The battle on the sandpiper field is short. A brief description of the Kulikovo battle. Beginning of the Battle of Kulikovo

15.11.2020

Happy time of day everyone!

Briefly, the Battle of Kulikovo is the most important historical event, which was another milestone in the liberation of Russia from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. There should be no particular difficulties in studying this event: you need to know the background, the main names from the Russian and Tatar sides, you also need to imagine the map of the battle and geographically where it was. In this article, we will briefly and clearly analyze the most important things in this battle. And where to find a video tutorial on this topic, I will tell at the end of this article.

"Duel of Peresvet with Chelubey on the Kulikovo field". Artist Mikhail Ivanovich Avilov, 1943.

Background and reasons

From the point of view of various historians, the Battle of Kulikovo became a kind of apogee of the confrontation between Russia and the Golden Horde. It wasn't even about the tribute. Yes, according to latest research the tribute was not so heavy. The fact was that the horde, with its policy of labels, prevented the unity of the Russian lands. So, for example, when in 1371 Prince Dmitry Ivanovich went to the Horde to confirm his label, he arrived gloomy, because the Tatars imposed even more tribute.

Prince Dmitry Ivanovich (Donskoy). Years of government: 1359 - 1389.

As a result, when the second son Yuri was born to the prince, at a meeting on this occasion, in 1374, it was decided to break off relations with the khans. At the same time, the Moscow principality began to prepare for battle. The advantage of the situation was that the Horde began a "great trap" - a long internecine war between contenders for power.

Preparing the Parties

In order to resist the Horde, more than 30 Russian principalities sent their soldiers to the army of Dmitry Ivanovich. Almost every man who was able to hold a weapon came to his army. Mom was getting ready too. He made alliances with the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, who was interested in expanding trade with the Horde. In addition, the Ryazan prince Oleg occupied the promamaev side. True, Oleg was cunning: he expressed subservience to the Khan, and reported to Moscow about Mamai's movements.

In addition to alliances, Mamai included Crimean Tatars and mercenaries from the North Caucasus in his army. There are also persistent rumors that he hired heavy Genoese cavalry in Genoa.

The beginning of the confrontation

Since 1374, the Tatars began to attack the Nizhny Novgorod lands and the southern border. Since 1376, Dmitry went to the south of the Oka and further to the steppe with reconnaissance. Thus, the Russian prince did not expect aggression, but he himself showed it.

In 1377, Mamai sent his Khan Arapshah against Moscow. Dmitry Ivanovich was far from the troops. And it relaxed - perhaps drunk beer. As a result, an unexpectedly creeping enemy inflicted a crushing defeat on the Russian troops.

Khan Mamai. Years of reign 1361 - 1380.

But in 1378, the first victory of the Russian army, led by the Moscow prince, over the regular Mongolian army took place - on the Vozha River. The Russians struck suddenly, which ensured success. After this event, the parties began to prepare for a decisive battle.

Battle on the Kulikovo field

in tests and examination papers they love to ask on which river the Battle of Kulikovo took place. Many answer that on the Kulikovo field, despite the fact that they ask about the river. More attentive answer that on the river Don. And the smartest - that the river was Nepryadva - a tributary of the Don River.

So the Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380 on the Kulikovo field. In order to cut off their retreat (such Russian kamikazes!) The army crossed the Nepryadva River. This was also done in case the army of the traitor Prince Oleg of Ryazan suddenly sneaks up, or the Lithuanians wish to strike in the rear. And it will be more difficult for them to swim across the river.

Early in the morning, at 4 o'clock or at 6 o'clock, the Battle of Kulikovo began. Here is the schematic map:

It shows that the Russian troops were built in the traditional order: in the center of the Big Regiment, on the flanks - the regiments of the right and left hands. Also, Dmitry Ivanovich went to the trick and arranged another additional ambush or reserve regiment, commanded by Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky and Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy. Also with the Russian army was the confessor of Prince Sergius of Radonezh, the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

There is a beautiful legend according to which the battle began with a duel of heroes. On the Russian side, an assistant to Prince Alexander Peresvet was put up, and on the Tatar side - right hand Mamaia is the hero of Chelubey. Peresvet understood that he could not stay alive, but the enemy must not be left alive. Therefore, he took off his armor, and when the spear of Chelubey (which was longer) pierced him, he did not fly out of the saddle, but hit his enemy, who also fell dead.

