Fedor I Ioannovich
2nd Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia
Tsar Fedor I Ioannovich
Theodore I Ioannovich (nicknamed the Blessed; May 11, 1557 (15570511), Moscow - January 7, 1598, Moscow) is the third son of Ivan IV the Terrible and Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna, the last representative of the Moscow branch of the Rurik dynasty.
In 1557, Tsar John IV Vasilyevich (the Terrible) with his wife Anastasia was in Pereslavl at the consecration of one of the cathedrals. The queen was not idle. After praying, they went to Moscow. Having driven seven miles from Pereslavl, near the village of Sobilovo, Tsarina Anastasia gave birth to her son, who was named Theodore in holy baptism. Theodore Stratilat became his heavenly patron. At the birthplace of Theodore Ioannovich, a chapel-cross was erected.
Pereslavl-Zalessky. Chapel-cross at the birthplace of Theodore Ioannovich
In gratitude to God for his son, Tsar Ivan the Terrible becomes a patron and temple builder. On the site of a wooden temple in the name of the great martyr Theodore Stratilates, the king builds a stone temple, which has been preserved to this day. Later, in the attached gallery of the temple, two more side-chapels were consecrated in honor of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God and in honor.
The Cathedral of Theodore Stratilates built in 1557. Feodorovsky Convent
On November 19, 1581, the heir to the throne, Ivan, died from a wound inflicted by his father. Since that time, Fedor became the heir to the royal throne.
In the words of Ivan the Terrible himself, Fedor was "a fasting and silent man, more for a cell than for sovereign power born."
A study of the remains of Ivan the Terrible showed that in the last six years of his life he developed osteophytes, and to such an extent that he could no longer walk - he was carried on a stretcher. Examining the remains of M.M. Gerasimov noted that he had not seen such powerful deposits in the deepest old people. Forced immobility, combined with a general unhealthy lifestyle, nervous shocks, etc., led to the fact that in his 50s, the tsar looked already a decrepit old man.
In August 1582, A. Possevin, in the report of the Venetian Signory, stated that "the Moscow sovereign will not live long." In February and early March 1584, the tsar was still engaged in state affairs. By March 10, the first mention of the disease dates back (when the Lithuanian ambassador was stopped on the way to Moscow "due to the sovereign's illness"). On March 16, deterioration began, the king fell into unconsciousness, but on March 17 and 18 he felt relief from hot baths. But in the afternoon of March 18, the king died. The body of the sovereign was swollen and smelled bad "because of the decomposition of the blood."
Vifliofika preserved the Tsar's dying order to Boris Godunov:
“When the Great Sovereign of the last path was honored, the most pure body and blood of the Lord, then as a witness presenting his confessor Archimandrite Theodosius, filling his eyes with tears, saying to Boris Feodorovich: I command you my soul and my son Feodor Ivanovich and my daughter Irina ... ". Also, before his death, according to the chronicles, the tsar bequeathed to his youngest son Dmitry Uglich with all the counties.
Fedor established himself on the throne not without troubles. Prince Bogdan Volsky intrigued a lot in favor of Dmitry, but the boyars hostile to him and the people besieged Belsky in the Kremlin, forced him to surrender and exiled to Nizhny Novgorod.
The news has also been preserved that eminent people from all cities came to Moscow and prayed with tears to Tsarevich Fedor that he would be king in the Muscovite state and be crowned with a royal crown.
On the night of March 18-19, 1584, the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor, ascended the throne. On May 31, Fedor was married to the kingdom.
Most historians believe that Fedor was incapable of state activity, according to some sources, he was in 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 at the royal court was so significant that overseas diplomats sought audiences with Boris Godunov, his will was law. Fedor reigned, Boris ruled - everyone knew this both in Russia and abroad.
According to the Englishman D. Fletcher, the new tsar was “small in stature, squat and stout, weak in build and prone to dropsy; his nose is hawkish, his tread is unsteady from a certain relaxation in his limbs; he is heavy and inactive, but always smiling, so almost laughing ... He is simple and weak-minded, but very amiable and good in handling, quiet, merciful, has no inclination for war, little capable of political affairs and extremely superstitious.
A blissful smile never left his face, and in general, although he was distinguished by extreme simplicity and imbecility, he was very affectionate, quiet, merciful and pious. He spent most of the day in church, and as entertainment he liked to watch fistfights, jesters' amusements and fun with bears. If someone beat the tsar with his forehead, he sent him to Godunov.
