Tsar Fedor Ioannovich is best known for being the last ruler of Russia from the Rurik dynasty. The time of his reign can be called a period of stability after many years of terror of his father.
The education of Fedor
Ivan the Terrible had three sons. The second of them, Fedor, was born in 1557. His mother was Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva - the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, whom he loved very much. Anastasia was from the Romanov family. After many years, this particular dynasty will occupy the Russian throne. Fedor practically did not know maternal love - Anastasia tragically died in 1560 at a young age. Shortly before this, Russia entered the Livonian War for the Baltic states.
Thus, Fyodor Ioannovich did not find a quiet time at all. Soon his father had changed to an extreme degree. In his youth he was a caring, kind and gullible monarch. However, the mysterious death of his first wife made him suspicious. Gradually, he turned into a tyrant and began to crack down on the surrounding boyars.
Therefore, Fedor Ioannovich grew up in a tense atmosphere of terror and fear. He was not the heir to the throne, as his elder brother Ivan was to take him. However, he tragically died at the hands of his own father in 1581. Terrible inadvertently hit his son with a rod in a fit of anger, because of which he died. Since Ivan had no children, Fedor became the heir.
Heir to the throne
Even before that, in 1575, the prince married Irina Godunova. The daughter-in-law was chosen by a father who wanted to give his second son a companion of life from a clan loyal to him. Godunovs were just that. The king’s favorite - Boris - was Irina’s brother.
Then no one could assume that it was this marriage that would become crucial for the future of the country. Boris became not only a brother-in-law, but also a loyal assistant in the affairs of Fedor. Due to the fact that the prince was the second son, no one accustomed him to public affairs. Everyone had their hopes in Ivan. Fedor, in his youth, was mainly occupied with devoting himself to church service and hunting. After the tragic death of his elder brother, Fedor had very little time left to acquire at least some managerial skills.
In addition, he was distinguished by poor health and gentle character, rarely took the initiative and did more what he was told, and did not make his own decisions.
Beginning of reign
Ivan the Terrible died in 1584. It is still not known for sure whether he died due to poor health, or suffered a violent death from the surrounding boyars. One way or another, but Fedor Ioannovich has now become king. Around him was formed a council - the Boyar Duma. It included aristocrats from among the military, diplomats, etc. There was a brother-in-law of the tsar Boris Godunov.
This man was purposeful and eventually cracked down on all his competitors who tried to influence the sovereign bypassing his will. Godunov was the chief adviser to the tsar throughout the entire period of his reign. He was a great organizer. Fedor never argued with him. Thanks to this balance in power, Russia under the last Rurikovich achieved many successes and healed the wounds received in the era of Grozny.
War with the swedes
The failure of Ivan the Terrible in the Livonian War led to the loss of important territories in the Baltic. Fortresses Ivangorod, Narva, Yam, etc. were given. The reign of Fedor Ioannovich was marked by the fact that the boyar’s thought tried in various ways to regain the lost territory. Due to the fact that a border treaty was not concluded between the two countries, diplomats persuaded the Swedish king Johan III to return the seized lands. The monarch refused to do this peacefully. In the event of aggravation of the conflict, he hoped for the help of his son Sigismund, who became king of Poland. Johan believed that Russia was weakened, and perhaps he could even manage to occupy new cities.
In the early days of 1590, provocations of the Swedes began on the border of the two powers. The tsar decided to announce the general convocation of regiments in Novgorod. Biography of Fyodor Ioannovich says that the young sovereign had never once led the battles, but he still led the regiments, rightly believing that this would encourage the army. A total of 35 thousand people were gathered.
The return of Russian cities in the Baltic
The first goal of the regiments was the Yam fortress, where they went. In fairness, it is worth saying that it was founded in 1384 by the Novgorodians, so the Russian Tsar had all the legal rights to it. In the fortress was a Swedish garrison of 500 people. They decided to surrender the fortification in exchange for a free return home.
The first serious battle took place under the walls of Ivangorod, when the Swedes attacked the regiments under the command of Dmitry Hvorostinin. The victory remained with the Russians. The enemy had to retreat to the town of Rakvere.
