Ivan IV Vasilyevich (1533-1584) ascended the throne at the age of 3 after the death of his father Vasily III. In fact, the state was ruled by his mother Elena Glinskaya, but she also died, presumably from poisoning, when Ivan was 8 years old. After her death, a real struggle for power unfolded between the boyar groups of the Belskys, Shuiskys and Glinskys. This struggle was waged in front of the young ruler, instilling in him cruelty, fear, and suspicion. From 1538 to 1547 5 boyar groups came to power. Boyar rule was accompanied by the removal of 2 metropolitans, theft of the treasury, executions, torture, and exile. Boyar rule led to the weakening of central power and caused a wave of discontent and open protests. The international position of the state has also become more complicated.
In 1547, at the age of 17, Ivan IV was crowned king, becoming the first Tsar in Russian history. In 1549, a circle of close people formed around young Ivan, which was called "The Chosen One" It included Metropolitan Macarius, the Tsar’s confessor Sylvester, Prince A.M. Kurbsky, nobleman A.F. Adashev. The Rada existed until 1560 and carried out a number of reforms.
Reforms of central and local government. In 1549, a new government body arose - the Zemsky Sobor. An order management system was established and the most important orders appeared. During the reign of Ivan IV, the composition of the Boyar Duma was expanded almost three times in order to weaken the role of the old boyar aristocracy in it. Elected zemstvo authorities were established locally in the person of “zemstvo elders,” who were chosen from wealthy townspeople and peasants. General supervision of local government passed into the hands of governors and city clerks. In 1556 the feeding system was abolished. Territory managers began to receive salaries from the treasury.
The territory was divided into the following territorial units: lip(the district) was headed by a provincial elder (from the nobility); parish headed by the zemstvo elder (from the black-sown population); city was headed by a “favorite head” (from local service people).
Thus, as a result of the management reform in Russia, an estate-representative monarchy emerged.
Military reform. In the middle of the sixteenth century. from the Volga to the Baltic, Russia was surrounded by a ring of hostile states. In this situation, the presence of combat-ready troops was extremely important for Russia. Due to a lack of money in the treasury, the government paid for its services with land. For every 150 dessiatines of land (1 dessiatine - 1.09 hectares), a boyar or nobleman had to supply one warrior with a horse and weapons. With regard to military service, votchinas were equivalent to estates. Now a patrimonial owner or landowner could begin service at the age of 15 and pass it on by inheritance. Service people were divided into two main groups: those who served “by fatherland” (i.e. by inheritance - boyars and nobles) and by “device” (i.e. by recruitment - gunners, archers, etc.).
In 1556, the “Code of Service” was first drawn up, which regulated military service. Cossacks were recruited for the border service. Foreigners became another component of the Russian army, but their number was insignificant. During military campaigns, localism was limited.
As a result of the military reform, Russia during the time of Ivan IV began to have an army that it had not had before. The creation of a combat-ready army allowed Russia to solve some long-standing strategic foreign policy problems.
Currency reform. A single monetary unit was introduced throughout the country - the Moscow ruble. The right to collect trade duties passed into the hands of the state. From now on, the entire population of the country had to bear tax- a complex of natural and monetary duties. A single tax collection unit was established for the entire state - big plow. Depending on the fertility of the soil and the social status of the owner, a large plow ranged from 400 to 600 hectares of land.
Judicial reform. In 1550, a new Code of Law was adopted. He introduced changes to the Code of Law of 1497, reflecting the strengthening of central power. It confirmed the right of the peasants to move on St. George’s Day (November 26), and the payment for the “elderly” was increased, which further enslaved the peasants. Punishment for bribery was introduced for the first time.
Church reform. In 1551 the Council of the Hundred Heads took place. It was so named because its decisions were formulated in one hundred chapters. For a long time, Stoglav became the code of Russian church law. An all-Russian list of saints was compiled, and unified(brought to uniformity) rituals throughout the country. Church art was subject to regulation: models were approved that were to be followed. The work of Andrei Rublev was proclaimed as a model in painting, and the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in architecture.
