Foreign policy results
The results of the reign of Ivan IV were very deplorable. Failure in the Livonian War, the final turning point in the course of which was not in favor of Russia - after the unification of Poland and Lithuania (in 1569 - the Union of Lublin). The new Polish king Stefan Batory increased the pressure, in 1579 he took Polotsk, in 1882 a truce was concluded, under the terms of which Russia lost all its territorial acquisitions obtained at such a price, and did not achieve access to the Baltic Sea.
The consequences for the socio-economic development of the country were also severe. The center and the North-West were completely devastated, as a result of which the flight of peasants from their native places intensified.
The government responded to this by strengthening the enslavement of the peasants. In 1581-1582. "reserved years" were introduced (temporary prohibition of the transition of peasants to new owners). Economic ruin and increased oppression led the country to "distemper", to the "war of all against all", which broke out at the beginning of the 17th century.
The long-term psychological consequences of the tyranny of Ivan the Terrible were very difficult. The country was dominated by an atmosphere of general fear and humility. Only a few people tried to challenge the actions of the king. Prince Andrei Kurbsky, having entered the Lithuanian service, denounced the royal despotism in his letters. However, the significance of this criticism was devalued by the fact that he became a traitor. The new Metropolitan Philip Kolychev also condemned the tsarist cruelty. By order of the tsar, he was defrocked, exiled and then strangled by Malyuta Skuratov. The majority dutifully endured the atrocities. The habit of cruelty, obedience to state power, no matter how unfair it may be, has become entrenched in the Russian people. Some historians believe that these psychological traits have become part of the Russian national character, survived to our century, contributed to the formation of the Stalinist dictatorship.
In conclusion, let us return to the characterization of the personality of Ivan the Terrible. Speaking of its inconsistency, one should also mention his fanatical religiosity. Brutally cracking down on his victims, Ivan at the same time was terribly afraid of the "wrath of God" and after the mass executions he put on a monastic cassock, retired to the monastery and repented of his sins. This is clearly shown in one of the best works about this era - the novel by Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy "Prince Silver". The king was so terrified of the afterlife punishment that he saw with his own eyes the devils who had come to drag him to hell.
Being unusually cruel, Ivan did not differ in courage. During the raid of the Tatars, he left Moscow to the mercy of fate, fleeing from it with his family and treasury. He was so afraid of treason that he conducted secret negotiations with Queen Elizabeth of England about fleeing to her from Russia.
Very unattractive family life Ivan IV. He was married (contrary to the then church norms) 7 times, his behavior was extremely promiscuous. On the eve of his death, at the age of 54, he looked like a perfect old man, his mighty health was undermined by drunkenness and unseemly behavior.
The unbridled temper of Ivan was such that in a fit of anger he killed his son Ivan, which is depicted on a wonderful canvas by I.E. Repin.
Ivan the Terrible was one of the most prominent statesmen, which determined the direction of development of Russia in the 16th century. During his reign, the territory of the state increased almost 2 times. The population increased by 30-50% and amounted to 10-12 million people. reforms government controlled The 50s of the 16th century undermined the power of the boyars, limited the influence of the aristocracy on the formation of the armed forces of the state and the local administration of volosts and lands, where the influence of the opposition boyars was the strongest; consolidated the service population, improved the internal situation in the country, strengthened the state apparatus and the army, as well as the personal power of the king.
foreign policy tasks. Bottom line east direction in foreign policy, the annexation of Kazan in 1552, Astrakhan in 1556, Bashkiria in 1557 and the Nogai Horde recognized vassalage. As a result, the security of Russia's borders from raids from the east was ensured, and Russian prisoners were released. Russia took possession of the Volga and Kama trade routes, it included the fertile lands of the Volga region, which made Russia almost a monopoly owner of overland trade routes from Western Europe to Central Asia, Iran and China. The movement of the peoples of the Middle and Lower Volga and the Urals made Russia a Eurasian power. The annexation of Kazan and Astrakhan opened up the possibility of advancing to Siberia, the development of which began in 1581. Western direction Livonian War lasted 25 years (1558 - 1583). In 1582, the Jan-Zapolsky truce was concluded with the preservation of the former territories. In 1583, the Treaty of Plyus was signed with Sweden
IN historical science there are various assessments of the personality and activities of Ivan the Terrible. Some scientists believe that his policy did not justify itself in the historical perspective, it undermined the power of the country, which predetermined the turmoil at the beginning of the 17th century. Other researchers consider Ivan the Terrible the greatest creator in the history of Russia. In their opinion, Russia acquired state power during the reign of Grozny - a representative monarchy of estates, and Russian society strong internal structure.
