Tales of Ivan the Terrible
It is significant that Ivan the Terrible became the first Russian Tsar about whom people began to compose fairy tales. Himself, without any coercion state power. Before this, due to this same compulsion, only chroniclers wrote about the kings, who, as we know, were far from independent people.
There are many tales about Grozny. And by the way, they do not create the image of some kind of despot tormenting his people. On the contrary, every fairy tale about Ivan IV carries the thesis that the tsar is a man, that he was put on the throne by the Lord himself, that he sins just like any other person, but just like anyone else he repents, and the severity experiences his sins during his lifetime.
“In general, Ivan the Terrible was not an arrogant tsar, he was simple. He loved to communicate with ordinary people, learn about their troubles and hopes, and sometimes even argue.”
“Ivan, wise and fair, was extremely quick-tempered and often committed actions that he later regretted.”
We will give only two tales about Grozny - “Ivan the Pious” and “Ivan the Singer”.
“Although Ivan was a formidable king, he was pious. He revered the Christian commandments and was very sad that a lot of all kinds of evil spirits had spread on Russian soil. One day he decided to exterminate all the witches and sorcerers, and not just exterminate them, but, following the example of the Inquisition, burn them. The old women of the fortresses were taken to Moscow to the square, covered with straw and set on fire. But our witches turned out to be more agile than the Western European ones: they turned into forty and scattered. However, they did not manage to escape: Ivan the Terrible was a pious king, and He cursed the witches. his righteous curse turned out to be stronger than their black spells. The old women remained magpies forever and, in order not to incur a new misfortune, since then they have not come close to Moscow.”
“As a pious man, Ivan Vasilyevich loved church services. Especially chants. He himself was not deprived of hearing and voice and was considered an excellent singer. Of course, who would contradict the formidable king! There will always be a daredevil, a wise man or a fool. The Tsar went to the Sergius Monastery for the vigil and heard a wonderful, fabulous singing. A local monk, whose name was not preserved, was singing. Captivated by the wonderful voice, Tsar Ivan wanted to know who this elder was, where he came from. But the monk did not answer the questions or the Tsar’s prayers. did not respond and continued to sing. When Ivan Vasilyevich finally became angry, the elder calmly replied that during the service in the church one voice should be heard - although the Tsar wanted to sing, in the end he was forced to admit that the wise monk was right. and reward him for his intelligence."
We call Ivan IV the Terrible because we were told to call him that in history lessons. However, few people can answer the question of when and why Ivan IV became “formidable”.
Not only Ivan IV
Ivan IV was not the only “formidable” tsar in Russian history. “Terrible” was also called his grandfather, Ivan III, who, in addition, also had the nicknames “justice” and “great”. As a result, the nickname “great” stuck to Ivan III, and his grandson became “formidable”.
It is also interesting that Ivan the Terrible was not always Ivan IV. For the first time, this digital part of the title was officially assigned to him in his “History of the Russian State” by Nikolai Karamzin; he kept the count of kings from Ivan Kalita. “Before Karamzin,” Ivan the Terrible was “listed” as Ivan I.
Since 1740, when the infant Emperor Ivan Antonovich (Ivan VI) ascended the Russian throne, a digital part has been added to all Russian Tsars Ivan. Ivan Antonovich himself began to be called Ivan III, his great-grandfather became Ivan II, and Ivan the Terrible received the title Tsar Ivan I Vasilyevich of All Rus'.
When did Grozny become “formidable”?
When and why did Ivan IV begin to be called “formidable”? The question is far from idle. If you ask a person about this, he will most likely answer that the tsar began to be called this because of his boundless cruelty, for the oprichnina and manic-depressive syndrome. Because that's what they tell us in history lessons. The question is: who called him that and when? There was no such title, no one called Ivan IV “formidable” during his lifetime, just as no one called Ivan IV. He was Ivan Vasilyevich.
The absurdity of the situation with the tsar’s nickname is confirmed by the fact that Alexandre Dumas once wrote literally the following: “Ivan the Terrible, for his cruelty, began to be called “Vasilich.”
Here is what Skrynnikov, the most prominent researcher of the life of Ivan the Terrible, writes about this: “The nickname “Terrible” was not found in sources of the 16th century. Most likely, Tsar Ivan received it when he became the hero of historical songs.”
That is, even Skrynnikov cannot answer the question: “When exactly did the nickname “formidable” appear? But he says that this nickname was given to the tsar by the people. And not during the life of Ivan IV, but after his death. That is, it turns out that “formidable” " - this is, as it were, a nickname not even for the king, but for the memory of him.
