He became the first tsar on Russian soil. Who was the first Russian tsar in Rus'

That seems to be a simple question, but you won’t immediately remember who was the first king. For me the king is the ruler. But there were many rulers. And Vladimir the Red Sun, Oleg, and so on. But I read the history in more detail and found out something. I will tell you about this.

First Tsar of All Rus'

It turned out that earlier in Rus' the rulers were called grand dukes, there was no title king. Whereas in other countries the titles tsar, king, emperor were used with might and main and meant autocratic power. Our princes were perceived as princes or as dukes. The urgent need for a "king" appeared in the 16th century, when Prince Ivan IV was embroiled in a struggle for power. Ivan was the son of Vasily III, the direct heir. When he was three years old, his father died, the mother became the guardian of the boy, but she also died five years later. The boyars Shuisky and Belsky became guardians. A fierce struggle broke out between them. boy from an early age observed violence, cruelty, intrigue, deceit. This is what led to the fact that he became distrustful, bitter, and already then decided to become a king, to have unlimited power.

At the age of 16 Ivan who was later named Grozny, was crowned the kingdom of all Rus'. It was also beneficial for the clergy at that time to appoint a king, as this helped to strengthen Orthodox Church in the country. So Ivan the Terrible became the first tsar.

The reign of Ivan the Terrible

About this historical personality there are many legends. But his very nickname suggests that he had a cool, wayward and even violent temper. He was characteristic outbursts of aggression, at the time of one of which he killed his son.

But what did he do for Russia? Here are his main accomplishments:

But the worst thing that happened under Ivan the Terrible was his oprichnina army, which long years robbed and killed people. The people were afraid andhated the king.

The first Russian Tsar Ivan IV was born in August 1530 and was the heir to the Great Moscow Prince Vladimir III. Vladimir himself came from the Rurik dynasty, their Moscow branch. Ivan's mother, Elena, was a Lithuanian princess from the Glinsky family, originating from the temnik of the Golden Horde, the cruel and cunning Mamai.

When the future tsar was only three years old, Prince Vladimir died, and five years later his mother, Elena Glinskaya, also died. The boy was left a complete orphan and was given to the upbringing of guardians - the boyars, between whom there was a constant struggle for influence on the fragile soul of the child.

The atmosphere of intrigue, meanness and deceit in which Ivan grew up had a strong influence on the development of his character and largely shaped the further policy of government.

It was not for nothing that Ivan IV subsequently received the terrifying nickname the Terrible or the Bloody Tsar. The reign of Ivan the Terrible was truly bloody and cruel. He was a despotic, tough ruler, who in all his decisions was guided solely by his own interests, achieving his goal at any cost.

The fact that already at the age of 13 Ivan rebelled against the boyars and ordered Andrei Shuisky to be torn to pieces by dogs can serve as confirmation of the strong will and authority of the future ruler of Rus'. In the future, Grozny confirmed his nickname more than once, ruthlessly eliminating rivals, arranging demonstrative executions and not having leniency even towards close people.

At the same time, Ivan the Terrible was remembered by contemporaries not only for his stormy and quick-tempered disposition, quick to reprisal. He was one of the most educated people of that time. He wrote music, compiled numerous literary "messages", contributed to the emergence of book publishing, and he himself owned one of best libraries in Europe, had a deep knowledge of theology and had a phenomenal memory.

The king died in 1584 at the age of only 54 years. According to some sources, in last years The life of Ivan IV was paralyzed, the cause of which was a disease of the spine.

The year of the wedding to the kingdom of the first Russian tsar

The most important result of the reign of Ivan the Terrible is the introduction of sole rule and the adoption of the royal title. The concept of the very first kings is associated with Byzantine culture and comes from the Roman "Caesar".

Note! In the history of Rus', Ivan the Terrible is the first to be named tsar. Until 1547, all Russian rulers were called princes.

When Ivan was 17 years old, he was officially introduced into the status of autocrat, although he nominally played the role of the ruler of the state since three years, after the death of his father - Prince Vladimir III.

The year of the wedding is 1547, the date is January 25. The procedure was carried out in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

During this solemn action, the symbols of royal power were entrusted to the young prince:

• Cross of the Life-Giving Tree.
• Barma - a sacred garment covering the shoulders, inlaid precious stones and painted with drawings on religious themes.
• Monomakh's cap is a symbol of autocracy and the main regalia of Russian princes, decorated with gold and jewels.

