Most researchers, when it comes to the merits of Stephen III the Great, note a verbal portrait made by Gr. Ureke, overlooking other qualities of the great Moldovan voivode. Moldovan folk art complements this image, depicting not only Stefan the Lord, Stefan the Warrior, but also Stefan the Man - a sensible, wise, far-sighted man: “Stefan the governor was a man of short stature, with a quick look, hot-tempered in anger, great courage in war, but also very sensible, overpowering adversaries not only with troops, but also with a calculating skill ...
How severe he was during the war, so kind-hearted and fair he was in peacetime. " It is overlooked that Stefan was a very pious man: all the years of his reign he deeply respected and piously remembered his ancestors. So, in a letter signed in Suceava on July 9, 1466, Stefan III, the Lord of the Moldavian Land, decreed: “Let us confirm and strengthen our monaster from the Pobra, where the temple of our holy father Nikola is eaten ... the light-reposed dida of our old Alexander the governor (= Alexander the Good), and for the soul and for the salvation of our mother Mary ... and for the soul and for the salvation of our holy ancestors, they gave and confirmed to that holy monastery from Pobrat, yes they have for every year from us ten barrels of wine and two smear fish, one smear morun and the other from koropin (= carp), and half a stone to wax from Red Torgu (= Tyrgul Frumos), and a berbenitsa mustache (= barrels) honey from desetin will come from their villages crowded at Botne, and the lake from the mouth of the Bull and with usima girly, and the Pasik of Davidov on Bitsy, and against the mouth of the Bull on the Dnistri, let two setniks take place. "
During his unparalleled reign, Stefan the Pious presented not only numerous gifts and rich donations "for the soul and salvation of those who revered" his neighbors. On his behalf, a gravestone was installed - a composition of white marble with a border framing the inscription (in Slavic): “Behold, there is the coffin of the servant of God Olte, the mother of Lord Io Stephen, the voivode, like and present in the summer of 6973 (= 1465) noemvria 4 ".
By the will of the ruler, a tombstone was installed on the grave of Metropolitan Theoktist with the inscription: “Pious ruler of the Moldavian land Io Stefan voivode, son of Bogdan voivode, decorate the coffin of this father to our Metropolitan of Suceava, Reverend Cyrus Theoktist in the summer of 6986 and reign in 1814. ". Tombstones - works of art of that time, containing similar inscriptions “Pious and Christ-loving Io Stephen voivode, Lord of the Moldavian Land”, decorated “the coffin of his predecessor Io Roman, the ruler of the Moldavian Land”, “the coffin of his grandfather Io Bogdan Alexander, the voivode, brother voivode "," the coffin of his predecessor, the old Bogdan voivode "- to Bogdan I, the founder of the Moldavian Country," the coffin of his forefather Io Lacka voivode "," the coffin of my predecessor, Io Stefan the voivode (Stefan I), and beat the Ugrians in Hindovo. .. ".
The same pious reverence for ancestors and parents is permeated with the inscription on the pediment of the church in Borzesti, erected by Stefan III the Great and his son Alexander between July 1493 and October 1494. The dedication inscription testifying that this holy temple was erected by Stephen III the Great and his son Alexander "for the prayer and remembrance of their holy grandfathers and parents" confirms the oral tradition that Stephan, son of Bogdan II and grandson of Alexander the Good, was born in Borzesti, on the Trotush River, which, before its confluence with the Siret, flows through the cynutes of Putna and Bacau.
The acts of the State Chancellery of Moldova, as well as the Anonymous Chronicle (until recently called "Bystritskaya") of the Country of Moldova testify that Stefan III was married three times. From the aforementioned Chronicle, we learn that "in the summer of 6970 (1463) July, Stefan was pleasant to the governor to himself the lord princess Eudokia from Kiev, Semyon's sister to the king." We are talking about the sister of the Kiev prince Simion Olelkovich.
