Which Russian ruler threw off Mongol rule and centralized power in Moscow?

Which Russian ruler threw off Mongol rule and centralized power in Moscow?

• A. Ivan the Great
• B. Peter the Great
• C. Ivan the Terrible
• D. Catherine the Great

Answer: (A)

Centralizing authority and breaking Mongol domination define this ruler’s impact. In the late 1400s, Moscow rose to prominence as the center of power, and this ruler asserted Russia’s independence from the Mongol khans by ending payment of tribute. A key moment was the stand on the Ugra River in 1480, which ended Mongol control and signaled Moscow’s sovereignty. After that, he built a centralized administration, expanded Russian territory, and laid the foundations for a unified Russian state centered in Moscow. This ruler is Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great. The other rulers came later or in different contexts. Peter the Great modernized Russia in the 17th–18th centuries, Catherine the Great expanded the empire from a later era, and Ivan IV (the Terrible) centralized power in the 16th century but did not end Mongol domination.

Centralizing authority and breaking Mongol domination define this ruler’s impact. In the late 1400s, Moscow rose to prominence as the center of power, and this ruler asserted Russia’s independence from the Mongol khans by ending payment of tribute. A key moment was the stand on the Ugra River in 1480, which ended Mongol control and signaled Moscow’s sovereignty. After that, he built a centralized administration, expanded Russian territory, and laid the foundations for a unified Russian state centered in Moscow. This ruler is Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great.

The other rulers came later or in different contexts. Peter the Great modernized Russia in the 17th–18th centuries, Catherine the Great expanded the empire from a later era, and Ivan IV (the Terrible) centralized power in the 16th century but did not end Mongol domination.