History of Russia from the Earliest Times. Volumes 3, 4

45 hrs. 47 min.

Language Russian

Author Sergey Solovyov

Narrator Evgeny Ternovsky

Volume 3. From the end of the reign of Mstislav Toropetsky to the reign of Dmitry Ioannovich Donskoy 1228–1389

Volume 3. Contents

Contents of book 2
Chapter 01. The internal state of Russian society from the death of Yaroslav I to the death of Mstislav Toropetsky (1054–1228)
The significance of the prince. — Title. — Princes installed on seats. — His circle of activities. — Prince’s incomes. — Prince’s everyday life. — Attitude toward the retinue. — Senior and junior retinues. — Zemstvo army. — Armament. — The image of conducting war. — Number of troops. — Heroes. — Land and volost. — Senior and junior cities. — Novgorod and Pskov. — Veche. — Features of Novgorodian life. — Appearance of the city. — Fires. — City population. — Pogosts and stanitsas. — Slobodas. — Rural population. — Number of cities in regions. — Obstacles to increasing the population. — Trade. — Monetary system. — Art. — Domestic life. — Struggle of paganism with Christianity. — Spread of Christianity. — Church governance. — Material well-being of the church. — Activity of the clergy. — Monasticism. — Legislation. — Folk law. — Religiousness. — Dual belief. — Family morality. — General state of morality. — Literacy. — Writings of St. Theodosius of the Caves, metropolitan Nikifor, bishop Simon, metropolitan John, monk Kyric, bishop Luka Zhidyata, Kirill of Turov. — Anonymous teachings. — The teaching of Vladimir Monomakh. — The journey of the abbot Daniil. — The message of Daniil the Zatvorenik. — Poetic works. — The Word of Igor’s Campaign. — Songs. — Chronicles.
Chapter 02. From the death of Mstislav Toropetsky to the devastation of Rus’ by the Tatars (1228–1240)
Novgorod events. — War of the Suzdal princes with Chernigov. — Enmity of Novgorod with Pskov. — Wars with the Mordvins, Bulgars, Germans, and Lithuania. — Civil strife in Smolensk. — Activities of Daniel Romanovich of Galicia. — His participation in Polish affairs. — The Teutonic Order. — Batu’s invasion. — Information about the Tatars.
Chapter 03. From Batu’s invasion to the struggle among the sons of Alexander Nevsky (1240–1276)
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in the north. — His trips to the Tatars and his death. — Wars with Lithuania, the Swedes, and Livonian knights. — The activities of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky. — Mikhail Yaroslavich, prince of Moscow. — Relations between Alexander and Andrei, Yaroslav’s sons. — Andrei is exiled. — Alexander as grand prince. — Alexander’s quarrel with Novgorod. — Tatar census. — Movement against the Tatars. — Death of Alexander Nevsky. — External wars. — Yaroslav of Tver as grand prince. — His attitude to Novgorod. — The reign of Vasily Yaroslavich of Kostroma. — Relieving pressure from Tatar violence. — Continuation of the struggle with Lithuania and the Germans. — Events in different principalities of North-Eastern Rus’. — Boyars. — Events in South-Western Rus’.
Chapter 04. Struggle between the sons of Alexander Nevsky (1276–1304)
The disappearance of former notions about the right of seniority. — Grand Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich of Pereyaslav aims to strengthen his position. — A rebellion against him by his younger brother Andrei of Gorodets with the help of the Horde. — The influence of the boyar Semyon T’oniliyevich. — An alliance of princes against Dmitry. — Caution of the northern princes. — Division of the Horde, and Dmitry makes use of this division. — The killing of Semyon T’oniliyevich. — New civil strife. — Andrei’s triumph. — An unsuccessful conference of princes. — Prince Ivan Dmitrievich of Pereyaslav refuses his patrimony to Prince Daniil Alexandrovich of Moscow. — Andrei’s death. — Events in other northern principalities. — Attitude toward the Tatars, Swedes, Germans, and Lithuania. — Affairs in the south-west.
Chapter 05. Struggle between Moscow and Tver until the death of the grand prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita (1304–1341)
Rivalry between Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver and Yuri Danilovich of Moscow. — Struggle for Pereyaslavl. — Yuri expands his territory. — Offensive movements of Tver against Moscow. — Novgorod’s struggle with Mikhail. — Yuri marries the sister of the Khan and fights against Mikhail, who defeats him. — Yuri’s wife dies in Tver captivity. — Michael is summoned to the Horde and killed. — Yuri receives a label for the grand principality. — Dmitry Mikhailovich of Tver strengthens himself against him in the Horde. — Dmitry kills Yuri and is himself killed by the Khan’s order. — The Khan gives the grand principality to Dmitry’s brother, Alexander Mikhailovich. — Events in other principalities. — Continuation of the struggle of Novgorod with the Swedes, and of Pskov with the Livonian Germans. — Lithuania’s raid. — War of Novgorodians with residents of Ustyug. — Ivan Danilovich Kalita rules in Moscow. — Metropolitan Peter establishes his seat in Moscow. — Mass killing of Tatars in Tver. — Kalita with the Tatars devastates the Tver principality. — Alexander first escapes to Pskov and then to Lithuania. — He makes peace with the Khan and returns to Tver. — Resumption of the struggle between Alexander and Kalita. — Alexander is summoned to the Horde and murdered there. — The Moscow prince adds to his patrimony. — The fate of Rostov and Tver. — Events in other northern principalities. — Events in Novgorod and Pskov. — Kalita’s death and his spiritual charters. — Strengthening of Lithuania in the west. — Poles seize Galicia. — Events on the eastern side of the Dnieper.
Chapter 06. Events during the reign of the sons of Ivan Kalita (1341–1362)
Simeon the Proud; the subordinate relations of the princes to him. — Simeon’s campaigns to Smolensk and Novgorod. — Unrest in Novgorod, Tver, and Ryazan. — Events in Yaroslavl and Murom. — Tatar and Lithuanian affairs. — Olgerd and his struggle with the Teutonic Order. — Wars of Pskov with Livonian Germans, of Novgorod with the Swedes. — The treaty of the grand prince Simeon with his brothers. — The Black Death. — The death and will of Simeon the Proud. — Rivalry of his successor with the Suzdal prince of the time. — War with Ryazan. — The fate of the Moscow thousand-man leader (tysyatski) Alexey Petrovich Khvost. — Civil strife in Murom, Tver, and Novgorod. — Relations with the Horde and Lithuania. — Death of the grand prince Ivan. — Triumph of his son Dmitry over the Suzdal prince. — Moscow boyars.
Chapter 07. Reign of Dmitry Ioannovich Donskoy (1362–1389)
Consequences of Moscow’s strengthening for other principalities. — St. Alexius and St. Sergius. — The second struggle of Moscow with Tver. — Ryazan war. — Moscow prince’s triumph over the Tver prince. — Events in Lithuania after Olgerd’s death. — Moscow’s struggle with the Horde. — Russian defeat on the River Pyana. — Their victory on the Voja. — The Battle of Kulikovo. — Tokhtamysh’s invasion. — The grand prince’s son in the Horde. — War with Ryazan. — Events in Lower Novgorod. — Relations of the grand prince Dmitry with his cousin Vladimir Andreevich. — The destruction of the rank of thousand-man leader and the fate of the boyar Velyaminov. — Moscow’s relations with Novgorod. — Wars of Pskov with Livonian Germans. — Events in Lithuania. — Death of the grand prince Dmitry and his testament. — The significance of Dmitry’s reign. — Moscow boyars.