The activities of Ivan the Terrible should be evaluated from the standpoint of his time, i.e. in the 16th century, he was forced to apply repression against the boyars, since at that time the top of the boyars became an anti-state force. According to the latest estimates of scientists, during the 37 years of Ivan the Terrible's reign, from 3 to 4 thousand people were destroyed, while in Europe from 300 to 400 thousand people were destroyed during this period of time. But why did the repressions of Ivan the Terrible receive such a wide response. There is an opinion that in the West, repressions against huge masses of the population were carried out with the sanction of the Pope, the approval of parliaments. No one can be held personally responsible for them. In Russia, repressions were the result of the personal will of the tsar, and therefore the responsibility for them fell on Ivan the Terrible. We should not forget that the glory of the cruel Russian tsar was needed in Poland, Lithuania, Sweden in order to weaken the positions of the Russian tsar and Russia in general. Ivan the Terrible was undoubtedly a despot, but the tsar's despotism was caused by those internal and external circumstances in which Russia found itself in the middle of the 16th century.
Russia in the 17th century
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1. The territory of the Kazan Khanate became part of Russia. In 1552 Kazan was taken. Western Bashkiria, which was part of the Kazan Khanate, turned out to be part of Russia. By 1557, the annexation of Bashkiria was completed (yasak - tax in kind).
2. The territory of the Astrakhan Khanate became part of Russia (1556).
3. Nogai Horde (Northern Caspian and Urals) recognized vassal dependence on Russia.
Accession of the Siberian Khanate.
5. The Livonian War ended with the defeat of Russia. As a result, Russia lost the city of Narva and part of the coast of the Gulf of Finland.
The results of the reign of Ivan the Terrible are contradictory:
On the one hand, important state reforms were carried out, significant territories were annexed (Astrakhan, Kazan Khanates), the development of Siberia began, the eastern borders became safe, and significant progress was made along the path of political centralization.
On the other hand, cruel terror, increased serfdom from the feudal lords, failure in the Livonian War (1558 - 1583) for access to the Baltic Sea.
The oprichnina brought the country to the brink of a national catastrophe, led to an economic and political crisis and, as a result, to the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. All deeds brought to naught. After Ivan's death, they were ready to believe anyone who would promise an improvement in life.
Comparative characteristics of the reforms of the Chosen Rada and the policy of the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible.
The transformations were carried out at the will of the king.
2. The transformations were aimed at strengthening the central authority and the power of the king
3. The transformations were aimed at solving urgent foreign policy problems: Russia's acquisition of access to the sea, the protection of the country's territory from the raids of the Crimean and Kazan khans.
Differences:
| Politics of the Chosen Rada | Oprichna politics |
| The path of slow, gradual transformation, designed for centralization over a long period of time | Violent methods of centralization |
| The transformations are aimed at creating a class-representative monarchy in Russia | The transformations are aimed at strengthening the autocratic monarchy in Russia with unlimited royal power. |
| The desire to achieve agreement between the interests of the state and society | The split in society |
| The desire for consolidation between various upper groups of Russian society | Mass repression, disgrace, terror, land confiscations |
| Foreign policy successes: the accession to Russia of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates | The protracted Livonian War was lost, defeated in 1571. from the Crimean Khan |
| The reforms contributed to the improvement of the internal situation in the country, the strengthening of the state apparatus, the army, and economic revival. | The oprichnina brought the country to the brink of a national catastrophe, led to an economic and political crisis and, as a result, to the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. |
Home > Wiki-tutorial > History > 7 grade > Russia at the end of the reign of Ivan IV: policy change, consequences
Grozny's policy in the last years of his life: remorse
At the end of 1570, Tsar Ivan the Terrible foresaw his imminent death. Contemporaries stated the fact that the behavior and conversations that the king led were very reminiscent of repentance for all the atrocities committed.