From "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures" N.I. Kostomarov:
Tsar Feodor Ivanovich was a stranger to everything, in accordance with his feeble-mindedness. He got up at four o'clock, the confessor came to him with holy water and with an icon of that saint whose memory was celebrated on this day. The king read prayers aloud, then went to the queen, who lived separately, went with her to matins, then sat down in an armchair and received loved ones, especially monks. At nine o'clock in the morning I went to mass, at eleven o'clock I dined, then I slept, then I went to vespers, sometimes before vespers to the bathhouse. After vespers, the tsar spent time in amusements until night: they sang songs to him, told tales, jesters amused him with antics. Theodore was very fond of bell ringing and sometimes went himself to ring the bell tower. Often he made pious journeys, walked around the Moscow monasteries. But in addition to such pious inclinations, Theodore showed others, reminiscent of his parent's disposition. He liked to watch fist fights and fights between people and bears. The petitioners who turned to him did not see any participation from him: "avoiding worldly fuss and dokuki", he sent them to Boris Godunov. Theodore's dementia did not, however, inspire contempt for him. According to popular belief, the weak-minded were considered sinless and therefore were called "blessed". The monks praised the piety and holy life of Tsar Theodore, they attributed to him alive the gift of insight and divination.
Ivan the Terrible understood in which hands he was transferring power. Leaving the throne to Fedor, he entrusted his son and the state to the cares of the near boyars - I.F. Mstislavsky, N.R. Zakharyina-Yuryeva, I.P. Shuisky and B.F. Godunov. The first two were elderly people, and the main struggle broke out between Shuisky and Godunov. The latter managed to gain the upper hand, and a year after Fedor's accession to the throne, the almighty boyar, whose sister, Irina Godunova, was married to the Russian tsar, became the de facto ruler of the country.
Fedor I Ioannovich. Reconstruction of Gerasimov
The main events in the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich
Tsar of All Russia and Grand Duke of Moscow from March 18 (28), 1584 to January 7 (17), 1598The Moscow Zemsky Sobor in 1584 elected the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich, as tsar.
In 1584, the Don Cossacks took an oath of allegiance to Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich.
In 1585 -1591. Russian architect Fyodor Savelyevich Kony erected walls and towers white city . The length of the walls is 10 kilometers. Thickness - up to 4.5 meters. Height from 6 to 7 meters.
In 1586, the Russian cannon caster Andrei Chokhov cast the famous Tsar Cannon .
Tsar Cannon
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.
1590-1595 - Russian-Swedish war. Return of Russian cities: Pit, Ivangorod, Koporye, Korely.
From his marriage with Fedor, he had one daughter (1592), Theodosia, who lived only nine months and died in the same year (according to other sources, she died in 1594).
In con. In 1597, Tsar Fedor I Ivanovich fell mortally ill and died on January 7, 1598 at one in the morning. It stopped the Moscow line of the Rurik dynasty (offspring of Ivan I Kalita). The name of this king became especially popular during the Time of Troubles, at the beginning of the 17th century. Each impostor in one way or another sought to become either Fyodor's brother or his close relative. In the popular mind, he left a good memory as a God-loving and merciful sovereign.
Fedor I Ioannovich, engraving
Contemporaries about Fyodor Ioannovich
Dutch merchant and sales agent in Moscow Isaac Massa:
“In particular, he glorified the few foreigners who served with him, who behaved better than the Muscovites themselves. He was so pious that he often wished to exchange his kingdom for a monastery, if only that were possible.
Clerk Ivan Timofeev gives Fedor the following assessment:
“With his prayers, my king kept the land unharmed from enemy machinations. He was meek by nature, very merciful and blameless to everyone, and, like Job, in all his ways he guarded himself from every evil thing, loving piety, church grandeur and, after the holy priests, the monastic rank and even the lesser brothers in Christ. gratified in the Gospel by the Lord himself. It’s easy to say that he gave himself all over to Christ and all the time of his holy and reverend reign, not loving blood, as a monk spent in fasting, in prayers and supplications with kneeling - day and night, exhausting himself with spiritual exploits all his life.
They also wrote about him that he discussed state affairs with the boyars in the Front Room, and he discussed especially sensitive issues with his entourage in his office.
