87. JUDEBNIK OF THE GRAND DUKE IVAN III (1497) The Sudebnik of 1497, in contrast to the second Sudebnik of 1550, is called the first or Grand Duke's. In the original, the Sudebnik of Ivan III is divided into cinnabar (red) headings into 36 articles, but for educational purposes the division of the Sudebnik into

On September 3, 1530, Ivan IV the Terrible was born. It was this Moscow Grand Duke who was the first to take the title of Tsar of All Rus', thereby putting the authority of the Russian state on a par with other leading European states. Ivan the Terrible carried out judicial, military, church and other reforms, created a regular army, did not lose a single battle, did a lot for printing.

Today our consciousness has become a battlefield of two myths: the Black Myth about Russia and the Bright Myth about the West.

Myth is a formidable ideological weapon. The ancient Chinese commander, philosopher of war Sun Tzu said: « The one who wins without a fight knows how to fight. He knows how to fight who captures fortresses without a siege. The one who crushes the state without an army knows how to fight" He spoke of the power of the Myth.

The history of any nation, its spiritual health, its faith in itself and its strength is always based on certain myths, and it is these myths that become the living flesh and blood of the people, their assessment of their significant place in the universe. Today our consciousness has become a battlefield for the ideas of two myths: the Black Myth about Russia and the Bright Myth about the West.

Majority Western European historians, publicists, writers, etc. considers the Russian Tsar Ivan IV as an "unprecedented" tyrant, despot, cruel executioner.

Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, having inherited only the Moscow and Novgorod regions, created from them a large Russia with its modern (European) borders and founded at least a quarter of the existing cities. It was he who abolished feudalism in Rus', legally equating ordinary peasants with noble princes, it was he who introduced universal election to local legislative and executive bodies, it was he who guaranteed representation to all segments of the population in the highest legislative and deliberative body of the state - the Zemsky Sobor.

After his death, Ivan IV the Terrible left his heirs a rich, well-fed and vast state with the most powerful army in the world and a full treasury.

It would be absurd to dispute that Ivan IV - years board: 1547-1574, 1576-1584 - was a strong-willed, tough ruler. The historian Skrynnikov, who devoted several decades to studying his era, proves that under Ivan IV the Terrible, “mass terror” was carried out in Russia, and During the 35 years of his reign, King John destroyed about 4 thousand people (about 100 people a year!)

But let's ask a question: "Who are the judges?" Western European historians, by order of the kings, denigrate the history of Russia. WITH how many people were sent to the other world by the Western European contemporaries of Ivan the Terrible: Spanish kings Charles V and Philip II, King Henry VIII of England and french king Charles IX?

It turns out that the "good" Western European rulers executed in the most cruel way hundreds of thousands of people. For example, contemporaries of Ivan the Terrible - from 1547 to 1584 (for 37 years) in the Netherlands, under the rule of the Spanish king Charles V and Philip II, thousands of citizens were executed in the Middle Ages, "the number of victims ... reached 100 thousand", of them was "burned alive 28,540 people."

French King Charles IX August 23, 1572 took an active "personal" part in the brutal massacre Bartholomew night during which it was cruel killed "more than 3 thousand Huguenots" just because they were Protestants and not Catholics; Thus, in one night of "long knives" in France about the same number of people were destroyed as in 35 years - all the time of the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible!

« Bartholomew night continued in France, and the killing of Protestants continued throughout the country— “generally died then during two weeks about 30 thousand Protestants”. In England, the "good" king Henry VIII ordered the citizens of his country to be hanged for "vagrancy" and poverty, and soon along the main roads of the country "72 thousand vagabonds and beggars were hanged." In medieval Germany, during the suppression of a peasant uprising 1525, over 100,000 people were executed. At the same time, Western Europe judges Tsar Ivan the Terrible for cruelty, apparently judging by itself!

It is striking that the myth demonizing the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible, widespread in the Middle Ages in Western Europe, was also entrenched in the Russian mind, thanks to Western European historians who wrote the official history of the Russian state at the royal court, depicting Tsar Ivan the Terrible cruel tyrant and an executioner.

Examples of the cruelty of Ivan the Terrible described in history must be considered today without the usual bias, relying on documentary evidence and facts.

Myth 1. Unreasonable terror

This is probably the most important argument put forward against Ivan the Terrible. Like, solely for the sake of fun, the formidable tsar slaughtered innocent boyars. Not a single self-respecting historian denies the fact of the existence of periodically emerging conspiracies among the boyars, because it is known that conspiracies are a common thing in any royal court.

The memoirs of that era are full of stories about countless court intrigues and boyar betrayals. Facts and documents about the conspiracies of the boyars are a stubborn thing, and they testify that against Ivan the Terrible, several dangerous conspiracies of the boyars followed one another, uniting numerous participants from the royal environment, with the aim of a coup d'état.

