Epilogue
The annexation of Novgorod by Moscow in 1478 interrupted building activity in the city for a long time. Construction was abandoned in the last years of Novgorod's independence, during the turbulent times of the final conflict with Moscow. The last church before the annexation was built in 1463, and the next one only in 1508. The main efforts of the Muscovites when they took over in Novgorod were directed towards fortifying the city as the most important border fortress in north-west Rus'. At the end of the fifteenth century the walls and towers of the kremlin were rebuilt. Then it was the turn of the
Okol'nyi gorod - the outer fortifications of Novgorod - to be rebuilt. Moscow was preparing for a protracted war for the acquisition of an extensive outlet to the Baltic Sea.
In 1570 a new tragedy occurred in Novgorod, when Ivan the Terrible inflicted bloody reprisals on the city, suspecting its inhabitants of treason.26 The Livonian war (1558-83) inflicted another harsh blow on Novgorod. The cadastres compiled in the 1580s reveal a picture of devastation of the once flourishing city. At the very end of the century, however, Novgorod was getting back on to its feet. An Italian architect whose name remains unknown to us was invited to the town and drew up the plans for an additional line of fortification which was built around the stone-built kremlin. The so-called 'Earthen Town' was one of the first structures in Europe to have bastions. However with the onset of the seventeenth century and the 'Time of Troubles' Novgorod came under Swedish control for seven whole years (1611-17). These years completed its destruction,27 which was compounded by the transfer of the main centre of Russian trade with Western Europe to Archangel.
The Soviet-German war of 1941-5 virtually wiped Novgorod from the face of the earth, turning dozens of its historic buildings into ruins. But yet again, because of its cultural significance both for Russia and for Europe as whole, Novgorod was raised from its ruins, like the mythical phoenix which is born again from the ashes. For its very name - Novyi gorod, the new town - seems to symbolise the youth and immortality of this great city.
Translated by Maureen Perrie
26 R. G. Skrynnikov, Tragediia Novgoroda (Moscow: Izdatel'stvo imeni Sabashnikovykh, 1994).
27 Opis' Novgoroda 1617 goda, vyp. 1-2 (Moscow: AN SSSR, 1984).
PART II
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THE EXPANSION, CONSOLIDATION AND CRISIS OF MUSCOVY (1462-1613)
The growth of Muscovy (1462-1533)
DONALD OSTRQWSKI
During the period between 1462 and 1533, Muscovy underwent substantial growth in land and population, virtually tripling in size (see Map 9.1). The Muscovite state gained a significant amount of land and population to the southwest in treaties with Lithuania, and annexed the principalities and republics of Iaroslavl' (1471), Perm' (1472), Rostov (1473), Tver' (1485), Viatka (1489), Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514) and Riazan' (1521). But by far its greatest acquisition was through the annexation of Novgorod in 1478. At the same time, the ruling order - that is, the grand prince, princes, boyars and other landlords - consolidated its hold on the populace and countryside. One should not focus on the enormous expansion as the result of some kind of Muscovite 'manifest destiny' (the so-called 'gathering of the Russian lands'), because the expansion itself occurred as the result of a significant refashioning and implementation of internal policies by the grand princes and ruling elite. These policies transformed Muscovy from a loosely organised confederation, roughly equivalent in structure to any of the neighbouring steppe khanates, into a monarch-in-council form of government with a quasi-bureaucratic administrative structure equal to that of any European dynastic state. These policies included more effective and uniform administrative institutions and methods, the creation of a ready and mobile military force, and the building of a spectacular citadel in the capital to impress all and sundry with the ruling power. Non-Russian princes and nobles were incorporated in large numbers. Added to these developments was an implacable aggrandisement of power on the part of those who ran the state. In short, they made the Muscovite dynastic state. These changes were begun under Vasilii II, brought to fruition under Ivan III and developed further under Vasilii III.
Throughout this process, the grand princes worked with the consensus support of the ruling class. Although individual boyars could be punished for crimes against the ruler, the boyars as a whole contributed to the propagation of Muscovite power. Parallel with the state, the Church also instituted
standardised policies and practices. In addition, churchmen developed an anti- Tatar ideology that soon came to permeate all their writings about the steppe and has heavily influenced historians' interpretation of this period. Eventually, the increase and spread of civil administration began to interfere with the Church's practices, and the Church's search for heretics affected some state personages, but on the whole the state and Church worked together, although not always completely harmoniously
In what follows, I will describe the situation and conditions in Muscovy at the time of the ascension to the throne of Ivan III in 1462; how that situation and those conditions were affected by the reigns of Ivan III and Vasilii III; and sum up the differences that occurred in Muscovy by 1533.
Muscovy in 1462
In the middle of the fifteenth century, Muscovy was one of a number of independent Rus' principalities and republics that had the potential for expansion and for incorporating other Rus' principalities and republics. Riazan', to the south-east on the other side of the Oka River from Muscovy, had maintained its viability and sovereignty despite being located in the northern reaches of the western steppe and often caught in battles between the Qipchaq (Kipchak) khans and Muscovite grand princes. The grand prince of Tver', just to the west of Muscovy, was nominally a vassal of the Muscovite grand prince, but he could still manoeuvre relatively independently in diplomatic relations. An alliance of Tver' with Lithuania against Muscovy was an ongoing possibility and if successful could have advanced the Tver' grand prince to first place among the Rus' princes. Novgorod further to the west of Tver' was a prosperous merchant republic that held nominal possession of vast lands to the north and north-east all the way to the White Sea and coast of the Arctic Ocean. In addition, four other principalities and republics had managed to remain independent ofneighbouring larger entities. Iaroslavl' and Rostov were virtually surrounded by Muscovite holdings, and their incorporation into Muscovy seemed to be only a matter of time. The republic of Pskov, situated between Novgorod and Lithuania, tended to remain closely allied with Novgorod but could and did on occasion use its proximity with Lithuania for political leverage. Finally, the republic of Viatka, located to the north-east of the Muscovite domain and north of Kazan', also played off its two more powerful neighbours to maintain its independence.
In domestic terms, the grand prince of Muscovy ruled with sharply circumscribed powers. He had no standing army and was dependent on his relatives and vassal princes to raise military forces. Since he had insufficient economic resources to maintain a large-scale standing force, he was subject to more or less constant armed threats, both external and internal, to his crown. The grand prince, thus, had a tenuous hold on power. Vasilii II barely survived capture by the Kazan' Tatars in 1445, as well as a civil war with his uncle and nephews that disrupted the Muscovite realm for almost twenty years.