The aristocrat Marfa Boretskaya became the last posadnik Novgorod. She led the struggle of the townspeople against the Prince of Moscow, Ivan III, who nevertheless subjugated the ancient republic and made it part of a single Russian state.
Martha's personality
Posadnitsa Martha Boretskaya was from a boyar family. Her date of birth is not exactly known, information about childhood and youth is also not preserved. She got into the annals as the wife of the Novgorod posad Isaac Boretsky, from whom she received her surname. The husband died in the second half of the 50s of the XV century (the latest information about him dates back to 1456). He left his wife a lot of money and land. All these resources allowed Martha to become one of the most influential figures in the public life of Novgorod.
In history, this woman is known as the "posadnik", but Boretskaya never formally had such a title. It was only a mocking nickname given to her by Muscovites, who hated her as a principal enemy. Nevertheless, we can say for sure that Martha was the de facto ruler of Veliky Novgorod from 1471 to 1478. These were the last days of independence of the republic, when it fought with Moscow for sovereignty.
Fame in Novgorod
For the first time, Marfa Boretskaya declared herself as an important political figure when the elections of the local archbishop were held in 1470. She supported Pimen (and tried to defend his candidacy with gold), but in the end, the protege of Moscow, Theophilus, was chosen. In addition, the new archbishop was to be consecrated in the capital of Ivan III, and not in Kiev, as has always been the case before.
Martha could not forgive such an insult, and from that moment began to establish contacts with the Lithuanian party in Novgorod. This political movement advocated the rapprochement of the city with the Grand Duke from Vilnius, and not the Moscow ruler. Such a position was contrary to the conditions that were agreed upon at the time of the signing of the Yazhelbitsky peace.
This paper was signed in 1456 (even under the father of Ivan III - Vasily the Dark). The agreement established the dependence of Novgorod on Moscow with the formal preservation of the old institutions and orders (veche, title of posadnik, etc.). Conditions have somehow been fulfilled for many years. It was a compromise between the powerful influence of Moscow on all Russian lands and the old republican system of Novgorod.
Poland supporter
Marfa Boretskaya decided to go against the established order. It was she who led the boyar opposition against Ivan III and sought support from the Polish king Casimir IV (Poland and Lithuania existed within the framework of a union concluded between themselves). Martha, at her own expense, sent an embassy to the foreign monarch, asking him to accept Novgorod as autonomy into her possessions. The conditions were agreed upon, and the governor, Mikhail Olelkovich, arrived in the city. These events infuriated Ivan III. In 1471, he declared war on Novgorod.
Preparation for war
Before sending the army north, Ivan tried to resolve the conflict through diplomacy. He turned to the help of a reputable mediator in the person of the Church. The Moscow Metropolitan went to Novgorod, where he rebuked its inhabitants and Martha for the betrayal of Moscow. He also urged to abandon the union with the Catholic state. Such an act could be regarded as a departure from Orthodoxy.
What is famous for Martha Boretskaya? Its intransigence. She refused to make concessions to the enemy. Upon learning of this, Ivan III declared a crusade against the Catholic dominance in Orthodox Novgorod. Such a slogan allowed him to gather a lot of supporters, including the Pskovites, Ustyuzhans and Vyatichi, who in another situation could refuse to help Moscow. The army went on a campaign even though the Polish governor Mikhail Olelkovich left the banks of the Volkhov and left for Kiev.
The characteristic of Martha Boretskaya was also that she did not give up in moments of terrible danger. An army was also assembled in Novgorod. His organization did not go without the participation of Martha. In addition, her son Dmitry, who was then a formal posadnik, ended up in the army himself.
Battle of shelon
The Moscow army, under the leadership of the famous governor Daniil Kholmsky and Fedor Pestry, captured and burned the important fortress of Rusu. After this success, the squad stopped to wait for reinforcements from Pskov. At the same time, additional Moscow regiments merged with the Tver detachment and also headed north.
The Novgorod army included 40 thousand people. It headed towards Pskov to prevent its army from uniting with Kholmsky. The Moscow governor guessed about the enemy’s plans and moved in the opposite direction. On July 14, 1471, Kholmsky with a sudden attack hit the Novgorod army, which was not expecting him. This battle is known in historiography as the Battle of Shelon (by the name of the river). Kholmsky had under his command half as many people as the Novgorodians, but his stunning blow determined the outcome of the confrontation.
Thousands of Novgorodians died. Martha’s son, Dmitry Boretsky, was captured and soon executed for treason. The defeat made the fate of Novgorod inevitable.
Korostyn world
Soon the Korostyn peace was concluded (August 11, 1471). According to his conditions, Novgorod was even more dependent on Moscow. So, his government had to obey the Grand Duke in matters of foreign policy. This was an important innovation, as it deprived the Novgorodians of the opportunity to have any diplomatic contacts with Poland and Lithuania. Also, the city court was now subordinate to the Grand Duke of Moscow. In addition, the church of Novgorod became an integral part of a single metropolis. The main body of local government - Veche - could no longer make decisions independently. All his letters were certified by the Grand Duke, and Moscow seals were put on the papers.
Nevertheless, in Novgorod retained the decorative signs of the old order, when the republic still dominated here. The Grand Duke did not touch Martha, she remained at home. Huge concessions to Moscow did not change her plans. She still dreamed of getting rid of her dependence on Ivan III. But for a while a fragile peace reigned between the parties.
The abolition of Novgorod independence
Moscow knew that the boyar Novgorod elite and personally Martha Boretskaya were plotting against Ivan. Posadnitsa continued to try to establish contacts with Casimir, despite the execution of her own son and defeat in the war. Ivan Vasilyevich closed his eyes for a while to what is happening in the north, as he had many other worries - for example, difficult relations with the Tatars.
However, in 1478, the prince finally freed himself from other worries and decided to put an end to the Novgorod freemen. Moscow troops came to the city. At the same time, no organized serious resistance arose. According to the order of Ivan III, the noblewoman Martha Boretskaya lost all her lands and had to go to Nizhny Novgorod and become a nun in the monastery there. The main symbols of freedom of Novgorod were destroyed: the veche was canceled, the veche bell was taken away. In addition, Ivan expelled from the city all the boyars who were suspected of rejecting his power. Most of them were settled in Moscow - closer to the Kremlin, where their influence was nullified. People loyal to Ivan Vasilievich went to Novgorod, who occupied the main posts and were able to peacefully make it part of the united Russian state.
The Fate of Martha
Marfa Boretskaya, whose biography as a politics ended, really turned out to be in the monastery. In tonsure, she took the name of Mary. The former aristocrat died in 1503 in the Conception Monastery, which in the 19th century began to be called the Holy Cross Exaltation. The image of Martha Boretskaya immediately became an integral part of Russian folklore. Chroniclers often compared this woman to other important political figures of the weaker sex - Elia Eudoxia and Herodiara.