After that, the future tsar accepted the "anointing" and became the recognized ruler of all Rus'.

What gave the state the proclamation of royal power?

Entry into power by Ivan the Terrible was carried out in violation of generally accepted norms. The ceremony of "crowning the kingdom" was performed by the Russian Metropolitan Macarius, while according to the established canons, the Pope of Rome or the Patriarch of Constantinople should have done this.

This was the reason that the legitimacy of the title was denied by other states for several years. But already in 1561, Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople signed a Council Charter confirming the correctness of the new status of the monarch.

The royal title radically changed the position of the state in diplomatic relations:

• He equated the authority of Ivan the Terrible with the most significant figure in the political arena of those years - the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
• Countries Western Europe unconditionally recognized the growing influence of Rus' as a developing and strong world power.

Note! The Polish-Lithuanian state for a long time refused to accept the legitimacy of the coronation and, during the 16th century, did not recognize the title of autocrat.

The results of the reign of Ivan the Terrible

It should be noted that it was during the reign of Ivan the Terrible in Rus' that an unprecedented rise was felt in many areas.

The changes that took place over the almost forty-year period of the reign of Ivan IV, in many respects strengthened the role of the Russian state at the international level, and innovative changes were made in the internal course of the country:

1. Thanks to the policy of centralized power pursued by Ivan the Terrible, a strong and effective authority appeared, which made it possible to strengthen the internal positions of the state and raise international prestige.
2. The territory of the Moscow State expanded - the Astrakhan and Kazan Khanates were annexed.
3. Thanks to Yermak's campaign, the development of Siberian lands began.
4. Publishing has developed.

In addition, a large number of reforms were carried out in the Russian kingdom:

• In 1550, changes were made to the Sudebnik, the main collection of laws of that period. They eliminated the privileges of the princes and expanded the rights of the state judiciary.
• Amendments have been made to the taxation system.
• The number and combat effectiveness of the Russian army increased.
• The influence of the monasteries was weakened and their funding reduced.
• A monetary reform was carried out, the result of which was the creation of a unified payment system of the state.

Note! After financial transformations, new chased forms came into use, on which a horseman with a spear was depicted. It was these coins that the people got the name "penny", which we use to this day.

Wives and children of Ivan the Terrible

The first wife of Ivan IV was Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva, the wedding with which took place a month after the coronation of the tsar - on February 13, 1547. This marriage was long, it lasted more than 13 years, until the death of Anastasia.

After that, the Russian tsar repeatedly started new family, among other things, having numerous illegal connections.

The fate of the other wives with whom Ivan the Terrible lived between these three marriages was tragic:

• Martha Sobakina - died two weeks after the wedding.
• Anna Koltovskaya - forcibly exiled to a monastery.
• Anna Vasilchikova was tonsured a nun against her will.
• Vasilisa Melentyeva - concubine, fate unknown.

Fyodor I Ioannovich, who ascended the throne after the death of his father, was the last of the dynasty of Moscow tsars - Rurikovich. After that, in 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich from the Romanov family became the Russian Tsar.

Disputes about the identity of the first Russian tsar have been going on for the next five centuries after his reign. At the end of the 20th century, the question of canonizing his image was even raised.

But the Orthodox Church opposed this idea, considering the figure of Ivan the Terrible too controversial and odious, which became an obstacle to conferring a holy rank on him.

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In his seventeenth year of life, on December 13, 1546, Ivan announced to the Metropolitan that he wanted to marry. The next day, the metropolitan served a prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral, invited all the boyars, even the disgraced ones, and went with everyone to the Grand Duke. Ivan told Macarius: “At first I thought to marry in foreign countries with some king or tsar; But then I left this thought, I don’t want to marry in foreign countries, because after my father and mother I remained small; if I bring myself a wife from a foreign land and we do not agree in morals, then there will be a bad life between us; therefore I want to marry in my state, whom God will bless according to your blessing. Metropolitan and boyars, says the chronicler; they wept with joy, seeing that the sovereign was so young, and meanwhile he did not consult with anyone.