The heir to the throne during the life of Tsar Fedor was his younger brother Dmitry, the son of the seventh wife of Ivan the Terrible. On May 15, 1591, Tsarevich Dmitry died under unclear circumstances in the specific city of Uglich. The official investigation was conducted by the boyar Vasily Shuisky. Trying to please Godunov, he reduced the causes of what happened to Nagikh's "negligence", as a result of which Dmitry accidentally stabbed himself with a knife while playing with his peers. The prince, according to rumors, was sick with an "epilepsy" disease (epilepsy).
The chronicle of the times of the Romanovs blames Boris Godunov for the murder, because Dmitry was the direct heir to the throne and prevented Boris from advancing to him. Isaac Massa also writes that "I am firmly convinced that Boris hastened his death with the assistance and at the request of his wife, who wanted to become queen as soon as possible, and many Muscovites shared my opinion." Nevertheless, Godunov's participation in the conspiracy to kill the tsarevich has not been proven.
In 1829, the historian M.P. Pogodin was the first to take the risk of defending Boris's innocence. The original of the criminal case of the Shuisky Commission, discovered in the archives, became the decisive argument in the dispute. He convinced many historians of the 20th century (S.F. Platonov, R.G. Skrynnikov) that the true cause of the death of Ivan the Terrible's son was still an accident.
The only close heir to the throne was the second cousin of the late tsar, who was tonsured a nun, Maria Staritskaya (1560-1611).
January 16, 1598 - February 21, 1598 - Tsarina of Russia Irina I Feodorovna, widow of the deceased tsar.
After attempts to appoint the widow of the deceased Tsar Irina, Boris's sister, as the ruling queen, on February 11/23, 1598, the Zemsky Sobor (including Irina's "recommendation") elected Fyodor's brother-in-law, Boris Godunov, as king, and swore allegiance to him.
On September 1/11, 1598, Boris was married to the kingdom. A close property, which was typical for that time, outweighed the distant relationship of possible contenders for the throne. No less important was the fact that Godunov had long actually ruled the country on behalf of Fedor and was not going to let go of power after his death.
Fedor I Ioannovich |
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Predecessor: |
Ivan the Terrible |
Successor: |
Irina I Feodorovna |
Religion: |
Orthodoxy |
Birth: |
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Buried: |
Archangel Cathedral in Moscow |
Dynasty: |
Rurikovichi |
Ivan IV the Terrible |
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Anastasia Romanovna |
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Irina I Fyodorovna Godunova |
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Daughter: Theodosia |
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Theodore I Ioannovich(nicknamed Blessed; May 11, 1557, Moscow - January 7, 1598, Moscow) - Tsar of All Russia 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 sources, was in 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 at the royal court was so significant that overseas diplomats sought audiences with Boris Godunov, his will was law. Fedor reigned, Boris ruled - everyone knew this both in Russia and abroad.
From "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures" by N. I. Kostomarov:
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Tsar Feodor Ivanovich was a stranger to everything, in accordance with his feeble-mindedness. He got up at four o'clock, the confessor came to him with holy water and with an icon of that saint whose memory was celebrated on this day. The king read prayers aloud, then went to the queen, who lived separately, went with her to matins, then sat down in an armchair and received loved ones, especially monks. At nine o'clock in the morning I went to mass, at eleven o'clock I dined, then I slept, then I went to vespers, sometimes before vespers to the bathhouse. After vespers, the tsar spent time in amusements until night: they sang songs to him, told tales, jesters amused him with antics. Theodore was very fond of bell ringing and sometimes went himself to ring the bell tower. Often he made pious journeys, walked around the Moscow monasteries. But in addition to such pious inclinations, Theodore showed others, reminiscent of his parent's disposition. He liked to watch fist fights and fights between people and bears. The petitioners who turned to him did not see any participation from him: "avoiding worldly fuss and dokuki", he sent them to Boris Godunov. Theodore's dementia did not, however, inspire contempt for him. According to popular belief, the weak-minded were considered sinless and therefore were called "blessed". The monks praised the piety and holy life of Tsar Theodore, they attributed to him alive the gift of insight and divination. |
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.
Fedor I Ivanovich, Russian Tsar since March 19, 1584, the last representative of the Rurikovichs, the 2nd son (from those who did not die in infancy) of Ivan IV Vasilyevich and Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva.
Of all the crimes of Grozny, the murder of Ivan's son and the subsequent suppression of the family of the Grand Dukes of Moscow, perhaps, had the most difficult impact on Russian history. The second son, Fyodor, was distinguished from birth by pronounced dementia, but by an unfortunate coincidence, it was he who was supposed to inherit Grozny after his death. Fyodor's younger brother Dmitry also had supporters among the Moscow boyars. Fedor established himself on the throne not without troubles. Prince Bogdan Volsky intrigued a lot in favor of Dmitry, but the boyars hostile to him and the people besieged Belsky in the Kremlin, forced him to surrender and exiled to Nizhny Novgorod.
