The Princes of Moscow introduced in Russia the system of primogeniture, the obvious result of which was a tendency to solidify the government, exactly as the plan of St. Vladimir had tended to its separation into rival principalities by equal division among his sons at his death.
It is obvious that with a virile race, the constant division of territory must lead to weakness and militate against the building up of great territories, or the continuation of strong governments founded by ancestors with large families. The Muscovites changed this order of things completely, and by giving practically all the territory of a principality to the eldest son, the government was strengthened and its boundaries extended.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
