1 favorite rad. Elected Rada (term as a governing body). Prikaznaya and other reforms of Ivan IV and the Elected Rada
In 1545-1547, several events were carried out designed to emphasize the transfer of full power to the young sovereign: Ivan Vasilyevich began to go on military campaigns, married Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, and accepted the title of “tsar.”
All these events were preceded by a long period of boyar rule. Since 1538, an intense struggle for power between boyar groups began.
Political instability, unprincipledness and greed of the newly-minted rulers, increased parochial disputes and uncontrolled distribution of land led to the weakening of the central government, the decline of its prestige, the arbitrariness of the governors and the “impoverishment of the nobility.”
As a result, this led to growing contradictions both between the boyars and the service class, and between the common people and the entire ruling elite. The young ruler encountered all these contradictions at the time of his crowning.
In the summer of 1547, an uprising broke out in Moscow. The reason for the performance was the terrible fires that destroyed almost all of wooden Moscow.
The supply of food stopped. The people blamed the incident on the Glinskys. With great difficulty, the Boyar Duma managed to calm down the townspeople and service people who took part in the performance.
The opinions of many scientists boil down to the fact that it was the uprising of 1547 that was the result of a change in political course and the beginning of a policy of reforms carried out by the tsar’s new advisers. They turned out to be people who were not associated with the previously ruling boyar groups.
According to R. G. Skrynnikov, the uprising revealed the fragility of the boyar governments and created the conditions for the nobility to enter the political arena.
S. F. Platonov believes that as a result of this “popular revolt,” Ivan the Terrible lost the “guardianship of the Glinskys,” and “random people” who were not part of the ruling nobility—Sylvester and Adashev—took advantage of the “spiritual orphanhood of the malicious king.” S. M. Solovyov explains the creation of the Chosen Rada by the “moral revolution of seventeen-year-old Ivan” that occurred after the uprising.
Historians also have different points of view about why exactly these people were included in the Elected Rada.
Klyuchevsky claims that Ivan IV “without 20 years...
with energy unusual for his age, he took up the affairs of government,” in which he needed help, which he received from Metropolitan Macarius and Priest Sylvester. S. M. Solovyov agrees with this; in his opinion, Ivan decides to finally break “with the princes and boyars, to seek support in persons of a different origin and in persons of high morality.” N. I. Kostomarov Elected Rada calls the tsar a “circle of favorites” by whom “the state began to be governed.” This “circle,” according to the Russian-Ukrainian historian, consisted of people “who were more distinguished than others by their broad outlook and love for the common cause.”
Platonov claims that this was a company of boyars who united with the goal of mastering Moscow politics and ruling it in their own way, that is, the “Elected Rada” expressed the interests of the people included in it.
“... A private circle created by temporary workers for their purposes, and placed by them near the tsar not in the form of an institution, but as a collection of “well-wishing” friends.” R. Yu. Vipper explains the rise to power of the main figures of the Chosen Rada, Sylvester and Adashev, by the initiative of the “churchmen” led by Metropolitan Macarius.
M. N. Pokrovsky believes that the members of the Elected Rada were nominated not by the Tsar, but by the full composition of the Boyar Duma.
Another group of scientists, in particular Zimin and Smirnov, believes that this group of boyars expressed the interests of the nobility and far-sighted circles of the boyars.
“The elected Rada...was the conductor of noble interests.” It is also important to note that A. A. Zimin identifies the Elected Rada with the Middle Duma - the official body of power under the tsar, which included the most loyal “representatives of the feudal nobility” to the throne. Another scientist, V.B. Kobrin, does not agree with this position, since the Middle Duma, according to his statements, appeared only in the 17th century.
The historian suggests that the “government circle” was unofficial and did not have a generally accepted name.
The traditional point of view is that the Elected Rada was not a body of power and did not have legal basis for your activities. Of course, the assertion that all the reforms were developed by the Elected Rada is also controversial. After all, this would characterize Ivan the Terrible not only as a bad politician, but it would also mean that his activities during his entire reign were only destructive, and everything that was good belonged exclusively to other people.
But, for example, V.B. Kobrin suggests that the Chosen Rada did not have a carefully developed program of action. Although most of the reforms were conceived by the leaders of the Chosen Rada, Ivan IV in the 1550s. personally participated in government activities.
The composition of the “Chosen Rada”.
So, the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kremlin, Sylvester, and the royal bed-keeper Alexey Fedorovich Adashev came to the political forefront of the times of the “Elected Rada”.
Sylvester had an active influence on the spiritual life of the tsar, introducing Ivan IV to books and contributing to his education. Adashev was a talented statesman, coming from an humble but wealthy family of Kostroma patrimonial landowners.
He supervised the activities of the Petition Hut, which received complaints and denunciations, i.e. which performed the highest control functions and at the same time served as the personal office of the king. In addition to them, the “Elected Rada” included Prince Kurlyatev, Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Kurbsky, clerk Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty and some other representatives of the aristocracy.
Zemsky Sobor. The beginning of the reforms was the convocation in 1549. the first Zemsky Sobor in the history of the country, or as some researchers also call it, the Cathedral of Reconciliation.
It did not even represent the Zemsky Sobor in its entirety - i.e. with the participation of representatives of the highest aristocracy, nobility and townspeople of the country, as will be decided a little later, but only a large extended meeting of the metropolitan, boyars and nobles chaired by the tsar himself. In his speech, the tsar accused the boyars of abuses that occurred “before his royal age,” but in the end he called on everyone in the spirit of Christian morality for mutual forgiveness: “People of God and given to us by God!
Bowing deeply in all four directions, the king spoke. - I pray for your faith in him and love for me, be generous! It is impossible to correct the past evil: I can only save you from such oppression and robbery.
Forget what is no longer and will not be! Leave hatred and enmity, let us all unite through Christian love. From now on, I am your judge and defender!..”