The princess, who became the sovereign of Moldova, was first attested on July 9, 1466 in the already mentioned royal charter, which also says that Stefan III presented many donations to the Pobrata monastery, including “for the soul and health of our domination, and for the soul and for the health of the Knegin by the domination of Ovdotia ... ”Ovdotia-Evdokia died in 1467. From the same Chronicle, we learn that “In the summer of 6980 (1472) of the month of septemvriya 14, Stefan is a voivode of his own lady, Princess Mary of Mangop” (principality in the south-west of Crimea). But this marriage was not long - Maria from Mangop died on December 19, 1477 and was buried in the Putna monastery.
The third wife of Stefan Voevoda was a prisoner. Having defeated the Wallachian (Muntean) army in 1473 and conquered Bucharest, expelling the Ungrovalash ruler Radu the Beautiful, Stephen III seized the treasury of Ungrovlachia (Wallachia or, in other words, Muntenia), returned to Moldova, taking prisoner the wife of this Wallachian ruler and his daughter - Maria (Voikitsu). “Letting her grow up”, Stefan married this Maria, probably in 1478, since in one of the letters, March 9, 1479, Bogdan-Vlad is already mentioned - the fruit of this marriage. Maria died in 1511 and was also buried in the Putna monastery.
So, we state that Stefan III the Great, voivode and ruler of the entire Moldavian Land, respected the tradition of the sovereigns of those times - to take wives from princely or royal families: one of them Evdokia is a princess of Russian-Ukrainian origin, the other is from a Byzantine family, Maria is from Mangopa, the third - wallachka (muntyanka), Maria from Wallachia.
Princess Elena Stefanovna, nicknamed Voloshanka, was the daughter of the Moldavian ruler (prince) Stephen III the Great. "Voloshanka" literally meant "Moldavian". Her mother was the Kiev princess Evdokia Olelkovna, married abroad to strengthen the diplomatic union of Russia and the Moldavian principality.
Interstate union
Elena Stefanovna was born in about 1464. There is very little information about the childhood and upbringing of the princess. In the 1480s, the Turks began to threaten the Moldavian principality. Stephen III turned to the Moscow prince Ivan III for help.
To consolidate the agreement between them, the daughter of the Moldavian prince was married to the son of Ivan III. This son of the sovereign was given the nickname Young Ivan. The wedding took place in 1483. From Ivan the Young, the Moldavian princess gave birth to a son, Dmitry. The husband of Elena Stefanovna turned out to be in poor health and died 7 years after the marriage.
Dowry story
One ugly story is connected with Elena Voloshanka and the second wife of Prince Ivan III, Sophia Paleologue. A year after the wedding of his son, Ivan III decided to give his daughter-in-law a pearl dowry of rare beauty. Previously, it belonged to Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III. The woman died - presumably, was poisoned - at a very young age (25 years).
After her, a rich dowry remained, which the widower decided to present to Elena Voloshanka. But it turned out that Sophia Paleologue had already given it to her niece. She did this without asking her husband's permission. The prince became furious, took the gift from his wife's niece. This incident marked the beginning of a secret feud between Elena Voloshanka and Sophia Palaeologus.
Rivalry of the princesses
In 1497, Ivan III declared Helen's son Dmitry to be his heir. The mother of the heir to the throne turned out to be a very active woman. Helen participated in court intrigues, and also accepted the teachings of heretics - Judaizers who opposed the feudal nobility. Sophia Paleologue, who dreamed of seeing her son as heir to the throne, took advantage of the situation and whispered to her husband about Elena's secret passions.
As a result of these intrigues, Dmitry lost the right to inherit the throne. It passed to Sophia's son, Vasily. The prince and Elena Voloshanka were arrested. In 1505, the daughter-in-law of the Moscow prince died in prison (probably killed). A quarrel broke out between Elena's father and Ivan III. As a result, the sovereign men reconciled, and the death of Elena Stefanovna was forgotten. The princes put political interests first.
