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Chapter 1 - Introduction
A. Political entities on Russian soil until 1240
In the year 839 groups of Scandinavian traders gained a foothold in Kiev, an important trade hub in southern Russia and began to control the trade between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea (with the main trading partner being Constantinople) along the Russian rivers and establish their rule via a couple of outposts. This finally lead to the foundation of the first organized state on Russian soil: The Kievan Rus(1).
In the late 9th century Rurik, who had his power basis in Staraja Ladoga, conquered Kiev and established the Rurik Dynasty, that ruled the Rus until its end. Another important event occurred during the late 10th century, when Vladimir the Great adopted the Byzantine Christianity. In the early 11th century whole Russia was christianized, although the connection to the Orthodox Church lead to irreconcilable contrasts with the Roman Church.
The Rus was not a unified country, but an assembly of principalities ruled by different branches of the Rurik Dynasty, with one of them inheriting the title of Grand Prince. A first invasion of the southern Rus by Cumans lead to a migration movement to the north and east. The result was the foundation of new principalities like Novgorod, Vladimir and Susdal and the beginning of the dissolution of the Kievan Rus, that was finished in the middle of the 12th century.
In the following years, the rulers of the different principalities were at war against each other. In the year 1169, the prince of Vladimir-Susdal conquered Kiev and attached the title of Grand Duchy to his own principality, thus illustrating the complete decline of Kiev`s importance.
This feud between the Russian realms eased the Mongol invasion of the Rus in the years 1237 to 1240, when all Russian realms except Novgorod fell under Mongol sovereignty.
B. Northern Russia until 1300
During the next decades, the Golden Horde(2) controlled northern Russia, with the numerous principalities being their vassals. Important means of their policy was tolerance toward the Christian belief of the local population and the title of Grand Prince, that was granted to specific Princes of the Russian realms, that made them primus inter pares. This policy secured the obedience of the Russian princes toward their Mongol Lords as well as the constant rivalry between the Russian rulers.
During the next decades two Russian realms could gain a dominant position. First off Novgorod, that could maintain more independence from Mongol influence than their southern neighbors. On the other side it had to deal with threats from Sweden and the Teutonic Order until the early 14th century. Secondly the principality of Vladimir-Susdal, that usually did bear the title of a Grand Duchy and thus had a distinguished position among the Mongol vassals.
Although the Kievan Rus did split into even more principalities, some of them (like Smolensk) found their demise when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania expanded eastward throughout the 13th and 14th century.
C. The rise of Moscow in the 14th century
In the early 14th century the Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Susdal dissolved into several principalities due to a lack of heirs, one of it being Moscow. Juri I. Danilovitch expanded Moscows territory by conquering the principalities of Mozhaysk and Pereslawl-Salesski. At the same time a struggle concerning the title of Grand Prince occurred between the principalities of Moscow and Tver, but due to Moscows good connections to the Mongol Khan Uzbeg and an anti-Mongol revolt in Tver, Moscow finally received the title in 1328. Moscow got further support, when Peter, the "Metropolitan of Vladimir and whole Russia" transferred his see from Vladimir to Moscow in the same year.
During the rest of the 14th century, Moscow experienced an inner consolidation via measures like coinage, building projects (e.g. the Kremlin) and internal colonization. But the most important event, that greatly increased the political stability of the realm, was the rearrangement of the order of succession, that switched from seniority to primogeniture.
D. The Grand Duchy of Moscow in the early 15th century
In the first years of the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was still a considerably small and economically weak entity with hardly more than 300.000 people amidst vast primeval forests. Although the first states on Russian soil could be compared to their West European counterparts, the developments during the late Medieval show, that a significant drop height began to evolve between west and east Europe, that should haunt the east for the centuries to come. Thus it is no surprise, that Moscow does not compare well on the Johan-scale(3).
