The first tsar elected to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor. Zemsky Sobors

Royal regalia of Mikhail Feodorovich - the first Russian Tsar of the Romanov dynasty. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Today our entire country elects the head of state - the President of Russia. This is not the first election for us. However, elections of the head of state took place not only in modern history

Chronicles of Constantinople: Is Ivan the Terrible?

No matter how strange it may seem today, in Russia they also elected Tsars: Theodore Ioannovich, Boris Godunov, Vasily Shuisky, the failed Tsar - the Polish prince Vladislav. In 1613, not just the election of a Tsar took place, but of the entire Romanov Dynasty, to which our people swore on the cross to be faithful until the end of time, and which reigned for 300 years. How and why were kings elected in Rus'?

In 1533, during a serious illness, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible drew up a will in which he transferred the throne to his one-year-old son Tsarevich Dimitri Ioannovich. However, under strange circumstances, the child drowned that same year. The recovered Ivan Vasilyevich bequeathed the throne to his next son, Tsarevich Ivan Ioannovich, but he died in 1581, most likely from mercury poisoning. Three years later, on March 18, 1584, the Tsar himself died suddenly without leaving a will.

In that era, there was no law on succession to the throne, but there was an unspoken rule that the closest relative of the Monarch, most often the eldest son, ascended the throne. However, the election of the Tsar in Rus' was almost always carried out by the Zemsky Sobor, which met after the death of the previous sovereign and was held to approve the candidacy of the heir, even in cases where the line of succession was obvious. The convening of the Council is presented as the result of an initiative "of all the countless people's Christianity, from end to end of all the states of the Russian kingdom."

The last Rurikovich on the Russian throne is Tsar Feodor Ioannovich. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The same thing happened with Feodor Ioannovich. The Council of 1584 was not a formal confirmation of the son of Ivan the Terrible on the throne. Shortly before his death, Ivan Vasilyevich appointed a guardianship council, which was supposed to help his son Feodor Ioannovich govern the state. The council included the Tsar's uncle Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev, princes Ivan Fedorovich Mstislavsky, Ivan Petrovich Shuisky, boyars Bogdan Yakovlevich Belsky and Boris Fedorovich Godunov. A struggle for influence began between them. The relatives of the last wife of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Maria Nagaya, from whom she had an infant son, Tsarevich Dimitri Ioannovich, laid claim to the throne. According to the chronicler, eminent people from all cities came to Moscow and prayed with tears for Tsarevich Theodore to be the king of the Moscow state and be crowned with a royal crown. The common people also stood strongly for Theodore, loving the meek and Christ-loving Tsarevich. As a result, as the Pskov Chronicle reports:

As soon as the Nizhny Novgorod militia arose, its leaders were more concerned with the immediate election of a new Tsar than with the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The masses were imbued with the same demand. All Russians agreed on this: both the zemshchina and the Cossacks could not imagine “stateless” Rus'. " Not just the boyars, everyone needs the Tsar", - said the Russian people. The people demanded that Prince Pozharsky elect a Tsar when the militia was still moving towards Moscow. In the capital itself, shortly before the convening of the council, the prevailing sentiments were those expressed by the chronicler:

Moscow is crowded and rich in grain, and that’s why we all promised that everyone would die for the Orthodox Faith, and not make the prince king.”

The Council of 1613, which elected Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov as Tsar, was one of the most complete “councils of the whole earth,” both in terms of the number and social status of those who participated in it. In December 1612, representatives of many cities gathered in Moscow. Judging by the signatures on the electoral certificate, more than 40 cities sent their elected representatives. Nizhny Novgorod alone sent at least nineteen of its representatives to the council of 1612-1613, not counting the nobles and children of the boyars. As noted by S.F. Platonov: " All layers of the free population participated in the great state and zemstvo business of the tsar's "election""Some works of the 17th century make it clear to us that matters at the Council were not without friction.

Having come to Moscow... all sorts of people from all ranks, - the New Chronicler tells about the election of Tsar Michael, - began to elect the Sovereign. And there was a lot of excitement among all people: each one wanted to do something according to his own thoughts, each one speaking about whom: without remembering the scripture, as follows: “God not only gives a kingdom, but also power, to whomever he wants, he gives; and whomever God calls, he will glorify.” .