The reforms of the Elected Rada contributed to the strengthening of the Russian centralized state. They strengthened the power of the king, led to the reorganization of local and central government, and strengthened the military power of the country.
Oprichnina. Towards the end of the activities of the Chosen Rada, tension grew between the king and his entourage. The course towards centralization infringed on the interests of many princes and boyars. Dissatisfaction with the protracted Livonian War grew. In 1560, Ivan IV's wife Anastasia Zakharyina-Romanova, whom he loved very much, died. The Tsar suspected the boyars to be responsible for her death. In the early 1560s. betrayals became more frequent, the loudest of which was the flight of A. Kurbsky.
In 1565, Ivan IV introduced the oprichnina (1565-1572). The territory of Russia was divided into two parts: the oprichnina and the zemshchina. The oprichnina included the most important lands. Here the king had the right to be an unlimited ruler. Ivan IV settled an oprichnina army on these lands; the population of the zemshchina had to support it. Feudal lords who were not included in the oprichnina army, but whose land was located in the oprichnina, were evicted to the zemshchina. Fighting the remnants of the appanage orders and trying to destroy the slightest opposition sentiments, Ivan IV carried out a cruel reign of terror. It was directed against the boyars and nobles, whom the tsar suspected of treason, but the common population also suffered from them. According to various estimates, 3-4 thousand people died from oprichnina terror. The oprichnina led to the ruin of the country, the desolation of many lands, worsened the situation of the peasants and largely contributed to their further enslavement. For the character shown during the oprichnina years, Ivan IV began to be called “The Terrible.”
Foreign policy Russia under Ivan IV was divided into three directions. On western direction, the main goal was access to the Baltic Sea. Trying to reach him, Ivan IV waged a grueling 25-year Livonian War (1558-1583). At first, the war went well. In 1560, the Livonian Order was defeated, but its lands came under the rule of Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Instead of one weak enemy, Russia received three strong ones. The war was aggravated by the betrayal of A. Kurbsky and the oprichnina. The Livonian War ended with the defeat of Russia. It was not possible to obtain access to the Baltic Sea. Foreign trade continued to be carried out through the White Sea. In the middle of the 16th century. Maritime connections were established with England. From Western Europe through Arkhangelsk, Russia imported weapons, cloth, jewelry, and wine in exchange for furs, flax, hemp, honey, and wax.
On eastern direction, the main goal was the fight against the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and the annexation of Siberia. The Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, formed as a result of the collapse of the Golden Horde, constantly threatened Russian lands. Here were the fertile soils that the Russian nobility dreamed of. In 1552 the Kazan Khanate was annexed, in 1556 the Astrakhan Khanate was annexed. The Nogai Horde (the lands from the Volga to the Irtysh) recognized its dependence on Russia. Russia included Tatars, Bashkirs, Udmurts, Mordovians, and Maris. Relations with the peoples of the North Caucasus and Central Asia have expanded. New fertile lands and the entire trade route along the Volga came under Russian control. The Volga trade route connected Russia with the countries of the East, from where silk, fabrics, porcelain, paints, spices, etc. were brought.
The annexation of Kazan and Astrakhan opened up the possibility of advancing into Siberia. The wealthy merchants Stroganovs received charters from Ivan IV to own lands along the Tobol River. Using their own funds, they formed a detachment of free Cossacks led by Ermak. In 1581, Ermak and his army entered the territory of the Siberian Khanate, and a year later defeated the troops of Khan Kuchum and took his capital, Kashlyk. The population of Siberia had to pay yasak– natural fur rent.
On southern direction, the main goal was to protect the country from attacks by the Crimean Tatars, since in the 16th century. The development of the territory of the Wild Field (fertile lands south of Tula) began. The Tula and Belgorod serif lines were built. The fight was carried out with varying degrees of success. In 1571, the Crimean Khan and his army reached Moscow and burned its settlement. The oprichnina army was unable to resist this, probably prompting the tsar to abolish the oprichnina. In 1572, at the Battle of Molodi, the Crimean troops were defeated by the united Russian army.