This event is described in the "Tale of the Battle of Mame". In addition to Peresvet, Andrei Oslyabya became famous in the battle. Both of these heroes were also monks, which leads me to think: was there any kind of heroic or knightly monastic order in Russia. How do you think? Write in the comments!

The Tatars attacked "on the forehead." They wanted to crush one of the regiments, and hit the Russian troops in the flank and rear. And they almost succeeded: after 4 hours of slaughter, the regiment of the left hand began to back away to Nepryadva, it was almost defeated, as a reserve regiment came out of the forest and hit the Tatars in the flank and rear. On the field itself, it seemed to the enemy that the dead Russians got up and went on a second attack! Well, imagine that you defeated the enemy, only the dead are behind you, and then again the Russians are coming at you from the rear! What didn't feel right? And what was the Mongol-Tatars like?

In general, the enemy could not stand it and ran. The Battle of Kulikovo ended with the complete victory of Russian weapons.

Results

Many people think that since that time, with the victory on the Kulikovo field, it has ended. But in fact, this most important victory is only an important milestone in the historical process of the struggle of Russia against him. In two years, Tokhtamysh will burn Moscow and tribute will still have to be paid. However, the Russian principalities rallied against a common enemy. The Moscow prince began to play the role of the initiator of this necessary struggle and became the first among equals - other Russian princes.

Also, the significance was that the Russians realized that the enemy was not so invincible, that he could be beaten with a Russian sword!

In conclusion, I would like to say that this topic is just a drop in the ocean of history that needs to be studied. It is easier and more effective to do this with the help of video tutorials. So I recommend mine. The video course contains 63 video lessons that cover the entire course of history, including topics on world history. It also contains my recommendations for solving tests and all the materials (my own) necessary to prepare for the exam for high scores.

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

The Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380. The battle, in which the Russian army and the army of the Golden Horde took part, largely predetermined the further history of the Russian state.

Events leading up to the battle

The Battle of Kulikovo was caused by a number of important events. Six years earlier, relations between Russia and the Horde began to seriously deteriorate. It was in 1374 that the Grand Duke of Moscow broke off relations with Mamai, who at that time ruled the western part of the Golden Horde on behalf of the Mongol khans. Russian princes already felt own strength and were ready to give a decisive rebuff to the enemy, who long time ravaged their lands and demanded tribute.

Two years before the historic battle, the news spread throughout Russia that the Tatar-Mongols advanced with a large army to get even with the recalcitrant Russians. Dmitry with his retinue went to meet the enemy and met him on the banks of the Vozha River, for the first time delving so far into the southern lands. The maneuver took the enemy by surprise, and the Russian detachment won a relatively easy victory. This finally convinced that the Horde is not omnipotent. Moreover, inside it already full swing strife developed.

Preparing for battle

The Horde sought revenge. By the beginning of the summer of 1380, Mamai prepared an army of over 100 thousand people for the campaign. The Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello expressed a desire to be an ally of the Khan. Having received information about the upcoming unification of the Horde and Lithuania for the war with Russia, Dmitry hastily gathered almost the same large army. At the end of August, his army of many thousands from Kolomna headed south at a rapid pace. The main goal of a quick maneuver was successful: Mamai's allies did not have time to join him.

On the night before the battle, Dmitry's army crossed the Don and reached the Kulikovo field. The place for the battle was chosen well: the grove made it possible to cover the ambush regiment, and deep ravines, invisible to the enemy, did not give his cavalry the opportunity to attack from the flanks.

The course of the battle

First, there was a duel between two heroes. Monk Alexander Peresvet represented the Russian side, the hero Temir-Murza, better known as Chelubey, became his opponent. As a result of their confrontation, they both hit each other with spears. This outcome meant that the main battle would be bloody.