The news has also been preserved that eminent people from all cities came to Moscow and prayed with tears to Tsarevich Fedor that he would be king in the Muscovite state and be crowned with a royal crown. On June 9, Fedor was married to the kingdom.
On the night of March 28-29, 1584, the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor, ascended the throne. According to the Englishman D. Fletcher, the new tsar was “small in stature, squat and stout, weak in build and prone to dropsy; his nose is hawkish, his tread is unsteady from a certain relaxation in his limbs; he is heavy and inactive, but always smiling, so almost laughing ... He is simple and weak-minded, but very amiable and good in handling, quiet, merciful, has no inclination for war, little capable of political affairs and extremely superstitious.
A blissful smile never left his face, and in general, although he was distinguished by extreme simplicity and imbecility, he was very affectionate, quiet, merciful and pious. He spent most of the day in church, and as entertainment he liked to watch fistfights, jesters' fun and fun with bears. If someone beat the tsar with his forehead, he sent him to Godunov.
Ivan the Terrible understood in which hands he was transferring power. Leaving the throne to Fedor, he entrusted his son and the state to the cares of the near boyars - I.F. Mstislavsky, N.R. Zakharyin-Yuriev, I.P. Shuisky and B.F. Godunov. The first two were elderly people, and the main struggle broke out between Shuisky and Godunov. The latter managed to prevail, and a year after Fedor's accession to the throne, the almighty boyar became the de facto ruler of the country, whose sister, Irina Godunova, was married to the Russian tsar.
On January 6 (16), 1598 Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich died. With the death of this, in general, a miserable person, not only the dynasty ended, but an entire era ended when “born sovereigns” were on the throne. The name of this king became especially popular during the Time of Troubles, at the beginning of the 17th century. Each impostor in one way or another sought to become either Fyodor's brother or his close relative. In the popular mind, he left a good memory as a God-loving and merciful sovereign.
Moscow princes (1276-1598)
Daniel Alexandrovich
Yuri Daniilovich
Ivan I Kalita
Simeon the Proud
Ivan II the Red
Dmitry Donskoy
Basil I
Vasily II the Dark
Ivan III
Vasily III, wife Elena Glinskaya
Ivan IV the Terrible
Fedor I Ioannovich
Yuri Zvenigorodsky
Vasily Kosoy
Dmitry Shemyaka
Fedor I Ioannovich (or Fedor the Blessed) - (born May 31, 1557 - death January 7 (17), 1598) - Tsar of All Russia and Grand Duke of Moscow (1584 - elected to the kingdom by the Moscow Zemsky Cathedral). From the family of the Moscow Grand Dukes, the son of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible and Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna Yuryeva-Zakharova. The last of the Rurik family. 1584 - 1598 years of the reign of Fedor Ioannovich. He was a candidate for the Polish throne in 1573, 1576 and 1577. He married in 1580 Irina Fedorovna Godunova.
Early years. Characteristic
The future tsar was born in 1557 in the Sobilka tract, Pereslavl-Zalessky. At the age of three, he lost his mother, his childhood and adolescence fell on the darkest years. Morbidity and traits of degeneration were generally characteristic of offspring. Katyrev-Rostovsky wrote that Fedor was "noble from his mother's womb", and the bloody horrors and wild amusements of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, no doubt, could disfigure the psyche of a healthy child.
None of the chroniclers and memoirists cites the facts of obvious insanity and inadequate behavior of the prince, although many of the foreigners reported his dementia as something well-known. The Swedish king Johan even said in his throne speech that the Russian tsar was half-witted and that "the Russians call him durak in their own language." The Roman envoy Possevino called the tsar "almost an idiot", the English ambassador Fletcher - "simple and feeble-minded", and the Polish ambassador Sapieha reported to his monarch: "He has little reason, or, as others say and as I myself noticed, not at all. When during my presentation he sat on the throne in all the royal decorations, then, looking at the scepter and orb, he laughed all the time.
Possible Causes of Dementia
Maybe the prince suffered from some form of autism, but, most likely, his personality simply did not develop - it could be a kind of mental self-defense against his father's despotism and nightmares of the surrounding reality. Before Fedor's eyes was the example of his older brother: the active and strong-willed Ivan Ivanovich had to take part in the bloody games of his parent, sometimes he dared to argue with him - and we know what this firmness of character brought to. It was safer to give up character altogether.