In 1566-1567. royal guardsmen intercepted letters from the Polish king and from the Lithuanian hetman addressed to many noble subjects of Ivan the Terrible. Among them was a former horseman Chelyadnin-Fedorov whose rank made him actual head of the Boyar Duma and gave him the right to a decisive vote in the election of a new sovereign in the Duma. With him conspiratorial letters from Poland were received by Prince Ivan Kurakin-Bulgachov, the three princes of Rostov, Prince Belsky and some other boyars.

Of all the boyar conspirators, only Prince Belsky did not enter into a secret correspondence with the Polish king Sigismund, but handed over to Tsar John a letter in which The Polish king offered Prince Belsky vast lands in Lithuania for treason against the Russian sovereign.

The rest of the boyar conspirators, the addressees of King Sigismund, continued secret correspondence with Poland and plotted against Tsar John, aiming to imprison Russian throne boyar Vladimir Staritsky.

In the autumn of 1567, Tsar John led a campaign against Lithuania, and new evidence of boyar treason fell into his hands. The tsar had to urgently return to Moscow, not only for the investigation of the state case of treason, but also for salvation own life: the conspirators intended to surround the tsar's headquarters with military detachments loyal to them, kill the tsar's oprichnina guards and hand over the captive tsar Ivan IV to the Poles.

The boyar stood at the head of the rebels Chelyadnin-Fedorov. A report about this conspiracy by the political agent of the Polish crown, Schlichting, has been preserved, in which he informs King Sigismund: “Many distinguished persons, approximately 30 people ... pledged in writing that they would betray the Grand Duke Ion, together with his guardsmen, into the hands of Your Royal Majesty, if only Your Royal Majesty moved to the country.”

The court of the Boyar Duma over the conspirators took place. The evidence was irrefutable: the treaty of the traitors with their signatures was in the hands of Tsar John. And the boyars, and Prince Vladimir Staritsky, who tried to dissociate himself from the conspiracy, were found guilty by the COURT Boyar Duma.

Western historians, based on the notes of the German spy Staden, report executions of Chelyadnin-Fedorov, Ivan Kurakin-Bulgachov and the princes of Rostov. All conspirators guilty of high treason were allegedly brutally tortured and executed. But, it is reliably known that one of the important participants in the conspiracy Prince Ivan Kurakin, remained alive and after 10 years, served as governor of the city of Wenden, 90 km northeast of Riga. The city was besieged by the Poles, and Prince Kurakin was drinking, leaving the command of the garrison behind. The Poles and Lithuanians captured the city of Wenden (now Cesis in Latvia)in 1577, and the drunken prince Kurakin was executed precisely for this.

With many boyars-conspirators convicted by the boyar court, a similar red tape happened, several boyars, from among the conspirators, actually died not at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, but solely at the behest of historians who composed myths about the cruelty of Tsar John, for example, brothers Vorotynsky. Historical researchers find documents about the subsequent life of many boyars who were convicted by the boyar court, but continued to live in exile from the royal court, but in the myths of history they were allegedly cut off their heads or impaled.

Myth 2. The defeat of Novgorod

In 1563 John learned O "great changeful deeds" from the clerk Savluk, who served in Staritsa, his cousin Prince Vladimir Staritsky and his mother ,Princess Euphrosyne. Tsar John began an investigation and soon after that he fled to Lithuania Prince Andrei Kurbsky, a close friend of Staritsky family and an active participant in all state intrigues and conspiracies at the royal court. In the same time John's brother, Yuri Vasilyevich, died, this brought Prince Vladimir Staritsky closer to the possibility of ascending the Russian throne. Ivan the Terrible was forced to take a number of measures to ensure his own security.

Tsar John replaced all the close people of Prince Vladimir Andreevich at the royal court with his proxies, changed his inheritance closest to Moscow to another, and deprived his cousin of the right to live in the Kremlin. Tsar John made a new will, according to which Vladimir Andreevich, although he remains on the board of trustees, is already an ordinary member, and not the chairman, as before. All these measures cannot even be called harsh, they were simply an adequate response to the danger of the overthrow of the royal power.

Already in 1566 the quick-witted Tsar John forgives his brother and favors him with new possessions and a place in the Kremlin to build a palace.

In 1567 Prince Vladimir Andreevich staritsky together with the Boyar Duma, he convicted the conspirator Fedorov-Chelyadnin and the rest of his secret accomplices, John's confidence in him increased even more. However, at the end of the summer of the same year, a Novgorod landowner close to the Staritsky court Boyar Pyotr Ivanovich Volynsky informs King John of a new state conspiracy on such a large scale that King John, in fear, turned to English queen Elizabeth with a request for asylum on the banks of the Thames. refused him this request.

