Tsarist power finally took shape in Russia in the middle of the 16th century, when in 1547 the Grand Duke of All Rus' Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible was the first to officially accept the title of Tsar. The first Russian Tsar was solemnly placed on the cap of Monomakh, a sign of royal power, put on a gold chain and presented with a heavy golden apple, which personified the Russian state. This is how Russia received its first king. He was from the dynasty of Grand Duke Rurik. Royal power was inherited by the eldest son.
Ivan the Terrible had three sons. The eldest Ivan, his father's favorite, the middle Fedor - a weak and sickly young man and the youngest Dmitry, still a very small boy. Ivan was supposed to inherit the throne, but a tragedy occurred in the royal family. In November 1581, Tsar Ivan the Terrible quarreled with his eldest son and, in a fit of anger, beat him. From a terrible nervous shock and severe beatings, Tsarevich Ivan fell ill and soon died. After this tragedy, Tsar Ivan the Terrible also did not live long and died in March 1584, and in May Moscow solemnly celebrated the coronation of the new tsar. He became the middle son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich. He could not govern Russia on his own, so all issues were resolved by his wife’s brother Boris Godunov, who became tsar after the death of Fyodor Ioannovich in 1598. Boris Godunov left the throne to his son Fyodor Godunov, who had to reign for only a short time. In 1605, he ascended the throne and in the same year was killed by supporters of False Dmitry, who pretended to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, who died in Uglich in early childhood. False Dmitry managed to seize the Moscow throne, but he did not stay on it for long. Less than a year had passed before he, too, was killed by the conspirators, led by Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky. In 1606, he became the next Russian Tsar and ruled until 1610, when he and his wife were tonsured as monks and imprisoned in the Joseph-Volokolamsky Monastery.
After the deposition of Tsar Vasily in Russia, the interregnum period continued for three years. The boyars thought and wondered who to offer the royal crown to, went through one candidate after another, and this continued until 1613, when Mikhail Romanov became king. This was the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty, whose representatives ruled in Russia until 1917, when the last tsar from the same dynasty, Nicholas II, abdicated the throne and was shot.
Mikhail Romanov was the son of Patriarch Filaret and Ksenia Ivanovna Shestova, who were tonsured into the monastery in 1601 by order of Boris Godunov. After the death of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1645, his son Alexei Mikhailovich became king. He had many children, among whom the struggle for the royal throne later broke out. At first, after the death of Alexei Mikhailovich’s father, his son Fyodor Alekseevich was king, and when he died in 1682, there were two kings on the throne at once: 16-year-old John V Alekseevich and his brother, ten-year-old Peter. They had different mothers. Due to the young age of the children, and the eldest Ivan, as historians write, was weak-minded; Russia was ruled by their elder sister Sophia, John’s sister. In 1696, after the death of his brother Ivan, Peter I began to reign alone, imprisoning Sophia in a monastery.
Subsequently, Peter I took the title of emperor.
The first of the great princes who ruled in the now united Rus' began to call himself Tsar Ivan III Vasilyevich from the dynasty of the Grand Duke of the Varangian Rurik. He was also the first to begin to be written in various government acts not as Ivan, but as John, as was accepted by church book rules: “John, by the grace of God, sovereign of all Rus',” and assigned himself the title of autocrat - this is how the title of the Byzantine emperor sounded in Slavic. By that time, Turkey had captured Byzantium, the imperial house had fallen, and Ivan III began to consider himself the successor of the Byzantine emperor. He marries the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine Paleologus, Sophia Paleologus, who was considered the heir to the fallen imperial house. Having married Grand Duke John III, she seemed to share her rights of inheritance with him.
With the appearance of Princess Sophia in the Kremlin, the entire routine of the Grand Duke's court and even the appearance of Moscow changes. With the arrival of his bride, Ivan III also stopped liking the environment in which his ancestors lived, and the Byzantine craftsmen and artists who arrived with Sophia began to build and paint churches and construct stone chambers. True, our ancestors believed that living in stone houses was harmful, so they themselves continued to live in wooden ones, and only held lavish receptions in stone mansions.
