Dmitry Ivanovich Ilovaisky - historian, bright publicist and teacher, public figure, an active opponent of Norman state theory, author of books and textbooks on history, this study was devoted to the Moscow-Lithuanian period of the formation of the Russian state in the XIV-XV centuries. The author analyzes the history of the emergence of the Moscow principality, its gradual rise; strengthening the princely power, endless internecine wars, the annexation of Novgorod, Vyatka, Perm and other principalities, as well as the beginning of the end of the centuries-old yoke - the Battle of Kulikovo. Ilovaisky pays great attention to the activities of the Russian Church, the culture and life of the inhabitants of Russian territories.