Pets of the Empress. Charity for children and youth in the second half of the 18th - second half of the 19th centuries. The most important area of ​​work of charitable departments under the auspices of the House of Romanov was charity for children and youth. For the institutions of Empress Maria this

The Tver Principality separated from the Pereslavl Principality between 1247-50. The advantageous geographical position - distance from the Horde, convenient waterways, a large amount of free land - attracted fugitives here from other more dangerous regions of northeastern, northwestern and southern Rus'. The borders were drawn up already during the reign of Yaroslav Yaroslavich (1246-71) and his son Mikhail Yaroslavich (1271-1318). Tver became a major political center in the 13th century; in the mid-60s, the Tver Bishopric was created in Tver. In the early 80s of the 13th century, the first of the Russian cities of north-eastern Rus', after the Mongol-Tatar invasion, chronicle writing was revived, at the end of the 80s - stone construction (Savior Transfiguration Cathedral), the Tver pictorial tradition took shape. In the 70-90s of the 13th century, important political initiatives emerged: resistance to the Tatars and attempts to subjugate neighboring lands. Under Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich, these trends took shape in purposeful political activity; the period of his reign was called the “golden age” of the Tver principality. In 1293, during the Duden Army, Tver showed its readiness to fight the Tatars. But the policy of Mikhail Yaroslavich became especially active after receiving the label for the great reign of Vladimir in 1304. Tver began a stubborn struggle to establish control over the activities of the metropolitan, trying to place its representative at the head of the Russian church. The proposed relocation of the metropolitan department to Tver, if successful, would turn it into an all-Russian center and a support in the struggle for political leadership. The Tver prince tried to subjugate Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, and Moscow. But Mikhail Yaroslavich paid special attention to Novgorod, the establishment of control over which could be the beginning of the unification of Russian lands around Tver. The most difficult relations between Tver and Moscow were when the Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich, relying on the help of the Golden Horde, began the struggle for the title to the great reign of Vladimir. In this situation, Mikhail Yaroslavich reaffirmed his desire to escape the control of the Horde; On December 22, 1317, in the battle near the village of Bortenevo, he completely defeated the combined forces of the Tatars and the Moscow prince. In 1318, Mikhail Yaroslavich was executed in the Horde, and the label for the great reign of Vladimir passed to Yuri of Moscow. The new Tver prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Groznye Ochi continued the policies of his father. Since 1322, he managed to achieve the return of the label to the great reign of Vladimir, in 1325 he killed Prince Yuri in the Horde and in 1326, by order of Khan Uzbek, he was executed. But the label for the great reign of Vladimir still remained in the Tver princely house and passed to the second son of Mikhail Yaroslavich, Alexander Mikhailovich. On August 15, 1327, an uprising took place in Tver against Shchelkan, the temnik of Khan Uzbek (see Uprising in Tver 1327). It once again confirmed the readiness of the Tverites to take active action against the Horde and did not allow the Tatars to restore the institution of Baskaks in Rus'. However, the punitive campaign (Fedorchuk's Army), in which the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita took part, led to the complete defeat of the Tver principality, and for 3 decades Tver was excluded from active political struggle. From that time on, the label for the great reign of Vladimir was firmly entrenched in the Moscow princes. The failure of Tver in attempts to gather Russian lands is seen in the fact that the consciousness of the need to fight the Golden Horde and unify the lands was just emerging in Russian medieval society; conditions had not yet arisen in all Russian lands that would unite all layers of society to fight for a single state. But the very policy of the Tver princes at the beginning of the 14th century played a crucial role in the process of the formation of the Russian state. For the first time, the Tver Principality realized that the path to liberation from the power of the Golden Horde lay through the unification of the principalities in the fight against foreigners. The sovereign power of the Grand Duke was thought to be a guarantee of unification, and therefore liberation. The tough policy of the Tver princes in achieving this goal, the willingness to “suffer for their friends” became the main elements of the unification policy of Moscow in the 2nd half of the 14th century.

After the ruin of 1327, the Tver Principality experienced a period of economic and political decline. In 1339, 2 more Tver princes were executed in the Horde - Alexander Mikhailovich and his son Fyodor Ordynets. The initiator of the reprisal against them was Ivan Kalita, the Moscow and Grand Duke of Vladimir. It was during his reign (1325-40) and during the reign of his sons Semyon Ivanovich Proud and Ivan Ivanovich the Red that the political and economic strengthening of Moscow took place. The economic recovery that began in the Russian lands led to the strengthening of feudal land ownership and the growth of crafts and trade. All this forced the boyars, the church, the merchants, and the peasantry to seek unification around the most powerful Moscow principality. The situation of the Tver principality was complicated not only by problems associated with restoration, but also by the fact that in the 40-50s of the 14th century, internecine wars began for the Tver princely table between the Tver prince Konstantin Mikhailovich and his nephew Vsevolod Alexandrovich, the prince of Kholmsk. Mikulinsky. After the death of Konstantin in 1347, the Kashin prince Vasily Mikhailovich, who remained the eldest in the Tver princely house, intervened in the struggle. In 1352, with the help of Moscow, he managed to cope with Vsevolod and become the head of the Tver principality. His reign lasted until 1366, and then passed to Mikhail Alexandrovich, Prince of Kholmsko-Mikulinsky.