Meanwhile, some scientists prove: the speech delivered by Ivan on February 27, 1549, contained a brief program of reforms that Ivan intended to implement and which were aimed specifically at overcoming the negative consequences of the period of boyar rule.
This means precisely to protect the most vital interests of the entire people, to solve their common problems.
Thus, a course was set to achieve agreement between various groups at the top of Russian society and their unification around the central government.
Brief description of reforms
Lawyer Based on the decisions of the Council, in 1550 a new Code of Law was adopted, which provided for punishments for boyars and clerks for official crimes (for example, bribery).
In addition, the judicial rights of governors were limited, primarily in relation to nobles. St. George's Day was preserved, although the “elderly” was increased.
Church Council. In 1551 A church council was convened, called the Stoglavy Council (the collection of its decisions consisted of one hundred chapters), which was attended, along with the clergy, by the boyars and the top nobility.
In addition to purely religious issues (strengthening order in churches and monasteries, unifying rituals, creating an all-Russian pantheon of saints), national problems were also discussed. Thus, it was decided to review the ownership rights of the church to the lands it received after 1533.
Order system. In the 1550s, the formation of the order system was completed. Specialized departments before 1568 were called “mandatory hut”. Foreign policy The Ambassadorial Prikaz was in charge, the Local Prikaz was in charge of the distribution of lands among service people, the Razbytny Prikaz was in charge of collecting the noble militia and the appointment of governors, the Robber Prikaz was in charge of the capture of criminals, etc.
Sovereign's yard.
In 1552 was compiled full list The Sovereign's Court, which, along with the princely and boyar aristocracy, also included the milestones of the nobility. The persons included in it (initially about 4 thousand people) began to be called nobles. The lower layer of service people continued to bear the old name - boyar children. It was from among the nobles that many appointments to command, military and administrative positions now took place.
The creation of orders and the expansion of the Sovereign's court strengthened central government.
Military reforms.
- In 1550 The squeaker detachments were transformed into the Streltsy army. The Streltsy received a monetary salary for their service and were under the jurisdiction of the Streletsky Prikaz.
In addition, the archers had their own business - a craft workshop or small trade, which brought them their main income. Like all service people, they did not pay taxes.
· In the same year, taking into account the demands of the time, the authorities limited localism in the military sphere.
For example, it was prohibited during the period hostilities conduct parochial disputes, the principle of unity of command was established, newcomers - young nobles who entered the military service, were excluded from local accounts.
· In 1556, the “Code of Service” was adopted, which established a unified procedure for organizing military forces.
Now, from a certain amount of land (100 quarters), an armed warrior on horseback had to be deployed. If the landowner brought more people than he had land, then he was rewarded through the “feeder’s payback” (a special tax, the amount of which before the introduction of self-government was equal to the expenses intended for the maintenance of the boyar-feeder); if less, he paid a fine.
The military reform equalized the boyar estate and estate “in service” and increased the number armed forces, increased their combat effectiveness. In addition, she somewhat streamlined the relations between service people, who were now divided into two main groups: those serving “at home” (i.e.
Reforms of the Elected Rada
by inheritance - boyars and nobles) and “by device” (i.e. by recruitment - archers, gunners, city Cossacks, recruited for a cash salary).
Completion of the labial and implementation of the zemstvo reform. In 1555-1556. The reform of local government, begun under Elena Glinskaya, was completed, and the feeding system was abolished.
The nobles and “children of the boyars” elected provincial elders who headed the provincial hut - a territorial district that included one or two counties. The lip huts, subordinate to the Robbery Order, were engaged in the search and punishment of “dashing people”, as well as in the allotment of land, land surveying, collection of taxes and “feeder’s payback”.
Where there was no noble land ownership, townspeople and black-growing peasants elected zemstvo elders.
Fall of the Chosen Rada
As a result of the reforms, there was a relative consolidation of the service class, the internal situation in the country improved, the state administrative apparatus and the army strengthened, which made it possible to solve a number of pressing foreign policy problems.
All this was achieved at the expense of the masses: taxation of the population increased sharply, various new duties were introduced, which could cause an aggravation of the social situation.
By the end of the 50s.
Ivan IV, having grown stronger as a person and politician, longed for immediate autocratic power; he was not satisfied with either the pace of transformations or their results, which, in his opinion, did not eliminate the rights of the Boyar Duma and other obstacles to his true autocracy.
G. Skrynnikov notes that Ivan the Terrible considered only those reforms that strengthened autocratic power to be good. The final results of the policy of the Chosen Rada did not meet these criteria. Skrynnikov states the complete discrepancy between Ivan IV and his “advisers” in assessing the goals and directions of reforms.
The Tsar’s break with the Elected Rada became inevitable when, in addition to internal political differences, differences were added in the “sphere of foreign affairs” - on the issue of the Livonian War (Adashev opposed the continuation of the Livonian War when its futility became obvious).
B. Kobrin associates the fall of the Chosen Rada with disagreements between the members of this council and Ivan IV regarding the methods of carrying out reforms: while the royal entourage sought to create a state apparatus, Ivan IV wanted to resort to the simplest method - execution.
F. Platonov also claims that Ivan IV is gradually emerging from the influence of the Elected Rada, which - wittingly or unwittingly - turned the tsar from an “inexperienced and dissolute youth” into a sophisticated politician.
A. A. Zimin explains the fall of the Elected Rada by the fact that the “government of compromise” (according to Zimin, the Elected Rada pursued a policy of compromise between the nobility and the “far-sighted part of the boyars,” hence the name) in a situation “ popular movements"sought to consolidate the forces of the feudal lords and therefore could not undertake a "decisive struggle against specific decentralization."
Thus, in the end, the king put “disgraces” on his old advisers.
Ivan the Terrible accused Adashev and Sylvester of actually leading the country, and he was “led around like a young man, arm in arm.” So Sylvester was tonsured a monk and exiled to Solovetsky Monastery, Adashev died in prison shortly before the reprisal that was being prepared against him. The tsar tried to eradicate the very memory of them - for example, asceticism and fasting, which flourished under Sylvester, were ridiculed, and they were replaced by luxurious feasts and buffoon fun.
