Vasily the Dark - the triumph of a loser. How a weak ruler strengthened Russia

From the Rurik dynasty. From a kind of Moscow grand dukes. Son of Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich and Princess Sofia Vitovtovna of Lithuania. Grandson of Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy.

Vasily the Second became a Moscow prince at the age of 9, after the death of his father Vasily I Dmitrievich in 1425. The real power was with the princess-widow Sophia Vitovtovna, the boyar I.D. Vsevolozhsky and Metropolitan Photius. However, Vasily's uncles - Yuri, Andrey, Peter and Konstantin Dmitrievichs - claimed the reign. At the same time, Yuri Zvenigorodsky, according to the will of his father Dmitry Donskoy, was to receive the great reign after the death of his brother, Vasily I Dmitrievich.

Both sides began preparations for the internecine war, but agreed on a temporary truce and in 1428 signed an agreement according to which 54-year-old uncle Yuri Zvenigorodsky recognized himself as the "young brother" of his 13-year-old nephew Vasily Vasilievich... Sofia Vitovtovna at the same time took advantage of the influence of her father Vitovt, after which it was difficult for Yuri to persist in his desire to take the throne.

Start reign of Vasily Vasilievich marked by an epidemic of plague and a terrible drought in 1430, 1442 and 1448. The reign of Vasily II Vasilyevich all his life passed in the conditions of a long internecine struggle for power with the prince of Zvenigorod Yuri Dmitrievich, and then with his son Dmitry Shemyaka.

In 1430, Yuri dissolved the peace, taking advantage of the death of the actual head of Metropolitan Photius, as well as Vasily Vasilyevich's grandfather, Vitovt. Yuri Dmitrievich went to the Horde to sue Vasily. Vasily Vasilievich hastily also left for the horde with his boyars.

In the spring of 1432, the rivals faced the Tatar princes. Yuri Yurievich defended his rights by the right of an ancient tribal custom, referring to the chronicles and the will of his father Donskoy. From Vasily's side, Ivan Dmitrievich Vsevolozhsky spoke about rights, with skillful flattery he was able to persuade the khan to give a label to Vasily.

Vsevolozhsky hoped that the Grand Duke would marry his daughter. But upon arrival in Moscow, things took a different turn. Sofia Vitovna, mother Vasily Vasilievich, insisted that her son get engaged to Princess Marya Yaroslavna, considering this marriage more beneficial from different points of view. Vsevolzhsky harbored a grudge and left Moscow, and soon went over to Yuri's side and became his adviser.

After Vasily received the label, the struggle for power did not stop. In 1433, a battle took place between an uncle and a nephew on the banks of the river. Klyazma near Moscow, and Yuri won.

Yuri expelled Vasily from Moscow in 1433. Vasily II received the title of prince of Kolomna. The city of Kolomna became the center of the united forces that sympathized with the prince in his policy of "gathering Rus". Many Muscovites refused to serve Prince Yuri, and came to Kolomna, which for some time became an administrative, economic and political state. Having received support, Vasily Vasilyevich was able to regain the throne in 1434 after the death of Yuri, but during the war he lost it several times.

In 1436 against Vasily II Vasilievich the Dark Yuri's son Vasily Kosoy spoke out, but was defeated, taken prisoner and blinded.

The refusal of Basil II in 1439 to accept the Florentine union with the Roman Catholic Church was of great importance for the preservation of his own culture and statehood.

July 7, 1445 in a battle near Suzdal Vasily II Vasilievich with the united Russian troops was defeated by Kazan troops under the command of Kazan princes - Mahmud and Yakub (sons of Khan Ulu-Muhammad). After which Vasily II and his cousin Mikhail Vereisky were taken prisoner, but on October 1, 1445 they were released. A large sum was given for them, as well as a number of cities were given to the Kazan princes. Under the terms of this enslaving agreement, the Kasimov Khanate was created within Russia, in Meshchera, the 1st khan of which was Tsarevich Kasim, the son of Ulu-Muhammad.

In 1446. Vasily II was captured at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and on February 16 at night on behalf of Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka, John Mozhaisky and Boris Tversky and was blinded, after which he received the nickname "Dark". Then after with his wife Vasily Vasilievich was sent to Uglich, and his mother Sofya Vitovtovna was exiled to Chukhly.

But Vasily II continued the war anyway. In 1447, Vasily received Martinian's blessing on a campaign against Dmitry Shemyaka, who seized Moscow, by visiting the Ferapontov Monastery. Hardly Vasily Dark regained the Moscow throne, having won in the early 50s. 15th century victory.

By order Basil II in 1448 the Russian Bishop Jonah was elected Metropolitan, which became a sign of the proclamation of the independence of the Russian Church from the Patriarch of Constantinople and strengthened the international position of Russia.

After Shemyaka's death in 1453, thanks to the successful campaigns against Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka, Vasily was able to restore the unity of the lands around Moscow, eliminating almost all the small estates within the Moscow principality.

Vasily II Vasilievich Dark died of dryness - tuberculosis in 1462 on March 27. Before his death, he wanted to take a monk's hair, but the boyars dissuaded him. Buried in Moscow in the Archangel Cathedral.

Into the reign Vasily the Dark the city of Kazan was renewed, the Kingdom of Kazan was founded and the Crimean Khanate arose.

Only wife Basil II from 1433 there was Maria Yaroslavna, daughter of the appanage prince Yaroslav Borovsky.

Vasily and Maria had 8 children:

Yuri Bolshoi (1437 - 1441)

Ivan III (January 22, 1440 - October 27, 1505) - Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505.

Yuri Young (1441 - 1472) - Prince of Dmitrov, Mozhaisky, Serpukhov.

