistently strengthening his army. 00:44:49
Historians have an opinion that Mamai actually wanted to go further and, in case of victory, deprive Moscow of autonomy and turn it into the same completely dependent, vassal territory, which would be completely controlled by Tatar officials.00:45:04
Having agreed on an alliance against Moscow with our geopolitical competitor, Lithuania, or more precisely, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia, Mamai in 1380 announced a full-scale punitive campaign and led an enormous army, as the chroniclers wrote, against Moscow.00:45:29
Ryazan was also mentioned among his allies. Allegedly, the Ryazan people had shown Mamai's army some special route and ensured his passage and supply through the territory of the Ryazan Principality. A united army from many Russian lands advanced to meet Mamai. 00:45:44
It was not only Dmitry Donskoy's military squad, but a huge unified Russian army. Apropos, even from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some Orthodox Princes also came to fight Mamai on the side of Dmitry Donskoy. The tactics were very simple; let me sketch the disposition for you. 00:46:00
Here was the Tatar army that always attacked. Here is the Don River, and it would be natural for Donskoy to establish a stronghold on the opposite bank in order to prevent Mamai's troops from crossing the river. It was more reasonable to defend being on the other side.00:46:23
However, Donskoy acted non-trivially - he abruptly and unexpectedly crossed the Don himself on specially built pontoon bridges. In patriotic literature, the figure of 150 000 Russians appears against an even larger number of Tatars along with Genoese mercenaries; they were a motley crew, but this, of course, is a completely unrealistic figure for that time.00:46:46
Perhaps there were about 25-30 thousand from our side, maybe a little more, and comparable figures were on Mamai’s side, who was expecting the approach of the Lithuanians, for together they would be significantly more than our army. Russians had not fought in such a large alliance of Russian Princes since the battle at the Kalka River.00:47:09
Further, our army was lined up in the following way: traditional for that time - an advanced regiment, behind it the main regiment, the regiment of the right hand and the regiment of the left hand. The battlefield was limited in size, and there was a forest on both sides of it, here and here.00:47:30
The place of battle was chosen so that the Tatar cavalry could not perform its traditional maneuver when they embraced the enemy in a semicircle and, constantly moving along the line of defense, showered the enemy with arrows from a distance, forcing him to be on the move all the time, defend and suffer heavy losses even before entering the main battle. 00:47:52
In this disposition, the Tatar cavalry could not carry out their usual maneuver. Donskoy ordered the crossing to be destroyed and now, there was just a river behind and no way for retreat. Psychologically, it was a very good decision and it was right twice.00:48:02
Firstly, having crossed the Don, he thus provoked Mamai to battle, knowing that the Lithuanian forces had not yet arrived and were lagging behind a couple of days. Mamai was so confident in his victory, for the Tatars had not known defeats in big battles for 150 years, that he decided not to wait for the Lithuanians and attack.00:48:22
Donskoy stood in the ranks of the advanced regiment and did this on purpose so that the vanguard could withstand the first blow and then withdraw, joining in and strengthening the main regiment. And here the unexpected happened - Donskoy changed his battle attire. 00:48:37
He took off his gilded armour and a rich helmet, dressed one of his fellow boyars in them, put on a chain mail of an ordinary foot soldier and stood in the first rows. Donskoy did so knowing full well what the Tatars would do. He used a rather ingenious military ruse, of which there would actually be several.00:48:59
Donskoy had not one, but two reserves. The first one was located here, behind the left-hand regiment, and the second one, the so-called ambush squad, as we know, was on the same flank hidden in the forest. The aim of the Tatars was always to deliver a powerful blow to the centre, that’s why we had an advanced regiment, in order to break through to the Prince and kill or capture him.00:49:20
In which case, the army could become uncontrollable, but not only because of panic, rather also because the Princes who were on the battlefield were bound by a personal vassal oath to Donskoy, and if the Prince died, they would become free from the oath and, in principle, could abandon the battle, which would be considered neither cowardice nor treason.00:49:40
So, the Tatars managed to break through the centre and kill in a fierce battle that boyar who was dressed in Donskoy's armour. But all the Russians knew that it was not Donskoy himself - no one started to flee from the battlefield, the main regiment stood firmly and the Tatars could do nothing about it.00:50:00
Mamai was confused, for the Prince had allegedly perished, his banners fell, but the Russians continued to stand to the death. The Tatars then transferred the attack to our left flank, which seemed to them the weakest. This flank was indeed the weakest and it sagged under the onslaught.00:50:20
The Tatar cavalry was already intending to enter the rear of our army, surround it and begin its extermination. Looking at what was happening, they were already rubbing their hands at Mamai's command headquarters in anticipation of imminent victory. The Russians were retreating, but quite unexpectedly the Tatars bumped into our first reserve.00:50:40
Donskoy had specifically provoked the Tatars to strike precisely on this flank and allowed the left-hand regiment to retreat if necessary. And as soon as the Tatars went deeper into our defence, our second reserve, the ambush detachment of Vladimir of Serpukhov, emerged from the forest and attacked them in the flank.00:50:54