A new stage in the struggle between Moscow and Tver is associated with the name of Mikhail Alexandrovich (1366-99). The main goal of this struggle for the Tver prince was to regain political leadership. By the mid-60s of the 14th century, Tver managed to strengthen its economic position. However, Mikhail Alexandrovich failed to realistically assess his capabilities. Moscow was many times stronger economically, as evidenced by the construction of the white stone Kremlin by Dmitry Ivanovich Moskovsky. In addition, Moscow created a fairly strong alliance with other principalities and strengthened its position in the Horde. Starting the fight with Moscow, Mikhail Alexandrovich found himself practically without Russian allies, therefore, realizing the complexity of the upcoming struggle, he turned to Lithuania for help. From the mid-50s of the 14th century, an anti-Moscow alliance between Tver and Lithuania began to take shape, reinforced by family ties of the Tver princes with the Lithuanian princely house. In 1367-75, several bloody wars took place between Moscow and the Principality of Tver. During the hostilities, Mikhail Alexandrovich repeatedly turned to Lithuania for help. Russian chroniclers recorded three large campaigns (three “Lithuanian wars”) and several smaller campaigns of Lithuanians together with Tver squads on Russian lands. A powerful alliance of Russian princes formed around Dmitry Ivanovich, which organized a large campaign against the Tver principality in 1375. Its result was the signing of an agreement between Moscow and Tver. The Tver prince recognized himself as the “younger” brother of the Moscow prince. Tver was forced to abandon the fight for the label of the great reign of Vladimir. The Kashin prince gained independence. The agreement placed the Tver prince in vassal dependence on Moscow. However, this did not yet mean the liquidation of the independence of the Tver Principality. The main efforts of the Tver prince from the mid-70s were aimed at strengthening the internal position of the Tver principality: he waged a persistent struggle against the appanage princes, promoting the development of crafts and trade. His son Ivan Mikhailovich (1999-1425) completed what was started by Mikhail Alexandrovich. During his reign, the appanage system was liquidated, and the highest judicial power was concentrated in his hands. Ivan Mikhailovich's foreign policy was distinguished by extreme caution and prudence. All this prepared the economic and political flourishing of the Tver principality in the 2nd quarter of the 15th century, which occurred during the reign of Boris Alexandrovich Tver (1425-61). ). Surviving written sources confirm the rapid development at this time of construction, jewelry, bell foundry, cannon, iron-making crafts, trade, which Tver actively conducted both with the Russian lands and with Lithuania, the Horde, and eastern countries. The position of the boyars and monasteries, which received large grants from the Black Land Fund, was strengthened. Boris Alexandrovich was often called an autocrat, which indicates the strengthening of his position after the liquidation of the appanage system. Tver maintained close diplomatic ties with Lithuania and Western European countries. The new strengthening of the Tver principality coincided with the internecine war in the Moscow principality, which was waged by the Moscow prince Vasily the Dark (1425-62) with the appanage princes of the Galician house, first with Yuri Vasilyevich, and then with his sons Vasily Kosy and Dmitry Shemyaka. Boris Alexandrovich supported the Moscow prince in this fight. The union of Moscow and Tver was sealed by the marriage of the Tver princess Maria Borisovna and the Moscow prince Ivan III Vasilyevich.

After the death of Boris Alexandrovich, the Tver reign passed to Mikhail Borisovich (1461-85). His reign was a time of gradual subordination of the Tver principality to Moscow: the transition of the Tver boyars to the service of the Moscow prince Ivan III Vasilyevich began (1462-1505). The Tver prince was forced to participate in all military campaigns of Moscow, but continued secret relations with Lithuania. In September 1485, Ivan III with a large army besieged the Tver Kremlin. Mikhail Borisovich fled to Lithuania. On September 15, Ivan III entered Tver. Fearing unrest, the Moscow prince retained the principality and transferred it to his son Ivan the Young. Boyar Obrazey-Dobrynsky became the governor of Tver. After the death of Ivan the Young in 1490, Tver was given to the son of Ivan III, Vasily Ivanovich, and was governed as a separate fiefdom, and only after 1497 did the Tver principality finally become part of the Moscow state.

The stubborn and protracted struggle between Moscow and Tver began in 1304 with the death of Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich. Two candidates at once laid claim to the vacated grand-ducal throne: Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver and Prince Yuri Danilovich of Moscow. The Moscow and Tver principalities had an advantageous geostrategic position, which equalized the rivals in their chances for leading status among other Russian lands. The rulers of the warring parties used every opportunity to strengthen their own position and receive from the Mongols a label for a great reign. A large-scale punitive raid in 1293, known as Dudenev's army, ended with the destruction of 14 cities in North-Eastern Rus', including Vladimir and Moscow. Starting from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, the struggle between the two principalities entered an active phase, which was expressed, first of all, in the possession of the grand ducal label.

After the suppression of the Tver uprising, Kalita received the Monomakh hat

In 1305, the label ended up with the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich, who promised the khan to pay a larger tribute than the Moscow ruler Yuri Danilovich proposed. Inspired by success, Mikhail III decides to besiege Moscow, although it is unsuccessful, which is soon aggravated by the annexation of Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow, as a result of the decision made after the death of the childless Gorodets prince. The Tver prince spends the first two decades of the 14th century in military clashes with the troops of Veliky Novgorod for the possession of Torzhok, which end in receiving a significant payoff from the Novgorodians. At this time, Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich marries the sister of Uzbek Khan Konchaka, who soon converts to Orthodoxy - the great reign passes into his hands. Trying to take advantage, the Moscow prince sets off on a military campaign against Tver, enlisting the support of the Horde commander Kavgady and the Novgorodians. In 1317, not far from the village of Bortenevo, the Tver prince wins a decisive victory, capturing the wife and brother of the Moscow ruler (Konchaka soon dies in Tver captivity). Dissatisfied with the willfulness of the Tver prince, the khan summons him to the Horde, where he accepts the death penalty.

Monument to Mikhail Yaroslavich in Tver

An important milestone in the rivalry between the two principalities was the problem of the location of the metropolitan see - the actual center of Orthodoxy in the conditions of the fragmented Russian state. Of course, the presence and support of the head of the church greatly contributed to the growth of the authority of state power. In 1299, the then Metropolitan Maxim left Kyiv and moved to Vladimir. This decision was associated with the loss of its leading position among the Russian principalities due to the decline of trade on the Dnieper, although formally Kyiv remained an “aging city” and “mother of cities.” The metropolitan’s act displeased the Galician-Volyn prince Yuri Lvovich, who, not wanting to put up with a subordinate position to the Vladimir prince, sent his representative, Hierarch Peter, to Constantinople for initiation. However, Metropolitan Maxim unexpectedly dies, and the Byzantine Patriarch Athanasius ordains Peter as Metropolitan of All Rus'. At the instigation of the Tver prince Mikhail, who held the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir, a complaint was written to Constantinople, where Peter was accused of simony (distribution of church positions) and neglect of church obligations - facts sufficient for the deposition of the metropolitan. As an alternative, the candidacy of the Tver hierarch Gerontius was proposed. However, issues of church policy were the prerogative of the Russian clergy, and the Tatar-Mongol Baskaks provided the Orthodox Church with a special status, based on the khans’ use of the Christian idea of ​​humility.

The Tver princes, in alliance with the Principality of Lithuania, fought against Moscow

After the death of Metropolitan Peter, his successor was the Greek Theognostus, ordained in 1327 by Patriarch Isaiah of Constantinople. The new metropolitan begins to actively assert his power in the hope of uniting all of northeastern Rus' into a single diocese. He travels throughout the metropolitan area, building white-stone churches and the first grand ducal cathedral - the Transfiguration Monastery in Moscow. The conflict that arose in 1342 between Feognost and Khan Janibek is indicative here: the Baskaks spread a rumor that the Orthodox metropolitan was charging higher fees from the clergy, keeping excess income for himself. Theognost was subjected to torture in the Horde, and as a result was forced to distribute large sums of money to the khan's officials, however, he received confirmation from the Tatar-Mongols of all previous church benefits and preferences.