The essence of the state conspiracy, in short, is as follows: the royal cook, bribed by Prince Staritsky, was supposed to poison Tsar John with a deadly poison, and Prince Vladimir Alekseevich himself, returning at that time from a military campaign, would bring military forces to Moscow in support of the coup d'état. By using military force detachments of guardsmen devoted to Tsar John will be destroyed, the young heir John will be overthrown and the royal throne will be seized. In the state military coup, he was supposed to be helped by conspirators in Moscow, including those from the highest circles of the guardsmen, the boyar elite of Novgorod and the Polish king.

After the victory, the conspirators planned to divide Russia as follows: Prince Vladimir Alekseevich received the throne, Poland - Pskov and Novgorod, and the Novgorod nobility - the liberties of the Polish magnates.

The investigation established all the participants in the conspiracy of the royal court and the inner circle of Tsar John, all the traitors of the Moscow boyars and officials: Vyazemsky, Basmanov, Funikov and deacon Viskovaty.

At the end of September 1569, the tsar summoned Prince Vladimir Staritsky, after the royal reception, the prince died the next day. The plot of the boyars against Tsar John was beheaded, but not yet destroyed. At the head of the conspiracy was Archbishop of Novgorod Pimen . John moved troops to Novgorod.

Probably no other event of that time caused so many angry attacks on Tsar Ivan the Terrible for the “Novgorod pogrom”. It is known that on January 2, 1570, the advance detachment of guardsmen of Tsar John set up outposts around Novgorod, and on January 6 or 8, Tsar John and his personal guards entered the city. The advance detachment of guardsmen arrested noble citizens of Novgorod, whose signatures were under the treacherous agreement with the Polish king Sigismund, and some monks guilty of the heresy of the Judaizers, which served as ideological support for the separatism of the Novgorod boyar elite.

After the arrival of the Emperor Trial took place in Novgorod. How many traitors were sentenced to death? The historian Skrynnikov, on the basis of the studied documents and personal records of Tsar John, derives a figure 1505 people. Approximately the same One and a half thousand names include a list of messages by John for the prayerful commemoration of murdered Christian souls at a church service in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Is it a lot or a little to eradicate separatism in a third of the country's territory?

Why do Western historians write about tens of thousands of "victims of tsarist tyranny"? About 5,000 devastated yards out of 6,000 available in Novgorod, about 10,000 corpses buried in a mass grave near the Nativity Church? About the desolation of the Novgorod lands by the end of the 16th century?

All these facts of history are explainable and there are answers to questions.. In 1569-1571. plague struck Rus'. The western and northwestern regions were particularly affected, including Novgorod. The plague killed about 300,000 people in Russia. In Moscow itself in 1569, 600 people per day were dying. plague victims and formed the basis of the myth of the "Novgorod pogrom", Tsar John was credited with daily executions in Novgorod and tens of thousands of victims.

In 1571, Ivan IV the Terrible moved his capital from Moscow to Veliky Novgorod, And on the site of Yaroslav's court was built royal palace with an area of ​​14.5 hectares, and large-scale works have been carried out to improve the entire city. The state treasury, the royal family, all government services.

The confidence of Ivan IV the Terrible in the devotion of the Novgorodians, their exceptional loyalty to Tsar John prove that neither the tsar nor the Novgorodians themselves in the 16th century knew anything about the “Novgorod massacre of 1570”, only Western historians who were not eyewitnesses of the events speak about it. There are no documents about popular unrest or protests of the townspeople of Novgorod against Tsar John.

Myth 3. "Sonicide"

There is one "sacrifice" of John, about which everyone, young and old, has heard. The details of Ivan the Terrible's murder of his son have been replicated in thousands of copies by artists and writers.

The father of the myth of "sonicide" was a high-ranking Jesuit, papal legate Anthony Possevin. He also authored the political intrigue, as a result of which Catholic Rome hoped to conquer Russia with the help of the Polish-Lithuanian-Swedish intervention and, taking advantage of its difficult situation, to force Tsar John to subordinate the Russian Orthodox Church to the papal Catholic throne.

However, the tsar played his diplomatic game and managed to use Possevin in making peace with Poland, while avoiding concessions in a religious dispute with Rome. Although historians present Yam-Zapolsky peace treaty of 1582, As a serious defeat for Russia, it must be said that through the efforts of the papal legate, in fact, Poland received back only its own city of Polotsk, taken by Grozny from Sigismund in 1563.

After conclusion Yam-Zapolsky peace treaty of 1582 Tsar John even refused to discuss with Possevin, John's personal enemy, the question of the unification of the Orthodox and Catholic churches - after all, he did not promise this.

Concerning true reasons death of the Russian Tsarevich, heir to the throne, which caused bewildered discord among contemporaries and ongoing disputes among modern historians. There were enough versions of the death of the prince, but in each of them the main evidence was the words “perhaps”, “most likely”, “probably” and “as if”.

The traditional version of the death of the Russian Tsarevich reads as follows: once Tsar John went into his son’s chambers and saw his pregnant wife dressed out of order: it was hot, and instead of three shirts she put on only one. The king began to beat the daughter-in-law, and the son - to protect her. Then Ivan the Terrible dealt his son a fatal blow to the head.

