Why go
This period gives the Moscow Kremlin a setting beyond its buildings. The concentration of church leadership and princely power in Moscow developed together, while rivalry with Novgorod, Tver and Lithuania shaped the growing state around it during the late medieval period.
The full story
The principality founded by Daniil, a son of Alexander Nevsky, began within a landscape of competing Rus’ rulers. Moscow’s position among rivers, forests and marshes helped its growth, but geography alone did not determine its success. Its princes cooperated with Mongol rulers and collected tribute from other principalities. Religious authority strengthened that political position. The Orthodox metropolitan moved from Kyiv to Vladimir and later established his headquarters in Moscow. Dmitry Donskoy’s victory at Kulikovo in 1380 enhanced Moscow’s prestige, although it did not immediately end Tatar domination. During the fifteenth century, Ivan III extended Moscow’s control through warfare, negotiation and annexation, absorbing Novgorod and Tver. His rivalry with Lithuania concerned other territories of the former Rus’ world. He also ended dependence on the Golden Horde and renovated the Kremlin. Moscow’s emergence was therefore a gradual concentration of power, rather than a single decisive battle.