Ivan the Terrible was greatly affected by the defeat in the Lyons War, he perceived this as God's punishment for his committed sins in the past.
Paradoxically, but recent years The reigns of Ivan the Terrible were distinguished by liberalism that was not inherent in him at all.
The first step was to cancel death penalty in the state. The king ordered a list of people who, according to his will, had been previously executed and sent it to all the churches and monasteries of the state so that the clergy would pray for the repose of their souls.
By order of the tsar, the boyars were given all their property, which had previously been confiscated.
In 1572, the oprichnina officially ceased to exist. The tsar understood that she had fulfilled her function, and now there were no more boyars dissatisfied with his government.
However, for some historical sources, the oprichnina existed until the last year of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. It was of a secret nature and had the name of the Royal court.
At the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, there was a mass migration of peasants to the territory of Western Siberia.
People are tired of the constant raids of the Tatars, the Livonian War, various epidemics and have chosen the path of a kind of seclusion.
As a result, the population Novgorod region decreased by about 5 times. Fertile lands were not cultivated, which caused an economic crisis. To stop the emptying process central regions, the tsar issued a decree on the abolition of St. George's Day and the prohibition of the peasants to arbitrarily change the feudal lords.
This law applied to all peasants and even city dwellers.
In the future, this will become the solid foundation on which the centralized feudal system will be based. In 1580, at the initiative of the tsar, a census of Russian lands was carried out in order to establish the extent of losses and gradually restore the economy of the state.
Historical consequences of the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible
However, all the attempts that the tsar made in order to repent were crossed out in 1581, when he killed his son, who was actually the only worthy heir to the Russian throne.
The circumstances of the murder have not been reliably disclosed to this day.
The population of the country and the boyars turned a blind eye to this incident, writing off the murder as a domestic quarrel. However, the consequences of this will be more significant than expected at the time. Even during his lifetime, Ivan the Terrible understood that ahead of Russia was waiting serious problem the choice of the king: his eldest son had a clear mental illness, and the baby Dmitry was too small to reign.
The uncontrollable rage of the king led to the murder of not only his own son, but also a strong monarch, who might have been able to prevent unrest in the state.
In February 1584, Tsar Ivan the Terrible died while playing chess.
Despite his desperate attempts to correct the rash policy of the past in the last years of his life, Ivan Vasilyevich nevertheless became indirect cause turmoil in Russian state, and also put an end to the rule of the Rurik dynasty with his own hand.
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Foreign policy results
The government responded to this by strengthening the enslavement of the peasants.
In 1581-1582. "reserved years" were introduced (temporary prohibition of the transition of peasants to new owners). Economic ruin and increased oppression led the country to "distemper", to the "war of all against all", which broke out at the beginning of the 17th century.
The country was dominated by an atmosphere of general fear and humility. Only a few people tried to challenge the actions of the king. Prince Andrei Kurbsky, having entered the Lithuanian service, denounced the royal despotism in his letters.
However, the significance of this criticism was devalued by the fact that he became a traitor. The new Metropolitan Philip Kolychev also condemned the tsarist cruelty. By order of the tsar, he was defrocked, exiled and then strangled by Malyuta Skuratov.
Speaking of its inconsistency, one should also mention his fanatical religiosity. Brutally cracking down on his victims, Ivan at the same time was terribly afraid of the "wrath of God" and after the mass executions he put on a monastic cassock, retired to the monastery and repented of his sins. This is clearly shown in one of the best works about this era - the novel by Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy "Prince Silver".
The king was so terrified of the afterlife punishment that he saw with his own eyes the devils who had come to drag him to hell.
The family life of Ivan IV is very unattractive. He was married (contrary to the then church norms) 7 times, his behavior was extremely promiscuous. On the eve of his death, at the age of 54, he looked like a perfect old man, his mighty health was undermined by drunkenness and unseemly behavior.
There is such an aphorism: "All power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Ivan IV, despite all his talents, remained in history as a bloody monster.
This proves once again how important public control behind power, how important is the development of democracy.
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Results and consequences of the reign of Ivan IV
Foreign policy results
The results of the reign of Ivan IV were very deplorable. Failure in the Livonian War, the final turning point in the course of which was not in favor of Russia - after the unification of Poland and Lithuania (in 1569 - the Union of Lublin). The new Polish king Stefan Batory increased the pressure, in 1579 he took Polotsk, in 1882 a truce was concluded, under the terms of which Russia lost all its territorial acquisitions obtained at such a price, and did not achieve access to the Baltic Sea.
