State reforms of Ivan IV. Chosen Rada and reforms in the military, administrative and church spheres during the reign of Ivan the Terrible

He was an extraordinary ruler of Russia. Few rule out the opinion of him as a tyrant king. Such traits of his character were laid down in childhood: Ivan lost his father and mother early and was under the supervision of boyars who fought for power. The reforms of Ivan IV became an integral part of the country's history and marked the beginning of a new period in history.

When the tsar was young, the state was ruled by his mother, wife of Vasily 3 - Elena Glinskaya. After her death, the young tsar remained under the patronage of the boyars, who sought to win over Ivan and seize power. At the age of 17, Ivan 4 becomes an adult: he marries Anastasia Romanova. At the same time, Ivan takes the royal title in the Assumption Cathedral, located in the Moscow Kremlin.

The reforms of Ivan 4 can be divided into two periods, namely:

1. Reforms of the Chosen One are glad.

2. Oprichnina.

At the end of the 1540s, a circle of his close friends and mentors was formed around the young tsar, which began to be named. It included: A. Adashev, A. Kurbsky, Sylvester and Macarius. In the first period, the reforms of Ivan 4, briefly about them will be written below, are consistent and aimed at strengthening the central government and military power of the country. The Chosen Council held:


Such a magnificent start to the reign was cut short in 1553, when disagreements began between the king and his chosen circle. As a result - the disintegration of the Chosen One is glad. In 10 years, the best friend of Ivan the Terrible, Andrei Kurbsky, will flee to the side of the Poles. This act will finally undermine all the hopes of the king, and he will announce the beginning of the Oprichnina. Oprichnina is the terror of the times of Ivan the Terrible, which he proclaimed on a special royal inheritance (land).

Suzdal land, Mozhaisk and Vyazma, as well as other nearby cities, were subjected to oprichnina. The reforms of Ivan 4 ceased to take effect, and no further reform attempts were made.

The oprichnina continued to intimidate the residents for 7 years, after which it was canceled. Ivan 4 ordered the execution of all those who participated in his terror.

It is worth noting that at this time a bloody campaign against Novgorod was made.

The reforms of Ivan IV in the first period of his reign contributed to the strengthening of the central power and the power of the tsar, they strengthened the military power of the entire country, they "presented" to Russia a general set of laws and a representative body of power - the Zemsky Sobor.

Thus, all the changes of Ivan 4 contributed to the creation of the estate-representative monarchy.

And Elena Glinskaya. After the death of Ivan's father, his mother took over the reign, which lasted 5 years. After the death of the Grand Duchess, power passed into the hands of the members of the seven-boyars.

The childhood of the future tsar passed in an atmosphere of constant struggle for the main roles between the boyar families of the Shuisky, Obolensky, Belsky. Scenes of boyar willfulness and violence developed in Ivan suspicion and deep distrust of people. His 15th anniversary (the time of majority in the 16th century), he marked only with disgrace and executions.

The beginning of the independent reign of Ivan IV was marked by an act of political significance - on January 16, 1547, he took the title of tsar.

In 1549, a reform party was formed, led by the favorite of the tsar, Alexei Adashev, and called the "Chosen Rada". This included people close to the tsar - clerk Ivan Viskovaty, Metropolitan Macarius, priest Sylvester, A.M. Kurbsky. From this time, the era of the reign of Ivan the Terrible began, marked by successes in internal affairs and foreign policy.

Ivan IV, together with the Chosen Rada, carried out a series of reforms aimed at centralizing the Russian state. The nature of the reforms was influenced by the Moscow uprising of 1547, which showed the tsar that his power was not autocratic.

The first step was the convocation in 1550 of the Zemsky Sobor, or the Great Zemsky Duma. Ivan IV made it clear that the time of boyar autocracy had passed, and he was taking the reins of government into his own hands. The fruit of the meeting was a new edition of the judicial code, which was repeated by the Code of Laws of 1497, but revised and supplemented by various decrees and letters related to the improvement of judicial procedures.

In 1551, the Church Council was convened, where the "Tsar's Questions" were read. All these questions, together with the answers, were divided into one hundred chapters, which is why the entire cathedral code was named Stoglava. Stoglav has the same state significance as the Code of Law. Church reform of Ivan the Terrible concerned monastic land tenure. In May 1551, a decree was issued on the confiscation of all lands and holdings transferred by the Boyar Duma to bishops and monasteries after the death of Vasily III. This law prohibited churches from acquiring new land without reporting to the government.

Simultaneously with the judicial reform, the Chosen Rada began to streamline parochialism.

In 1553 Ivan the Terrible introduced printing in Russia. Typography became a new craft, headed by Ivan Fedorov.

In order to strengthen the armed forces, the Adashev government began organizing a permanent rifle army and formed a three-thousandth rifle detachment for the personal protection of the tsar.

The central point of Ivan the Terrible's foreign policy was the final crushing of the Tatar power. In 1552 Kazan was taken, and in 1556 the tsarist troops captured Astrakhan. The defeat of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates put an end to the three-century rule of the Tatars in the Volga region. Following this, the Bashkirs announced their voluntary annexation to Russia, the rulers of the Great Nogai Horde and the Siberian Khanate, the Pyatigorsk princes and Kabarda in the North Caucasus recognized themselves as vassals of the tsar.

But on the other hand, the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan intensified the hostile attitude of the Crimean horde towards us. At that time, Ivan IV was busy with the Livonian War that began in 1556, so he abandoned the idea of ​​an attack on the Crimea.

At the second stage of reforms, a unified ordering system emerged. External relations were concentrated in the Ambassadorial Prikaz, military affairs - in Razryadnoye, land affairs - in Local, complaints about the name of the tsar were accepted by the Petition Order. The Boyar Duma controlled the activities of the orders. The adoption of the order system led to the abolition of "feeding" in 1556.

With the coming to power of the Chosen Rada, the reforms of Ivan the Terrible acquired a pronounced antiboyar orientation.

Soon Ivan IV became more and more burdened by his advisers, he was disturbed by the thought that they were leading him and did not give him free rein in anything. Therefore, in 1560, the tsar dispersed the Rada. This was followed by the era of executions and oprichnina.

In 1564, the entire royal family left the capital, taking with them the treasury and church treasures, and settled in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. Ivan the Terrible announced his abdication from the throne, counting on persuasion to return. In February 1565, the tsar returned to Moscow and assumed power on the conditions put forward by him.

Ivan the Terrible established the oprichnina with his own system of government, army and territory, and transferred the Moscow state (zemstvo) to the control of the Boyar Duma. The tsar appropriated to himself unlimited powers to deal with the "disobedient" boyars without advice from the Duma.

The most economically profitable counties of the country were part of the oprichnina, which served as the main source of income for the oprichnina treasury.

The tsar insisted that the creation of the oprichnina was necessary to combat the abuse of power by the boyars and their betrayal. A period of bloody executions began, the beating of citizens in whole crowds, and the barbaric destruction of cities. This period of the era of Ivan IV the Terrible was called the "Time of Troubles".

Ivan Vasilievich died on March 19, 1584. Russia in the era of Ivan the Terrible was first exalted, and then brought to great exhaustion and humiliation. The rise of industry and trade gave way to decline. And the Russian enlightenment, which fell in the Tatar era, fell even lower during the Time of Troubles.

It is customary to remember Ivan the Terrible as a cruel and unbridled ruler, who by his actions paved the way for the Time of Troubles. However, everything is not so simple. At the beginning of his reign, Ivan IV did a lot of good for the country and carried out a number of reforms that were very innovative for his time. What achievements on this path does he own?

Chosen Rada and reforms in the military, administrative and church spheres during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

Having barely ascended the Russian throne, Ivan IV initiated the creation of a special body, the main task of which was to develop reforms. This body was called Chosen Rada, and included the closest and most trusted supporters of the young king.