Ivan Kalita invites Metropolitan Peter to Moscow

In 1327, an uprising broke out in Tver against the Horde Baskak Cholkhan, a cousin of Khan Uzbek, who was in the city, who, according to chroniclers, “created a great persecution of Christians - violence, robbery, beating and desecration,” trying to take the Tver throne himself, and the local convert the population to Islam. During the riot, the people destroyed all the Tatars, including the Horde merchants - besermen. The then famous Moscow prince Ivan Kalita decided to take advantage of the weakening position of Tver and strengthen his political advantage. For military assistance in suppressing the uprising, Ivan was promised not only the coveted label, but also a significant reward. During the bloody raid known as Fedorchuk’s army, the united Russian-Tatar army destroyed many villages and cities, even reaching Pskov, where the fleeing Tver ruler Alexander Mikhailovich took refuge. Metropolitan Theognost openly exercised the right to excommunicate and curse those undesirable - the prince of Tver and the residents of Pskov who sheltered him were subjected to anathema, and the exiled rival of the Moscow ruler soon fled to Lithuania. By the way, it is the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that in the next century will turn out to be the main rival of Moscow, taking up the baton of the Tver Principality, which has lost its authority and military power.

In the 1360s, a plague raged in Rus', claiming the lives of the Tver nobility

The balanced policy of the Moscow prince, in which the suppression of the anti-Horde uprising played a significant role, led to Ivan Kalita becoming the sole ruler of North-Eastern Rus', who managed to build a centralized state and relegate Tver to a secondary role. In the second half of the 14th century, the Tver princes tried to enlist the support of the Lithuanian rulers in order to carry out the long-awaited revenge. So, in 1368, the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich managed to come to an agreement with the Lithuanian Olgerd Gediminovich, who, having gathered an army, moved to Moscow. The siege of the city was made difficult by the recently built white-stone Kremlin, which became a reliable defense against attacks from outside, and the invasion of the Lithuanian Principality of the Crusaders also played an important role, which threatened Olgerd with a war on two fronts. Mikhail Alexandrovich, however, managed to regain the Tver throne and restore the city, fortifying it with a wooden wall. Relying on the support of the Lithuanian ruler, the Tver prince in 1370 received from the hands of Khan Mamai a label for the great reign of Vladimir, which leads to a fierce confrontation with the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich. The very next year, Dmitry managed to conclude an agreement with Mamai, which entailed Olgerd’s next campaign against Moscow, which was stopped after the battle near the city of Lyubutsk, which was then part of the Bryansk Principality.

Portrait of the Lithuanian Prince Olgerd Gediminovich

By the beginning of the 15th century, the Tver principality had finally lost its former power, and in 1453, the local prince Boris even swore allegiance to Moscow, giving his daughter to the future heir to the Moscow throne, Ivan Vasilyevich. Having ascended the throne, Ivan III confirmed his ownership rights to the Tver principality, even despite the death of his first wife from the plague epidemic that then spread throughout Rus'. In 1483, the last Tver prince Mikhail Borisovich was widowed and decided to ask for the hand of the granddaughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV. After 2 years, Ivan III declared war on Mikhail, which ended with the signing of a peace treaty, limiting, first of all, the diplomatic freedom of the Tver ruler. This agreement was the last legal document of independent Tver. On August 21, 1485, Ivan III set out from Moscow with an army and artillery led by Aristotle Fioravanti, who was famous not only for the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, but also for his extraordinary skills in fortification work and the establishment of the Moscow Cannon Yard. Two days later, almost all the princes and boyars fled from the burned Tver. Mikhail Borisovich took refuge in Lithuania, and the city surrendered. Ivan III forbade the army to plunder Tver and the surrounding area, and on September 15 he himself entered the city and transferred the reign to his son Ivan the Young, the presumptive heir to the throne.

As you know, it competed with Moscow for a long time. The development of cities took place here in the 14th-15th centuries.

Tver itself should be classified as one of the largest urban centers of North-Eastern Rus'.

Originating at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. (first mentioned in the chronicle in 1209), Tver quickly became one of the most important cities in the second half of the 13th century. M. N. Tikhomirov believes that “the beginning of the 13th century is only the time when Tver was established as a city.” Since 1247, Tver became a princely center, and soon - the center of a bishopric. According to the Resurrection Chronicle, it even turns out that the city arose only after Batu’s invasion: “Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, after Batu’s captivity, came with his children and began to put the cities devastated by Batu in their place * and on the Volga he set up a city and its warriors with Tver along the Tvert* river, and Previously, there had been no hail in that place, and the planted sh

Tver your little son Yaroslav and from then on came the great reign of Tver." However, as suggested in the literature, we are talking here only about moving the city from the left bank of the Volga to the right.

Tver was located on important routes connecting Novgorod with. But the benefits of her position did not end there. They had an impact especially in the first period after the invasion of Byatya. Located in the region of North-Eastern Rus' farthest from the sites of Tatar invasions, Tver became a city in the second half of the 13th century. center of attraction for large masses of the population. The city grew rapidly, despite the devastating fires of 1276 and 1282. and by the end of the 13th century. was of much greater importance in North-Eastern Rus' than the still insignificant Moscow that was thundering at that time. In 1265, Tver already became a diocesan center, and in 1285, stone construction resumed in Tver for the first time in North-Eastern Rus' after a fifty-year break. There they began the construction of the cathedral church of the Savior. The construction of this church was completed only in 1288, and in 1292 it was painted.

At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. on Zagorodny Posad, the Tver thousand's Mikhail Shetsky built the Church of St. Mikhail, in which the Tver princes Mikhail Yaroslavich, Alexander Mikhailovich, Fedor Alexandrovich, who died in the Horde, were later buried.

In 1317, at the height of the struggle between Tver and the rising Moscow for the great reign, work began to strengthen the defense of Tver. Forced to cede the label to the great reign to Yuri Danilovich of Moscow, Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy “went to his homeland in Tver and founded the great city of the Kremlin.” In 1323 a new stone church in Tver was founded, and in 1325 the construction was completed. Fedora. Based on an analysis of the text of the Nikon Chronicle, N.N. Voronin suggested that the construction of the church could have been started by the wealthy Tver merchant Fyodor before his trip to Bolgar, where he later died. The Church of Fyodor Tiron was built in a monastery at the mouth of the river. Tmaki. In the same 1323, a chapel of St. was added to the cathedral of the Church of the Savior. Dimitri.

Subsequently, construction in Tver seemed to calm down, limited only to the decoration of the Cathedral Church of the Savior. In 1344, copper doors were built and icons were bound, in 1349 the altar was painted, in 1353 a new chapel of the Introduction was built and gilded crosses were installed on the cathedral and in the chapels, in 1358 another copper doors were installed, in 1359 Marble floors were built, in 1360 the chapel of the Introduction was painted, which became the bishop's tomb.

