Vasili's reign was long but mostly uneventful. The slow porcess of the Golden Horde's collapse continued, leaving Vasili as the de facto master of Russia. His only rival was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the west which continued its gradual expansion eastwards. Vasili, however, maintained relatively peaceful relations with Lithuania for most of his reign. The greatest conflict between the two was over who would control the Russian Orthodox Church. Both Vasili and Vitovt of Lithuania appointed metropolitans, however the Byzantine Patriarch decided in Moscow's favour.
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Preceded by: Dimitri | List of Russian Tsars |
Succeeded by: Vasili II |