But in this version of the event, you can see a number of inconsistencies. "Witnesses" are confused. Some say that the princess put on only one dress out of three because of the heat. Is it in November? Moreover, a woman at that time had every right to be in her chambers in only one shirt, which served as a home dress.

Another author points out for the lack of a belt, which, allegedly, infuriated John, who accidentally met his daughter-in-law in the "inner chambers of the palace." This version is completely unreliable, if only because it would be very difficult for the king to meet the princess "dressed not according to the charter", and even in the inner chambers. And in the rest of the palace chambers, even fully dressed ladies of the then Moscow high society did not walk freely.

For every member royal family separate mansions were built , connected to other parts of the palace by rather cool transitions in winter. The prince's family lived in such a separate chamber.

Princess Elena's routine was the same as that of other noble ladies of that century: after the morning service, she went to her chambers and sat down for needlework with her servants. Noble women in the Middle Ages, as a rule, lived locked up. Spending their days in their little rooms, they did not dare to appear in public without an escort, and even having become a wife, could not go anywhere without the permission of her husband, including to church, and their every step was watched by relentless guardian servants.

The room of a noble woman was located in the depths of the house, where a special entrance led, the key to which was always in her husband's pocket. No man could penetrate the female half of the tower even though he was the closest relative.

Thus, Princess Elena was in the female half of a separate tower, the front door was always locked, and the key is with the husband. Princess Elena could leave the female half of the tower only with the permission of her husband and accompanied by numerous servants and maids who would certainly take care of her proper clothes. In addition, Elena was pregnant and hardly the servants could leave her unattended.

It turns out that the only way for the king to meet his daughter-in-law in a half-dressed form was to break down the locked door to the maiden's room and disperse the hawthorns and hay girls, but the history of the life of Tsar John did not record such a fact.

But if there was no murder, then why did the prince die? Tsarevich Ivan, the son of Ivan the Terrible, died of an illness, for which some documentary evidence has been preserved.

Jacques Margeret wrote: « It is rumored that he (the king) killed the eldest (son) with his own hand, which happened differently, because although he hit him with the end of the rod ... and he was wounded by the blow, he did not die from this, but some time later, on a pilgrimage journey».

Using this phrase as an example, we can see how the false version, popular among foreigners with the “light” hand of Possevin, is intertwined with the truth about the death of the prince from illness during a pilgrimage trip. Moreover, the duration illness of Tsarevich Ivan was 10 days, from November 9 to 19, 1581. But what was this disease?

In 1963 in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin four tombs were opened: John the Terrible, Tsarevich Ivan, Tsar Feodor Ioannovich and commander Skopin-Shuisky. When examining the remains, the version of the poisoning of Grozny was checked.

Scientists have discovered that arsenic content, the most popular poison of all time, is approximately the same in all four skeletons and does not exceed the norm. In the bones of Tsar John IV and Tsarevich Ivan Ioannovich mercury was found far exceeding the allowable limit.

How coincidental is this coincidence? Unfortunately, the only thing known about the prince's illness is that it lasted 10 days. The place of death of the heir is Alexandrov Sloboda, located north of Moscow.

It can be assumed that, feeling unwell, Tsarevich Ivan went to Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, to take monastic vows there before his death, but on the way the patient's condition worsened and, having reached to Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, the heir finally fell ill and soon died of a "fever".

Here is what the historian A. Bokhanov writes: “Now about the blood, which, as some authors assure, “flowed like a stream.” In the picture of Ilya Repin, it was accumulated in a whole puddle. The prince's bright yellow hair, 5-6 centimeters long, has been preserved. The analysis showed that there were no signs of blood on the hair. The molecular structure of blood is such that it is impossible to wash hair from it without a trace.

By the way, everyone paid for lies, fiction and slander against Tsar John. After writing the famous painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan", Repin's right hand withered! The artist Myasoedov, who posed for Repin in the form of a tsar, almost killed his little son, also Ivan, in an unreasonable rage. And the writer Vsevolod Garshin, who posed in Repin in the image of a prince, soon went crazy and threw himself into a flight of stairs.

Myth 4. "Ivan the polygamist"

Foreigners also spread wild legends about the personal life of the sovereign. On the married life of the king Ivan the Terrible, there are many myths created by the sick imagination of Western memoirists, who had read fairy tales about Bluebeard, as well as those who remembered the real, tragically ending fates of several wives of the English king Henry VIII.

In his "Journey through Russian holy places" A. N. Muravyov, about writing the Ascension Monastery - the final resting place of the Grand Duchesses and Russian Tsarinas, he says: “Next to Grozny’s mother are four of his wives…”.