The consequences for the socio-economic development of the country were also severe.
The center and the North-West were completely devastated, as a result of which the flight of peasants from their native places intensified.
The government responded to this by strengthening the enslavement of the peasants. In 1581-1582. "reserved years" were introduced (temporary prohibition of the transition of peasants to new owners). Economic ruin and increased oppression led the country to "distemper", to the "war of all against all", which broke out at the beginning of the 17th century.
The long-term psychological consequences of the tyranny of Ivan the Terrible were very difficult.
The country was dominated by an atmosphere of general fear and humility. Only a few people tried to challenge the actions of the king. Prince Andrei Kurbsky, having entered the Lithuanian service, denounced the royal despotism in his letters. However, the significance of this criticism was devalued by the fact that he became a traitor. The new Metropolitan Philip Kolychev also condemned the tsarist cruelty. By order of the tsar, he was defrocked, exiled and then strangled by Malyuta Skuratov.
The majority dutifully endured the atrocities. The habit of cruelty, obedience to state power, no matter how unfair it may be, has become entrenched in the Russian people. Some historians believe that these psychological traits became part of the Russian national character, survived to our century, and contributed to the formation of the Stalinist dictatorship.
In conclusion, let us return to the characterization of the personality of Ivan the Terrible.
Speaking of its inconsistency, one should also mention his fanatical religiosity. Brutally cracking down on his victims, Ivan at the same time was terribly afraid of the "wrath of God" and after the mass executions he put on a monastic cassock, retired to the monastery and repented of his sins. This is clearly shown in one of the best works about this era - the novel by Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy "Prince Silver". The king was so terrified of the afterlife punishment that he saw with his own eyes the devils who had come to drag him to hell.
Being unusually cruel, Ivan did not differ in courage.
During the raid of the Tatars, he left Moscow to the mercy of fate, fleeing from it with his family and treasury. He was so afraid of treason that he conducted secret negotiations with Queen Elizabeth of England about fleeing to her from Russia.
The family life of Ivan IV is very unattractive.
He was married (contrary to the then church norms) 7 times, his behavior was extremely promiscuous. On the eve of his death, at the age of 54, he looked like a perfect old man, his mighty health was undermined by drunkenness and unseemly behavior.
The unbridled temper of Ivan was such that in a fit of anger he killed his son Ivan, which is depicted on a wonderful canvas by I.E. Repin.
The life of Ivan the Terrible is an instructive example of what unlimited power can lead to.
There is such an aphorism: "All power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Ivan IV, despite all his talents, remained in history as a bloody monster. This proves once again how important public control over power is, how important it is to develop democracy.
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Ivan the Terrible was one of the prominent statesmen who determined the direction of Russia's development in the 16th century. During his reign, the territory of the state increased almost 2 times.
The population increased by 30-50% and amounted to 10-12 million people. The public administration reforms of the 50s of the 16th century undermined the power of the boyars, limited the influence of the aristocracy on the formation of the armed forces of the state and local administration of volosts and lands, where the influence of the opposition boyars was strongest; consolidated the service population, improved the internal situation in the country, strengthened the state apparatus and the army, as well as the personal power of the king.
During his reign, a number of foreign policy tasks.
Bottom line east direction in foreign policy, the annexation of Kazan in 1552, Astrakhan in 1556, Bashkiria in 1557 and the Nogai Horde recognized vassalage.
As a result, the security of Russia's borders from raids from the east was ensured, and Russian prisoners were released. Russia took possession of the Volga and Kama trade routes, it included the fertile lands of the Volga region, which made Russia almost a monopoly owner of overland trade routes from Western Europe to Central Asia, Iran and China. The movement of the peoples of the Middle and Lower Volga and the Urals made Russia a Eurasian power.
The annexation of Kazan and Astrakhan opened up the possibility of advancing to Siberia, the development of which began in 1581. Western direction foreign policy was less successful. Livonian War lasted 25 years (1558 - 1583). In 1582, the Jan-Zapolsky truce was concluded with the preservation of the former territories.