Moscow, in its appearance, began to resemble the former Constantinople, as Constantinople was called, the capital of Byzantium, which has also now become a Turkish city. According to Byzantine rules, court life was now scheduled, down to when and how the king and queen should go out, who should meet them first and where the others should stand at this time, etc. Even the Grand Duke’s gait has changed since he began to call himself a king. She became more solemn, leisurely and stately.
But it’s one thing to call yourself a king, and another to actually be one. Until the middle of the 15th century, in Ancient Rus', in addition to the Byzantine emperors, the khans of the Golden Horde were also called tsars. The grand dukes were subordinate to the Tatar khans for several centuries and were forced to pay them tribute, so the grand duke could become king only after he ceased to be a tributary of the khan. But in this regard, the situation has changed. The Tatar yoke was overthrown, and the Grand Duke finally stopped attempts to demand tribute from the Russian princes.
By the end of the 15th century, the Byzantine imperial coat of arms - a double-headed eagle - appeared on the seals with which Ivan III sealed political treaties and other important political documents.
But the first tsar officially crowned king was not Ivan III. Some more time passed when the great princes who ruled Russia began to be officially called tsars and pass this title on by inheritance.
The first Russian Tsar, who officially began to be called that way throughout the world, was the grandson of Ivan III, Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible in 1547.
Tsar is the main title of the monarchs of the Russian Kingdom from 1547 to 1721. The first tsar was Ivan IV the Terrible, and the last was Peter I the Great
Informally, this title was used sporadically by the rulers of Rus' starting from the 11th century and systematically since the time of Ivan III. Vasily III, who succeeded Ivan III, was content with the old title “Grand Duke”. His son Ivan IV the Terrible, upon reaching adulthood, was crowned Tsar of All Rus', thus establishing in the eyes of his subjects his prestige as a sovereign ruler and heir to the Byzantine emperors. In 1721, Peter the Great adopted the main title of Emperor; unofficially and semi-officially, the title “Tsar” continued to be used until the overthrow of the monarchy in February-March 1917. In addition, the title was included in the official full title as the title of the owner of the former Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberian Khanates , and then Poland.
Sources: wikii.ru, otvetina.narod.ru, otvet.mail.ru, rusich.moy.su, knowledge.allbest.ru
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By the end of the 15th century, when Byzantium fell under the onslaught of Muslims, the question of succession arose: for Russia, Byzantium with its divinely crowned emperors was an example and model. In order for Moscow to truly become the successor of Christian traditions, it was necessary, following the Byzantine model, to endow the ruling persons with power “from God”, and to make Moscow the new Constantinople. This idea was born at the court of Ivan III and forced his subordinates to rethink their approach to assuming the rights of the next ruler.
At this time, there was a serious struggle at court over which branch of the Ivan III family would continue to rule the state. The Grand Duke was married twice: the first time to the Tver princess Maria Borisovna, the second to Sophia Paleologus, the sister of the last emperor of the fallen Byzantium. From Maria Borisovna, Ivan III had an heir, Ivan the Young (died in 1490) and his son, Ivan’s grandson Dmitry (born in 1483); Of the children of Sophia Paleologus, the main contender for power was the son Vasily - the eldest of Sophia's sons.
It is curious that the introduction of the idea “Moscow is the new Constantinople” did not belong to Sophia Paleolog, but to her opponents - priests and scribes close to Dmitry and his mother Elena Voloshanka. Metropolitan Zosima, who was close to Helena, even composed an “Exposition of Paschal,” in which he introduced the idea of succession of power. The work of Palaeologus was not mentioned, and the succession was based on Rus''s loyalty to God. Zosima called the autocrat a tsar and claimed that God himself had placed him over Russia. In addition to the clergy, Dmitry Vnuk was supported by the princes of Tver, who did not like Paleologus, considering her a stranger and linking “unstructure in Rus'” with her appearance. Ivan III himself wanted to pass the throne along the senior line and considered Dmitry to be his heir, and after the plot against Dmitry failed in the fall of 1497, and Sophia Paleologus and her son fell out of favor, Ivan III decided to crown Dmitry for the “great reign of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod and all Rus'”, making him co-ruler.
