The Tver Uprising

December 1327 

The rebellion against the Mongol Horde that took place in Tver in 1327 is one of the landmark events of Russian history. In the fall of that year, a delegation of baskaks (tribute collectors) headed by a Horde magnate named Cholkhan arrived in the city. At the time, Tver was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Rus, and its history up to this point very much resembled that of Moscow – its neighbor and rival. 

Before the Mongol invasion (1237-1240), neither Tver nor Moscow was particularly prominent. When the forces of Batu Khan swept over the lands of Rus, its richest cities – Vladimir, Suzdal, and Kiev – bore the main brunt of the invasion. Moscow and Tver suffered, but to a lesser extent. Later, when Rus had become a vassal of the Khans, no one paid much attention to these minor towns. This allowed the principalities at the center of Rus to come into their own.

These towns saw a growth in commerce and a resurgence of stone construction, and, during the first decades of the 14th century, both Moscow and Tver expanded and grew richer. Alas, this mutual growth had unfortunate consequences. The two powerful principalities were located quite close to one another and the princes of Moscow and Tver became mired in protracted and destructive conflict. This conflict involved mutual affronts, military clashes, and, of course, competition for allies. 

Before long, a rather curious alignment of forces took shape. Rus’ mighty neighbor, the Great Lithuanian Principality, which had many ties to the principalities of Rus and was growing stronger by the day, became Tver’s main ally. In the 14th century, Lithuania, which was led by strong and energetic princes with forces that had been hardened in battle with Livonian knights, was in the ascendant. The Lithuanian Principality was not under Mongol domination, and many Russian lands were happy to submit themselves to Vilnius to avoid paying tribute to the Horde.

As hard as it may be to believe in this day and age, in 14th-century Lithuania state documents were written in Russian. Furthermore, Lithuanian princes were happy to intermarry with the princely families of Russia. In those days, they calmly turned a blind eye to the religious differences between the two nations – the Lithuanians were still pagans and for them, one religion was as good as the next.

During the 1320s, Tver and Lithuania were bound by extensive commercial, military and family ties. The princes of Moscow, however, had supporters that were every bit as powerful. Moscow’s Prince Yuri Danilovich exhibited exceptional diplomatic abilities. In fact, he so overwhelmed the Horde’s Khan Ozbeg with gifts and charm that he was offered the Khan’s sister Konchaka in marriage. Prince Yuri lost no time taking advantage of his new family ties, and with the help of one of the Horde magnates, launched a military campaign against Tver. His forces, however, were defeated and his wife was taken prisoner. She soon died in captivity.

It is not clear what benefited Yuri more – his marriage or his wife’s death. In any event, he immediately accused Prince Mikhail of Tver of poisoning the Khan’s sister. This did not end well for anyone involved. Mikhail of Tver was brutally executed by the Horde. Several years later, his son and heir Dmitry ran into the Prince of Moscow while visiting Sarai (the seat of the Horde) to show his respects to the Khan. Dmitry did not resist the urge to cut down Yuri, whom he saw to be his father’s killer. Dmitry also never made it home. He was executed for daring to raise his sword in the Khan’s presence.

As a result, in 1325 both principalities wound up with new rulers. In Moscow, Yuri’s brother, Ivan Danilovich (who would later come to be known as Ivan Kalita), took the throne. In Tver, Dmitry was succeeded by his brother, Alexander Mikhailovich. Two years after the tragic deaths of the two rulers, everything was calm, but the aforementioned arrival of the baskaks in Tver in 1327 stirred up old animosities.

Those who traveled to each principality to collect tribute naturally expected assistance from the local prince. It was in the princes’ interest to ensure that the money, livestock, and people required by the Horde were collected as quickly as possible. Throughout the collection process, the baskaks lived in the prince’s palace and were entertained at the prince’s expense. In this instance, the collections proceeded smoothly until Cholkhan’s men tried to take a cow from a local sacristan, who called on other locals for help.

This is how the rebellion started, and at first Alexander tried to reason with his subjects. Once it became clear that he would not succeed, he decided to join them, although he certainly knew that the Khan’s rage would fall on him personally. He supported the rebels and even advised them to burn down his own chambers, where the Mongols had sought shelter. When it was all over, there was nothing to do but await the retribution that was sure to come. It came, however, from an unexpected quarter: Moscow. 

Ivan Kalita had decided to use the uprising as a pretext for wreaking vengeance on his rival. Tver was defeated and Alexander fled to Pskov, but Kalita pursued him there as well. Moscow’s army besieged Pskov and demanded that the fugitive be handed over. The Pskovians refused. At this point, Kalita sent Moscow’s Metropolitan in under the city walls with a threat that the entire population would be excommunicated. Not wishing to endanger his supporters, Alexander fled once again, this time all the way to Lithuania, where he remained for several years, until he managed to obtain a pardon from the Khan that enabled him to return to Tver. But it was not his fate to die of old age. Kalita could not leave his neighbor in peace. He convinced the Khan that the Prince of Tver was again fomenting rebellion. Alexander was summoned to Sarai and executed. 

After these sad events, Tver still managed to maintain its standing for a time, in part thanks to the fact that Lithuania’s Prince Algirdas – one of its most renowned rulers – was married to a princess of Tver. But within a few decades Tver was forced to accept the role of “younger brother” to its rival Moscow, in other words, its vassal.

And what about Moscow? In sharp contrast to Tver, Moscow’s power and prestige were on the rise. Ivan Kalita had won the confidence of his Mongol patrons, who charged him with collecting tribute not only from Moscow’s own lands, but from the other principalities as well. This laid the foundation for Moscow’s initial wealth. Ivan Danilovich’s epithet – Kalita or “money bags” – was well deserved; there is evidence to suggest that some of the tribute he collected never made it into the Horde’s coffers. For this, centuries of Russian historians have sung his praises. And deservedly so: he not only orchestrated Moscow’s ascendance and Tver’s decline, but he bestowed several decades of peace on Rus, as the Horde stopped coming to collect tribute itself. Whether Rus found it any more pleasant dealing with Muscovite tax collectors than Mongol ones is another question. 

But it is worthwhile reflecting on the following question: just who did more to bring peace to Rus – Ivan or Alexander? It was the Tver uprising that led the khans to decide they wanted nothing more to do with strife in Rus. The Golden Horde was having troubles of its own and was beginning a period of fraction, feuding, and conflict. It was much simpler to assign the obedient Prince of Moscow the task of collecting tribute than to deal with potential rebellion. Who should take credit for this – the pliant Kalita or the brave Alexander? Historians are unanimous in their exaltation of Kalita. All we can do is repeat the words of poet Naum Korzhavin:

Your face was repulsive

Your character low

But in hindsight progressive

Were the seeds you did sow.