Ivan III Notecards- 1462-1505

Military opinions by people of Ivan's time- source 3

" Ivan is a strange man; he stays quietly at home and triumphs over his enemies, while I, though always on horseback, cannot defend my country." -Stephen of Moldavia Ivan used careful, defensive, military tactics to stall and wear down enemy forces.

Ivan's relations with Tatars- peoples' complaints of Ivan III's military style

" he has overtaxed us, and refused to pay tribute to the Horde, and now that he has irritated the Khan, he declines to fight." Ivan rebelled against the Mongols, he even destroyed a picture of the Khan. He also refused the Khans offer to leave him alone if he kissed the Khan's stirrup. The passive aggressive method confused Ivan's people and advisers. Ivan ended up surrendering, leaving the Horde and Khans to fight and weaken each other.

The Sudebnik- government officials -source 4 (translated Sudebnik)

"Article 1. Boyars and major-domos are to administer justice. Secretaries (djaki) also shall be present at the court of boyars and major-domos. Neither the boyars, the major-domos nor the secretaries are to receive bribes for a judgement or participating in the judging of a case. Likewise no judge is to receive a bribe for a judgement. And no one is to use the court for purposes of [personal] revenge or favor.

The Sudebnik- boyar policy towards plaintiffs- source 4 (translated Sudebnik)

"Article 2. And if a plaintiff shall come to a boyar, he is not to dismiss the plaintiffs [sic], but shall give a hearing in all matters to all plaintiffs for whom it is proper. But whenever there is a plaintiff whom it is not proper for him to hear, he shall inform the Grand Prince or send him (the plaintiff) to whomever has been ordered to administer such people."

The Sudebnik- judicial officials payment methods- source 4 (translated Sudebnik)

"Article 3. Both the boyar and secretary are to take from the guilty party, whether plaintiff or defendant, out of a ruble case: the boyar two altyns, the secretary eight dengi. And if the case involves more than a ruble or less, the boyar shall take [fees] in the same proportion."

The Sundebnik preference towards Russian orthodoxy- source 4 (translated Sudebnik)

"Article 59. And a priest, and a deacon, and a monk, and a nun, and a sexton, and a widow, who are sustained by God's church, are to be judged by a bishop or his judge. And if a layman [is in litigation] with a church man, then a joint court shall decide the case. And if a widow is not supported by the church, but lives in her own home, then she shall not be under ecclesiastical jurisdiction."

The Sudebnik- harsh principles concerning slavery- source 4 (translated Sudebnik)

"Concerning Thieves Article 10. And if a thief be caught stealing in any way for the first time, except [in the case of] temple robbery and kidnapping [or theft accompanied by murder?] and there has been no previous accusation of other theft made against him, then he shall be punished on the market place, flogged with the knout and made to pay plaintiff's damages, and the judge shall sell him? /impose a fine upon him. And if the thief has no property with which to pay the sum at issue, then, after flogging him with the knout, they shall give him over to the plaintiff in slavery to make good plaintiff's loss, and the judge shall take nothing from him. Article 11. And if a thief be caught a second time stealing, then he shall be executed and the sum at issue paid from his property, the remainder of his property going to the judge. And if he has no property sufficient for the satisfaction of the plaintiff's loss, he shall [nevertheless] not be given up to the plaintiff [in slavery] to cover his damages, but shall be put to death."

Ivan III's personality- source 5 page 16

"Moreover he was so hostile to women that if any woman met him by chance, they almost fainted with terror at the sight of him. No access was allowed to him for poor men, who were oppressed by the more powerful or unjustly treated; he generally drank so excessively at dinner as to fall asleep, and while his guests were all struck with terror sitting in silence, he would awake, rub his eye, and then first begin to joke and make merry with them." -Sigismund von Herberstein, envoy of the Holy Roman Emperor to Muscovy

Ivan III- methods of control- fear in people

- women fainted when they saw him -killed and punished family members who betrayed him -mutilated sons advisory -burned 2 poles alive in a cage -whipped a prince Some called him "terrible" (but his grandson is more well known as Ivan the terrible)

Ivan III's family rebellion- source 1 and 2

Ivan dealt with his family rebelling against him. His two brothers both tried to take power away from him(1) while wife made plans against him to bring her son into power (2). He took away his brothers' land after they fought against him (1). His uncle Vasily also tried to rebel again (2). He disgraced his wife and uncle, but kept Dimitry (son) as his heir.

Ivan's reforms- source 6

Ivan increased connection with western Europeans, bringing western European medicine, art and architecture. Ivan instituted his new law code- that allowed torture for information and created the base of serfdom. He also increased and expanded taxes to help support the growing territory, (upsetting his people).

Ivan III's young life and general political experience- source 5 page 17

Ivan started building his political experience very young, allowing him to become a great leader of Russia. When he was Ivan had already been politically restrained. By 8 Ivan was helping his father rule. He had already led a military mission before he was 12 years old. At 12 he was also married to Princess Maria of Tyver.

general domestic policy- source 2

Ivan took power and land away from princes and boyars while executing any treasonous boyars in an attempt to progress towards the "pomestie system" in which land was given to those who had served the grand prince with the most loyalty and time (tenure).

military achievement control of Novgorod- source 3

Ivan with support from the church fought with the king of Poland with support from the Marfas for control of Novgorod. Ivan then attacked Novgorod and won. His soldiers cut off the noses and lips of the defeated enemy. Novgorod then caved into Muscovite control.

Ivan's relations with Poland and Lithuania- source 3

Ivan's Russian orthodox people did not mix well with the catholic people of Lithuania and Poland. A marriage between Ivan's daughter and Alexander (polish king) was made as a peace attempt. However, Ivan and his daughter were unable to accept the Polish/Lithuanian culture, resulting in further tension between the two powers.

Ivan's late reign- source 2

Ivan's death brought little sadness to the people for he was a harsh, antisocial, ruler. He died before he could conclude the wars with Lithuania and his attempts to make the church lands religious also failed.

young Ivan III's family turmoil- source 1

Ivan's father, Vasily, fought for power with Ivan's great uncle (Vasily's uncle). Vasily's uncle (and cousins) blinded Vasily and took Ivan prisoner. Vasily eventually regained power and trained Ivan before passing the power down to him.

historians opinions of Ivan III- source 2

Most historians recognize Ivan's success in unifying Russia and building their military, however not all recognize him as great. Ivan was not well-liked by his people due to his "cold calculating personality" and loose morals, and materialistic nature (women and food). He was described as "tall and thin with a slight stoop", showing how his people and historians tend(ed) to view his personality.

Russia's military state before Ivan- source 1 and 3

The Lithuanian empire and the Mongols trapped Russia, the small state that Ivan III would come to rule, between them. Novgorod and Pskof's support vacillated between Moscow and Lithuania. The appendages (grand princes of Moscow) made Russia unified by ruling harshly. (source 3) They were forced to pay taxes and labor to the Tatars (khans of the golden horde) (source 1).

The purpose of the Sudebnik - source 5 page 19

The Sudebnik outlawed "armed rebellion and conspiracy against the sovereign capital" It's purpose to unify Russian and improve the law system, now that Muscovy had expanded so much.

The Sudebnik multipurpose- source 7 pages 326-327

The Sudebnik's purpose was not to collect money by charging for judicial trials. In fact, the purpose was to make sure judges did not get paid to much and reduce corruption within the judicial system. Few articles in the Sudebnik actually provided revenue directly to the government.