Andrey Bolshoi (1444-1494) - Prince of Uglitsky, Zvenigorodsky, Mozhaisky.

Simeon (1447-1449).

Boris (1449-1494) - Prince of Volotsk and Ruza.

Anna (1451-1501).

Andrey Menshoy (1452-1481) - Prince of Vologda.

March 10, 1415 at the Lithuanian Princess Sophia and Russian Prince Vasily a son was born. They named him, like his father. In 10 years, the father will die. Then the boy will receive a serial number to the name - two. In another 20 years, he will receive the nickname Dark.

And 600 years later - indistinct tongue twisters in textbooks and manuals: “ Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II continued the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. " For those who are especially interested in history, a small bonus - it turns out that during the internecine war he was blinded, his eyes burned out. Hence the nickname Dark. Not much.

Meanwhile, his reign of 37 years is a complete paradox. One of those riddles that are difficult to understand, not just a solution - to comprehend. Everything, whatever Vasily took, fell out of his hands. And with disastrous consequences. And the final result is an impressive victory. How?

Karl Goon. “Grand Duchess Sofia Vitovtovna at the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark” (1861). Source: Public Domain

Moscow for Muscovites

Basil II was thrown out of the throne three times. Twice dear uncle Yuri, and once - a cousin, Dmitry Shemyaka... Every time the circumstances were shameful for Prince Vasily. Uncle beat him as he wanted. On April 25, 1433, they collided 20 versts from Moscow, on the Klyazma. Vasily is defeated and runs to Kostroma. There he is taken prisoner. One zero. A year later, uncle and nephew are again in battle, this time by the mountain. St. Nicholas, near Rostov the Great. Vasily is defeated again and runs again. This time to Novgorod, then to Nizhny Novgorod, from there he plans to flee even to the Horde. Two is zero. For the third time, Dmitry Shemyaka dealt with Vasily. Taking advantage of his cousin's carelessness and gullibility, in February 1446 he seized him on a pilgrimage, blinded and exiled first to Uglich, then to Vologda.

It is impossible to recover from such defeats. Nevertheless, Vasily succeeds. Yes, he is fleeing the battlefield. Yes, he is crippled and in exile under protection. But whenever the prince fails, an unexpected resource comes into play, which must be reckoned with. The winners cannot reap the fruits of their victories - people refuse to serve them. The famous slogan “Moscow for Muscovites” has not yet been formulated so precisely. But Moscow boyars, governors and even merchants acted in full accordance with him: “We are not used to serving strangers to Galician princes, we have our own, natural, Moscow one”. The enemies leave under a barrage of ridicule, Vasily is back in Moscow. And so - three times in a row.

Boris Chorikov. The princes and boyars volunteered to return the Grand Ducal throne to Vasily the Dark, 1446. Source: Public Domain

Own church

The dream of the Moscow princes of that time was to acquire church independence and not depend on the decisions of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Vasily failed it with a bang. It all began for health - in 1432 a new Metropolitan of All Russia was named in Moscow - Ryazan bishop Jonah... However, while he was going to Constantinople to confirm his dignity, another had already appeared from there. Greek Isidore... The prince had to wipe himself off.

And here again an unexpected factor arose. The Greeks were preparing the unification of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and Orthodoxy was destined for the most miserable role in this project.

Isidore was an avid supporter of the project. At the Florentine Council of 1439, dedicated to unification, he signed the most flattering autograph under the act of subordination of the Orthodox Church to the Pope: "I sign with love and approval."

Prince Vasily knew how to use the moment. Returning to Moscow, the Metropolitan was deposed for such a betrayal and declared a heretic, after which he fled cowardly. The Russian Bishop Jonah became the head of the Russian Orthodox Church without any permission from the outside. The ROC became independent, and Moscow will very soon proclaim itself the Third Rome.

Vasily the Dark. Source: Public Domain

The severity of a hangover

The morning of July 7, 1445 was difficult for Prince Vasily. The day before, he with an army of a thousand sabers camped near Suzdal in order to prepare for battle with Kazan princes Mamutyak and Yakub... Those were not yet visible, and therefore the prince "dined with all the brethren, and with the boyars, and drank, and fumbled for a long time at night." What happens after that in the morning is known to everyone. But that time it was a hundred times worse - the Tatars fell upon the army suffering from a hangover. The result is predictable - ours are brutally broken. The prince again and again is taken prisoner. But now not to my uncle, but to Kazan Khan Ulu-Makhmet... This is not just a rout. This is a disaster, generously seasoned with shame. The khan dictates the terms of the ransom to the prince. They are downright bonded. According to the Novgorod chronicles, Ulu-Makhmet demanded either 200 thousand rubles, or "the entire Moscow treasury", which is, in general, the same thing. In addition to money, Vasily had to give several regions of his principality "to feed" the sons of the khan, to Tsarevich Kasim and Yakub... Muscovite Russia, which was collected by Vasily's ancestors for generations, could simply end there. But here again an unexpected factor came into play - Vasily's personal charm.

To beat the Tatars with a Tatar

Being held captive by the Kazan people, Vasily managed to win over those who were to settle in Russia - the princes Kasim and Yakub. He did everything for this - he gave gifts, gave promises, lied and even spoke the truth. No wonder one of the most important points of accusation that Shemyaka put forward to the prince before being blinded and exiled was: “What have you brought the Tatars to the Russian land, and gave them hailstones and volosts to feed them? And you love the Tatars, and you love their speech, and their language without measure, and gold, and silver, and you give property to the Tatars. " It would seem that it is impossible to imagine worse than this.

