Grand Duchy of Moscow

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Grand Principality of Moscow
Великое княжество Московское
Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye
Territorial development between 1300 and 1547
Territorial development
between 1300 and 1547
  • Vassal state of the Golden Horde
  • Sovereign state
Common languagesOld East Slavic
Russian Orthodoxy
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
Grand Duke 
• 1263–1303
Daniel (first)
• 1533–1547
Ivan the Terrible (last)
• Established
16 January 1547
2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi)
Currencyruble, denga
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Principality of Yaroslavl
Principality of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal
Novgorod Republic
Grand Duchy of Tver
Great Perm
Tsardom of Russia

The Grand Duchy of Moscow,[1][2] Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus'[3][4][5] or Grand Principality of Moscow[6][7] (Russian: Великое княжество Московское, romanizedVelikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Latin Moscovia)[8] was a Rus' principality of the Late Middle Ages centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the Tsardom of Russia in the early modern period. It was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, who had ruled Rus' since the foundation of Novgorod in 862. Ivan III the Great titled himself as Sovereign and Grand Duke of All Rus' (государь и великий князь всея Руси)'

The state originated with the rule of Alexander Nevsky of the Rurik dynasty, when in 1263 his son Daniel I was appointed to rule the newly-created Grand Principality of Moscow, which was a vassal state to the Mongol Empire (under the "Tatar Yoke"), and which was going to eclipse and eventually absorbe its parent duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal by the 1320s. It later annexed the Novgorod Republic in 1478 and conquered the Grand Duchy of Tver in 1485, and ultimately remained vassal state of the Golden Horde until 1480, though there were frequent uprisings and successful military campaigns against the Mongols, such as the war of Dmitri Donskoi in 1380.[9]

Muscovites, Suzdalians and other inhabitants of the Rus' principality were able to maintain their Slavic, pagan, and Orthodox traditions for the most part under the Tatar Yoke. Ivan III further consolidated the state during his 43-year reign, campaigning against his major remaining rival power, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and by 1503 he had tripled the territory of his realm, adopting the title of tsar and claiming the title of "Ruler of all Rus'". By his marriage to Sophia Palaiologina, niece of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine emperor, he claimed Muscovy to be the successor state of the Roman Empire, the "Third Rome". The emigration of Byzantine people influenced and strengthened Moscow's identity as the heir of Orthodox traditions. Ivan's successor Vasili III also enjoyed military success, gaining Smolensk from Lithuania in 1512 and pushing Muscovy's borders to the Dniepr River. Vasili's son Ivan IV (later known as Ivan the Terrible) was an infant upon his father's death in 1533. He was crowned in 1547, assuming the title of tsar together with the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia (Russian: Царство Русcкое, Tsarstvo Russkoye).


The seal of Simeon the Proud (1340s), reads: "The seal of the Grand Duke Simeon of all Rus'"
The seal of Ivan III the Great (1490s), reads: "Ioan (John), by God's grace, the Sovereign of all Rus' and the Grand Duke"
Blaeu's map of Russia (1645); Moscovia is Moscow and the vicinities

The English names Moscow and Muscovy, for the city, the principality, and the river, descend from post-classical Latin Moscovia, Muscovia (compare Russian Moskoviya, "principality of Moscow"), and ultimately from the Old East Slavic fully vocalized accusative form Московь, Moskovĭ[10][11] (more at Moscow: Etymology). In Latin, the Moscow principality was also historically referred to as Ruthenia Alba.[12]