Elena the Wise and the Beautiful
Many historians and ethnographers believe that Elena Stefanovna, who ended her days in dungeons, became the prototype of the famous heroine of Russian fairy tales Elena the Beautiful (as an option - the Wise). The princess was not only pretty, but also distinguished by progressive views. Hence the image of a wise beauty. Her husband, Ivan Molodoy, who died of an unknown illness (they say that he was poisoned by Sophia Paleologue), became the prototype of Ivan Tsarevich.
Like the hero of the fairy tale, Ivan Molodoy literally brought himself his betrothed from beyond the distant lands, from the Moldavian principality, while the Russian people composed a beautiful tale about the love of Elena the Beautiful and Ivan Tsarevich, about rival brothers and the Gray Wolf.
CHISINAU, May 24 - Sputnik. The first dynastic connection between the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Moldavia dates back to the 15th century, when in 1483 the eldest son and heir of Ivan III Ivan Ivanovich married the daughter of Stephen the Great, Elena, who in Russia began to be called Elena Voloshanka.
According to the famous Russian historian Yevgeny Pchelov, Elena was a second cousin to her husband, and Elena Voloshanka's genealogical ties covered the clan of Stephen the Great, the Moscow and Tver Rurik dynasties and the Lithuanian Gediminovich dynasty.
As many know, a son, Dmitry, was born from the marriage of Ivan Ivanovich and Elena Stefanovna.
"In February 1498, Dmitry Ivanovich was solemnly crowned for the Grand Reign of Moscow in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin with a Monomakh hat. It is important to note that this was the first coronation ceremony in this temple and it was with the use of this famous regalia - this is where the whole further tradition of Russian coronations began. up to the coronation of Nicholas II. Ivan III intended to make Dmitry's grandson heir to the throne, but these plans did not succeed, "the historian emphasized.
According to him, in April 1502, disgrace was imposed on Elena Stefanovna and her son, and Vasily Ivanovich, the future Vasily III, the eldest son of Ivan III from his second marriage to Sophia Paleologue, was declared the new heir to the throne.
"The reason for the dramatic change in the dynastic situation was, of course, not only the intrigues of Sophia Paleologue. Elena Stefanovna was accused of having links with heretics. Elena and Dmitry were imprisoned, where they died - Elena in January 1505, and her son in February 1509. Their graves have been preserved in the Moscow Kremlin. Dmitry was buried in the Archangel Cathedral next to his father, and Elena Stefanovna was buried in the Ascension Monastery, but her remains in 1929, before the destruction of this monastery, were transferred to the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral, "Pchelov writes in his work, dedicated to Russian-Moldovan relations.
He added that Elena Voloshanka, while staying in Russia, ordered to weave a veil. Now the shroud of Elena Voloshanka is kept in the Historical Museum in Moscow. It depicts a religious procession in the Moscow Kremlin on Palm Sunday, April 8, 1498. Among the characters accompanying the icon of the Mother of God are Ivan III, his grandson Dmitry, son Vasily, Sophia Paleologue, and, most likely, Elena Voloshanka herself.
Elena Stefanovna's marriage had another interesting connection in Russian genealogy. To her brother Ivan (in the documents of that time - Ivan Vechin - ed.), The legend traces the origin of the noble family of the Rachmaninovs, who gave Russia and the world a great composer.
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Stephen III the Great (Moldovan Stefan cel Mare și Sfînt, Stefan cel Mare, born circa 1433 - July 2, 1504) - ruler, one of the most prominent rulers of the Moldavian principality. He ruled the country for 47 years. Throughout this period, he fought for the independence of the Moldavian principality, for which he pursued a policy of strengthening the central government, suppressed the boyar opposition. He successfully opposed more powerful rivals - the Ottoman Empire, Poland, Hungary. Thanks to the talents of Stephen the Great as a commander, diplomat and politician, the Moldavian principality was able not only to maintain its independence, but also became a significant political force in Eastern Europe.
Accession to the throne
Peter III Aron, the uncle of Stephen the Great, killed his own brother in order to seize the throne. Peter Aron showed himself to be a passive ruler who cared little for his native principality. Even a relatively small tribute to Turkey turned out to be a heavy burden for Moldova, and the arbitrariness of the boyars did not allow Moldova to develop normally.