At the Council, the question of the candidacy of the Swedish Prince Karl Philip was raised, and supporters of Prince Vladislav were also heard. Russian people of the XVI-XVII centuries. were devoted to the national idea. In addition, the unsuccessful choice of Vladislav and the disasters that followed him further recoiled Rus' from the thought of a foreign sovereign. There were supporters of princes D.T. Trubetskoy and D.I. Pozharsky. Their candidacies were put forward to the Council. However, being aristocratically minded, they alienated many Russian people, and perhaps precisely by raising the question of a foreigner-tsar. Moreover, the Cossacks did not like Pozharsky, and Trubetskoy was unpleasant to the zemshchina.

The founder of the three-hundred-year-old Romanov dynasty is Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Finally, after many disagreements, the candidate who was supported by the Cossacks and the Zemshchina triumphed: young Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov. One of the district representatives, some Galician son of a boyar, spoke about him. He recalled the relationship of the Romanovs with the royal family of Ivan the Terrible. The meetings of the council were apparently noisy. There was a lot of arguing and getting excited about them. But when the ordinary zemshchina and the Cossacks unanimously nominated their candidate, the disputes and quarrels stopped. The Russian people felt that unanimity had been achieved, that the Troubles were coming to an end, and they perked up. Then they sent faithful people to different cities of Rus' to secretly check on “who they want as Sovereign Tsar for the Moscow State.” On February 21, 1613, the messengers arrived with a unanimous answer agreeing with the conciliar election. Then “in the great Moscow palace, in the presence, inside and outside, of all the people from all the cities of Russia,” Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov was solemnly proclaimed Tsar of the Russian Land.

L.P. Reshetnikov notes:

The Tsar is a youth, spiritually pure, unsullied by fratricidal strife, struggle for power, or perjury. In Kostroma, a historical act of acceptance by the Romanovs and the entire Russian people of a grandiose historical task took place. The Romanovs (the very name of the new dynasty carried a mystical meaning that spoke of its historical purpose: bringing the idea of the Third Rome to life) understood this well. In March 1613, in Kostroma, the House of Romanov inherited a small, ruined state. Think about it, several regions of central Russia, virtually deprived of access to the seas, are engulfed in criminal terrorism and an emerging religious schism. And 300 years later it was the greatest Empire, stretching from Warsaw to Vladivostok, from the Land of Emperor Nicholas II to Kushka. It's not just about borders and territories. We live in a state that was created under their leadership, we live in cities built by them, we move along roads laid and built by our still majority during their rule. We are proud to name the world famous names of Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, who could become a phenomenon only in the Romanov Empire. For the last almost 100 years, with tenacity worthy of better use, we have been trying to destroy the great state created under the leadership of the Romanovs. They destroyed it with crazy experiments of forceful imposition of the red model, and then the liberal one, and achieved results here, and were reduced by almost half, and the people are dying out in different ways. But at the same time, look at what a powerful structure was created by the leadership of the House of Romanov. Not only are we still alive, but a new life is being born, again life with God."

Before Peter the Great, chronology in Rus' went from the creation of the world.

Reshetnikov L.P.

Reshetnikov L.P. The accession of the Romanovs - a new historical mission // The accession of the Romanovs - a new historical mission

On March 3, 1613, the Zemsky Sobor installed Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as king. How was the first tsar from the Romanov family elected, who was behind it, and could a different decision have been made?

Candidates

There were many contenders for the Russian throne. The two most unpopular candidates - the Polish prince Vladislav and the son of False Dmitry II - were “weeded out” immediately. The Swedish prince Karl Philip had more supporters, among them the leader of the zemstvo army, Prince Pozharsky. Why did the patriot of the Russian land choose a foreign prince? Perhaps the antipathy of the “artistic” Pozharsky towards domestic contenders - high-born boyars, who during the Time of Troubles more than once betrayed those to whom they swore allegiance, was reflected. He feared that the “boyar tsar” would sow the seeds of new unrest in Russia, as happened during the short reign of Vasily Shuisky. Therefore, Prince Dmitry stood for the calling of the “Varangian”, but most likely this was Pozharsky’s “maneuver”, since in the end only Russian contenders – high-born princes – took part in the struggle for the royal throne. The leader of the notorious “Seven Boyars” Fyodor Mstislavsky compromised himself by collaborating with the Poles, Ivan Vorotynsky renounced his claim to the throne, Vasily Golitsyn was in Polish captivity, the militia leaders Dmitry Trubetskoy and Dmitry Pozharsky were not distinguished by nobility. But the new king must unite the country divided by the Troubles. The question was: how to give preference to one clan so that a new round of boyar civil strife does not begin?