Thus, under Ivan IV, the most successful direction of foreign policy turned out to be the eastern one, and the most unsuccessful - the western one.
Historians assess the significance of the personality and activities of Ivan the Terrible contradictory. Some scientists believe that the policies of Ivan the Terrible undermined the power of the country and predetermined the further Troubles. Other researchers consider Ivan the Terrible a great creator.
The activities of the first Russian Tsar should be assessed taking into account the time: he was forced to apply repression against the boyars, since at that time the top of the boyars had become an anti-state force. According to the most recent estimates by scientists, during the 37 years of his reign, on the orders of Ivan the Terrible, from 3 to 4 thousand people were killed. For comparison, his contemporary, the French king Charles IX, in 1572 alone, with the blessing of the Pope, destroyed 30 thousand Huguenots - Catholic Protestants. Ivan the Terrible was undoubtedly a despot. But the tsar’s despotism was caused by the internal and external circumstances in which Russia found itself in the middle of the 16th century.
IVAN IV THE TERRIBLE(August 25, 1530, the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow - March 18, 1584, Moscow), Prince of Moscow and All Rus' (from 1533), the first Russian Tsar (from 1547), son of Grand Duke Vasily III and Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya.
Childhood
After the death of his father, 3-year-old Ivan remained in the care of his mother, who died in 1538, when he was 8 years old. Ivan grew up in an environment of palace coups, the struggle for power between the boyar families of the Shuisky and Belsky, warring among themselves. The murders, intrigues and violence that surrounded him contributed to the development of suspicion, vindictiveness and cruelty in him. Ivan’s tendency to torment living beings manifested itself already in childhood, and those close to him approved of it. One of the strong impressions of the tsar in his youth was the “great fire” and the Moscow uprising of 1547. After the murder of one of the Glinskys, a relative of the tsar, the rebels came to the village of Vorobyovo, where the Grand Duke had taken refuge, and demanded the extradition of the rest of the Glinskys. With great difficulty they managed to persuade the crowd to disperse, convincing them that they were not in Vorobyovo. As soon as the danger had passed, the king ordered the arrest of the main conspirators and their execution.
Beginning of reign
The king’s favorite idea, realized already in his youth, was the idea of unlimited autocratic power. On January 16, 1547, the solemn crowning of Grand Duke Ivan IV took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Signs of royal dignity were placed on him: the cross of the Life-Giving Tree, barmas and the cap of Monomakh. After receiving the Holy Mysteries, Ivan Vasilyevich was anointed with myrrh. The royal title allowed him to take a significantly different position in diplomatic relations with Western Europe. The grand ducal title was translated as “prince” or even “grand duke.” The title “king” was either not translated at all, or translated as “emperor”. The Russian autocrat thereby stood on a par with the only Holy Roman Emperor in Europe.
From 1549, together with the Elected Rada (A.F. Adashev, Metropolitan Macarius, A.M. Kurbsky, priest Sylvester), Ivan IV carried out a number of reforms aimed at centralizing the state: the Zemstvo reform of Ivan IV, the Guba reform, reforms were carried out in the army, 1550 the new Code of Law of Ivan IV was adopted. In 1549 the first Zemsky Sobor was convened, in 1551 the Stoglavy Sobor, which adopted a collection of decisions on church life "Stoglav". In 1555-56, Ivan IV abolished feeding and adopted the Code of Service.
In 1550-51, Ivan the Terrible personally took part in the Kazan campaigns. In 1552 Kazan was conquered, then the Astrakhan Khanate (1556), the Siberian Khan Ediger and Nogai Bolshie became dependent on the Russian Tsar. In 1553, trade relations with England were established. In 1558, Ivan IV began the Livonian War for the capture of the Baltic Sea coast. Initially, military operations developed successfully. By 1560, the army of the Livonian Order was completely defeated, and the Order itself ceased to exist. Meanwhile, serious changes took place in the internal situation of the country. Around 1560, the king broke with the leaders of the Chosen Rada and placed various disgraces on them. According to some historians, Sylvester and Adashev, realizing that the Livonian War did not promise success for Russia, unsuccessfully advised the tsar to come to an agreement with the enemy. In 1563, Russian troops captured Polotsk, at that time a large Lithuanian fortress. The Tsar was especially proud of this victory, won after the break with the Chosen Rada. However, already in 1564 Russia suffered serious defeats. The king began to look for those “to blame”, disgraces and executions began.
