Many historical events taking place in Russia in past centuries have had a significant impact on its further development. One of them was the feudal war, which broke out in the XIV century and lasted from 1433 to 1953. Its main reason was a violation of the right to inherit the throne from brother to brother, and later a newer one, from father to son.
This historical period was characterized by the formation of several possessions on the territory of the Moscow principality. They belonged to the sons of Dm. Donskoy. The largest specific entities were under the rule of Yuri Dmitrievich. These were the Zvenigorod and Galician lands. The strife for the throne at that time reached a large scale, which is why it was called the “feudal war”.
Its beginning was the controversial issue of inheritance, which was supposed to go to Yuri after the death of the elder brother Vasily I, but this did not happen. The throne passed by testament to the ten-year-old son of Basil I. Being the eldest in the family, Yuri sought to obtain the throne, which was due to him under the then laws. It was precisely because of this that the feudal war began, in which the interests of the uncle and the nephew Vasily II agreed. Soon after the start of the struggle, Yuri Dmitrievich dies, and the war that he started continues with his sons: Dmitry Shemyaka and Vasily Kosy.
War acquires the character of a struggle in which there are supporters and opponents of the centralization of the state. The feudal war of those years was brutal and completely uncompromising. In its course, any means were used. These were conspiracies, deceptions and even savagery. Vasily II was blinded by his enemies, and later he received the nickname Vasily the Dark. This war ended in his victory, because it was he who became the Grand Duke of Moscow and began to rule the country during the difficult times of civil strife and fratricidal wars for her.
The feudal war in Russia was lengthy, and the result of a continuous twenty-year struggle was a strong ruin and a significant weakening of the defense capability of the entire Russian land. The consequence of this, of course, was even more devastating raids of the Horde khans. This was the time of the establishment of the sole princely rule and the establishment of a clear heritage on the throne. It was found that he had to go exclusively from father to son.
The accompanying reasons, due to which the feudal war broke out in Russia at that time, was the intensification of the contradictions that arose among the feudal lords and related to the ways and forms of centralization of the state. This war took place in a difficult time for the country: against the backdrop of the raids of the Tatars and the expansion of the Principality of Lithuania, economic and political consolidation, both the great (Moscow, Ryazan, Tver) and smaller (Mozhaisk, Galitsky, Zvenigorod) principalities.
At that time, the struggle of the townspeople and peasants against the boyar, princely and noble exploitation intensified. The feudal war of the 15th century brought many changes. Towards its end, most of the small estates that were part of the Moscow Principality were liquidated, and in this connection the power of the Grand Duke was strengthened.
Considering in more detail the course of this event, we can trace its most significant points. The most decisive clashes occurred in 1433-34. Despite the fact that Yuri achieved success, most of the feudal lords did not support his side, because of which he could not consolidate the Moscow Grand Duke's throne.
At the main stage, the feudal war of the 15th century went beyond the principality and spread to the central and northern regions. The third stage of hostilities for Vasily II ended in defeat, as a result of which he was captured and brutally blinded, and then exiled to Uglich. This period was marked by urban uprisings, the flight from the feudal lords of the peasants. At this time, Shemyak was in power, but in 1446 he was expelled from Moscow, and reigning passed again into the hands of Basil II.