We again find new information about the fortification of the city in those years when the struggle between Moscow and Tver intensified. In 1369, a new wooden city was cut down in the fall in two weeks “and covered with clay.” In 1372, a ditch was dug and a rampart was built from the Volga to the Tmaka. The fortifications of the city were strengthened in 1387, when “near the city of Tferi, near the shaft of Rubish, the casing and land were poured.”

The rise in construction activity in Tver occurred at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, the time of strengthening of the Tver Grand Duchy. In 1382, the dome of the cathedral church in Tver was gilded. In 1395, new walls of the city were built, and in 1399, the restoration of the cathedral church was undertaken - “and having created stone cuttings from the burnt slab, and thus created a lot of stones, very cunningly renovated, and whitened the church, and you can no longer see much of the decoration, like the ancient ones, having fulfillment and whiteness for the first year.”

Back in 1394, the stone Church of Theodosius and Anthony was built, and in 1404 the stone Church of the Assumption on the river was founded. Tmaka, in 1407 a new bell tower was founded. N.N. Voronin believes that the range of buildings under Prince Ivan Mikhailovich was wider than is known from the documents: the Church of Ivan the Merciful, a huge pillar of the belfry at the Spassky Cathedral were built. But the construction activities of Ivan Mikhailovich in 1413-1421. not reflected in the chronicle. In 1421 the stone church of Theodore Tiron was restored, and in 1435-1438. another stone church of Boris and Gleb was built. In 1452-1453 Michael the Archangel Cathedral was built.

The defensive structures of the city were hastily strengthened in 1413, when Prince Alexander Mikhailovich, for the construction of Tver, “installed many Tferichs and Kashintsev and quickly cut down the borze,” and in 1446-1447. Boris Alexandrovich built new fortifications called Lyubovena.

In general, the scope of construction work in Tver XIV-XV centuries. clearly lagged behind Moscow construction, although it was very significant compared to other northeastern cities.

Tver was a large feudal center. Princely, episcopal, boyar, and monastic courts occupied the territory of the Tver Kremlin. Another part of the city grew under the walls of the Kremlin - the posad, or rather the posad, the center of a developed trade and craft life. The development of Tver settlements was studied by A. N. Vershinsky, the results of whose observations are as follows: “... the settlement - the craft and trade part of Tver - developed in four directions: to the south behind the Kremlin city, to the north beyond the Volga, in the northeast - beyond Tvertsa and to the west beyond the river. Darkness." There was a shopping area on the territory of Zagorodny Posad. In Zatmatsky Posad there was a Tatar guest house. Tver was a crowded city. In 1318, “the city of Tver caught fire, and a multitude of people quickly extinguished it, and more than half of the city burned, and six churches burned down”26. The indication that there were six churches in more than half of the city allows us to roughly imagine the size of the city of Tver. It seems that in this case we are talking about a fire in the city itself, and not in the suburb. Six churches in more than half of the Kremlin and “many people” create the impression of high building density and population density of the Tver Kremlin in 1318.

The chronicle also mentions the “countless multitude of people” in Tver under 131927. The streets of Tver suburbs were also densely populated. In Zatmatsky Posad in 1405, ?00 households burned down, in 1420 - 120. The size and development of the Tver Kremlin can be evidenced by the message about the fire of 1413, when “the city of Tver and the great prince’s courtyard burned, and the whole city and the entire wall, the churches burned 20.” Campenze even wrote, clearly exaggerating, that Tver is larger, more magnificent and more spacious than Moscow.

In the Tver chronicle there is a story about a certain “newcomer” who was at the end of the 14th century. amazed by the view of the city: “... I was surprised by the wise foundation of the hardness and strength of the walls, and the strengthening of the gates, and the bringing together of the pillars, and the decoration of the chambers... I myself did not enjoy that indescribable beauty”!

According to E. A. Rickman, Tver by the beginning of the 15th century. had approximately the same territory as in the 18th century. .

Written sources allow us to imagine the development of handicraft production in medieval Tver in the 14th-15th centuries. Metal processing, jewelry, weapons production, leatherworking, and construction crafts were apparently well developed in Tver. By the beginning of the 15th century. These are the first reliable indications of the existence of a complex foundry in Tver. Even under 1327 and 1339. Tver bells are mentioned, but their origin is unknown. In 1403, “the bell of the Holy Savior was poured down by Prince Ivan Mikhailovich and its voice was red.” Obviously, the Tver foundry workers were able to make an excellent bell, which speaks of their high art. The techniques of bell foundry and cannon casting were very close, and it is no coincidence that almost simultaneously we find evidence of the existence of cannons in Tver - in 1408 Edigei demanded that they be sent from the Tver prince for the assault on Moscow. The “Word” of the monk Thomas speaks about the Tver cannons of the mid-15th century, which participated in the capture of Rzhev. Foma writes with pride about the Tver cannon master Mikul Krechetnikov: “Such a master cannot be found among Germans.” The information from the chronicle about the work on decorating the Tver Cathedral Church, given above, allows us to think about the presence of the 14th century in Tver. copper foundry and jewelry production - typical for a large feudal center. The existence of gold and silver craftsmen in Tver is also evidenced by the fact that the Tver princes attached gilded silver seals to their charters.

The remarkable skill of Tver jewelers was embodied in the famous Rotina of Prince Boris Alexandrovich, studied in detail. In 1906, a treasure was discovered in Tver, the items in which date back to approximately 1430-1460. The items in this treasure were mainly chased silver, finely engraved. The types of crafts were varied: weapons, dishes. Tver jewelers made rich “settings” for icons and books, such as the Gospel of 1417.

Tver masters minted money (according to A.N. Vershinsky, since 1374), the names of these masters are known - Arefiev and Fedotov (XV century).

Archaeological work in the Tver Kremlin revealed the remains of blacksmith and tanner workshops. In the first of them, iron blacksmith's tongs, an iron chisel, an anvil, horseshoes, and nails were found, in the second - remains of leather, leather shoes, and work tools. The development of metal processing in Tver is evidenced by the fact that in the 14th century. Tver iron locks were sold even in the distant Czech Republic.