When did this happen? Skrynnikov writes that, most likely, during the Time of Troubles. When the country was going through a difficult situation: Polish-Swedish intervention, high mortality, low harvests. Everything was bad. And then the king, who no longer existed, began to be called “formidable.”
It is significant that Ivan the Terrible became the first Russian Tsar about whom people began to compose fairy tales. Himself, without any coercion from government authorities. Before this, due to this same compulsion, only chroniclers wrote about the kings, who, as we know, were far from independent people.
There are many tales about Grozny. And by the way, they do not create the image of some kind of despot tormenting his people. On the contrary, every fairy tale about Ivan IV carries the thesis that the tsar is a man, that he was put on the throne by the Lord himself, that he sins just like any other person, but just like anyone else he repents, and the severity experiences his sins during his lifetime.
“In general, Ivan the Terrible was not an arrogant tsar, he was simple. He loved to communicate with ordinary people, learn about their troubles and hopes, and sometimes even argue.”
“Ivan, wise and fair, was extremely quick-tempered and often committed actions that he later regretted.”
We will give only two tales about Grozny - “Ivan the Pious” and “Ivan the Singer”.
“Although Ivan was a formidable king, he was pious. He revered the Christian commandments and was very sad that a lot of all kinds of evil spirits had spread on Russian soil. One day he decided to exterminate all the witches and sorcerers, and not just exterminate them, but, following the example of the Inquisition, burn them. The old women of the fortresses were taken to Moscow to the square, covered with straw and set on fire. But our witches turned out to be more agile than the Western European ones: they turned into forty and scattered. However, they did not manage to escape: Ivan the Terrible was a pious king, and He cursed the witches. his righteous curse turned out to be stronger than their black spells. The old women remained magpies forever and, in order not to incur a new misfortune, since then they have not come close to Moscow.”
“As a pious man, Ivan Vasilyevich loved church services. Especially chants. He himself was not deprived of hearing and voice and was considered an excellent singer. Of course, who would contradict the formidable king! There will always be a daredevil, a wise man or a fool. The Tsar went to the Sergius Monastery for the vigil and heard a wonderful, fabulous singing. A local monk, whose name was not preserved, was singing. Captivated by the wonderful voice, Tsar Ivan wanted to know who this elder was, where he came from. But the monk did not answer the questions or the Tsar’s prayers. did not respond and continued to sing. When Ivan Vasilyevich finally became angry, the elder calmly replied that during the service in the church one voice should be heard - although the Tsar wanted to sing, in the end he was forced to admit that the wise monk was right. and reward him for his intelligence."
Terrible father
Moscow is the capital of Russia, the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, and Ivan the Terrible killed his son. It doesn’t matter to anyone, for example, that there is an opinion that the Volga flows first into the Kama. The fact that Ivan the Terrible killed his son has long been questioned.
There is an opinion that they began to call Ivan IV “formidable” just after he killed his son. Did he kill him?
The main evidence is... a painting by Repin.
The murder of his heir by Ivan Vasilyevich is a highly controversial fact. In 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Research has made it possible to claim that Tsarevich John was poisoned.
The poison content in his remains is many times higher than the permissible limit. Interestingly, the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilyevich. Scientists have concluded that the royal family was the victim of poisoners for several decades. Or they themselves used too much mercury for treatment, which was then considered almost a panacea.
However, it remains a mystery who started the legend of Ivan the Terrible’s filicide, but other Russian rulers had a fairly clear attitude towards this myth about Ivan the Terrible. When Tsar Alexander III saw Repin’s now famous painting in the gallery, he simply banned it from being shown.
Konstantin Pobedonostsev also confidently and uncompromisingly expressed his opinion about the picture: “The picture cannot be called historical, since this moment ... is purely fantastic.”
There was a real attempt on Repin's painting in 1913. It was performed by the Old Believer Ivan Balashov. He slashed the painting with three blows of the knife. Having learned about this, the curator of the Tretyakov Gallery, Yegor Khruslov, threw himself under the train.
What does "formidable" mean?
The question is also not idle: what did the people put into the word “formidable” when they called the king that way? In today's understanding, this word contains only a negative connotation, but not everything is so obvious.
The Tsar in fairy tales and songs was not remembered at all as a tyrant, they were remembered with some kind of popular nostalgia, as a strong sovereign. And this despite the fact that it was Ivan the Terrible, who accelerated the Russian car to a speed of uncontrollability, who predetermined the Time of Troubles itself, when he did not leave behind anyone who could retain power.
Skrynnikov writes:
“In an environment of unheard-of disasters, the time of Tsar Ivan began to be remembered as the era of the power of the Russian state, its prosperity and greatness. Bloody and dark deeds were forgotten.”