In 1583, the Treaty of Plyus was signed with Sweden, which departed the coast of the Gulf of Finland and the Russian cities of Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod, Karely, Narva. Russia left the mouth of the Neva. Reasons for the defeat: the entry into the war of other countries; oprichnina; disagreement about the advisability of war in the west.
In historical science, there are various assessments of the personality and activities of Ivan the Terrible.
Some scientists believe that his policy did not justify itself in the historical perspective, it undermined the power of the country, which predetermined the turmoil at the beginning of the 17th century. Other researchers consider Ivan the Terrible the greatest creator in the history of Russia. In their opinion, during the reign of Grozny, Russia acquired state power - a representative monarchy of estates, and Russian society acquired a strong internal structure.
The activities of Ivan the Terrible should be evaluated from the standpoint of his time, i.e.
in the 16th century, he was forced to apply repression against the boyars, since at that time the top of the boyars became an anti-state force. According to the latest estimates of scientists, during the 37 years of Ivan the Terrible's reign, from 3 to 4 thousand people were destroyed, while in Europe from 300 to 400 thousand people were destroyed during this period of time.
But why did the repressions of Ivan the Terrible receive such a wide response. There is an opinion that in the West, repressions against huge masses of the population were carried out with the sanction of the Pope, the approval of parliaments. No one can be held personally responsible for them. In Russia, repressions were the result of the personal will of the tsar, and therefore the responsibility for them fell on Ivan the Terrible. We should not forget that the glory of the cruel Russian tsar was needed in Poland, Lithuania, Sweden in order to weaken the positions of the Russian tsar and Russia in general.
Ivan the Terrible was undoubtedly a despot, but the tsar's despotism was caused by those internal and external circumstances in which Russia found itself in the middle of the 16th century.
Russia in the 17th century
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The reign of Ivan IV is a time of difficult decisions and controversial actions. It is not easy to characterize the era of Ivan the Terrible, not only because of the difficulties in assessing such a strong and outstanding personality as the first Russian tsar. Perhaps the greatest difficulty is the lack of reliable historical material. There are very few authentic documents of the 16th century in modern archives. Neither the oprichnina lists nor court documents have been preserved, even the well-known synodics have been restored in parts. Most of the written evidence of that period has undergone significant revisions and adjustments at a later time - and this is noticeable even to the naked eye. Blots, additions, insertions, erasures made in the 17th-18th centuries are just a small list of difficulties that historians face when studying documents of the 16th century. And this, apparently, is the main reason why there has not yet been an unambiguous assessment of either the activities of Ivan IV, or, even more so, his personality and the nature of his reign.
Results
The second half of the 16th century is a time of great changes and real upheavals for Russia. The way of life that existed up to that moment was subjected to strict criticism and rethinking - and Ivan the Terrible turned out to be the ruler who was the first to think about the need for large-scale reforms.
Main Outcome domestic policy Grozny can safely be called the strengthening of the state. Aimed at the centralization of power, such a policy brought not only pluses, but also minuses.
The first and most obvious change is the introduction of the title of tsar and the declaration of Russia as a kingdom. This was not just a political gesture, designed to emphasize the chosenness of Ivan and allow him to claim the title of the Third Rome. First of all, the new title made it possible to strengthen the central government and stop the feudal fragmentation of the lands. The tsar became the central core around which new relations of feudal lords - already noblemen - and the state developed.
Strengthening power and reducing the role of the retrograde boyars in governing the country are the main goals of Ivan the Terrible. And all his subsequent actions, including the oprichnina, fit into this scheme.
Among the acts of the first Russian tsar, historians include the implementation of numerous reforms. The introduction of a new Code of Laws, the holding of a Zemsky Sobor, the creation of new Orders, a change in the taxation system, the weakening of the influence of monasteries and depriving them of part of the benefits, monetary transformations - it is difficult even to imagine the scale of the changes initiated by the tsar in the system of government. And besides this, a military reform was carried out - and quite successfully - which brought numerous victories to the Russian army. It was thanks to the improvement of weapons, a change in the supply system, the introduction of a new type of troops - the archery - that they were strengthened and expanded state borders. The conquest of Astrakhan and Kazan, the elimination of the threat from the Crimean Khan, the conquest of Siberia - all this expanded the territory of the Russian state by almost half, bringing them closer to the modern borders of Russia.