  • In 1949 the first Zemsky Sobor... In the course of it, the so-called orders were formed - the ministries of that time, in charge of various spheres of state life. The territory of Russia gradually expanded, industry, trade relations and military affairs developed, and separate departments were required to regulate all this. Territorial and departmental orders appeared, such as Streletsky, Pushkarsky, Zemsky and Posolsky and others.
  • In 1550, a new set of decrees of the Russian kingdom was issued - Code of Law... Having established a single clear measure of the land tax, at the same time, the new set of laws made the peasants even more enslaved, protected other estates from falling into serfs, and strengthened the central power.
  • In 1550 there was military reform... A thousand noblemen were granted plots of land in the immediate vicinity of the capital. These nobles became the first archers - warriors armed with firearms. In addition, the service of the archers was semi-regular - unlike the militias, they were mainly engaged in military affairs.
  • In the 1550s, there was a significant reformed land and administrative system- Ivan IV canceled the feeding system, gave part of the duties of governors to elected representatives in the counties.

Unfortunately, the Chosen Rada did not last long. Already in 1565 it was replaced by


Introduction

Preconditions for the reforms of central and local government of Ivan IV

Central government reforms

1 Boyar Duma and Chosen Rada under Ivan IV

2 Zemsky Sobor: creation, structure, functions

3 Orders: creation, structure, functions

Local government reforms

2 The lip reform of Ivan IV

Conclusion

Introduction


At the end of the XV - beginning of the XVI century. on the Russian Plain, a state was created - "Muscovy", "Moscow State". From the 16th century. it became known as "Russia". In a fairly short period of time, the Moscow princes united the Russian lands. Political unity was established in the state, but strong economic ties between the Russian principalities did not happen. The internal structure of the state left much to be desired. At any moment, the state could return to its past - the fragmented appanage principalities. To keep the state in a state of unity, to consolidate its internal structure, further centralization in the state was needed, i.e. the establishment of a single leadership, a clear territorial division, the operation of uniform laws on the territory of the entire state, a clear vertical of power.

Vasily III, having lived for 20 years in a joint marriage with his first wife, did not give the state an heir, which was an unheard-of situation in a grand-ducal house. The interests of the dynasty needed an heir. The Grand Duke sent his wife to the monastery and, already elderly, married the young princess Elena Glinskaya. The Glinskys came from a Russified Tatar family. At the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Glinskys arrived from Lithuania to the court of the great Moscow prince Vasily III. In 1530, the long-awaited heir was born into a grand-ducal family. The name was given to him Ivan in honor of his grandfather Ivan III. He will go down in Russian history as Ivan IV Vasilievich, Ivan the Terrible.

After 3 years, Vasily III died. 3-year-old Ivan Vasilievich ascended the throne. In fact, the state was ruled by his mother Elena Glinskaya. After 5 years, it is believed that she died of poisoning. A regency council was created to govern the country until the Grand Duke came of age. 1538 to 1547 the state was actually ruled by the boyar aristocracy: Belsky, Shuisky, Glinsky. During this period, the boyars showed themselves as an anti-state, anarchist force. For 9 years, 5 boyar groups have been in power. Boyar rule was accompanied by the removal of 2 metropolitans, theft of the treasury, executions, torture, and exile.

As a result, the central power weakened, the tyranny of the patrimonials knew no bounds, in a number of cities there were uprisings of the townspeople against the nobility. The international position of the state has also deteriorated. The external borders of the state became the front line. 1538 to 1547 more than 100 thousand Russians were taken into Tatar captivity. In the summer of 1547, a huge fire began in Moscow. The fire burned down 3 thousand people out of 100 thousand people, 25 thousand houses. The people blamed the boyars for the arson. In Moscow, the "great mutiny" of the townspeople broke out. Ivan IV with his servants took refuge in the village of Vorobyov near Moscow. The uprising was suppressed with great difficulty. Later, Ivan IV recalled: "From this came fear into my soul and trembling into my bones, and my spirit was humbled." The entourage of the prince Ivan saw salvation in the strengthening of the power of the young ruler and the implementation of reforms.

This paper will investigate the reforms of Ivan IV in the field of central and local government.

The object of this work is the political development of Russia in the second half of the 16th century caused by the reform of the state system during the reign of Ivan IV. The subject of this research is the activities of Ivan IV on the reorganization of public administration in Russia.

The aim of the work is to study the content and nature of the reforms of public administration carried out by Ivan IV. The research of the topic has the following tasks:

The relevance of the topic is explained by the richest experience in reforming the public administration system in a critical era. Currently, there is a search for an effective model of public administration in the post-Soviet period, the experience of past reforms can be useful, including the reforms of Ivan IV, which helped to strengthen the state.

1. Preconditions for the reforms of central and local government of Ivan IV

local government duma reform

The process of centralization and unification of the Russian lands took place in an atmosphere of unceasing internecine wars: from 1228 to 1462, 90 internal strife and 160 clashes with an external enemy (Tatars, Lithuanians, etc.) took place in northeastern Russia. The unification of the Russian lands around Moscow and the organization of a centralized state was accelerated by the struggle of the Russian people against external danger.

Moscow by the end of the 15th century. through long efforts, finally defeats its main internal enemies and competitors in the struggle for political influence: Tver and Ryazan, Veliky Novgorod, then Vyatka (in which the forms of state and political structure resembled those of Novgorod) were conquered. A little later, Pskov and the Smolensk principality conquered from Lithuania, then Chernigov and the Seversk principality, will be annexed to Moscow.

The expansion of the land holdings of the Moscow state was accompanied by the realization of the fact that on the territory of Russia a new nationality, united in spirit and blood, was being born - the Great Russian nationality. This realization made it easier to collect land and the transformation of the Moscow principality into a national Great Russian state.

The grand dukes were at the head of a whole hierarchy, which consisted of appanage princes and boyars. The relationship with them was determined by a complex system of contracts and letters of gratitude, establishing different degrees of feudal dependence for different subjects.

The treaties and charters emphasized the territorial inviolability of both sides, established a general procedure for administrative activities (customs policy, extradition of fugitive slaves, etc.) and state policy (joint border defense, military activity).

For appanage princes, whose lands were part of the grand duchy, feudal immunities were determined, i.e. the right to exercise on its territory not only economic and administrative, but also state functions without the interference of the grand ducal administration (to exercise fiscal and judicial functions). With the entry of the appanage principalities into the Moscow state, the appanage princes had two ways: they were forced either to enter the service of the Moscow Grand Duke, or to leave for Lithuania. The old principle of free boyar service now had no force - there was now only one Grand Duke in Russia, there was now no one to go into service.

Speaking of centralization, one should bear in mind two processes: the unification of the Russian lands around a new center - Moscow and the creation of a centralized state apparatus, a new power structure in the Moscow state.

2. Central government reforms


Centralization brought with it important changes in the state apparatus and state ideology. The title of the Grand Duke remained in the past, now he is referred to as a king in the same way as the Horde khan or the Byzantine emperor. Russia took from Byzantium the attributes of the Orthodox state, state and religious symbols. The formed concept of autocratic power meant its absolute independence and sovereignty. In the XV century. the metropolitan in Russia began to be appointed without the consent of the Byzantine Patriarch (by this time the Byzantine Empire had fallen).

According to the state system, the Muscovite state was feudal, the type of power in the state was an early feudal monarchy.

An autocratic monarchy becomes when it manages to concentrate in its hands all types of power: legislative, administrative, informational, control, judicial, symbolic, etc. The latter represents the ability and legitimate right of the state to establish, assign and distribute various kinds of statuses, titles, ranks and privileges. At the same time, the state (represented by its bodies and officials) is convinced that it is it that has such a right and that this does not require any additional objective criteria and conditions.

Using this right, the state forms, creates entire estates and special privileged or obligated social groups. The formation of a centralized state apparatus, a bureaucratic machine that is becoming more and more complicated, allowed the rulers of the Moscow state to take on the function of creating new classes: the service boyars, the service nobility, etc. Establishing the rights and obligations of each class, the supreme power even prescribes personal qualities to them: a sense of honor, devotion to the sovereign, and so on. Special privileges are also consolidated: in land tenure, in the sphere of power over tax-paying and peasants, legal immunities, etc. The external design of the status was carried out with the help of symbols, regalia, rituals.