Appearance description
The prince was slow in his movements and speeches, there was nothing royal in his appearance and behavior. “The current king, in relation to his appearance, small stature, is squat and stout, weak in physique and prone to water,” said Fletcher. - His nose is hawkish, his gait is unsteady from some kind of relaxation in his limbs; he is heavy and inactive, but he constantly smiles, so that he almost laughs.
The frail body could not withstand the weight of the ceremonial royal vestments; for a disproportionately small head, Monomakh's hat was large. During the coronation, Fedor Ioannovich was forced, without waiting for the end of a long ceremony, to remove the crown and hand it over to the first boyar, Prince Mstislavsky, and thrust the golden orb (the royal “apple”) to Godunov, which, of course, was a shock to the superstitious public and was perceived by it as symbolic renunciation of real power.
Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich puts a golden chain on Boris Godunov
Religiosity
From an early age, Fedor Ioannovich found consolation and refuge only in religion. He was distinguished by deep and devout piety, he could stand for hours at church services, pray for a long time, loved to ring the bells himself and showed interest only in spiritual conversations (proof that he was not an idiot after all). This excessive pilgrimage annoyed Ivan Vasilievich, who called the young man "the sexton's son."
The reign of Fyodor Ioannovich
Under the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich, Moscow was decorated with new buildings. Updated Kitay-Gorod. In 1586-1593, a powerful defensive line - the White City - was erected in the capital from brick and white stone.
I also remember the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich, the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate. After the baptism of Russia, the metropolitan was the main representative of the church in the state. He was appointed by the Byzantine Empire, which was considered the center of Orthodoxy. But in 1453 the Muslim Turks captured Constantinople and this state was destroyed. Since that time, disputes about the need to create their own patriarchy have not stopped in Moscow.
In the end, this issue was discussed between Boris Godunov and the tsar. Briefly and vividly, the adviser described to the sovereign the benefits of the emergence of his own patriarchy. He also proposed a candidate for a new dignity. They became the Metropolitan of Moscow Job, who was a faithful associate of Godunov for many years.
During the reign of Theodore the Blessed, it was possible, not without profit, to end the Livonian War (by the way, the sovereign himself took part in the campaign) and win back everything lost; gain a foothold in Western Siberia and the Caucasus. Large-scale construction of cities (Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, Ufa, Kursk, Belgorod, Yelets, etc.) and fortifications in Astrakhan and Smolensk was launched.
However, during his reign, the situation of the peasants changed dramatically for the worse. Around 1592, the peasants were deprived of the right to move from one master to another (St. George's day), and in 1597 a royal decree was issued on a 5-year investigation of fugitive serfs. A decree was also issued, according to which it was forbidden for enslaved people to bathe in freedom.
Reconstruction of the appearance of Fedor Ioannovich (M. Gerasimov)
Everyday life
Having become a sovereign and getting rid of his father's oppression, Fedor I began to live the way he liked.
The autocrat got up before dawn to pray to the saints who were commemorated that day. Then he sent to the queen to ask if she slept well. After some time, he himself appeared to her, and they went with her to stand matins. Then he talked with the courtiers, whom he especially favored. By nine it was time for mass, which lasted at least two hours, and there it was already time for dinner, after which the king slept for a long time. After - if not fasting - it was time for entertainment. Waking up well after noon, the sovereign slowly steamed in the bathhouse or enjoyed the spectacle of a fistfight, which at that time was considered an unferocious joy. After the vain one should pray, and the sovereign defended Vespers. Then he retired with the queen - until a leisurely dinner, at which he had fun with buffoon performances and bear baiting.
Every week the royal couple went on tireless pilgrimages to nearby monasteries. Well, those who along the way tried to approach state affairs, the "autocrat" sent to the boyars (later - to one Godunov).
Manifestation of character
But for all his lack of will, for all his gentleness and complaisance, the tsar at times showed inflexibility, which led to serious state consequences. These bouts of stubbornness manifested themselves when someone tried to encroach on the sovereign's private life, more precisely, on his relationship with his wife, whom Fedor loved very much.
He believed that he could, at his own discretion, arrange the matrimonial fate of children. According to his whim, he bred his eldest son twice, and he was forced to obey. But, when Ivan IV decided to separate the seemingly weak-willed Fyodor from Irina, who could not give offspring in any way, he faced inflexible resistance - and he had to back down. The only harsh act of the monarch during his reign was the disgrace that he brought down on the boyars and the metropolitan, when they also tried to divorce the tsar and his wife.