Mikhail Fedorovich did not pass the first round

The candidacy of the Romanovs as the main contenders did not arise by chance: Mikhail Romanov was the nephew of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. Mikhail's father, Patriarch Filaret, was respected among the clergy and Cossacks. Boyar Fyodor Sheremetyev actively campaigned in favor of the candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich. He assured the obstinate boyars that Mikhail “is young and will be liked by us.” In other words, he will become their puppet. But the boyars did not allow themselves to be persuaded: in the preliminary voting, Mikhail Romanov’s candidacy did not receive the required number of votes.

No-show

When electing Romanov, a problem arose: the Council demanded that the young candidate come to Moscow. The Romanov party could not allow this: an inexperienced, timid, unskilled young man in intrigue would make an unfavorable impression on the Council delegates. Sheremetyev and his supporters had to show miracles of eloquence, proving how dangerous the path from the Kostroma village of Domnino, where Mikhail was, to Moscow was. Was it not then that the legend about the feat of Ivan Susanin, who saved the life of the future tsar, arose? After heated debates, the Romanovites managed to convince the Council to cancel the decision on Mikhail’s arrival.

Tightening

On February 7, 1613, the rather tired delegates announced a two-week break: “for a large strengthening, they postponed February from the 7th of February to the 21st.” Messengers were sent to the cities “to inquire into all sorts of people’s thoughts.” The voice of the people, of course, is the voice of God, but isn’t two weeks enough to monitor the public opinion of a large country? For example, it is not easy for a messenger to get to Siberia in two months. Most likely, the boyars were counting on the departure of Mikhail Romanov’s most active supporters – the Cossacks – from Moscow. The villagers, they say, will get bored of sitting idle in the city, and they will disperse. The Cossacks actually dispersed, so much so that the boyars didn’t think it was enough...

The role of Pozharsky

Let's return to Pozharsky and his lobbying of the Swedish pretender to the Russian throne. In the fall of 1612, militia captured a Swedish spy. Until January 1613, he languished in captivity, but shortly before the start of the Zemsky Sobor, Pozharsky freed the spy and sent him to Novgorod, occupied by the Swedes, with a letter to the commander Jacob Delagardie. In it, Pozharsky reports that both he himself and the majority of noble boyars want to see Karl Philip on the Russian throne. But, as subsequent events showed, Pozharsky misinformed the Swede. One of the first decisions of the Zemsky Sobor was that a foreigner should not be on the Russian throne; the sovereign should be elected “from Moscow families, God willing.” Was Pozharsky really so naive that he did not know the mood of the majority? Of course not. Prince Dmitry deliberately fooled Delagardie with “universal support” for the candidacy of Karl Philip in order to prevent Swedish interference in the election of the Tsar. The Russians had difficulty repelling the Polish onslaught; a campaign against Moscow by the Swedish army could also prove fatal.

Pozharsky’s “cover operation” was successful: the Swedes did not budge. That is why on February 20, Prince Dmitry, happily forgetting about the Swedish prince, suggested that the Zemsky Sobor elect a tsar from the Romanov family, and then put his signature on the conciliar document electing Mikhail Fedorovich. During the coronation of the new sovereign, Mikhail showed Pozharsky a high honor: the prince presented him with one of the symbols of power - the royal power. Modern political strategists can only envy such a competent PR move: the savior of the Fatherland hands over the power to the new tsar. Beautiful. Looking ahead, we note that until his death (1642) Pozharsky faithfully served Mikhail Fedorovich, taking advantage of his constant favor. It is unlikely that the tsar would have favored someone who wanted to see not him, but some Swedish prince on the Rurik throne.

