Great Stand on the Ugra River

Great Stand on the Ugra River

Miniature in Russian chronicle, 16th century
Date8 October – 11 November 1480
Location
Ugra River banks (now in Kaluga Oblast, Russia)
Result Russian victory[1][2]
Belligerents
Grand Duchy of Moscow Great Horde
Commanders and leaders
 Ahmed Khan bin Küchük

The Great Stand on the Ugra River (Russian: Великое стояние на Угре) or the Standing on the Ugra River,[3] also known as the Battle of the Ugra,[4] was a standoff in 1480 on the banks of the Ugra River between the forces of Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde, and Grand Prince Ivan III of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.[5]

After Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde,[4] Akhmat Khan led an army towards Moscow, leading to a standoff between the two armies on the banks of the river.[6] Akhmat Khan waited for his Lithuanian reinforcements to arrive, but they never did,[6][7] with one Mongol attempt to cross the river failing due to Russian fire,[6] leading to Akhmat Khan retreating.[8] Both armies departed after little fighting.[7][9] Nevertheless, the outcome of the campaign corresponded to the strategic plan of the Russians to defend the capital and the border from the Tatars.[10]

In Russian historiography, it has been interpreted as the end of the "Tatar yoke" in Russia,[11][12][8][13] though some historians believe that the event itself was insignificant and did not change Russo-Tatar relations.[14][15] Nevertheless, the event is usually regarded as the end of nominal Tatar suzerainty over Russia.[16][17][5][18]

  1. ^ Borrero 2009, pp. 351–352.
  2. ^ Alexeev 2009, pp. 216, 258.
  3. ^ Bushkovitch 2012, pp. 42–43.
  4. ^ a b Borrero 2009, p. 351.
  5. ^ a b Perrie & Pavlov 2014, p. 14, A confrontation on the River Ugra which took place in October 1480, between Grand Prince Ivan III and Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde, is often said to have marked the definitive end of the 'Tatar yoke'.
  6. ^ a b c Moss 2003, p. 93.
  7. ^ a b Keller 2020, p. 28.
  8. ^ a b Khodarkovsky 2002, p. 80.
  9. ^ Moss 2003, p. 93, Except for a Mongol attempt to cross the river, which Russian arrows and guns beat back, there was little fighting.
  10. ^ Alexeev 2009, p. 258.
  11. ^ Auty & Obolensky 1976, p. 93, The majority of Russian historians consider 1480 to be the date of the final liberation of Russia from the Mongol yoke.
  12. ^ Encyclopedia of Russian history. New York: Macmillan Reference. 2004. p. 688. ISBN 978-0028656939.
  13. ^ Kort 2008, p. 24.
  14. ^ Martin 1995, p. 305, [R]ather than exploding into a decisive battle, the confrontation between the armies of the Great Horde and Muscovy at the Ugra fizzled into mutual retreat.
  15. ^ Bushkovitch 2012, pp. 42–43, After a few days of watching one another, the two armies departed for home. This event, the “standing on the Ugra,” was ever after seen in Russia as the end of Tatar overlordship.
  16. ^ Thompson, John M. (2019). Russis and the Soviet Union : an historical introduction (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 73. ISBN 978-1000310566.
  17. ^ Borrero 2009, pp. 351, the Battle of the Ugra River traditionally marks the end of Mongol rule in Russia.
  18. ^ Moss 2003, p. 93, Although Russian territorial gains from Lithuania were significant, Ivan III's reign is better known for ending the "Tatar yoke".