Although the Grand Princes had made some efforts in terms of centralizing the political power in their own hands and could still compare the current state of affairs to western countries, the Muscovy society completely lacked an upcoming middle class consisting of an urban citizenship. Additionally, the grasp of the Nobility on their peasants, who were de facto bondsmen, was even tighter than in the west.
Both facts severely crippled the Muscovy economy, since it lacked a progressive momentum. Thus, the economy focused on agriculture and forestry slightly above subsistence level.
(1) The word Rus probably described originally a group of Varangians from Sweden and thus the Scandinavian gentry that ruled over the Slavic population. During the 10th century the Scandinavians were completely slavified and the word Rus now described the whole population.
(2) The designation varied, since they were often referred to as Blue or even White Horde
(3) The Johan-scale (also known as "Societal Contrast Scale" - SCS), established in 2001 by the german-swedish historian and sociologist P.D.X. Johan, measures the state of development in specific societal departments with a value between -5 to +5. Although it is still used among the academia, the scale is accused to paint a black/white-picture based on a contemporary attitude to morality. For a complete overview about the critics` stance: King 2002 and Helmbauer 2005.
A. Political entities on Russian soil until 1240
In the year 839 groups of Scandinavian traders gained a foothold in Kiev, an important trade hub in southern Russia and began to control the trade between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea (with the main trading partner being Constantinople) along the Russian rivers and establish their rule via a couple of outposts. This finally lead to the foundation of the first organized state on Russian soil: The Kievan Rus(1).
In the late 9th century Rurik, who had his power basis in Staraja Ladoga, conquered Kiev and established the Rurik Dynasty, that ruled the Rus until its end. Another important event occurred during the late 10th century, when Vladimir the Great adopted the Byzantine Christianity. In the early 11th century whole Russia was christianized, although the connection to the Orthodox Church lead to irreconcilable contrasts with the Roman Church.
Fig. 1: The Kievan Rus around 1000
The Rus was not a unified country, but an assembly of principalities ruled by different branches of the Rurik Dynasty, with one of them inheriting the title of Grand Prince. A first invasion of the southern Rus by Cumans lead to a migration movement to the north and east. The result was the foundation of new principalities like Novgorod, Vladimir and Susdal and the beginning of the dissolution of the Kievan Rus, that was finished in the middle of the 12th century.
In the following years, the rulers of the different principalities were at war against each other. In the year 1169, the prince of Vladimir-Susdal conquered Kiev and attached the title of Grand Duchy to his own principality, thus illustrating the complete decline of Kiev`s importance.
This feud between the Russian realms eased the Mongol invasion of the Rus in the years 1237 to 1240, when all Russian realms except Novgorod fell under Mongol sovereignty.
B. Northern Russia until 1300
During the next decades, the Golden Horde(2) controlled northern Russia, with the numerous principalities being their vassals. Important means of their policy was tolerance toward the Christian belief of the local population and the title of Grand Prince, that was granted to specific Princes of the Russian realms, that made them primus inter pares. This policy secured the obedience of the Russian princes toward their Mongol Lords as well as the constant rivalry between the Russian rulers.
During the next decades two Russian realms could gain a dominant position. First off Novgorod, that could maintain more independence from Mongol influence than their southern neighbors. On the other side it had to deal with threats from Sweden and the Teutonic Order until the early 14th century. Secondly the principality of Vladimir-Susdal, that usually did bear the title of a Grand Duchy and thus had a distinguished position among the Mongol vassals.
Although the Kievan Rus did split into even more principalities, some of them (like Smolensk) found their demise when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania expanded eastward throughout the 13th and 14th century.
C. The rise of Moscow in the 14th century
In the early 14th century the Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Susdal dissolved into several principalities due to a lack of heirs, one of it being Moscow. Juri I. Danilovitch expanded Moscows territory by conquering the principalities of Mozhaysk and Pereslawl-Salesski. At the same time a struggle concerning the title of Grand Prince occurred between the principalities of Moscow and Tver, but due to Moscows good connections to the Mongol Khan Uzbeg and an anti-Mongol revolt in Tver, Moscow finally received the title in 1328. Moscow got further support, when Peter, the "Metropolitan of Vladimir and whole Russia" transferred his see from Vladimir to Moscow in the same year.