By the middle of the XVI century. the national Great Russian state was finally formed. At the top of the state hierarchical pyramid is the royal power, which is not limited either politically or legally. It is limited only by the canon, i.e. basic church rules and secular customs. The word “tsar” as a title was fixed in the middle of the 16th century, the word “autocrat” was introduced into official circulation at the beginning of the 17th century. The methods of obtaining power were inheritance and election. The new political situation in which the power of the grand dukes found itself demanded a new design, new symbols and ideas. The marriage of Ivan III and the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Sophia Palaeologus was largely symbolic: the heiress of the fallen Byzantine house transferred the sovereign rights of this house to Moscow, as to the new Constantinople - Constantinople. As the successor to the Byzantine emperors, the Grand Duke begins to call himself the tsar and sovereign of all Russia, in the 16th century. to this is added the title of autocrat (Slavic translation of the Byzantine imperial title).

Symbolic continuity continues to develop at the beginning of the 16th century. - from Byzantine roots, it goes deep into ancient history: through Rurik and Prus, the monarchical genealogy goes to Augustus, the Roman Caesar (the word "king" is a distorted interpretation of the word "Caesar"). At the same time, the legendary version of the transfer of the crown ("Monomakhova's cap") of the Greek Tsar Konstantin Monomakh to the Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh was being worked out. This act symbolically meant the establishment of the joint power of the Greek and Russian autocratic tsars over the entire Orthodox world.

The essence of the supreme power was not reflected in the legislation and was not subject to state regulations. The tsar himself issued statutes, decrees, lessons and judicial codes and was recognized as the highest source of state power.

Along with the formation of the state administrative apparatus, the power of the Grand Duke (Tsar) was strengthened and strengthened. The system of the state apparatus of power had the form of an order-voivodship. Such a system was characterized by centralization and estates. The system of vassalage was abolished by liquidating appanages and independent principalities. The territory of the state is divided into counties and volosts. The people had the status of a subject of the Moscow Grand Duke and had to serve only one great sovereign.


2.1 Boyar Duma and the Chosen Rada under Ivan IV


Local jurisdiction was transferred to government agencies. All branches of power are concentrated in the hands of the Grand Duke - civil, judicial, administrative, military. The source of law in those days was the Code of Laws, the status of the prince or his rights and obligations were not enshrined in them, the prince was above the law. He decided the most important state affairs together with the boyar duma, which arose as the highest body in the middle of the 15th century. and turned into a state authority that functioned all the time. The Boyar Duma was a prototype of a council of feudal lords; it consisted exclusively of the aristocracy of Russia: boyars, former appanage princes, and later representatives of noble families and service bureaucracy.

The Boyar Duma decided the main issues of foreign and domestic policy, exercised supreme control over the country, supervised orders and local government bodies, established taxes, resolved issues related to the armed forces, and carried out judicial functions. In addition, the Boyar Duma owned the functions of the legislative body. She approved the judicial codes of 1497 and 1550. There was no division of the powers of the tsar and the duma. Therefore, many decrees began with the words "the tsar indicated, but the boyars, that is, the Duma, was sentenced."

For negotiations with foreign ambassadors, a special response commission was created from members of the Duma. The outcome of these negotiations was submitted for consideration by the Grand Duke and the Duma. Meetings of the Boyar Duma were held in the Kremlin: in the Faceted Chamber, sometimes in the personal half of the palace (the Front, Dining Room, or Golden Chambers), less often outside the palace, for example, in the oprichnina palace of Ivan IV in Moscow or the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. But the influence and significance of the Boyar Duma posed a real threat to the nascent absolute power of the autocracy, and the Grand Dukes did their best to reduce the political weight of the Boyar Duma.

So from the middle of the XVI century. from the Boyar Duma, the so-called "room" emerged, the "neighbor duma" - a narrower composition of people loyal and loyal to the tsar, with whom he decided the most important matters. In 1547 - 1560, during the reign of Ivan IV, there was an unofficial council consisting of the local nobleman of the royal "false" A. Adashev, the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral, A. Sylvester, Prince D. Kurlyatev, Prince A. Kurbsky, and others. With the help of this "Chosen Rada", as Kurbsky later called it, Ivan IV carried out a number of significant reforms for the state in the spheres of zemstvo, military and judicial affairs. Ivan the Terrible independently determined the course of the direction of foreign policy and for some time managed to distance the Boyar Duma from participating in decision-making on the most important issues of legislation and state administration.

Only after the death of Ivan IV, the Boyar Duma acquired its former significance and position in the government. It played a noticeable role in certain periods of foreign intervention and the peasant war at the beginning of the 17th century.


2.2 Zemsky Sobor: creation, structure, functions


With the emergence of the local nobility (nobles and children of the boyars) as a new class in the society of the state, the emergence of zemstvo councils - convened as urgently necessary by the tsars of all-Russian conferences to discuss and often resolve the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy. The appearance of Zemsky Councils dates back to the middle of the 16th century. In the late 40s - early 50s of the XVI century. In addition to the Boyar Duma and the top of the clergy, the "consecrated cathedral" Zemsky Sobors included representatives of the local nobility and the top of the townspeople. The establishment of a new type of government in Russia is associated with the formation of Zemsky Sobors: the estate-representative monarchy, characteristic of most Western European states. The peculiarity of the estate-representative bodies in Russia was that the role of the "third estate" in them was much weaker, and the bodies of the zemstvo councils did not restrict, but, on the contrary, strengthened the power of the tsar.

The basis of the activities of the Zemsky Sobors was the idea of ​​conciliarity, i.e. public unanimity of the entire population of the country. On his behalf, the Zemsky Sobor solved the most important current problems of the state, and then the tsars brought these decisions, as it were, permitted by all estates, into execution.

The development of the activities of the Zemsky Sobor in Russia can be divided into 3 periods. The first begins with the Council of "Reconciliation", convened by Ivan IV after his wedding to the kingdom and called upon to achieve public consent after long years of boyar "turmoil" during his early childhood, and ends with the suppression of the Rurik dynasty (after the death of Fyodor Ivanovich in 1598). There were 4 Councils in it. The second period coincides with the era of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, and in it the main function of the Council is to "formalize" the accession to the throne of a new sovereign. This period ends in 1613 with the election of Tsar Mikhail Romanov. From 1613 to 1653 - the third period, in which the monarchy and the Zemsky Sobor are a single mechanism in eliminating the results of the Troubles. Councils at that time were the most numerous, sat for years (a kind of session) and decided not only political, but also economic issues.

The Zemsky Sobor included three parts: the Consecrated Cathedral, which included the hierarchs of the Russian Church - the metropolitan (then the patriarch), archbishops, abbots of large monasteries; The Boyar Duma - the upper chamber of the Cathedral - and the elective or natural representatives of the service nobility, urban settlements, and partly of the black-haired peasantry. There is accurate data on the composition of the Council of 1566, where 32 out of 374 participants were members of the Consecrated Council, 30 members of the Boyar Duma, 204 nobles, 33 clerks and employees of the apparatus, 73 merchants and representatives of the townspeople.

The initiative to convene the Zemsky Sobor belonged to the tsar, and in the interregnum - from the Boyar Duma or the patriarch. There were no specific dates, the Council was convened as needed. There was also no clearly developed election procedure. It is known that the tsar's charter was usually sent to the localities, which indicated the number of people summoned to Moscow, while it was ordered to elect "the best, middle and young" people to the "deputies", and not the "thin" ones. There was also a kind of moral qualification - in the requirement to elect people "strong, reasonable, kind, persistent", that is, those who know the people's needs and know how to tell about them. These were people to whom "sovereigns and zemstvo affairs were in favor of the custom." The total number of members of the Zemsky Sobor ranged from 195 to 450. The elect received orders from their voters - instructions indicating urgent needs and supply (maintenance). Although, the nobility received a salary from the treasury for their work in the Cathedral.