Cossacks

The Cossacks played a special role in the election of the Tsar. A curious story about this is contained in “The Tale of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613.” It turns out that on February 21, the boyars decided to choose a tsar by casting lots, but the reliance on “maybe”, in which any forgery is possible, seriously angered the Cossacks. Cossack speakers tore to pieces the boyars’ “tricks” and solemnly proclaimed: “By God’s will, in the reigning city of Moscow and all Russia, let there be a Tsar, Sovereign and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich!” This cry was immediately picked up by Romanov supporters, not only in the Cathedral, but also among the large crowd of people in the square. It was the Cossacks who cut the “Gordian knot”, achieving the election of Mikhail. The unknown author of the “Tale” (surely an eyewitness to what was happening) does not spare any color when describing the reaction of the boyars: “The boyars at that time were possessed by fear and trembling, shaking, and their faces were changing with blood, and not a single one could utter anything.”

Only Mikhail’s uncle, Ivan Romanov, nicknamed Kasha, who for some reason did not want to see his nephew on the throne, tried to object: “Mikhailo Fedorovich is still young and not fully sane.” To which the Cossack wits objected: “But you, Ivan Nikitich, are old, full of reason... you will be a strong blow to him.” Mikhail did not forget his uncle’s assessment of his mental abilities and subsequently removed Ivan Kasha from all government affairs. The Cossack demarche came as a complete surprise to Dmitry Trubetskoy: “His face turned black, and he fell into illness, and lay for many days, without leaving his yard from the steep hill that the Cossacks depleted the treasury and their knowledge was flattering in words and deceit.” The prince can be understood: it was he, the leader of the Cossack militia, who counted on the support of his comrades, generously gave them “treasury” gifts - and suddenly they found themselves on Mikhail’s side. Perhaps the Romanov party paid more?

British recognition

On February 21 (March 3), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor made a historic decision: to elect Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom. The first country to recognize the new sovereign was England: in the same year, 1613, the embassy of John Metrick arrived in Moscow. Thus began the history of the second and last royal dynasty of Russia. It is significant that throughout his reign, Mikhail Fedorovich showed a special attitude towards the British. Thus, Mikhail Fedorovich restored relations with the British “Moscow Company” after the Time of Troubles, and although he curtailed the freedom of action of English merchants, he still put them on preferential terms not only with other foreigners, but also with representatives of Russian “big business”.

photo from wikimedia.org

February 27, 1549. The most despotic ruler, perhaps not only in Russian but also in world history, shows democratic initiative - he convenes a body that has become the prototype of parliament. It united representatives of almost all classes and became an important step towards the centralization of power. This was the first Zemsky Sobor of the Russian Empire.

Subsequently, for 135 years, he participated in resolving important political issues, including the election of kings and determining the line of succession to the throne. Without becoming a real Western-style parliament, it showed the originality of the Russian system of governance. Based on the experience of zemstvo councils, at different periods of the subsequent history of the state, thinkers proposed their own management schemes, and debates about their role in politics are still ongoing. How this governing body came into being, what were the prerequisites for its establishment, and, most importantly, what functions it was called upon to perform will be discussed in this article.

Convening of the first Zemsky Sobor: the date of the beginning of Russian parliamentarism

Why did the roots of Russian parliamentarism originate in 1549?

Before this, the history of the nascent state knew another form of self-government - the veche. This is where the beginnings of the practice of resolving the most important issues at a general meeting of representatives of the people lie. In fact, the veche was a kind of direct democracy. It existed in various forms in many cities, each of which had a specific procedure for its implementation. At first, private cases (controversial, judicial) were considered here, later - generally significant specific issues, including relations with neighbors. However, these “gatherings” were not regulated by law and developed on the basis of folk custom. They did not have a strict procedure: votes were not counted, decisions were made on the basis of expression of will by “calling out”. To achieve the necessary decision, it was enough to hire professional screamers. Mostly their services were used by boyars and major merchants. Often such meetings ended in mass brawls, and the archbishop had to calm the crowd.

The first Zemsky Sobor was convened in 1549. Both the founding and subsequent councils were seriously different from the veche. Their activities were more regulated; they resolved issues of national importance. Despite the fact that this body had many differences from the institutions of the estate-representative monarchy of European countries, it was the councils that are considered the first manifestation of Russian parliamentarism. But under what conditions did they originate? And why exactly did Ivan IV, known in world history as “The Terrible,” as the founder of the oprichnina and the source of terror against all segments of the population, establish an institution that inherently limits the absolute power of the monarch?