The “Elected Rada” was destined to exist for just a decade.
But during this short period, the state and social structure of Russia underwent such strong changes that had not occurred during centuries of quiet development.
IN last years in historiography, doubts begin to be expressed about the reality of the existence of the Chosen Council, which begins to take on the outlines of the image of the desired (for A.
M. Kurbsky) and the hated (for Grozny) past in the famous correspondence. This version is developed in detail by A.I. Filyushkin, but this assumption still requires additional argumentation.
Despite the hypothesis expressed by Filyushkin, the traditional point of view still remains the opinion of the existence of a kind of government group of compromise between various layers of the ruling class, later called by Prince Andrei Kurbsky in the Lithuanian manner “The Chosen Rada”.
“... Several efficient, well-meaning and gifted advisers came forward and stood near the throne - the Chosen Rada.”
The “Elected Rada” arose no earlier than 1549, and in 1560 it no longer existed.
Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible
Reform of the court under Ivan the Terrible
Reforms of Ghazan Khan in Iran
Reforms of Gaius Gracchus
Government bodies in Russia in the 18th century
Speransky's reforms
Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine
Reforms of Catherine II in the field of local self-government
Problems of local government reform in the 18th century
Reforms and reform plans in Russia in the 19th century
Results of reforms in Russia in the 18th-19th centuries
Reforms of Ivan IV and Peter I
Tsar Ivan the Terrible
Reforms of the Chosen Rada
Reforms of KosyginKhrushchev
The significance of the reforms of Peter I in the fate of Russia
Reforms of Peter I - a course towards Europeanization of Russia
Mysteries of history
Elected Rada
Around 1549, a government circle formed around Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible). He went down in history as Elected Rada. It was a kind of (unofficial) government under the leadership of Alexei Fedorovich Adashev. He himself was one of the Kostroma nobles, and had noble relatives in Moscow. The Elected Rada included:: priest of the court Cathedral of the Annunciation Sylvester, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' Macarius, Prince Kurbsky Andrei Mikhailovich, head Ambassadorial order Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich and others.
The prerequisite for the creation of an unofficial government was the unrest of 1547, called the Moscow Uprising. Ivan IV at this time was only 17 years old. The cause of the uprising was the aggravation of social contradictions in the 30-40s. At this time, the arbitrariness of the boyars was very clearly manifested in connection with the early childhood of Ivan IV.
The Glinsky princes set the tone, since the mother of the crowned boy was Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya.
There was growing dissatisfaction among the broad masses with taxes, which were unbearable. The impetus for the uprising was a fire in Moscow at the end of the second ten days of June.
It was huge in size and caused irreparable damage to the well-being of Muscovites. Embittered people, who had lost all their property, took to the streets of the capital on June 21, 1547.
Rumors spread among the rebels that the city was set on fire by the Glinsky princes. Allegedly, their wives cut out the hearts of the dead, dried them, crushed them, and sprinkled the resulting powder on houses and fences.
After this, magic spells were cast and the powder burst into flames. So they set fire to Moscow buildings in which ordinary people lived.
The angry crowd tore to pieces all the Glinsky princes who came to hand. Their estates, which survived the fire, were looted and burned. The indignant people began to look for the young tsar, but he left Moscow and took refuge in the village of Vorobyovo ( Sparrow Hills, in years Soviet power were called the Lenin Mountains).
The Emperor came out to the people. He behaved calmly and confidently. After much persuasion and promises, he managed to persuade the people to calm down and disperse. People believed the young king. Their indignant ardor died down. The crowd moved to the ashes in order to somehow begin to organize their life.
Meanwhile, by order of Ivan IV, troops were brought to Moscow. They began to arrest the instigators of the uprising. Many of them were executed. Some managed to escape from the capital. But the Glinskys' power was irrevocably undermined. The situation was aggravated by unrest in other Russian cities. All this made it clear to the king that the existing government system was ineffective.
That is why he gathered around himself a progressive thinking people. Life itself and the instinct of self-preservation forced him to do this. Thus, in 1549, the Elected Rada began its work on reforming government structure in the Moscow kingdom.
Elected Rada
Reforms of the Elected Rada
The unofficial government ruled the state on behalf of the king, so its decisions were equated with the royal will. Already in 1550 it began to be carried out military reform. Streltsy troops began to form. This was a guard whose task was to protect the sovereign. By analogy, the Streltsy can be compared to the royal musketeers of France. At first there were only 3 thousand people. Over time, the number of archers increased significantly.
And Peter I put an end to such military units in 1698. So they existed for almost 150 years.
Order was restored conscription. In total, there were two categories of service people. The first category included boyars and nobles. As soon as a boy was born, he was immediately enrolled in military service. And he became suitable for it upon reaching the age of 15 years.
That is, all people of noble birth had to serve in the army or some other public service. Otherwise, they were considered “underage”, regardless of age.
It was a shameful nickname, so everyone served.
Such people were called recruited “by appointment” or by recruiting. But the military of those years had nothing in common with today's military personnel. They did not live in barracks, but were allocated plots of land and private houses. Entire military settlements were formed. In them, the servicemen lived a normal, measured life. They sowed, plowed, harvested, got married and raised children. In case of war, the entire male population was put under arms.
Foreigners also served in the Russian army.
These were mercenaries, and their number never exceeded a couple of thousand people.
The entire vertical of power was subjected to serious reform. They established strict control over local government. It was not the population but the state that began to support it. A unified state duty was introduced. Now only the state collected it.
A single tax per unit area was established for landowners.
The unofficial government also carried out judicial reform. In 1550, a new Code of Law was published - a collection of legislative acts. He regulated cash and in-kind fees from peasants and artisans. Tightened penalties for robbery, robbery and other criminal offenses.