He also writes that “in the minds of people of that time, a “thunderstorm” symbolized an incinerating, inevitable and brilliant element, moreover, an element not so much natural as divine, a sign of intervention heavenly powers into people's lives."
Ivan the Terrible thought of himself as God’s anointed, and all his deeds, including executions, fit into the logic of this mission. He didn't just execute bodies, he executed souls too, carrying out his executions in such a way that the criminals became "laid dead." They practiced: drowning (sending criminals to their “native” element - to the evil spirits, baiting death row prisoners with bears (bears were considered “clean” animals, so they punished a person for his sins).
The repressive machine did not work for the purpose of demonstration “to displease others.” The king was already feared and respected by everyone. Any speech against the Crowned One was considered to be “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” that is, a sin that cannot be redeemed.
Not only the criminals themselves were subject to execution, but also their property (including household members), which was recognized as “foul” and “unclean.” Here the king was strictly guided by the Old Testament Book of Joshua, namely the capture of Jericho by the ancient Jews. According to Scripture, the fate of the inhabitants of Jericho was terrible:
“...everything in the city, both husbands and wives, both young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, they destroyed everything with the sword...And the city and everything in it they burned with fire,” except “silver and gold, and copper and iron vessels,” which were declared “accursed,” and which were forbidden to be taken for personal use; they were to be given only to the Jewish priests.”
It must be said that in the Middle Ages the biblical tradition of destroying “unclean” property was strictly observed in almost all European countries.
Who benefits?
Ivan the Terrible is not only the first tsar about whom fairy tales began to be written, but also the first Russian tsar about whom comedies began to be written and filmed (remember Bulgakov and the film adaptation of his play “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession”).
How did it happen that “formidable” acquired the meaning that is associated in the popular consciousness only with executions, tyranny and madness (the film “Tsar” by Lungin)?
Most likely, “legs are growing” from the historiography of Nikolai Karamzin, as well as conversations of the liberal public on the topic of the cruelty of Ivan the Terrible at the beginning of the “golden” 19th century.
This myth also has deeper roots, namely, European historiography, which treated Grozny as a dictator and satrap. Let us remember that Ivan IV was an Anglomaniac, and dubious personalities of European origin always “revolved” around him, who tried to lobby for Catholicism and “take control” of Muscovy. Ivan the Terrible did not allow this; the attitude towards him was not the most favorable.
By the way, the rumor itself that Ivan the Terrible killed his son was first spread by Antonio Possevino, the papal legate. According to this version, Ivan the Terrible found his son’s third wife, Elena, in an inappropriate manner. Ivan the Terrible's daughter-in-law was pregnant and lay in her underwear. Ivan IV became angry and began to “teach” Elena, hit her in the face and beat her with a staff.
Here, according to the same Possevino, the son of the Terrible, Ivan, ran into the chambers and began to reproach his father with these words: “You imprisoned my first wife in a monastery for no reason, did the same with the second wife, and now you are beating the third in order to destroy your son, whom she bears in her womb." The ending is known. The father's staff also reached his son, breaking his skull.
It is significant that the populist sovereigns treated Ivan the Terrible with reverence and respect (the example of the same Alexander III), although the image of the Terrible Tsar in the past is very convenient for the current government - it neutralizes all miscalculations, says that “remember and do not complain, It was worse." It is also convenient for those who look at Russia from abroad.
Now we are also instilled with fear of the Soviet era.
Tsar Ivan IV entered the history of our country as Ivan the Terrible. Too eloquent given nickname to doubt the reasons for its origin. Let us remember the words of N.V. Gogol:
“The Russian people are expressing themselves strongly! And if he rewards someone with a word, then it will go to his family and posterity...”
During his lifetime he had another nickname: “Tormentor”...
Not only Ivan IV
Ivan IV was not the only “formidable” tsar in Russian history. “Terrible” was also called his grandfather, Ivan III, who, in addition, also had the nicknames “justice” and “great”. As a result, the nickname “great” stuck to Ivan III, and his grandson became “formidable”.
It is also interesting that Ivan the Terrible was not always Ivan IV. For the first time, this digital part of the title was officially assigned to him in his “History of the Russian State” by Nikolai Karamzin; he kept the count of kings from Ivan Kalita. “Before Karamzin,” Ivan the Terrible was “listed” as Ivan I.
Vasily III blesses his son Ivan IV before his death
Since 1740, when the infant Emperor Ivan Antonovich (Ivan VI) ascended the Russian throne, a digital part has been added to all Russian Tsars Ivan. Ivan Antonovich himself began to be called Ivan III, his great-grandfather became Ivan II, and Ivan the Terrible received the title Tsar Ivan I Vasilyevich of All Rus'.
