Ivan Kalita �Grand Duke of Vladimir
Assumption Cathedral
Ivan Kalita, XIV century.
Grand Duke Ivan I Daniilovich,
portrait from the "Royal Titular" of the XVII century
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Grand Duke Ivan I Daniilovich Kalita is one of the sons of Daniel of Moscow, the ancestor of the Moscow line of Rurikovich. Grand Duke of Moscow and Novgorod, as well as the Grand Duke of Vladimir.
After the death of his father, he became the right hand of Yuri Danilovich, actually being a co-ruler during his brother's numerous trips to the Horde and supporting him in the conflict with the Tver Principality. After the murder of his brother in the Horde by the Prince of Tver and the loss of control over the great Vladimir principality for the Moscow dynasty, Kalita was able to take advantage of the anti-Horde uprising in Tver and led the khan's punitive detachments, with which he dealt with a competitor.
For close cooperation with the Golden Horde, Ivan I received not only a grand ducal label, but also the right to collect tribute for the khan in other principalities. Having closed such significant financial flows on himself, the prince did not disdain to forcibly collect tribute due to the Horde from the already heavily ravaged Russian lands, some of which he appropriated and directed to strengthen his own position – temples and monasteries were built, the defense of Moscow was strengthened
Separately, it is worth highlighting the successful transfer of the religious center from Vladimir to Moscow – this was another confirmation of the capital's status, as well as a significant political factor.
In general, the reign of Ivan I can be considered a logical continuation of the policy of his predecessors. Kalita was engaged in diplomacy and construction, continuing to develop the foundations of the power of the principality laid by his father Daniel Alexandrovich – the construction of monasteries, increasing the attractiveness of Moscow lands for immigrants, strengthening the protection of newly formed lands.
Separately, it is worth noting that the prince used the Orthodox Church to solve foreign policy issues, the center of which was finally moved to Moscow during his reign — in 1329, at his request, the metropolitan excommunicated not only Prince Alexander Mikhailovich of Tver, but also the entire city of Pskov, in which he took refuge. Subsequently, according to Kalita's accusations, Alexander and his son Fyodor were killed in the Horde.
Promising additional payments for the support of the Horde, Kalita went to the aggravation with the Novgorod Principality and demanded a new tax — "Zakam silver". After the refusal of the Novgorodians, Muscovites occupied several border towns, and Novgorod's attempts to negotiate with the Lithuanian principality were stopped by Kalita with the help of the dynastic marriage of the eldest son of Semyon with the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Gediminas.
The last major event of Kalita's reign was the campaign against Smolensk, in which the Horde troops and the princes of Zalessky participated. The horde and their vassals plundered the Smolensk land and retreated, capturing a large number of prisoners and loot.
The internal policy of Ivan I, in fact, continued the course of his predecessors (brother and father) to strengthen the position of the Moscow Principality as the center of Northeastern Russia. The large–scale construction of temples and monasteries around Moscow, which began under Daniel Alexandrovich, was continued and brought one of the main successes during the reign of the prince - the transfer of the religious center from Vladimir to Moscow took place.
It is known that at the beginning of 1340, �Kalita, who had been ill for a long time, took �monastic vows under the name Ananias. On March 31, he died and the next day was� buried in the Archangel Cathedral in Moscow.
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