However, the "towns and volosts" handed out for feeding belonged to Moscow only formally. Prince Vasily managed to plant the citizens of Kazan who came with him, not only in the wilderness, but also on disputed lands. Gorodets Meshchersky is a swampy and forest corner. A kind of buffer zone between Moscow, Ryazan and the Horde, where fugitives flocked and which was not really controlled by anyone. But now a friend and vassal of the prince, his "pocket" Tatar Kasim, sat there. In Europe, they would say: "To fight a dragon you need a dragon." In Russia then they remembered the plot with Ilya Muromets, who once, being unarmed, "grabbed another's hero by the leg and began to beat the Tatars with a Tatar." It turned out excellently - Kasim himself repeatedly beat the Tatars of the Great Horde and went on campaigns to Kazan against his own brothers. And his son Daniyar and did participate in the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Usually, when the results of his reign are summed up, they delve into the little things. Yes, he streamlined management. Yes, free Novgorod was seriously pressed under him. Yes, he increased Suzdal and Nizhny's dependence on Moscow. But these are all little things. The main result is somewhat different. Vasily's son, prince Ivan, the future Ivan III, nicknamed the Great, got at his disposal an effective corporation, completely devoid of internal competition. Very soon it will become the largest state in Europe.

During the period of fragmentation in Russia, there were many principalities, among which were the Novgorod Republic, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Galicia-Volyn principality and many others. In different periods of time from the 12th to the 15th century, the number of appanage principalities reached from 50 to 250. In the history of Russia it was a difficult, bloody period. By the 15th century, there was a tendency to unite the lands around the Moscow principality. At this time, Vasily II, nicknamed the Dark, ruled in Moscow.

Vasily II was born on March 10, 1415 in Moscow. He was the fifth child in the family of Vasily I Dmitrievich and Sophia, the daughter of Prince Vitovt of Lithuania. The four older children died in infancy, and Vasily remained the sole heir. In 1425 his father dies, and in 1430 his grandfather Vitovt. Vasily is losing a serious time for his reign. His uncle Yuri Dmitrievich, who at that time was the ruler of the small Zvenigorod principality, declares his rights to the Moscow principality, being the eldest in the family. In 1431 Vasily, and after him Yuri went to the Golden Horde for a label to reign in Moscow. Despite the arguments of Prince Yuri, Khan Ulu-Muhammad gives the label to Vasily. In 1433, Prince Vasily married Maria Yaroslavna, the daughter of one of the appanage rulers named Yaroslav Borovsky. An incident is known that occurred at a wedding when Sofya Vitovtovna accused the son of Prince Yuri Zvenigorodsky Vasily of stealing a belt that allegedly belonged to Dmitry Donskoy, but was stolen. In the same year, Prince Yuri captured Moscow, but most of the inhabitants left the capital due to conflicts with the new ruler and moved to Kolomna, where Vasily II settled. Prince Yuri went to peace and ceded Moscow, but Vasily could not keep the throne. Yuri again occupied Moscow. After his death in 1434, his son Vasily Kosoy became the prince of Moscow. Suddenly, his brother Dmitry Shemyaka teamed up with Vasily II. Together they expel Vasily Kosoy from Moscow. The Grand Duke regained the throne, and in 1436 he punished the usurper by blinding him.

In foreign policy, Vasily tried to maintain good relations with all neighbors: the Lithuanian principality, the Golden Horde. The latter was by the middle of the 15th century. split into several khanates. In 1445, Vasily's troops suffered a crushing defeat from the Kazan Khanate, as a result of which the Moscow prince was captured. Dmitry Shemyaka began to rule in Moscow. A large indemnity was paid for returning from captivity, and several cities were given to the Tatars to feed. This displeased the boyars and allowed Dmitry to seize the throne in 1446 with their help with the support of the rulers of several appanage principalities. Vasily was blinded, receiving the nickname Dark. He and his family were exiled to Uglich. It was here that the plan to return to Moscow matured, which was carried out in December 1446. The final defeat of Dmitry took place in 1450 in the battle of Galich. Historians consider this to be the last internecine battle. Moscow becomes the center of the Russian lands, and Vasily becomes the Sovereign and Grand Duke of All Russia. The last years of Basil's reign were quite quiet. He died of tuberculosis in 1462. After him the throne passed to his son Ivan III.

The result of the reign of Vasily II was the policy of "gathering Russian lands", the conclusion of peace treaties with the principality of Lithuania, Veliky Novgorod. With his participation, Jonah was chosen as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia in 1448 without the consent of Byzantium. This marked the beginning of the independence of the Russian Church. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow became not only a political, but also an Orthodox center.

Interesting facts and dates from life

16.02.2018

Vasily II - son of Vasily I, grandson of Dmitry Donskoy. For some reason, in the annals he is called Vasily the Dark. Perhaps this is due to some hard-hitting deeds of the Moscow prince? Or maybe his character was heavy and gloomy? Let's turn to historical sources, which will give us a truthful answer to the question of why Vasily II received the nickname "Dark".

Dark labyrinths of civil strife

Vasily was born in a turbulent era. His father Vasily I, in particular, fought all his life to strengthen his power, was forced to make friends with the Lithuanian prince Vitovt (his daughter Sophia became the mother of Vasily II), was twice captured by the Horde, from which he managed to escape.

The brother of Vasily I and the son of Dmitry I Donskoy, Yuri Dmitrievich, claimed the grand ducal table. Actually, after the death of Vasily I, he should have received it, since the option for the birth of Vasily Dmitrievich's son was absent in his father's will.

The birth of Vasily II opened a new stage in fratricidal wars. His uncle Yuri Dmitrievich believed that he had the exclusive right to occupy the throne, bypassing his nephew. For some time, the struggle continued between the supporters of the princes. Yuri Dmitrievich died, but his sons did not give up their attempts to take possession of the title.