In 1457, Stefan entered Moldova at the head of an army of six thousand. The main forces of this army were provided by the ruler of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes. The army of Peter Aron was defeated, first at the battle of Dolzesti on April 12, and two days later at the battle at Orbik (near Neamt). Pyotr Aron himself fled to Poland. Thus, Stephen, who was supported by the majority of the population, came to the throne.
Strengthening the country
Having ascended the throne, the new ruler began to strengthen the country. He made several military campaigns to Poland. Threatening to occupy the disputed territories, he forced Poland to conclude a peace treaty. Stephen continued to pay tribute to the Turks, dealing with the internal problems of the principality.
He limited the influence of the boyars and began to redeem their lands. With those of them who showed discontent, he acted harshly. Thus, there is a known case when 40 boyars (20 "great" and 20 "small") were executed. The peasants received the status of "free", which influenced the strengthening of the army, since the serfs did not have the right to serve in the army. The army under Stephen was greatly improved and transformed. The sovereign here too limited the power of the boyars, making the backbone of the army subordinate directly to him. Artillery units were created from foreign mercenaries. Many new fortresses were built and the existing ones were fortified.
Written sources testify to the development of agriculture, animal husbandry, viticulture and beekeeping. Fishery products are often mentioned in the government's charters and trade privileges. The increase in the volume of agricultural products required the creation of conditions for the sale of the surplus. In the cities of the Moldavian principality, auctions were organized, attracting foreign merchants. Great trade routes were revived, leading to economic recovery and a flourishing of cities. Transit trade developed, benefiting the country through the collection of customs duties and tolls on some roads. Crafts also developed during Stephen's time. Extraction and processing of metal, weaponry, pottery, weaving, and others were widespread. The deeds of the Lord testify to the extraction of various ores in the country. Most of the salt mines were located in the foothill zones along the streams of the rivers Moldova, Bistrita, along the upper course of the Prut.
Stephen the Great pursued a tough financial policy. He issued two series of coins: a penny (penny) and a half penny (jumatate de penny), which were minted at the mint in Suceava in 1457-1476 and 1480-1504. made of high standard silver.
According to the found Venetian documents, during the time of Stephen the Great, the Moldovan fleet was present in the Mediterranean and sailed to Venice and Genoa.
Foreign policy
In 1462, a new peace treaty was concluded with Poland, which became more beneficial for Moldova. The Khotin fortress was returned to Moldova. Improving relations with Poland could not in any way affect the solution of problems with Hungary, which was an enemy of Poland, and besides, Peter Aron was hiding in Hungary, who did not leave thoughts of regaining power. In 1462, Stephen made a trip to Transylvania, which was under the rule of Hungary, and in which Peter Aron was hiding. Despite the fact that the success of the army was significant, Peter Aron managed to hide in Hungary. As a result of the raid, a difficult situation developed. On the one hand, Stephen attacked the territory subject to Hungary, thereby openly going into conflict, on the other hand, Hungary opposed the Turks, with whom Stephen also did not want to put up. But after Hungary betrayed Vlad Tepes, who was forced to flee to Transylvania because of the betrayal of the boyars and the ascent to the Wallachian throne of the Turkish protege Radu the Beautiful, Stephen did not hesitate. In 1465, he captured Kiliya, a Moldovan seaside fortress controlled by Hungary. In 1466, he supported the anti-Hungarian uprising in Transylvania. In November 1467, the Hungarian king Matthew Corvin, at the head of an army of forty thousand, invades Moldova. But he was defeated by about three times the smaller army of Stephen. Skillful actions and tactics allowed Stefan to exhaust the Hungarian army and defeat it in the battle at Bayi. After that, Stefan invades Transylvania. Peter Aron was caught and executed, as well as other possible contenders for the throne of Moldova. All this led to the strengthening of the principality, an increase in the authority and influence of Moldova and of Stephen the Great himself, on the world stage.
