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