Oprichnina
The Tsar became increasingly imbued with the idea of establishing a personal dictatorship. In 1565 he announced the introduction of oprichnina in the country. The country was divided into two parts: the territories that were not included in the oprichnina began to be called zemshchina, each oprichnik swore an oath of allegiance to the tsar and pledged not to communicate with the zemstvo people. The guardsmen dressed in black clothes, similar to monastic clothes. Horse guardsmen had special insignia; gloomy symbols of the era were attached to their saddles: a broom - to sweep out treason, and dog heads - to gnaw out treason. With the help of the oprichniki, who were exempt from judicial responsibility, Ivan IV forcibly confiscated the boyar estates, transferring them to the oprichniki nobles. Executions and disgraces were accompanied by terror and robbery among the population. A major event of the oprichnina was the Novgorod pogrom in January-February 1570, the reason for which was the suspicion of Novgorod’s desire to go over to Lithuania. The king personally led the campaign. All the cities along the road from Moscow to Novgorod were plundered. During this campaign in December 1569, Malyuta Skuratov strangled Metropolitan Philip, who was trying to resist the tsar, in the Tver Otroch Monastery. It is believed that the number of victims in Novgorod, where no more than 30 thousand people lived at that time, reached 10-15 thousand. Most historians believe that in 1572 the tsar abolished the oprichnina. The invasion of Moscow in 1571 by the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, whom the oprichnina army could not stop, played a role; Posads were burned, the fire spread to Kitay-Gorod and the Kremlin.
Results of the reign
The division of the country had a detrimental effect on the state's economy. A huge number of lands were ravaged and devastated. In 1581, in order to prevent the desolation of estates, the tsar introduced reserved summers - a temporary ban on peasants leaving their owners on St. George's Day, which contributed to the establishment of serfdom in Russia. The Livonian War ended in complete failure and the loss of the original Russian lands. Ivan the Terrible could see the objective results of his reign already during his lifetime: it was the failure of all domestic and foreign policy endeavors. Since 1578, the king stopped executing people. Almost at the same time, he ordered that synodics (memorial lists) be compiled for those executed and contributions sent to the monasteries for the commemoration of their souls; in his will of 1579 he repented of his deeds.
Sons and wives of Ivan the Terrible
Periods of repentance and prayer were followed by terrible fits of rage. During one of these attacks on November 9, 1582 in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, a country residence, the tsar accidentally killed his son Ivan Ivanovich, hitting him in the temple with a staff with an iron tip. The death of the heir plunged the tsar into despair, since his other son, Fyodor Ivanovich, was unable to rule the country. Ivan the Terrible sent a large contribution to the monastery to commemorate the soul of his son; he even thought about leaving for the monastery.
The exact number of wives of Ivan the Terrible is unknown, but he was probably married seven times. Not counting the children who died in infancy, he had three sons. From his first marriage to Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva, two sons were born, Ivan and Fedor. The second wife was the daughter of the Kabardian prince Maria Temryukovna. The third is Marfa Sobakina, who died unexpectedly three weeks after the wedding. According to church rules, it was forbidden to marry more than three times. In May 1572, a church council was convened to permit a fourth marriage - with Anna Koltovskaya. But that same year she was tonsured a nun. The fifth wife was Anna Vasilchikova in 1575, who died in 1579, the sixth was probably Vasilisa Melentyeva. The last marriage took place in the fall of 1580 with Maria Naga. On November 19, 1582, the tsar’s third son, Dmitry Ivanovich, was born, who died in 1591 in Uglich.
