The West Against Moscow: From Ivan the Great to Ivan the Terrible

Konstantin Kusmaul studies the reign of Ivan III, Vasily III, and Ivan the Terrible, revealing intrigues and manipulations by Western countries toward Muscovy. The author skillfully combines facts with analytical conclusions, showing how Russia’s historical influence manifests itself in modern times.

Russia’s geopolitical role took shape at the end of the 15th century, when the centralized Muscovite state became the object of Western intrigues and provocations. The Habsburgs, the papal throne, England, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, and other representatives of the “collective West” tried to control the resources of Muscovite Rus’, pull it into a strange anti-Turkish alliance, forcibly introduce Catholicism, and isolate it within a ring of sanctions.

However, resistance from the first Russian autocrats and from young Moscow diplomacy proved wise and successful. In the book, the history of Russia—from Ivan III to Ivan the Terrible—is presented through a multitude of unique facts, intrigues, and geopolitical conflicts woven into the global processes of the 15th–16th centuries.