The traditional form of government in Russia is considered to be a monarchy. Once upon a time, part of this large country was part of Kievan Rus: the main cities (Moscow, Vladimir, Veliky Novgorod, Smolensk, Ryazan) were founded by princes, descendants of the semi-legendary Rurik. Hence the first ruling dynasty is called the Rurikovichs. But they bore the title of princes; the tsars of Russia appeared much later.
Kievan Rus period
Initially, the ruler of Kyiv was considered the Grand Duke of All Rus'. The appanage princes paid him tribute, obeyed him, and sent squads during the military campaign. Later, when the period of feudal fragmentation began (eleventh to fifteenth centuries), there was no single state. But still, it was the Kiev throne that was most desirable for everyone, although it had lost its former influence. The invasion of the Mongol-Tatar army and the creation of the Golden Horde by Batu deepened the isolation of each principality: separate countries began to form on their territory - Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. On modern Russian territory, the most influential cities were Vladimir and Novgorod (it did not suffer at all from the invasion of nomads).
History of the Tsars of Russia
Prince Ivan Kalita of Vladimir, having secured the support of the Great Khan of Uzbek (with whom he had good relations), moved the political and ecclesiastical capital to Moscow. Over time, the Muscovites united other Russian lands near their city: the Novgorod and Pskov republics became part of a single state. It was then that the kings of Russia appeared - for the first time such a title began to be worn. Although there is a legend that the royal regalia were transferred to the rulers of this land much earlier. It is believed that the 1st Tsar of Russia is Vladimir Monomakh, who was crowned according to Byzantine customs.
Ivan the Terrible - the first autocrat in Russia
So, the first tsars of Russia appeared with the rise to power of Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584). He was the son of Vasily III and Elena Glinskaya. Having become a Moscow prince very early, he began to introduce reforms and encouraged self-government at the local level. However, he abolished the Chosen Rada and began to rule personally. The monarch's rule was very strict, even dictatorial. The defeat of Novgorod, outrages in Tver, Klin and Torzhok, oprichnina, protracted wars led to a socio-political crisis. But the international influence of the new kingdom also increased and its borders expanded.
Transition of the Russian throne
With the death of the son of Ivan the Terrible - Fyodor the First - the Godunov family came to the throne. Boris Godunov, even during the life of Feodor the First, had great influence on the tsar (his sister Irina Fedorovna was the wife of the monarch) and actually ruled the country. But Boris's son, Fyodor II, failed to retain power in his hands. The Time of Troubles began, and the country was ruled for some time by False Dmitry, Vasily Shuisky, the Seven Boyars and the Zemsky Council. Then the Romanovs reigned on the throne.
The great dynasty of kings of Russia - the Romanovs
The beginning of a new royal dynasty was laid by Mikhail Fedorovich, elected to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor. This ends the historical period called the Troubles. The House of Romanov is the descendants of the great Tsar who ruled Russia until 1917 and the overthrow of the monarchy in the country.
Mikhail Fedorovich was from an old Russian noble family, who bore the surname Romanovs from the mid-sixteenth century. Its founder is considered to be a certain Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, whose father came to Russia either from Lithuania or Prussia. There is an opinion that he came from Novgorod. Five sons founded seventeen noble families. A representative of the family, Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, was the wife of Ivan IV the Terrible, of whom the newly-minted monarch was a great-nephew.
The Tsars of Russia from the House of Romanov stopped the Troubles in the country, which earned them the love and respect of the common people. Mikhail Fedorovich was young and inexperienced at the time of his election to the throne. At first, the great eldress Martha helped him rule, and therefore the Orthodox Church significantly strengthened its position. The reign of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty is characterized by the beginning of progress. The first newspaper appeared in the country (it was published by clerks specifically for the monarch), international ties were strengthened, factories were built and operating (iron smelting, iron making and weapons), and foreign specialists were attracted. Centralized power is strengthened, new territories are annexed to Russia. His wife gave Mikhail Fedorovich ten children, one of whom inherited the throne.
From kings to emperors. Peter the Great
In the eighteenth century he transformed his kingdom into an empire. Therefore, in history, all the names of the kings of Russia who ruled after him were already used with the title emperor.