The legacy of Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV went down in history not only as a tyrant. He was one of the most educated people of his time, possessed a phenomenal memory and theological erudition. He is the author of numerous messages (including to Kurbsky), music and text of the service for the feast of Our Lady of Vladimir, and the canon to Archangel Michael. The Tsar contributed to the organization of book printing in Moscow and the construction of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.
Reign of Ivan IV the Terrible (briefly)
The reign of Ivan the Terrible - a brief description
Ivan the Fourth was the son of Prince Vasily the Third and Elena Glinskaya. After the death of his father, his mother took over the reign (it lasted five years), and then all power passed into the hands of the seven-boyars.
The future tsar's childhood passed in an atmosphere of constant struggle between the Obolensky, Shuisky, and Belsky families. According to researchers of the life of Grozny, it was the scenes of boyar violence and self-will that contributed to the development of distrust and suspicion of people in Ivan.
The independent reign of Ivan the Fourth began on January 16, 1547, when he assumed the title of Tsar, and two years later a reform party was formed, headed by A. Adashev and which was called the “Chosen Rada.” It included such royal confidants as clerk Viskovaty, priest Sylvester, Metropolitan Macarius, etc. It was from this moment that the era of Ivan the Terrible began, which was marked by unprecedented successes, both in foreign and domestic politics.
Together with the Elected Rada, Ivan carried out a number of reforms that were aimed at centralizing the state, and the harsh nature of these reforms was influenced by the uprising in Moscow in 1547, which was able to show the tsar that his power was not autocratic.
During the first convocation of the Zemsky Sobor (Great Zemsky Duma) in 1550, Ivan the Fourth showed the boyars that their power had passed and now the reins of power were in his hands. The main fruit of the meeting was the updated Code of Laws of 1477, which was not only corrected, but also supplemented with various charters and decrees that improved judicial procedures.
A year after the Zemsky Sobor, a Church Council was convened, where the “Royal Questions” were read, which were divided into one hundred chapters. The church reform of Grozny concerned monastic land ownership, and it prohibited churches from acquiring new lands, and also ordered the return of lands that the Boyar Duma had previously transferred to monasteries.
In 1553, Ivan the Terrible introduced printing in Rus', which became a new craft, headed by Ivan Fedorov.
In order to strengthen the armed forces, a streltsy army was organized, formed of three thousand streltsy for the royal personal guard.
The main point of Grozny's foreign policy was the total crushing of Tatar power. Already in 1552, Kazan was conquered, and in 56, the king’s army captured Astrakhan. The defeat of these cities put an end to the three-century power of the Tatars in the Volga region.
Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible was born on August 25, 1530 in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow. In 1533, his father, Grand Duke Vasily III (Rurikovich), died. In 1538, Ivan Vasilyevich’s mother, Princess Elena Glinskaya (Lithuanian princess), passed away. The childhood of the future tsar was spent in an atmosphere of palace intrigue, struggle for power, and coups between the warring boyar families of the Belsky and Shuisky.
In 1547, the solemn crowning ceremony of Grand Duke Ivan IV was held in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. At that time, his title was translated as “emperor,” which placed Ivan the Terrible on a par with the Holy Roman Emperor.
The tsar was helped to conduct domestic affairs by the advisers of the Elected Rada, which included Metropolitan Macarius, A.F. Adashev, A.M. Kurbsky, and Archpriest Sylvester.
Domestic policy
In 1549, Ivan Vasilyevich convened the first Zemsky Sobor, which was attended by all segments of the population except serfs, and political, administrative, and economic issues were resolved. Since the late 40s, the tsar carried out a number of reforms: zemstvo, military, labial, symbolic.
In 1550, the Code of Laws of Ivan IV was adopted, in which peasant communities were given the right to self-government, restore order, and distribute taxes. In 1551, the tsar convened the Stoglava Council, which resulted in the adoption of a collection of decisions on church life - “Stoglava”. In 1555–1556, the “feeding” system was abolished and the “Code of Service” was adopted, which made it possible to form a new army structure.