The First Zemsky Sobor of 1549: reasons and background

photo from rushist.com

1538 Grand Duchess of Moscow Elena Glinskaya dies. She was the first ruler of a unified Russian state. The princess was remembered for her reforms (in particular, monetary ones, which established a single currency on the territory of Russia), and the conclusion of an important peace with Poland. But it was even more remembered for its internecine confrontations, the lack of stable support among the boyars and people, as well as cruelty towards rivals in the struggle for state power.

After the death of Elena Glinskaya, the line of succession to the throne was continued by her sons, Ivan and Yuri. At the time of his mother’s death, the first was 8 years old, the second 6. Since none of the direct heirs could take power into their own hands, the boyars established patronage over the young princes. The period between the death of Glinskaya and the accession of the adult Ivan Vasilyevich was filled with a constant struggle for leadership.

In the history of the Moscow principality, there was already a boyar regency. Then in place of the little boys were Grand Duke Dmitry and his cousin Vladimir. Subsequently, they were nicknamed “Don” and “Brave,” but until they came of age, the state was ruled by a government consisting of boyars. The situations are similar, but the experience is different. If in the case of Prince Dmitry the boyars showed themselves to be real managers and, at the same time, were engaged in raising the future Grand Duke, then in relation to Ivan the Terrible the regents showed much less concern. It is not at all surprising that after Ivan matured, he began to consider the boyar class as illegal usurpers of his power.

The rule of representatives of the royal house was accompanied by constant struggle between clans. The main lines of confrontation ran between the Glinskys, Shuiskys, Belskys, and Vorontsovs. The people at the head of the state changed, the signature on official papers changed. Otherwise, each reign was accompanied by the same scenario: a coup, change of government, distribution of ranks and estates to relatives, persecution of rivals.

Limited monarchy in the Russian style

photo from the site slavyanskaya-kultura.ru

When we talk about the beginnings of Russian parliamentarism, limitation of power, class representation and other things typical of Western political practice, it is necessary to understand that all Russian institutions bore the imprint of originality and uniqueness. The same is true with regard to the institution of zemstvo representation.

This body became a step towards the formation of a new management system, which subsequently helped to overcome government crises more than once. Thus, during periods of interregnum and the absence of obvious contenders for the throne, it was this body that nominated the ruler and determined the new dynasty. The first tsar elected by the Zemsky Sobor was Tsarevich Feodor, the son of Ivan IV. Then the “electoral” staff met several more times, naming the kingdom of Boris Godunov and Mikhail Romanov. During the reign of the latter, the cathedrals ceased their history, but became a prototype for the formation of government bodies in the future.

Reasons for formation.
In the West, representative bodies were formed in response to the arbitrariness of autocratic power. As a rule, their establishment was a consequence of political and social struggle. As a result of the confrontation between the classes and the autocrat, a special political council was established, the main function of which was to restrain the power of the monarch and represent different interests. The initiative to establish these bodies came from the people, and the top only had to accept the new conditions of the game.
In Russia everything turned out differently. The body was established by the center itself, and its goal was far from limiting autocratic power. On the contrary, the estates were to become the basis for its strengthening.
Regulation of activities
If the Western-style parliament had a regulated system of representation and met at certain intervals, then in the Russian version it was convened at the behest of the tsar or as needed (determination of a new royal branch).
Functions
Traditionally, parliament belonged to the legislative branch of government. In Russia, he rarely performed this function. Zemsky councils of Ivan the Terrible approved a plan for reforming the country, and also adopted a new set of laws. However, this body cannot be called legislative in the full sense. Rather, he performed a sham function, agreeing with all the ruler’s proposals.
Members of the Zemsky Sobor
There was no representation as such. Members of the proto-parliament were not determined as a result of public choice, but were called up based on position and rank.

To summarize the above, the Zemsky Sobor was not a legislative, not a representative, but an advisory body of power. His role fell within the framework of providing support for the policies pursued by the tsar. The establishment of this body was a way of legitimizing the only strengthening monarchical power within the framework of a single state. The fate of the first parliament in the Russian style is quite clearly illustrated by the end of its history: the first tsar, elected by the Zemsky Sobor, abandoned it, building his own system of government. The era of the Romanovs began.