The meetings were held in the royal chambers in 3 main forms: 1 - the opening of the Zemsky Sobor after the solemn divine service in the Assumption Cathedral and the first general meeting in the palace, at which the tsar's speech was read (by himself or on his behalf by the Duma clerk). The speech sanctified the purpose of convening the Council and set questions for discussion. The second part of the work is a discussion of the questions posed and the development of answers to them by each component of the Council separately, i.e. in the wards. The third act is a set of opinions and the formulation of a general decision at the second general meeting. The decision was formalized in the form of a verdict (some of them with an indication of all the members of the Council were preserved by name).

The prerogative of the Zemsky Sobor was the approval of new laws, the solution of questions of war and peace, the introduction of new taxes, the election of tsars, etc. It should also be emphasized that the Zemsky Sobor helped the state power in the person of the tsar to protect the interests of all classes in society, knowledge of their needs and wishes for the best management contributed to her rapprochement with the people. This knowledge was reflected in legalizations and orders, many of which begin like this: "We know it happened that in the cities the governors and clerk people inflict violence and losses on all people, and great sales, and many promises and feed are consumed", after which he followed an order not to give bribes and gratuitous servants to the governors, not to plow arable land on them, to conduct, if necessary, a judicial investigation, etc.

Representing broader, in comparison with the Boyar Duma, strata of the ruling elite, the Zemsky Sobors in their decisions supported the Moscow tsars. Zemsky councils served as an instrument in strengthening the personal power of the grand dukes, respectively, they were opposed in opposition to the Boyar Duma. The very existence of the Zemsky Councils, like the Boyar Duma, showed the weakness of the power not only of the tsar, but also of the state apparatus of the centralized state, due to which the supreme power was forced to resort to the direct assistance of the feudal class and the upper ranks of the posad.


2.3 Orders: creation, structure, functions


By the middle of the sixteenth century. the old simplified system of the state apparatus of power is being replaced by a new system of central control - the command system. Implementation of certain functions of the state in the 15th century. was entrusted to the boyars, as well as to unrelated, but competent officials - clerks. Over time, these irregular assignments became systematic. As a result, there were such positions as treasurer, printer, discharge and Yamskaya clerk. Initially in the XV century. these officials performed their duties without an auxiliary apparatus. But with the expansion of the range of their tasks from the beginning of the XVI century. they were given "for writing" smaller officials - clerks, united in a special room: the office - "hut", "courtyard". The process of the formation of "huts", "courtyards" - chanceries stretched for several decades from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 16th century. and was non-simultaneous.

Each "hut" or "yard" together with the official who headed it was the basis for the future order. From the middle of the XVI century. "huts" - the office turns into permanent central state institutions - orders. Thus, the ordering system went through a number of stages in its development: an order (in the literal sense of the word) as a one-time assignment, an order as a permanent assignment (such as a "path"), an order as a "hut" (office) and, finally, an order as a state body with independent structural divisions. The following orders are known: the ambassadorial order - in charge of external relations; robbery order - engaged in "dashing" and robbery; local order - in charge of the allotment of land for service; Yamskaya order - Yamskaya service; state order - financial affairs of the state.

The orders carried out judicial functions in cases related to the directions of their activities. In the orders, the paperwork was quite streamlined. During this period, there was no clear delineation of the functions of orders; they could carry out both sectoral and territorial activities, sometimes replacing each other. The order system received the greatest development during the period of the estate-representative monarchy.

New central government bodies - orders - emerged without a legislative basis, unexpectedly, as needed. Some, having arisen, disappeared when the need ended, others were divided into departments, which were transformed into independent orders. Throughout the XVII century. up to 80 orders were recorded, there were up to 40 permanent ones. There was also no strict delimitation of activities between orders. In the Ambassadorial Prikaz, for example, they tortured the participants in the uprisings, took from them "common" and "torture" speeches. In addition to everything, all orders were not only administrative institutions, but also judicial, order people were called judges. At the head of the order was a boyar or a Duma nobleman, who led a staff of officials, which consisted of clerks, clerks and other officials. The clerks headed the office of the order, which, in turn, was divided into tables and by branches of government.

By establishing a centralized order system, in the activities of which the service nobility played the main role, the state limited the role of the feudal elite and finally abolished the system of patrimonial administration. The same direction - strengthening the role of the state with support in the person of the emerging third estate - is also observed in the reform of local government.

3. Local government reforms


Local government is also undergoing changes in parallel with the formation of a centralized state apparatus of power. The limitation of the power of the feeders - governors and volostels - became an integral part of the enterprises carried out by the grand ducal power in order to strengthen the centralized state. These events not only coincided with the wishes of the local nobility, but also found the support and approval of the Black-sowed peasantry. Since both estates were interested in improving, first of all, the activities of the court and that link of state administration, in which the greed of the breeders was especially acute. Military needs and strengthening of the state's defense in the second half of the 15th century. increased the importance of "city affairs", that is, concerns about the construction and strengthening of cities. To improve the reform of local government, special positions appear - city clerks, who ousted the governor-governors, first from the military-administrative, and then from a number of branches of land, financial and even judicial administration. The city clerks appointed by the Grand Duke from the local service nobility were directly subordinate to the Grand Duke. The post of treasurer was also introduced, initially overseeing military-administrative affairs, and above all accounting and storage of all state stocks of weapons and ammunition. The institute of city clerks was the first noble body of local government in the Russian centralized state.


1 Zemskaya reform and abolition of feeding


Late 15th - first half of the 16th century showed not simple drastic transformations in socio-economic relations. The class struggle under these conditions intensified and took on forms unprecedented before: from participation in heresies and escapes to individual terrorist acts and group actions of "dashing people". The breeders were not interested in fighting the "dashing people". The increase in crime was even beneficial for them, since if they were caught, they had extra income from the court.

In February 1551, the peasants of the Plessk volost of the Vladimir district received a charter zemstvo letter, according to which they could, with the help of their chosen "beloved heads" and "kissing men" to Moscow. The post of governor was abolished for them. Everywhere zemstvo reform was carried out only in 1555 - 1556. Since that time, in counties and volosts, where landlord landownership did not previously exist, the peasants of the black-sow and palace lands, as well as the townspeople in the cities, received the right to choose from their midst the "favorite heads" of the elders, as well as the "best people" of kissers or zemstvo judges. The office work of the zemstvo headman and the kselovalnikov was conducted by an elected zemstvo clerk. The district of each zemstvo headman was most often a volost or city. All officials of the zemstvo self-government were elected for an indefinite period, and the population could "change" them. After some time, annual elections were introduced for them. The zemstvo authorities were in charge of collecting taxes - "payoff", as well as the analysis of civil and secondary criminal cases (large criminal cases were in charge of the labial organs) among the black-nosed peasants and townspeople. In the central districts with developed land tenure, where the population was no longer free, zemstvo bodies were often absent and management was carried out by city clerks and laborers who performed administrative, police and financial functions.

There was a real bureaucratic manner in the work of these bodies: strict subordination (vertically) and strict observance of prescribed instructions (horizontally).


2 The lip reform of Ivan IV


Cancellation of feedings is only the final stage in a long process of local government reform.

The labial organs began to form in the 30s. XVI century., Even under the governorship, destroyed in 1555. The action of these elective bodies at first did not spread everywhere, but only in some territories, at the request of the population "by letters". Basically, such requests were sent in order to protect against the bandit gangs that flooded the country during the childhood of Ivan IV. From the middle of the XVI century. labial districts were singled out, in which the nobles elected laborers from among the noblemen or boyar children, the labial clerk and up to 4 kissing people, representing the state of the labial hut. They were charged with criminal cases, including police - the capture of criminals, judicial, prison management. Over time, in some territories, in particular, in the central districts, where the local patrimonial system was strong, the labial organs concentrated all local government in their hands.