As with many medieval states, the country had no particular "official" name, but rather official titles of the ruler. "The Prince (Knyaz) of Moscow" (Московский князь, Moskovskiy knyaz) or "the Sovereign of Moscow" (Московский государь, Moskovskiy gosudar) were common short titles. After the unification with the Duchy of Vladimir in the mid-14th century, the dukes of Moscow might call themselves also "the Duke of Vladimir and Moscow", as Vladimir was much older than Moscow and much more "prestigious" in the hierarchy of possessions, although the principal residence of the dukes had always been in Moscow. In rivalry with other duchies (especially the Grand Duchy of Tver) Moscow dukes also designated themselves as the "Grand Dukes", claiming a higher position in the hierarchy of Russian dukes. During the territorial growth and later acquisitions, the full title became rather lengthy.[13] In routine documents and on seals, though, various short names were applied: "the (Grand) Duke of Moscow", "the Sovereign of Moscow", "the Grand Duke of all Rus'" (Великий князь всея Руси, Velikiy knyaz vseya Rusi), "the Sovereign of all Rus'" (Государь всея Руси, Gosudar vseya Rusi), or simply "the Grand Duke" (Великий князь, Velikiy knyaz) or "the Great (or Grand) Sovereign" (Великий государь, Velikiy gosudar).

In spite of feudalism, the collective name of the Eastern Slavic land, Rus', was not forgotten,[14] though it then became a cultural and geographical rather than the political term, as there was no single political entity on the territory. Since the 14th century various Moscow dukes added "of all Rus'" (всея Руси, vseya Rusi) to their titles, after the title of Russian metropolitans, "the Metropolitan of all Rus'".[15] Dmitry Shemyaka (died 1453) was the first Moscow duke who minted coins with the title "the Sovereign of all Rus'". Although initially both "Sovereign" and "all Rus'" were supposed to be rather honorific epithets,[15] since Ivan III is transformed into the political claim over the territory of all the former Kievan Rus', a goal that the Moscow duke came closer to by the end of that century, uniting eastern Rus'.[14]

Such claims raised much opposition and hostility from its main rival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which controlled a large (western) portion of the land of ancient Rus' and hence denied any claims and even the self-name of the eastern neighbor.[14][15] Under the Polish-Lithuanian influence the country began to be called Muscovy (Latin: Moscovia, Muscovy, French: Moscovie) in Western Europe.[14] The first appearances of the term were in an Italian document of 1500.[14] Initially Moscovia was the Latinized name of the city of Moscow itself, not of the state;[14] later it acquired its wider meaning (synecdoche) and has been used alongside the older name, Russia. The term Muscovy persisted in the West until the beginning of the 18th century and is still used in historical contexts. The term remains current in Arabic as an alternative name for Russia. Derived from it is al-Muskubīya (المسكوبية), the Arabic name of the Russian Compound district of Jerusalem, where Czarist Russia established various institutions in the 19th century, and hence also the name of the Al-Moskobiya Detention Centre located there.[citation needed]



The Moscow Kremlin under Prince Ivan Kalita (early XIV century) by Apollinary Vasnetsov




Dmitri Donskoi[edit]





Vasily I and Vasily II[edit]


Andrei Rublev's famous icon of the Trinity


Territorial growth from 1300 to 1462


Ivan III[edit]



Having consolidated the core of Russia under his rule, Ivan III became the first Moscow ruler to adopt the titles of tsar[22] and "Ruler of all Rus'".[16] Ivan competed with his powerful northwestern rival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, for control over some of the semi-independent former principalities of Kievan Rus' in the upper Dnieper and Donets river basins. Through the defections of some princes, border skirmishes, and the long inconclusive Russo-Lithuanian Wars that ended only in 1503, Ivan III was able to push westward, and the Moscow state tripled in size under his rule.






Relations with the Horde[edit]

