Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich(Fyodor Ioannovich, also Theodore the Blessed, years of life May 31, 1557 - January 7, 1598) - Tsar of All Rus' and Grand Duke Moscow from March 18, 1584 to 1598, the son of Ivan the Terrible, the last representative of the Moscow branch of the Rurik dynasty.

Fyodor Ivanovich was a quiet and God-fearing monarch, incapable of public administration. The real power was with Boris Godunov, the brother-in-law of the tsar.

Main events of the board

In 1591, the death of Tsarevich Dmitry "Uglich affair", the suppression of the male branch of the Moscow princely-tsar's house took place. There were two versions of the death of the prince: an accident, or killed with the sanction of Boris Godunov. Then, as a result of the "Miraculous Salvation", the prince comes to life and False Dmitry appears on the stage, the Troubles (Time of Troubles) sets in.

The reign of Fedor Ivanovich can be briefly described with the phrase "Blessed on the throne." This nickname is given to Tsar Fedor Ivanovich in historiography. We had a state that had to be kept, as they say in "hedgehogs". Such a legacy should have been accepted by a real "hero", but it went to a sickly and strange person.

On the eve of his death, the Russian state was in a deplorable state. and the Livonian War undermined the economy, the standard of living of the population was very low. On March 18, 1584, Fedor Ivanovich ascended the throne after the death of his father.

Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich

When Fedor ascended the throne, he was 27 years old, a very respectable age. According to the sources of some foreign contemporaries, one can describe how the young sovereign usually spent his day. Almost every weekday the king:

1. I got up at 4 in the morning, got dressed;
2. Then he was visited by a confessor with a cross, then a deacon with the cross of that saint whose day was celebrated today;
3. Fedor prayed, then inquired about the health of the queen;
4. Some time during the day he spent with the queen, received courtiers and dined;
5. After dinner, Fyodor went to the bedchamber, he was there for about 3 hours;
6. After that, he went to church again;
7. The time before dinner was spent in various amusements.
8. After dinner, he prayed again and went to bed.

This order of the day changed only on holidays. Then he went to the monasteries, which were outside the territory of the capital. He also went to fisticuffs, not because he liked it, but only because such an order had been established earlier.

The writers of that time usually portrayed Fedor as a pious man who renounced worldly affairs and prepared himself for eternal life. Famous statesman from Poland, L. Sapieha visited Moscow during the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich. Upon his return to his homeland, he spoke briefly about him. The essence of the judgment is this - Someone says that the sovereign does not understand much: I was convinced that he does not understand at all.

Nevertheless, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich was the tsar, he had power over the Muscovite state in his hands, but how he disposed of this power and whether he disposed of it at all is another question.

Also in the sources there is a description of the young king. He was small in stature, a bit stout, his physique was weak. There was a constant smile on his face, his speech was neither clear nor firm. No one surrounded by Ivan the Terrible, and then Fedor did not believe that this man was able to rule the country. And Fedor Ivanovich himself did not express a desire to rule, but relied more on the rule of his entourage.

The reign of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich

Even when he was dying, a certain board of trustees was formed under the future king. A prominent place in it was occupied by the following statesmen:

• I.F. Mstislavsky;
• I.P. Shuisky;
• B. Belsky;
• N.R. Zakharyin-Yuriev (Romanov);
• B. Godunov.

It is worth noting that the place in this list was the last. He could not express his claims to a higher position. Later it turns out that it was Boris who could play an important role in the government of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich.

Sources do not give us reliable information about the activities of these associates, and its composition is not known thoroughly. Here the sources disagree. But it is obvious that at the beginning of Fedor's reign, an oligarchic government was taking shape. But, in fact, it did not play a big role, since there was no agreement among the comrades on the council.

Disagreement arose over the candidacy of the sovereign. This was due to the fact that there was another heir to the throne - Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of the seventh wife of Maria Nagoy. His claims to the throne were illusory. There were several reasons for this:

• He was younger than Fedor, and much younger (the throne was inherited by seniority);
• Dmitry was the son of his 7th wife, while the church recognized only three marriages.

Support for the candidacy of Dmitry Ivanovich began to promote the adventurer Bogdan Belsky. This idea was crazy, but on the other hand, why not try. But the event did not take place. Dmitry and his mother were asked to leave the capital, they settled in Uglich. Later in under strange circumstances, he will die. This strangeness gave in the future the opportunity to appear in Rus' to several who pretended to be a survivor.