Finally

The first Zemsky Sobor was convened during the reign of Ivan IV and dates back to the very beginning of the reign of the young monarch. It seemed that he was striving to assert his power, complete the unification of lands, and build a new system of government. However, the further process showed that this gesture was a frame one - the new ruler pursued his own goals, which were far from organizing power in the likeness of Western countries. At the same time, the government body he established became a prototype for subsequent models of public administration.

The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 marked the end of the Time of Troubles and was supposed to bring order to the government of Russia. Let me remind you that after the death of Ivan 4 (the Terrible), the place on the throne was free, since the king did not leave behind heirs. That is why the Troubles occurred, when both internal forces and external representatives carried out endless attempts to seize power.

Reasons for convening the Zemsky Sobor

After the foreign invaders were expelled not only from Moscow, but also from Russia, Minin, Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent invitation letters to all parts of the country, calling on all representatives of the nobility to appear at the Council, where a new tsar would be elected.

The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 opened in January, and the following took part in it:

Clergy
Boyars
Nobles
City elders
Peasant representatives
Cossacks

In total, 700 people took part in the Zemsky Sobor.

Progress of the Council and its decisions

The first decision approved by the Zemsky Sobor was that the Tsar must be Russian. He should not relate to the Nostrians in any way.

Marina Mnishek intended to crown her son Ivan (whom historians often call “the little crow”), but after the Council’s decision that the tsar should not be a foreigner, she fled to Ryazan.
Historical reference

The events of those days must be considered from the point of view of the fact that there were a huge number of people wishing to take a place on the throne. Therefore, groups began to form that united, promoting their representative. There were several such groups:

Noble boyars. This included representatives of the boyar family. One part of them believed that Fyodor Mstislavsky or Vasily Golitsyn would be the ideal tsar for Russia. Others leaned towards the young Mikhail Romanov. The number of boyars was divided approximately equally by interests.
Nobles. These were also noble people with great authority. They promoted their “tsar” - Dmitry Trubetskoy. The difficulty was that Trubetskoy had the rank of “boyar,” which he had recently received in the Tushensky courtyard.
Cossacks. According to tradition, the Cossacks sided with the one who had the money. In particular, they actively served the Tushensky court, and after the latter was dispersed, they began to support the king, who was related to Tushin.

Mikhail Romanov's father, Filaret, was a patriarch in the Tushensky courtyard and was highly respected there. Largely due to this fact, Mikhail was supported by the Cossacks and the clergy.
Karamzin

Romanov did not have many rights to the throne. The more serious claim against him was that his father was on friendly terms with both False Dmitrys. The first False Dmitry made Philaret a metropolitan and his protege, and the second False Dmitry appointed him patriarch and his protege. That is, Mikhail’s father had very friendly relations with foreigners, whom they had just gotten rid of by decision of the Council of 1613 and decided not to call him to power again.

results

The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 ended on February 21 - Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar. Now it is difficult to reliably talk about all the subtleties of the events of those days, since not many documents have survived. Nevertheless, it is known for certain that the Council was surrounded by complex intrigues. This is not surprising - the stakes were too high. The fate of the country and entire ruling dynasties was being decided.

The result of the Council was that Mikhail Romanov, who at that time was only 16 years old, was elected to the throne. A clear answer: “Why exactly?” no one will give it. Historians say that this was the figure most convenient for all dynasties. Allegedly, young Mikhail was an extremely suggestible person and could be “controlled as needed by the majority.” In fact, all power (especially in the first years of Romanov’s reign) was not with the tsar himself, but with his father, Patriarch Filaret. It was he who actually ruled Russia on behalf of his son.

Feature and contradiction

The main feature of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was its mass character. Representatives of all classes and estates took part in deciding the future of the country, with the exception of slaves and rootless peasants. In fact, we are talking about an all-class Council, which has no analogues in the history of Russia.

The second feature is the importance of the decision and its complexity. There is no clear answer why Romanov was chosen. After all, this was not the most obvious candidate. The entire Council was marked by a large number of intrigues, attempts at bribery and other manipulations of people.

