Russia under the Old regime

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Moscow appanage carved out in 1276 for Nevsky's son, Danil Aleksan-drovich. Danil's son, Iurii, managed in 1317 to secure for himself the hand of the khan's sister and the title to Vladimir to go with it. Eight years later he was murdered by the son of the prince of Tver, whom the Mongols had executed at his, Iurii's, instigation, whereupon Moscow (without Vladimir and the Grand Princely title, however) passed to his younger brother, Ivan Danilovich, later designated Ivan 1 of Russia. The new ruler proved an extraordinarily gifted and unscrupulous political manipulator. By one scholar's estimate, he spent most of his reign either at Sarai or en route to or from it, which gives some idea how busy he must have been intriguing there.1 An astute businessman (the population nicknamed him 'Kalita' or 'the Moneybag') he amassed what by the standards of the time was a sizable fortune. Much of his income came from tolls which he imposed on people and goods crossing his properties, which happened to straddle several trade routes. This money not only enabled him promptly to deliver payments of his share of the tribute, but also to make up the arrears of other princes. To the latter he lent money against the security of their appanages, which he sometimes foreclosed. The poverty of Russian agriculture and its uncertainties made the life of the average tribute-paying appanage prince very precarious, placing him at the mercy of the richest of his relatives.

Ivan's most serious rival for Mongol favour was the prince of Tver, who, after Ivan's elder brother Iurii's death, had succeeded in wresting from Moscow the title of Great Prince. In 1327, the population of Tver rose against the Mongols and massacred a high-level deputation sent from Sarai to oversee the collection of the tribute. After some hesitation, the prince of Tver sided with the rebels. As soon as this news had reached him, Ivan left for Sarai. He returned as the head of a combined Mongol-Russian punitive force which so devastated Tver and a great deal of central Russia besides that the region was not yet fully recovered half a century later. As a reward for his loyalty, the Mongols invested Ivan with the title of Great Prince, and appointed him Farmer General of the tribute throughout Russia. This was undoubtedly an expensive privilege since it made Ivan responsible for the arrears and defaults of others, but one that offered him unique opportunities for meddling in the internal affairs of rival appanages. Control of the tribute meant in effect monopoly of access to the khan's court. Taking advantage of it, Ivan and his successors forbade the other princes to enter into direct relations with any other state, the Horde included, except through the agency of Moscow. In this manner, Moscow gradually isolated its rivals, and moved to the forefront as the intermediary between the conqueror and his Russian subjects. The Mongols had no cause to regret the favours they had heaped on Ivan. In the twelve remaining years of his life, he