As soon as Chelubey was on the ground, Mamai's cavalry rushed to the attack and immediately pushed back the advanced Russian regiment. However, the reserve brought into battle stopped the further advance of the Tatar-Mongols in the center of their attack. Mamai stepped up the attack on the left flank, where for some time he managed to push the Russian ranks. But the turning point in the battle, as often happened in the old days, brought an ambush regiment that hit the rear and flank of the enemy cavalry.

The outcome of the battle was largely influenced by several tactical military moves of the Russian squad:

Prince Dmitry had previously studied the place of the upcoming battle and placed the troops in such a way as if they could be easily defeated;
The spears of Russian soldiers had different lengths, which helped to make enemy attacks more difficult;
Enemies who broke through to Dmitry's headquarters killed, as it seemed to them, the Grand Duke himself. In fact, it was his faithful boyar, who specially put on a princely caftan. Seeing some time later that Dmitry was alive, the Tatar-Mongols received a serious psychological blow.

It is believed that Mamaev's army was defeated in 4 hours. Prince Jagiello, having received news of this, turned his army in the opposite direction. Mamai himself, whose headquarters was captured, managed to retreat. The Battle of Kulikovo, in which the Tatar-Mongols were utterly defeated, was later called the Mamaev Battle. And the Grand Duke Dmitry for a brilliant victory in this battle received the respectful nickname Donskoy.

The message about the Battle of Kulikovo will briefly tell you about this historical event.

Message about the Battle of Kulikovo Grade 4

The Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380 in the course of complicated relations between Russia and the Khan's Horde.

Background of the Battle of Kulikovo

In 1374, relations between the Mongols and the princes of Russia became noticeably more complicated. The princes, feeling their strength and power, began to argue with the Horde in matters of paying tribute. Dmitry Donskoy, the ruler of Russia, in 1374, not recognizing the power of Khan Mamai, actually severed all relations with them. Such free-thinking did not go unnoticed by the Mongols.

Together with this, the Lithuanian king Olgerd dies. The throne was taken by Jagiello, who first of all tried to establish diplomatic relations with the Horde. Thus, the Mongols acquired a powerful ally, and Russia acquired two enemies - the Tatars and Lithuanians.

But the Russian prince did not step back and decided to repulse the enemy. Having gathered an army and put Dmitry Bobrok-Valintsev at the head, it was decided to go on a campaign against the Volga. His goal is to capture the cities that were under the control of the Tatars.

Another event that served as a prerequisite occurred in 1378. In the territories of Russia there was a rumor that the Horde sent a powerful army to punish the Russians. Dmitry Donskoy decided not to wait for the enemy, but having gathered a squad, he rode out to meet them. They met near the river Vozha. The battle was inevitable.

Beginning of the Battle of Kulikovo

Early in the morning of September 8, 1380, according to the tradition of one-on-one combat, Alexander Peresvet, a Russian monk, and Chelubey, a Mongol warrior, met. No one won the battle - both warriors wounded each other mortally with spears and fell. And then the army of the Horde and the squad of the Don began the battle.

In terms of numbers, the Mongols significantly outweighed the Russians. It would seem that Mamai will win easily. But Donskoy made an unexpected move, leaving a regiment of 10,000 soldiers in ambush led by Dmitry Bobrok. At a turning point, the Russian cavalry flies out of the forest, putting the Mongols to flight.

COURSE OF EVENTS

The result of the reign of Ivan Kalita (1325-1340) was a significant strengthening of Moscow's position in northeastern Russia. Attempts to transfer the collection of tribute to the Grand Duke of Vladimir were made earlier, but such an order was fixed only from the reign of Ivan Kalita. The Tver uprising of 1327 drew a line under the activities of the Baskaks in Russia. The collection of tribute by the Russian prince was not accompanied by such violence as the Horde did. The population sighed more calmly. The Khan, receiving a regular exit from the Horde, was also pleased and did not send punitive detachments to Russia. Forty years (1328-1367), as the chronicler noted, "prestasha the Tatars to fight the Russian land." During this time, a generation of new Russian people grew up: they did not see the horror of the Horde pogrom and were not afraid of the Tatars. These people could already take up the sword to defend their right to freedom.

