Welcome to Russian History Retold.

Episode 328, Russian Expansion, under Ivan the Great.

Last time, we covered the great scientists during the Soviet era. Today, we move back in time

to the era of Ivan III, also known as Ivan the Great, and the expansion of the Muscovite

Kingdom. Now, before we get into the expansion, let's talk about Ivan a bit, as we haven't said much about him for quite some time.

Born on January 22, 1440, to Grand Prince Fassili II and Maria of Borovsk, Ivan would become co-ruler of Moscow and then all of Russia, starting in 1462.

His reign, which would be the second longest behind his grandson, Ivan IV,

would bring stability to Russia, which had been racked with civil war for decades.

Ivan would introduce a more centralized government and would be the first grand prince to use

the name Tsar. His marriage to Sophia Paleolog in 1472, after the death of his first wife,

Maria of Tfier, would lead credence to his claim that Moscow

was the third Rome after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, as she was related to the last

ruling family of the Byzantine Empire. The friendship with the paleologues was long as Ivan's grandfather, Vasili I married his

daughter, Anna, to Emperor John VIII Paleologus of Byzantium in 1414.

Now, having reviewed Ivan's early years, it's time to turn to the hows and wise of how this

czar expanded the Muscovite principality and to what would become the Russian Empire.

Six ways helped Ivan III convert the Grand Duchy of Muscovy into the nation we now know was Russia. His reign

marked a transformative period in Russian history as he significantly expanded the territory

and laid the foundations for a centralized Russian state. The first is his annexation of Novgorod in 1478. The animosity between Moscow and

Novgorod went back for decades, especially under Vasili II. Ivan was growing increasingly

annoyed by the wavering loyalty of the Novgorodian boyars between Moscow and Lithuania.

This perceived disloyalty initiated his launching a series of campaigns against the Republic of Novgorod.

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