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The dramatic growth of Moscow from an insignificant town into
the capital of the nation, revered by Russians and celebrated in
their traditional folk poetry, is a fascinating chapter in Russia’s
history.
The vast region, which would be united under Moscow’s rule,
was an expansive plain, largely covered with forests and intersected by great rivers and their tributaries. Hunting was the
most lucrative occupation of the people and furs were the main
item of trade. The rivers teemed with fish. Though the soil in
the vicinity of Moscow was sandy and not very productive, the
lands to the south, where the trees thinned, were fertile.
In this country of extremes of climate, the violent upsurge of
life in spring and summer offered compensation for the savage
cold of winter. Food was not scarce. Game and fish, wild honey
and berries were plentiful. Timber for building and heating lay
readily at hand. But for the people, life was harsh and precarious. Wars between rival princes, raids by Tatars and other
enemies, and the scourges of nature, such as forest fires,
floods, pestilence, made their lives a cruel struggle. But it also
developed their resourcefulness and stamina which enabled
them to colonize the great expanses of Asia and to endure as a
nation.
Moscow had begun to rise in the thirteenth century after the invasion of the Mongols. Positioned between the upper Volga and
Oka rivers, it stood at the center of the river system which
provided transport and communication over the immense Eurasian plain. This inner position also gave Moscow greater
security from attacks by Tatars and other enemies. As a refuge,
it attracted people of all ranks from neighboring principalities,
adding to its wealth and power.
Moscow was also fortunate in its princes - careful stewards of
their realm, persevering, unscrupulous, and astute in accumulating riches. They acquired new lands by treaty, purchase, and
force. Within scarcely more than a century, the extent of their
principality had grown from some 500 to more than 15,000
square miles.
In this ambitious expansion, the princes of Moscow had two important allies, the Golden Horde and the Orthodox Church. The
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IVAN THE TERRIBLE
Mongol invasion of the thirteenth century, the last great western movement of the Eurasian nomads, struck the Russians
with its full ferocity. The Mongols burned towns and villages to
the ground, killing most of the inhabitants and selling off the
young as slaves. The Mongol horde then laid waste parts of
Poland-Lithuania, Hungary, and Croatia, and suddenly withdrew. They did not renew their conquest westward into Europe,
but from Sarai on the lower Volga, which became the capital of
the Khanate of the Kipchak or the Golden Horde, the Tatars
ruled over Russia for some 200 years.
In the following century, the Russians finally recovered from
the shock and terror of the invasion and from the slaughter and
devastation which had brought national life to a standstill. But
early in this century, the princes of Moscow had gained from
the khan recognition as grand prince, senior to the other Russian princes and intermediary between them and the Horde.
Ivan I, called Kalita or Money-Bag (1328-41) also took the title
of grand prince of Vladimir, which had been the senior principality after the fall of Kiev. He became responsible for the
collection and payment of the khan’s tribute from all the principalities, and he and his successors used this office of authority
to increase their power.
The support of the Orthodox Church was also important in the
rise of Moscow. The church had shared in the sufferings inflicted by the Mongols but had recovered quickly and flourished
under the Tatar yoke. The khans were tolerant of other faiths.
At one stage, they had shown a leaning toward Christianity so
strong that Rome had hoped for their conversion. Even after
their adoption of Islam, the khans continued to show favor to
the Orthodox Church. Under their protection, the church grew
wealthy; its lands attracted peasants; its monasteries and
churches multiplied. Every village had its log-built church and
the bulbous domes on the horizon marked the spread of
Muscovite colonization.
With the permission of the khan, Ivan Kalita had transferred
the seat of the metropolitan, the head of the Orthodox Church
in Russia, from Vladimir to Moscow, which thus became the ecclesiastical capital. Moreover, Metropolitan Peter, revered for
his sanctity, was buried in Moscow where his tomb became a
national shrine.
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Under the Tatar yoke, the church had comforted the people and
fostered their sense of unity and their hopes of casting off the
infidels. Successive metropolitans gave their support to the
grand princes of Moscow by uniting all Orthodox Russians under
their rule and securing their independence. Already the ecclesiastical capital in the fourteenth century, Moscow was rapidly
becoming the political capital of Russia.
The spread of Moscow’s power was also accompanied by an
economic revival. After the Mongol invasion, the country had
gone into a decline. Trade had dwindled. Lands had been abandoned. Towns, with the exceptions of Moscow and Novgorod,
had diminished in population and become little more than local
centers of administration.
War was the main cause of this general depression. The Mongol
onslaughts were followed by forty-five wars between Tatars and
Muscovites. This was in addition to incessant Tatar raiding. Furthermore, during these two centuries, the Russians fought at
least forty-one wars with the Lithuanians, thirty with the German Baltic Orders, and some forty-four wars against Swedes,
Bulgars, and others. Rivalries among the principalities of Great
Russia were so fierce that, despite wars with foreign enemies,
the Muscovites fought at least ninety internal wars between
1228 and 1462.
Pestilence, the companion of war, caused further depopulation
of the already sparsely settled country. Epidemics in Smolensk
and Kiev in the thirteenth century carried off the inhabitants in
thousands. Twenty epidemics were recorded from 1348 to
1448. The plague which swept through Novgorod in the 1390s
was said to have killed 80,000 people.
Gradually during the fifteenth century, the Russians emerged
from this dark age. Trade revived as the Tatar hold weakened,
and Russian merchants found their way once more to the markets of the Black and Caspian Seas. Industries started up again.
Old towns stirred with life and new towns were established,
some of them devoted to commerce and industry. In the following century, the number of towns increased from about 160 to
230.
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