The years of the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich the Blessed briefly

After the failure of Belsky, he was "exiled" as governor in Nizhny Novgorod. Four people remained in the council under the sovereign. Nikita Romanov began to occupy a prominent position. But a little later his health began to deteriorate, and he soon died.

Do not forget about the wife of Fedor Ivanovich. Irina was a smart and reasonable woman, and decisive in her actions. With such a character and such a husband, her influence on Fedor was greater than that of previous queens. The years of the reign of Fedor Ivanovich became for Irina a period of her reign as well, although it was short in time. She often replaced her husband, while supporting her brother in everything. In fact, Irina carried out his will.

Every day, Boris's influence on Fedor became stronger, which means that the board of the Council is getting weaker. Gradually, the seizure of power took place, and Boris could already act in state affairs as he pleased. Many nobles boyar families fell into disgrace, including members of the Council.

Soon, Boris became de facto regent under the sovereign. His "rule" brought many important political decisions, such as:

1. Establishment of the patriarchate - the first patriarch Job (1589);
2. Concessions from Sweden to the cities of Koporye and Ivangorod;
3. The signing of "Eternal Peace" with Poland.

The reign of Fyodor Ivanovich

As noted above, Fedor's health was poor. Gradually it worsened even more. It soon became clear to many already that Fedor and Irina would not have an heir. No, Irina was not barren. There is evidence that she had several miscarriages, and that in 1592 they had a daughter. The child was long-awaited, but a few months later the girl died.

The emperor himself was slowly fading away. Realizing that he was dying, Fedor did not wonder who would take the throne after him. It is known from the records of Patriarch Job that there was a similar conversation between him and the king. When asked about the heir, Fedor replied that everything would happen as God pleased. The tsar died on January 7, 1598. There was no direct heir, his wife Irina or Fedor's numerous relatives could take the throne, but the scepter turned out to be completely with a stranger -. Such was the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich.

The reign of Fedor Ivanovich briefly video

Theodore I Ioannovich(nicknamed Blessed; May 11, 1557, Moscow - January 7, 1598, Moscow) - Tsar of All Rus' and Grand Duke of Moscow from March 18, 1584, the third son of Ivan IV the Terrible and Empress Anastasia Romanovna, the last representative of the Moscow branch of the Rurik dynasty.

Upon the birth of his son, Ivan the Terrible ordered to build a church in the Feodorovsky Monastery in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. This temple in honor of Theodore Stratilates became the main cathedral of the monastery and has been preserved to this day.

Shortly before the death of Ivan the Terrible, on November 19, 1581, his son, the heir to the throne, John, tragically died. Since that time, Fedor became the heir to the royal throne.

On the royal throne, where until recently the formidable king sat, a twenty-seven-year-old monarch sat down, who, in the words of Ivan the Terrible himself, was “a fasting and silent man, more for a cell than for sovereign power born.” From his marriage to Irina Fedorovna Godunova, he had one daughter, Theodosia, who lived only nine months and died in 1594. Fedor's son was never born. At the end of 1597 he fell ill with a fatal illness and on January 7, 1598. died at one o'clock in the morning. It stopped the Moscow line of the Rurik dynasty (offspring of Ivan I Kalita).

Most historians believe that Fedor was incapable of state activity, and according to some reports, poor health and mind; took little part in government, being under the tutelage first of the council of nobles, then of his brother-in-law Boris Fedorovich Godunov, who from 1587 was actually the sole ruler of the state, and after the death of Fedor became his successor. The position of Boris Godunov under royal court it was so significant that overseas diplomats sought an audience with Boris Godunov, his will was law. Fedor reigned, Boris ruled - everyone knew this both in Rus' and abroad.

From "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures" by N. I. Kostomarov:

The main events in the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich

The Moscow Zemsky Sobor in 1584 elected the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich (the only living son of the tsar), as tsar.

In 1584, the Don Cossacks took the oath of allegiance to Tsar Fedor Ioanovich.

In 1585-1591, the Russian architect Fyodor Savelyevich Kon erected the walls and towers of the White City. The length of the walls is 10 kilometers. Thickness - up to 4.5 meters.