Confrontation with the Ottoman Empire
Despite the improvement in the situation in the country, the Moldavian principality, like the entire Christian world, was threatened by the Ottoman Empire. Stefan, with the help of a competent diplomatic policy, managed to strengthen relations with the Crimean Khanate, Mangup and Kaffa, which were also threatened by Turkey. This helped to weaken the pressure of the Turks on the Moldovan lands. In 1470, the Khan of the Great Horde, a rival of the Crimean Khan, organized a raid on Moldova, but on August 20, 1470 he was defeated in the battle at Lipnik, and the khan's son was taken prisoner. The delegation sent to Moldova to ransom the khan's son, Stefan executed, as well as the son himself.
At this time, the threat from Turkey increased, which demanded to pay the entire tribute, which Stephen had not paid since 1470, and also made claims about the coastal fortresses of Moldova. Turkey also increased the tribute by one and a half times. Stefan refused to pay the tribute at all. Clashes with neighboring Wallachia, ruled by the Turkish protege Radu the Beautiful, also did not stop. In 1473, an open war begins with Wallachia, as a result of which Stephen seized the capital - Bucharest and overthrew Radu the Beautiful from the throne, thereby freeing Wallachia from Turkish influence. But it quickly returned, due to the fact that Layota Basarab, whom Stephen put on the throne of Wallachia, broke his promises to conduct anti-Turkish policy.
Turkey, wishing to put an end to Stephen, is gathering an army of 80-100 thousand under the command of Suleiman Pasha. There were about 40 thousand soldiers in Stephen's army. In addition, about 8 thousand allies joined him. The Moldavian army retreated using the scorched earth tactics. During the movement to the city of Vaslui, the army of Suleiman Pasha was ambushed. On January 10, 1475, the Turks reached the Moldavian forest fortifications, which had been prepared in advance. The Turks were attacked by the Moldovan army. At the time when the troops of Suleiman Pasha began to overpower the Moldovans, the troops led by Stephen struck from the flank. The Turkish army was crushed, while trying to escape, it fell into traps prepared by the Moldovan army. From the rear, the Turks were met by a reserve of the Moldavian army. The Turkish army suffered a crushing defeat, which the Turkish chroniclers called "the largest disaster that befell the Turks in the entire Muslim era."
However, the situation in Moldova was still tense. In the summer of 1475, the Turks captured Kaffa, and later Mangup, thereby depriving Stephen of his allies - the Crimean Tatars. The number of the new Turkish army was about 150 thousand soldiers. A new campaign against Moldova began in 1476, but the Moldavian army, numbering about 40 thousand people, did not allow the Turks to cross the Danube. At this time, Stefan had to transfer the main forces against the raids of the Crimean Tatars, who attacked Moldova on the orders of the Turkish Sultan. The Tatars' troops were destroyed, and Stephen returned to the Danube again, but he could not stop the crossing of the Turks. The Moldavian army again resorted to the tactics of "scorched earth" and lightning attacks, which greatly wore out the troops of the Sultan. However, the general battle was still fought on July 26, 1476 in the town of Valea Albe (White Valley), in which the Moldavian army was defeated. But quick mobilization allowed Stephen to raise a new 16,000 army. The Turks unsuccessfully tried to take Suceava, and then several fortresses. It became difficult to supply a large army due to the constant attacks of Moldovan horsemen on the carts. The Sultan was forced to turn the army back.
In 1480, negotiations began with the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, about an alliance, which was to be sealed by a dynastic marriage between Stephen's daughter Elena and Ivan the Young, the son of Ivan III. The marriage took place in 1482. The alliance of the Moscow State, the Crimean Khanate and Moldavia was directed against Poland and Lithuania.
In 1484, the Turks, who had strengthened their positions at sea, were able to capture the Moldovan fortresses of Cetatya-Albe and Kiliya. In 1485, Stefan was forced to go to Poland, which was used by the Turkish army, making a raid on Moldova and reaching the capital - Suceava. But Stefan, who urgently returned, was able to repel the Turkish raid, defeating the Turkish army at Lake Catlabuga. In 1486, another raid was made at Skeie, repulsed by Stephen.
