2025, vol. 13, no. 4. Novoselov A.L., Litvin A.A.

2025, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 939-958

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2025-13-4.939-958

EDN: https://elibrary.ru/RHZLCT

   CHRONOLOGY OF THE MOSCOW-KAZAN WARS OF 1467–1530
AND THE CHURCH CALENDAR

A.L. Novoselov *, A.A. Litvin
Kazan Federal University
Kazan, Russian Federation
* alenovo92@yandex.ru

Abstract. Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the chronology of the Moscow-Kazan wars (1467–1530) as presented in Russian chronicles, within the context of the church calendar. The study addresses the symbolic meaning behind the Moscow princes’ choice of particular commemorative calendar dates for conducting military and political actions against the Kazan Khanate.
Materials of the research: Russian chronicles of the 15th–16th centuries contain a number of dated accounts of military clashes between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate during the reigns of Ivan III and Vasily III. Historians have noted that Russian military culture was characterized by calendar symbolism, in which certain military actions were deliberately timed to coincide with specific church feasts or the commemorative days of saints. In this context, the Moscow-Kazan wars between 1467 and 1530, described and interpreted in the chronicles from a religious perspective, are of particular interest.
Results and scientific novelty: For the first time, this study identifies and systematizes the correlation between the chronological data in Russian chronicles concerning major military conflicts between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kazan Khanate (1467–1530) and the corresponding church holidays. It has been established that the dated events of the Moscow–Kazan confrontation often coincide with the feast days of saints who were regarded as patrons of the Russian army and Moscow princes, with the changing feasts of the Easter cycle, and with other significant dates of the church calendar. The findings demonstrate that in planning military operations – such as preparing for campaigns, mobilizing the main forces, or dispatching separate detachments – the grand princes and voivodes deliberately took the church calendar into account. This was done both to strengthen the morale of the troops by aligning military actions with religious feasts or the commemorations of heavenly patrons, and to legitimize Moscow’s military and political claims toward Kazan.

Keywords: Kazan Khanate, Moscow Grand Duchy, Ivan III, Vasily III, church calendar, Moscow-Kazan wars

For citation: Novoselov A.L., Litvin A.A. Chronology of the Moscow-Kazan wars of 1467–1530 and the Church Calendar. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2025, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 939–958. https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2025-13-4.939-958 (In Russian)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Alexander L. Novoselov – Cand. Sci. (History), Senior Lecturer of the Department of Russian History and Archival Studies, Kazan Federal University (18, Kremlevskaya Str., Kazan 420008, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0003-4545-9125; Researcher ID: ACI-8729-2022; Scopus Author ID: 57211501724. E-mail: alenovo92@yandex.ru

Alexander A. Litvin – Dr. Sci. (History), Head of the Department of Russian History and Archival Studies, Kazan Federal University (18, Kremlevskaya Str., Kazan 420008, Russian Federation); ORCID : 0000-0003-2337-3304; Researcher ID: AAM-9932-2021; Scopus Author ID: 57201648291. E-mail: hist33rus@yandex.ru

Received  01.09.2025
Revised  24.11.2025
Accepted  02.12.2025