The 16th century in Russia is the time of the formation of a centralized Russian state. It was during this period that feudal fragmentation was overcome - a process that characterizes the natural development of feudalism. Cities are growing, the population is increasing, trade and foreign policy ties are developing. Changes in the socio-economic nature lead to the inevitable intensive exploitation of the peasants and their subsequent enslavement.
The history of Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries is not easy - this is the period of the formation of statehood, the formation of the foundations. Bloody events, wars, attempts to protect themselves from the echoes of the Golden Horde and the Time of Troubles that followed them demanded a tough hand of government, unity of the people.
Establishment of a centralized state
The prerequisites for the unification of Russia and overcoming feudal fragmentation were outlined as early as the 13th century. This was especially noticeable in the Vladimir principality, located in the northeast. The development was interrupted by the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols, who not only slowed down the process of unification, but also caused significant damage to the Russian people. The revival began only in the 14th century: the restoration of agriculture,building cities, establishing economic ties. The principality of Moscow and Moscow gained more and more weight, the territory of which gradually grew. The development of Russia in the 16th century followed the path of strengthening class contradictions. In order to subjugate the peasants, the feudal lords had to act as one, use new forms of political ties, and strengthen the central apparatus.
The second factor that contributed to the unification of the principalities and the centralization of power is the vulnerable foreign policy situation. To fight against foreign invaders and the Golden Horde, it was necessary for everyone to rally. Only in this way were the Russians able to win on the Kulikovo field and at the end of the 15th century. finally throw off the Tatar-Mongol oppression, which lasted more than two hundred years.
The process of formation of a single state was expressed primarily in the unification of the territories of previously independent states into one great Moscow principality and in a change in the political organization of society, the nature of statehood. From a geographical point of view, the process was completed by the beginning of the 16th century, but the political apparatus was formed only by the second half of it.
Vasily III
It can be said that the 16th century in the history of Russia began with the reign of Vasily III, who ascended the throne in 1505 at the age of 26. He was the second son of Ivan III the Great. The Sovereign of All Russia was married twice. For the first time on a representative of the old boyar family, Solomoniya Saburova (in the photo below - a reconstruction of the face from the skull). The wedding took place on 1505-04-09, however, over 20 years of marriage, shedid not bear him an heir. The worried prince demanded a divorce. He quickly received the consent of the church and the boyar duma. Such a case of an official divorce followed by exile of the wife to a monastery is unprecedented in the history of Russia.
The second wife of the sovereign was Elena Glinskaya, descended from an old Lithuanian family. She bore him two sons. Having been widowed in 1533, she literally made a coup at the court, and in the 16th century Russia for the first time received a ruler, however, not very popular with the boyars and the people.
The foreign and domestic policy of Vasily III, in fact, was a natural continuation of his father's actions, which were entirely aimed at centralizing power and strengthening the authority of the church.
Domestic policy
Basily III stood for the unlimited power of the sovereign. In the fight against the feudal fragmentation of Russia and its supporters, he actively enjoyed the support of the church. With those who were objectionable, he easily de alt with, sending him into exile or inflicting execution. The despotic character, noticeable even in the years of youth, was fully manifested. During the years of his reign, the significance of the boyars at the court falls significantly, but the landed nobility increases. When implementing church policy, he gave preference to the Josephites.
In 1497, Vasily III adopted a new Sudebnik, based on the Russian Truth, Statutory and Judicial letters, court decisions on certain categories of issues. It was a set of laws and was created with the aim of systematizing andstreamlining the rules of law that existed at that time and was an important measure on the way to the centralization of power. The sovereign actively supported the construction, during the years of his reign the Archangel Cathedral, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye, new settlements, fortresses and prisons were erected. In addition, he actively, like his father, continued to "collect" Russian lands, annexing the Pskov Republic, Ryazan.
Relations with the Kazan Khanate under Vasily III
The foreign policy of Russia in the 16th century, or rather, in its first half, is largely a reflection of the domestic one. The sovereign sought to unite as many lands as possible, to subordinate them to the central authority, which, in fact, can be considered as the conquest of new territories. Having done away with the Golden Horde, Russia almost immediately went on the offensive against the khanates formed as a result of its collapse. Turkey and the Crimean Khanate showed interest in Kazan, which was of great importance for Russia due to the fertility of the lands and their favorable strategic location, as well as because of the constant threat of raids. In anticipation of the death of Ivan III in 1505, the Kazan Khan suddenly launched a war that lasted until 1507. After several defeats, the Russians were forced to retreat and then make peace. History repeated itself in 1522-1523, and then in 1530-1531. The Kazan Khanate did not surrender until Ivan the Terrible came to the throne.
Russian-Lithuanian war
The main reason for the military conflict is the desire of the Moscow prince to conquer and take control of all Russian lands, andalso an attempt by Lithuania to take revenge for the past defeat in 1500-1503, which cost her the loss of 1-3 parts of all territories. Russia in the 16th century, after Vasily III came to power, was in a rather difficult foreign policy situation. Defeated by the Kazan Khanate, she was forced to confront the Lithuanian principality, which signed an anti-Russian agreement with the Crimean Khan.
The war began as a result of Vasily III's refusal to fulfill the ultimatum (return of lands) in the summer of 1507 after the attack on the Chernigov and Bryansk lands of the Lithuanian army and on the Verkhovsky principalities - the Crimean Tatars. In 1508, the rulers began negotiations and concluded a peace agreement, according to which Lublich and its surroundings were returned to the Principality of Lithuania.