It is also noteworthy that “good people” from among the local residents began to be involved in the judicial activities of these bodies. They were present at the trial, sealed the documents with their signatures, and decided whether the defendant was classified as a professional criminal or an ordinary one, which had a rather serious force when passing sentences. This innovation was the beginning of the creation in Russia of a type of jury trial. But the internal reformation was stopped by the will of Ivan the Terrible, and only in the XIX century a jury trial was created in Russia.

For the most part in the areas standing on the border of the state, in the second half of the XVI century. voivodship administration is introduced. After the Troubles, it becomes universal, combining in its hands administrative and military power, as well as control functions in relation to local government. According to the tsar's orders, the governors had to "take care of them so that the peasants - the bawdy rich ... the middle and young people would not fix sales and collect unnecessary extortions." Over time, control takes the form of subordination of the lip authorities to the provincial government. The voivode approved by the king now not only manages the garrison and protects the security of the region, he duplicates the actions of the laborer. The government pondered for some time, not deciding which of these forms of government to leave as the only one. In 1679, the lip government was abolished, in 1684 it was renewed and functioned for some time, until Peter I finally abolished it.

The rude reform was a step forward towards strengthening the centralization of power, but nevertheless, the local authorities themselves, as a result of this reform, did not acquire a full-fledged centralized character. The state apparatus of power was not sufficiently developed to be able to do without the support of representatives of the estates in management: feudal lords, peasants, and townspeople.

Conclusion


In the course of writing the work, the tasks were solved:

) identification of the prerequisites that served as the beginning of the transformation of central and local government in Russia in the sixteenth century;

) consideration of central government reforms;

) analysis of local government reforms.

Based on the study of the most important stages of transformations in the sphere of government during the reign of Ivan IV and the personality of the tsar himself, it can be concluded that the togas of the reign of Ivan IV are extremely contradictory. The main and undoubted result of the reign of Ivan IV is the final completion of the formation of the centralized Russian state - a kingdom that became equal to the great powers of modernity Ivan IV. It acquired wide international prestige, had a fairly strong bureaucratic and military apparatus, which was personally led by the "autocrat of all Russia."

Nevertheless, it was the period of the reign of Ivan IV that gave Russia a grueling and fruitless war with the Livonian principality, which later began to be accompanied by the terror of the oprichnina created by the king. The oprichnina was a forced centralization without the necessary socio-economic reasons, it was the creation of the oprichnina that showed that the government was gripped by total fear. In general, the policy of Ivan IV for Russia turned out to be very fruitful. His neo-odious personality, full of contradictions and contrasts, gave birth to the same reforms in government, one thing is clear - he was not completely indifferent to his homeland. Cruelty and ruthlessness were replaced in him with remorse and rethinking of his unrestrained nature.

The years of the reign personally for the tsar ended extremely unsuccessfully. Firstly, his first and beloved wife Anastasia was killed, the tsar experienced her death very hot and hard, and secondly, in a fit of anger, the tsar kills his eldest son, Ivan, the hope and future successor of the father of Ivan IV. As a result of this murder, a dynastic crisis will be formed in the future, followed by difficult times of Troubles. As a result of palace intrigues, uprisings and interventions, the Romanov dynasty will come to the throne, which will open new pages in the history of the Russian state.


List of used literature


1) Belkovets L.P., Belkovets V.V. History of the state and law of Russia. Lecture course. - Novosibirsk: Novosibirsk book publishing house, 2000.S. 216.

) Zimin A.A. The reforms of Ivan the Terrible: essays on the socio-economic and political history of the middle of the 16th century. P. 511.

) Zuev M.N. Domestic history: textbook. M .: ONIKS 21 century, 2012.S. 672

4) Isaev I.A. History of state and law of Russia: textbook. M .: Prospect, 2010.S. 335

) History of state and law of Russia: textbook / ed. Yu. P. Titov. - M .: Welby, 2013.S. 544.

) History of state and law of Russia: textbook / ed. S. A. Chibiryaeva. - M., 2001.S. 528.

7) Pavlenko N.I. History of the USSR from ancient times to 1861: textbook. M .: - Education, 1989.S. 559.


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Curriculum Vitae 1st Tsar of All Russia 1533 - 1584 Coronation: January 16, 1547 Predecessor: Vasily III Successor: Fedor I Heir: Dmitry (15521553), Ivan (1554-1582), after Fedor Religion: Orthodoxy Birth: August 25, 1530 Kolomenskoye Death : March 18, 1584 (53 years old) Moscow Buried: Archangel Cathedral in Moscow Dynasty: Rurikovich Father: Vasily III Mother: Elena Glinskaya Wife: 1) Anastasia Romanovna 2) Maria Temryukovna 3) Martha Sobakina 4) Anna Koltovskaya 5) Maria Dolgorukaya 6) Anna Vasilchikova 7) Vasilisa Melentieva 8) Maria Nagaya Children: sons: Dmitry, Ivan, Fedor, Vasily, Dmitry Uglitsky daughters: Anna, Maria

Brief Description of the Board Came to power at a very early age. After the uprising in Moscow in 1547, he ruled with the participation of a circle of confidants, which Prince Kurbsky called the "Chosen Rada". Under him, the convocation of Zemsky Councils began, the Code of Laws of 1550 was drawn up. Reforms of the military service, the judicial system and public administration were carried out, including the introduction of elements of self-government at the local level (Gubnaya, Zemskaya and other reforms). In 1560, the Chosen Rada fell, its main figures fell into disgrace, and a completely independent reign of the tsar began. In 1565, after the flight of Prince Kurbsky to Lithuania, the oprichnina was introduced. Under Ivan IV, the increase in the territory of Russia amounted to almost 100%, from 2.8 million km² to 5.4 million km², the Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates were conquered and annexed, thus, by the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the area of ​​the Russian State became larger than the rest of Europe. In 1558-1583 the Livonian War was fought for access to the Baltic Sea. In 1572, as a result of persistent long-term struggle, an end was put to the invasions of the Crimean Khanate (see Russian Crimean Wars), the annexation of Siberia began (1581). Trade relations were established with England (1553) as well as Persia and Central Asia, the first printing house was created in Moscow. The internal policy of Ivan IV, after a streak of failures during the Livonian War and as a result of the tsar's own desire to establish despotic power, acquired a terrorist character and in the second half of the reign was marked by the establishment of an oprichnina, mass executions and murders, the defeat of Novgorod and a number of other cities (Tver, Klin, Torzhok). According to some historians, thousands of victims accompanied the oprichnina, and its results, combined with the results of long and unsuccessful wars, led the state to ruin and a socio-political crisis, as well as to an increase in the tax burden and the formation of serfdom. According to a number of other historians, the result of the reign of Ivan the Terrible was the preservation of Muscovite Rus as an independent state; during the reign, 4-5 thousand people were sentenced to death, which indicates the relative softness of government in comparison with other countries at that time /

The reform program proposed by the nobility The reform of the young king was aimed at strengthening the centralized state and its main support - the serving nobility. The content of these reforms largely coincided with the "petitions" to the tsar, written in 1549 by the nobleman Ivan Peresvetov, who visited different countries, including Turkey, and then left to serve the Moscow tsar. Peresvetov's petitions contain a whole program of actions in which the nobles were interested. Without opposing the nobility as such, Peresvetov insisted that the position of people in the service should be determined not by origin, but by personal merit. The creation of a strong army should give the tsar a powerful force not only for solving external problems, but also for strengthening the tsarist power itself in the struggle against its opponents. The death of Byzantium gave Peresvetov the opportunity to describe the vices that led to the fall of the world center of Orthodoxy - the "second Rome", in order to condemn the same vices in Russia, which has now become the "third Rome." Peresvetov considered the main of these vices to be the dominance of the nobles, their unjust judgment, indifference to the interests of the state, their endless quarrels, when they were "snarling at each other like snakes," their unwillingness to fight. All these "Byzantine" paintings vividly reminded of the recent boyar rule in Russia. Peresvetov considered it necessary to reform the army, court, and finance. A weak government with a strong aristocracy should be replaced by a strong government with sufficient means to maintain "truth." "A state without a thunderstorm is like a horse without a bridle," wrote Peresvetov, demanding ruthless reprisals against opponents of the tsarist power. The sovereign must rely on service people who are loyal to the sovereign and serve him for money.