Violent Blinding

Yuri's son Dmitry Shemyak expelled Vasily II from Moscow. He acted (which, however, was typical for the period of internecine conflicts) quite perfidiously. Captured Basil in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he came to pray. By order of Dmitry Shemyaka, Vasily II was blinded - since then he received his nickname "Dark".

Vasily was sent into exile in Uglich, and his mother, the domineering widow Sofya Vitovtovna, was sent to Chukhly. But fate later favored the unfortunate Vasily. He managed to return to Moscow in 1447. From then until 1462 he ruled Russia together with his son Ivan, the future Ivan the Great.

Despite the blindness received in the struggle for the throne, Vasily managed to do a lot for the Russian lands. He strengthened the Moscow principality, somewhat expanded its territory, contributed to the fact that the Russian Church gained independence. Thus, the ground was prepared for the glorious deeds of Ivan the Great.

Died Vasily Dark presumably from tuberculosis. His life was not easy. What happened to Vasily proves that internecine struggle leads to cruel crimes and victims. In battles for power, any method was considered acceptable. Only the unification of the Russian lands under the auspices of a strong ruler could end this chaos, which soon happened.

The reign of the son of Vasily I Dmitrievich showed that the strength, significance and direction of Moscow's policy did not depend on the personality of the prince. Vasily II Vasilyevich was a man of weak and evil character, he never showed any political or military talents, after his father he remained for ten years and, therefore, for ten years he could not govern himself, and for 16 years he was blind. For all that, the strength and importance of Moscow, in his thirty-seven-year reign, during which he could not rule for 26 years, either because of his youth or because of his blindness, not only did not diminish, but increased. This significant fact shows that the strengthening of Moscow found the sympathy of the masses of the population in all the principalities, thanks to the Church for a long time, who had hoped for the unity of the Russian land. In addition, the Moscow principality also developed strongly thanks to the amicable cooperation of three elements - the prince, the squad and the clergy, between which at that time there was no fundamental discord. When the first was weak, the other two acted with redoubled strength. The very beginning of the reign of Vasily II Vasilyevich was very sad: the infection resumed, a lot of people died from an ulcer (a kind of plague), and in 1430 there was a terrible drought; the land (that is, peat in the swamps) and forests burned, the waters in springs and logs dried up, animals and birds died in the forests, fish in the water; famine joined the plague, which renewed in 1442 and 1448.

At the same time, an unprecedented strife broke out in the Kalita family. Vasily Vasilyevich's uncle, Yuri Dmitrievich, Prince of Galich of Kostroma, did not want to recognize his nephew as the senior grand duke and himself declared a claim to the grand duke, but was strongly opposed by the clergy and boyars. Metropolitan Photius, if not by himself, then under the influence of the common voice of the clergy, did not dare to violate the established procedure for transferring the throne from father to son, and it was not at all desirable for the Moscow boyars to cede primacy to the Galician boyars by renewing antiquity. Photius himself went to Galich to persuade Yuri to come to terms, threatening him with more than one spiritual weapon. When Prince Yuri, having gathered the rabble from the city and surrounding villages, placed it on the mountain to show the strength and populousness of the Galich principality, Photius said to him: "My son, Prince Yuri, I have never seen so many people in sheep's wool", i.e. - people in sermyagi are bad warriors. After various hesitations, Yuri reconciled in 1428, recognized himself as the younger brother of his nephew and pledged not to seek a great reign under Vasily. In 1431, however, a gap occurred between his uncle and his nephew. Soloviev attributes the change in relations between his uncle and nephew to the death of Vitovt, who died in 1430 and who, of course, would not have given his grandson an insult. The brother-in-law and brother-in-law of Prince Yuri, Svidrigailo, took the place of Vitovt in Lithuania, and from this side Yuri considered himself secure; but, knowing that the majority of the Moscow boyars and clergy were against him, he did not dare to act on his own and in every possible way sought support in the Horde, where he acquired a strong patron in the person of Murza Tegin. But for Vasily Vasilyevich his boyar, Ivan Dimitrievich Vsevolozhsky, was a cunning and dexterous man. Solovyov calls him a worthy successor to those Moscow boyars who, with their father, grandfather and great-grandfather Vasily II Vasilyevich, were able to keep the primacy of Moscow and create its power. Vsevolozhsky, as a true Moscow boyar, briefly knew the Horde orders and relations; he managed to arouse envy in the rest of the Murzas, frighten them by the close alliance of Yuri with Svidrigail, and won the case; Vasily Vasilievich received a label for a grand duke. Yuri had to hide the frustration of failure for a while and wait for a favorable moment to achieve his goal.

This minute soon came: the boyar Vsevolozhsky had a falling out with the leader. prince. Vasily II Vasilyevich promised Vsevolozhsky to marry his daughter, but did not keep his word and, by the will of his mother, married Marya Yaroslavna, the granddaughter of Vladimir Andreevich. Vsevolozhsky remembered the boyar old days, that is, the right of the boyars, leaving the prince, to drive off to the service of another prince, and drove off to Yuri, whom he received cordially. At the same time, in Moscow, Yuri's sons were put to shame. The case was at the wedding. Prince and came out of the belt, which from Dimitri of Suzdal, as a dowry for his daughter, passed to Dimitri Donskoy. At the wedding, the thousand Velyaminov changed this belt and gave it to his son, Nicholas, behind whom was another daughter of Demetrius of Suzdal. From the Velyaminovs, the belt passed, also as a dowry, to the clan of Prince Vladimir Andreevich, and then to the son of Yuri, to Vasily Kosoy, as a dowry for his wife. Sofya Vitovtovna, having learned at the wedding what kind of belt he was wearing, in front of everyone tore it off the Slant. The Yurievichs immediately left Moscow. Yuri, quickly mustering his forces, attacked Moscow and expelled Vasily Vasilyevich from it, and then took him prisoner. Yuri, proclaiming himself the Grand Duke, gave his nephew Kolomna as his inheritance. Princes, boyars, governors, nobles, servants flocked here to Vasily Vasilyevich, postponing from Yuri. The fight resumed. Soon Yuri died; his sons, Dimitri Shemyaka and Dimitri Krasny, made peace with Vasily Vasilyevich, but Vasily Kosoy stubbornly continued the struggle and, captured in 1434, was blinded by the order of the Grand Duke.