In 1487, a Polish-Turkish agreement was concluded, which led to an aggravation of relations between Poland and Moldova. In 1497, the troops of Poland, under the pretext of trying to take the fortresses of Kiliya and Cetatya-Albe from Turkey, invaded the territory of Moldova. However, the Polish army went to Suceava and tried to besiege it. Stephen's army surrounded the Poles, but did not begin to destroy them, giving them the opportunity to return to Poland. Near the Kozminsky forest, the Poles violated the conditions of retreat, which made it possible for Stefan to attack and defeat them. This victory was also facilitated by the military-political alliance with the Russian state, which was sealed by the marriage of Ivan Ivanovich Molodoy, the son of Ivan III Vasilyevich, with the daughter of Stephen III the Great - Elena "Voloshanka". The Lithuanian army, hurrying to join the Poles, returned at the request of Ivan III.
The result of these events was a new agreement with Poland, which was much more beneficial for Moldova than the past. It was concluded in 1499 and did not contain any mention of any vassalage. Hungary also recognized the independence and equality of the Moldavian principality as a subject in international relations.
Stephen as a defender of Orthodoxy
After the fall of Byzantium in 1453, the Orthodox world loses its center and support. At this time, the importance of Athos rises as a pillar of Orthodoxy, which remains in a difficult position. Moldova during this period was a vassal of Turkey, and Stephen used all his influence in order to save Athos. Moldova, in spite of the wars, was a wealthy country, since trade routes to the East, guarded by the sovereign, passed through its territory. Stephen used the wealth of Moldova to support the Athonite monasteries. He provided Moldovan lands in exchange for those that were captured by the Turks.
Stephen paid special attention to the restoration of shrines in Athos. So, as a result of research, it was established that it was Stephen who revived the Zograf monastery in the 15th century. He built a cathedral church, a pier, a refectory here. He handed over the Moldavian monasteries of Capriana and Dobrovets to the power of Zograf. One of the main shrines of the Zograf monastery was the banner of Stephen the Great, according to legend, made by his daughter Elena. The banner depicts George the Victorious - the patron saint and protector of the Moldovan ruler.
In 1472, Stephen built a tower in the Vatopedi monastery, where a bas-relief depicting the ruler and his coat of arms has been preserved. Stephen built an aqueduct, a baptismal at the monastery of St. Paul. Stephen also restored the buildings of the monastery of St. Paul. For all his gifts and merits, he was titled the second church leader of the monastery.
In 1992, the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Stephen as a saint, commemorated on July 2.
The place of Stephen the Great in the history of Moldova
Stephen the Great died on July 2, 1504. He was buried in the Putna monastery built by him. During the reign of Stephen the Great, Moldova reached an unprecedented sadness in its development. They began to reckon with it in the international arena. Thanks to the skillful rule of Stefan, Moldova, despite the incessant wars, achieved economic prosperity. Stefan proved to be an excellent diplomat, skillfully playing in the political arena and defending the interests of his country.
Stephen's talent as a commander leaves no doubt: the ruler successfully opposed more powerful rivals - the Ottoman Empire, Poland, Hungary. The Lord built new fortresses - Soroki, Orhei, Khotin and Chetatya-Albe.
In some later non-chronicle sources, even the construction of a fortress in Tighin (now the city of Bender) is attributed to Stefan, however, no references to evidence are given, there is no data on the time and conditions of its construction or characteristics. In most of the documents related to the reign of Stephen III the Great, Tighinus is not mentioned, so the construction of a fortress in Bender by Stephen is most likely fiction.
Among other things, he significantly raised the Moldovan culture. He founded many new churches and monasteries, including Dobrovec, Neamt, Bistritsa, Voronets, etc.
Not far from the Capriana monastery there is an oak called the "Oak of Stefan the Great and Saint". According to legend, the ruler was resting near this oak tree after one of the battles. According to scientists, the age of the oak is more than 550 years. 2004 was declared by the President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin as the year of Stephen III the Great. 2004 marked the 500th anniversary of the death of the ruler.