According to V. G. Borzakovsky, Tver residents of the XIV-XV centuries. They were also involved in shipbuilding. The boats of Tver merchants are mentioned in the chronicle story about the Novgorod attack on Torzhok in 1372. In Tver, as in all cities, pottery and construction crafts were developed. The level of development of these latter can be given by the number of construction works carried out in Tver in the 14th-15th centuries. Let us note that there were apparently no stone fortifications in Tver, although V.S. Borzakovsky suggested that one of the towers of the Tver Kremlin - Vladimir - was made of stone. M. N. Tikhomirov believes that this is explained by the desire of the Tver princes to primarily decorate the churches and their little concern for strengthening the city, which is what distinguishes the policy of the Tver princes from the Moscow princes in relation to their capitals. But the concerns of the Moscow princes about the strength of the city fortifications did not prevent them in the second quarter of the 14th century. to carry out the creation of an entire ensemble of stone churches in the Kremlin, and in the middle of the century - to begin painting them. And vice versa, the Tver princes, as shown above, repeatedly took energetic measures to strengthen the city. The Moscow prince with a huge army was unable to take Tver in 1375 - Tver was perfectly fortified. The point is not in the difference in attitude towards capitals - such

there was no difference, but in the real economic capabilities of both princes and cities. The scale of stone construction, associated with high costs and requiring a sufficient number of people, a corresponding level of development of many crafts, is a characteristic indicator for assessing the level of economic development. And the fact that only Moscow managed to construct a stone Kremlin cannot be considered the result only of differences in the policies of the Moscow princes - none of the princes would have refused more powerful fortifications if there had been a real opportunity to build them. Tver was poorer than Moscow in the 14th-15th centuries, the level of development of the Moscow economy was higher, and this should be the main explanation for the absence of a stone Kremlin in Tver.

However, second to Moscow, Tver was probably the most significant city in North-Eastern Rus'. Its position on the most important trade routes contributed to the intensive development of trade.

We find mention of the crowded Tver auction in the chronicle's account of the uprising of 1327. Tver occupied a prominent place in trade between Russian lands. One of the main trade routes of medieval Rus' in the 14th-15th centuries passed through Torzhok. - from Tver to Novgorod. In the Novgorod-Tver endings of this time we find repeated references to the mutual terms of trade between Tver and Novgorod.

Trade relations with Moscow were carried out in different ways - through Dmitrov or through Vertyazin - Klin, but they developed in the difficult political environment of the struggle between Moscow and Tver, which could not but negatively affect the development of Tver trade in this direction. When in 1371 he concluded a treaty of peace with the ambassadors of Grand Duke Olgerd Gediminovich of Lithuania, a condition was included in its text: “And between us, the Lithuanian ambassador, and our Smolensk and merchant, the path is clear. And with Ambassador Tfersky and ours, the path is clear between us. And describe the ambassadors, the Tferich have no business in our kingdom, in the great reign, and ours have no business in Tferi.” Thus, it was announced that trade relations with Tver would be severed. This break was one of the measures to undermine the power of Tver and, ultimately, to suppress it as a rival in the unification of Rus'. On the other hand, this indicates the developed Tver trade with Moscow and other cities of the center, the cessation of which was detrimental to the economy of Tver. When in 1375 the resistance of Tver was broken, a new treaty of Dimitri Ivanovich, according to which the Tver prince was forced to enter into an alliance with Moscow to fight the Golden Horde, first specifically stipulated the freedom of passage of Novgorod guests through the Tver principality, and then restored freedom of trade relations between Tver and Moscow. Freedom of trade with Moscow was also confirmed in the agreement between Vasily Dimitrievich and Mikhail Alexandrovich in 1396.

Tver was also one of the major centers of international trade. Tver was connected by trade relations with the Horde. When the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich was killed in the Horde in 1319, there were “guests known to him” who wanted to pay honor to the body of their prince. In 1327, during the great anti-Tatar uprising of Tver, “the merchants of the Khopyl guests were cut off,” “the old and new guests of Orda, like those who came with Shchelkan Dudenevich, cut them all off.” The famous journey of the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin, who was the first to pave the road from Rus' to distant India, speaks about the trade relations of Tver with the countries of the East.

Relations between Tver and Lithuania were very developed. The agreements between Tver and the Lithuanian-Polish state repeatedly confirm the order of trade between them. From the letters it is clear that Tver merchants visited Smolensk, Kyiv, Vitebsk, Dorogobuzh, Vyazma, Polotsk, Vilna, in turn, duties were taken from Lithuanian merchants in Tver, Kashin, Staritsa, Zubtsov.

Thus, we have reason to see Tver as one of the largest shopping centers of the 14th-15th centuries of international importance. It is no coincidence that it was in the Tver land that “Prague pennies” were discovered, which did not go further to the east. The chronicler, obviously, is not exaggerating at all when, when describing the funeral of Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich in 1399, he reports that “the guests were many from the countries of the former world”57. The chronicle also mentions the Tver guests themselves, for example, in 1339 in connection with the description of the farewell of Prince Alexander Mikhailovich to the Horde, when “his mother, and the boyars, and the guests, and the men of everyday life, and the whole city wept for him”58 .

Tver was a major craft and trade center in Rus' in the 14th-15th centuries. Economically, it was one of the leading Russian cities of that time, and this explains a lot when clarifying the reasons why the Tver princes were able to fight Moscow for so long and stubbornly.

From the second quarter of the 14th century. the role of Tver in the history of the northeastern Russian lands is clearly declining, despite certain periods of growth of its power at the end of the 14th century. under Mikhail Alexandrovich and in the middle of the 15th century. under Boris Alexandrovich. The role of the unifier of Russian lands was firmly assigned to Moscow. Not least important for resolving the historical dispute between Moscow and Tver was the difference in the level of economic development of these cities. An interesting and vivid description of the historical fate of Tver in the XIII-XV centuries. given by N.N. Voronin. With great justification, he writes: “Developing Western connections, Tver already at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century. acts as an antagonist to the Tatar government, while Moscow follows the path outlined by Alexander Nevsky. History justified Moscow's policy, and the two-century existence of the Tver principality turned into a tense and ultimately fruitless struggle with Moscow; Moreover, periods of power and the rise of the all-Russian authority of Tver were replaced by an increasing decline in its strength. Simultaneously with the rise or decline of social and political life, construction intensified or subsided”59.

Tver also has a prominent place in the cultural history of medieval Rus'. Such large monuments of literature and social thought arose here as the Tver Chronicle and the “Word of Praise” by the monk Thomas. Tver maintained church and cultural ties with Byzantium. The Vatican Library contains the Greek charter, which wrote “Thomas the Syrian within the borders of Russia in the city called Tver, in the monastery of the holy great martyrs Theodore Tyrone and Theodore Stratilates.” Commenting on this fact, N.N. Voronin noted that Thomas could have arrived together with Ivan Tsaregorodets and that “we see the appearance of a very curious cultural center in Tver, uniting people from Constantinople and the Orthodox East.” Tver architecture was “directly and directly dependent on the Vladimir-Suzdal artistic culture.” Painting in Tver was influenced by separatist political forces. aspirations of the local feudal nobility. Researchers of the history of Russian art note that “Tver, which fought with Moscow, persistently pursued its own line in art. Apparently, its artists were more willing to turn to Novgorod sources in search of living creative impulses.”