Introduced several harsh articles on punishment for bribes.
The elected Rada paid great attention to personnel policy. The so-called Yard Notebook was created. It was a list of sovereign people who could be appointed to various high positions: diplomatic, military, administrative.
That is, a person fell into a “clip” and could move from one high post to another, bringing benefit to the state everywhere. Subsequently, this style of work was copied by the communists and created the party nomenklatura.
The central state apparatus was significantly improved. Many new orders have appeared (from ministries and departments, if translated into modern language), since the functions of local authorities were transferred to officials of the central apparatus.
In addition to national orders, regional ones also emerged. That is, they oversaw certain territories and were responsible for them.
At the head of the order was the clerk. He was appointed not from among the boyars, but from literate and unborn service people. This was done specifically in order to contrast the state apparatus with the boyar power and its influence. That is, the orders served the king, and not the noble nobility, who had their own interests, sometimes at odds with the state ones.
In foreign policy The elected Rada was oriented primarily to the east. The Astrakhan and Kazan khanates were annexed to the Moscow kingdom. In the west, the Baltic states fell into the zone of state interests. On January 17, 1558, the Livonian War began. Some members of the unofficial government opposed it. The war dragged on for 25 long years and caused a severe economic crisis (1570-1580), called Porukha.
In 1560, the unofficial government ordered long life. The reason was disagreements between Ivan the Terrible and the reformers. They accumulated for a long time, and their source lay in the exorbitant lust for power and ambitions of the Moscow Tsar. The autocrat began to feel burdened by the presence next to him of people who had independent and independent views.
While the tsarist power was weak, Ivan the Terrible tolerated the reformers and obeyed them in everything. But, thanks to competent transformations, the central apparatus has become very strong.
The Tsar rose above the boyars and became a true autocrat. Adashev and the rest of the reformers began to interfere with him.
The reforms of the Elected Rada did their job - it was no longer needed. The king began to look for a reason to alienate his former friends and devoted assistants. The relationship between Sylvester and Adashev with the closest relatives of the tsar’s first and beloved wife, Anastasia Zakharova-Yuryeva, was tense. When the queen died, Ivan IV accused his former favorites of neglecting the “youth.”
Foreign policy disagreements, aggravated, added fuel to the fire Livonian War. But the most serious were internal political conflicts. The Elected Rada carried out very deep reforms, lasting for decades. The king needed immediate results. But the state apparatus was still poorly developed and did not know how to work quickly and efficiently.
At this stage historical development All the shortcomings and shortcomings of the central government could only be “corrected” by terror.
The Tsar followed this path, and the reforms of the Elected Rada began to seem backward and ineffective to him.
In 1560, Sylvester was exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery. Adashev and his brother Danila went by royal decree as governors to Livonia. They were soon arrested. Adashev died in prison, and Danila was executed. In 1564 he fled to the Grand Duchy Lithuanian prince Kurbsky, who led the troops in Livonia.
He was on friendly terms with Adashev and understood that disgrace and execution awaited him.
The fall of the Chosen Rada marked the beginning of one of the most terrible periods of Russian history - oprichnina. The events of the first half of the 60s became its background.
The question arose about strengthening a unified Russian state. To achieve this, it was necessary to take several decisive actions - to put an end to decentralization, to completely form a national apparatus and to expand the territory of the country. Vasily III only laid the foundation for this process, and it was left to his son Ivan, who was only three years old at the time of his father’s death, to solve the problems.
In 1546, the future Ivan IV reached the age of fifteen (at this age came of age), and power completely passed from his mother to him. In 1547 he took the title of king. The royal wedding took place in the Assumption Cathedral. In the same year, a series of fires and a popular uprising occurred, which proved that there was a confrontation between the boyars and the people in society. Ivan IV began an intensified struggle against the boyar power, bringing people from other classes closer to him. The circle of associates was called the “Chosen Rada”, which included such persons as Andrei Kurbsky, Metropolitan Macarius and Archpriest Sylvester. They carried out the following reforms that glorified the reign of Ivan:
1. In 1550, the so-called Sudebnik was published - a set of laws that strengthened the royal power.
2. The Streletsky army appeared in the army.
3. The financial system was reformed.
4. The local and central administration canceled feedings and introduced a system of orders.
5. Church reform was carried out.
The changes led to the fact that in a short time the authority of the authorities in the state grew noticeably. The elected Rada and its system of government turned out to be the most effective. All decisions made in the 50s of that century were aimed at centralizing the power of the king. Despite the fact that the Elected Rada and its reforms had a positive impact on the state and strengthened the royal power, it was dissolved in 1560. There were several reasons for this. The tsar stopped trusting his close people, especially when he suspected treason after Andrei Kurbsky escaped to Poland. Differences in views on foreign and domestic policy also grew.
In 1565, Ivan IV established a new sovereign appanage - the oprichnina, which included economically developed territories.
Here the tsar formed his government bodies - the Duma, the court, orders, as well as the oprichnina army, which later turned into an instrument. The Elected Rada and the oprichnina were endowed with punitive functions, but if the first punished only the boyars, then the oprichnina had power over all classes. As a result of the dominance of the oprichnina, a despotic regime of power under Ivan IV was established in the state. During these harsh years, the tsar received the nickname “Terrible”.
However, the reign of terror turned out to be less effective than the Elected Rada and its policies. As a result, the king in 1572. After this, the country experienced political events in the 70s and 80s. In addition, there was the destruction of peasant farms, which were the basis of the country's economy - the Elected Rada focused on them. The oprichnina largely determined the general crisis of power and the coming Time of Troubles.
The first Russian Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich IV the Terrible was born on August 25, 1530, died on March 18, 1584.
After the death of Vasily III in 1533, his three-year-old son Ivan IV ascended the grand-ducal throne. In fact, the state was ruled by his mother, Elena Vasilievna, the daughter of Prince Glinsky, a native of Lithuania. Both during the reign of Elena and after her death (1538; there is an assumption that she was poisoned), the struggle for power between the boyar groups of the Belskys, Shuiskys, and Glinskys did not stop.