In 1359, during the plague epidemic, the throne of Moscow, by the will of fate, went to a nine-year-old boy, Dmitry Ivanovich. Never before has a child been given a golden label for the great reign of Vladimir in Russia subject to the Horde. Therefore, the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich went to the Horde and begged for a golden label. However, even his own relatives did not support Dmitry Konstantinovich in this matter, and the Moscow boyars and Metropolitan Alexei in 1362 achieved the return of the golden label to Moscow. Obviously, at the same time, the young Moscow prince Dmitry visited the Golden Horde.

The rivalry between the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod rulers ended in 1367 with peace and even an alliance. Moscow Prince Dmitry promised to help Dmitry of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod suppress the speech of his rebellious brother. The Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince gave his daughter to Dmitry of Moscow and recognized him as "the elder brother." The alliance with the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod principality was very important, for Moscow was preparing for a war with Tver.

On the eve of the war, a stone Kremlin was erected in Moscow in 2 years (1367). It was built after the “All Saints” fire (it happened on the day of memory of all Saints, hence its name) from white limestone and large bricks. Limestone was transported in winter on sledges, and in summer along the river from quarries located near the village of Myachkova, 30 km from the capital. Some researchers believe that the new Kremlin was not all stone, it partially retained wooden structures. However, in Nizovaya Rus it was the first stone fortress. She spoke about the power and wealth of the Moscow rulers.

In turn, from the end of the 1350s. in the Golden Horde there was a big civil strife. Sources call it the "great zamyatne". The Horde has split. In the Volga part of it, the khans changed almost every year. In the southern - Black Sea Horde, the shadow ruler Mamai strengthened. He was a temnik and ruled on behalf of the minor Chingizid khans. During the years of the "great commemoration" the Horde was very weakened. In 1362, at the battle of Blue Waters, Olgerd defeated her and took South Russia. But worse than external defeats were internal conspiracies and unrest. They tormented the country, deprived it of its former strength. For two decades, more than 20 Genghisides have been on the throne of the Volga Horde. The central government has weakened. Many princes and murzas are accustomed to live by robbery. Taking advantage of the "zamyatnee" in the Horde, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver decided to ask for a golden label. Mikhail also counted on the military assistance of his relative - the Grand Duke of Lithuania and Russia Olgerd (Olgerd was married to a Tver princess.)

In the course of the struggle for the golden label, Prince Mikhail of Tver ended up in a Moscow dungeon for a while. Mikhail arrived in Moscow in 1368 for negotiations under the "guarantees" of his security given by Metropolitan Alexei, but was arrested. Of course, Mikhail had to be released soon, and the struggle continued with the participation of Lithuania in it. Various Horde khans also turned out to be participants in Russian strife. Some of them supported Tver, and others - Moscow.

Olgerd made two trips to Moscow. The Moscow chronicles called Olgerd's invasions the first and second Lithuanian regions. In both cases, Olgerd burned the outskirts of Moscow and besieged the city. But he failed to take the new Kremlin. Meanwhile, Mikhail of Tverskoy received a golden label (1371), but the inhabitants of Vladimir did not let him into their city. And the Moscow prince Dmitry said: “I’m not going to the label, but I don’t let go to the land to reign for the great.”

In 1371, Prince Dmitry of Moscow traveled to the south of the Horde to visit Temnik Mamai. Mamai retreated from Mikhail Tverskoy. And already in 1375, the Moscow regiments, with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexei, besieged Tver. The Yaroslavl, Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov principalities and a number of other destinies acted in alliance with Moscow. He supported Dmitry of Moscow and one of the specific princes of Tver - Kashinsky. As a result, according to the agreement of 1375, the golden label remained with the Moscow prince. The great princedom of Vladimir was recognized as the "patrimony" of the Moscow princes. Prince Mikhail of Tver called himself a vassal - "young brother" of Dmitry of Moscow.