The second city of the Tver Principality was. The first mention of Kashin dates back to 1287, but the city “almost certainly existed already at the beginning of the 13th century.” . Kashin was located on important water and land routes of that time. The route from the Volga passed through Kashin and further along the Sestra and Yakhroma rivers to Dmitrov and Moscow. Kashin was important for Tver, as it covered it from the northeast. The troops of Grand Duke Dimitri Alexandrovich and his allies tried to pass through Kashin to Tver in 1289. They were unable to take Kashin, “having surrounded the city and stood for 9 days.” From this message it is also clear that Kashin already had a strong fortification system. Since 1339, Kashin became the center of the appanage in the Tver Principality.

There is little information about the internal history of Kashin. It is known that there was an Epiphany Monastery in Kashin, from where the church was moved “inside the city” in 1368. The cathedral church of the city was called Resurrection 66.

Kashinsky Posad is mentioned in the chronicles. An archaeological survey showed that Kashinsky Posad occupied a significant territory and was located under the walls of the fortress, covered by a loop of the river. Kashinki. At the settlement in the 15th century. there was a “yard with a clearing” of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, purchased from a certain Fedosya Kazarina and enjoying immunity rights. There were also the possessions of the Tver Otroch Monastery. The great trade importance of Kashin is indicated by the above-mentioned agreements between Tver and Lithuania, in which Kashin is named among the points where guests from Lithuania go. The grain trade in Kashin is indicated by the report of the famine of 1424, when in Kashin bread was sold at half a ruble for a shackle of rye. There is no information about the development of handicraft production in Kashin (except for the minting of coins), but the presence of a large settlement and the great importance of the city as a princely and commercial center undoubtedly indicate the presence of handicrafts in the city.

Kashin was the object of intense struggle between Moscow and Tver and more than once suffered severely from external invasions, internecine wars and epidemics. In 1321, Yuri Danilovich of Moscow made a campaign against Kashin. “Having come to Kashin Gachna Tatar with a Jewish debtor, inflict a lot of hardship on Kashin.” The anti-Tatar uprising of 1327, when “many Tatars were beaten in Tferi and other cities,” probably captured Kashin, where the population had shortly before experienced the Tatar “burden.” An indirect indication of this can be the fact that the punitive campaign of Ivan Kalita captured not only Tver, but also Kashin. In 1348-1349 A strife broke out between the Tver princes, which also captured Kashin. In 1365 Kashin suffered from pestilence, and in 1367 the prince approached Kashin

Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy. In 1371, the prince of Tver took an occupation from the city; in 1372, it was destroyed by Lithuania. In the fight against the Tver prince, the Kashin princes were guided by Moscow, with which Kashin, apparently, was connected to a certain extent economically. The Moscow princes supported the Kashin princes, trying to weaken Tver. In 1375, after the victory over Tver, Dimitri Ivanovich of Moscow forced even the Tver prince to recognize the Kashin principality as independent. Subsequently, the internecine struggle continued with great severity, and the Tver army, sometimes with the help of the Lithuanian army, more than once approached Kashin. Its fortifications, destroyed by fire in 1392, were completely restored; the whole city was “cut down.” During the civil strife of the Tver princes in 1405, Prince Ivan Mikhailovich “sent his governors to Kashin, and did a lot of evil through sales and robbery.” Kashin also suffered during the feudal war, when Shemyaka was “expelled” in 1453 F. attacked the city.

In the 15th century Kalyazin arose on the Volga. There is no data to judge whether Kalyazin existed in the 15th century. already as a city, or was it just a settlement around a monastery founded in the middle of the 15th century. .

Kosnyatin (Sknyatin, Ksnyatin) has been known in chronicles since 1148. In the XIV-XV centuries. he is mentioned very rarely. In 1288, the city was burned during the princely civil strife. Kosnyatin was mentioned among the possessions transferred by Mikhail Alexandrovich to his heirs in 1399. The sources do not provide information about the development of the city.

Under 1375, the chronicle mentions the “town” of Belgorod in the Tver Principality, taken by Moscow troops together with Zubtsov. An archaeological survey of the site where Belgorod was located led to the conclusion that Belgorod did not become a craft and trade center and did not exist for long as a fortress. In 1565 it was a village.

Vertyazin (modern Gorodnya near the Moscow Sea) was apparently a small feudal city. Vertyazin in the 15th century. was the specific center of the Kholm princes, and was first mentioned in the chronicle news of the division of lands and cities between the heirs of the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Alexandrovich according to his will in 1399. In 1412, “the fire of Goroden on the Volga and the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God and the court of the princes and many estates of the prince and life and the reserve of every fire.” In the spring of the following year, the city was restored: “... Prince Alexander Ivanovich Tfersky laid Goroden again and set up a lot of Tferich and Kashintsev, and it was quickly cut down.” The attention of the Tver princes to Vertyazin-Gorodnya was due to the importance of the city, which covered the closest approaches to Tver from below along the Volga. The indication of the presence of a princely court with all sorts of supplies depicts the city as a typical princely center. Archaeological data also indicate a certain development of crafts in Vertyazin, but, apart from coinage, these data do not yet allow us to imagine the development of crafts in Vertyazin in any concrete way. In the second quarter of the 15th century. In Gorodnya, a stone church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built, one of the remarkable monuments of Tver architecture that has survived to this day. An analysis of the artistic and technical features of the building led researchers to the conclusion that “in Gorodnya it was not the capital’s masters who worked, but provincial ones,” meaning Tver builders. Vertyazin-Gorodnya was apparently a small urban center of the Tver Principality.

The first mention in the chronicle of 1216 dates back to. This city was important not only for the Tver Principality, to which it belonged, but also, to a certain extent, for the entire Zalesskaya land, because it was located on one of the main routes to Lithuania. Lithuanian guests traveled to North-Eastern Rus' through Zubtsov, where traditional trade duties were collected from them. Lithuanian troops who were trying to invade North-Eastern Rus' also went to Zubtsov. The Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri Ivanovich well understood the significance of Zubtsov. While fighting against Tver, he took care to destroy Zubtsov and thereby break the connection between Tver and Lithuania. In 1370, a large Moscow army was sent to Zubtsov. “And standing for 6 days they took Zubtsov and burned the city; when it was finished, people released them wherever they wanted”90. The Tver prince soon restored the devastated city, and in 1375 the Moscow army again had to take Zubtsov; It is characteristic, however, that by this time it was called a “town” in the chronicle. In the 15th century Zubtsov was the center of the estate of Prince Ivan Yuryevich, who had clashes with the Moscow Grand Duke during the feudal war. Data on the development of Zubtsov as a craft center in the XIV-XV centuries. No.

