Treaty of Yazhelbitsy

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The Treaty of Yazhelbitsy (Russian: Яжелбицкий мирный договор) was a peace treaty signed by Vasili II, Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir, and the people of Novgorod, led by Marfa Boretskaya, in the village of Yazhelbitsy in 1456. This treaty marked the beginning of the annexation of the Novgorod lands by Muscovy, which would last for almost quarter of a century. As a result, Muscovy doubled in size and Ivan III (Vasili’s son) assumed the title of Velikiy Knyaz of all Rus.

In 1456, the Novgorodians sustained a crushing defeat from the Muscovite forces in the course of long-lasting hostilities between the two cities and were forced to seek peace. Dmitry Shemyaka’s widow had to leave Novgorod and fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with her son Ivan Dmitriyevich. The citizens of Novgorod assembled a veche and turned to Archbishop Evfimiy with a request to travel to the grand prince’s headquarters in Yazhelbitsy and ask for peace. After several days of intense negotiations, the parties signed the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy. The text of the treaty survived in two copies, one signed by Muscovy and the other one by Novgorod. Today, both of these documents may be found in the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg. The text of the treaty, however, is not identical in each of the two copies.

Archbishop Evfimiy managed to include in this treaty a few customary provisions of non-intervention of the grand prince into Novgorod’s internal affairs. The text, however, contained several new provisions. First, Novgorod pledged not to admit Vasili’s enemies within its lands. Second, it was deprived of its right to conduct an independent foreign policy and pass its own legislation. Third, the Grand Prince of Moscow became the court of the highest instance. Fourth, the stamp of the Novgorod veche and the stamps of all the posadniks were replaced with the princely stamp.

After the treaty had been signed, Novgorod’s sovereignty was seriously undermined. The monarchist system was not yet established, but the republican modus vivendi was curtailed. Vasili II was so content with this treaty that he made some minor territorial concessions to Novgorod. Most of the provisions of the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy were observed by both sides. For example, the Novgorodian stamps were exchanged for the Muscovite ones immediately after the conclusion of the treaty. Some provisions, however, were constantly violated, which could be explained by discrepancies and controversial wording in the very text of the treaty. The Novgorodians continued to admit the enemies of Muscovy to their city. Vasili II (and later his successor Ivan III) occasionally violated the articles of the treaty regarding territorial integrity of the republic. Both sides were constantly accusing each other of violating the treaty within the course of the next 15 years. In the end, the discrepancies and controversial wording of the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy led to another confrontation between Moscow and Novgorod in 1471.