A great reformer and an outstanding politician, he did a lot for the prosperity of Russia. His reign began with a fierce struggle for the throne: his father, Alexei Mikhailovich, had very numerous offspring. At first he ruled together with his brother Ivan and the regent, but their relationship did not work out. Having eliminated other contenders for the throne, Peter began to rule the state alone. Then he began military campaigns to secure Russia's access to the sea, built the first fleet, reorganized the army, recruiting foreign specialists. If the great tsars of Russia previously did not pay due attention to the education of their subjects, then Emperor Peter the Great personally sent nobles to study abroad, brutally suppressing dissent. He remade his country according to the European model, since he traveled a lot and saw how people lived there.
Nikolai Romanov - the last tsar
The last Russian emperor was Nicholas II. He received a good education and a very strict upbringing. His father, Alexander the Third, was demanding: from his sons he expected not so much obedience as intelligence, strong faith in God, a desire to work, and especially did not put up with children denouncing each other. The future ruler served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, so he knew well what the army and military affairs were. During his reign, the country actively developed: the economy, industry, and agriculture reached their peak. The last Tsar of Russia actively participated in international politics and carried out reforms in the country, reducing the length of military service. But he also conducted his own military campaigns.
The fall of the monarchy in Russia. October Revolution
In February 1917, unrest began in Russia, in particular in the capital. The country at that time took part in the First World War. Wanting to end the contradictions at home, the emperor, while at the front, abdicated the throne in favor of his young son, and a few days later did the same on behalf of Tsarevich Alexei, entrusting his brother to rule. But Grand Duke Mikhail also refused such an honor: the rebel Bolsheviks were already putting pressure on him. Upon returning to his homeland, the last Tsar of Russia was arrested along with his family and sent into exile. On the night of July 17-18 of the same year, 1917, the royal family, along with the servants who did not want to leave their sovereigns, were shot. All representatives of the Romanov dynasty who remained in the country were also destroyed. Some managed to emigrate to Great Britain, France, America, and their descendants still live there.
Will there be a revival of the monarchy in Russia?
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many began to talk about the revival of the monarchy in Russia. At the site of the execution of the royal family - where the Ipatiev house used to stand in Yekaterinburg (the death sentence was carried out in the basement of the building) a temple was built dedicated to the memory of the innocent murdered. In August 2000, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized everyone as saints, establishing the Fourth of July as their day of remembrance. But many believers do not agree with this: voluntary abdication of the throne is considered a sin, since the priests blessed the kingdom.
In 2005, the descendants of Russian autocrats held a council in Madrid. After which they sent a demand to the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation to rehabilitate the Romanov house. However, they were not recognized as victims of political repression due to a lack of official data. This is a criminal offense, not a political one. But representatives of the Russian imperial house do not agree with this and continue to appeal the verdict, hoping for the restoration of historical justice.
But whether modern Russia needs a monarchy is a question for the people. History will put everything in its place. In the meantime, people honor the memory of members of the royal family who were brutally executed during the Red Terror and say prayers for their souls.
He lived a great and tragic life. His name is known to everyone, but real events are often hidden or distorted by ill-wishers and not very honest historians. The name of the first Russian Tsar is Ivan IV Vasilyevich (the Terrible).
Since ancient times, the highest title of a ruler in Rus' has been considered “prince.” After the unification of the Russian principalities under the rule of Kyiv took place, the highest rank of the ruler became the title “Grand Duke”.
The title "king" was borne by the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople. In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Turks, and shortly before that, Greek Orthodoxy concluded the Union of Florence with Catholic Rome. In this regard, the last Greek metropolitan was expelled from the Moscow see, which declared itself independent from Byzantium. New metropolitans were chosen from natural russians.
Muscovite Rus', unlike Byzantium, through the efforts of the great princes, including the father of Ivan IV, and then by himself, united, expanded and strengthened. The great Moscow princes began to call themselves “sovereigns of all Rus'” and gradually accustom foreign diplomats and their subjects to the idea that their state was not a backyard, but the center of a true Christian world, not subject to apostate unions. The idea of Moscow as the third Rome, which is the heir of the non-Uniate Byzantium, both in politics and in faith, about the special purpose of Rus', appears and strengthens in the mind.
