Description of the attraction
In 1471, on July 14, on the left bank of the river called Shelon, the Battle of Shelon took place. This historical event happened in the area of the village of Skirino and the village of Velebitsa. The villages are located in the Soletsky district, in the Novgorod region. The battle took place between the Moscow troops, commanded by voivode Daniil Kholmsky, and the Novgorod militia, led by Dmitry Boretsky (the son of Martha Posadnitsa).
In the second half of the 15th century, pressure from the Moscow principality increased on the Novgorod Republic. A group of boyars, headed by Martha Boretskaya, advocated an alliance with Lithuania, which, in turn, promised to help in the struggle against the claims of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Ivan III tried to influence Novgorod by diplomatically resorting to the help of representatives of the church. The Metropolitan reproached the Novgorodians for treason and called for the renunciation of the "Latin state", but the church's invasion only intensified the divisions in Novgorod. The actions of the Novgorodians in Moscow were regarded as "treason to Orthodoxy." Ivan III decided to organize a "crusade" against Novgorod. The religious color of this campaign was supposed to unite all the participants and force the princes to send troops to the "holy cause". Large-scale anti-Novgorod propaganda was carried out by the Moscow prince, "emails" were sent out. Novgorod decided to defend its independence at any cost. Despite internal strife, a colossal army was assembled in Novgorod, numbering up to 40 thousand people. True, it consisted mainly of "potters and carpenters". The leadership over the army was carried out by Dmitry Boretsky and Vasily Kazimir. Despite the numerical superiority of the Novgorod army, the Muscovites managed to win a decisive victory. From Novgorod sources it follows that at first the Novgorodians managed to use their numerical superiority. But the noble cavalry attacked the Novgorod infantry, in this campaign it was the main striking force of the Muscovites and Ivan III.
The trial of the defeated was swift and ruthless. Four posadniks (among whom was Dmitry Boretsky) were executed, most of the representatives of the Novgorod nobility were subjected to severe repression, the simple army was released.
The defeat at Sheloni made the inevitable end of the independence of the Novgorodians and the Novgorod Republic. Novgorod soon became part of Muscovy, the boyars swore allegiance to Moscow.
Almost nothing has changed in the past five hundred years at the site of the Battle of Shelon. The beautiful and stately Shelon also carries water to the gray-haired Ilmen. Everything is also green and its banks are flat. The village of Skirino, standing here, has actually merged with Velebitsy. Life goes on as usual. Being on the Shelonskoe field, you feel that history itself is coming.
In 2009, on December 8, a memorial sign was erected in a village called Skirino at the site where the battle between the detachments of Muscovites and Novgorodians supposedly took place. After the rite of his consecration was carried out, the priests Nikolai Epishev and Mikhail Biryukov served a funeral litiya in memory of those who fell in the Shelon battle, not dividing the soldiers into strangers and friends, into Muscovites and Novgorodians.
In 2001, on July 7, the Divine Liturgy was held in the village of Velebitsa. At the end of the service, a religious procession took place and an oak Cross, reaching a height of six meters, was solemnly installed. Before the erection, the Cross was consecrated. At the end of the service in the city of Soltsy, historical readings were held, where eminent historians of Veliky Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities spoke.