The Kosoy brothers could not, immediately after his blinding, take revenge on the Grand Duke. The most energetic of them, Dimitri Shemyaka, was waiting, however, only for an opportunity to resume the struggle with the hope of success - and thanks to Vasily Vasilyevich's failure in the campaign against the Kazan Tatars. Around 1439 Khan Ulu-Makhmet was expelled from the Golden Horde by his brother and settled in Kazan, from where he and his sons did not stop raiding the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod lands. In 1445 Vasily II Vasilyevich opposed Ulu-Makhmet, was defeated near Suzdal and taken prisoner. The khan released Vasily II Vasilyevich for a large ransom and with him whole detachments of Tatars who entered the service led. prince. As a result, confusion and disagreement arose in the ranks of the Moscow boyars, which Dimitri Shemyaka took advantage of. He found himself support in Prince Ivan Mozhaisky. In 1446, the allies captured Vasily Vasilyevich at the Trinity Monastery, brought him to Moscow and blinded him. Vasily Vasilyevich was exiled to Uglich, his mother - to Chukhloma. The young sons of Vasily II, Ivan and Yuri, who were at Trinity with their father, were rescued by Prince Ryapolovsky, who first hid them in his village Boyarovo, and then locked himself up with them in Murom. Vasily Vasilyevich's followers fled to Lithuania; at their head were: a descendant of Vladimir Andreevich, Prince Vasily Yaroslavich, and Prince Obolensky. The first was honorably received in Lithuania and fed to Bryansk, Gomel, Starodub, Mstislavl and other cities. Fyodor Basenok, the boyar of Vasily Vasilyevich, flatly announced that he did not want to serve Shemyaka; he was chained, but he managed to free himself and also fled to Lithuania. Shemyak, through Jonah, Bishop of Ryazan, the named Metropolitan, forced Ryapolovsky to give up the children of Vasily II the Dark, as they began to call Vasily Vasilyevich after being blinded, vowing to welcome their volosts and release their father, but did not keep his word and imprisoned them in Uglich together with Vasily Vasilievich.

V. Muizhel. Dmitry Shemyaka's meeting with Prince Vasily II the Dark

Then the princes Ryapolovsky, Striga Obolensky, boyars Oshchera with his brother Beaver, Dranitsa, Filimonov, Rusalka, Runo began to gather squads; some moved to Uglich, others to Lithuania, where they united with the followers of Vasily II who had fled there earlier. Shemyaka summoned the boyars for a council, what to do with Vasily? Jonah reproached Shemyaka for bringing him to shame, and asked to take away his sin, to release Basil II and his sons. Shemyaka obeyed, taking the damned letters from Vasily not to seek the great reign, that is, Vasily II admitted himself damned in advance if he raised his hands against Shemyaka. Vasily II received Vologda as his inheritance; but as soon as he arrived there, his followers began to gather to him, and Trifon, abbot of the Kirillov-Belozersky monastery, took the oath from Basil II. Vasily connected with the leader. Prince of Tver Boris Alexandrovich, whose young daughter he betrothed to his seven-year-old son Ivan, and with Tver detachments moved to Moscow; on the way he was joined by his Lithuanian well-wishers and the sons of Ulu-Makhmet. The Tatars announced that they had come to the aid of the Great. Prince Vasily, to thank him for the old good and for the bread. The participation of the Tatars in the restoration of Basil to the throne is very remarkable, if we take into account that some of his adherents, for example, the boyar Oshchera, remained ardent adherents of the Tatars even afterwards, and even Vasily himself, when blinded, was blamed for leading the Tatars to the Russian land and granted them more than Russians. Shemyaka fled, recognized Vasily II as the Grand Duke and, in turn, gave himself the accursed letters; but there could be no sincere peace between them. In 1449 Shemyaka laid siege to Kostroma, but was repelled by the boyar Fyodor Basenok. In 1450 Shemyaka was defeated near Galich and fled to Novgorod. Galich was busy with the Grand Duke. But Shemyaka did not stop fighting even after the loss of Galich. Then Basil II and his followers resorted to a heinous atrocity. In 1453 clerk Stepan the Bearded arrived in Novgorod; he won over Kotov, the Shemyakin boyar, to his side, and Kotov persuaded the cook Shemyaka to poison the latter. Shemyaka died after eating chicken soaked in poison. The clerk who brought the news of Shemyaka's death to Vasily was granted to the clerk. Ivan, Shemyaka's son, and Ivan, Prince Mozhaisky, Shemyaka's friend, fled to Lithuania. The fate of the family of Vasily Yaroslavich Serpukhovsky, who was captured and imprisoned in Uglich and then transferred to Vologda, was no better than the fate of the family of Vasily Yaroslavich Serpukhovsky. His family fled to Lithuania.