Terror or blessing
Ivan the Terrible is called an extremely tough and even cruel ruler. According to some historians, the number of his victims reached four to five thousand people. This data was drawn for the most part from the synodiks of the sovereign - special commemoration lists that Ivan the Terrible sent to monasteries to read prayers for the dead. Everyone was included in the synodic. Whom the king sentenced to death - for murder, rape, treason and other crimes.
However, if you turn to European history of the same period, the list of four thousand victims immediately ceases to seem something frightening. One St. Bartholomew's night exceeds the number of those killed by an order of magnitude, not to mention the victims of the Inquisition who were burned at the stake for heresy. Russia, in the period of Ivan the Terrible, was distinguished by rare tolerance for other faiths, including both Judaism and Islam.
Karamzin, the historian of the Romanovs, the author of The History of the Russian State, presented Ivan the Terrible as a bloody tyrant, a monster on the royal throne - and not least because of the oprichnina. And Karamzin's assessment largely influenced the further idea of Ivan as a king among historians of both the past and the present.
It is impossible to give an unambiguous assessment of the oprichnina. Years of terror and murders led to the fact that the noble boyar families lost many of their representatives. The physical elimination of the boyars, who disagreed with the rule of Grozny, was the result of the struggle of the autocracy with the old form of power. However, it is worth remembering that the oprichnina as a result served as another factor strengthening the central government.
Despite disagreements in assessing the personality of Ivan the Terrible, historians admit that in the second half of the 16th century a strong, tough sovereign ascended the throne, who had a clear goal in front of him - strengthening the state - and achieved it by all means.
After death Basil III the throne was occupied by his three-year-old son Ivan. In fact, his mother Elena Glinskaya ruled the state. The struggle for power between groups of princes did not subside, which led to a weakening of the central government.
As Ivan matured, a new ruling elite was gradually formed. The politician who played a key role in subsequent events was Metropolitan Macarius. Thanks to Macarius, those people who were able to carry out the necessary reforms were surrounded by the young ruler. The young tsar (in 1547 Ivan IV was crowned king for the first time in Russian history) needed to strengthen his power. The Russian nobility was especially interested in carrying out the reforms that were developed by I.S. Peresvetov. He outlined the need for change to the tsar in two petitions (a petition, a statement, a complaint in the Russian state XV - early XVIII c.): the idea of a strong royal power, curbing boyar arbitrariness, relying on service people(nobles). This program was supported by the king. Was created Chosen Council, which included Prince A.M. Kurbsky, M.I. Vorotynsky, priest Sylvester, A.F. Adashev, I.M. Viscous. The most authoritative politicians of the new government were Adashev and Sylvester. The elected council began to play the role of the boyar duma. It lasted until 1560 and prepared a number of transformations. Under Ivan IV, the significance of the Boyar Duma noticeably decreased. The rise of the authority of the royal power, the strengthening of the role of the clergy and the formation of local land ownership led to the emergence of a new body - Zemsky Cathedral.
In 1549, for the first time, the tsar spoke to an assembly of bishops and nobles who were in the capital with a speech about the abuses of the boyars and governors during his minority. This event was the first meeting in our history of a class-representative body - the Zemsky Sobor. Representatives of all classes, except for serfs and serfs, participated in its work. Zemsky Sobor 1549–1550 adopted a new Sudebnik, where the right of peasants to move only on St. George's Day was confirmed, increased elderly. According to the Sudebnik, the entire population had to bear tax(taxes in kind and cash), a unified system of taxation was established - "sokha".
At the beginning of the century, the first orders appeared in Russia (see. command control system), which were originally called "huts". By the middle of the XVI century. there were dozens of them already. Different spheres of public life were in charge of Razryadny, Pushkarsky, Streletsky, Posolsky, Order of the Great Treasury, etc. There were orders that dealt with certain territories. The design of the order system made it possible to centralize management, but such a system has not yet developed in the field.
By the middle of the century feeding have been cancelled. A reform of local administration was carried out: positions of labial elders arose (see. lip), who were in charge of the collection of taxes, taxes, and ruled the court on the ground. In cities, management was carried out by "favorite heads." Where there was no landownership of the nobility, the posad and chernososhnye peasants elected zemstvo elders (see. Zemskaya hut). Thus, the apparatus of state power was formed in the form estate-representative monarchy.
