The historical portrait of Ivan the Terrible has been of interest for more than 4 centuries . The official documents and notes of contemporaries that have reached us characterize the monarch as a controversial personality, which left a bright mark in history. In this article we will try to consider the corresponding time period, Ivan the Terrible as a person and ruler, and talk about his role in the formation of Russian statehood.
Origin
Ivan the Terrible (where buried, see below) is the eldest son of Elena Glinsky and Vasily the Third - the Grand Duke of Moscow. On the paternal side, the first Russian Tsar came from the Rurik dynasty. From his motherās side, his ancestor was Khan Mamai , who is considered the ancestor of the Lithuanian princes Glinsky. The blood of the Byzantine emperors also flowed in the veins of Ivan the Terrible, since his grandmother Sofia belonged to the Paleology dynasty.
Accession
The impartial characterization of Ivan the Terrible as a person should be based on reliable historical documents. An important role in the formation of the personality of the first Russian autocrat was played by mental injuries suffered in childhood. As you know, Ivan the Terrible lost his father in three years. At the age of 8, he became an orphan, having lost his mother, who was allegedly poisoned by the boyars. The guardians of the young prince treated him badly, and he and his brother often walked in cast-offs and were malnourished.
The situation changed when, at the age of 16, Ivan decided to marry the kingdom.
Board at the Elected Council
Under Ivan the Terrible, Russia has repeatedly become the arena for the implementation of various reforms. They were first held during the years of the existence of the Elected Council, which included Metropolitan Makarii, A. Adashev, A. Kurbsky , Archpriest Sylvester, etc. First of all, the first Zemsky Sobor was convened, which included representatives of all Russian estates, for the exception of the peasants. Later, a new litigation and a landowner taxation system were put in place. Among the most fundamental transformations of this period are also the formation of a semi-regular army consisting of archers, and the adoption of the Code of Service. In addition, Chelobitny, Streletsky, Ambassadorial, Local, Bronny, Printed, Pushkarsky, Sokolniki, Robbery and Zemsky orders were formed.
The formation of the state
Russia under Ivan the Terrible almost constantly fought. In the period 1547 - 1552, 3 trips to Kazan were made. The last of them ended with the capture of the city and the appointment of Prince Alexander Gorbatoy-Shuisky as viceroy. The capture of Kazan not only led to the conquest of the entire Volga region, but also forced the Siberian Khan Ediger to ask the Moscow Tsar to "take under his name" his land.
In 1554, Russian troops captured Astrakhan without a fight. The city fell after winning the battle of the Black Island. However, Khan Dervish-Ali betrayed the king, and after 2 years, Astrakhan had to be conquered a second time. In parallel, the Golden Horde capital Saray-Batu was destroyed. As a result of the capture of Astrakhan, the Moscow kingdom expanded its influence up to the Caucasus.
Barely "calming" the neighbors in the east and south, the king was forced to accept the challenge of the Swedish king Gustav Vasa. The latter entered the war, trying to hinder trade relations between Russia and England, which painfully hit the economy of his country. After the victory of the army, led by Sheremetev , the Swedes were forced to ask for peace.
Livonian war
Ivan the Terrible understood that for the economic prosperity of the Russian state it is necessary to have access to the Baltic Sea. This was prevented by all means by the Livonian Order. As a result of hostilities, Russian troops captured Narva, Derpt , Neuhaus and Neishloss and all of eastern Estonia. By the spring of 1559, the Livonian Order had lost the army, and then ceased to exist.
Oprichnina
In 1565, the king put an end to the Chosen Rada and began oppressing the estate of the estate. As a result, at the end of 1564, a failed attempt at armed rebellion was made. Immediately after this, Ivan the Terrible introduced Oprichnina. It was established on the model of a monastic order, directly subordinate to the king. For himself, the sovereign chose the title of Oprichny Abbot and regularly held various church ceremonies to "get rid of filth."
The victims of the new punitive "organ" were high-ranking boyars close to the person of the king, from whom their lands were confiscated. Then repression began to cover an increasing number of representatives of the nobility, who were accused of conspiracies against the sovereign.
Novgorod campaign and tightening repression
Having scattered the nobility on the far outskirts by forcible exchange of inheritances, Ivan the Terrible decided to speak out against the most influential Novgorodians, known for their love of freedom. When his guardsmen occupied the city, they executed more than 1,500 people. The same fate awaited the residents of Pskov . However, when the king ordered to remove the bells from one of the local monasteries, a horse fell under him. Ivan the Terrible was superstitious, so he quickly left the city and, returning to the capital, began to fierce more than ever. Even some prominent representatives of the oprichnina fell under his hot hand. In particular, the father and son of the Basmanovs, as well as Athanasius Vyazemsky, were executed.