When listing the possessions bequeathed by the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Alexandrovich, we meet Opoki under 1399. In 1403, fortifications were created there - “Prince Ivan Mikhailovich planned a city on the Volz River near Rzhev in Opoki near Zubtsov, but in one summer it was cut down, started by spring, and finished in autumn.” L.V. Cherepnin believes that the creation of fortifications in Opoki was caused by the desire of the Tver prince to strengthen his borders in connection with the transition of Rzhev to the rule of Moscow. The remains of the Opok fortifications were described by N. Ya. Makarenko. These remains were a settlement on a high and steep cliff of the Volga bank. Half a kilometer from the settlement, the remains of stone cutting were discovered - stone slabs with convex carved images of T-shaped crosses. The slabs date back to the 15th-16th centuries. and can give an idea of ​​one of the types of Opoka crafts.

Judging by the fact that sources rarely mention Opoki, they were not any significant city. But the significance of the feudal center of Opoki was retained until the very end of the 15th century. - in the Code of Laws of 1497 they are mentioned among the judicial and administrative centers of the Russian state.

New cities also arose in the Tver Principality. In 1297, “the city on the Volz, near Zubtsev, on Staritsa” was cut down. End of the 13th century was the time of the rise of the Tver principality, and the emergence of a new city at this time is easily explained. The foundation of Staritsa must be connected with the concerns of the Tver princes about strengthening the defense of their land. The oxbow covered the approaches to Tver from the upper reaches of the Volga. Archaeological work has shown that Staritsa XIV-XV centuries. was not only a military fortress, but also a craft center. According to N.N. Voronin, dating back to the 14th-15th centuries were found in Staritsa. remains of local crafts: keys to tubular locks, knives and other metal products. A locally cast copper cross was also discovered. There were master builders in Staritsa. According to N.N. Voronin, the first stone church was built in Staritsa simultaneously with the construction of ramparts already in the 60s. XIV century . After the fire of 1395, in 1397 the stone St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral was built in Staritsa, and in 1403 or 1404 another stone church appeared, built quickly - “one summer”. St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral was painted in 1406-1407. . In the treaty documents, Staritsa is mentioned among the Tver cities where duties were collected from Lithuanian and Novgorod merchants, which indicates the importance of Staritsa on trade routes.

Staritsa was an ordinary craft and trade feudal center in the Tver Principality. There is no information about its internal history.

In the middle of the 14th century. became the center of a special inheritance on the river. Shoshe. Subsequently, Mikulin turned into a small rural settlement, but in the XIV-XV centuries.

it was a small feudal city, well fortified, with trading and settlement. Mikulin was the center of the estate of one of the most powerful and energetic Tver princes, Mikhail Alexandrovich, which obviously played a role in strengthening the city and its development. Coins were minted in Mikulin. Preliminary archaeological excavations revealed the dwellings of local artisans, although there is no mention of either the craft or the settlement in Mikulin in written sources.

During the period of intensification of the struggle between the Tver princes in 1366, “the great prince Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tverskoy dressed up a new town on the Volz.” According to V.S. Borzakovsky, this is another name for Staritsa.

Apparently, Tver Hill was a small feudal castle, whose prince Vsevolod Alexandrovich led in the middle of the 14th century. internecine struggle with Prince Vasily Mikhailovich Kashinsky. After the strife stopped, “and people came to them from everywhere into their cities,” in 1358 Vasily Mikhailovich sent a complaint to the Horde against Vsevolod Alexandrovich, and the Horde extradited him without trial. “And Prince Vsevolod Alexandrovich suffered a great languor from his uncle Prince Vasily Mikhailovich, and so did the boyars and servants, and the sale and robbery came upon them, and also the sale of velia was given to the black people.” It is possible that after this “sale of vels” the Hill was completely deserted, since it is no longer found in the chronicles.

Under 1317, it was first mentioned in sources through which the path of Yuri Danilovich of Moscow and Kavgady went from Dmitrov to Tver. According to A. A. Spitsyn, Klin existed already in the 13th century. . Information about Klin in the XIV-XV centuries. A little. In 1408, when Edigei demanded that the Tver prince Ivan Mikhailovich come with cannons to the aid of taking Moscow, the Tver prince came out with a small army and returned from Klin, acting, in the words of the chronicle, “wisely rather than truly” 115. It seems that Klin was then the border of the Tver principality. In the chronicle of the same year it is said that Edi° gay “At the decree of the Holy Savior, the house of the Holy Savior took the Klinskaya volost and killed many people.” If the Klin volost belonged to the Tver bishopric, then one can think that the city of Klin was also its property. Perhaps this explains the fact that Klin is not mentioned in the surviving chronicle of the will of Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy of 1399, which lists the Tver possessions. In the “Word of Praise” of the monk Thomas it is said that the Tver prince Boris Alexandrovich restored the city “deserted for many years.” Probably, the city then passed from episcopal possessions to princely ones. Matvey Mekhovsky, in his “Treatise on the Two Sarmatias” of the early 16th century, says that the Tver principality formerly consisted of the Kholmsky Zubtsovsky and Klinsky appanages.

Let us note two more cities adjacent to the Tver Principality.

It was located at the border of Tver, Novgorod, Lithuanian and Moscow possessions. The first mention of Rzhev dates back to 1216. The position of Rzhev determined its military and commercial importance in the 14th-15th centuries. and contributed to its growth. Under 1376, the Rzhev settlements were mentioned. There was an intense struggle for Rzhev between neighboring parties, and the history of the transfer of Rzhev from hand to hand is not entirely clear. In 1408, when Rzhev became part of the Moscow possessions, “by order of the Great Prince, the wooden city of Rzhev was cut down.” In 1446, the Rzhevichs put up stubborn resistance to the Tver prince Boris Alexandrovich, to whom they gave Rzhev. The speech of the Rzhevichs was in the nature of an anti-feudal protest, judging by the text of the “Word of Praise” by the monk Thomas.

In the list of possessions of the Tver princes we also find Vobryn, which was probably only a feudal castle and not a city. There is no information about the development of Vobrynya.