Known for certain about four legal marriages of Ivan the Terrible . My first wife Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina , the tsar chose brides at a review, where girls from all over Russia were taken. John and Anastasia lived in love for 13 years . Life was very difficult. The first son, Tsarevich Dmitry, drowned in infancy in the Sheksna River. Three daughters died at a young age. Only two sons survived John and Fedor.

Queen Anastasia fell ill and died when she was not yet 30 years old. Tsar John grieved so much for his wife that he could hardly stand on his feet at the funeral. "from great groaning and pity of the heart." He had no doubt that his wife had been poisoned.
One year after death Anastasia the king married Maria Temgryukovna (Kuchenei) from the family of Kabardian princes. “The Queen and Grand Duchess Marya is the daughter of Temryuk, Prince of Cherkassy from Pyatigor, she had a son, Tsarevich Vasily, died in infancy”. This marriage also ended tragically, the queen was poisoned.

More than 2 thousand brides were brought to the bride for the third marriage of Tsar John, and the choice of the king fell on Marfa Sobakin. Immediately after the betrothal, the girl suddenly fell seriously ill, and 15 days after the wedding she died, without becoming a royal wife. Ivan Vasilyevich was very sad. Upon learning that Prince Temgruk was involved in the death, he executed several boyars, and impaled the prince himself.

According to Orthodox custom, it was allowed to marry no more than three times. In April 1572, Tsar John turned to church hierarchs for permission for the fourth marriage with Anna Koltovskaya. A special commission was convened, where Tsar John delivered a word of repentance, from which many had tears.

“Evil people poisoned my first wife Anastasia; the second, Maria, after eight years of married life, was also poisoned; the third, Martha, was spoiled before the wedding, and although I married her in the hope of her recovery, she died two weeks later, preserving her virginity inviolable. In deep grief, I wanted to put on a monastic image, but, seeing the disasters of the state and the still minor age of my children, I dared to join the fourth marriage. And now I tenderly ask the Holy Council to allow me to marry and pray for my sin.”

In 1575 Anna Koltovskaya, the fourth wife of Tsar John, for treason, she was imprisoned in the Tikhvin Monastery, where she lived "in the nuns Daria."

« Tsarina Marya Fedorova daughter of Fedor Nagov, she had a son Tsarevich Dmitry, after his father, a year and a half remained, he was given an inheritance with his mother Uglich. And how did you reach 9th year, was slaughtered like a gentle lamb, Borisov's intent, and the Tsaritsa was tonsured, becoming the nun Martha. Tsarevich Dmitry was not legitimate.

Myth 5. "The defeat of the German settlement"

In 1580 Tsar John carried out another action that put an end to the well-being of the German settlement. This is also used for another propaganda attack on Ivan the Terrible.

Pomeranian historian Lutheran pastor Oderborn describes this event in gloomy and bloody tones: Tsar Ivan the Terrible, both of his sons, guardsmen, all in black clothes, broke into a peacefully sleeping settlement at midnight, killed innocent residents, raped women, cut off tongues, pulled out nails, pierced people with white-hot spears , burned, drowned and robbed.

However, historian Valishevsky believes that the data of the Lutheran pastor is absolutely unreliable. Here it must be added that Oderborn wrote his libel in Germany, he was not an eyewitness to these events, but He had a pronounced dislike for Tsar John because the Tsar did not want to support the German Protestants in their struggle against Catholic Rome.

Quite different this event is described by the Frenchman Jacques Margeret, who lived in Russia for many years:“The Livonians, who were taken prisoner and brought to Moscow, professing the Lutheran faith, having received two churches inside the city of Moscow, sent a public service there; but in the end, because of their pride and vanity, the said temples ... were destroyed and all their houses were ruined. And, although they were driven out naked in winter, in which the mother gave birth, they could not blame anyone but themselves for this, for ... they acted so arrogant, their manners were so haughty, and their clothes are so luxurious that they could all be mistaken for princes and princesses ... The main profit they were given the right to sell vodka, honey and other drinks, on which they make not 10%, but a hundred, which will seem incredible, however This is true».

Similar data are provided by German merchant from Lübeck, not just an eyewitness, but also a participant in the events. He reports that although only confiscate the property of the Livonians in the German settlement , the performers still used a whip, so he got it too. However, like Margeret, the merchant does not talk about murder, rape, or torture. But what is the fault of the Livonians, who suddenly lost their estates and profits?

German Heinrich Staden, who does not have a special love for Russia, reports that Russians banned from selling vodka , and this trade is considered by them a great disgrace, while the tsar allows foreigners to keep a tavern in the courtyard of his house and sell alcohol, because " foreign soldiers - Poles, Germans, Lithuanians ... by nature love to get drunk.

This phrase can add the words of the Jesuit and member of the papal embassy Paolo Kompani: "The law prohibits the sale of vodka in public in taverns, as this would contribute to the spread of drunkenness."

Thus, it becomes clear that Livonian settlers, having received the right to produce and sell vodka to their compatriots, abused their privileges and "began to corrupt Russians in their taverns."

