Grand Principality of Moscow

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/grand-principality-of-moscow

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the period of dominance?Roughly from the 13th century to the mid-16th century
2. What is the geographic center?The city of Moscow and its surrounding territories in northeastern European Russia
3. How did Moscow grow into a strong kingdom?Moscow used its rivers, forests, and marshes for trade and defense. Its princes bought land, married into other families, and fought wars to add more territory.
4. Why did Ivan the Great stop paying tribute?In 1480, Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, ending the Tatar Yoke and showing Moscow was fully independent.

Suzerainty: A relationship where a dominant state has control over a subordinate state, often involving tribute.
Tatar Yoke: The period of Mongol (Tatar) domination over Russian principalities from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
Sovereignty: The supreme authority within a territory, meaning independence and self-governance.
Prikazy: Administrative departments or offices in the Grand Principality of Moscow, precursors to ministries.