On October 12, 1350, a son Dmitry was born in the family of the future Prince of Moscow and Grand Duke of Vladimir Ivan II.

The boy's father died when he was only nine years old.

The young prince was educated by the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia Alexy, a supporter of the idea of ​​uniting Russia under the leadership of Moscow, which, according to historians, largely determined the future policy of Dmitry Ivanovich.

Grand Duke

From childhood, the young prince took an active part in the political life of North-Eastern Russia.

In 1360-1361, he made two trips to the Horde, trying to get a label for the great reign, but was able to do this only in 1362.

And soon he had to fight for his status with Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich, who for some time ruled the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and did not want to cede the throne to a young relative.

“Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow principality has been the center of attraction for the Russian lands.

It was already rich and authoritative, and the actions of competitors were putting it all at risk.

Relying on the support of Alexy, who became the second father for the prince, Dmitry Ivanovich was able to return and retain the grand princely throne, "said Evgeny Spitsyn, a historian, adviser to the rector of Moscow State Pedagogical University, to RT.

After the victory of Dmitry Ivanovich in the struggle for grand-ducal status, the Vladimir, Dmitrov and Galician principalities were declared the hereditary possessions of the Prince of Moscow.

And with Dmitry Konstantinovich Dmitry Ivanovich made peace, helped him in the fight against neighbors and married his daughter Evdokia.

"Having survived a great fire in Moscow in 1365, Dmitry Ivanovich decided to erect a white-stone Kremlin in his capital, which became the first stone fortress in North-Eastern Russia and dramatically raised the defensive potential of the Moscow principality," the scientific director of the Russian military Society Mikhail Myagkov.

In the future, Dmitry Ivanovich had to oppose the claims to the Vladimir throne by the prince of Tver Mikhail Alexandrovich, who was the father-in-law of the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Olgerd.

Around the same years, Lithuania seized part of the territory of South-Western Russia (modern Central Ukraine), and its rulers feared that the Moscow branch of the Rurikovichs would claim their rights to these territories.

The friction between Moscow and Mikhail Alexandrovich was another factor that negatively affected the relations between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Dmitry Ivanovich.

Subsequently, this resulted in a series of military clashes.

  • Dmitry Donskoy stamp

  • © Wikimedia

The time of Dmitry Donskoy's rise to power coincided with the internecine struggle in the Golden Horde.

The actual ruler of the territories between the Volga and the Dnieper was the Horde temnik and the son-in-law of Khan Berdibek Mamai.

Mamai tried to support Mikhail Tverskoy in the struggle for grand-ducal status in Russia, but these attempts were unsuccessful.

Taking advantage of the difficult situation in the Horde, Dmitry Ivanovich stopped paying tribute to the Horde, pursuing an increasingly independent policy.

In 1374, a congress of Russian princes was held in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, at which an anti-Horde coalition was actually created.

In 1378, in the battle on the Vozha River, Russian troops defeated the Horde punitive units that were going to Russia in order to force Moscow to pay tribute again.

“The victory on Vozha inspired the Russian princes, who felt that the Horde people could be successfully beaten,” said Yevgeny Spitsyn.

  • Battle on the Vozha River

  • © Wikimedia

The road to independence

According to historians, the issue of control over Northeastern Russia for Mamai was associated with both material interests and a political factor - Moscow's refusal to obey undermined his authority in the Horde.

“To maintain power, Mamai needed revenge.

Therefore, in 1380, he decided to lead a huge army to Moscow, ”said Mikhail Myagkov.

As the expert noted, Mamai was preparing for the campaign thoroughly: he entered into an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Jagiello and hired heavy Genoese infantry.

Having learned about the approach of Mamai, Dmitry Ivanovich began to gather an army.

Many principalities and cities responded to his call.

And even from those political associations that did not want to support Moscow officially, detachments of volunteers came forward to help Dmitry Ivanovich, according to a number of testimonies.

At the same time, the Grand Duke decided not to wait for the Horde in Moscow and came out to meet them.

The prince chose a place for the battle, bounded by the Don, Nepryadva and Beautiful Sword rivers, known as the Kulikovo field.

Its relief deprived the Horde cavalry of the opportunity to deliver flank attacks on the Russian regiments.

During the formation of the troops, the Grand Duke created a reserve and hid the ambush regiment in the forest.

Historians are still arguing about how many forces took part in the Battle of Kulikovo.

The number of the Russian army in various sources is estimated from 6 thousand to 60 thousand, and the Horde's - from 10 thousand to 100 thousand.

During the battle, the Horde managed to press the left flank of the Russian army, but the outcome of the battle was decided, according to Yevgeny Spitsyn, by an ambush regiment that put Mamai's army to flight.

The temnik himself fled, but after a while, under not fully clarified circumstances, he died in the Crimea.

  • V.K.Sazonov.

    "Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field"

  • © Wikimedia

Dmitry Ivanovich fought in the general formation in the armor of a simple warrior.

“The Grand Duke was wounded.

They found it only after the end of the battle, ”Mikhail Myagkov noted.

According to historians, after the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, Dmitry Ivanovich, who received the nickname Donskoy, consolidated Moscow's power over North-Eastern Russia.

However, he did not manage to completely end the Horde influence.

After the defeat of Mamai in the Horde, the positions of his rival, Khan Tokhtamysh, were strengthened.

“In 1382 Tokhtamysh made a trip to the Russian lands and took Moscow by cunning.

Under the new agreement, the power of the Horde was restored, the Russian lands were again forced to pay tribute to the Horde, ”explained Yevgeny Spitsyn.

Dmitry Donskoy died on May 19, 1389 at the age of 39.

  • Monument to Dmitry Donskoy in front of the Marina tower of the Kolomna Kremlin

  • © Wikimedia

“Although Moscow under Dmitry Donskoy could not completely free itself from the Horde yoke, the victory at the Kulikovo field was a huge step in this direction.

In addition, Dmitry Ivanovich did a lot to strengthen and centralize Russia, and develop its economy, "Mikhail Myagkov noted.

According to Yevgeny Spitsyn, Dmitry Donskoy has convincingly proved that Russia is capable of fighting for its sovereignty.

“Dmitry Donskoy is a key figure of his era.

Having become a prince at only nine years old and having lived, albeit an eventful, but short life, he was one of those who laid the foundation for Russian statehood, "summed up Spitsyn.