During the rest of the 14th century, Moscow experienced an inner consolidation via measures like coinage, building projects (e.g. the Kremlin) and internal colonization. But the most important event, that greatly increased the political stability of the realm, was the rearrangement of the order of succession, that switched from seniority to primogeniture.
D. The Grand Duchy of Moscow in the early 15th century
In the first years of the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was still a considerably small and economically weak entity with hardly more than 300.000 people amidst vast primeval forests. Although the first states on Russian soil could be compared to their West European counterparts, the developments during the late Medieval show, that a significant drop height began to evolve between west and east Europe, that should haunt the east for the centuries to come. Thus it is no surprise, that Moscow does not compare well on the Johan-scale(3).
Fig. 2: The Grand Duchy of Moscow (red) around 1419
Although the Grand Princes had made some efforts in terms of centralizing the political power in their own hands and could still compare the current state of affairs to western countries, the Muscovy society completely lacked an upcoming middle class consisting of an urban citizenship. Additionally, the grasp of the Nobility on their peasants, who were de facto bondsmen, was even tighter than in the west.
Both facts severely crippled the Muscovy economy, since it lacked a progressive momentum. Thus, the economy focused on agriculture and forestry slightly above subsistence level.
(1) The word Rus probably described originally a group of Varangians from Sweden and thus the Scandinavian gentry that ruled over the Slavic population. During the 10th century the Scandinavians were completely slavified and the word Rus now described the whole population.
(2) The designation varied, since they were often referred to as Blue or even White Horde
(3) The Johan-scale (also known as "Societal Contrast Scale" - SCS), established in 2001 by the german-swedish historian and sociologist P.D.X. Johan, measures the state of development in specific societal departments with a value between -5 to +5. Although it is still used among the academia, the scale is accused to paint a black/white-picture based on a contemporary attitude to morality. For a complete overview about the critics` stance: King 2002 and Helmbauer 2005.
Very well written, I am really interested. I also like the fact you created Table of Contents in the first post. I will be following this one (subscribed).
Good luck.
Good luck.
Thank you. As I said, I will write one entry per Ruler. The first one is not that complicated, since he is gone after 6 years and I`ll post the update this week. But the next five rulers have pretty long reigns (37, 43, 28, 51 and 14 years), so everyone has to be patient.
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Chapter 2 - Vasily I. and the Succession War (1389 - 1425)
A. Prologue
In 1389 Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy died after a reign of 30 years. His reign was marked by the attempt to further strengthen his own principality and the antagonism toward the other Russian principalities (that were also successors of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Susdal) as well as the Golden Horde. The latter was especially successful, since he lead a Russian alliance against an army of the Horde and defeated it in 1380 during the battle of Kulikovo. This victory illustrated the beginning decline of the Mongol authority over Russia.
When Dmitry died, his oldest son Vasily ascended the throne at age 18. Until 1398 he expanded the territory of Moscow in the north and east by conquering Vologda and Nishgorod. This aggressive policy earned him the enmity of all his neighbors. During the early 15th century he tried to appease especially the Golden Horde during his voyage into Mongol territory to visit Khan Gelal-ed-Din in 1412.
B. Foreign Policy
Vasily`s foreign policy had two priorities. The opposition toward his Russian rivals and the rapprochement toward Lithuania.
In 1391 he married Sofia, daughter of Grand Prince Vytautas of Lithuania, and in 1421 he gave his daughter Vasilisa to the nephew of the Lithuanian Grand Prince. But despite his efforts the relationship between the Grand Duchies of Lithuania and Moscow remained problematic due to the Muscovy claims to Tula.