Boyar rule led to the weakening of central power, and the arbitrariness of the patrimonial owners had a serious impact on the position of the masses, causing discontent and open protests in a number of Russian cities.
The boy sovereign, naturally intelligent, lively, impressionable and observant, grew up in an atmosphere of abandonment and neglect. Thus, in the boy’s soul an early feeling of enmity and hatred towards the boyars as his enemies and thefts of power was formed. The ugly scenes of boyar self-will and violence and his own helplessness and impotence developed in him timidity, suspicion, distrust of people, and on the other hand, disdain for the human person and human dignity.
Having a lot of free time at his disposal, Ivan indulged in reading and re-read all the books that he could find in the palace. His only sincere friend and spiritual mentor was Metropolitan Macarius (from 1542), the famous compiler of the Four Menaions, a huge collection of all church literature known at that time in Rus'.
The young Grand Duke was not yet fully 17 years old when his uncle Mikhail Glinsky and his grandmother Princess Anna managed to prepare a political act of great national importance. January 16, 1547 Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich of Moscow and All Rus' was solemnly crowned with the title of Tsar Ivan IV. The ceremony of accepting the royal title took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. From the hands of the Moscow Metropolitan Macarius, who developed the ritual of crowning the king, Ivan IV accepted the Monomakh cap and other regalia of royal power. The Church seemed to affirm the divine origin of royal power, but at the same time strengthened its authority. Upon completion of the wedding ceremony, the Grand Duke became the “God-crowned Tsar.”
Thus, the new title - tsar - not only sharply emphasized the sovereignty of the Russian monarch in external relations, especially with the Horde khanates (khans in Rus' were called tsars), but also more clearly than before, separated the sovereign from his subjects. The royal title secured the transformation of vassal princes into subjects. The capital of the state, Moscow, was now adorned with a new title - it became the “reigning city”, and the Russian land - the Russian kingdom. But for the peoples of Russia, one of the most tragic periods of its history began. The “time of Ivan the Terrible” has come.
By the way, Russia as the name of the state appears in Russian sources in the second half of the 16th century. The term “Russia” is not Russian in origin, but Greek. It has been known in Byzantium since the 10th century. and was used in the lists of dioceses: the great princes in Greek were called archons of all Russia. During the wedding of Ivan IV, in order to give the individual more authority, they returned to this “foreign” word.
The term “ Moscow State” along with the name “Russia” is used in official documents in the 16th-17th centuries. Russian began to mean belonging to the state, and “Russian” - to an ethnic group (nationality).
On June 21, 1547, a strong fire broke out in Moscow. The fire raged for two days. The city was almost completely burned out. About 4 thousand Muscovites died in the fire. Ivan IV and his entourage, fleeing smoke and fire, hid in the village of Vorobyovo. The cause of the fire was sought in the actions of real persons. Rumors spread that the fire was the work of the Glinskys, with whose name the people associated the difficult years of boyar rule.
A meeting gathered in the Kremlin on the square near the Assumption Cathedral. One of the Glinskys was torn to pieces by the rebel people. The yards of their supporters and relatives were burned and looted. With great difficulty the government managed to suppress the uprising. Actions against the feudal lords took place in the cities of Opochka, and somewhat later in Pskov and Ustyug.
Popular protests showed that the country needs reforms. Further development of the country required the strengthening of statehood and centralization of power. The nobility showed particular interest in carrying out reforms. Its original ideologist was the talented publicist of that time, nobleman Ivan Semenovich Peresvetov. He addressed the king with messages outlining a program of reforms. These proposals by Peresvetov largely anticipated the actions of Ivan IV.
Based on the interests of the nobility, I.S. Peresvetov sharply condemned the boyar arbitrariness. He saw the ideal of government in strong royal power, based on the nobility. “A state without a thunderstorm is like a horse without a bridle,” believed I.S. Peresvetov.
With the participation of Metropolitan Macarius, the young tsar was surrounded by those persons who were destined in the eyes of their contemporaries to symbolize the new government - the “Chosen Rada”. Around 1549 a new government was formed. It was called the Chosen Rada - that’s what A. Kurbsky called it in the Polish manner in one of his writings. The composition of the Elected Rada is not entirely clear. It was headed by A.F. Adashev, who came from a rich, but not very noble family. Representatives of various strata of the ruling class took part in the work of the Elected Rada: princes D. Kurlyatev, M. Vorotynsky, Moscow Metropolitan Macarius and the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin (the home church of the Moscow kings) Sylvester, clerk of the Ambassadorial Prikaz I. Viskovaty. The composition of the Elected Rada seemed to reflect a compromise between various layers of the ruling class. The elected council existed until 1560 and was the body that carried out the transformations that were called the reforms of the mid-16th century.
On February 27, 1549, the First Zemsky Sobor was convened. He decided to draw up a new Code of Law (approved in 1550) and formulated a program of reforms in the mid-16th century. According to experts, more than 50 Zemsky Sobors took place; The last Zemsky Sobors in Russia met in the 80s. XVI century The Zemsky Sobors included Boyar Duma, Consecrated Cathedral - representatives of the highest clergy; Many Zemsky Sobors were also attended by representatives of the nobility and the upper classes of the town.
1. Under the Elected Rada, an order system of public administration is drawn up. Even before the reforms of the mid-16th century. certain branches of government administration of individual territories began to be entrusted (“ordered,” as they called it then) to the boyars. This is how the first orders-institutions in charge of industries appeared government controlled or individual regions of the country. In the middle of the 16th century. There were already two dozen orders. Military affairs were supervised by the Razryadny Prikaz (in charge of the local army), Pushkarsky (artillery), Streletsky (streltsy), Armory Chamber (arsenal), Foreign Affairs were in charge of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, state lands distributed to the nobles, the Local Prikaz; serfs - Serf order. There were orders that were in charge of certain territories: the order of the Siberian Palace governed Siberia; order of the Kazan Palace - annexed by the Kazan Khanate.