No matter how indignant the paid agitators of Stefan Batory and their modern adherents are, the fact remains: Livonians violated Moscow law and have been punished according to law.

Michalon Litvin wrote, What « in Muscovy there are no taverns anywhere, and if any householder is found to have even a drop of guilt, then his whole house is ruined, his estate is confiscated, servants and neighbors living on the same street are punished, and the owner himself is imprisoned forever to jail... Because Muscovites abstain from drunkenness, then their cities abound with diligent in various kinds masters who, sending us wooden bowls ... saddles, spears, jewelry and various weapons, rob our gold ”.

Of course, King John was alarmed when he learned that in a German settlement, his subjects are soldered. There were no lawlessness, the punishment was in accordance with the law, the main provisions of which are given by Michalon Litvin: the houses of the criminals were destroyed; property was confiscated; servants and neighbors were punished with whips; and even leniency was granted - Livonians were not imprisoned for life, as required by law, but only evicted out of town and allowed to build houses and a church there.

Historical merits of Tsar Ivan the Terrible.

As can be seen from the above facts, the figure of Ivan the Terrible was fairly demonized by Western European historians. Behind the obviously deliberately distorted image of Ivan the Terrible, many researchers do not notice the positive aspects of the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich. And there are a lot of them too.

Under Tsar Ivan IV, Rus' grew stronger and the territory of the state expanded from the Baltic to Siberia. Upon accession to the throne, John inherited the territory 2.8 million sq. km, and as a result of his reign, the territory of the Russian state almost doubled - to 5.4 million sq. km slightly more than the rest of Europe. During the same time, the population grew by 30-50% and amounted to 10-12 million people.

In 1585 in Russia was built fortress Voronezh, in 1586 - Livny. To ensure the safety of the waterway from Kazan to Astrakhan, cities were built on the Volga - Samara (1586), Tsaritsyn (1589), Saratov (1590) . The city was restored in 1592 Dace. On the Donets in 1596 a city was built Belgorod, south in 1600 was built Tsarev-Borisov . In the period from 1596 to 1602, one of the most grandiose architectural structures of pre-Petrine Rus' was built - Smolensk fortress wall, which later became known as the “stone necklace of the Russian Land”.

January 16, 1547 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin solemn ceremony of the wedding of Ivan IV to the kingdom took place and received title of Tsar of All Rus' equivalent to an imperial title. The Metropolitan laid on the Grand Duke John the signs of royal dignity: the cross of the Life-Giving Tree, barmas and the cap of Monomakh, and blessed the king, anointing him with myrrh.

Ecumenical Patriarch and other hierarchs of the Eastern Church saw in the king John IV the only defender of the Orthodox faith. IN 1558 year, Patriarch Joasaph II of Constantinople informed Ivan IV that "his royal name is commemorated in the Cathedral Church on all Sundays, as the names of former Greek Tsars."

Already with 1555 title king of all Rus'Ivan IV unconditionally recognized by England, Spain, Denmark and other countries of Western Europe.
Polish King Sigismund II presented to the Pope a note in which he warned that the recognition by the Catholic papal throne of Ivan IV of the title of "Tsar of All Rus'" would lead to rejection from Poland and Lithuanian lands inhabited by related Muscovites "Rusyns" , and will attract Moldovans and Vlachs to the side of Rus'.

It is at John IV Church Councils were held in 1547, 1549, 1551, 1553 and 1562 who laid the foundations church building in Rus' . During the reign of this king canonization of 39 Russian saints , whereas before him (for six centuries of Christianity in Rus'!) canonized 22 saints .

By order of Ivan IV in Rus' was raised from above 40 stone churches, decorated with golden domes. King John founded 60 monasteries, giving them domes and decorations, as well as donating money contributions to them.

Tsar John IV, under the name of Parthenius the Holy Fool, wrote the Canon and the prayer archangel Michael, calling him the Terrible Angel. The canon emphasizes the sacred fear emanating from the archangel, here he is described as "formidable and deadly." Tsar John also wrote stichera, which are highly praised by connoisseurs of our ancient writing.

Under Tsar Ivan IV, finally remnants were destroyed feudal fragmentation , because without state unity Rus' would not have been able to resist the aggressive policy of the Western European countries and would not have survived in a troubled time in history.

