Russian Civil War of 1425–1462
The Russian Civil War of 1425–1462 was a significant internal conflict that arose during the reign of Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow. Following the victory of Moscow at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, the region experienced a period of relative independence from the Golden Horde, with Moscow emerging as a powerful principality. The seeds of civil strife were sown early in Vasily's reign when his uncle, Yury Dmitrievich, contested his authority, leading to a series of power struggles marked by shifting loyalties among various Russian princes and external influences, including the Tatars.
The conflict saw Vasily II temporarily dethroned and blinded during the tumultuous rise and fall of rival factions, particularly those led by Dmitry Shemyaka and Vasily Kosoi. Throughout the civil war, the influence of the Orthodox Church and external alliances shaped the political landscape, as various factions attempted to gain supremacy. Despite setbacks, Vasily ultimately regained his position in 1447, but his rule remained challenged by persistent opposition. The war concluded with the decline of rival factions and the consolidation of Muscovite power, setting the stage for future expansion under Vasily's successor, Ivan the Great. This civil war was pivotal in shaping the political dynamics of Russia and the rise of Moscow as a dominant force in the region.
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Russian Civil War of 1425–1462
At issue: Sovereignty of Russian states
Date: 1425–1462
Location: Grand Duchy of Muscovy
Combatants: Grand Prince Vasily II (1415–1462) vs. Princes Yury Dmitrievich, Vasily Kosoi, Dmitry Shemyaka (1420–1453)
Principal battles: Novgorod, Suzdal
Result: The principle of succession from father to son was confirmed, as was the prestige of the grand prince
Background
After Moscow’s short-lived victory at Kulikovo in 1380, Russian states lived in partial independence from the Golden Horde. Tax payments to the Tatar khan were sporadic, and Moscow was emerging as the strongest principality and heir apparent to the Horde. However, during the reign of Vasily II, a long civil war threatened to ruin this prospect.
Before the Mongols came in the thirteenth century, the idea of sovereignty was accepted for all members of the ruling clan in Russian lands. If each was sovereign, how could a prince yield to a junior prince at Moscow? The popularity of the Muscovite prince was growing steadily under Mongol hegemony and soared after the military stand taken by Dmitry Donskoy at Kulikovo.
Vasily II, Donskoy’s grandson, took power at age ten and a regency council was appointed to rule. His mother, Sophia, daughter of Grand Prince Vitold of Lithuania, was joined by Metropolitan Photius and boyar I. D. Vsevolozhskii to run affairs of state. Troubles began early when Vasily’s uncle, Yury Dmitrievich, refused to take the oath of allegiance. Dmitrievich defended the right of seniority within the clan, even though it was long customary to pass the inheritance from father to son. In 1428, the regency council persuaded Dmitrievich to yield.
Action
Dmitrievich and his sons, Vasily Kosoi and Dmitry Shemyaka, rescinded the agreement with the council after Vasily’s Lithuanian protector Vitold died in 1430 and the metropolitan died the following year. Although the khan at Sarai confirmed Vasily’s title, Vsevolozhskii sided with Dmitrievich, who raised an army, overcame Vasily, and occupied the Kremlin.
When Dmitrievich grew unpopular, the populace supported Vasily, who was exiled in Kostroma. Dmitrievich’s following became so weakened that he returned Vasily to power, promising to refrain from further intrigues. Dmitrievich’s sons refused to accept this decision, rose in rebellion, seized the Kremlin in 1434, and made their father grand prince by right of seniority. When both the khan and the Russian princes appeared reluctant to challenge the coup, Dmitrievich’s title seemed secure. Three months later, he died. Kosoi tried to assume the title but was rejected even by his brothers. New upheavals brought Vasily back to power. Kosoi was expelled from his principality of Galicia and given Dmitrov, a Muscovite subsidiary. Within one month, Kosoi collected a new army and marched on Galicia and Ustiug. The grand prince, with Lithuanian aid, raised a large army that defeated Kosoi. The rebel prince was taken captive, returned to Moscow in 1435, and blinded by orders of Vasily.