When did Grozny become “formidable”?
When and why did Ivan IV begin to be called “formidable”? The question is far from idle. If you ask a person about this, he will most likely answer that the tsar began to be called this because of his boundless cruelty, for the oprichnina and manic-depressive syndrome. Because that's what they tell us in history lessons. The question is: who called him that and when? There was no such title, no one called Ivan IV “formidable” during his lifetime, just as no one called Ivan IV. He was Ivan Vasilyevich.
The absurdity of the situation with the tsar’s nickname is confirmed by the fact that Alexandre Dumas once wrote literally the following: “Ivan the Terrible, for his cruelty, began to be called “Vasilich.”
Here is what Skrynnikov, the most prominent researcher of the life of Ivan the Terrible, writes about this: “The nickname “Grozny” was not found in sources of the 16th century. Most likely, Tsar Ivan received it when he became the hero of historical songs.”
That is, even Skrynnikov cannot answer the question: “When exactly did the nickname “formidable” appear? But he says that this nickname was given to the tsar by the people. And not during the life of Ivan IV, but after his death. That is, it turns out that “formidable” " - this is, as it were, a nickname not even for the king, but for the memory of him.
When did this happen? Skrynnikov writes that, most likely, during the Time of Troubles. When the country was going through a difficult situation: Polish-Swedish intervention, high mortality, low harvests. Everything was bad. And then the king, who no longer existed, began to be called “formidable.”
Tales of Ivan the Terrible
It is significant that Ivan the Terrible became the first Russian Tsar about whom people began to compose fairy tales. Himself, without any coercion from government authorities. Before this, due to this same compulsion, only chroniclers wrote about the kings, who, as we know, were far from independent people.
There are many tales about Grozny. And by the way, they do not create the image of some kind of despot tormenting his people. On the contrary, every fairy tale about Ivan IV carries the thesis that the tsar is a man, that he was put on the throne by the Lord himself, that he sins just like any other person, but just like anyone else he repents, and the severity experiences his sins during his lifetime.
“In general, Ivan the Terrible was not an arrogant tsar, he was simple. He loved to communicate with ordinary people, learn about their troubles and hopes, and sometimes even argue.”
“Ivan, wise and fair, was extremely quick-tempered and often committed actions that he later regretted.”
We will give only two tales about Grozny - “Ivan the Pious” and “Ivan the Singer”.
"Although Ivan was a formidable king, he was a pious one. He sacredly revered the Christian commandments and was very sad that a lot of all kinds of evil spirits had spread on Russian soil. One day he decided to exterminate all the witches and sorcerers, and not just exterminate them, but, following the example of the Inquisition, burn them. The old women of the fortresses were taken from the fortified cities to the square in Moscow, covered with straw and set on fire.
But our witches turned out to be more agile than Western Europeans: they turned into forty and scattered. However, they failed to escape: Ivan the Terrible was a pious king. He cursed the witches, and his righteous curse turned out to be stronger than their black spells. The old women remained magpies forever and, so as not to incur a new misfortune, since then they have not come close to Moscow.”
“As a pious man, Ivan Vasilyevich loved church services. Especially chants. He himself was not deprived of hearing and voice and was considered an excellent singer. Of course, who would contradict the formidable king! There will always be a daredevil, a wise man or a fool. The king went to the Sergius Monastery for the vigil and heard a wonderful, fabulous singing. A local monk, whose name was not preserved, was singing.
Captivated by the wonderful voice, Tsar Ivan wanted to know who this old man was and where he was from. But the monk did not respond to the royal questions or prayers and continued to sing. When Ivan Vasilyevich finally became angry, the elder calmly replied that during the service in the church one voice should be heard - his. Although the king wanted to sing, in the end he was forced to admit that the wise monk was right and reward him for his intelligence.”
Terrible father
Moscow is the capital of Russia, the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, and Ivan the Terrible killed his son. It doesn’t matter to anyone, for example, that there is an opinion that the Volga flows first into the Kama. The fact that Ivan the Terrible killed his son has long been questioned.
There is an opinion that they began to call Ivan IV “formidable” just after he killed his son. Did he kill him?
The main evidence is... a painting by Repin.
The murder of his heir by Ivan Vasilyevich is a highly controversial fact. In 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Research has made it possible to claim that Tsarevich John was poisoned.
However, it remains a mystery who started the legend of Ivan the Terrible’s filicide, but other Russian rulers had a fairly clear attitude towards this myth about Ivan the Terrible. When Tsar Alexander III saw Repin’s now famous painting in the gallery, he simply banned it from being shown.