During the 35 years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible in Rus':

– jury trial was introduced;
– free elementary education in church schools;
– introduced medical quarantine at the borders ;
– local elected self-government was created, instead of governor;
– was first created in Rus' regular army - the sovereign's army, and the world's first military uniform at archers;
- were stopped Tatar raids to the South Russian lands;
– equality was established by law between all segments of the population of Rus'. Do you know that at that time serfdom did not exist in Rus' at all? The peasant was obliged to sit on the land until he paid for its rent, and nothing more. And the children of a peasant were considered free from birth!
– slave labor was banned in Rus', this is established by law and recorded in the Sudebnik of Ivan the Terrible;
– state monopoly on the fur trade, introduced by Ivan the Terrible, canceled in 1994 by Boris Yeltsin.
– the territory of the country is increased by 30 times! The structure of Rus' included the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, Western Siberia, the region of the Don army, Bashkiria, and the lands of the Nogai Horde were annexed.
– emigration of the population from Europe to Orthodox Rus' exceeded 30,000 families. IN medieval Rus' there was freedom of religion and non-Christians were not persecuted. Those settlers who settled along the Zasechnaya line (border) were paid a raise of 5 rubles per family. Account books have been preserved.
–the growth of the welfare of the population of Rus' and paid taxes for the 35 years of the reign of Ivan IV amounted to several thousand (!) Percent.
– for the entire time of the reign of Ivan IV, there was not a single executed without trial and investigation, total number"repressed" ranged from three to four thousand.

Tsar Ivan the Terrible, without a doubt, became one of the most maligned heroes of our Russian history. According to the outstanding Russian writer, ethnographer and collector of folklore V. I. Dahl, "Terrible" means "courageous, majestic, keeping enemies in fear, and the people in obedience."

In translation into English language the meaning of the word "terrible" is completely distorted. Ivan The Terrible - the king of "terrible" , this is how the word “terrible” is translated into English, this is how foreigners fooled by propaganda call John, considering him the ancestor of “totalitarian terror”.

In the 16th century, there was no term “information war” yet, but how else to call the flow of lies directed against the last Russian tsar from the Rurik family?

It is not surprising that the "memories" of Ivan IV are full of absurdities and outright lies. This lies continue to be replicated today when the information war against us flared up with renewed vigor.

Researcher V. Manyagin explained, why for Europe Tsar Ivan the Terrible became enemy number 1 : tsar John "could not agree with a world system in which Russia had to give North-west of Poland and Sweden, the Volga region - Turkey, introduce the power of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German people in the rest of the territory andsubjugate the Russian Orthodox Church to the papal catholic throne. This is precisely the goal that Europe set for itself in the 16th century.

Page 21

Common in the process of formation of united states in Western Europe and Russia:

the need for a strong central government - the formation of a monarchy - autocratic power

Page 22

What is subsistence farming?

Subsistence farming is a primitive type of farming, in which production is aimed only at satisfying one's own needs (not for sale). Everything needed is produced within the economic unit, and there is no need for a market.

Page 24

Remember what estates existed in the XIV - XV centuries. in Western Europe.

Nobility, artisans, merchants, clergy, peasantry

Page 26. questions and tasks for working with the text of the paragraph

1. What role did cities play in the formation of unified states in Western Europe? Did Russian cities play a similar role?

Cities played a big role in the formation of unified states in Western Europe. European cities, creating the main material wealth, were interested in the exchange of goods, they needed the support and protection of the state. Thus, in Western Europe, cities became one of the main forces that needed to unite the country.

Russian cities did not play such a role because they were not economic centers, the production of material wealth was carried out on the estates of feudal lords - boyars within the framework of a subsistence economy.

2. Explain the meaning of the phrase: "More and more peasants redeemed their duties from the feudal lords and became free."

The meaning of the phrase is as follows: with the development of commodity-money relations, trade, crafts and manufactory, the peasants grew rich and could redeem their duties from the feudal lords and became free from the feudal lords.

3. Why did the creation of a single state become possible in Russia under the dominance of natural economy?

In Russia, the creation of a single state became possible under the dominance of subsistence farming because the growth of the country's territory led to an increase in the land holdings of the prince and his entourage, who were forced to look for ways to secure the peasants on the land. Therefore, in Russia the formation of a single state took place under the complete dominance of natural economy.

4. What was the position of the church in the formation of a unified state in Russia? Was she an opponent or ally of the Grand Duke in the unification of the country?

The position of the church in the formation of a unified state in Russia: since the time of the struggle to overcome dependence on the power of the Horde khans, the church supported the policy of the Grand Duke in uniting the country, i.e. was an ally of the Grand Duke.

5. What changes took place in the European armies in the XV - XVI centuries? * With the help of additional literature and the Internet, find out if there were similar changes in the Russian military affairs of this period.

Changes in European armies in the XV - XVI centuries.

Jacques Kerr (France), a representative of large commercial capital and a talented politician, expressed the idea that the state needs to have armed force in peacetime, this idea led in 1446 to the establishment of permanent companies in France. With the decline in the importance of the medieval feudal militia, demobilization at the conclusion of peace acquires only a partial character.

Charles V, in whose vast empire "the sun never set," also needed armed force at hand, and by the end of his reign (1556) had 60,000 field and 80,000 garrison troops. The gangs, which were previously hired only during the war, and now remained under the banner for a long time, gradually began to change their character and turn into a trained army.