The military reform limited parochialism but only during hostilities. Near Moscow was planted on the ground " chosen thousand"- 1070 provincial nobles who were supposed to strengthen the power of the king. The Code of Service was drawn up. A step forward in military affairs was the creation of a streltsy army (see. archers).
Foreign policy. The main tasks of foreign policy were: in the west - the problem of access to the Baltic Sea, in the southeast - the fight against Kazan and Astrakhan, in the south - protection from the raids of the Crimean Khan, in the east - the conquest of Siberia. In 1552 Kazan was taken. Four years after this event, Astrakhan was annexed (1556). The entire Volga trade route was part of Russia.
Having achieved brilliant successes in the east, Ivan IV turned his attention to the possessions of the Livonian Order. Livonian War (1558–1583) lasted 25 years. Russia's goal was to gain access to the Baltic Sea, to acquire new, well-developed lands. The Livonian war had two stages. The first is characterized by the success of Russia: 20 cities were taken, among them - Narva, Yuryev. The troops advanced to Riga and Revel. In 1560, the troops of the Livonian Order were defeated, and its master was captured. This led to the disintegration of the order (1561) and the transfer of lands under the rule of Poland, Denmark, and Sweden. Russia found itself facing a coalition of European states, and the situation changed dramatically. The second stage, difficult for Russia, has come.
Among the boyars, resistance to the policies of Ivan IV grew, its peak was the betrayal of one of the closest associates of the tsar, Prince A.M. Kurbsky, who went over to the Poles. The war began to take shape for Russia unsuccessfully.
IN 1569 Poland and Lithuania united into one state - the Commonwealth. The King of the Commonwealth, Stefan Batory, transferred hostilities to the territory of Russia. The heroic defense of Pskov (1581), when the inhabitants of the city repulsed more than 30 assaults and made more than 50 sorties against the Poles, made it possible to conclude a truce for 10 years, but Russia refused all conquests. Taking advantage of the weakness of the country, the Swedes entered the Russian borders and took the cities of Yam, Koporye and Korela. Ivan had to make peace with them (1583), ceding Estonia and the Russian cities captured by the Swedes.
Failures in the war were the result of the economic backwardness of Russia, the weak organization of the troops. However, the defeat of the Livonian Order was an important political event for Northeastern Europe.
Oprichnina (1565–1572). With the first defeats of the Russian army in the Livonian War, the internal political struggle again escalated. In the early 1560s. the tsar removed the former government from power and executed several prominent boyars. All this provoked a protest from the Duma and the metropolitan, and the tsar was temporarily forced to retreat. The desire of Ivan the Terrible to strengthen autocratic power ran into the usual resistance of the boyars and princes, caused by traditional ideas about power.
The question was how to solve this problem. The resistance of the nobility, the underdevelopment of the forms of the state apparatus, as well as the features of the unstable psyche of the king led to terror as a means of strengthening the central power. Ivan firmly grasped the idea that autocratic power is the best form of government, but his ideas about “free autocracy” did not correspond to the norms of behavior of the upper stratum of society, since in Russia relations between power and subjects were always regulated not only by laws, but by unwritten norms and traditions . It was impossible to simply cut off the head of the boyar, it was necessary to bring charges and enlist the support of the Duma. Tsar Ivan found a kind of way out of the situation.
In December 1564, he left Moscow and stopped in Alexander Sloboda, from where he addressed the population with two messages: in a message to the clergy and the Boyar Duma, the tsar accused them of "treason" and threatened them with his abdication; in another message addressed to the townspeople of Moscow, the tsar reported that he did not hold anger against the townspeople. It was a well-thought-out move - Ivan the Terrible knew that he would be begged to return to the kingdom. And so it happened. The condition for the return was the requirement to allocate the king a special inheritance, which became known as "oprichnina" (from the word "oprich" - except). In the oprichnina, all power belonged to the king; the most important, rich lands and cities were included in it. The rest of the state became known as zemstvo, in which power formally belonged to the Boyar Duma. On the lands of the oprichnina, Ivan intensively began to "plant" the nobles, ruining the old specific possessions, evicting representatives of the aristocracy (boyars-princes) to the lands of the zemshchina. The oprichnina had its own system of state administration.