On a holiday dedicated to women, it is customary to talk about love. Big, clean, beautiful and unparalleled fabulous. It is the fairy-tale characters, having fallen in love once and for all, then they never part, live happily ever after. As you know, people do not compose fairy tales from scratch, and many characters have historical prototypes. And the events that take place in a fairy tale sometimes have a real basis.
Take a well-known, beloved, and revered couple. Ivan Tsarevich and Elena the Beautiful (the Wise). Who are the prototypes of the heroes of "The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf"?
Tsarevich means the king's son. In Russia there were not so many tsars and princes Ivanov, who would also have a son, Ivan. Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow (1462-1505), had a son, Ivan. He was nicknamed Young to distinguish him from his father, Prince Ivan III. Since 1471, he has been referred to as the grand duke - co-ruler of his father.
The wife of Ivan Tsarevich (aka Ivan the Young) in the fairy tale is Elena the Beautiful. And in real life too. The wife of Ivan Ivanovich was Elena, the daughter of the ruler and governor of Moldova Stephen III the Great and the Kiev princess Evdokia Olelkovna. In both Moldovan and Russian sources of that time, we can find the historical version of the name of the princess - Olena or Olyana. Olyana is the South Russian version of the name Elena (remember that Elena's mother and Stephen the Great's wife are from Kiev). So, Elena the Beautiful of Russian folk tales is a Moldavian princess, daughter of Stephen the Great. According to Russian sources - Elena Voloshanka, Princess Olyana - according to Moldovan.
Let's compare the main episodes from the life of Ivan Tsarevich and the well-known biographical details of Ivan Ivanovich Molodoy.
Ivan Tsarevich Ivan Young Ivan has two villainous brothers - Vasily and Dmitry. Ivan has brothers (stepmother) Vasily (III) and Dmitry (Zhilka). In the royal treasury, some golden rarities begin to mysteriously disappear. Ivan's brothers turn a blind eye to this and Ivan is the only one who was able to catch the mysterious embezzler by the hand. Sophia Palaeologus secretly plundered the royal treasury. Apparently, not without Ivan's initiative, a situation arose with the "queen's pendants", and the plunderer was caught. The tsar is afraid to release Ivan from the kingdom - "... the enemy will approach our regions, and there will be no one to control the troops." Ivan Molodoy commanded the Russian troops while standing on the Ugra, showing himself as a brave and decisive commander. While standing, Tsar Ivan III wavered and tried to recall the troops home, but Ivan the Young did not listen to the crowned father, and the case ended in triumph. Ivan married the princess Helen the Beautiful (the Wise), whom he brought home from the distant lands, from the thirtieth state. Ivan married Elena - the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Stephen III the Great and the Kiev princess Evdokia Olelkovna. Elena moved from Moldova to Moscow. Ivan was insidiously killed by his own brothers. Ivan was poisoned by his stepmother, the Byzantine princess Sophia, in order to clear the way for her sons to the throne. The tsar was angry with the Ivanov brothers and put them in prison. Soon after Ivan's death, while trying to poison his son Dmitry, Sophia was exposed and imprisoned with her son Vasily.
True, some details differ from reality, but this is still a folk tale, not historical chronicles. The sequence of birth of brothers in the fairy tale was as follows - first Dmitry, then Vasily, the last - Ivan. In reality, it was exactly the opposite - first Ivan appeared (1458), then Vasily (1479), then Dmitry (1481). "In between" was also brother Yuri (1480).
The wife of Ivan Olyan, she is Elena Voloshanka (Moldavian), who was born and raised in a European country, was distinguished by intelligence and progressive views. During the reign of her father, the culture and art of manuscript books developed in Moldova.
It is curious that in the fairy tale about Tsarevich Ivan, Elena reproaches the insidious brothers with these words: "You would then be good KNIGHTS, if you left with him in the open field, but won the living, otherwise they killed the sleepy and so what praise for yourself will you get?" This remark itself suggests that Elena, of course, came from a European country with a knightly code of honor. Moldova was quite one of such countries.