Konstantin Pobedonostsev also confidently and uncompromisingly expressed his opinion about the picture: “The picture cannot be called historical, since this moment ... is purely fantastic.”
There was a real attempt on Repin's painting in 1913. It was performed by the Old Believer Ivan Balashov. He slashed the painting with three blows of the knife. Having learned about this, the curator of the Tretyakov Gallery, Yegor Khruslov, threw himself under the train.
What does "formidable" mean?
The question is also not idle: what did the people put into the word “formidable” when they called the king that way? In today's understanding, this word contains only a negative connotation, but not everything is so obvious.
The Tsar in fairy tales and songs was not remembered at all as a tyrant, they were remembered with some kind of popular nostalgia, as a strong sovereign. And this despite the fact that it was Ivan the Terrible, who accelerated the Russian car to a speed of uncontrollability, who predetermined the Time of Troubles itself, when he did not leave behind anyone who could retain power.
Skrynnikov writes:
“In an environment of unheard-of disasters, the time of Tsar Ivan began to be remembered as the era of the power of the Russian state, its prosperity and greatness. Bloody and dark deeds were forgotten.”
He also writes that “in the minds of people of that time, a “thunderstorm” symbolized an incinerating, inevitable and brilliant element, moreover, an element that was not so much natural as divine, a sign of the intervention of heavenly forces in people’s lives.”
Ivan the Terrible thought of himself as God’s anointed, and all his deeds, including executions, fit into the logic of this mission. He didn't just execute bodies, he executed souls too, carrying out his executions in such a way that the criminals became "laid dead." They practiced: drowning (sending criminals to their “native” element - to the evil spirits, baiting death row prisoners with bears (bears were considered “clean” animals, so they punished a person for his sins).
The repressive machine did not work for the purpose of demonstration “to displease others.” The king was already feared and respected by everyone. Any speech against the Crowned One was considered to be “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” that is, a sin that cannot be redeemed.
Not only the criminals themselves were subject to execution, but also their property (including household members), which was recognized as “foul” and “unclean.” Here the king was strictly guided by the Old Testament Book of Joshua, namely the capture of Jericho by the ancient Jews. According to Scripture, the fate of the inhabitants of Jericho was terrible:
“...everything in the city, both husbands and wives, both young and old, oxen, and sheep, and donkeys, they destroyed everything with the sword... And the city and everything that was in it, they burned with fire,” except “ silver and gold, and vessels of copper and iron,” which were declared “accursed,” and which were forbidden to be taken for personal use; they were to be handed over only to the Jewish priests.”
It must be said that in the Middle Ages the biblical tradition of destroying “unclean” property was strictly observed in almost all European countries.
Who benefits?
Ivan the Terrible is not only the first tsar about whom fairy tales began to be written, but also the first Russian tsar about whom comedies began to be written and filmed (remember Bulgakov and the film adaptation of his play “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession”).
How did it happen that “formidable” acquired the meaning that is associated in the popular consciousness only with executions, tyranny and madness (the film “Tsar” by Lungin)?
Most likely, “legs are growing” from the historiography of Nikolai Karamzin, as well as conversations of the liberal public on the topic of the cruelty of Ivan the Terrible at the beginning of the “golden” 19th century.
This myth also has deeper roots, namely, European historiography, which treated Grozny as a dictator and satrap. Let us remember that Ivan IV was an Anglomaniac, and dubious personalities of European origin always “revolved” around him, who tried to lobby for Catholicism and “take control” of Muscovy. Ivan the Terrible did not allow this; the attitude towards him was not the most favorable.
By the way, the rumor itself that Ivan the Terrible killed his son was first spread by Antonio Possevino, the papal legate. According to this version, Ivan the Terrible found his son’s third wife, Elena, in an inappropriate manner. Ivan the Terrible's daughter-in-law was pregnant and lay in her underwear. Ivan IV became angry and began to “teach” Elena, hit her in the face and beat her with a staff.
Here, according to the same Possevino, Ivan the Terrible’s son ran into the chambers and began to reproach his father with these words:
“You imprisoned my first wife in a monastery for no reason, did the same with my second wife, and now you are beating the third in order to destroy the son she is carrying in her womb.”
The ending is known. The father's staff also reached his son, breaking his skull.
It is significant that the populist sovereigns treated Ivan the Terrible with reverence and respect (the example of the same Alexander III), although the image of the Terrible Tsar in the past is very convenient for the current government - it neutralizes all miscalculations, says that “remember and do not complain, It was worse." It is also convenient for those who look at Russia from abroad.
Now we are also instilled with fear of the Soviet era.