But young Ivan immediately surprised them with yet another speech. “With the blessing of the metropolitan father and from your boyar council, I want to look for ancestral ranks before my marriage, as our forefathers, tsars and great princes, and our relative Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, sat down on the kingdom and on the great reign; and I also want to fulfill this rank to the kingdom, to sit on the great reign. The boyars were delighted, although - as can be seen from Kurbsky's "letters - some were not very happy that the sixteen-year-old Grand Duke wished to take the title, which neither his father nor his grandfather dared to accept - the title of king. On January 16, 1547, a royal wedding was performed, similar to the wedding of Dmitry the grandson under Ivan III. Anastasia, the daughter of the late roundabout Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Koshkin, was chosen as the bride for the tsar. Contemporaries, depicting the properties of Anastasia, attribute to her all the feminine virtues for which they only found names in the Russian language: chastity, humility, piety, sensitivity, goodness, not to mention beauty, combined with a solid mind.

THE START WAS GOOD

BY GOD'S MERCY, KING

His Holiness Emperor Maximalian, due to many motives, especially at the insistence of the ambassadors of the Moscow sovereign, gave him the following title: Kazan and Astrakhan, our only friend and brother.

But he himself usually uses the following title in his letters sent to foreign sovereigns; this title all his subjects should keep in mind in the most careful way, as daily prayers: “By the grace of God, sovereign, tsar and grand duke Ivan Vasilievich of all Russia, Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, tsar of Kazan, tsar of Astrakhan, sovereign of Pskov, grand prince of Smolensk , Tver, Yugorsk, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgar, Novgorod Nizhnyago, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondinsky and all the Siberian and northern lands, from the beginning the hereditary sovereign of Livonia and many other countries. To this title he often adds the name of the monarch, which in Russian, which is very happy in composition, is very aptly translated by the word Samoderzetz, so to speak, who alone holds control. The motto of the Grand Duke John Vasilyevich was: "I am subject to no one, but only to Christ, the Son of God."

STAIRS WITH GOLDEN STEPS

Unlike Byzantium, in Russia, a rule was established according to which it is the representative of an exceptional family who becomes the anointed of God, the very origin of which is connected with the secret destinies of the whole world (the Ruriks were perceived as the last and only legitimate monarchical dynasty, the ancestor of which, Augustus, lived at the time of the incarnation of God and ruled in that era when "the Lord wrote himself into the Roman authorities," that is, he was entered in the census as a Roman subject). Since that time, the history of the indestructible Roman kingdom begins, which changed its place of residence several times, Muscovite Rus' becomes its last receptacle on the eve of the Last Judgment. It is the sovereigns of this kingdom that will become those who spiritually prepare their people for " end times when the people of Rus', the New Israel, will be able to become citizens of Heavenly Jerusalem. This is evidenced, in particular, by the most important monument historical narrative the era of the Terrible, the “Book of Powers”, in which the soul-saving mission of the Moscow kingdom and its rulers was especially emphasized: the history of the Rurik family was likened there to a staircase with golden steps (“golden degrees”) leading to heaven, “by it, the ascent to God is not forbidden to affirm itself and those that are after them.”

Therefore, Tsar Ivan said in 1577: "God gives power, he wants it." This meant a reminiscence from the book of the prophet Daniel, widespread in ancient Russian writing, who warned Tsar Belshazzar about inevitable retribution. But Ivan the Terrible cited these words to substantiate the idea of ​​the hereditary rights of Moscow sovereigns, which is confirmed by the context of the Second Epistle of Ivan IV to A.M. Kurbsky. The tsar accuses Archpriest Sylvester and other "enemies" of the throne of attempting to usurp power and notes that only born rulers can have the fullness of the God-given "autocracy".

GROZNY ABOUT TSAR AUTHORITY

How could you not understand this, that the ruler should neither be atrocious, nor silently humble himself? The apostle said: “Be merciful to some, distinguishing them, but save others with fear, pulling them out of the fire.” Do you see that the apostle commands to save by fear? Even in the days of the most pious kings, there are many instances of the most severe punishments. Do you, in your insane mind, believe that a king should always act the same, regardless of time and circumstances? Should robbers and thieves not be executed? But the cunning plans of these criminals are even more dangerous! Then all the kingdoms will fall apart from disorder and internecine strife. What should the ruler do, how not to disassemble the disagreements of his subjects?<...>