In the last years of his reign, Vasily renewed his assaults on his neighbors. In 1419 he conquered Ryazan in the south and, after more than one year of warfare, his long-term rival Tver in the west. These successes alarmed his remaining neighbors, since they feared an impending Muscovy hegemony, and during 1421 an alliance of Susdal, Pskov and the Golden Horde declared war on Moscow.
The following so-called "Succession War" was the culmination point in the struggle for the domination over the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Susdal. Moscow was outnumbered and threatened from three directions. That this was not it`s end had several reasons.
First of all the Golden Horde did not contribute to the war efforts. There are reports about a skirmish in late 1421, but apart from that the Horde was occupied with domestic dynastical problems and signed a peace in 1423.
Secondly Pskov and Susdal did not coordinate their efforts, so Vasily could focus on Pskov first. He marched westward, defeated the enemy army near Tver and established a siege of Pskov. About two months before Pskov had to surrender, the army of Susdal finally started its operations and threatened Moscow. Vasily returned to his capitol, where the Kremlin did still withstand the siege, and during the following battle the main force of Susdal was destroyed(4).
In early 1424, Susdal had to capitulate to the Muscovy army. With the end of the "Succession War", Moscow controlled the northern territories from Pskov in the west to Susdal in the east and thus successfully enforced its claim to be the rightful follower of Vladimir-Susdal(5).
C. Domestic Policy
Vasily`s reign was, as been said above, a constant campaign versus his exterior enemies, thus the development of his realm had no high priority.
Especially the rather independent status of the Muscovy nobility remained untouched since Vasily needed their support during the constant wars. But, on the other hand, he issued the "Golden Edict"(6) of 1419, that eased the peasants possibility to leave their serfdom under specific circumstances. Although Vasily tried to gain a broader recruitment base for his army, it nevertheless had the side effect, that some farmers indeed could leave their land and migrate to the few cities.
Apart from that, we have evidence for some progress in the regional trade and infrastructure, although the state of the country in this regard was behind time compared to the countries in western Europe.
(4) During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy the wooden Kremlin was replaced by a stone version, that resisted the siege. According to contemporary sources, a grand total of 100.000 soldiers participated in the following battle of Odinzowo. Although modern estimations reduce this amount to about 45.000 soldiers, it is undisputed, that the army of Susdal was almost annihilated.
(5) Although the historical sources are scarce, it is believed today, that the fortunate result of the "Succession War" was mainly achieved by Yuri Michailovich Patrikeev, Vasily`s military leader.
(6) The "Golden Edict" became part of the rural popular belief, that the Tsar will someday decree a "Great Golden Edict", that will free all bondsmen. Other versions of the Myth say, that the Edict had already been issued, but evil advisors of the Tsar held it back. This belief was boosted especially during wartime and regularly lead to unrests. For a complete overview: Gussew 1994
A. Prologue
In 1389 Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy died after a reign of 30 years. His reign was marked by the attempt to further strengthen his own principality and the antagonism toward the other Russian principalities (that were also successors of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Susdal) as well as the Golden Horde. The latter was especially successful, since he lead a Russian alliance against an army of the Horde and defeated it in 1380 during the battle of Kulikovo. This victory illustrated the beginning decline of the Mongol authority over Russia.
Fig. 3: Grand Prince Vasily I.
When Dmitry died, his oldest son Vasily ascended the throne at age 18. Until 1398 he expanded the territory of Moscow in the north and east by conquering Vologda and Nishgorod. This aggressive policy earned him the enmity of all his neighbors. During the early 15th century he tried to appease especially the Golden Horde during his voyage into Mongol territory to visit Khan Gelal-ed-Din in 1412.
B. Foreign Policy
Vasily`s foreign policy had two priorities. The opposition toward his Russian rivals and the rapprochement toward Lithuania.