There was another significant moment in the Moscow-Tver Treaty of 1375. “If God changes the Horde” and the Moscow prince begins to fight with it, then the Tver monarch should also oppose the Horde. So Moscow took the first step not only towards gathering Russian lands around itself, but also in preparing the struggle for their liberation from the Horde. In general, in the course of the rivalry for the golden label with Tver, Moscow strengthened its positions. The authority and strength of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich grew.

However, the main event of Russian history of the XIV century. was the Battle of Kulikovo. It was preceded by two clashes with the Horde. In 1377, Prince Arapsha (Khan Arab Shah) was preparing for an attack on the Nizhny Novgorod lands. Information about this leaked to Russia. A united army of Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Muscovites, Murom, Yaroslavl came out to meet Arapsha. Arapsha did not appear. The soldiers took off their armor. They began to hunt in the surrounding forests, had fun and feasted in the camp near the Pyana River. Prince Dmitry of Moscow decided that the Arapsha raid would not take place, and left for his capital. As a result, the unexpected attack of the Tatars led the Russians to defeat. Nizhny Novgorod, left without protection, was plundered. Other cities were also affected.

The next year, 1378, Mamai sent a new army to Russia under the command of Murza Begich. A battle broke out on the Vozha River. This time, the Moscow troops, led by Dmitry, acted in a coordinated and decisive manner. The Horde were defeated and fled. The defeat of the Tatars on the Vozha did not contribute to strengthening the authority of Mamai. Temnik was going to take revenge. He was used to power and did not want to lose it, and meanwhile, Khan Tokhtamysh, a protege of the mighty Central Asian Emir Timur, had already begun to gather the Horde uluses into his fist. Only a resounding victory gave Mamai a chance to resist in the fight against Tokhtamysh for the Horde.

Tokhtamysh was a descendant of Batu's brother - the Horde of Ichen. Expelled from the Zayaitskaya Horde, he regained its throne, and also seized the throne in the Volga ulus with the help of the Central Asian powerful ruler Timur Lang (Khromts), known in Europe as Tamerlane. The vassal of Tamerlane Tokhtamysh hoped to restore the unity and strength of the Golden Horde.

The decisive confrontation was approaching. In the fall, Mamai led a 150,000-strong army to Russia. In Cafe, a Genoese colony in the Crimea (modern Feodosia), Mamai hired a detachment of armored Western European infantry. Temnik also secured an alliance with the great Lithuanian prince Jagiello Olgerdovich and the Ryazan prince Oleg. But the allies were in no hurry to connect with Mamai, they waited. Jagiello did not benefit from either the strengthening of Moscow or the victory of the Horde. Oleg was forced to play the role of an ally in order to save his land from plunder. Ryazan was closest to the Horde. Oleg told the Tatars the fords on the Oka, and Dmitry Moskovsky about the Tatars' advancement path.

Numerous - up to 150 thousand - Russian army came out to meet the Horde. (True, many historians believe that the number of both Tatars and Russians is overestimated by the chroniclers). Never before has Russia led such a number of warriors to battle. Vigilantes and militias from many Russian lands went to the Don. There were no Tver, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Novgorod regiments among them, although it is possible that some residents of these lands participated in the battle on the Kulikovo field. From Lithuania, two brothers Jogaila came with regiments to support Dmitry - the eldest sons of Olgerd, Orthodox princes Dmitry and Andrei, who were sitting in Bryansk and Polotsk.

Dmitry of Moscow and his cousin Vladimir Serpukhovsky were blessed to fight the Tatars by the Russian ascetic monk, founder of the Trinity Monastery Sergius of Radonezh . Through his lips, the Russian Church for the first time called for the fight against the Horde. Perhaps that is why the memory of St. Sergius. Two monks of the Trinity Monastery in the past boyars - Peresvet and Oslyabya went along with the Russian army towards the Horde. The blessing of Sergius was very important for Prince Dmitry of Moscow. He had a conflict with the new Russian Metropolitan Cyprian. The prince expelled the metropolitan from Moscow, and he imposed an anathema (curse) on Dmitry.