War 1512-1522 became a natural continuation of previous conflicts over territory. Despite the peace, relations between the parties were extremely tense, looting and clashes at the borders continued. The reason for active action was the death of the Grand Duchess of Lithuania and the sister of Vasily III, Elena Ivanovna. The Lithuanian principality entered into another alliance with the Crimean Khanate, after which the latter began to make numerous raids in 1512. The Russian prince declared war on Sigismund I and advanced his main forces to Smolensk. In subsequent years, a number of campaigns were made with varying success. One of the largest battles took place near Orsha on September 8, 1514. In 1521, both sides had other foreign policy problems, and they were forced to make peace for 5 years. According to the treaty, Russia received Smolensk lands in the 16th century, butat the same time, she refused Vitebsk, Polotsk and Kyiv, as well as the return of prisoners of war.
Ivan IV (the Terrible)
Vasily III died of illness when his eldest son was only 3 years old. Anticipating his imminent death and the subsequent struggle for the throne (at that time the sovereign had two younger brothers Andrei Staritsky and Yuri Dmitrovsky), he formed a "seventh" commission of boyars. It was they who were supposed to save Ivan until his 15th birthday. In fact, the board of trustees was in power for about a year, and then began to fall apart. Russia in the 16th century (1545) received a full-fledged ruler and the first tsar in its history in the person of Ivan IV, known to the whole world under the name of Ivan the Terrible. In the photo above - a reconstruction of the appearance in the form of a skull.
Not to mention his family. Historians differ in numbers, naming the names of 6 or 7 women who were considered the wives of the king. Some died a mysterious death, others were exiled to a monastery. Ivan the Terrible had three children. The elders (Ivan and Fedor) were born from the first wife, and the youngest (Dmitry Uglitsky) from the last - M. F. Nagoi, who played a big role in the history of the country during the time of troubles.
Reforms of Ivan the Terrible
The domestic policy of Russia in the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible was still aimed at centralizing power, as well as building important state institutions. To this end, together with the Chosen Rada, the tsar carried out a number of reforms. The most significant are the following.
- Organization of the Zemsky Sobor in 1549 as the highest class-representative institution. All classes were represented in it, with the exception of the peasantry.
- Adoption of a new code of laws in 1550, which continued the policy of the previous normative legal act, and also for the first time legalized a single unit of tax measurement for all.
- Gubnaya and zemstvo reforms in the early 50s of the 16th century.
- Formation of a system of orders, including petitions, Streltsy, Printed, etc.
Russia's foreign policy during the reign of Ivan the Terrible developed in three directions: the south - the fight against the Crimean Khanate, the east - the expansion of the state's borders and the west - the struggle for access to the B altic Sea.
East
After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Astrakhan and Kazan khanates created a constant threat to the Russian lands, the Volga trade route was concentrated in their hands. In total, Ivan the Terrible undertook three campaigns against Kazan, as a result of the last one it was taken by storm (1552). After 4 years, Astrakhan was annexed, in 1557 most of Bashkiria and Chuvashia voluntarily joined the Russian state, and then the Nogai Horde recognized its dependence. Thus ended the bloody story. Russia at the end of the 16th century opened its way to Siberia. We althy industrialists, who received from the tsar letters of ownership of lands along the Tobol River, equipped a detachment of free Cossacks at their own expense, headed by Yermak.
In the west
In an attempt to gain access to the B altic Sea for 25 years (1558-1583), Ivan IV waged a grueling Livonian war. Its beginning was accompanied by successful campaigns for the Russians, 20 cities were taken, including Narva and Dorpat, the troops were approaching Tallinn and Riga. The Livonian Order was defeated, but the war became protracted, as several European states were drawn into it. The unification of Lithuania and Poland into the Rzeczpospolita played a great role. The situation turned in the opposite direction and after a long confrontation in 1582 a truce was concluded for 10 years. A year later, the Plus armistice was concluded, according to which Russia lost Livonia, but returned all the captured cities except Polotsk.
South
In the south, the Crimean Khanate, formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde, still haunted. The main task of the state in this direction was to strengthen the borders from the raids of the Crimean Tatars. For these purposes, actions were taken to develop the Wild Field. The first serif lines began to appear, i.e. defensive lines from the rubble of the forest, in between which there were wooden fortresses (fortresses), in particular, Tula and Belgorod.
Tsar Fedor I
Ivan the Terrible died on March 18, 1584. The circumstances of the royal illness are being questioned by historians to this day. His son Fyodor Ioannovich ascended the throne, having received this right after the death of his eldest offspring Ivan. According to Grozny himself, he was rather a hermit and faster, more suitable for church service than for reigning. Historians are generally inclined to believe that he was weak in he alth and mind. The new tsar participated little in the administration of the state. He was under the carefirst boyars and nobles, and then his enterprising brother-in-law Boris Godunov. The first reigned, and the second ruled, and everyone knew it. Fedor I died on January 7, 1598, leaving no descendants and thus interrupting the Moscow Rurik dynasty.
Russia at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries experienced a deep socio-economic and political crisis, the growth of which was facilitated by the protracted Livonian War, the oprichnina and the Tatar invasion. All these circumstances eventually led to the Time of Troubles, which began with the struggle for the empty royal throne.
