Ivan's III role and achievement lay in his appreciation of the need for Russian unity and in the vision and ability he displayed in the pursuit of this great objective. His rule of forty four years was devoted to patient planning, strong diplomacy, and major wars. Ivan's main goal was to unite all Russia under the independent leadership and to create a centralized state in order to replace the old-fashioned and extremely inefficient alliance of …showed first 75 words of 448 total…

…showed last 75 words of 448 total…He considerably enlarged the state's territory, strengthened its political system, and raised greatly the international status of Moscow. He "gathered together" most of the Great Russian states. By undermining the authority of princes by simply taking over their lands, he put an end of separatism and began the process of centralized rule. Indeed, Great Prince of Moscow deserves his tile of Great. I strongly believe that his reign marked a new epoch in Russian history.