About the initial dates of the military campaigns of Muscovy in Ugra: the question of identification and origins of tradition.

The paper is devoted to analyzes the initial dates of military campaigns of the Moscow State in Ugra. The emergence and development of "Muscovy" marked a new milestone in the process of the Russian colonization of remote areas of the Urals and Western Siberia, and the religious consciousness of people in the period under review could not ignore the fundamental events of the history of the state. Mean while, in the research the emphasis is puton insufficient elaboration of this theme. The author criticizes the sources used and justifies the use of the set of documents of his own choice. When analyzing the chronicles it appears that two of the three campaigns in Ugra are clearly dated by chroniclers and begin on the day of St. Nicholas, at the same time in one case the author supposes the dating tendentiousness associated with the sacralization of the image of the saint. The article presents objective arguments to explain the choice of the spring season to commit military action in Ugra. During the study, the author makes an assumption about the possible borrowing of the chronicle tradition of coinciding of the starting dates of Russian military campaigns with the day of St. Nicholas from the Novgorod Republic. Particular attention is paid to the subsequent development of the cult of St. Nicholas in the literary tradition of the XVI century, through which the author reveals the importance of the image of the saint, who is not only a holy healer, but also a mediator between God and people for the military campaigns participants. At the same time the author takes into account a special situation in the reign of Ivan the Terrible in connection with the implementation of the policy of the "Third Rome"