The bloody battle happened on September 8, 1380 (By the way, some modern historians doubt that the battle took place on the Kulikovo field near the Don. This must be mentioned, since so far, despite all the efforts of archaeologists, no material has been found on the Kulikovo field " confirmation of the "battle: no burial grounds, no weapons - only one chain mail and a helmet. Some historians (for example, V.A. Kuchkin) suggest that the battle may have been in Moscow on Kulishy). In addition to Dmitry, he was directly led by the battle cousin Vladimir of Serpukhov and governor from the Galicia-Volyn land Dmitry Bobrok. The Russian regiments lined up in their traditional formation - the eagle. But at the same time, about a third of the troops were left in ambush and in reserve. The Russians burned the bridges over the Don at the suggestion of the Lithuanian princes, so that the weak in spirit would not be tempted to flee from the battlefield.

The battle began with a duel of heroes: the monk Alexander from the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (formerly a resident of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia, the Bryansk boyar - Peresvet) and the Horde hero Chelubey. The knights hit each other with spears, Chelubey fell to the ground, the horse of the Russian hero brought the dead rider to his camp.

Tatar horsemen went on the attack. They crushed the Russian Guard Regiment. Grand Duke Dmitry fought in the armor of a simple warrior in the Advanced Regiment. The soldiers of this regiment almost all fell. Dmitry was hardly found after the battle: the prince lay unconscious, crushed by a tree cut down in the battle. The Horde initially managed to break through the Russian left flank. They rushed to the rear of the Big Regiment. However, here the reorganized Bolshoi Regiment and reserve detachments blocked their path.

Then, unexpectedly, a numerous Ambush Regiment led by Vladimir Serpukhovsky and Dmitry Bobrok fell upon the Tatars. Mamai's nukers fled, sweeping away their own reinforcements. Neither the eastern cavalry nor the Genoese mercenary infantrymen saved Mamai. Mamai was defeated and fled.

The Russians stood up, as they said then, “on the bones”, that is, they left the battlefield behind them. They have won. Dmitry, nicknamed Donskoy since then, did not pursue Mamai.

Near the Kalka River, the remnants of Mamaev's troops were defeated for the second time by Khan Tokhtamysh. Mamai tried to hide in the Genoese colony of Cafe, but the townspeople killed the temnik, wanting to take possession of his treasury.

The prince safely returned with his army to Russia. True, the Russian regiments suffered considerable losses. The chronicler wrote: "Oskuda bo the whole Russian land from the Mamaev battle beyond the Don."

The victory on the Kulikovo field did not bring liberation from the yoke of North-Eastern Russia. Khan Tokhtamysh, who united the Golden Horde under his rule, demanded obedience from Russia. In 1382, he took Moscow by deceit, burned it and killed the inhabitants.

Dmitry Donskoy, confident in the fortress of the stone Kremlin, left the capital. Muscovites were going to fight, despite the fact that Metropolitan Cyprian, the grand ducal family and individual boyars fled the city. The townspeople chose as their leader the 18-year-old Lithuanian prince Ostei, who happened to be in Moscow. Ostei organized the defense, put “mattresses” on the walls (they were either stone-throwing machines, or already guns). Tokhtamysh's attempt to storm Moscow was repulsed. Then the Khan went to the trick. The Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes (brothers of the Moscow princess) who came with Tokhtamysh swore that the Tatars wanted to punish only the "disobedient" Prince Dmitry. And since he is not in the city, then the Horde will not touch anyone if the Muscovites voluntarily let the khan into the capital and bring gifts. Perhaps the Nizhny Novgorod princes themselves believed the words of Tokhtamysh. Muscovites believed and paid for it with their lives. The delegation with gifts led by Ostey was hacked to death, the Horde broke into the city through the open gates, killed people, and burned the city.