The independence of Novgorod the Great under Vasily the Dark was threatened with final destruction. Vasily Vasilyevich and his boyars, avenging the reception given to Shemyaka, marched against Novgorod with an army; the governors, Prince Striga Obolensky and Fyodor Basenok, defeated the Novgorodians near Rusy. Novgorod undertook to pay the Grand Duke black forest in its volosts and court fees; in addition, Novgorod abolished the eternal (veche) letters and pledged to write letters on behalf of the Grand Duke of Moscow. The humility of Novgorod is understandable: it was threatened from all sides by enemies, and the Livonian master, in 1442, was preparing to raise the Scandinavian lands to Novgorod. Pskov obeyed the Grand Duke in everything. Ivan Fedorovich, Grand Duke of Ryazan, first sought help from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and then, dying, he gave his son, Vasily, into the arms of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Vasily Vasilyevich took the young Ryazan prince to Moscow, and sent governors to the Ryazan cities.

The reign of Vasily II the Dark put an end to the dependence of the Russian Church on the Patriarch of Constantinople: the metropolitan, Greek Isidore, who signed the Union of Florence (see this word), had to flee from Moscow, as a result of which the council of Russian bishops, without the consent of the patriarch, was called in 1448 in the Moscow metropolitans of the Ryazan Archbishop Jonah. In the reign of Vasily Vasilyevich, the city of Kazan was renewed and the Kingdom of Kazan was founded by the above-mentioned Ulu-Makhmet. The emergence of the Crimean Khanate dates back to the time of this reign.

E. Belov.

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Vasily II the Dark (1425-1462)

(genus. 03/15/1415 - d. 03/27/1462) (knee 17) From the clan of the Moscow Grand Dukes. The son of Vasily I Dmitrievich and led. book Lithuanian Sofia Vitovtovna. Genus. March 10, 1415 led. book Moscow in 1425 - 1433, 1434 - 1462 Wife: since 1433, the daughter of Prince. Maloyaroslavsky Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince. Maria. He died on March 27, 1462.

Vasily II became a Moscow prince when he was barely 10 years old. Meanwhile, his rights to the great reign were far from controversial, since his uncles Yuri, Andrei, Peter and Konstantin Dmitrievich were alive, of whom the first - Yuri Zvenigorodsky - never hid his desire to become a grand duke after the death of Vasily I (especially since this directly followed from the will of his father, Dmitry Donskoy). As soon as he heard about the death of his older brother, Yuri fled to Galich and from there began negotiations with Moscow. Neither side dared to start a war, and with the mediation of Metropolitan Photius, it was decided to postpone the question of succession to the throne until the khan's decision. However, in 1427, the mother of Vasily II went to Lithuania to her father Vitovt and entrusted him with her son and all the Moscow reign. It was difficult for Yuri to persist in his intention now. In 1428, he promised not to seek a great reign under Basil.

But in 1430 Vitovt died, and in 1431 Yuri went to the Horde to sue his nephew. Vasily II followed, accompanied by his first boyars, on whose resourcefulness and dexterity he could only count. At the head of the Moscow boyars were then Prince. Ivan Dmitrievich Vsevolozhsky, cunning, dexterous, resourceful, worthy successor of those Moscow boyars who, with their father, grandfather and great-grandfather Vasily, knew how to keep Moscow primacy and give it power. Upon arrival in the Horde, he was so skillful in doing business that the khan did not want to hear about Yuri. In the spring of 1432, the rivals began to sue in the face of the Tatar princes. Yuri based his rights on an ancient family custom, referred to the chronicles and the will of Donskoy. Ivan Dmitrievich spoke for Vasily II. He said to the khan: "Prince Yuri is looking for the Great Reign according to his father's will, and Prince Vasily by your mercy; you gave your ulus to his father Vasily Dmitrievich, who, based on your mercy, handed it over to his son, who has been reigning for so many years and has not overthrown by you, therefore, reigns by your own mercy. " This flattery, which expressed complete contempt for antiquity, had its effect: the khan gave the label to Vasily.

Vsevolozhsky, as a reward for the services he rendered to Vasily in the Horde, hoped that the Grand Duke would marry his daughter. Vasily II, being in the Horde, gave Vsevolozhsky a promise to do so. But after arriving in Moscow, things changed. The mother of the Grand Duke, Sofia Vitovna, did not agree to this marriage in any way and insisted that her son become engaged to Prince. Marya Yaroslavna. Then Bsevolzhsky, considering himself severely insulted, left Moscow, went over to Yuri's side and henceforth became his adviser.

In April 1433, Yuri moved to Moscow. In Moscow, they learned about Yuri's movement only when he was already in Pereyaslavl with a large army. Basil, taken by surprise, sent his boyars to ask for peace from his uncle, whom they found in the Trinity Monastery. "And there was, - says the chronicler, - between the boyars a great battle and a bad word." Then Vasily, hastily gathered as many military men and Moscow residents, guests and others as he could, opposed his uncle, but was completely defeated by Yuri's strong regiments on the Klyazma, 20 miles from Moscow, and fled to Kostroma, where he was captured. Yuri entered Moscow and became the Grand Duke.

Yuri's sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka - wanted to get rid of the opponent immediately after the victory, but Yuri did not have enough strength to decide on violent measures. In addition, Yuri had an old favorite, the boyar Semyon Morozov, who, probably out of rivalry with Vsevolozhsky, stood up for the captive Vasily II and persuaded Yuri to give the latter to Kolomna. In vain Vsevolozhsky and Yuri's sons were angry and rebelled against this decision: Yuri gave the requested peace to his nephew, richly gifted him and released him to Kolomna with all his boyars.