In addition to all of the above, the title “Grand Duke” in Europe was perceived as “prince” or “duke” and, accordingly, as a vassal or subordinate of the emperor.
The title “tsar” put the “sovereign of all Rus'” on the same level as the only emperor at that time - the emperor of the Roman Empire, to whom all European kings were nominally subordinate.
Ivan IV was crowned king in 1547, at the age of 17. The boyar elite who ruled the country at that time hoped that the tsar would remain a puppet in their hands and the official sign of the state.
Official recognition by Europe of the royal title of the Moscow sovereign occurred in 1561, when the Eastern Patriarch Joasaph confirmed it with his charter. Some states, for example, England and Sweden, recognized the title of the Russian Tsar before the Patriarch.
Truth and slander
For many hundreds of years, the events of the life of the first crowned Russian Tsar were subject to openly slanderous insinuations from enemies, traitors and those who wrote official history. One of their main postulates is that “all the king’s undertakings ended in failure.” However, among the significant reforms of Ivan IV, the indisputable ones, and those that have received further development, are:
Contrary to popular belief, Ivan the Terrible left behind a more developed country than he inherited. The country owes its ruin to another boyar unrest that occurred after the death of the tsar.
People receive most of their “knowledge” about history from school textbooks, feature films, books and the media, which shamelessly repeat established myths. Here are some of them about Ivan the Terrible:
is far from clear, just like the time in which he lived. Power is a burden that must be carried, and the better it is, the more opposition there will be. This happened with Ivan IV when he “modernized” the country. This is what happens to his legacy over the centuries when his deeds are thrown into the mud.
Grand Duke (from 1533), and from 1547 - the first Russian Tsar. This is the son of Vasily III. He began to rule in the late 40s with the participation of the Chosen Rada. Ivan IV was the first Russian Tsar from 1547 to 1584, until his death.
Briefly about the reign of Ivan the Terrible
It was under Ivan that the convening of Zemsky Sobors began, and the Code of Laws of 1550 was compiled. He carried out reforms of the court and administration (Zemskaya, Gubnaya and other reforms). In 1565, oprichnina was introduced in the state.
Also, the first Russian Tsar established trade relations with England in 1553, and under him the first printing house was created in Moscow. Ivan IV conquered the Astrakhan (1556) and Kazan (1552) khanates. The Livonian War was fought in 1558-1583 for access to the Baltic Sea. In 1581, the first Russian Tsar began annexing Siberia. Mass executions and disgraces accompanied the internal policies of Ivan IV, as well as the strengthening of enslavement of the peasants.
Origin of Ivan IV
The future tsar was born in 1530, on August 25, near Moscow (in the village of Kolomenskoye). He was the eldest son of Vasily III, Grand Duke of Moscow, and Elena Glinskaya. Ivan descended on his father’s side from the Rurik dynasty (its Moscow branch), and on his mother’s side from Mamai, who was considered the ancestor of the Glinsky, Lithuanian princes. Sophia Palaeologus, her paternal grandmother, belonged to the family of Byzantine emperors. According to legend, in honor of the birth of Ivan, the Church of the Ascension was founded in Kolomenskoye.
Childhood years of the future king
A three-year-old boy remained in the care of his mother after the death of his father. She died in 1538. At this time, Ivan was only 8 years old. He grew up in an atmosphere of struggle for power between the Belsky and Shuisky families, at war with each other, in an atmosphere of palace coups.
The violence, intrigue and murder that surrounded him contributed to the development of cruelty, vindictiveness and suspicion in the future king. Ivan’s tendency to torment others manifested itself already in childhood, and his close associates approved of it.
Moscow uprising
In his youth, one of the most powerful impressions of the future tsar were the Moscow uprising that occurred in 1547 and the “great fire.” After the murder of a relative of Ivan from the Glinsky family, the rebels came to the village of Vorobyovo. The Grand Duke took refuge here. They demanded that the remaining Glinskys be handed over to them.
