One of the prominent rulers of Russia was Prince Dmitry Donskoy, whose domestic and foreign policies contributed to the beginning of the liberation of Russian lands from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the strengthening and unification of Russian principalities around Moscow. With his efforts, the Kremlin was built of white stone, which is a symbol of Russia, they began to mint a silver coin and the first guns appeared.
Political situation
The years of the reign of Dmitry Donskoy fell on a difficult time. Russia was fragmented into several principalities. There was no agreement between them, there was an internecine struggle for domination. This was aggravated by the fact that most of the lands were under the yoke of the Mongol-Tatar Horde and were taxed. And from the west the threatened was the strengthened principality of Lithuania.
Giving a characterization of the policy of Dmitry Donskoy, it can be noted that despite his young years, the prince proved himself a wise ruler, the result of his efforts was the birth of an alliance of Russian principalities. Which subsequently led to the emergence of the Russian state.
Short biography: childhood
Prince was born on 10/12/1350 in the family of Prince of Moscow and Grand Duke of Vladimir Ivan II (Red) and Princess Alexandra Ivanovna. After 9 years, his father dies, and the young prince with his younger brother Semyon become the heirs of the state of Ivan II, which he inherited from his father, Ivan Kalita. Life of the younger brother after the death of his father was short-lived. After his death, Dmitry inherited this part of the inheritance.
The guardian and mentor of the prince was Metropolitan Alexy. This played a large role in the formation of the character of the future Tsar of Russia and the unifier of the Russian lands. This prevented all kinds of feuds that arose under the young rulers, since the Metropolitan had an undeniable authority and iron character.
Under Dmitry Donskoy, the foreign and domestic policy of the principality of Moscow was aimed at uniting disparate Russian lands against the Horde yoke.
Interior and exterior
In 1359, in the year of the death of Ivan II, the ruler of the Golden Horde, Khan Berdibek, was killed. This was the reason for the long struggle for power, the result of which was the collapse of the once powerful state into individual khanates. From 1359 to 1380, the Russians began to call the Great Jam, as 25 rulers were replaced in the internecine struggle in the Horde. But the dominant role still remained with the Golden Horde, which continued to be a strong and powerful state with its capital in Karakorum.
Russian princes paid tribute and went here to bow. Before the trip, they wrote wills, since the reprisal against the Gentiles in the Horde who converted to Islam was severe, and they did not hope for a successful outcome of this event. Some were indeed killed.
As the ruler of a large and significant principality, Dmitry Donskoy put the policy of unification of lands at the forefront, realizing that there is no other way out for victory over the Golden Horde.
Civil strife with Suzdal
After the death of Prince of Moscow Ivan II, the Grand Duchy of Vladimir for several reasons was transferred to the Novgorod-Suzdal princes. The young prince made a lot of efforts to return him. Using the strife of the Golden Horde khans, he managed to persuade the temnik of Beklyarbek Mamai, the close khan Abdullah, the actual ruler, to give him a shortcut (letter). Thanks to this, despite the early age of the ruler, the foreign and domestic policies of Dmitry Donskoy put him on a par with the Russian princes and khans of the Horde.
With the help of Moscow squads, Prince Dmitry Suzdalsky was expelled from Vladimir and Pereyaslavl. But Moscow supported his rights to the Principality of Novgorod, and the daughter of Dmitry Konstantinovich became the wife of Grand Duke Dmitry.
Wars of the Moscow and Lithuanian principalities
During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, the Lithuanian state was consolidated in the west, uniting the Slavic peoples living in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. This happened thanks to a strong ruler - Prince Olgerd Gediminovich, who defeated three Horde khans under the Blue Waters and subjugated Kiev, Pereyaslavl Yuzhny, Podillia and stopped paying tribute to the Horde from these lands. The reason for the disagreement between the Moscow and Lithuanian principalities was the Principality of Tver, which since 1327 was under the rule of Moscow.
Michael - Prince Mikulinsky, who is related to Prince Olgerd, taking advantage of his support, took control of the throne. Prince Dmitry of Moscow, of course, reacted to this by sending his squad there. After that, Olgerd twice besieged Moscow, but he failed to conquer it, since the new Kremlin was stone.
By the beginning of 1370, an alliance of the Principality of Lithuania and the Horde was created against the Principality of Moscow. The South Russian lands owned by Prince Olgerd again begin to pay tribute to her. This did not prevent Dmitry Donskoy from pursuing foreign and domestic policies aimed at strengthening Moscow and uniting the rest of the Russian principalities around it.
The policy of the Golden Horde regarding Russian principalities
The Golden Horde was interested in feuds between the Russian principalities, since individually it was easy to subjugate and rule them. For example, in 1370, Tver Prince Mikhail of Mamai was given a label for the administration of the Vladimir Principality, he had given the same label to Moscow Prince Dmitry.
The meaning of the Battle of Kulikovo
The ruin by Mamai of the Ryazan principality in 1373 served as the beginning of the consolidation of Russian princes around Moscow. Tribute payment has been discontinued. In 1374, the Russian princes decided to speak together with Moscow in the fight against the Horde. At the same time, Mamai gives a shortcut to Mikhail, Prince of Tver, which caused the combined forces of the northeast of Russia to Tver, as a result of which he calls himself Dmitry’s lesser brother.
With the support of other princes, as well as receiving the blessing of the church, in particular from Sergius of Radonezh, in September 1380, Prince Dmitry took battle on Kulikovo Field, south of the confluence of the Nepryavdy River in the Don, where Mamaia's troops were defeated.
The significance of this victory is hard to overestimate. Although in the north-eastern part of Russia the yoke remained for almost a hundred years, the reign was no longer appointed by the Horde with the help of labels. This battle became an example of rallying the principalities, the possibility of rebuffing the most powerful, cunning enemy. And the most important result of the eastern policy of Dmitry Donskoy was the beginning of the formation of a unified Russian state in the northeast.