In the second quarter of the 15th century, an internecine (or, according to Soviet terminology, feudal) war broke out in Russia between the Moscow prince Vasily Vasilievich II, his uncle and cousins. Three prerequisites for this serious political and dynastic crisis can be distinguished: the struggle between the two orders of succession, the uncertainty of Dmitry Donskoy's will about the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, and, finally, the personal confrontation of the warring parties.
The conflict over succession began as early as the reign of Vasily Dmitrievich, the worst son of Dmitry Donskoy. Then the brother of the ruler, Konstantin Dmitrievich, opposed the fact that the grand duchy of Vladimir would go to his son. However, the ruler still managed to overcome his brother's resistance and transfer the throne to Basil II.
The beginning of feuds
The feudal war lasted quite a long time - from 1425 to 1453. This was a time of serious upheaval not only for the Moscow principality, but also for the North Russian lands in general. The cause of the crisis was the ambiguous interpretation of Dmitry Donskoy’s article on spiritual inheritance.
The son of this ruler, Vasily Dmitrievich, dying, transferred the throne to his elder heir Vasily II. However, his brother, Yuri Dmitrievich Galitsky, or Zvenigorodsky, referring to the will of his father, began to claim the princely throne. However, at first he entered into a truce in 1425 with his young nephew, which, however, did not last long.
A few years later, the Galician ruler demanded a trial in the Horde. Vasily II and Yuri Dmitrievich went to the khan, who, after a long argument, gave the Grand Duchy to the Moscow prince, whose uncle did not accept this decision and entered into an open confrontation with his nephew.
The first stage of the struggle
The scandal during the wedding of Vasily Vasilyevich at the Bohr princess Maria Yaroslavna served as the impetus for the start of the clashes. The eldest son of Yuri Dmitrievich, Vasily Kosoy (the prince received such a nickname after being blinded in 1436), appeared at the ceremony in a belt, which was considered to be the property of Dmitry Donskoy. Mother Vasily II publicly ripped off this important part of the costume from him, which led to the rupture of the prince with Moscow.
Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka (who was the brother of the latter) fled to his father, who began military operations against his nephew. The latter was defeated, and Yuri Galitsky in 1434 occupied the capital, but died unexpectedly in the same year.
The second period of civil strife
After the death of his father, Prince Vasily Kosoy made an attempt to settle in Moscow, but his brothers, Dmitry Shemyak and Dmitry Krasny, did not support him. Both concluded an agreement with Vasily II, who returned to the capital and occupied the grand ducal table.
Vasily Y. Kosoy continued the struggle. He began a fight against his cousin. He managed to enlist the support of the North, where he recruited troops. However, he was defeated by Basil II, was captured and blinded in 1436. Therefore, he received the nickname Kosoy, under which he went down in the history of medieval Russia.
The third stage of the war: the confrontation of Vasily II and Dmitry Shemyaki
Vasily Kosoy was blinded, and this aggravated relations between Vasily Vasilyevich and Dmitry Yuryevich. The situation was complicated due to the fact that the Moscow prince was defeated in the battle with the Kazan Tatars and was captured in 1445. His opponent took advantage of this and occupied Moscow. However, Vasily II paid a large ransom and soon returned to his principality, and Dmitry Shemyaka was expelled from the capital.
However, he resigned himself to defeat and organized the abduction of his cousin. Basil II was blinded, for which he received the nickname Dark. He was exiled first to Vologda, and then to Uglich. His opponent again became the ruler in Moscow, but the population of the principality no longer perceived him as his rightful ruler.
The fourth period of civil strife: the defeat of Dmitry Shemyaki
Meanwhile, Vasily II, using public support, left his place of confinement and concluded an alliance with the Tver prince Boris Alexandrovich on a joint struggle against a common enemy. Together, the Allies achieved the second exile of Prince Dmitry from Moscow in 1447.
Thus, Vasily II achieved the final victory, but his rival for some time attempted to overthrow him from the throne. In 1453, Dmitry Yurievich died in Novgorod, and this date is considered the end of the feudal war in Russia.
The importance of civil strife in the political history of the Moscow principality of the 15th century
The dynastic crisis had far-reaching consequences in the adoption of the new principle of succession to the throne. The fact is that in Russia for a long time the order of inheritance of the great reign along the sideline dominated the inheritance was handed over to the eldest of the clan. But gradually, starting from the XIV century, since the reign of Ivan Danilovich, the throne invariably went to the eldest son of the previous grand duke.
The rulers themselves, from generation to generation by will, invariably passed the great principality of Vladimir to their sons. However, this new principle has not been legally formalized. However, until the second quarter of the 15th century, the question of succession to the throne did not arise as acutely as after the death of Dmitry Donskoy in 1389. The victory of Vasily II finally approved the succession order in a direct descending line - from father to son.
Since then, Moscow rulers have officially appointed the eldest sons as their successors. This formalized the dynastic new rule of inheritance of the Grand Duke's throne, the essence of which was that from now on the sovereigns in their wills appointed their heirs, and their decisions could no longer be challenged on the basis of tribal law.