Volume 4. From the reign of Vasily Dmitrievich Donskoy to the death of the grand prince Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark 1389–1462

Volume 4. Contents

Chapter 01. Reign of Vasily Dmitrievich Donskoy (1389–1425)
The annexation of the Nizhny Novgorod principality to Moscow. — Confrontation of the grand prince with his uncle Vladimir Andreevich of Donskoy. — Treaties of the grand prince with his brothers. — Relations with Great Novgorod. — Internal movements in Novgorod. — Novgorod’s quarrel with Pskov. — Relations of Moscow with Ryazan and Tver. — Civil strifes among the Tver princes. — Edigei’s invasion of Moscow. — The grand prince’s attitude toward the Tatars after Edigei’s invasion. — Lithuanian relations: the taking of Smolensk by Vytautas; Vytautas’s intention to seize Novgorod; Vytautas’s battle with the Tatars on the Vorsklia; the second taking of Smolensk by Vytautas; the struggle of the Moscow prince with the Lithuanian side and peace on the Ugra; the chronicler’s view of Lithuanian and Tatar relations. — Relations of Lithuania with Poland and the Teutonic Order. — The struggle of Pskov and Novgorod with the Livonian Order. — The struggle of Novgorod with the Swedes. — Death of Vasily Dmitrievich. — His spiritual charters. — Vasily’s boyars.
Chapter 02. Reign of Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark (1425–1462)
Vasily Vasilyevich’s childhood. — A new civil strife between the uncle and his nephew. — A dispute in the Horde between them. — The Moscow boyar Vsevolozhsky. — The Khan decides the case in favor of the nephew Vasily against the uncle Yuri Dmitrievich. — The departure of boyar Vsevolozhsky from the grand prince to his uncle Yuri. — Renewed struggle between the uncle and the nephew. — Vasily is captured by Yuri. — Vasily in Kolomna. — Continuation of the struggle. — Yuri’s death. — Vasily is established in Moscow. — Vasily Vasilyevich’s relations with his cousins, sons of Yuri—Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. — The blinding of Kosoy. — The grand prince’s relations with other appanage princes. — Tatar relations. — The capture of the grand prince by Kazan Tatars and his release. — Shemyaka takes Moscow, seizes the grand prince in the Trinity Monastery, and blinds him. — The blind Vasily receives Vologda. — Movements of his supporters that take Moscow. — Continuation of Vasily’s struggle against Shemyaka. — The activity of the clergy in this struggle. — Shemyaka’s death. — Relations of the grand prince with other appanage princes. — Relations with Ryazan and Tver. — Relations with Novgorod and Pskov. — Events in Lithuania, its struggle with Poland. — Lithuania’s relations with Moscow. — Tatar invasions. — The struggle of Novgorod and Pskov with the Swedes and Germans. — Death of the grand prince Vasily; his spiritual charter; his close associates.
Chapter 03. The internal state of Russian society from the death of Prince Mstislav Mstislavich Toropetsky to the death of the grand prince Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark (1228–1462)
The general course of events. — Causes of the strengthening of the Moscow principality. — Moscow’s volosts. — Their fate according to princes’ wills. — Ways to increase them. — Their boundaries. — Changes in relations between senior and junior princes. — The position of women in the princely clan. — Service princes. — Princely titles. — Seals. — Seating on the throne. — Attitude toward the Tatars. — Legislative power of the prince. — Finances. — Wealth of princes. — Life of a Russian prince in the north and south. — The status of the retinue. — An army. — The character of war. — Cities. — Rural population. — Cossacks. — Political and physical disasters. — Trade. — Money. — Art and crafts. — The Church. — Legal monuments. — International law. — Rights. — Customs. — Literature. — Chronicles. — The general course of Russian history up to the formation of the Moscow state.
Comments to volumes 3 and 4