Abstract

The origin of Novgorod and Moscow heresy is shown in the article basing on the analysis of Muscovy events. The author proves that a profound reason of heresy’s origin is the struggle between two in essence opposite civilizing сonceptual types of power during the crucial moment for Muscovy, when the question about liberation from Tartar domination became urgent. “Novgorod and Moscow heresy” became a conceptual foundation of the new historical development of Muscovy. The author polemicizes with other researchers, which understand this heresy as a beginning of further religious life’s changes in Muscovy. The author considers that there were no social-economical preconditions for such changes in Muscovy.