In 1565, Ivan the Terrible, whose biography already spoke for him as a great monarch, introduced a special form of government - the oprichnina, aimed at strengthening the autocracy. In 1572, the oprichnina was dissolved.
Foreign policy
In foreign policy, Ivan IV headed towards expanding territories in the east, mastering the shores of the Baltic Sea in the west and bringing to the end the struggle with the successors of the Golden Horde.
Grozny made significant military campaigns, as a result of which the Kazan Khanate was annexed to the Russian territories in 1547–1552, and the Astrakhan Khanate, the lands of the Urals and the Volga region in 1556. In 1555 - 1557, the Siberian Khan Ediger and the Great Nogai Horde became dependent on Ivan IV. In 1556, Russian troops destroyed the capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai-Batu.
In 1554 - 1557, Grozny's troops won the war with Sweden, which was started by the Swedish king Gustav I. In 1558 - 1583, Grozny's troops failed in the Livonian War. At the same time, Ivan IV waged wars with the Crimean Khanate with varying success.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible died on March 18, 1584 in Moscow. The great ruler was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Other biography options
Biography test
A short test on the biography of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
The biography of Ivan the Terrible still amazes many with its originality and significance. This is one of the most famous Grand Dukes of Moscow and All Rus' today, who actually led the country for 37 years, with the exception of a short period when Simeon Bekbulatovich was the nominal king. The reign of Ivan the Terrible is remembered by many for the unreasonable cruelty with which he led his subordinates.
Prince's childhood
The hero of our article was born in 1530. When talking about the biography of Ivan the Terrible, we must begin with the fact that he began to be considered as a contender for the throne at the age of three, when his father Vasily III became seriously ill.
Anticipating his imminent death, he formed a boyar commission to govern the state, the members of which were supposed to serve as guardians. An interesting fact from the biography of Ivan the Terrible: he could become king only after he was 15 years old.
Power struggle
After Vasily's death, everything was calm in the country for only about a year. In 1534, a number of changes took place in the ruling circles. The influence was exerted by the fact that Prince Belsky and the okolnichy Lyatsky went into the service of the Lithuanian prince. Soon one of Ivan’s guardians was arrested and died in prison. Several more famous boyars were arrested.
Ivan the Terrible became a full-fledged ruler only in 1545. In his memoirs, he described that one of the most vivid impressions of his youth was the so-called great fire in Moscow, when about 25 thousand houses were destroyed. Interesting facts from the life and biography of Ivan the Terrible often amazed and surprised many. So, at the very beginning of his reign, he almost became a victim of an uprising. In 1547, rebels killed one of the Glinskys, relatives of the Tsar’s mother, and then came to the village of Vorobyovo, where the Grand Duke was hiding. With great difficulty they managed to convince the crowd that the prince was not there.
An important event in the short biography of Ivan the Terrible, which is given in this article, was the wedding.
Historians are still arguing about who insisted on this ritual. Some argue that he was beneficial to the king’s relatives, while others believe that Ivan already showed a desire for power at a young age. Therefore, it was his personal decision, which came as a complete surprise to the boyars.
There is also a version that Metropolitan Macarius had a hand in the wedding, for whom it was beneficial to bring the church closer to the state. As a result, the solemn ceremony took place in January 1547. Macarius blessed Ivan for the kingdom.
Reforms in Russia
An important role in the biography of Ivan the Terrible is played by reforms, of which he carried out many. Basically, all of them were aimed at strengthening power, centralizing the state, as well as building relevant public institutions.
In Wikipedia, in the biography of Ivan the Terrible, interesting initiatives are often mentioned. In 1549, the first Zemsky Sobor was convened, in which all Russian classes took part, except the peasantry. This is how the estate-representative monarchy was officially formed.
In 1550, a new code of law was published, which established a uniform unit for collecting taxes, the amount of which depended on the social status of the owner and the fertility of the soil.