Dmitry Shemyaka, angered by the cruelty of the grand prince, raised the standard of rebellion. This second son of Dmitrievich raised armies that were more dangerous to Vasily than those of Kosoi. This war was complicated because contingents from Novgorod, Pskov, and Tver, as well as Tatars, alternated between supporting and opposing Vasily. The grand prince counted on the support of the influential orthodox church.
Shemyaka advanced upon Novgorod in 1441, bullying its assembly into recognizing his authority. The divided community then shifted its allegiance to Vasily and called upon him for aid. Shemyaka retreated to Kostroma. The Tatars, under Khan Ulug-Mahmed, began to raid the frontiers of the grand principality, taking Nizhnii-Novgorod and raiding Moscow’s environs. Vasily was forced into action at Suzdal in 1445, but the prince was taken captive by the Horde. Only a large ransom released the grand prince. Some Muscovites resented this payment, and Shemyaka spread word that Vasily was a puppet of the khan. Internecine war within the khan’s family worked on Shemyaka’s behalf. No sooner had Ulug-Mahmed set up a separate Tatar state in Kazan than he was murdered by his son, Mahmed, who turned against his brothers, Kasim and Yakov. The brothers sought the protection of Vasily, whom they befriended when he was a captive. Anti-Tatar feelings led several ecclesiastics to join a conspiracy against the grand prince.
When Vasily went to the Trinity Monastery, in the winter of 1446, Shemyaka seized the opportunity to overtake the court in Moscow. His agents captured Vasily and, in retribution for Kosoi’s fate, blinded the grand prince; hence his nickname Vasily “the Blind.” The deposed grand prince was dispatched north to the small principality of Uglich, and other family members were scattered elsewhere.
Aftermath
Gradually Shemyaka’s support eroded. The metropolitan objected to his detainment of Vasily’s children; others resented his financial exactions. Soon opponents looked to Lithuania for aid. Shemyaka was compelled to reconcile with Vasily, promising him a larger principality in Vologda, where his sons could join him. In return, Vasily swore not to challenge Shemyaka’s princely title. Vasily had no intention of keeping his promise, and the abbot of the Kirillo-Belozersk Monastery absolved him of an oath extracted by force. Allying with Boris Alexandrovich of Tver, whose daughter was betrothed to Vasily’s son, Ivan, the deposed grand prince rallied supporters and, bolstered by the Tatar armies of Kasim and Yakov, permanently regained his princely court in the Moscow Kremlin in 1447. Shemyaka was exiled to Volokolamsk.
Although a church council rebuked Shemyaka for conspiracies, two years later, he attempted once more to unseat Vasily. This time the grand prince sent armies that crushed him at Kostroma and Galicia in 1450. Shemyaka and his ally, Vasily Grebionka, persuaded Novgorod to allow him to use its lands to raid northern principalities loyal to Vasily. For two more years, he tried to raise sufficient resources to renew his war upon the grand prince and was only stopped when Vasily’s agents poisoned him in 1453. Three years later, Vasily II compelled Novgorod by treaty to submit all charters for Moscow’s approval. This arrangement was used by his successor to insist that Novgorod was a patrimony of Muscovy. Novgorod was further punished with financial exactions, and the treaty was a prelude to its later conquest by Vasily’s son, Ivan the Great.
Bibliography
Graham, Hugh F. “Vasily Vas’ilevich II.” In Vol. 41 of The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, edited by Joseph L. Wieczynski. Gulf Breeze, Fla.: Academic International Press, 1986.
Howes, Robert C. The Testaments of the Grand Princes of Moscow. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1967.
Martin, Janet. Medieval Russia: 980-1584. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Ostrowski, Donald G. Muscovy and the Mongols: Cross-cultural Influences on the Steppe Frontier, 1304–1589. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Raba, Joel. “Novgorod in the Fifteenth Century: A Re-examination.” Canadian Slavic Studies 1, no. 3 (Fall, 1967).