Similar changes took place in the Russian military affairs of this period. At the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, there was a process of transition from a feudal militia to a permanent all-Russian army. Its basis was the noble local cavalry - the sovereign's service people, united in regiments under the command of the grand princely governors and at first did not have firearms. It was used by gunners and pishchalniks, the first information about which dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. At the same time, the Cossacks were formed.

Under Ivan III, a system of military recruitment for temporary service was introduced. Detachments of pishchalniks were formed from the urban population. From the village - auxiliary infantry detachments - the field army. A clear system for collecting military people was developed. The military command was the grand princely governors. The noble cavalry was equipped with handguns, convenient for shooting while riding.

Page 26. Working with the map

Show on the map the territory of Russia by the end of the reign of Ivan III.

Page 26. Studying documents

Page 26. Studying documents

1. Out of the course world history remember where and when the despotic form of government existed.

The despotic form of government existed in ancient times in the eastern states: Egypt, Persia, China, India.

2. What reasons for the emergence of despotism in Russia does A. A. Zimin name?

A. A. Zimin names the reasons for the emergence of despotism in Russia: slave origin, canine devotion to autocracy.

3. Do you agree that the author's statement is true for all classes of Russia of this period? Justify your opinion.

Page 27. We think, compare, reflect

1. In additional literature and the Internet, find various theories about the reasons for the appearance of the double-headed eagle as a symbol of the Russian state. Which one do you think is the most likely? Justify your answer.

1) In January 1472, the Russian embassy went to Constantinople for the bride of the Grand Duke. On November 12, 1472, Zoya Paleolog entered Moscow. She was met by the Metropolitan and the higher clergy. Zoya Paleolog became Grand Duchess Sophia Fominichnaya. She brought to Rus' the coat of arms of Byzantium - a double-headed eagle. Its combination with the Moscow coat of arms in the form of George the Victorious became the coat of arms of the Russian state then united under the hegemon of Moscow.

2) For the first time, the double-headed eagle as the state symbol of the Russian state is found on the reverse side of the state seal of Ivan III Vasilyevich in 1497, although images of a double-headed eagle (or bird) were found in ancient Russian art and on Tver coins before.

The placement of the rider on the chest of the eagle can be explained by the fact that there were two sovereign seals: Large and Small. The small one was two-sided and was attached to the document, on each side of it an eagle and a rider were placed separately. The big seal was one-sided and applied to the document, and therefore it became necessary to combine the two symbols of the state in one. For the first time, such a combination is found on the large seal of Ivan the Terrible in 1562. Then, instead of the horseman, a unicorn began to appear. Although the tsar did not consider the unicorn a necessary symbol of the state, he, nevertheless, was found on some seals of Boris Godunov, False Dmitry (1605-1606), Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich.

3) For the first time, he arose in the most ancient of the world's civilizations - ancient Sumer, and was one of the deities. However, the ancient Sumerian tradition was lost, and the origins of the symbol of the modern double-headed eagle date back to the times ancient rome. The eagle was a sacred animal of the Romans, the messenger of the supreme god Jupiter, to notice his flight promised good luck in battles. In the late Roman Republic, the standard of the legions also appeared, in the form of a silver or gold eagle placed on a pole (aquila). Losing aquila was considered the greatest shame, such a legion was disbanded, so the legionnaires preferred to die, but not to give the Eagle to the enemies.

Later, this symbol was transformed into a double-headed eagle in Byzantium, which considered itself the successor of the Roman Empire, and the inhabitants called themselves "Romans" (i.e. Romans). The double-headed eagle was the coat of arms of one of the last Greek rulers of the era of the end of Byzantium, the Morean despots of the Palaiologos.

The Grand Duke of Moscow Rus', Ivan III, married Sophia Paleolog, the daughter of the Morean ruler, and after that he approved the double-headed eagle as the second symbol of the principality, after the “rider” (a horseman striking a serpent with a spear).

Finally, the image of the double-headed eagle becomes the coat of arms under the first Russian tsar - Ivan the Terrible. The double-headed eagle at that time was also the coat of arms of the mighty Holy Roman Empire, and thus Grozny showed the claims of Muscovite Rus' to become a powerful Eurasian power.

2. Compare the attitude of the church towards the monarchy in Europe and Russia. Draw your own conclusions.

The attitude of the church towards the monarchy in Europe and Russia was the same: both in Europe and in Russia, the church supported the creation of a single centralized state.

3. What were the consequences of the military revolution in Europe?

The consequences of the military revolution in Europe: the appearance of regular armies, the rearmament of these armies, the appearance of navies. The military revolution contributed to the formation of united states and the strengthening of strong monarchical power in them.

4. Using the Internet and a textbook on the history of the Middle Ages, find out which of the European rulers was a contemporary of Ivan III. Why, in your opinion, Ivan III did not want to accept the royal title that Frederick III offered him?

Ivan III did not want to accept the royal title, which Frederick III offered him, because he considered himself equal with the European rulers of a strong state.