Ivan III issues the Sudebnik of 1497

Timeline

1. 1490–1496Grand Duchy of Moscow · Grand Duchy of MoscowAfter integrating Novgorod, Tver, and other lands, Ivan III set about compiling the Russkaya Pravda, Pskov judicial charters, and local customary law into a written code applicable to all of Russia, replacing the scattered judicial privileges and local ordinances of the various principalities.
2. 1497Moscow · MoscowIvan III, together with the grand prince's sons and the boyars, confirmed the Sudebnik of 1497, establishing a unified nationwide court system, stipulating heavy crimes such as treason, sacrilege, and slander along with procedures including torture and trial by combat, and for the first time restricting peasants throughout the realm to changing lords only around St. George's Day (around November 26).
3. 1498–1500Throughout the Grand Duchy of Moscow · Grand Duchy of MoscowThe new law was gradually implemented in courts across the regions, weakening local exemptions and strengthening the grand prince's control over land boundaries and judicial bribery; its provisions on St. George's Day and the exit fee became the template for the codes of 1550 and later, advancing Russian law from customary law toward written central legislation.