Then the provincial and zemstvo reforms took place in the country, which radically redistributed the powers of governors in the volosts. In 1550, the Streltsy army appeared.
It was under Grozny that a system of orders was formed in the state. In the 1560s, the familiar reform of state sphragistics was implemented, which established the type of state seal. A rider appeared on the eagle’s chest, which was taken from the Rurikovich coat of arms. The first time the new seal was used was on a treaty with the Kingdom of Denmark.
Military campaigns
The biography of Ivan the Terrible included a large number of military campaigns. Since the beginning of the 16th century, the Kazan Khanate was constantly at war with Muscovite Russia. Over these years, about forty campaigns were made against Russian lands. Kostroma, Vladimir, Vologda, and Murom suffered more than others.
Most historians believe that the first took place in 1545. In total, Ivan the Terrible, a short biography confirms this, made three campaigns against Kazan. The first ended in failure when the siege artillery withdrew due to an early thaw. Therefore, those troops that reached Kazan stood under the walls of the city for only a week.
It was not possible to take the city during the second campaign, which began after the death of Safa-Girey. But the Russian army built the Sviyazhsk fortress, which for many years became a stronghold for the Russian army.
Finally, the third campaign ended in triumph. In October 1552, Kazan was taken. About 150 thousand soldiers, armed with 150 cannons, took part in it. The Kazan Kremlin was taken as a result of the assault. Khan is captured. This victory meant an important foreign policy success for the tsar, and also contributed to the strengthening of his power within the state.
Prince Gorbaty-Shuisky was left as governor of Grozny in Kazan. After Ivan the Terrible, as written about in his short biography, took Kazan, he had ambitious plans to capture all of Siberia.
Trade connections with England
But Rus' had problems not only with the Kazan Khanate. Soon it became necessary to wage war against Sweden. An interesting fact from the biography of Ivan the Terrible, Wikipedia talks about him, like this article, is the establishment of trade relations with England. It was possible to establish communication through the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Previously, trade routes ran through Sweden, so the Scandinavians were at a loss, losing a significant share of the profit they received for providing transit.
The relationship between Moscow and London began with the British navigator Richard Chancellor, who sailed to Rus' through the White Sea in 1553. Ivan the Terrible met him personally, and soon after this the Moscow Company was founded in the English capital, which received a monopoly from Ivan on trading rights.
Confrontation with Sweden
The outraged Swedish king Gustav I Vasa tried to create an anti-Russian coalition, but this plan failed. Then he decided to act on his own.
The reason for the war with Sweden was the capture of Russian merchants in Stockholm. The Swedes went on the offensive, capturing Oreshek, but were unable to reach Novgorod. In January 1556, a 25,000-strong Russian army completely defeated the Swedes, besieging Vyborg, but failed to capture it.
Then Gustav I proposed a truce, which Ivan the Terrible agreed to. In 1557, the Truce of Novgorod was concluded for a period of 40 years. It also stipulated diplomatic relations through Novgorod governors.
Livonian War
In the life and biography of Ivan the Terrible there was another important war - the Livonian War. Its main goal was to take possession of the Baltic coast. At first, the Russian army was successful: Narva, Neuhaus, Dorpat were taken, and the order's troops were defeated near Riga. By 1558, the Russian army captured almost the entire eastern part of Estonia, and in 1559 it actually completed the defeat of the Livonian Order.
Only then did the governors decide to accept the peace proposal put forward by Denmark. The parties were able to maintain neutrality until the end of 1559. At the same time, they began to actively negotiate peace with Livonia, in exchange for certain concessions from large German cities.
In the biography of Ivan the Terrible, interesting facts were often encountered. Thus, thanks to his military successes, he was able to gain respect among foreign leaders. As a result, in 1560, an imperial congress of deputies was convened in Germany, at which foreigners finally recognized the strength and power of the Russian army. It was decided to send an embassy to Moscow and offer the Tsar eternal peace.
The emergence of the oprichnina
In addition to belligerence, Grozny became famous for the introduction of the oprichnina in the country. He announced this in 1565. After this, by his decree, the country was divided into two parts - the oprichnina and the zemshchina.