The king received the right to execute all traitors, to confiscate their property. Thus, the main content of the oprichnina was terror against the feudal nobility and church hierarchs.
The tsar crushed the opposition, but general position The country deteriorated noticeably: the plague, crop failures, arbitrariness in the collection of taxes, direct robberies of the guardsmen caused the ruin of peasant farms and noble estates. All this led to the 1581 peasants were forbidden to leave the estates and estates (see " reserved summers"). The inability of the oprichnina troops to defend Moscow during the raid Crimean Tatars showed the need to unite the country to strengthen its defense capability. And in 1572 the oprichnina was liquidated.
Ivan groznyj. Painting by V. Vasnetsov
Noble boyars, descendants of specific princes, surrounded the tsar's throne in a dense crowd, and the tsar was shielded from the people. Never before had the boyars reached such strength in Moscow as in the infancy of Ivan the Terrible. With age, the thought matured more and more in him that the cause of his ancestors, the great collectors of the Russian land, was in danger, that the autocracy, which they so diligently cultivated, would be drowned out by the descendants of the princes, whose destinies were absorbed by Moscow.
The struggle between the autocracy and the boyars was becoming inevitable.
The Russian boyars did not understand their common benefits, did not act in concert, were constantly at enmity with each other, were ready to destroy each other for the sake of their personal goals, embittered the people against themselves with their violence and lies, and more than once betrayed their oath. All this facilitated and legitimized the struggle of Ivan the Terrible with them. Their rude arbitrariness and personal insults to the king during his infancy gave rise to deep hatred and a sense of revenge in his soul - as a result, the struggle was to become cruel, merciless.
Let us recall the terrible rudeness of the mores of that time - that fist reprisal, which was committed by the boyars in front of the child tsar, and, moreover, against people close to him; let us remember that the impulsive, stormy nature of Ivan Vasilyevich, despite his great mind, did not know how to restrain himself in anything, and his heart was spoiled from a young age - let us remember all this - and we will understand why the pages of the reign of Ivan the Terrible in our history are the most terrible, bloodiest...
The boyars were crushed by Ivan the Terrible. This was also among the most important results of his reign. The more noble boyar families suffered especially hard under Grozny; and the surviving boyars resigned themselves to the last degree: in their petitions to the tsar, they had previously called themselves diminutive names (for example, your serf Ivanets, Fedorets, etc.), and now they began to be called derogatory names (Vanka, Fedka). Constant fear humiliates people, spoils their morals, makes them cowardly, secretive, flattering, crafty. The people who stood around the Terrible Tsar at the end of his reign were greatly crushed in spirit; about people loyal to the tsar and the fatherland, about people boldly speaking the truth, it was not heard - this was the sad result of the lawless oprichnina.
On the piles of bodies of the executed boyars, on the streams of blood, often innocently shed, the Terrible Tsar, surrounded by guardsmen, became terrible not only for the boyars, but for the whole people, and in the end for himself.
“In the life and death of people, God and the Tsar are free,” the people said even then. The power of the king is from God - he must give an answer to God alone for his deeds. So the king looked at his power, so looked at her and the people. The fierce executions of Ivan the Terrible in the eyes of the people were the same divine punishment for sins as famine, pestilence, fires and similar disasters. But still, the songs recall that the cruel executions of the Terrible Tsar were not always fair:
He is formidable, father, and merciful.
He favors for the truth, hangs for untruth.
The evil years have already come upon the Moscow people,
As the Orthodox tsar became more formidable than before:
He did cruel executions for truth, for untruth.
It is said in the songs about the death of the Terrible Tsar, among other things, the following:
In holy Rus' - in stone Moscow,
In stone Moscow - in the golden Kremlin,
Ivan had the Great
Michael at the Archangel
At the Cathedral near the Assumption,
Hit the big bell
In the Cathedral in the Assumption
Here stood a new cypress coffin,
In the coffin lies the Orthodox Tsar,
Orthodox Tsar Ivan the Terrible Vasilyevich.
In his head is a life-giving cross,
At the cross lies his royal crown,
On his feet is a sharp, formidable sword.
Everyone prays to the life-giving cross,
Everyone bows to the golden crown,
And if he looks at a formidable sword, everyone will be horrified.