Is it “against reason” - to conform to circumstances and time? Remember the greatest of kings, Constantine: how he, for the sake of the kingdom, killed his son, born to him! And Prince Fyodor Rostislavich, your ancestor, how much blood he shed in Smolensk during Easter! But they are counted among the saints.<...>For kings should always be prudent: sometimes meek, sometimes cruel, the good - mercy and meekness, the evil - cruelty and torment, but if this is not the case, then he is not a king. The king is terrible not for good deeds, but for evil. If you want not to be afraid of power, then do good; but if you do evil, be afraid, for the king does not carry a sword in vain - to frighten the evildoers and encourage the virtuous. If you are good and righteous, then why, seeing how a fire flared up in the royal council, did not extinguish it, but kindled it even more? Where you should have destroyed the villainous plan with reasonable advice, there you sowed more tares. And the prophetic word came true on you: “You have kindled a fire and walk in the flame of your fire, which you kindled on yourselves.” Are you not like Judas the traitor? Just as he, for the sake of money, was furious with the lord of all and gave him to be killed, being among his disciples, and having fun with the Jews, so you, living with us, ate our bread and promised to serve us, but in your soul accumulated anger at us. So you kept the kiss of the cross to wish us well in everything without any cunning? What can be meaner than your insidious intent? As the wise one said: “There is no head worse than the head of a snake,” and there is no anger worse than yours.<...>

Do you really see pious beauty where the kingdom is in the hands of an ignorant priest and villainous traitors, and the king obeys them? And this, in your opinion, is “against reason and a leper conscience”, when the ignoramus is forced to remain silent, the villains are repulsed and the king appointed by God reigns? You will not find anywhere that the kingdom led by the priests is not ruined. What did you want - what happened to the Greeks, who destroyed the kingdom and surrendered to the Turks? Is this what you advise us? So let this doom fall on your head!<...>

Is it really a light when the priest and crafty slaves rule, while the tsar is a tsar only in name and honor, and in power is not at all better than a slave? And is it really darkness - when the king rules and owns the kingdom, and the slaves carry out orders? Why, then, is he called an autocrat, if he himself does not govern?<...>

He lived a great and tragic life. Everyone knows his name, but the real events are often hidden or distorted by ill-wishers and not very honest historians. The name of the first Russian Tsar is Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Grozny).

Since ancient times, the highest title of the ruler in Rus' was considered "prince". After the unification of the Russian principalities under the rule of Kyiv, the title of "Grand Duke" became the highest rank of the ruler.

The title "king" was worn by the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople. In 1453, Constantinople fell under the blows of the Turks, and shortly before that, Greek Orthodoxy concluded the Union of Florence with Catholic Rome. In this regard, the last Greek metropolitan was expelled from the Moscow cathedra, which proclaimed itself independent from Byzantium. The new metropolitans were chosen from natural hares.

Muscovite Rus', unlike Byzantium, was united, expanded and strengthened by the efforts of the great princes, including the father of Ivan IV, and then by himself. The great Moscow princes began to call themselves "sovereigns of all Rus'" and gradually accustom foreign diplomats and their subjects to the idea that their state is not a backyard, but the center of a true Christian world, not subject to apostate unions. The idea of ​​Moscow as the third Rome, which is the heir of non-Uniate Byzantium, both in politics and in faith, appears and strengthens in the mind, about the special purpose of Rus'.

In addition to all of the above, the title "Grand Duke" in Europe was perceived as "prince" or "duke" and, accordingly, as a vassal or subordinate of the emperor.

The title "king" put the "sovereign of all Rus'" on the same level with the only emperor at that time - the emperor of the Roman Empire, to whom all European kings nominally obeyed.

They crowned Ivan IV in 1547, at the age of 17. The boyar elite, who ruled the country at that time, hoped that the tsar would remain a puppet in their hands and an official sign of the state.

The official recognition by Europe of the royal title for the Moscow sovereign occurred in 1561, when the eastern patriarch Joasaph confirmed it with his letter. Some states, for example, England and Sweden, recognized the title of the Russian Tsar before the Patriarch.

Truth and slander

The events of the life of the first crowned Russian Tsar for many hundreds of years were openly slanderous insinuations on the part of enemies, traitors and those who wrote official history. One of their main postulates is that "all the undertakings of the king ended in failure." However, among the significant reforms of Ivan IV indisputable, and received further development, are:

Contrary to popular belief, Ivan the Terrible left behind a more developed country than he inherited. The ruin of the country is due to another boyar turmoil that occurred after the death of the king.

Most of the "knowledge" about history people get from school textbooks, feature films, books and media, which without a twinge of conscience repeat established myths. Here are some of them about Ivan the Terrible:

far from unambiguous, as well as the time in which he lived. Power is a burden to be borne, and the better this is done, the more opposition there will be. This happened to Ivan IV when he "modernized" the country. So it is with his legacy over the centuries, when his deeds are slinged in the mud.