The concept of "oprichnina" existed in Rus' from 1565 to 1572. This is what Ivan the Terrible called his personal inheritance, which included his own army and state apparatus. At the same time, income went to the state treasury.
In those days, the same word began to be used to describe the policy of terror that the tsar introduced in the country. He carried it out against any opposition-minded citizens in all spheres of society. According to many historians, the oprichnina took the form of terrorist despotism under the autocracy.
The oprichnina included regions in the northeast of the country, where patrimonial boyars were rarely found. Its center was the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, which the Tsar declared as his new official residence. It was from there that in 1565 he sent a letter addressed to the boyars, the clergy and the entire people, stating that he would abdicate the throne. This news greatly excited the Moscow people. The prospect of anarchy did not please anyone.
Victims of terror
Soon the first victims of the terror perpetrated by Ivan the Terrible appeared. The first victims of the oprichnina were famous and high-status boyars. The guardsmen were not afraid of any punishment, because they were exempt from criminal liability. The Tsar began to forcibly confiscate the estates, transferring them to the nobles from among the guardsmen. He gave estates in other regions of the country, for example in the Volga region, to the princes and boyars from whom he took away lands.
It is worth noting that the decree on the introduction of oprichnina in Russia was officially approved by both secular and spiritual authorities. It is believed that this decision was also approved by the Zemsky Sobor. At the same time, most of the zemshchina protested against this state of affairs. For example, in 1556, about 300 representatives of the nobility turned to the tsar with a petition asking him to abolish the oprichnina. Three of them were executed by beheading, some had their tongues cut out, and about 50 people were subjected to public corporal punishment.
The end of the oprichnina
For many, the end of the oprichnina came as unexpectedly as its beginning. In many ways, this was facilitated by the Crimean invasion of Rus' in 1571. By that time, many of the guardsmen had already demonstrated their complete inability to fight, having become morally corrupt. They were accustomed to the robberies of ordinary citizens and simply did not show up for a real battle.
As a result, Moscow was burned. By 1572, the oprichnina army was combined with the zemstvo army, and the tsar decided to completely abolish the oprichnina in Rus'. Although the name itself, in the meaning of his sovereign's court, remained until the death of Ivan IV.
Death of Ivan the Terrible
A study of the king's remains showed that in the last years of his life he developed various diseases. In particular, he developed osteophyte, due to which he could not walk, he was carried around the wards on a stretcher. Because of this immobility, which was aggravated by an unhealthy lifestyle and constant stress, by the age of 50 the king looked like a decrepit old man.
As early as 1584, he was engaged in government affairs, but by March his health had deteriorated sharply. The king fell into unconsciousness. On March 18 he died. His body was swollen and smelled foul. The British ambassador to the Russian court, Horsey, claimed that before his death Ivan the Terrible played chess.
Versions of the death of the king
Contemporaries were never able to reliably establish whether the king died from illness or for some violent reason. Confusion immediately arose at court.
There were persistent rumors that the king was poisoned by his entourage. In particular, Boris Godunov and Bogdan Belsky were suspected of this. There was even evidence that Godunov bribed the doctor who treated Ivan the Terrible, fearing that he himself would be executed along with other nobles.
Horsey put forward a version of the strangulation of Ivan IV, also suspecting Godunov of this. The Englishman claimed that the king was first given poison, and in the confusion that arose when he fell, he was also strangled.
In the middle of the 20th century, the version of poisoning was not confirmed. As a result of the analysis, a normal level of arsenic was found in his remains, but there was a lot of mercury, which, however, was explained by the fact that in the 16th century it was part of many medicines. She was even treated for syphilis, from which the tsar supposedly also suffered.
According to other researchers, Ivan the Terrible’s permissible level of arsenic for humans was twice exceeded. They suspected that he was the victim of a deadly "cocktail" of mercury and arsenic. And they gave it to Grozny for a certain time, so it was not possible to immediately confirm the version of poisoning.