To summarize, we can say that the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was important for the history of Russia. He concentrated power in the hands of the Russian Tsar, laid the foundation of a new dynasty (the Romanovs) and saved the country from constant problems and claims to the throne from the Germans, Poles, Swedes and others.

First chosen king

Boris Godunov (1552-1605) did not belong to the Russian noble nobility. He was a descendant of the baptized Tatar Murza Chet, who came sometime in the 14th century. serve the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita. Boris Godunov began his service as a squire. He was responsible for the condition of the royal bow, his quiver and arrows. In the last years of the reign of Ivan IV, Boris was one of the noble courtiers. He was married to the daughter of the head of the guardsmen, Malyuta Skuratov, and soon became a relative of the royal family. His sister, the beautiful Irina, married (at the choice of Ivan IV) Tsarevich Fyodor Ivanovich.

After the death of Ivan IV in 1584, his sons became contenders for the Russian table: Fedor and two-year-old Dmitry. Two political groups hostile to each other immediately emerged. One, led by representatives of the ancient Velsky family, was for Dmitry, and the other, led by Boris Godunov, was for Fedor. Fedor will inherit the Russian throne. Under this new monarch, a sick, physically weak man who looked more like a humble monk (“faster” and “silent” - that’s how his contemporaries characterized him), Boris Godunov would actually become one of the rulers of Russia.

When Ivan IV died, Boris Godunov was thirty-two years old. He was handsome, smart, businesslike, according to some contemporaries, “light-hearted,” but also careful in his actions. He correctly understood the main problems of the state. Continuing the policy of Ivan IV, he abandoned the bloody repressions characteristic of the era of Ivan the Terrible. At the same time, he knew how to deftly eliminate his political opponents who tried to influence the weak-willed king. Metropolitan Dionysius, who showed dissatisfaction with Boris's behavior, was deposed. His place was taken by Rostov Archbishop Job. In 1589, the patriarchate was established in Russia. Metropolitan Job will become the first patriarch of Rus'.

However, many then realized that the new tsar would not be able to cope with the responsibilities of the head of state. His father understood this too. On the eve of his death, he tried to surround his son with people loyal to him and experienced in service. Among them was Fyodor’s uncle (the brother of his mother, Queen Anastasia), Nikita Romanovich Yuryev-Zakharyin, who, being close to Ivan IV, did not tarnish his name with any bad deeds - according to legend, he even interceded for those disgraced during the oprichnina period. He was respected by the boyars, which helped him restrain their aggressiveness in civil strife.

Yuriev-Zakharyin died a year after Fyodor Ivanovich’s accession to the throne. The struggle for the possibility of influencing the king immediately became noticeable. The princes Shuisky and Mstislavsky were especially active. Soon Boris got rid of these rivals: they were sent to distant prisons and monasteries.

Boris was friendly with the sons of Nikita Romanovich - with the young Romanovs (as Nikita's sons began to be called - after their grandfather). Before his death, Yuriev-Zakharyin took an oath from Godunov that he would be a caring protector of his sons.

Godunov's power increased more and more. He had already become the tsar’s “domestic governor,” “the governor of the kingdoms of Kazan and Astrakhan.” Even foreign guests then understood that it was not Fyodor Ivanovich, but Boris Godunov who ruled the state. A significant part of the princely-boyar elite will be dissatisfied with the rise of Boris.

Tsar Fedor had no children (his only daughter died in infancy); after his death, his younger brother Tsarevich Dmitry could become the heir to the table. He was the son of Ivan IV and his last wife Maria Nagaya.

There was no special respect for the Dowager Maria Nagoy and her relatives in the royal circle, although Fyodor Ivanovich treated Dmitry with tenderness. Maria and her son lived not in the capital, but in the city of Uglich, which Ivan IV gave as an inheritance to Dmitry. This youngest son of the king was also very sick. Dmitry was 7 years old when, in 1591, news arrived in Moscow that on May 15 he had died, in today’s expression, “from a stab wound in the neck.”

After the ringing of the Uglich bells, which notified the people of the tragedy, the people of Uglich immediately decided that the culprits of this terrible event were Boris Bityagovsky, Kochalov and their comrades assigned to the prince, who were killed without waiting for an investigation.