Elena was very educated, and in Moscow a circle of free-thinking people formed around her. It included, among other things, the free-thinker Fyodor Kuritsyn. In his book "Writing About Literacy" he advocated - just think! - free will ("autocracy of the soul"), achieved through education and literacy. Even after the death of her husband Ivan for some time, Elena was able to keep the tsar from reprisals against dissidents, while the new tsar's wife Sophia demanded a cruel reprisal against the "heretics".
Ivan Young was the son of Ivan III by his first wife Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tver Boris Alexandrovich. Consequently, he was the legal heir to the Moscow and Tver throne. At this time, the Tver throne was occupied by Mikhail Borisovich, his mother's brother. Childless and realizing his precarious position, he intrigued against the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III. In 1483, a marriage took place between Olyana (Elena Voloshanka) and Ivan the Young. And soon the young had a son and heir Dmitry. This strengthened the position of the ruling Moscow dynasty. In 1485, Mikhail Borisovich fled from Tver, and Ivan III sent his son there. Until the end of his life, Ivan the Young was not only a co-ruler of his father, but also the Grand Duke of Tver. So the marriage of the Moldavian princess and the Russian heir made it possible to annex Tver to the Moscow state. What contributed to the creation of a single, centralized Russian state in the 15th century. At the same time, the second wife of Ivan III Sophia Paleologue fell out of favor. Jewels began to disappear from the royal treasury. As they wrote about Sophia in the chronicles, "I wasted a lot of the treasury of the Grand Duke; I gave it to my brother, gave something to my niece — and a lot ...". The grand-ducal treasury was the subject of special concerns for more than one generation of Moscow sovereigns who tried to increase the family treasures.
Sophia, without asking anyone, gave the priceless jewels of the Tver princess Maria (the first wife of Ivan III and the mother of Ivan the Young) to her Italian niece. In 1483, during the baptism of the first tsar's grandson Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Young and Elena Voloshanka, a huge scandal erupted. The newborn Dmitry was the successor of the dynasties of both Moscow and Tver princes and Moldavian rulers.
In 1490, Ivan the Young died. Many believe he was poisoned. They say that the people of Sophia Paleologue poisoned him. But there is no evidence of this. No one conducted investigations in those distant and dark times, and the doctor who treated Prince Ivan the Young was executed.
Political and dynastic struggles continued at the Moscow court. Olyana (Elena Voloshanka) experienced her triumph when, in 1497, the grandfather and Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III crowned his grandson in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The magnificent festive ceremony took place with a large gathering of clergy, boyars, princes of nobles, foreign guests and ambassadors, as well as ordinary Moscow people. This was the first wedding of a monarch to reign in the history of the Russian state. And the very first among the many monarchs in the history of Russia was Dmitry Vnuk (this was the nickname of the heir to the throne). A little boy, grandson of two great contemporaries, heir to the glory and power of his two glorious grandfathers, who went down in history under the names Stephen III the Great, ruler and voivode of Moldova, and the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Prince of All Russia Ivan III the Great. All subsequent wedding ceremonies of Russian tsars and emperors will copy and repeat the wedding for the reign of Dmitry Vnuk. 400 years without one year (from 1497 to 1896), from Dmitry Vnuk to Nicholas II, this wonderful and solemn ceremony will be repeated.
But back to the fairy tale. The fates of real and fairy-tale characters are different. But the people, this wise and subtle observer, from the whole multitude of rulers chose one pair and endowed it with ideal features. True, Ivan Young (aka Ivan Tsarevich) and Olyana, Elena Voloshanka (aka Elena the Beautiful and Wise), deserve it. People's memory has kept people and rulers as they were in life. This is how they appeared before us in the fairy tale. The ideal ruler, protector and defender of the native land is Ivan Tsarevich, the prince. A beautiful and intelligent wife - Elena, a Moldavian princess.
And, of course, you can't do without love. She is the most and the main character of both fairy tales and real events. If there were no love, there would not have been this whole story.
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