At the head of the order was a boyar or clerk - a major government official. The orders were in charge of administration, tax collection and the courts. As the tasks of public administration became more complex, the number of orders grew. By the time of Peter's reforms in early XVIII V. there were about 50 of them. The design of the order system made it possible to centralize the management of the country.
2. It should be noted that at first the Elected Rada did not intend to radically change the existing order of local government. The Code of Law of Ivan IV only clarified the rights and responsibilities of feeders (deputies - in districts and volostels - in volosts) and at the same time expanded the competence of zemstvo elders and tselovniks, turning them into permanent jurors (before that they simply acted as witnesses at the trial of governors and volostels ).
A unified management system gradually began to be created locally. Local tax collection was previously entrusted to feeding boyars. They were actually rulers of individual lands. All funds collected in excess of the required taxes to the treasury were at their personal disposal, i.e. they “fed” by managing the lands. In 1556, feedings were abolished. Local administration (investigation and court in particularly important state affairs) was transferred to the hands of provincial elders (guba-okrug), elected from local nobles, zemstvo elders - from among the wealthy strata among the black sosh population where there was no noble land ownership, and city officials clerks or favorite heads - in cities. Thus, in the middle of the 16th century. An apparatus of state power emerged in the form of an estate-representative monarchy.
3. Code of Law 1550
The general trend of centralization of the country and the state apparatus entailed the publication of a new collection of laws - the Code of Laws of 1550. Taking the Code of Laws of Ivan III as a basis, the compilers of the new Code of Laws made changes to it related to the strengthening of central power. It confirmed the right of peasants to move on St. George’s Day and increased the payment for the “elderly”. The feudal lord was now responsible for the crimes of his peasants, which increased their personal dependence on the lord. For the first time, punishment for bribery was introduced.
4. Even under Elena Glinskaya, monetary reform was started. The Moscow ruble became the main payment unit in the country. The right to collect trade duties passed into the hands of the state. The population of the country was obliged to bear taxes - a complex of natural and monetary duties. In the middle of the 16th century. a single unit for collecting taxes was established for the entire state - the large plow. Depending on the fertility of the soil, as well as the social status of the owner of the land, the plow amounted to 400-600 hectares of land. The tax reform further worsened the situation of the masses.
5. Military reform
Much has been done to strengthen the country's forces. The core of the army was the noble militia. Near Moscow, the “chosen thousand” were planted on the ground - 1070 provincial nobles, who, in the opinion of the tsar, were to become the support of power.
The “Code of Service” was drawn up. A votchinnik or landowner could begin service at the age of 15 and pass it on by inheritance. From 150 acres of land, both the boyar and the nobleman had to field one warrior and appear at the reviews “on horseback, in crowds and armed.”
A big step forward in the organization of Russian military forces was the creation in 1550 of a permanent Streltsy army. At first there were three thousand archers. In addition, foreigners began to be recruited into the army, the number of whom was insignificant. Artillery was reinforced. The Cossacks were recruited to perform border service.
The boyars and nobles who made up the militia were called “serving people for the fatherland,” i.e. by origin. Another group of people consisted of “service people according to the instrument” (i.e., recruited). In addition to the archers, there were gunners (artillerymen), city guards, and the Cossacks were close to them. Rear work (cart trains, construction of fortifications) was carried out by the “staff” - a militia from among the Chernososhny, monastery peasants and townspeople.
6. Limitation of localism
During military campaigns, localism was limited - the procedure for filling positions depending on the nobility and career of the ancestors. In the middle of the 16th century. An official reference book was compiled - “The Sovereign's Genealogist”, which streamlined local disputes.
7. Church councils
Significant reforms were carried out in the life of the church. During the period of feudal fragmentation, each principality had its own “locally revered” saints. In 1549, a church council carried out the canonization of the “new miracle workers”: local saints turned into all-Russian saints, and a unified pantheon was created for the entire country. In 1551 a new church council was held.
Stoglavy Cathedral
In 1551, on the initiative of the Tsar and the Metropolitan, a Council of the Russian Church met, which was called the Stoglavy Council, since its decisions were formulated in one hundred chapters. The decisions of the clergy reflected the changes associated with the centralization of the state. The Council approved the adoption of the Code of Law of 1550 and the reforms of Ivan IV. An all-Russian list was compiled from the number of local saints revered in individual Russian lands. Rituals were streamlined and unified throughout the country. Even art was subject to regulation.
The Council of the Hundred Heads in 1551 drew a line under the historical dispute between the Josephites and non-covetous people. Even before its convening in September 1550, an agreement was reached between the tsar and Metropolitan Macarius (1542-1568), according to which monasteries were forbidden to found new settlements in cities, and to establish new courtyards in old ones. The townspeople, who were hiding there from the burden of the burden, were expelled from the monastery settlements. In the future, clergy could buy land and receive it as a gift only with royal permission. Thus, on the issue of monastic land ownership, the line to limit it and control it on the part of the tsar won.
Even under Ivan III and Vasily III The issue of church land ownership was acute. A number of clergy, whose spiritual forerunner was Nil Sorsky (1433-1508), advocated the renunciation of land ownership by monasteries and strict asceticism (hence their name - non-acquisitive). Another group of church leaders fought against this, the head of which was Abbot Joseph Volotsky (1439-1515), who believed that only a rich church could fulfill its high mission in the state. During the reign of Vasily Sh, the Josephites (money-grubbers) gained the upper hand.
During the Council of the Hundred Heads, the issue of church lands was raised again. It was decided to preserve the lands of churches and monasteries, but in the future their acquisition or receipt as a gift could only be carried out after a report to the king.
Reforms of the mid-16th century. significantly strengthened central power and public administration, which allowed Ivan IV to move on to solving foreign policy problems.