It took a lot of effort to persuade the crowd to disperse, but they still managed to convince them that the Glinskys were not in Vorobiev. The danger had just passed, and now the future king ordered the arrest of the conspirators in order to execute them.
How did Ivan the Terrible become the first Russian Tsar?
Already in his youth, Ivan’s favorite idea was the idea of autocratic power, unlimited by anything. On January 16, 1547, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, the solemn crowning of Ivan IV, the Grand Duke, took place. Signs of royal dignity were placed on him: the cap and barmas of Monomakh, the cross of the Life-Giving Tree. After receiving the Holy Mysteries, Ivan Vasilyevich was anointed with myrrh. So Ivan the Terrible became the first Russian Tsar.
As you can see, the people did not participate in this decision. Ivan himself proclaimed himself tsar (of course, not without the support of the clergy). The first elected Russian Tsar in the history of our country was Boris Godunov, who ruled a little later than Ivan. The Zemsky Sobor in Moscow in 1598, February 17 (27), elected him to the throne.
What did the royal title give?
The royal title allowed him to take a fundamentally different position in relations with the states of Western Europe. The fact is that the grand ducal title in the West was translated as “prince”, and sometimes as “grand duke”. However, “king” was either not translated at all, or was translated as “emperor”. Thus, the Russian autocrat stood on a par with the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire itself, the only one in Europe.
Reforms aimed at centralizing the state
Together with the Elected Rada, since 1549, the first Russian Tsar carried out a number of reforms that were aimed at centralizing the state. These are, first of all, the Zemstvo and Guba reforms. Transformations also began in the army. The new Code of Law was adopted in 1550. The first Zemsky Sobor was convened in 1549, and two years later - the Stoglavy Sobor. It adopted "Stoglav", a collection of decisions regulating church life. Ivan IV in 1555-1556 abolished feedings and also adopted the Code of Service.
Annexation of new lands
The first Russian Tsar in the history of Russia in 1550-51 personally participated in the Kazan campaigns. Kazan was conquered by him in 1552, and in 1556 - the Astrakhan Khanate. Nogai and the Siberian Khan Ediger became dependent on the king.
Livonian War
Trade relations with England were established in 1553. Ivan IV started the Livonian War in 1558, intending to gain the coast of the Baltic Sea. Military operations initially developed successfully. By 1560, the army of the Livonian Order was completely defeated, and this Order itself ceased to exist.
In the meantime, significant changes took place in the internal situation of the state. Around 1560, the Tsar broke with the Chosen Rada. He placed various disgraces on its leaders. Adashev and Sylvester, according to some researchers, realizing that the Livonian War did not promise success for Russia, unsuccessfully tried to persuade the tsar to sign an agreement with the enemy. Russian troops captured Polotsk in 1563. It was a large Lithuanian fortress in those days. Ivan IV was especially proud of this victory, which was won after the dissolution of the Chosen Rada. However, Russia already began to suffer defeats in 1564. Ivan tried to find the guilty, executions and disgraces began.
Introduction of the oprichnina
The first Russian Tsar in Russian history became increasingly imbued with the idea of establishing a personal dictatorship. He announced in 1565 the introduction of oprichnina in the country. The state was now divided into 2 parts. Zemshchina began to be called the territories that were not included in the oprichnina. Each oprichnik necessarily swore an oath of allegiance to the tsar. He pledged not to maintain relations with the zemstvos.
The guardsmen were released by Ivan IV from judicial responsibility. With their help, the tsar forcibly confiscated the estates of the boyars and transferred them into the possession of the oprichniki nobles. Disgraces and executions were accompanied by robbery among the population and terror.
Novgorod pogrom
The Novgorod pogrom, which occurred in January-February 1570, became a major event during the oprichnina era. The reason for this was the suspicion that Novgorod intended to go over to Lithuania. Ivan IV personally led the campaign. On the way to Novgorod from Moscow, he plundered all the cities. In December 1569, during the campaign, Malyuta Skuratov strangled Metropolitan Philip in the Tver monastery, who tried to resist Ivan. It is believed that the number of victims in Novgorod, where no more than 30 thousand people lived at that time, amounted to 10-15 thousand. Historians claim that the tsar abolished the oprichnina in 1572.