In 1586, the famous Tsar Cannon was cast by the Russian cannon maker Andrei Chokhov.

1589 - the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia, the first patriarch was Job, an associate of Boris Godunov. Fedor Ivanovich, although he was not canonized, was nevertheless recognized as such by Patriarch Job, who compiled his life.

1590-1593 - Russian-Swedish war. Return of Russian cities: Pit, Ivangorod, Koporye, Korely.

The founder of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, was the cousin of Fedor I (since Fedor's mother, Anastasia Romanovna, was the sister of Mikhail's grandfather, Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin); the rights of the Romanovs to the throne were based on this relationship.

Contemporaries about Fyodor Ioannovich

According to the recall of the English diplomat Giles Fletcher, the new king was

Dutch merchant and sales agent in Moscow Isaac Massa:

Clerk Ivan Timofeev gives Fedor the following assessment:

They also wrote about him that he discussed state affairs with the boyars in the Front Chamber, and he discussed especially sensitive issues with his entourage in his office.

All rulers of Russia Vostryshev Mikhail Ivanovich

Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (1557–1598)

Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich

Son of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible and Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva. Fedor was born on May 31, 1557.

In 1580 he married the sister of the boyar Boris Godunov - Irina. On November 19, 1582, the eldest son of Ivan the Terrible, Ivan, was killed by his father, and from that time on, Fedor is considered the heir to the royal throne.

On the death of his father on March 18, 1584, Fedor Ivanovich became the Russian Tsar. “Having not inherited a royal mind,” writes Nikolai Karamzin, “Fedor had neither the dignified appearance of his father, nor the courageous beauty of his grandfather and great-grandfather. He was small in stature, flabby in body, pale in face, always smiling, but without liveliness. He moved slowly, walked with uneven steps from weakness in his legs. In a word, he expressed in himself the premature exhaustion of natural and spiritual forces.

The entire administration of the state passed into the hands of the tsar's brother-in-law, Boris Fedorovich Godunov, who was, in essence, the real ruler of the Muscovite state. In 1585, he exposed a conspiracy of noble boyars who were trying to lure him to a feast and kill him there. Mstislavsky was tonsured a monk, the Vorotynskys, Golovins and Vorotynskys were exiled.

In 1586, the watch fortresses of Samara and Voronezh were founded, and in the same year the development of Siberia by the Russians began. On the site of the Tatar city of Chimgi-Tura, taken by Yermak in 1581, in 1586 the prison of Tyumen was founded. The following year, the city of Tobolsk was founded by a detachment of Cossacks from Danila Chulkov. In 1593, the cities of Obdorsk (Salekhard) and Belgorod were founded, in 1594 - Surgut on the Ob River and Tara on the Irtysh.

After the war with Sweden in 1590-1595, Russia's position in the Baltic was strengthened, Ivangorod and other Russian cities were returned.

In the summer of 1591, for the last time, the Horde army appeared at the walls of Moscow. The raid of the Crimean Khan Kazy Giray was unsuccessful, on July 4, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Danilov Monastery, the Tatars were put to flight.

Exiled at the beginning of the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich to Uglich, Tsarevich Dmitry died on May 15, 1591 under unclear circumstances. The boyar Vasily Shuisky, sent there for investigation, reported on June 2 to the Boyar Duma that the prince had a seizure and he himself stabbed himself.

Under Fyodor Ivanovich, who was especially fond of church ceremonies, in 1589 a patriarchate was founded in Rus'. Job became the first patriarch.

In 1585, under the guidance of the architect Fyodor Savelyevich Kon, the construction of the walls of the White City began.

In 1592, St. George's Day was canceled - the day when the peasants of their own free will could move from one landowner to another.

In 1593, the ambassador of the Persian Shah Abbas I arrived in Moscow, who said that the Shah was ceding the Georgian principality of Iberia to the Russian Tsar.

Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich died on January 7, 1598, leaving no offspring. With his death, the direct branch of the Rurik dynasty on the Russian throne was cut short.

7.8. FEDOR IVANOVICH FEDOR IVANOVICH 1584-1598 by . See fig. 7.25. He is the son of SIMEON-IVAN. Peaceful reign without internal unrest. military action in Livonian War stopped, but the separation of the West from the Empire as a result of the rebellion of the Reformation is not recognized as legal