Irina Fyodorovna Godunova. Sculptural reconstruction of the skull (S. Nikitin)
Irina Fedorovna. The role of the Godunovs
Irina Fyodorovna Godunova, Boris's sister, did not aspire to power - on the contrary, she tried to distance herself from it in every possible way - but at the same time she happened to play an important role in Russian history. She was 5 or 6 years younger than Boris and was the same age as Fedor. Like her brother, she grew up at court, in the care of her uncle Dmitry Ivanovich Godunov, who, in the time of greatest favor, in 1580, attached his niece as a bride to the younger prince. Marriage, however, was of dubious benefit, because the sickly Fyodor did not matter at court at all. Rather, this marriage promised great trouble in the future. Upon accession to the throne, the new tsar (and Ivan Ivanovich was supposed to be him) usually dealt ruthlessly with his closest relatives, and dementia would hardly have saved his brother - just as it did not save the equally harmless Vladimir Staritsky.
But fate decreed that Irina became the queen - and not the “terem”, that is, doomed to be locked up, but the real one. Because Fedor was unrepresentative and behaved strangely at official ceremonies or even avoided them, Irina was forced to sit in the Boyar Duma and receive foreign ambassadors, and in 1589, during an unprecedented event, the visit of the Patriarch of Constantinople, she even turned to the honored guest with a welcoming speech - this has not happened in Moscow since time and will not happen again for a whole century, up to the ruler Sofya Alekseevna.
In the first, “non-royal” period of his reign, he was kept at the expense of friendship and kinship with the queen, who obeyed his advice in everything. At that time, the boyar could hardly think of taking the throne himself, and linked his hopes for the future with the regency under the heir, whose birth was expected for a long time and in vain.
The fact is that Fedor Ioannovich, although weak, was, as they said then, not “childless”. Irina was often pregnant, but the children were born dead. (A study of the remains of the queen, which was carried out in Soviet times, found a pathology in the structure of the pelvis, which made childbearing difficult.)
1592 - Irina was still able to give birth to a live baby - however, a girl. In those days, the system of power did not provide for female autocracy, but there was hope for the salvation of the dynasty. For the little princess Theodosia, they immediately began to select the future groom, about which negotiations were started with the most authoritative court in Europe - the imperial court. The Vienna ambassador was asked to send some little prince to Moscow in order to teach him the Russian language and customs in advance. But the girl was born weak and died before she was one and a half years old.
Saint Job, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
death of the king
At the end of 1597, Theodore the Blessed fell seriously ill. He gradually lost his hearing and sight. Before his death, he wrote a spiritual letter, which stated that the power should pass into the hands of Irina. Two were appointed chief advisers to the throne - Patriarch Job and the tsar's brother-in-law Boris Godunov.
1598, January 7 - at one o'clock in the afternoon the sovereign died, imperceptibly, as if falling asleep. Some of the sources claim that the monarch was poisoned by Boris Godunov, who wanted to take the throne himself. When examining the skeleton of the king, arsenic was found in his bones.
The fatal illness of the last tsar from the Moscow Rurik dynasty caused a commotion at the court. Everyone had no time for ceremonies - a fierce struggle for power began, because the king died almost alone. Before his death, he was not even tonsured into a schema. The opening of the sarcophagus showed that the Tsar of All Russia was buried in some kind of shabby caftan, with a simple, not at all royal myrrh (vessel for myrrh) at the head. Fedor carefully looked after himself: his nails, hair and beard were carefully trimmed. Judging by the remains, he was thickset and strong, noticeably shorter than his father (about 160 cm), his face was very similar to him, the same Dinaric anthropological type.
With his death, the ruling Rurik dynasty ceased to exist. In the popular mind, he left a good memory as a merciful and God-loving monarch.
After the death of her husband, Irina Feodorovna refused the offer of Patriarch Job to take the throne and went to the monastery.
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, “Fyodor 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 Russia. 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.
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From the book I know the world. History of Russian tsars author Istomin Sergey VitalievichFedor Ivanovich - Blessed, Tsar and Sovereign of All Russia Years of life 1557–1598 Years of reign 1584–1598 Father - Ivan Vasilievich the Terrible, autocrat, tsar. Mother - Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva, sister of Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin and aunt of his son, Fyodor Nikitich Romanov ,