The Tatar cavalry that broke through was not only unable to enter our rear, but was thus itself surrounded on three sides. Panic broke out in their midst; they turned around and tried to flee. Mamai managed to escape with just a handful of his men.00:51:12
Dmitry Donskoy himself was found unconscious, in dented armour, somewhere under a felled birch tree. Miraculously, he was still alive. Any army flees, and it's psychological, when its losses reach 30 percent. We lost half the troops, but we didn't retreat one iota. For eight days after the battle, we buried our fallen warriors.00:51:34
Of course, the battle with Mamai did not mean the end of the Mongol yoke, since it was technically not a war against the Horde itself, but only a war with one of the temporary middlemen who had seized power. 00:51:44
A little later, a natural Genghisid, Khan Tokhtamysh, would unite most of the Golden Horde under himself and demand obedience from Russia, and Dmitry Donskoy would recognize his supremacy. As for the payment of tribute, Donskoy would not be in a hurry with this either.00:52:00
In the end, Tokhtamysh did not tolerate this and made a move on Moscow. Once again, Ryazan let his army through its territory and he appeared at the walls of Moscow quite unexpectedly. Dmitry Donskoy just did not have time to assemble an army and left his own military squad in Moscow under one of his commanders, who, locked in the white-stone Kremlin, could withstand any siege.00:52:20
And his military squad would have withstood any siege, as it had done before three times against the Lithuanians, but Tokhtamysh deceived the Muscovites by saying that he actually had no claims to Moscow itself, but only personally to Prince Dmitry, who for some reason did not want to resume paying tribute.00:52:38
The gates of Moscow were opened to Tokhtamysh, the Tatars stormed into the city, staged a monstrous massacre, burned everything that could be burned, slaughtered everyone they could catch, took thousands of people captive, and it would seem that all Dmitry Donskoy’s previous victories had gone down the drain.00:52:57
Nevertheless, a chain of events followed, which was attributed to the incredible luck of Moscow - two predators clashed with each other and Tamerlane defeated Tokhtamysh. Tamerlane was not a Genghisid, but a major military commander and a son-in-law of some Horde dignitary from the Genghisid dynasty, just like Mamai.00:53:13
Soon Tamerlane also marched on Moscow, but when he reached the town of Yelets, he unexpectedly turned his army and went back deep into the steppes of Central Asia, abandoning his plans to conquer Moscow. 00:53:20
This sudden retreat of Tamerlane was explained as a miracle due to intercession of the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, which was specially brought to Moscow from Vladimir. It was the main Orthodox shrine, the very icon that Andrei Bogolyubsky had brought from Kiev. It is now on display at the Tretyakov Gallery. 00:53:35
Shortly after these events, Tokhtamysh again decided to fight for power in the Horde, allied himself with the Lithuanians and, together with the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vitovt, was again defeated.00:53:46
All three main predators - Tamerlane, Tokhtamysh and Lithuania - quarrelled among themselves, while the Muscovites knew how to wait, and were in the meantime building up their forces. The territorial acquisitions of the Moscow Principality under Dmitry Donskoy would seem to have been small.00:54:00
However, the main agenda of Dmitry Donskoy’s reign was not the collection of lands, but the collection of people. Lev Gumilev wrote: "To Kulikovo Field came the armies of Muscovites, Vladimirites, Suzdalians, Smolyans, Belozerites, Muromlans, etc., but they returned as a single army of Russians. This was the dawn of their awareness of themselves as a single entity - Russia."00:54:16
United Russia was indeed born on the Kulikovo Field. We ourselves called our territories exclusively as Russian Land, and then Russia. But I shall tell you more about this in the next lecture. Thank you and see you next time.00:54:30
HISTORY FACULTY
to be continued…Description:
Подписывайтесь на канал Лекторий Dостоевский: https://www.youtube.com/@dostoverno_ru *** Как небольшой, недавно возникший и на первый взгляд ничем непримечательный город смог стать центром Русской земли? Как московские князья вели тонкую дипломатию с Ордой? Почему в Москве не было вече? И, наконец, что значила для русской истории Куликовская битва? Ответы на эти и многие другие вопросы – в новой лекции Владимира Мединского из цикла «Собирание русских земель» *** Вопросы вы можете задавать через Telegram-канал автора: https://t.me/vr_medinskiy Ответы на них ждите в эфире на радио Sputnik Таймкоды: 00:00 В предыдущей серии 01:10 Что происходило на Руси во времена Александра Невского? 06:48 Какие центры силы были на Русской земле? 10:26 Когда была основана Москва? 13:59 Москва — политический и духовный центр 24:24 Нарративы в истории России 27:33 Правление Даниила Александровича 29:42 Правление Юрия Даниловича 31:15 Иван I Калита 31:55 Реформы Ивана Калиты 36:10 Подавление Тверского восстания 38:52 История про шапку Мономаха 39:23 От Симеона Гордого до Дмитрия Донского 41:17 Как Дмитрий Донской усилил Москву 43:31 Битва на Куликовом поле 45:57 Как проходило сражение 52:57 Что было после сражения? 53:55 Что было главным во время правления Дмитрия Донского? МОЖЕТ БЫТЬ ИНТЕРЕСНО От Рюрика до Александра Невского | Курс Владимира Мединского | Собиратели земли русской https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff6dThltQOI Древняя Русь за 22 минуты https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdIisAKEKPs Русская вера за 22 минуты https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veip2fk2OdQ 📚 Наш сайт: https://dostoverno.ru/ 📚 VK: https://vk.com/lectorydostoevsky 📚 OK: https://ok.ru/dostoevsky.lectory 📚 Telegram: https://t.me/dostoevsky_fm_dostoverno 📚 Яндекс.Дзен: https://dzen.ru/lectorydostoevsky 📚 Rutube: https://rutube.ru/u/LektoriyDostoyevskiy/
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