Invasion of Devlet-Girey
The invasion of Devlet-Girey, the Crimean Khan, to Moscow in 1571 played a role in this. The oprichnina army was unable to stop him. Devlet-Girey burned the settlements, the fire also spread to the Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod.
The division of the state also had a detrimental effect on its economy. A huge amount of land was devastated and destroyed.
Reserved summers
In order to prevent the desolation of many estates, in 1581 the king introduced reserved summers in the country. This was a temporary ban on peasants leaving their owners on St. George's Day. This contributed to the establishment of serfdom in Russia. The Livonian War ended in complete failure for the state. The original Russian lands were lost. Ivan the Terrible could see the objective results of his reign during his lifetime: the failure of all foreign and domestic political undertakings.
Remorse and fits of rage
The Tsar stopped executing people in 1578. Almost at the same time, he ordered the compilation of memorial lists (synodics) of those executed, and then distribution of contributions for their commemoration to the monasteries of the country. In his will, drawn up in 1579, the king repented of his deeds.
However, periods of prayer and repentance were followed by fits of rage. On November 9, 1582, during one of these attacks, in his country residence (Alexandrovskaya Sloboda), he accidentally killed Ivan Ivanovich, his son, hitting him in the temple with a staff with an iron tip.
The death of the heir plunged the tsar into despair, since Fyodor Ivanovich, his other son, was incapable of governing the state. Ivan sent a large contribution to the monastery to commemorate Ivan’s soul, and even thought about entering the monastery himself.
Wives and children of Ivan the Terrible
The exact number of wives of Ivan the Terrible is unknown. The king was probably married 7 times. He had, not counting children who died in infancy, three sons.
From his first marriage, Ivan had two sons, Fedor and Ivan, from Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva. His second wife was Maria Temryukovna, the daughter of a Kabardian prince. The third was Marfa Sobakina, who died unexpectedly 3 weeks after the wedding. According to church rules, it was forbidden to marry more than three times. Therefore, in 1572, in May, a church council was convened in order to authorize Ivan the Terrible’s 4th marriage - with Anna Koltovskaya. However, she was tonsured a nun that same year. In 1575, Anna Vasilchikova became the tsar's fifth wife, who died in 1579. Probably the sixth wife was Vasilisa Melentyeva. In the fall of 1580, Ivan entered into his last marriage - with Maria Naga. In 1582, on November 19, Dmitry Ivanovich was born from her, the third son of the Tsar, who died in Uglich in 1591.
What else is remembered in history by Ivan the Terrible?
The name of the first Russian Tsar went down in history not only as the embodiment of tyranny. For his time, he was one of the most educated people, possessed of theological erudition and phenomenal memory. The first tsar on the Russian throne is the author of many messages (for example, to Kurbsky), the text and music of the service for the feast of Our Lady of Vladimir, as well as the canon to the Archangel Michael. Ivan IV contributed to the organization of book printing in Moscow. Also during his reign, St. Basil's Cathedral was erected on Red Square.
Death of Ivan IV
In 1584, on March 27, at about three o'clock, Ivan the Terrible went to the bathhouse prepared for him. The first Russian monarch, who officially accepted the title of Tsar, washed with pleasure and was amused by songs. Ivan the Terrible felt fresher after the bath. The king was seated on the bed, wearing a wide robe on top of his underwear. Ivan ordered the chess set to be brought and began arranging it himself. He could not manage to put the chess king in his place. And at that time Ivan fell.
They immediately ran: some for rose water, some for vodka, some for the clergy and doctors. Doctors arrived with drugs and began to rub him. The Metropolitan also came and hastily performed the rite of tonsure, naming Ivan Jonah. However, the king was already lifeless. The people became agitated and a crowd rushed to the Kremlin. Boris Godunov ordered the gates to be closed.
The body of the first Russian Tsar was buried on the third day. He was buried in the Archangel Cathedral. The grave of the son he killed is next to his own.
So, the first Russian Tsar was Ivan the Terrible. And after him, his son, Fyodor Ivanovich, who suffered from dementia, began to rule. In fact, the state was governed by a board of trustees. A struggle for power has begun, but this is a separate topic.
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