Between East and West : The Formation of the Moscow State

Drawing on a wide range of sources and historiographical material, __Between East and West__ provides a comprehensive analysis of the efforts of the Moscow princes to form a centralized Russian state. According to the author, the unification of Russia around Moscow was not historically inevitable. Tver, Novgorod, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also claimed this role, and if they had been victorious, a less authoritarian, less autocratic and less despotic Russian state could have emerged. Professor Shaikhutdinov rejects the concept of the “Mongol-Tatar yoke” and claims that relations between Moscow and Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde) were more complicated and interdependent. The influence of Ulus Jochi on Moscow was especially strong in the political, economic and military spheres, while the religious field was dominated by the influence from Byzantium. The volume discusses in detail the geopolitical aspirations of Russia and the “Moscow―Third Rome” theory. In sum, the formation of the Moscow state was directly influenced by both internal and external factors, countries of the East and the West. "Drawing on a wide range of sources and historiographical material, Between East and West provides a comprehensive analysis of the efforts of the Moscow princes to form a centralized Russian state. According to the author, the unification of Russia around Moscow was not historically inevitable. Tver, Novgorod, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also claimed this role, and if they had been victorious, a less authoritarian, less autocratic and less despotic Russian state could have emerged. Professor Shaikhutdinov rejects the concept of the "Mongol-Tatar yoke" and claims that relations between Moscow and Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde) were more complicated and interdependent. The influence of Ulus Jochi on Moscow was especially strong in the political, economic and military spheres, while the religious field was dominated by the influence from Byzantium. The volume discusses in detail the geopolitical aspirations of Russia and the "Moscow-Third Rome" theory. In sum, the formation of the Moscow state was directly influenced by both internal and external factors, countries of the East and the West"-- Provided by publisher

Drawing on a wide range of sources and historiographicalmaterial, Between East and West provides a comprehensiveanalysis of the efforts of the Moscow princes to form a centralizedRussian state. According to the author, the unification of Russiaaround Moscow was not historically inevitable. Tver, Novgorod, andthe Grand Duchy of Lithuania also claimed this role, and if theyhad been victorious, a less authoritarian, less autocratic and lessdespotic Russian state could have emerged. Professor Shaikhutdinovrejects the concept of the "Mongol-Tatar yoke" and claims thatrelations between Moscow and Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde) were morecomplicated and interdependent. The influence of Ulus Jochi onMoscow was especially strong in the political, economic andmilitary spheres, while the religious field was dominated by theinfluence from Byzantium. The volume discusses in detail thegeopolitical aspirations of Russia and the "Moscow-Third Rome"theory. In sum, the formation of the Moscow state was directlyinfluenced by both internal and external factors, countries of theEast and the West.

The unification of Russia around Moscow was not inevitable-other principalities also claimed this role. This book posits that relations between Moscow and Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde) were complex and interdependent, and the process of the formation of the Moscow state took place under the influence of internal and external factors.