The program of reforms proposed by the aristocracy The government of Ivan IV could not do without the feudal aristocracy, church and princely-boyar nobility, which was a major force in the country. The nobility generally supported the idea of ​​the country's unity under one rule, but insisted on broad participation in power, on the preservation of their privileges and, thereby, on the limitation of autocracy. The compromise political program was reflected in the letters to Vasily III and Ivan IV, which were written by the learned Greek monk Maxim the Greek, who worked in Russia. Along with the "non-possessors", he shared the Osiflanian thesis about the "divine origin" of state power. The Osiflian idea of ​​an alliance of secular power with the church was combined with non-acquisitive convictions regarding the need for joint government with wise advisers. Like Peresvetov, the Greek considered it necessary to quickly eliminate the "snake" in Kazan, as well as to strengthen the borders of the state. The program of Maxim the Greek as a whole reflected the interests of that part of the princely-boyar and church circles that supported the idea of ​​state unity, but sought to maintain a high-ranking position in the new state system. It is no coincidence that Prince A. M. Kurbsky was among the admirers of Maxim the Greek.

"Chosen Rada" "Chosen Rada" - a small circle of those close to Ivan. IV persons, the exact composition of which is not entirely clear. The very expression "the chosen council" was used by its former participant, Prince A. M. Kurbsky, in one of his letters to Grozny. The "Chosen Rada" included representatives of service people, such as A. f. Adashev is a native of their ignorant, but large landowners; the clergy, such as Metropolitan Macarius and the tsar's confessor, archpriest of the Kremlin Cathedral of the Annunciation, Sylvester; from the princely-boyar nobility, Prince Andrei Kurbsky and Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky; representative of the court administration I. M. Viskovaty and others. Since 1549, together with the Chosen Rada, Ivan IV carried out a series of reforms aimed at centralizing the state: Zemsky reform, Lip reform, carried out transformations in the army. In 1550, a new code of law was adopted, which confirmed the right of peasants to move freely. In 1549, the first Zemsky Sobor was convened. In 1555-1556 Ivan IV canceled feeding and adopted the Code of Service.

Reforms of Ivan IV The Code of Law and tsarist charters provided peasant communities with the right of self-government, taxation and supervision over order. The general armament of the archers with firearms put them above the infantry of the Western states, where some of the infantry (pikemen) had only edged weapons. Consequently, in the formation of the infantry Muscovy, in the person of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, was far ahead of Europe. The "verdict on parochialism" contributed to a significant strengthening of discipline in the army, an increase in the authority of the voivods, especially those of no noble birth, and an improvement in the fighting efficiency of the Russian army, although it met with great resistance from the clan nobility. Under Ivan the Terrible, Jewish merchants were prohibited from entering the territory of Russia. When, in 1550, the Polish king Sigismund-Augustus demanded that they be allowed free entry to Russia, John refused such words: “since they diverted the Russian people from Christianity, and brought poisonous potions to our lands and did dirty tricks to our people ". In order to set up a printing house in Moscow, the tsar turned to Christian II with a request to send book printers, and in 1552 he sent to Moscow through Hans Missingheim a Bible translated by Luther and two Lutheran catechisms, but at the insistence of the Russian hierarchs the king's plan to distribute the translations in several thousand copies was rejected. In the early 1560s, Ivan Vasilyevich made a landmark reform of the state sphragistics. From that moment on, a stable type of state seal appeared in Russia. For the first time, a horseman appears on the chest of an ancient two-headed eagle - the coat of arms of the princes of Rurik's house, which was previously depicted separately, and always on the front side of the state seal, while the image of the eagle was placed on the back. The new seal sealed the treaty with the Danish kingdom on April 7, 1562.

Reasons for the introduction of the oprichnina 1. The fall of the Chosen Rada is assessed by historians in different ways. According to V. B. Kobrin, this was a manifestation of the conflict between two programs of centralization of Russia: through slow structural reforms or swiftly, by force. Historians believe that the choice of the second path is due to the personal character of Ivan the Terrible, who did not want to listen to people who disagree with his policy. Thus, after 1560, Ivan took the path of tightening power, which led him to repressive measures. 2. According to RG Skrynnikov, the nobility would have easily forgiven Grozny for the resignation of his advisers Adashev and Sylvester, but she did not want to put up with an attempt on the prerogatives of the Boyar Duma. The ideologist of the boyars, Kurbsky, protested in the strongest possible way against the infringement of the privileges of the nobility and the transfer of management functions to the clerks (clerks).

The reasons for the introduction of oprichnina 3. New discontent of the princes, Skrynnikov believes, was caused by the tsar's decree of January 15, 1562 on the restriction of their patrimonial rights, even more than before equating them with the local nobility. As a result, in the early 1560s. among the nobility there is a desire to flee from Tsar Ivan abroad. So, twice tried to flee abroad and twice was forgiven by I. D. Belsky, were caught trying to escape and forgiven Prince V. M. Glinsky and Prince I. V. Sheremetev. Tension is growing among the encirclement of Grozny: in the winter of 1563, boyars Kolychev, T. Pukhov-Teterin, M. Sarokhozin fled to the Poles. He was accused of treason and conspiracy with the Poles, but after that the governor of Starodub, Prince V. Funikov, was pardoned. For an attempt to leave for Lithuania, the Smolensk voivode, Prince Dmitry Kurlyatev, was recalled from Smolensk and exiled to a remote monastery on Lake Ladoga. In April 1564, Andrei Kurbsky fled to Poland in fear of disgrace, as Grozny himself later points out in his writings, sending Ivan a letter of accusation from there. 4. In 1564 the Russian army was defeated on the river. Ole. There is a version that this was the impetus for the beginning of the executions of those whom Grozny considered to be the culprits of the defeat: the cousins ​​were executed - the princes Obolensky, Mikhail Petrovich Repnin and Yuri Ivanovich Kashin, and the famous voivode Nikita Vasilyevich Sheremetev was executed for a quarrel with Basmanov. 5. In early December 1564, according to Shokarev's research, there was an attempt at armed revolt against the tsar, in which Western forces took part.

Means of the oprichnina The beginning of the formation of the oprichnina army can be considered the same year 1565, when a detachment of 1000 people was formed, selected from the "oprichnina" counties. Each oprichnik took an oath of allegiance to the king and pledged not to communicate with the zemstvo. In the future, the number of "guardsmen" reached 6,000 people. The troops of the archers from the oprichnina territories were also included in the Oprichnaya army. From that time on, servicemen began to be divided into two categories: boyar children, from the Zemshchyna, and boyar children, "courtyards and policemen," that is, they received the sovereign's salary directly from the "royal court". Consequently, the Oprichnina army should be considered not only the Tsar's regiment, but also service people recruited from the oprichnina territories and served under the command of the oprichnina ("courtyard") governors and heads. Schlichting, Taube and Kruse mention 500-800 people of the "special oprichnina". These people, if necessary, served in the role of trusted royal guarantors, carrying out security, intelligence, investigative and punitive functions. The remaining 1200 oprichniks are divided into four orders, namely: Bed, in charge of the maintenance of the palace premises and household items of the royal family; Bronny - armory; Stables, which was in charge of the huge horse farm of the palace and the royal guard; and Nourishing - food. As the oprichnina abbot, the tsar performed all monastic duties. At midnight everyone got up at midnight office, at four in the morning for Matins, and at eight, Mass began. The tsar showed an example of piety: he himself called for matins, sang in the kliros, prayed fervently, and read the Holy Scriptures aloud during the general meal. Overall, the service lasted about 9 hours a day. At the same time, there is evidence that orders for executions and torture were often given in the church.