Ivan IV the Terrible. Artist L.G. Sergeev
This year, 2015, Russia will celebrate another day of the end of the Time of Troubles and the expulsion of Polish invaders from Muscovy. It is especially interesting to remember this now, when the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs is talking enchanting nonsense about Russia and its role in the liberation of Poland from Nazi occupation in general, and the Auschwitz concentration camp in particular.
Undoubtedly, the battle of the third people's militia led by Minin and Pozharsky with the Polish occupiers brought peace and freedom to Russia from the invaders who seized the Kremlin. True, the battles against the Poles were constant throughout the Time of Troubles, and they began much earlier. I will talk about this in another article.
But still, I want to recall another historical fact.
The Polish king Sigismund III did not give up attempts to capture Russian cities and Russian governors were forced to wage continuous wars with endless Polish troops, a Nogai horde of many thousands, which numbered up to 100 thousand fighters, virtually the entire male population of the Nogais, and Crimean Tatars, who also actively raided Russian lands, ruining everything they came across on the way to Moscow, killing men and old people and taking them into slavery, for further sale of women and children to Turkey. Although formally time of troubles and ended with the election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the grandfather of Peter I, to the kingdom. in fact, it lasted until the 20s of the 17th century.
But still, if people did not have the desire, the Russian kingdom would be divided between Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Livonia and the Crimean Khanate.
Here I would like to ask the question: “Where did it come from, this desire? Or why didn’t it dry up, disappear, stop, this desire to be together, to live in one state, under the shadow of the king?” Sovereign, Tsar-Father?
In 2015, August 2 will mark the 443rd anniversary of another important battle won by the Russian people led by Tsar Ivan. This battle was undeservedly forgotten, first by historians, and then by us, the descendants of those who created and defended the Russian state.
Battle of Molod!
This is the most important, epoch-making battle, thanks to which Russia did not disappear.
This battle can quite rightly be called the second Battle of Kulikovo, and maybe even the first Borodino. That's exactly it and no other way. Because if this battle had been lost, then Russia would have suffered the fate of Byzantium. The Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, at the head of 120 thousand troops and with the support of 20 thousand Turkish Janissaries and 200 cannons, was so confident of his victory that he had already begun to distribute to European and Turkish merchants the right to trade in Muscovy on his own behalf, as the Russian ruler.
However, there are many undeservedly forgotten wars and battles in Russia, especially those that Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible won, defending his state and his people from endless raids and devastation of the Nogais, Crimeans, Kazanians, the Turkish Sultan, Poles, Lithuanians, Livonians, Swedes and the masses European mercenaries.
What do we even remember about Tsar Ivan the Terrible? His grandfather, Grand Duke Ivan III, was also called “Grozny,” but he remained in historical memory as the collector of Russian lands. What do we remember about his grandson and namesake? According to court publicist N. Karamzin, Soviet film director S. Eisenstein, Russian director P. Lungin and playwright E. Radzinsky, he was a tyrant and despot. He executed anyone, right and left. He didn’t even spare his son, he killed him.
During the oprichnina he introduced, allegedly 11,000 people were executed. And here we sit in the prosperous 21st century and are horrified by the bloody deeds of the king. Moreover, we are also surprised, naive, and why did the people remain silent? Did you remain silent and endure the tsar’s tyranny and bloodthirstiness?
BUT! Why did the people rebel against the government, which did not suit them always before his reign and further after his reign? And why did the people never rebel against Ivan IV, if he was so terrible?
This suggests only one conclusion: he was not as historians describe him. After all, the denigration of the Tsar began with the false, evil and vile libels of the Polish court writer Heidenstein, who was actively zealous in condemning Moscow during the Livonian War.
The dirty deed was continued by Ivan’s childhood friend, Prince Kurbsky, who betrayed him at the most difficult moment for the Russian state. Received from the Polish king a castle, lands, peasants and other favors. And so, in order to justify his own betrayal, he began to invent mythical executions, atrocities and mockery of the people. Nikolai Karamzin, creating a history of the Russian state on the order of Emperor Alexander III, having read these works, did not even want to study the notes of other, unbiased contemporaries of Ivan. As a result, the liberal and freedom-loving nobility were horrified and believed. And we continue to believe to this day. Including figures of Russian culture.
So, what happened under Ivan IV?
Firstly, the country had a feudal system of appanage boyars and princes. And everyone considered himself a ruler, equal to the king. Each wanted to rule not only in his own domain, but also at the first opportunity tried to seize neighboring lands. And this means internecine wars. This also means that each local ruler has his own private army. And since at the beginning of Ivan’s reign there was no serfdom in the country, all peasants were free and could freely bear arms and defend themselves and their property.
This means that the country was not under the control of the king.
