Aristocrat Marfa Boretskaya was the lastPosadnyy Novgorod. She led the struggle of citizens against the Moscow Prince Ivan III, who still subjugated the ancient republic and made it part of a single Russian state.
The person of marfa
Martha Boretskaya was born in Boyarfamilies. Her date of birth is not exactly known, information about childhood and youth is also not preserved. She got into the chronicles as the wife of the Novgorod mayor Isaac Boretsky, from whom she got her last name. The husband died in the second half of the 50s of the XV century (the latest information about him dates back to 1456). He left a lot of money and land for his wife. All these resources allowed Martha to become one of the most influential figures in the public life of Novgorod.
In the story, this woman is known as the “grader”however, Boretskaya never formally had such a title. It was just a mocking nickname given to her by Muscovites who hated her as a principal enemy. Nevertheless, it can be said for sure that Martha was the de facto ruler of Veliky Novgorod from 1471 to 1478. This was the last days of independence of the republic, when she fought with Moscow for sovereignty.
Fame in Novgorod
For the first time, Martha Boretskaya declared herself asimportant political figure, when in 1470 the elections were held local archbishop. She supported Pimen (and tried to defend his candidacy with the help of gold), but in the end a Moscow protege was chosen — Theophilus. In addition, the new archbishop should have been consecrated in the capital of Ivan III, and not in Kiev, as has always happened before.
Marfa could not forgive such an insult, and from thatmoment began to establish contacts with the Lithuanian party in Novgorod. This political movement supported the rapprochement of the city with the Grand Duke from Vilnius, and not the Moscow ruler. Such a position contradicted the conditions that were agreed upon during the signing of the Yazhelbitsky peace.
Эта бумага была подписана в 1456 году (еще при father of Ivan III - Vasily the Dark). The treaty established the dependence of Novgorod on Moscow with the formal preservation of the old institutions and orders (veche, title of mayor, etc.). The conditions have somehow been fulfilled for many years. It was a compromise between the powerful influence of Moscow on all the Russian lands and the old republican system of Novgorod.
Polish supporter
Marfa Boretskaya decided to go againstestablished order. It was she who led the boyar opposition against Ivan III and sought support from the Polish king Casimir IV (Poland and Lithuania existed within the framework of a union concluded among themselves). Marfa sent an embassy to a foreign monarch with her own money, asking him to accept Novgorod as an autonomy in her possession. The conditions were agreed, and the governor - Mikhail Olelkovich arrived in the city. These events infuriated Ivan III. In 1471, he declared war on Novgorod.
Preparing for war
Before sending troops to the north, Ivantried to resolve the conflict through diplomacy. He turned to the help of an authoritative mediator in the face of the Church. The Moscow Metropolitan went to Novgorod, where he rebuked his inhabitants and Martha for betraying Moscow. He also urged to abandon the union with the Catholic state. Such an act could be regarded as a departure from Orthodoxy.
Чем знаменита Марфа Борецкая?His intransigence. She refused to make concessions to the enemy. Learning of this, Ivan III declared a crusade against Catholic dominance in Orthodox Novgorod. Such a slogan allowed him to gather quite a few supporters, including Pskov, ustyuzhan and Vyatichi, who in a different situation could refuse to help Moscow. The army went on a campaign even though the Polish governor, Mikhail Olelkovich, left the banks of the Volkhov and left for Kiev.
The characteristic of Marfa Boretskaya was also inthat she did not give up at times of terrible danger. An army was also assembled in Novgorod. His organization did not pass without the participation of Marfa. In addition, her son Dmitry, who was then a formal posadnik himself, was in the army.
Shelon Battle
Moscow Army under the leadership of the famousCommander Daniil Kholmsky and Fyodor Pestroi captured and burned the important fortress of Rusu. After this success, the squad stopped to wait for reinforcements from Pskov. At the same time, additional Moscow regiments joined the Tver detachment and also headed north.
Новгородское войско включало в себя 40 тысяч person. It went in the direction of Pskov, to prevent his army from uniting with Kholmsky. Moscow voivod guessed about the plans of the enemy and moved him to intercept. On July 14, 1471, Kholmsky with a surprise attack struck the Novgorod army that was not expecting it. This battle is known in historiography as the Battle of Shelon (after the name of the river). Kholmsky had under his command half as many people as the people of Novgorod, but his stunning blow determined the outcome of the confrontation.
Thousands of Novgorodians died. The son of Martha - Dmitry Boretsky - was captured and soon executed for treason. Defeat made the inevitable fate of Novgorod.
Korostynsky world
Вскоре был заключен Коростынский мир (11 августа 1471). By its terms, Novgorod fell into even greater dependence on Moscow. So, his government had to obey the Grand Duke in matters of foreign policy. This was an important innovation, as it took away from Novgorod the opportunity to have any diplomatic contacts with Poland and Lithuania. The Grand Duke of Moscow also now submitted to the city court. In addition, the Novgorod church became an integral part of the united metropolis. The main local government, Veche, could no longer make decisions on its own. All his letters were certified by the Grand Duke, and Moscow seals were put on papers.
Nevertheless, in Novgorod remained decorativesigns of the old order when the republic still dominated here. The Grand Duke did not touch Martha; she remained at home. Huge concessions to Moscow did not change her plans. She still dreamed of getting rid of dependence on Ivan III. But for some time a fragile peace reigned between the parties.
Abolition of Novgorod independence
Moscow knew that it was building against Ivanthe intrigues of the boyar Novgorod elite and personally Marfa Boretskaya. Posadnitsa continued to try to establish contacts with Casimir, despite the execution of her own son and defeat in the war. Ivan Vasilievich closed his eyes for a while on what was happening in the north, as he had many other concerns - for example, difficult relations with the Tatars.
However, in 1478, the prince finally freed himself fromother concerns and decided to do away with the Novgorod freemen. Moscow troops arrived in the city. In this case, no organized serious resistance did not arise. According to the order of Ivan III, the boyfriend Marfa Boretskaya was deprived of all her lands and had to go to Nizhny Novgorod and become a nun in the local monastery. The main symbols of the freedom of Novgorod were destroyed: the chamber was canceled, the veche bell was taken away. In addition, Ivan expelled from the city of all the boyars, who were suspected of rejection of his power. Most of them settled in Moscow - closer to the Kremlin, where their influence was reduced to nothing. The people who were loyal to Ivan Vasilyevich went to Novgorod, and they occupied the main posts and were able to peacefully make it part of the united Russian state.
Fate of Martha
Marfa Boretskaya, whose biography as a politicianended, really was in the monastery. In the tonsure she took the name of Mary. The former aristocrat died in 1503 in the Conception Convent, which from the 19th century began to be called Holy Cross. The image of Marfa Boretskaya immediately became an integral part of Russian folklore. The chroniclers often compared this woman with other important political figures of the weaker sex - Eliya Eudoxia and Herodiara.