Other Russian lands also suffered from the invasion of Tokhtamysh. The cousin of Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir Serpukhovskoy, came out to meet the khan with an army. After the Battle of Kulikovo, he was nicknamed Vladimir the Brave. Without waiting for the battle with him, Khan Tokhtamysh went to the steppe, but the Russian principalities were forced to recognize again their dependence on the Horde.

However, over time (in the first half of the 15th century), the payment of tribute became irregular, and the khans almost did not control the fate of the golden yarlyk: the yarlyk was in the hands of the Moscow princes. The Golden Horde itself failed to restore its former unity and power. The horde was weakening and splitting. She was consumed by internal internecine strife. In the end, by the middle of the XV century. The Golden Horde broke up into the Crimean Khanate, the Kazan Khanate, the Great Horde, the Nogai Horde and the Siberian Khanate. The Great Horde claimed the legacy of the Golden, sought to rally the Tatar khanates again. From Russia, the Great Horde demanded tribute, but the Grand Dukes of Moscow and Vladimir rarely paid her a real Horde output. More often limited to the so-called "commemoration" (gifts). The question of the fall of the yoke has already become a matter of time.

Soon after the invasion of Tokhtamysh, Dmitry Ivanovich sent his son Vasily to the Horde to receive a label for him. After fulfilling the condition for the resumption of payment of tribute, the label remained with Dmitry. Before his death, he bequeathed the great reign to his son Vasily as a "fatherland". Vasily continued the policy aimed at expanding the Moscow principality. In 1390, he went to the Horde and bought a label for the Nizhny Novgorod principality there, in addition, Murom became part of Moscow. Ryazan was gradually drawn into the orbit of Moscow politics. The son of Oleg of Ryazan, Fedor, was married to Vasily's sister.

Nevertheless, with constant strife in the Horde, it was difficult for the Moscow prince to maintain good relations with the Tatars. After the invasion of Moscow in 1382, Tokhtamysh ruled the Horde for a short time. He quarreled with his benefactor - the Samarkand ruler Timur (Timur Lang (lame) - Tamerlane). Having strengthened himself in the Horde, Tokhtamysh decided not to be Timur's vassal anymore. He moved his regiments to the Horde. The alliance with the powerful Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt did not help Tokhtamysh either. Decisive battle on the river. Vorskla (1399) Vitovt and Tokhtamysh lost. In that battle, by the way, many heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo fell, for example, governor Dmitry Bobrok died.

During the struggle between Timur and Tokhtamysh, Russia was exposed to terrible dangers. In 1395, Tamerlane invaded its borders and burned Yelets. Everyone was terrified ... An army led by the Moscow prince came out to meet the enemy, but they hoped not so much for weapons as for prayer and a miracle. The battle did not happen: Tamerlane returned to the East, the Asian conqueror was attracted by the wealth of Asian countries. The Russians attributed good luck to a miracle created by the icon of the Mother of God. The forces of Russia were exhausted not by chance, the emerging union of Moscow and the Lithuanian prince Vitovt did not take place. The misfortunes did not end there. Timur's henchman, the Golden Horde Khan Edigey, ruined Russia in 1408. Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, Dmitrov, Serpukhov were taken. Around Moscow, the khan burned everything and captured thousands of people. But this time the white-stone Kremlin resisted and, having received a tribute, Edigey went to the Horde ...

For the most part, foreign researchers evaluate the results of Dmitry's reign modestly: the attempt to liberate Russia failed.

The majority of domestic scientists consider the time of Dmitry Donskoy a turning point in Russian history: the issue of a center uniting the North-Eastern Russian lands was resolved - Moscow finally became it. The nature of Russia's dependence after the Battle of Kulikovo began to change - the yoke was steadily weakening. However, even among Russian historians there are opponents of this view. Below are the arguments for both approaches.

