Vasily III Ivanovich, Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow, son of Ivan III the Great and Sofia Paleolog, is interesting for many moments of his biography. Well, firstly, by the fact that it was he who annexed semi-independent Russian lands to Moscow: Pskov, Ryazan and Novgorod-Seversky principalities, Volotsky inheritance. He, having prevailed in the Russian-Lithuanian wars, annexed Smolensk in 1514. And even more: under him, for the first time in the entire territory of Russia, the all-Russian culture received incredible development. Because Vasily Ivanovich understood that it was impossible to keep the country in unity by force of arms even to the most powerful sovereign.