Aims of the oprichnina With the help of the oprichniks, who were exempted from judicial responsibility, John IV forcibly confiscated the boyar and princely estates, transferring them to the noble oprichniks. The boyars and princes themselves were given estates in other regions of the country, for example, in the Volga region. For the consecration of Metropolitan Philip, which took place on July 25, 1566, he prepared and signed a letter, according to which Philip promised “not to intervene in the oprichnina and the tsar’s everyday life and, upon appointment, because of the oprichnina ... not to leave the metropolitanate”. The introduction of the oprichnina was marked by massive repressions: executions, confiscations, and disgraces. In 1566, some of the disgraced were returned, but after the Council of 1566 and the demands for the abolition of the oprichnina, the terror resumed. Opposite the Kremlin, on Neglinnaya (on the site of the present-day RSL), a stone Oprichny courtyard was built, where the tsar moved from the Kremlin.

"The search for Novgorod treason" The continuation of the oprichnina activity was the "search" for the Novgorod treason, which was carried out throughout 1570, and many prominent guardsmen were also involved in the case. At the end of the same year, the tsar began a campaign against Novgorod, the reason for which was a denunciation filed by a certain vagrant, Volyn Peter, for something punished in Novgorod, and accusing the Novgorodians, headed by Archbishop Pimen, of intending to put Prince Vladimir Staritsky on the throne and transfer Novgorod and Pskov to the Polish king. VB Kobrin believes that "the denunciation was frankly absurd and contradictory", since the Novgorodians were ascribed two incompatible aspirations. Moving to Novgorod in the fall of 1569, the guardsmen staged massacres and robberies in Tver, Klin, Torzhok and other oncoming cities. In December 1569, Malyuta Skuratov personally strangled Metropolitan Philip, who refused to bless the campaign against Novgorod, in the Tverskoy Monastery.

Foreign policy In the first half of the 16th century, mainly during the reign of the khans from the Crimean clan Gireyev, the Kazan Khanate waged constant wars with Moscow Russia. In total, the Kazan khans made about forty campaigns on the Russian lands, mainly in the outskirts of the regions of Nizhny Novgorod, Vyatka, Vladimir, Kostroma, Galich, Murom, Vologda. “It was empty from the Crimea and from Kazan to the semi-earth,” the tsar wrote, describing the consequences of the invasions. Trying to find peaceful ways of settlement, Ivan the Terrible supported the Kasimov ruler, loyal to Russia, Shah-Ali, who, having become the Kazan khan, approved the draft union with Moscow. But in 1546, Shah-Ali was expelled by the Kazan nobility, who elevated Khan Safa-Girey to the throne from a dynasty hostile to Russia. After that, Ivan IV decided to take action and eliminate the threat posed by Kazan. "From that moment on," the historian points out, "Moscow put forward a plan for the final destruction of the Kazan Khanate."

Kazan campaigns The first campaign (winter 1547/1548). The tsar left Moscow on December 20, because of the early thaw, 15 versts from Nizhny Novgorod, siege artillery and part of the army left under the ice on the Volga. It was decided to return the tsar from the crossing back to Nizhny Novgorod, while the main voivods with the part of the army that managed to cross reached Kazan, where they entered into battle with the Kazan army. As a result, the Kazan army retreated behind the walls of the wooden Kremlin, the Russian army did not dare to storm it without siege artillery and, having stood under the walls for seven days, retreated. On March 7, 1548, the tsar returned to Moscow. Second campaign (autumn 1549 - spring 1550). In March 1549, Safa-Girey died suddenly. Having accepted the Kazan messenger with a request for peace, Ivan IV refused him, and began to gather an army. On November 24, he left Moscow to lead the army. Having united in Nizhny Novgorod, the army moved to Kazan and on February 14 was at its walls. Kazan was not taken; however, when the Russian army retreated not far from Kazan, when the Sviyaga River flows into the Volga, it was decided to build a fortress. On March 25, the tsar returned to Moscow. In 1551, in just 4 weeks, a fortress was assembled from carefully numbered components, which was named Sviyazhsk; it served as a stronghold for the Russian army during the next campaign.

Kazan campaigns and their consequences The third campaign (June-October 1552) - ended with the capture of Kazan. The campaign was attended by 150 thousandth Russian army, armament included 150 cannons. The Kazan Kremlin was taken by storm. Khan Ediger-Magmet was handed over to the Russian governors. I. I. Smirnov believes that "the Kazan campaign of 1552 and the brilliant victory of Ivan IV over Kazan not only meant a major foreign policy success of the Russian state, but also contributed to the strengthening of the tsar's foreign policy positions." In defeated Kazan, the tsar appointed Prince Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky as Kazan governor, and Prince Vasily Serebryany as his comrade. After the establishment of the episcopal see in Kazan, the tsar and the church council, by lot, elected Abbot Guria in the rank of archbishop to it. Guriy received an order from the tsar to convert Kazan residents to Orthodoxy solely at the personal request of each person, but "unfortunately, such prudent measures were not always followed: the intolerance of the century took its toll ...". From the first steps in the conquest and development of the Volga region, the tsar began to invite to his service all the Kazan nobility, who agreed to swear allegiance to him, sending “in all the uluses to the black people with the help of dangerous letters of letters, so that they would go to the sovereign without fear of anything; but whoever repaired dashingly, God took revenge on him; and their sovereign would welcome them, and they would have paid yasaks, like the former Tsar of Kazan ”. This nature of the policy not only did not require the preservation of the main military forces of the Russian state in Kazan, but, on the contrary, made it natural and expedient for Ivan's solemn return to the capital. Immediately after the capture of Kazan, in January 1555, the ambassadors of the Siberian Khan Ediger asked the tsar to “take the whole Siberian land under his own name and intercede (defend) from all sides and put his tribute on them and send his man to whom to collect tribute ".

The Significance of the Kazan Campaigns The conquest of Kazan was of tremendous importance for the life of the people. The Kazan Tatar horde tied under their rule a complex foreign world into one strong whole: Mordovians, Cheremisu, Chuvash, Votyaks, Bashkirs. Cheremisy beyond the Volga, on the river. Unzhe and Vetluge, and the Mordovians beyond the Oka, delayed the colonization movement of Russia to the east; and the raids of the Tatars and other "language" on the Russian settlements were terribly harmful to them, ruining the economy and taking many Russian people into the "full". Kazan was a chronic ulcer of Moscow life, and therefore its capture became a national celebration, sung by a folk song. After the capture of Kazan, within only 20 years, it was turned into a large Russian city; at different points of the non-Russian Volga region, fortified cities were set up as a support of the Russian power and the Russian settlement. The masses of the people reached out, without delay, to the rich lands of the Volga region and to the forest regions of the middle Urals. Huge areas of valuable land were pacified by the Moscow authorities and developed by the people's labor. This was the meaning of the "Kazan capture", sensitively guessed by the people's mind. The occupation of the lower Volga and Western Siberia was a natural consequence of the elimination of the barrier that the Kazan kingdom was for Russian colonization.

Astrakhan campaigns In the early 1550s, the Astrakhan Khanate was an ally of the Crimean Khan, controlling the lower reaches of the Volga. Before the final subordination of the Astrakhan Khanate under Ivan IV, two campaigns were made: The campaign of 1554 was made under the command of the voivode Yu. I. Pronsky. Shemyakin. In the battle at the Black Island, the Russian army defeated the head Astrakhan detachment. Astrakhan was taken without a fight. As a result, Dervish-Ali Khan was brought to power, promising support to Moscow. The campaign in 1556 was associated with the fact that Khan Dervish-Ali went over to the side of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire. The campaign was led by the voivode N. Cheremisinov. First, the Don Cossacks of the detachment of Ataman L. Filimonov defeated the Khan's army near Astrakhan, after which in July Astrakhan was again taken without a fight. As a result of this campaign, the Astrakhan Khanate was subordinated to Moscow Russia. Later, the Crimean Khan Devlet I Girey made attempts to recapture Astrakhan. After the conquest of Astrakhan, Russian influence began to extend to the Caucasus. In 1559 the princes of Pyatigorsk and Cherkassk asked Ivan IV to send them a detachment to defend against the raids of the Crimean Tatars and priests to maintain the faith; the tsar sent them two governors and priests, who renewed the fallen ancient churches, and in Kabarda they showed wide missionary activity, baptizing many into Orthodoxy.