On February 5, the siege of Narva began, in which artillery brought from Pskov took part. The first attack ended in mass bloodshed, which did not lead to anything. Then the shelling of the fortress began. The Swedes requested a truce for a year. The parties agreed this year to sign a peace agreement on permanent terms. However, Johan III refused to comply with Russian requirements. Moreover, he was able to take a breather and sent fresh unfired regiments to the Baltic states.
In November, the truce was broken. The Swedes attacked Ivangorod. However, they failed to capture this important stronghold. The Russian troops, who came to the aid of the besieged, drove out the Swedes, but did not begin to cross the border by order from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Crimean Khan Gaza Giray attacked the southern borders of Russia. Tatars robbed peaceful cities, which is why most of the army was sent to them to intercept. The Swedes took advantage of the distraction of the enemy and attacked the northern lands of Russia. The Pecheneg monastery was captured.
Peace making
After the Tatars were safely defeated and driven out of Russia, regular regiments returned to the north. Russian troops attacked Oreshek and Vyborg. Despite several battles, no side was able to outweigh the scales in their favor. First, a two-year truce was concluded. After the Swedes again attempted to raid Russia, negotiations on a long-term agreement resumed.
They ended in the town of Tyavzino on the banks of the Narva River. In 1595, a peace was concluded according to which the cities of Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye passed to Russia. At the same time, the tsar agreed to recognize Estonia as the Swedes, which was confirmation of the outcome of the Livonian War of Ivan the Terrible. Also, the peace treaty in Tyavzino is significant in that for the first time the borders between Sweden and Russia were exactly agreed in the most remote regions, right up to the Barents Sea. Another result of the conflict was a peasant uprising in Finland. The Swedes had to fight a few more years to calm this province.
Fyodor Ivanovich, whose years of rule were marked by only one large-scale war, was able to return the Russian cities lost by his father.
Patriarchate Institution
Another important enterprise that remembered the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich was the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate. After the baptism of Rus, the main representative of the church in the country was the Metropolitan. He was appointed from the Byzantine Empire, which was considered the center of Orthodoxy. However, in 1453, Muslim Turks captured Constantinople and destroyed this state. Since then, a debate has continued in Moscow about the need to create its own patriarchy.
Finally, Boris Godunov and Fedor Ioannovich discussed this issue among themselves. Briefly and vividly, the adviser described to the king the benefits of the emergence of his own patriarchy. He proposed a candidate for a new dignity. They became Metropolitan of Moscow Job, who was a faithful associate of Godunov for many years.
In 1589, the patriarchate was established with the support of Greek saints. Under Job, mass missionary activity began in the Volga and Siberia. For hundreds of years there lived pagans and Muslims who began to convert to the Christian faith.
The death of Tsarevich Dmitry
In 1591, a tragedy erupted in provincial Uglich. There for several years, the younger brother of Fedor, 8-year-old Dmitry. He was the son of Grozny from one of his later marriages. When the news of the Tsarevich’s death came to Moscow, in Uglich there was already a riot of local residents who dealt with the boyars who were watching over the child.
Dmitry was the heir to his brother, since Fedor did not have his own children. Irina during the marriage only once gave birth to a daughter, Theodosius, but she died in infancy. The departure from Dmitry's life meant that the family of Moscow princes from Ivan Kalita in a straight line was interrupted.
To find out the details of what happened, a commission was formed in Moscow, which went to Uglich for investigation. It was headed by the boyar Vasily Shuisky. The irony of fate is that he himself became king in 15 years. However, then no one suspected this. The commission concluded that the child during the game inadvertently pricked and died from a stroke of epilepsy. Many have criticized this version. There was a rumor among the people that the adviser to the tsar Boris Godunov was to blame for the death of the prince. Whether it is true or not, it is already impossible to find out.
Fate of the throne
In the last years of the monarch’s life, the influence of Boris Godunov became especially strong. The death of Fyodor Ivanovich came in 1598 for natural reasons. He was ill a lot and did not differ in good health. After his wife Irina could rule, but she retired to the monastery and blessed her brother to reign. Boris managed to defeat his political rivals of the same non-royal origin. However, his reign marked the beginning of the Time of Troubles, which was accompanied by several bloody wars and other misfortunes.
After all these bright and terrible events, the quiet and inconspicuous Fedor Ivanovich was almost forgotten. The years of his reign (1584-1598), however, were a time of creation and prosperity for Russia.