Although each of us studied the history of Russia at school, not everyone knows who was the first tsar in Rus'. This high-profile title in 1547 began to be called Ivan IV Vasilyevich, nicknamed Terrible for his difficult character, cruelty and tough temper. Before him, all the rulers in the Russian lands were grand dukes. After Ivan the Terrible became tsar, our state began to be called the Russian kingdom instead of the Moscow principality.

Grand Duke and Tsar: what's the difference?

Having dealt with the one who was first named the king of all Rus', you should find out why a new title became necessary. towards the middle XVI century the lands of the Moscow principality occupied 2.8 thousand square kilometers. It was a huge state, stretching from the Smolensk region in the west to the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod districts in the east, from the Kaluga lands in the south to the Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Finland in the north. About 9 million people lived on such a vast territory. Muscovite Rus (that is how the principality was called) was a centralized state in which all regions were subordinate to the Grand Duke, that is, Ivan IV.

TO XVI century ceased to exist Byzantine Empire. Grozny nurtured the idea of ​​becoming the patron of everything Orthodox world, and for this he needed to strengthen the authority of his state at the international level. Title change in this issue played an important role. In the countries of Western Europe, the word “king” was translated as “emperor” or left untouched, while “prince” was associated with a duke or prince, which was one level lower.

The childhood of the sovereign

Knowing who became the first tsar in Rus', it will be interesting to get acquainted with the biography of this person. Ivan the Terrible was born in 1530. His parents were Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III and Princess Elena Glinskaya. The future ruler of the Russian lands was orphaned early. When he was 3 years old, his father died. Since Ivan was the only heir to the throne (his younger brother Yuri was born mentally retarded and could not lead the Moscow principality), the rule of the Russian lands passed to him. It happened in 1533. The actual ruler with a young son for some time was his mother, but in 1538 she also died (according to rumors, she was poisoned). Completely orphaned by the age of eight, the future first tsar in Rus' grew up among the boyar guardians Belsky and Shuisky, who were not interested in anything but power. Growing up in an atmosphere of hypocrisy and meanness, from childhood he did not trust others and expected a dirty trick from everyone.

Adoption of a new title and marriage

At the beginning of 1547, Grozny announced his intention to marry the kingdom. On January 16 of the same year, he was given the title of Tsar of all Rus'. The crown was placed on the head of the ruler by Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow - a man who enjoys authority in society and has young Ivan special influence. The solemn wedding took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.

Being a 17-year-old boy, the newly-made king decided to marry. In search of a bride, dignitaries traveled all over the Russian lands. Ivan the Terrible selected his wife from one and a half thousand applicants. Most of all, he liked the young Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva. She conquered Ivan not only with her beauty, but also with her intelligence, chastity, piety, and calm character. Metropolitan Macarius, who crowned Grozny to the kingdom, approved the choice and married the newlyweds. Subsequently, the king had other spouses, but Anastasia was the most beloved of all of them for him.

Moscow uprising

In the summer of 1547, a strong fire broke out in the capital, which could not be extinguished for 2 days. About 4 thousand people became its victims. Rumors spread throughout the city that the relatives of the Tsar Glinsky had set fire to the capital. An angry crowd of people went to the Kremlin. The houses of the Glinsky princes were plundered. The result of popular unrest was the murder of one of the members of this noble family - Yuri. After that, the rebels came to the village of Vorobyovo, where the young tsar was hiding from them, and demanded that all the Glinskys be handed over to them. The rebels were hardly managed to calm down and send back to Moscow. After the uprising waned, Ivan the Terrible ordered the execution of its organizers.

The beginning of the reform of the state

The Moscow uprising spread to other Russian cities. Before Ivan IV, it became necessary to carry out reforms aimed at restoring order in the country and strengthening his autocracy. For these purposes, in 1549, the tsar created the Elected Rada - a new government group, which included people loyal to him (Metropolitan Macarius, priest Sylvester, A. Adashev, A. Kurbsky and others).

This period includes the beginning of the active reformatory activity of Ivan the Terrible, aimed at centralizing his power. To manage various industries public life the first tsar in Rus' created numerous orders and huts. So, foreign policy Russian state led by the Ambassadorial order, headed by I. Viskovity for two decades. Receive applications, petitions and complaints from ordinary people, as well as to conduct investigations on them, the petition hut, which was under the control of A. Adashev, was obliged. The fight against crime was assigned to the Rogue Order. He performed the functions of the modern police. Metropolitan life was regulated by the Zemsky order.

