The last Rurikovich, who got power, was weak in body and mind and could not rule the country, just as he could not have heirs. The reign of Fedor Ivanovich fell on difficult years for Russia. The legacy of the great father was left in a messy state that required urgent reforms.
General political situation
The reign of Ivan Vasilyevich ended under adverse conditions. Firstly, the unsuccessful war with Lithuania, and secondly, while fighting the Swedes for free duty-free trade in the B altic Sea, Russia not only did not get what it wanted, but also lost part of its lands.
The oprichnina system undermined the economic power of the large aristocracy and physically exterminated its most prominent figures who could have been a support in the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich. St. George's Day was canceled, and the peasantry accumulated hatred for the state, because they had to perform more and more high duties for the patrimonials and landowners. State taxes also increased. The boyars and princes themselves, votchinniki, tried to belittle the nobles andto strengthen their own positions, to regain the influence lost under Grozny. The nobles fought against the dominance of the boyars.
Identity of the heir
Fyodor Ivanovich was born in 1557. To commemorate this event, a church was built in honor of his eponymous Saint Theodore Stratilates in Pereslavl-Zalessky. In 1881, Ivan, the direct heir to the throne, died. From the age of 23, Fedor Ivanovich became the heir, obviously not born for power. The king's son thought of only one thing - the salvation of the soul. In prayer and silence, on pilgrimages to holy places, he spent his days. At the age of 17, the tsarevich was married to Irina Godunova, a beautiful and clever girl, brought up in the royal chambers.
There was not even a show of brides, which was a long tradition. Grozny just decided that. This marriage served as the first step in the rise of Boris Godunov. But Ivan IV foresaw that there might not be children in the marriage, so in this case he ordered in his will to marry Fedor to Princess Irina Mstislavskaya. However, the intrigues of Boris Godunov sent this princess to a monastery. At the age of 27, in 1584, the reign of Fedor Ivanovich began.
But he did not change his habits - he still surrounded himself with holy fools, monks, he liked to climb the bell tower to ring the bells. Meanwhile, the country was waiting for action. Ivan IV established a council of trustees under his weak-minded son, but the members of the council all quarreled, and Shuisky and Godunov remained in the political arena, who eventually won. Tsarevich Dmitry, who had no rightsto the throne, was removed with his mother to Uglich. This was required to weaken the Naga clan.
On the kingdom
When the Board of Trustees finally collapsed, the rapid rise of Boris Godunov, the brother of Tsaritsa Irina, began. Cunning and efficiency made him the most influential person in the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich. He received the right to lead a horse during the solemn departures of the king. Then it was real power. On the instructions of the "stable" important royal decisions were made. Realizing the precariousness and unreliability of his position, Godunov sought support from the nobility. During the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich, at the instigation of Godunov, a five-year term was set for the search for fugitive peasants (decree of 1597), since the nobles suffered more than the patrimonials from a shortage of people cultivating the land. Another gift was made to the nobles. The poorest landowners who farmed the land themselves were exempted from paying taxes.
State of the State
During the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich (1584–1598), the economy began to recover and the economic situation improved. Abandoned empty lands were plowed up. Godunov took land from the boyars and distributed them to the landowners, thereby strengthening his position.
But only those who served were placed on the ground. Moreover, in 1593-1594 the legitimacy of land ownership by monasteries was clarified. Those who did not have documents were deprived of their inheritance in favor of the sovereign. These lands could already be assigned to townspeople and service people. So Godunovrelied on the poor and the "skinny".
Church Reform
In Moscow, it was believed that the dignity of the Russian Orthodox Church was belittled. In 1588, a patriarch from Constantinople arrived in the capital and agreed to independence in church affairs, that is, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church became a patriarch from a metropolitan.
On the one hand, this kind of independence emphasized the prestige of Russian Orthodoxy, and on the other hand, it separated it from the world, delaying development, preventing new ideas from entering. The patriarchate was formally elective, but in fact only one candidate was proposed, who was chosen - Job. The spiritual authority was subordinate to the state and supported it in every possible way. Such a strengthening of secular power occurred during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.
Completion of the conquest of Siberia
The beginning was laid by the merchants Stroganovs, who called on Yermak for help. After his death, the remnants of his detachment left Siberia, but in 1587 Moscow sent help, and the city of Tobolsk was founded. The movement to the East continued the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich and Boris Godunov.
A Little War in the West
The B altic Free Trade War began in 1590 and ended five years later. This allowed Godunov to return the Russian cities on the Finnish coast and make trade with Sweden lively, which made him popular among Russian merchants.
The southern borders were also fortified, and the Crimean Tatars no longer annoyed Moscow since 1591. In the north, in Arkhangelsk, inIn 1586, a new White Sea market was opened. The country gradually grew richer and lived relatively quietly, so the chroniclers recalled the times when there was “great silence” in Moscow.
Despite the weakness of the sovereign, the years of the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, thanks to Godunov's smart policy, were successful. In 1598 the blessed Tsar Theodore died. He was forty years old. He left no heirs, and the Rurik dynasty ended with him.