Agreement between the king and his closest advisers, i.e. Sylvester and Adashev did not last long: the ardent, power-hungry John soon began to be burdened by the influence of his favorites. This was also accompanied by their rivalry with the Zakharyins, relatives of the queen, and Anastasia herself’s dislike of them.
The beginning of this reluctance dates back to 1553. Soon after the Kazan campaign, the tsar fell into a serious illness; wrote a spiritual document, appointed his son, baby Dimitri, as heir, and demanded that the boyars swear allegiance to him. Then there was noise and abuse in the palace: some took the oath, others refused on the grounds that Dimitri was still small and the Zakharins would rule instead of him, that it was better for an adult to be sovereign, while they pointed to the royal cousin Vladimir (son of Andrei Staritsky) , the latter also did not want to swear allegiance to Dimitri, Sylvester and Adashev’s father sided with the disobedient boyars. Only after persistent persuasion by the king and the nobles loyal to him did the opposing side yield. John recovered, although he showed no signs of displeasure at first, but he could not forget this incident and began to look suspiciously at the people around him. The queen also considered herself offended.
After recovery, John with his wife and little Demetrius, according to a vow, went on a pilgrimage to the Kirillov Belozersky Monastery. First, the Tsar stopped by the Trinity Lavra. Here,” says Prince Kurbsky in his History of Ivan the Terrible, “the famous Maxim the Greek talked to him and persuaded him not to undertake such a long and difficult journey, but rather to work on alleviating the lot of widows and orphans who were left behind by the soldiers who fell under the walls of Kazan. But the king went by water to Kirillov. The journey was truly unhappy: John lost his son. On the way, in one monastery, he saw the former Bishop of Kolomna Vassian and asked him how one should reign in order to have nobles in obedience. “If you want to be an autocrat,” answered Vassian, “then do not keep advisers smarter than yourself” (a hint at Sylvester and Adashev).
Seeing John's cooling towards him, Sylvester himself withdrew from the court, and the king sent Adashev to Livonia (to the army). In 1560, Anastasia died. It was said at court that Sylvester and Adashev had harassed the queen. The Tsar imprisoned Sylvester in the Solovetsky Monastery, and imprisoned Alexei Adashev (in Yuryev). Relatives and supporters of the accused were exiled or executed.
The elected Rada is not some official government body, it is a circle of people close to Tsar Ivan in the 1550s. Later, in correspondence with Ivan the Terrible, his opponent Andrei Kurbsky called this circle the “chosen council.” Historians liked this phrase and they introduced it into scientific research. The leaders of the Elected Rada were the authors of many progressive reforms that took place in the country in the 1550s. These transformations were aimed at centralizing Russia and ensuring its internal stability through social compromise.
Alexey Fedorovich Adashev
The text is adapted: shortened and divided into logical paragraphs.
The small Kostroma patrimonial owner Alexei Adashev did not shine with nobility and wealth. Not without sarcasm, Tsar Ivan noted that he took Adashev into the palace “from the rot” and “committed” on a par with the nobles, expecting “direct service” (honest service) from him. Adashev was indeed an example of a “direct servant,” but these merits were not enough to make a successful career at court. Adashev owed his success to his successful service in orders - new central government bodies...
He gained wide popularity for his integrity. Being a judge of the Petition Order, and then the de facto ruler, he strictly punished, regardless of the persons (even the boyars), those who repaired red tape in orders. The culprits faced “grief” from the sovereign, prison and exile. Adashev’s younger contemporaries recalled the years of his reign as a time of prosperity, when “the Russian land was in great silence and in prosperity and in control.”
They were also impressed by the rare piety of the famous temporary worker... In mortification of the flesh, the first dignitary of the state seemed to set out to surpass the monks. He prayed incessantly, fasted for a long time, and “ate one piece of bread per day.” The ruler's house was always full of passers-by Kalikas (wandering beggars) and holy fools. If you believe Kurbsky, Adashev opened an almshouse in his house, in which he kept many dozens of “lepers” (sick), “secretly feeding them, washing them, and wiping away their pus with his own hands.”
(From the book “Ivan the Terrible” by R.G. Skrynnikov)
Archpriest Sylvester
Sylvester was born at the beginning of the 16th century. in Novgorod (the exact date of his birth is not known). Andrei Kurbsky, in his “History of the Prince of Moscow,” connected the rise of Sylvester with the events of the Moscow fire and uprising of 1547. In the person of Sylvester, according to Kurbsky, God himself extended a helping hand to Christians. According to Kurbsky, before the frightened young king, mired in cruelty and unrighteous life, suddenly an alien from Novgorod, priest Sylvester, suddenly appeared, who in the name of God began to conjure Ivan to begin to engage in government, remember justice, punish and dismiss bad nobles and bring smart assistants closer . Sylvester’s arsenal of methods of persuasion was not very wide, but apparently very effective for the 16th century: the Novgorodian, in the words of Ivan the Terrible himself, “scared him with horror stories,” i.e. a description of the hellish torments that await sinners. In addition, Sylvester told Ivan IV about visions and miracles. As a result, the soul of the young Grand Duke was healed and he turned into a good ruler.
Obviously, the priest’s speech against the backdrop of a sea of fire that consumed the capital made an indelible impression on the young king and pushed Ivan to change his behavior. On this we can agree with Kurbsky. But Sylvester appeared in Moscow not in 1547, but much earlier. Already in 1541 Sylvester was one of the priests of the house church of the Moscow rulers - the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kremlin, then became the Annunciation archpriest (senior priest). It is known that the efforts of Sylvester in 1541 were largely due to the release from prison of the Tsar’s cousin Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky. Sylvester was friends with him and his mother. Sylvester was also close to Metropolitan Macarius, the former Archbishop of Novgorod, who occupied the metropolitan see in 1542-1563.