In 1391 he married Sofia, daughter of Grand Prince Vytautas of Lithuania, and in 1421 he gave his daughter Vasilisa to the nephew of the Lithuanian Grand Prince. But despite his efforts the relationship between the Grand Duchies of Lithuania and Moscow remained problematic due to the Muscovy claims to Tula.
In the last years of his reign, Vasily renewed his assaults on his neighbors. In 1419 he conquered Ryazan in the south and, after more than one year of warfare, his long-term rival Tver in the west. These successes alarmed his remaining neighbors, since they feared an impending Muscovy hegemony, and during 1421 an alliance of Susdal, Pskov and the Golden Horde declared war on Moscow.
The following so-called "Succession War" was the culmination point in the struggle for the domination over the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Susdal. Moscow was outnumbered and threatened from three directions. That this was not it`s end had several reasons.
First of all the Golden Horde did not contribute to the war efforts. There are reports about a skirmish in late 1421, but apart from that the Horde was occupied with domestic dynastical problems and signed a peace in 1423.
Secondly Pskov and Susdal did not coordinate their efforts, so Vasily could focus on Pskov first. He marched westward, defeated the enemy army near Tver and established a siege of Pskov. About two months before Pskov had to surrender, the army of Susdal finally started its operations and threatened Moscow. Vasily returned to his capitol, where the Kremlin did still withstand the siege, and during the following battle the main force of Susdal was destroyed(4).
In early 1424, Susdal had to capitulate to the Muscovy army. With the end of the "Succession War", Moscow controlled the northern territories from Pskov in the west to Susdal in the east and thus successfully enforced its claim to be the rightful follower of Vladimir-Susdal(5).
Fig. 4: The Grand Duchy of Moscow (red) in 1425
C. Domestic Policy
Vasily`s reign was, as been said above, a constant campaign versus his exterior enemies, thus the development of his realm had no high priority.
Especially the rather independent status of the Muscovy nobility remained untouched since Vasily needed their support during the constant wars. But, on the other hand, he issued the "Golden Edict"(6) of 1419, that eased the peasants possibility to leave their serfdom under specific circumstances. Although Vasily tried to gain a broader recruitment base for his army, it nevertheless had the side effect, that some farmers indeed could leave their land and migrate to the few cities.
Apart from that, we have evidence for some progress in the regional trade and infrastructure, although the state of the country in this regard was behind time compared to the countries in western Europe.
(4) During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy the wooden Kremlin was replaced by a stone version, that resisted the siege. According to contemporary sources, a grand total of 100.000 soldiers participated in the following battle of Odinzowo. Although modern estimations reduce this amount to about 45.000 soldiers, it is undisputed, that the army of Susdal was almost annihilated.
(5) Although the historical sources are scarce, it is believed today, that the fortunate result of the "Succession War" was mainly achieved by Yuri Michailovich Patrikeev, Vasily`s military leader.
(6) The "Golden Edict" became part of the rural popular belief, that the Tsar will someday decree a "Great Golden Edict", that will free all bondsmen. Other versions of the Myth say, that the Edict had already been issued, but evil advisors of the Tsar held it back. This belief was boosted especially during wartime and regularly lead to unrests. For a complete overview: Gussew 1994
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Oh wow, there's life in the Grand Old Lady yet!
I had given up on the EU2 forums a long time ago, so it's nice to be able to revisit. Good luck with the AAR, you're off to a good start (both in gameplay and writing).
I had given up on the EU2 forums a long time ago, so it's nice to be able to revisit. Good luck with the AAR, you're off to a good start (both in gameplay and writing).
Nice start! Are you going to direct your conquest and wars historically in the whole AAR ?
Some nice gains over there, keep it up.
Some nice gains over there, keep it up.
I don`t want to get too unhistorical, but I will expand as there will be opportunities. But the next objective is of course Novgorod, since that Trade Center would be a great gain.
But in any case it will take some time until I have played through Vasily II. reign, so don`t expect the new update too soon.
Take your time and post updates as you play. No point in rushing into updates. This is worth waiting for
