Moscow

The Princedom of Moscow (and Vladimir) almost reached the objective of unifying Northern and Southern Russians during the rule of Ivan III. The self-styled "tsar" ended formal submission to the Tatars, but his aggressive and uncompromising expansionism triggered the creation of an Anti-Muscovite League. Ivan III died after his capture by the Lithuanians in the battle of the Desna River, leading to the expulsion of his wife Zoe with her Uniate entourage and the withdrawal of Muscovite armies from most of the conquered territories.

In the following decades, Moscow suffered from the frequent Tatar raids, especially coming from Crimea. When Poland invaded during the Troubles, Moscow was quickly overrun by Jagiellonic troops and the Russian Patriarch temporarily relocated to Ryazan. The city was liberated, but Prince Simeon III was forced to humiliate himself by recognizing the predominance of the Prince of Yaroslavl. When the Dimitrian Interregnum ended, Moscow quickly regained prominence on the Russian scene thanks to a series of able rulers who balanced themselves between the influence of Scandinavia and the Commonwealth. Moscow's modest luck, however, suddenly seemed to run short as Feodor II Belsky almost managed to enforce Russian unity.

The powers of the Prince in Moscow were limited. After Simeon III tarnished the reputation of the Crown by bowing, albeit temporarily, to a less legitimate prince (only the ruler of the city of Vladimir was nominally the Grand Prince), the boyars slowly expanded their prerogatives. Boris I, son of Simeon III, approved the creation of a permanent boyar Duma, who would advise (and often control) the Prince and his government.

With the abolishment of all emancipation rights for serfs, the landowning boyars became a raffinate caste fond of western cultural products, Scandinavian colonial exotics and Polish baroque style. This period of stagnant noble rule, forerunner of the Commonwealth's fatal decadence, suddenly ended with the capture of Moscow by the Tverians.

Prince Kiril I was convinced that his country's defeat, albeit without territorial losses, was caused by an unacceptable lack of piety and discipline. Under his rule, the Prince regained part of his lost prerogatives and the boyar caste was infiltrated by the Trojan Horse of a new group of nobles: Kiril's generals and high bureaucrats. Kiril's charisma kept the Princedom united throughout his prosperous reign, but after his death the sickly constitution of his son Peter II jeopardized the independence of the Princedom, surrounded by neighbours with dynastic claims.

As expected, the Prince soon died and Ryazanian armies marched up the Moskva river. The line of direct descendants of Rurik ended after nine centuries. The two factions of the Duma united in support of Sergei Lyapunov’s candidacy (son-in-law of Prince Kiril) and Moscow’s independence was preserved with the battle of the Sparrow Hills, as celebrated by a magnificent cathedral on the spot.

In 1836, the Lyapunov Princedom is the rising star of Russia. The country has recently celebrated a victory against Yaroslavl, leading to the rebirth of the Principality of Nizhny Novgorod, and the defection of a Smolenskan noble confederation, too distant for Warsaw to intervene. The current ruler, Peter III Lyapunov has been married to the daughter of Maximillian III Habsburg, ruler of the Commonwealth, under the auspices of the filo-polish boyars. Many saw this move as an unprofitable match with Europe’s sick man and Peter’s unsuccessful attempts at fathering a heir have also raised concerns for a possible second succession crisis.

Despite these risks, Peter III is an ambitious and able man and he knows that his Princedom has the potential to put a definitive end to the anarchy reigning in Russia. While the path to unification to the Southern Russians is pretty straightforward as it clearly goes through a direct confrontation with its neighbours, the integration of Northern Russians may prove to be a very difficult political puzzle to solve.

The Northerners do not approve of serfdom, while the Southerners resent the Republic for sucking dry their lands by protecting runaway serfs. The peaceful complete unification of Russia must go through the abolition of this primitive tradition. This problem also intertwines with the powers of the Duma: Peter longs for the strong autocracy of neighbouring Yaroslavl, but his family’s legitimacy is deeply rooted in the bi-partisan support within the Duma. Threatening the institution may also anger the military-bureaucratic faction, making the Prince devoid of a true supporting class. Unless the rising bourgeoisie and/or the desperate masses in the fields are suddenly shaken as it has already happened in western Europe…