But as soon as Vasily II arrived in Kolomna, he began to call for people from everywhere, and princes, boyars, governors, nobles, servants began to flock to him from everywhere, refusing to serve Yuri, because, says the chronicler, they were not used to serving the Galician princes. In a word, around Vasily gathered all those who would have come to him and to Moscow at the first call, but did not have time to do this, because Yuri attacked his nephew by surprise and this was only due to his triumph. Yuri, seeing himself abandoned by all, sent to Vasily to call him back to the great reign, and he himself left for Galich. Vsevolzhsky was captured by Vasily and blinded; his villages were taken to the treasury. Kosoy and Shemyaka did not participate in their father's agreement, and the war continued. In the same year, they defeated the Moscow army on the Kusi River. Vasily II learned that the regiment's uncles were in the army of his sons. Therefore, in 1434 he went to Yuri to Galich, burned the city and forced his uncle to flee to Beloozero. In the spring, having united with his sons, Yuri moved to Moscow. He met Vasily II in the Rostov region at the mountain of St. Nikola and smashed it. Vasily fled to Novgorod, then to Nizhny. From here he was going to the Horde, when he suddenly learned about the sudden death of Yuri and that Vasily Kosoy had taken the Moscow table.

But the Kosoy brothers, two Dmitrys - Shemyaka and Krasny, - sent to summon Vasily to the great reign. Vasily, as a reward for this, endowed them with volosts. Oblique was expelled from Moscow and deprived of his inheritance. In 1435, he gathered an army in Kostroma and met with Vasily II in the Yaroslavl volost, on the banks of Kotorosl. Muscovites won. Both rivals made peace, and Kosoy once again promised not to seek the great reign.

But the peace was short-lived. The very next year, the war broke out with renewed vigor, and Kosoy was the first to send Vasily II folding letters. Both troops met in the Rostov region near the village of Skoryatina. Oblique, not hoping to defeat an opponent by force, decided to use deceit: he concluded a truce with Vasily II until morning and, when Vasily, hoping for this, dismissed his regiments to collect supplies, he unexpectedly went on the offensive. Vasily II immediately sent an order to assemble on all sides, he himself grabbed the pipe and began to blow it. The Moscow regiments managed to gather before the arrival of the Oblique, who was defeated and taken prisoner. He was taken to Moscow and blinded there.

Vasily II did not have a war with Dmitry Shemyaka at that time, and he calmly reigned in his inheritance. In 1439, the Kazan Khan Ulu-Muhammad approached Moscow. Vasily did not have time to gather his strength and left for the Volga, leaving voivode Yuri Patrikeev to defend Moscow. The khan stood under the city for 10 days, he could not take it, but he caused a lot of harm to the Russian land. Shemyaka, despite Vasily's repeated appeals, never came to his aid. Vasily II, in revenge, went to Shemyaka and drove him to Novgorod. In the same year, Shemyaka returned with an army, but made peace with Vasily.

In 1445, Ulu-Muhammad captured Nizhny Novgorod, and from there came to Murom. Vasily II came out against him with all his might. Ulu-Muhammad retreated to Nizhny and took refuge in it. The matter ended differently at the second meeting of Vasily II with the Tatars. In the spring of the same year, news came to Moscow that the two sons of the Ulu-Mukhammedovs had again appeared at the Russian borders, and Vasily opposed them. In June, the Moscow army stopped at the Kamenka River. On the night from 6th to 7th there was still no news of the Tatars. Vasily sat down to dine with the princes and boyars; drunk at night, got up the next day after the sunrise, and Vasily II, after listening to matins, was about to go to bed again, when the news came that the Tatars were crossing the Nerl River. Vasily immediately sent this message to all the camps, put on armor himself, raised the banners and marched out into the field, but he had few troops, only a thousand and a half, because the regiments of the allied princes did not have time to gather, and Shemyak did not come, despite the fact that that they sent to him many times. Near the Euthymius Monastery, on the left side, the Russian regiments met with the Tatars, and in the first skirmish the Grand Duke's army put the Tatars to flight. But when they began to chase them in disarray, the enemy suddenly turned around and inflicted a terrible defeat on the Russians. Basil II fought back bravely, received many wounds and was finally taken prisoner. The khans' sons took off his pectoral cross and sent him to Moscow to his mother and wife. The prisoner himself was taken to the khan. Ulu-Muhammad negotiated a ransom with him. Its amount is not exactly known, but, in any case, it was considerable.

Many Tatar princes left the Horde with the Grand Duke for Russia. In the absence of Vasily II, Moscow suffered a severe fire, the entire city burned out, thousands of people lost their wealth. When heavy taxes were imposed on the people in order to pay the ransom, the strongest displeasure was revealed from all sides. Shemyaka hastened to take advantage of this. The princes of Tver and Mozhaisk agreed to help him overthrow Basil. Soon, many Moscow boyars and merchants, and even monks, joined the conspiracy.