In 1550, Ivan IV published a new "Sudebnik", in which all existing in the Russian kingdom were systematized and edited legislative acts. When compiling it, the changes that have taken place in the life of the state over the past half century were taken into account. The document for the first time introduced punishment for bribery. Prior to this, Muscovite Rus' lived according to the Sudebnik of 1497, the laws of which by the middle of the 16th century were noticeably outdated.

Church and military policy

Under Ivan the Terrible, the influence of the Orthodox Church increased significantly, and the life of the clergy improved. This was facilitated by the Stoglavy Cathedral convened in 1551. The provisions adopted on it contributed to the centralization of church power.

In 1555-1556, the first tsar in Rus', Ivan the Terrible, together with the Chosen Rada, developed the "Code of Service", which contributed to an increase in the number Russian army. In accordance with this document, each feudal lord was obliged to field a certain number of soldiers with horses and weapons from their lands. If the landowner supplied the tsar with soldiers in excess of the norm, he was encouraged with a monetary reward. In the event that the feudal lord could not provide the required number of soldiers, he paid a fine. The Code of Service helped to improve the combat capability of the army, which was important in the context of Ivan the Terrible's active foreign policy.

Territory expansion

During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the conquest of neighboring lands was actively carried out. In 1552, the Kazan Khanate was added to the Russian state, and in 1556, the Astrakhan Khanate. In addition to this, the king's possessions expanded due to the conquest of the Volga region and the western part of the Urals. The dependence on the Russian lands was recognized by the Kabardian and Nogai rulers. Under the first Russian tsar, an active annexation of Western Siberia began.

During 1558-1583, Ivan IV waged the Livonian War for Russia's access to the shores of the Baltic Sea. The beginning of hostilities was successful for the king. In 1560, Russian troops managed to completely defeat the Livonian Order. However, the successfully launched war dragged on for many years, led to a deterioration in the situation inside the country and ended in complete defeat for Russia. The king began to look for those responsible for his failures, which led to massive disgraces and executions.

Break with the Chosen Rada, oprichnina

Adashev, Sylvester and other figures Chosen Rada did not support the aggressive policy of Ivan the Terrible. In 1560, they opposed the conduct of the Livonian War by Russia, for which they aroused the wrath of the ruler. The first tsar in Rus' dispersed the Rada. Its members were persecuted. Ivan the Terrible, who does not tolerate dissent, thought about establishing a dictatorship on the lands subject to him. To do this, from 1565 he began to pursue a policy of oprichnina. Its essence was the confiscation and redistribution of boyar and princely lands in favor of the state. This policy was accompanied by mass arrests and executions. Its result was the weakening of the local nobility and the strengthening of the power of the king against this background. Oprichnina lasted until 1572 and was terminated after the devastating invasion of Moscow by the Crimean troops led by Khan Devlet Giray.

The policy pursued by the first tsar in Rus' led to a strong weakening of the country's economy, the devastation of lands, and the ruin of estates. By the end of his reign, Ivan the Terrible abandoned execution as a way to punish the guilty. In his will of 1579, he repented of his cruelty towards his subjects.

Wives and children of the king

Ivan the Terrible married 7 times. In total, he had 8 children, 6 of whom died in childhood. The first wife, Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva, presented the tsar with 6 heirs, of which only two survived to adulthood - Ivan and Fedor. The son of Vasily was born to the sovereign by the second wife Maria Temryukovna. He died at 2 months old. The last child (Dmitry) to Ivan the Terrible was born by his seventh wife, Maria Nagaya. The boy was destined to live only 8 years.

The first Russian tsar in Rus' killed the adult son of Ivan Ivanovich in 1582 in a fit of anger, so Fedor turned out to be the only heir to the throne. It was he who headed the throne after the death of his father.

Death

Ivan the Terrible ruled the Russian state until 1584. In the last years of his life, osteophytes made it difficult for him to walk independently. Lack of movement, nervousness, unhealthy image life led to the fact that at 50 years old the ruler looked like an old man. In early 1584, his body began to swell and give off a foul odor. Doctors called the sovereign's illness "blood corruption" and predicted his quick death. Grozny died on March 18, 1584, while playing chess with Boris Godunov. Thus ended the life of the one who was the first tsar in Rus'. Rumors persisted in Moscow that Ivan IV had been poisoned by Godunov and his accomplices. After the death of the king, the throne went to his son Fedor. In fact, Boris Godunov became the ruler of the country.