Relations between the Moscow principality and the Horde were mixed.[23] In the first two decades of the 13th century Moscow gained the support of one of the rivaling Mongol statesmen, Nogai, against the principalities that were oriented towards Sarai khans. After the restoration of unity in the Golden Horde in the early 14th century, it generally enjoyed the favor of khans until 1317, but lost it in 1322–1327.[23] The following thirty years, when the relations between the two states improved, allowed Moscow to achieve sufficient economic and political potential. Further attempts to deprive its rulers of the status of grand dukes of Vladimir were unsuccessful after the Khanate sank into internecine war and proved to be fruitless during the reign of a relatively powerful khan such as Mamai, whereas Tokhtamysh had no other choice but to recognize the supremacy of Moscow over northern and eastern Russian lands.[23] The traditional Mongol principle of breaking up larger concentrations of power into smaller ones failed, and the following period is characterized by the lack of support from the Horde.[23] Although Moscow recognized khans as the legitimate authority in the early years of the Tatar yoke, despite certain acts of resistance and disobedience, it refused to acknowledge their suzerainty in the years 1374–1380, 1396–1411, 1414–1416 and 1417–1419, even in spite of the growing might of the Golden Horde.[24] The power of the Horde over Moscow was greatly limited in the reign of Dmitri Donskoi, who gained recognition of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir as a hereditary possession of Moscow princes: while the Horde collected tribute from his land, it could no longer have a serious impact on the internal structure of northern Russian lands.[25] In the years of Vasily II and Ivan III, the Grand Duchy of Moscow acquired the idea of tsardom from the fallen Byzantine Empire, which was incompatible with the recognition of the suzerainty of the khan, and started to declare its independence in diplomatic relations with other countries.[26] Eventually, the country was liberated in the reign of Ivan III.[24]




Muscovite Russia was culturally influenced by Slavic and Byzantine cultural elements.[27] In Muscovite Russia supernaturalism was a fundamental part of daily life.[28]

Traveling by sleigh

See also[edit]


  1. ^ A Short History of the USSR. Progress Publishers. 1965.
  2. ^ Florinsky, Michael T. (1965). Russia: a History and an Interpretation.
  3. ^ Dewey, Horace W. (1987). "Political Poruka in Muscovite Rus'". The Russian Review. 46 (2): 117–133. doi:10.2307/130622. ISSN 0036-0341. JSTOR 130622.
  4. ^ Isham, Heyward; Pipes, Richard (2016-09-16). Remaking Russia: Voices from within: Voices from within. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-48307-8.
  5. ^ "Московская Русь • Arzamas". Arzamas (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  6. ^ "Moscow, Grand Principality of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. 2012.
  8. ^ Introduction into the Latin epigraphy (Введение в латинскую эпиграфику).
  9. ^ Davies, B. Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500–1700. Routledge, 2014, p. 5
  10. ^ "Moscow, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. December 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2021. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  11. ^ "Muscovy, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. March 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2021. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  12. ^ "Andrew Miksys: White Russia in Color - Laimonas Briedis". Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  13. ^ The full title of Vasily III (the father of the first Russian tsar Ivan IV) in a 1517 document: "By God's will and our own desire, We, the Great Sovereign Vasily, by God's grace, the Tsar (sic!) and the Sovereign of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bolgar, and others, and the Grand Duke of Novgorod of the lower lands [i.e. Nizhny Novgorod], Chernigov, Ryazan, Volok, Rzhev, Bely, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersk, Udora, Obdora, Konda, and others..." Сборник Русского исторического общества. 53. СПб. 1887. p. 19.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Хорошкевич, А. Л. (1976). "Россия и Московия: Из истории политико-географической терминологии" [Khoroshkevich A. L. Russia and Muscovy: from the history of politico-geographic terminology]. Acta Baltico-Slavica. X: 47–57.
  16. ^ a b Library of Congress Country Studies – Russia
  18. ^ Martin J. Medieval Russia, 980–1584. 2007. Cambridge University Press. p. 196
  19. ^ Moss (2005)
  21. ^ Richard Pipes, Russia under the Old Regime (1995), p.80.
  27. ^ "Russia - Cultural life". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  28. ^ Wigzell, Faith (2010-01-31). "Valerie A. Kivelson and Robert H. Greene (eds). Orthodox Russia: Belief and Practice under the Tsars". Folklorica. 9 (2): 169–171. doi:10.17161/folklorica.v9i2.3754. ISSN 1920-0242.


Further reading[edit]

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