Known since 1139120. The development of the city was determined primarily by its exceptional importance in trade between Zalesskaya land and Novgorod. The name of the city itself is characteristic, indicating its commercial importance. Already in the first half of the 13th century. Torzhok was a significant urban center. In the XIV-XV centuries. this significance of the city remained. Evidence from the chronicle speaks of the presence of Tver and Novgorod merchants in Torzhok, of the enormous wealth that was concentrated in Torzhok during trade relations and was lost during attacks on the city by rival parties. The city had stone churches and a large suburb. Moscow waged a stubborn struggle for Torzhok, and already under Ivan Kalita Torzhok was taken from the Novgorodians. When Semyon Ivanovich assumed the reign in 1340, the boyar-merchant elite of Torzhok turned to Novgorod for help in order to get rid of the Moscow governors. The Novgorod boyars agreed to oppose Moscow, but “the mob did not want it” in Novgorod. The “black people” of Novgorod did not want to fight the strong Moscow prince on the side of their boyars. The consequence of this was an uprising of “black people” in Torzhok itself against the boyars, who plunged the city into conflict with Moscow. Chronicle reports about these events depict Torzhok as a large urban center, where the activity of the townspeople is very significant, and internal contradictions reach great severity. The fact that the aggravation of the class struggle in Torzhok in 1340 R. was a direct response to the opposition of the “black people” to the boyars in Novgorod is no coincidence, because Torzhok was very closely connected with the Novgorod Republic and was for some time even in “mixed” possession with it Tver princes. It is therefore quite understandable that there was a veche in Torzhok, about which there are indications in the sources.

The construction of the stone Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Torzhok in 1365 speaks about the role he played in the development of Torzhok: “... by the intention of the God-fearing merchants of Novgorod, and by the pull of the devil” “X people and all men of devout Christians; Then in the winter this church was consecrated by Archbishop Alexey of Novgorod with the priest and deacons and with the kryloshan St. Sophia.”

The wealth of Torzhok, repeatedly mentioned in chronicles and acts - “bells, books, forge”, “icon skruta, gold and silver”, etc. - can hardly be considered to be of only local origin. It is more likely that many of these jewels were made in Novgorod, and partly in the northeastern cities, and came to Torzhok through trade and deposits in churches. Torzhok is depicted primarily as a large shopping center. There are no direct indications of the development of crafts in Torzhok, but this does not mean that there was no craft production in Torzhok at all. The very position of Torzhok as the largest shopping center suggests the presence in the city of at least all sorts of crafts that served the needs of the masses of people who flocked to the city. In addition, the presence of a settlement and numerous “black people” in the city indirectly indicates that Torzhok was not only a trade center, but also a craft center. .

Serious damage to the development of Torzhok was caused by the attack of the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich in 1372, when “the settlement was set on fire from the field near the city, and a strong wind struck the city with fire, and fire began to spread throughout the city, and soon the whole city and stone churches were burned, and many countless people soon perished, and others, fleeing from the fire, were stomped in the river; In one hour I saw the whole hail, and the wind scattered it, and it became nothing, scattering the bones of the dead.”

Comparing the general picture of the development of Tver cities with Moscow cities, one can notice that there were fewer developed cities in the Tver principality, and a number of cities mentioned by sources - such as Kholm, Vertyazin, Mikulin, Belgorod, Klichen and others - were hardly more than fortified feudal castles, as far as one can judge from the current state of the sources. Only Tver itself undoubtedly stood out among all Russian cities, but its pace of development turned out to be slower compared to Moscow. The lag of the Tver Principality in the development of cities can be explained, in particular, by the fact that in the current conditions the Tver cities did not acquire such all-Russian significance as the Moscow cities or the cities of the Volga region. The transition of political primacy in North-Eastern Rus' to Moscow and the separatist policy of the Tver princes in the XIV-XV centuries. put many Tver cities in a position somewhat isolated from the rest of the Russian lands. Of course, the rise of productive forces, the development of feudal land ownership and economy also took place in the Tver principality; they created the basis for the development of cities and even for the emergence of some new urban centers, as well as the material basis for the long and persistent struggle of the Tver princes against Moscow.

In general, the 14th and 15th centuries must be recognized as a time when the northeastern Russian cities not only recovered from the severe Tatar devastation, but also received noticeable development. This development was determined by the rise of productive forces, the growth of feudal land ownership and economy. It accelerated in the context of the struggle against an external threat and for the unity of Russian lands. At the same time, cities that received great military and political importance in the struggle for the unification of Russian lands and for their liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke developed especially intensively. The influence of military-political conditions on the fate of cities is undeniable, and the conditions for their growth cannot be limited only by purely economic factors.

One more circumstance can be noted that influenced the development of cities. As far as can be judged from the above materials, those few cities that were in the patrimonial possession of individual feudal lords did not receive any significant development. Gorokhovets, Klin, small princely centers in the Tver Principality and others remained extremely insignificant and it is not always possible to confidently classify them as cities rather than castles. It is characteristic that Boris Aleksandrovich Tverskoy had to restore the desolate Klin, which had been in the possession of the Tver diocese for a long time. The narrow economic development and political significance of these cities generated by the patrimonial framework did not allow them to become significant urban centers.

Of course, in all Russian cities of that time, including the most developed ones, in the XIV-XV centuries. patrimonial estates also occupied a very large place, which we will discuss in more detail below. But the overwhelming majority of cities had a certain amount of “black” population, not bound by personal dependence on individual feudal lords, and this circumstance had a very favorable effect on the development of cities.

We reviewed information about 68 cities of North-Eastern Rus' mentioned in chronicles and acts. Let’s add to this 5 more cities named in the “List of Russian Cities” and located in the territory under consideration: Berezhite, Mstislavl, Nesvezhsky, Bolonesk, Klichen, which we could not find in the sources of information.

Of this number, indisputable data as urban centers in socio-economic terms are available for the following cities: Rostov, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Polsky, Suzdal, Vladimir, Uglich, Mologa, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod, Galich, Ustyug, Vologda, Beloozero, Moscow, Dmitrov, Zvenigorod, Volok Lamsky, Mozhaisk, Vereya, Serpukhov, Kolomna, Tver, Kashin, Staritsa, Mikulin, Rzheva, Torzhok, i.e. in relation to 29 cities. Without any doubt we can say that this did not exhaust the number of urban centers of North-Eastern Rus' in the 14th-15th centuries. The absence of indications in surviving written sources cannot be taken as evidence that other cities were not such in socio-economic terms. Archaeological work, which has already provided a number of evidence of the craft and trade development of such points about which there is no indication of craft and trade in chronicles and acts, would be very helpful. Until this work is done, it is difficult to give a more or less accurate figure for the number of cities in North-Eastern Rus' in the 14th-15th centuries, but we can firmly say that not all of the seventy-odd points mentioned were cities. It is known that the villages of Bogolyubov, Kleshchin, Radonezh were transformed into the villages; the centers of the volosts, according to the terminology of the charters that clearly distinguished the cities, were Khotun, Lopasnya, Nerekhta and many others. A number of cities mentioned in the List were simply fortifications. In any case, the figure of 78 cities adopted in the “Essays on the History of the USSR in the XIV-XV centuries” cannot be considered justified.