The completion of the oprichnina and the "reign" of Simeon
In 1571, the "faithful dogs" of Ivan the Terrible discredited themselves in his eyes. When the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey approached Moscow, they did not arrive to defend the city. The angry tsar decided to dissolve the oprichnina, but bursts of executions also occurred subsequently.
In 1575, Ivan the Terrible (where the first tsar of all Russia is buried, we will tell later) came up with a new "joke". He crowned the kingdom of the unremarkable baptized Tatar prince Simeon Bekbulatovich, and he himself gave him the corresponding honors. The new ākingā took away the lands he had been granted from monasteries and bishops . After this, Ivan the Terrible was allegedly angry and returned to the throne. However, the case was done, and most of the selected lands were not returned to their former owners.
Last years
For many centuries, the characterization of Ivan the Terrible was rarely objective. His atrocities of the Oprichnina period prevented him from seeing the results of reforms that strengthened Russian statehood. In addition, among the people the name of the first Russian Tsar often evoked memories of the period of the most severe economic crisis, called the Porukha. It was the result of the Livonian War, which drained the treasury and led to the cessation of trade between Europe and Persia through the Baltic Sea. As a result of the outflow of population, the central and northwestern regions of the country emptied, prices rose 4 times, more than 50% of arable land remained uncultivated. The only achievement of this period was the conquest of Western Siberia, which occurred during the year for the death of Ivan the Terrible. Moreover , it is known that Ermak attacked and took Isker against the will of the king.
Where is Ivan the Terrible buried?
The first Russian tsar , during his lifetime, gave orders for his funeral. The place of his burial, he chose the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, or rather, his deacon . Excavations were made there in the 60s of the last century, which allowed to explore the sarcophagus and the remains of Ivan the Terrible.
Grave Description
On top of the tomb of Tsar Ivan the Terrible is a copper casing with a cover made at the beginning of the 20th century , on which his name is indicated. Underneath is a brick gravestone hiding a sarcophagus, carved from solid limestone. It has a semicircular shape at the head and somewhat expands in the region of the shoulders of the deceased. The sarcophagus is covered with a white stone slab. The name of Ivan the Terrible and the dates of his birth and death are engraved on it.
Next to the tsar , his sons Ivan and Fedor, the last representatives of the clan that ruled the Russian land , the founder of which is the legendary Rurik, are buried. The house of Ivan Kalita reigned for 300 years, the family was interrupted with the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich in 1598.
The circumstances of the death of Ivan the Terrible
The reliable reason for the death of the first Russian Tsar is still unknown. In historical documents, the date of his death is March 19, 1584 . However, in the Pskov annals it is recorded that the autocrat died on March 18 in the evening, and his death was reported to the people only the next day.
According to legend, Ivan the Terrible, whose memory for many years caused horror among the people, died suddenly, in a fit of anger, purposely caused by one of his close associates. The notes of the "overseas guest", English nobleman D. Garsey , in which it is indicated that, during a game of chess, the king suddenly "weakened and fell backward." While the close ones were looking for a doctor and waiting for the confessor, Ivan the Terrible gave up his spirit. According to another version, the king fell ill on March 10 and, after suffering for 8 days, died without regaining consciousness.
According to the will of the monarch, they performed a tonsure ceremony over the deceased autocrat, named him Jonah, and put a monastic schema on the corpse. Thus, the first Russian tsar hoped to atone for his sins and perfect abominations.
What showed the opening of the tomb
Where Ivan the Terrible is buried has never been a mystery to scientists . However, experts have always been interested in the details of his death. In order to clarify the circumstances under which the first Russian tsar died, and to restore his appearance in the mid-60s of the last century, an autopsy of the sarcophagus with its remains was carried out. Its participants were employees of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Museums of the Moscow Kremlin . They managed to find out that attempts to reach the remains of Ivan the Terrible were made earlier. This was evidenced by damage to the kingās left foot.
It also turned out that the deceased's skull was turned to the left during the burial, and the bones of the right forearm were bent at the elbow joint so that the ends of the fingers were in contact with the lower jaw of the monarch.
Inspection of the tsarās remains from the necropolis of the Archangelās Cathedral showed that Ivan the Terrible had great physical strength and had a high forehead. Although at the time of death the king was only 54 years old, his skeleton was deformed, like a deep old man. Scientists were also interested in a cup with a thick yellow-brown liquid, which stood at the head of the sarcophagus. It turned out that it was made in the workshop of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II . At the same time, scientists could not find out who and why put the bowl of Venetian glass on a high leg in the royal coffin.
Now you know that Ivan the Terrible was buried in the Cathedral of Arkhangelsk, and also got acquainted with the characteristics of the legendary historical figure, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian statehood.
He became the first Russian ruler, in the person of which European sovereigns saw a threat. That is why the historical portrait of Ivan the Terrible, created by his contemporaries, foreigners, was deliberately gloomy and terrifying.