Sylvester was distinguished by selflessness and deep faith. Through prayer he brought himself to a state when he heard heavenly voices and received messages. Needless to say, what an impression this made on his contemporaries! Muscovites revered the priest of Blagoveshchensk almost as a saint. Certainly young Ivan I met Sylvester more than once before the fire and knew about his moral virtues.
After the fall of the Chosen Rada, Ivan began to call Sylvester nothing more than “pop-ignoramus.” But it was an unfair nickname. Unlike many priests, Sylvester was an educated man, perhaps he even knew Greek. Sylvester loved reading, had a good library, which, during the years of the Tsar’s favor to him, was replenished with books donated by Ivan. The name of Sylvester is associated with the appearance of a very interesting work of the 16th century. - “Domostroya”, which was a collection of business, economic and moral advice drawn from many domestic and translated books.
Unlike Adashev, Sylvester did not have any permanent responsibilities in the government circle (in the Elected Rada). He carried out certain specific assignments, for example, he supervised the restoration of the paintings of Kremlin churches damaged by fire. But Sylvester was constantly with the king, teaching him. The convictions of the Blagoveshchensk archpriest and his religiosity were passed on to his student. Ivan became interested in religion and began to zealously observe rituals. The tsar even had bouts of exultation: after long prayers on the eve of the assault on Kazan, the tsar heard the ringing of the bell of the Simonov Monastery. Everyone considered this a sign of victory, for the Simonov Monastery near Moscow was founded by the nephew of Sergius of Radonezh, the confessor of Dmitry Donskoy - Fyodor Simonovsky. The soldiers who died on the Kulikovo Field were buried in this monastery. Sylvester, who revered Macarius and the Adashevs, maintained respect for them among the tsar.
Proximity to Ivan IV did not bring Sylvester either income or high church positions, because he did not strive for them. He began his court rise as archpriest of the Annunciation Church and remained in this rank until his disgrace. It is often written that Sylvester was the king's confessor. This is true to some extent. Sylvester's influence on the Tsar was enormous; the Tsar revealed his thoughts to Sylvester and listened to his advice, but Sylvester was not officially the confessor of Ivan IV.
(T.V. Chernikova)
Red tape is a lengthy trial. Also called red tape were the letters that were conducted in court cases. Each new document was glued to the previous one, resulting in long, sometimes several meters long, scrolls. Another meaning of the word “red tape” is known. This is what the craftsmen called a long wire pulled from a piece of metal.
A temporary worker is usually a favorite of the monarch, who has great power for some time.
A holy fool is usually a poor pilgrim, devoid of normal reason, but endowed with a fanatical spirit. In Rus', such people were revered, thinking that God himself spoke through their lips.
Skrynnikov R.G. Ivan groznyj. M., 1975. The quoted text is taken from the “Anthology on the History of Russia”, M., 1994. pp. 214-215.
“The Chosen Rada” is a term introduced by Prince A.M. Kurbsky to designate the circle of people who made up the informal government under Ivan the Terrible in 1549-1560. The term itself is found only in the work of Kurbsky, while Russian sources of that time do not give this circle of people any official name.
Creation
The formation of a select circle of people around the tsar occurs after the Moscow events of the summer of 1547: fire, and then the uprising of Muscovites. According to Kurbsky's version, during these events the king came to Archpriest Sylvester, and “threatened the king with a terrible curse from the Holy Scriptures,<...>to<...>stop his riots and moderate his violent temper.”
Compound
The composition of the “Elected Rada” is the subject of debate. Definitely, the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin, the confessor of the Tsar Sylvester and a young figure from a not very noble family, A.F. Adashev, participated in the “Rada”.
On the other hand, some historians deny the existence of the Elected Rada as an institution led exclusively by the three above-mentioned persons.
Activity
The elected council lasted until 1560. She carried out transformations that were called reforms of the mid-16th century.
Reforms of the Chosen One:
First Zemsky Sobor 1549 - the body of class representation, ensuring the connection between the center and the localities, Ivan IV's speech from the front: condemnation of the wrong boyar rule, announcement of the need for reforms.
Code of Law 1550 - development of the provisions of the Code of Law of Ivan III, limitation of the power of governors and volosts, strengthening of control of the tsarist administration, a uniform amount of court fees, preservation of the right of peasants to cross on St. George’s Day.
Stoglavy Cathedral 1551 - unification of church rituals, recognition of all locally revered saints as all-Russian, establishment of a strict iconographic canon, demands for improving the morals of the clergy, prohibition of usury among priests.
Military reform 1556 - the Code of Service was adopted: restriction of localism for the period of military operations, in addition to the mounted local militia, organization of a standing army - archers, gunners, a unified order of military service.
Formation of the order system.
In 1556, a reform of local government was carried out.
The reforms of the Elected Rada outlined the path to strengthening and centralizing the state and contributed to the formation of an estate-representative state.
Fall of the Chosen Rada
Some historians see the reason for the tsar's disfavor in the fact that Ivan IV was dissatisfied with the disagreements of some members of the Rada with the late Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva, the tsar's first wife. This is also confirmed by the fact that after the death of his second wife, Maria Temryukovna, Ivan the Terrible also carried out executions of those disliked by the queen and accused the boyars of “harassing” (poisoning) Maria.
In 1553, Ivan the Terrible fell ill. The illness was so severe that the question of transfer of power arose in the Boyar Duma. Ivan forced the boyars to swear allegiance to their infant son, Tsarevich Dmitry. But among the members of the Rada, the idea arose to transfer the Moscow throne to the Tsar’s cousin, Vladimir, Prince Staritsky. In particular, Sylvester noted that Vladimir’s quality is that he loves advisers. However, Ivan recovered from his illness, and the conflict, at first glance, was settled. But the king did not forget this story and later used it against Sylvester and Adashev.
The main contradiction was the radical difference in the views of the Tsar and the Rada on the issue of centralization of power in the state (the process of centralization is the process of concentrating state power). Ivan IV wanted to speed up this process. The elected Rada chose the path of gradual and painless reform.