In 1446, the Moscow conspirators made it known to the allied princes that Vasily II went to pray and the Trinity Monastery. Shemyaka and Mozhaisky took Moscow by surprise on the night of February 12, seized the mother and wife of Vasily II, plundered his treasury, intercepted and plundered the loyal boyars. On the same night, Mozhaisky went to Trinity with a large detachment of his henchmen. On the 13th, Vasily was listening to mass, when suddenly a resident of Ryazan, Bunko, ran into the church and announced to him that Shemyaka and Mozhaisky were going to fight him. Vasily did not believe him, because Bunko had driven away from him to Shemyaka shortly before. “These people only embarrass us,” he said, “could it be that the brothers would go to me when I kiss the cross with them?” And ordered Bunk to be expelled from the monastery. But just in case, he still sent watchmen to Radonezh. The watchmen looked over the military men of Mozhaisky, for they had seen them before and told their prince, who hid the soldiers on the carts under the mat. Having entered the mountain, the warriors jumped out of the carts and intercepted the guards. Vasily II saw the enemies only when they began to descend from the Radonezh Mountain. He was about to rush to the stable yard, but there was not a single ready horse. Then Vasily ran to the monastery to the Trinity Church, where the sexton let him in and locked the doors behind him. Immediately after this, his enemies entered the monastery. Prince Ivan Mozhaisky began to ask where the Grand Duke was. Vasily II, hearing his voice, shouted to him from the church: "Brothers! Have mercy on me! Let me stay here, look at the image of God ... I will not leave this monastery, I will take my tonsure here," and taking the icon of St. Sergius, went to the southern doors, unlocked them himself and, meeting Prince Ivan with the icon in his hands, said to him: “Brother! no daring, but now I don’t know what is being done to me? " Ivan hastened to calm Vasily down. He, putting the icon in its place, fell in front of the miraculous coffin and began to pray with such tears, cry and sobbing that he even cried his enemies. Prince Ivan, after praying a little, went out, saying to the boyar Nikita Konstantinovich: "Take him." Vasily II, having prayed, got up and, looking around, asked: "Where is my brother, Prince Ivan?" Instead of answering, Nikita came up to him, grabbed him by the shoulders and said: "You have been taken by the Grand Duke Dmitry Yuryevich." Vasily replied to this: "Let the will of God be done!" Then Nikita took him out of the church and out of the monastery, after which they put him on a bare sleigh with a black man opposite and took him to Moscow. He arrived here on the night of February 14 and was imprisoned in the courtyard by Shemyakin. On the 16th at night he was blinded and exiled to Uglich with his wife, and his mother, Grand Duchess Sofia Vitovtovna, was sent to Chukhloma.

Of the boyars and servants of the Vasilievs, some swore allegiance to Shemyaka, others fled to Tver. But there were also many who were ready to fight with weapons in their hands for the return of Basil II to the throne. They all gathered soon in Lithuania. Shemyaka was frightened by the general mood in favor of the captive Vasily, and after long consultations with his supporters, he decided to release him and give him a fiefdom. In the fall of 1446, he came to Uglich, repented and asked Vasily II for forgiveness. Vasily II, in turn, placed all the blame on himself alone, saying: “And it wasn’t so much that I should have suffered for my sins and perjury before you, my elder brothers, and before all Orthodox Christianity. I was worthy of the death penalty, but you. the sovereign showed mercy to me, did not destroy me with my iniquities, gave me time to repent. " When he said this, tears flowed from his eyes in streams, everyone present marveled at such humility and tenderness and cried themselves, looking at him. Shemyaka arranged a big feast for Vasily II, his wife and children, which was attended by all the bishops and many boyars. Vasily received rich gifts and Vologda to his fatherland, promising in advance Shemyaka not to look for a great reign under it.

But Vasily's adherents were only waiting for his release and rushed to him in droves. Everything was ready for war, the difficulty lay only in the promise given by Vasily. Abbot of the Kirillov Belozersky Monastery Trifon took the perjury upon himself when Vasily II came from Vologda to his monastery under the pretext of feeding the brethren and giving alms. From Bela-lake, Vasily II went to Tver. Tver Prince Boris Alexandrovich promised help on the condition that he betrothed his eldest son and heir Ivan to his daughter Marya. Vasily agreed and with the Tver regiments went to Shemyaka to Moscow. An army of supporters of Vasily II, the Moscow exiles, moved from Lithuania. Shemyaka with Prince Ivan Mozhaisky went to Voloka towards the enemy, but in their absence Moscow was easily captured by the boyar Pleshcheev. Learning about this, Shemyaka and Mozhaisky fled to Galich, from there to Chukhly and Kargopol. Shemyaka released the captive Sofia Vitovtovna from Kargopol and began to ask for peace. Peace was given to him. Of course, Shemyaka was ready to break the peace at any moment. In less than a year, many testimonies of his treachery had accumulated in Moscow. Finally, a letter from Shemyaka to the Moscow tiun Vatazin was intercepted, in which Shemyaka ordered him to resent the townspeople against Vasily.

Having received this evidence in his hands, Vasily II transferred the matter to the clergy for decision. The Council of Bishops unequivocally condemned Shemyaka's sedition. In 1448, Vasily II set out on a campaign against the rebellious Yuryevich. Shemyaka got scared and asked for peace. Peace was concluded on the same terms, but in the spring of 1449 Shemyaka again violated the kiss of the cross, laid siege to Kostroma, fought for a long time under the city, but could not take it, because a strong garrison was sitting in it. Vasily with the regiments marched against Shemyaka, but returned without giving a battle.

Finally, in 1450, Prince. Vasily Ivanovich Obolensky attacked Shemyaka near Galich and inflicted a heavy defeat on him. After that Galich surrendered to the Grand Duke. Shemyaka fled to the north and captured Ustyug. Meanwhile, in 1451, the Tatar prince Mazovsha came to Moscow and burned the entire settlement. In 1452, having fought off the Tatars, Vasily went to drive Shemyaka out of Ustyug. Yurievich took refuge in Novgorod, where he was poisoned and died in 1453.

As expected, Vasily II armed himself after Shemyakin's death against his former allies. In 1454 Mozhaisk was annexed to Moscow. Prince Ivan fled to Lithuania. In 1456, they seized and imprisoned Prince Vasily Yaroslavich of Serpukhov in Uglich. Of all the inheritances in Moscow, only one remained - Vereisky. In the same year, Vasily II went to Novgorod, but made peace, taking 10,000 rubles ransom.

In 1462, Vasily II fell ill with dryness and ordered to use the usual medicine for this disease at that time: light rubbing on different parts of the body several times; but the medicine didn’t work. It became very difficult for the patient, he wanted to take a monk's hair, but the boyars dissuaded him, and on March 27, on Saturday, in the fourth week of Great Lent, Vasily II died.

Buried in Moscow in the Archangel Cathedral.

Konstantin Ryzhov. All the monarchs of the world. Russia