A commission of inquiry was sent to Uglich, which actively became involved in the responsible work entrusted to it. Interrogations of witnesses to the incident and those who were the first to hear about it, who rang the bells and who ordered it, who participated in the murder of those suspected of an attempt on the life of the prince were carried out with the use of torture, as was then expected. As a result, it was concluded that the prince “stabbed himself with a knife” during another seizure of epilepsy. The commission included Metropolitan Gelasius of Krutitsky, Prince Vasily Shuisky, recently returned from exile, and his relative Okolnichy Kleshnin. The Boyar Duma agreed with the conclusions of the commission, and the Uglich residents, guilty of arbitrariness and death, were severely punished.

In 1598, Tsar Fedor died - the last of the Kalita family, from the Rurik dynasty, which ruled the Russian state for more than seven hundred years. Queen Irina was offered to become the head of state, but she refused and went to a monastery. The Zemsky Sobor, with the blessing of Patriarch Job, elected Boris Godunov to the kingdom. He is the first elected Tsar in Russia.

The Zemsky Sobor, at which Boris Godunov was elected, differed from previous Councils in that it was composed not of special persons chosen from various classes of the Russian state, as was the case before, but of those persons who stood at the head of these classes (by election or as directed). At the Council there were a considerable number of people who were personally indebted to Boris. But these facts began to be noticed much later.

Boris Godunov's crowning of the kingdom took place on September 1 - the first day of the new year, 1598. Then the new year in Russia, right up to the time of Peter I, began not in January, but in September.

Boris Godunov began his political activity under Fyodor successfully. He was able to repel the invasion of Khan Kazy-Girey. In honor of this event, the Donskoy Monastery was built in Moscow. The war with Sweden ended with the return to Russia of the cities of Yam, Ivan Gorod, etc., but Ivan IV did not succeed in this. Godunov founded the Arkhangelsk pier on the White Sea - from then on foreign ships could come there. He contributed to the development of Siberia: he gave benefits to settlers in these new, uninhabited areas of the country. Under him, the cities of Tobolsk, Berezov and others were built there. Cities in the Volga region: Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, Ufa were also built under Boris.

Boris Godunov understood the need for further development of education in the country. He sent young people to study abroad and invited foreign specialists. He even wanted to open schools, even perhaps a university, where foreign languages would be taught, but the clergy did not approve of this plan. Obviously, it was afraid of the penetration of the ideas of Catholicism and Protestantism into Orthodox Russia.

Receiving the blessing of the patriarch during the wedding in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Boris said: “God is my witness that there will be no beggar in my kingdom, I will share my last shirt with the people.” And indeed, he gave generously to the poor. During his lifetime he was even called a “beggar lover.” There is an assumption that Boris Godunov was preparing a decree according to which the size of the peasants' duties was to be determined and thereby put an end to their limitless exploitation.

But difficulties became increasingly apparent that were difficult to overcome during Boris’s seven-year reign. Many historians believe that the country's economy was negatively affected by the domestic and foreign policies of Ivan IV. And this was argued by the fact that during the oprichnina, not only in war, but also in peaceful life, as a result of forced relocations, families lost their breadwinners, close relatives, and friends. There were also huge material losses. But there is also the exact opposite opinion: under Ivan IV, the economic and political position of Russia strengthened. The lean years of the beginning of the century greatly complicated the situation in the country and were one of the main economic reasons for the ripening Troubles. This is noted in all sources of that time. Hunger, disease, and epidemics began.

Tsar Boris was active in the fight against hunger. He tried to feed the hungry for free, but there was not enough bread for everyone at the expense of the royal treasury. He tried to give work to everyone who wanted it, but the money they received was not enough to buy the required amount of bread. People were dying of hunger. In addition, the process of enslaving the peasants continued after the death of Ivan the Terrible. All this worsened the life of the people and also became the nutritional basis for the Troubles, one of its sources.

“Boris was one of those unfortunate people who both attracted and repelled, attracted with visible qualities of intelligence and talent, repelled with invisible but felt shortcomings of heart and conscience. He knew how to evoke surprise and gratitude, but did not inspire confidence in anyone; he was always suspected of duplicity and deceit and was considered capable of anything... This “slave tsar”, a tsar of slaves, seemed to them a mysterious mixture of good and evil...” - this is how historian V. O. Klyuchevsky characterized the first elected Russian Tsar Boris Godunov .