So could free and armed peasants, especially Novgorodians, endure oppression,
tyranny and bloodthirstiness of Tsar Ivan? Surely not. A typical example of such a conclusion can be drawn from such a fact as the invitation of the Polish gentry to Tsar Ivan to the Polish throne. If Ivan was as historians describe him, would the Poles invite him to rule over them?
Secondly, Tsar Ivan, perhaps for the first time in history, introduced local government in the form of Zemsky Sobors.
That is, this is the real democracy! And this is in the 16th century!
In addition, at the All-Russian Zemsky Councils (Congress of People's Deputies?), the tsar was personally present and took part in the development and adoption of collegial decisions, which later became laws and the norm of life. That is why the people believed in the Tsar-Father even after the death of Tsar Ivan. What revolutionaries of all stripes were very surprised by: all sorts of Decembrists, commoners, Socialist Revolutionaries, Cadets and other Narodnaya Volya members.
So maybe the time has come to rehabilitate one of the great Russian rulers?
Who cared not only about his power, but also about the people's well-being?
Ivan the Terrible is the first Tsar of All Rus', known for his barbaric and incredibly harsh methods of rule. Despite this, his reign is considered significant for the state, which, thanks to the foreign and domestic policies of Grozny, became twice as large in its territory. The first Russian ruler was a powerful and very evil monarch, but managed to achieve a lot in the international political arena, maintaining a total one-man dictatorship in his state, full of executions, disgrace and terror for any disobedience to power.
Childhood and youth
Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV Vasilyevich) was born on August 25, 1530 in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow in the family of the Grand Duke and the Lithuanian princess. He was the eldest son of his parents, so he became the first heir to the throne of his father, whom he was supposed to succeed upon reaching adulthood. But he had to become the nominal Tsar of All Rus' at the age of 3, since Vasily III became seriously ill and died suddenly. After 5 years, the future king’s mother also died, as a result of which at the age of 8 he was left a complete orphan.
WikipediaThe childhood of the young monarch passed in an atmosphere of palace coups, a serious struggle for power, intrigue and violence, which formed a tough character in Ivan the Terrible. Then, considering the heir to the throne to be an incomprehensible child, the trustees did not pay any attention to him, mercilessly killed his friends and kept the future king in poverty, even depriving him of food and clothing. This instilled in him aggression and cruelty, which was already early years manifested itself in the desire to torture animals, and in the future the entire Russian people.
At that time, the country was ruled by the princes Belsky and Shuisky, the nobleman Mikhail Vorontsov and the relatives of the future ruler maternal line Glinsky. Their reign was marked for all of Rus' by the careless disposal of state property, which Ivan the Terrible understood very clearly.
Runiverse In 1543, he first showed his temper to his guardians by ordering the death of Andrei Shuisky. Then the boyars began to fear the tsar, power over the country was completely concentrated in the hands of the Glinskys, who began to please the heir to the throne with all their might, cultivating animal instincts in him.
At the same time, the future tsar devoted a lot of time to self-education and read many books, which made him the most well-read ruler of those times. Then, being a powerless hostage of the temporary rulers, he hated the whole world, and his main idea was to gain complete and unlimited power over people, which he put above any moral laws.
Government and reforms
In 1545, when Ivan the Terrible came of age, he became a full-fledged king. His first political decision was the desire to marry into the kingdom, which gave him the right to autocracy and inherit traditions Orthodox faith. At the same time, this royal title also became useful for the country’s foreign policy, as it allowed it to take a different position in diplomatic relations with Western Europe and Russia to claim first place among European states.
Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. Artist Viktor Vasnetsov / State Tretyakov Gallery From the first days of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, a number of key changes and reforms took place in the state, which he developed with the Elected Rada, and a period of autocracy began in Russia, during which all power fell into the hands of one monarch.
The Tsar of All Rus' devoted the next 10 years to global reform - Ivan the Terrible carried out a zemstvo reform, which formed an estate-representative monarchy in the country, adopted a new code of law that tightened the rights of all peasants and serfs, and introduced a labial reform that redistributed the powers of volosts and governors in favor of the nobility.
In 1550, the ruler distributed estates within 70 km from the Russian capital to the “chosen” thousand Moscow nobles and formed a streltsy army, which he armed firearms. The same period was marked by the enslavement of peasants and the ban on Jewish merchants entering Russia.
Wikipedia The foreign policy of Ivan the Terrible at the first stage of his reign was full of numerous wars, which were very successful. He personally took part in the campaigns and already in 1552 took control of Kazan and Astrakhan, and then annexed part of the Siberian lands to Russia. In 1553, the monarch began to organize trade relations with England, and 5 years later entered into a war with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in which he suffered a resounding defeat and lost part of the Russian lands.