Wars with the Crimean Khanate Troops of the Crimean Khanate organized regular raids into the southern territories of Moscow Russia from the beginning of the 16th century (raids in 1507, 1517, 1521). Their goal was to rob Russian cities and capture the population. During the reign of Ivan IV, raids continued (1536, 1537, 1541, 1552, 1555). After the seizure of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates by Ivan the Terrible, Devlet I Girey vowed to return them. In 1563 and 1569, together with Turkish troops, he made two unsuccessful campaigns against Astrakhan. After that, three more trips to the Moscow lands are made: 1570 - a devastating raid on Ryazan; 1571 - the campaign against Moscow - ended with the burning of Moscow. 1572 - the last big campaign of the Crimean Khan in the reign of Ivan IV, ended with the destruction of the Crimean Turkish army. For the decisive defeat of the Russian state, the 120 thousandth Crimean-Turkish horde moved. However, in the battle of Molodya, the enemy was destroyed by a 60 thousandth Russian army under the leadership of the governor M. Vorotynsky and D. Khvorostinin - 5-10 thousand returned to the Crimea. The death of a select Turkish army near Astrakhan in 1569 and the defeat of the Crimean horde near Moscow in 1572 put an end to the Turkish-Tatar expansion in Eastern Europe.

War with Sweden 1554-1557 The war was caused by a dispute over border territories. In April 1555, the Swedish flotilla of Admiral Jacob Bagge passed the Neva and landed an army in the area of ​​the Oreshek fortress. The siege of the fortress did not bring results, the Swedish army retreated. In response, Russian troops invaded Swedish territory and on January 20, 1556, defeated a Swedish detachment near the Swedish city of Kivinebb. Then there was a clash at Vyborg, after which this fortress was besieged. The siege lasted 3 days, Vyborg withstood. As a result, in March 1557, an armistice was signed in Novgorod for a period of 40 years (entered into force on January 1, 1558). The Russian-Swedish border was restored according to the old line, defined by the Orekhov Peace Treaty of 1323. Under the treaty, Sweden returned all Russian prisoners together with the seized property, while Russia returned Swedish prisoners for ransom.

Livonian War In January 1558, Ivan IV began the Livonian War for the capture of the Baltic Sea coast. Initially, hostilities developed successfully. Despite the raid on the southern Russian lands of a hundred thousandth Crimean horde in the winter of 1558, the Russian army conducted active offensive operations in the Baltic States, took Narva, Dorpat, Neishloss, Neuhaus, defeated the order troops at Tyrzen near Riga. In the spring and summer of 1558, the Russians captured the entire eastern part of Estonia, and by the spring of 1559 the army of the Livonian Order was finally defeated, and the Order itself actually ceased to exist. At the direction of Alexei Adashev, the Russian governors accepted a proposal for an armistice coming from Denmark, which lasted from March to November 1559 and began separate negotiations with Livonian urban circles about the pacification of Livonia in exchange for some trade concessions from German cities. At this time, the lands of the Order passed under the patronage of Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark. The tsar understood that without a military fleet it was impossible to return the Russian Baltic lands, waging a war with Sweden, the Commonwealth and the Hanseatic cities, which had armed forces at sea and dominated the Baltic. In the very first months of the Livonian War, the Sovereign tried to create a privateer fleet, with the involvement of the Danes in Moscow service, turning sea and river vessels into warships. In the late 70s, Ivan Vasilyevich began to build his own military fleet in Vologda and tried to transfer it to the Baltic. Alas, the great plan was not destined to come true.

The entry of Poland and Lithuania into the war on August 31, 1559, the Master of the Livonian Order Gotthard Ketteler and the King of Poland and Lithuania Sigismund II August concluded in Vilna an agreement on the entry of Livonia under the protectorate of Poland, which was supplemented on September 15 by an agreement on military assistance to Livonia by Poland and Lithuania. This diplomatic action served as an important milestone in the course and development of the Livonian War: the war between Russia and Livonia turned into a struggle of the states of Eastern Europe for the Livonian inheritance.

Military action in Livonia In May 1570, the king signed an armistice with King Sigismund for a period of three years, despite the huge number of mutual claims. The proclamation of the king of the Livonian kingdom delighted both the Livonian nobility, who received freedom of religion and a number of other privileges, and the Livonian merchants, who received the right to free duty-free trade in Russia, and in return allowed foreign merchants, artists and technicians to enter Moscow. On December 13, the Danish king Frederick entered into an alliance with the Swedes, as a result of which the Russian-Danish alliance did not take place. The main condition for agreeing to his election as the king of Poland, the tsar set the concession of Poland to Livonia in favor of Russia, and as compensation, offering to return the Poles "Polotsk with suburbs." But on November 20, 1572, Maximilian II concluded an agreement with Grozny, according to which all ethnic Polish lands (Great Poland, Mazovia, Kuyavia, Silesia) went to the empire, and Moscow received Livonia and the Lithuanian principality with all its possessions - that is, Belarus, Podlasie, Ukraine , so the noble nobility hastened with the election of the king and elected Henry of Valois.

The end of the war in Livonia In further negotiations for peace with Poland, Ivan the Terrible offered to give Poland all of Livonia, with the exception of four cities. Bathory did not agree to this and demanded all the Livonian cities, in addition Sebezh and payment of 400,000 Hungarian gold for military expenses. This pissed off the Terrible, and he answered with a sharp letter. After that, in the summer of 1581, Stefan Batory invaded deep into Russia and laid siege to Pskov, which, however, was never able to take. Then the Swedes took Narva, where 7000 Russians died, then Ivangorod and Koporye. Ivan was forced to negotiate with Poland, hoping to conclude with her then an alliance against Sweden. In the end, the tsar was forced to agree to the conditions of Poland - that is, the war that lasted for almost a quarter of a century ended with the restoration of the status quo ante bellum, thus becoming fruitless. A 10-year truce on these conditions was signed on January 15, 1582 in Pit Zapolsky. Even before the completion of negotiations in Yama-Zapolsky, the Russian government launched preparations for a military campaign against the Swedes. The prospect of Russia returning the lost outlet to the Baltic Sea caused great concern among the king and his entourage. Batory sent his representatives to Baron Delagardie and King Johan with an ultimatum demanding to transfer Narva and the rest of the lands of Northern Estonia to the Poles, and in return promised significant monetary compensation and assistance in the war with Russia. Negotiations between the official representatives of Russia and Sweden began in 1582 and ended in August 1583 with the signing of a two-year armistice in the Manor with the cession of Novgorod fortresses to the Swedes - Yama, Koporye and Ivangorod. By signing an armistice for such a period, Russian politicians hoped that with the outbreak of the Polish-Swedish war they would be able to regain the Novgorod suburbs captured by the Swedes and did not want to tie their hands.

Cultural activities Ivan IV went down in history not only as a conqueror. He was one of the most educated people of his time, possessed a phenomenal memory and theological erudition. He is the author of numerous letters (including to Kurbsky, Elizabeth I, Stefan Bathory, Johan III, Vasily Gryazny, Jan Khodkevich, Jan Rokita, Prince Polubensky, to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery), a sticheron for the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, canon to the Archangel Michael (under the pseudonym Parthenius the Ugly). Ivan IV was a good orator. By order of the tsar, a unique literary monument was created - the Facial Chronicle Code. The tsar contributed to the organization of printing in Moscow and the construction of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. He loved to travel to monasteries, was interested in describing the life of the great kings of the past. It is assumed that Ivan inherited from his grandmother Sophia Palaeologus the most valuable library of sea despots, which included ancient Greek manuscripts; what he did with it is unknown: according to some versions, the library of Ivan the Terrible died in one of the Moscow fires, according to others it was hidden by the tsar.