N.I. Kostomarov about Prince Dmitry Donskoy and his time:

“The reign of Dmitry Donskoy belongs to the most unfortunate and sad eras in the history of the long-suffering Russian people. Incessant devastation and devastation, either from external enemies, or from internal strife, followed one after another on an enormous scale. Moscow land, apart from minor ruins, was twice devastated by the Lithuanians, and then suffered an invasion of the Horde of Tokhtamysh; Ryazan land - suffered twice from the Tatars, twice from the Muscovites and was brought to extreme ruin; Tverskaya - several times ravaged by Muscovites; Smolenskaya - suffered from both Muscovites and Lithuanians; Novgorod land - suffered ruin from the Tverites and Muscovites. This was joined by physical disasters (plague, droughts in 1365, 1371, 1373 and famine, fires)...

Dmitry himself was not a prince capable of alleviating the plight of the people with the wisdom of government; whether he acted on his own behalf or at the suggestion of his boyars, a number of blunders are visible in his actions. Following the task of subordinating the Russian lands to Moscow, he not only did not know how to achieve his goals, but even let slip what circumstances brought him; he did not destroy the strength and independence of Tver and Ryazan, he did not know how to get along with them ...; Dmitry only irritated them and subjected the innocent inhabitants of these lands to needless ruin; irritated the Horde, but did not take advantage of its temporary ruin ... did not take measures to defend against danger (in 1382); and the consequence of all his activities was that the devastated Russia again had to crawl and humiliate itself before the dying Horde.

CM. Solovyov about Prince Dmitry and his time:

“In 1389 he died Grand Duke Moscow Dimitri, still only 39 years old. Dimitri's grandfather, uncle, and father, in silence, prepared rich resources for an open, decisive struggle. The merit of Demetrius was that he knew how to use these means, knew how to deploy the prepared forces and put them to good use in time. The best evidence of the particular importance attached to the activities of Demetrius by his contemporaries is the existence of a special legend about the exploits of this prince, a special, decorated written life of him ...

Important consequences of Demetrius' activities are found in his spiritual testament; in it we meet a previously unheard of order: the Moscow prince blesses his eldest son Vasily with the great princedom of Vladimir, which he calls his fatherland. Donskoy is no longer afraid of rivals for his son either from Tver or from Suzdal ...

Speaking about the importance of the reign of Dimitriev in the history of North-Eastern Russia, we should not forget about the activities of the boyars of Moscow: they, taking advantage of the circumstances, defended the rights of their young prince and their principality ... The latter did not remain ungrateful to the people who so badly wanted him well ... »

Some time after the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the Russian people began to understand that it was no longer possible to be under the yoke of the Golden Horde. The first who dared to give a decisive rebuff to the invaders was the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich. Let's talk briefly about the Battle of Kulikovo and look at the calendar anniversaries that time.

Weakening of the Golden Horde

After the conquest of the Russian lands, the rulers of the Mongol-Tatar state - the Golden Horde - had no doubt that they had secured a reliable income for themselves. From now on, all Russian princes were obliged to pay a large tribute to the Horde khans - a payment for peace in their lands.

But over time, the once powerful and influential Golden Horde began to decline. Disagreements began to occur within it, a struggle for power began.

In the second half of the 14th century, an impressive part of the Mongol-Tatar state fell into the hands of the Temnik Mamai. In those days, a military leader was called a temnik, who led a tumen - an army of 10 thousand soldiers. Mamai turned out to be a strong and strong-willed person, and they obeyed him implicitly.

Rice. 1. Temnik Mamai.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the Moscow principality was gaining strength. For two hundred years, Russian princes regularly paid tribute to the Horde khans, but the situation changed when the grandson of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich, came to power. Seeing the weakness of the Golden Horde, he realized that the time had come for decisive action.

Preparing for the confrontation

Prince Dmitry was not going to recognize the dominance of the Golden Horde and pay tribute to the Tatars. Seeing no other solution to the issue, he began to prepare for a serious battle.

What have we learned?

When studying the report on the topic “Battle of Kulikovo”, we learned which of the Russian princes for the first time dared to resist the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Following the plan of the program of the 4th grade of the world around us, we found out who won the great battle of Kulikovo, and what significance this battle had in the history of Russia. The study of this topic will be useful for children in grades 3-5.

Topic quiz

Report Evaluation

Average rating: 4.4. Total ratings received: 1044.