After losing the war, Ivan the Terrible began to look for those responsible for the defeat, broke off legislative relations with the Elected Rada and embarked on the path of autocracy, filled with repression, disgrace and executions of everyone who did not support his policies.
Oprichnina
The reign of Ivan the Terrible in the second stage became even tougher and bloodier. In 1565, he introduced a special form of government, as a result of which Russia was divided into two parts - the oprichnina and the zemshchina. The oprichniki, who swore an oath of allegiance to the tsar, fell under his complete autocracy and could not communicate with the zemstvos, who paid the lion's share of their income to the monarch.
Wikipedia In this way, a large army gathered on the estates of the oprichnina, which Ivan the Terrible freed from responsibility. They were allowed to carry out robberies and pogroms of the boyars in a violent manner, and in case of resistance they were allowed to mercilessly execute and kill all those who disagreed with the sovereign.
In 1571, when the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey invaded Rus', the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible demonstrated their complete inability to defend the state - the oprichnina, spoiled by the ruler, simply did not go to war, and out of the entire large army, the tsar managed to assemble only one regiment, which could not resist the army of the Crimean khan. As a result, Ivan the Terrible abolished the oprichnina, stopped killing people, and even ordered the compilation of memorial lists of executed people so that their souls could be buried in monasteries.
Moscow dungeon. End of the 16th century. Artist Apollinary Vasnetsov / Museum of Moscow The results of the reign of Ivan the Terrible were the collapse of the country's economy and a resounding defeat in the Livonian War, which, according to historians, was his life's work. The monarch realized that while ruling the country, he made many mistakes not only internally, but also foreign policy, which by the end of his reign made Ivan the Terrible repent.
During this period, he committed another bloody crime and, in moments of rage, accidentally killed his own son and the only possible heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich. After this, the king completely despaired and even wanted to go to a monastery.
Personal life
The personal life of Ivan the Terrible is as eventful as his reign. According to historians, the first Tsar of All Rus' was married seven times. The monarch's first wife was Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva, whom he married in 1547. Over more than 10 years of marriage, the queen gave birth to six children, of whom only Ivan and Fyodor survived.
Queen Marfa Sobakina / Sergey Nikitin, Wikipedia After Anastasia died in 1560, Ivan the Terrible married the daughter of the Kabardian prince, Maria Cherkasskaya. In the first year married life With the monarch, his second wife gave birth to a son, who died at the age of a month. After this, Ivan the Terrible’s interest in his wife disappeared, and 8 years later Maria herself died.
The third wife of Ivan the Terrible, Maria Sobakina, was the daughter of a Kolomna nobleman. Their wedding took place in 1571. The king's third marriage lasted only 15 days - Maria died for unknown reasons. After 6 months, the king remarried Anna Koltovskaya. This marriage was also childless, and after a year of family life, the king imprisoned his fourth wife in a monastery, where she died in 1626.
Maria Nagaya denounces False Dmitry / State Historical Museum The ruler's fifth wife was Maria Dolgorukaya, whom he drowned in a pond after the first wedding night, since I found out that he new wife was not a virgin. In 1975, he married again Anna Vasilchikova, who did not remain queen for long - she, like her predecessors, suffered the fate of being forcibly exiled to a monastery, allegedly for treason against the king.
The last, seventh wife of Ivan the Terrible was, who married him in 1580. Two years later, the queen gave birth to Tsarevich Dmitry, who died at the age of 9. After the death of her husband, Maria was exiled to Uglich by the new king, and then forcibly tonsured a nun. She became a significant figure in Russian history as a mother, whose short reign occurred during the Time of Troubles.
Death
The death of the first Tsar of All Rus', Ivan the Terrible, occurred on March 28, 1584 in Moscow. The ruler died while playing chess from the growth of osteophytes, which were already in recent years made him practically motionless. Nervous shocks unhealthy image life and this serious illness made Ivan the Terrible, at the age of 53, a “decrepit” old man, which led to such an early death.
Documentary film "Ivan the Terrible. The myth of the bloody tyrant"Ivan the Terrible was buried next to his son Ivan, who was killed by him, in the Archangel Cathedral, located in the Moscow Kremlin. After the burial of the monarch, persistent rumors began to appear that the king died a violent and not a natural death. Chroniclers claim that Ivan the Terrible was poisoned by poison, who after him became the ruler of Rus'.
The version of the poisoning of the first monarch was checked in 1963 during the opening of the royal tombs - researchers did not find high levels of arsenic in the remains, so the murder of Ivan the Terrible was not confirmed. At this point, the Rurik dynasty was completely stopped, and the Time of Troubles began in the country.