Episode 324: Ivan the Terrible (Part One)

and frankly, it doesn't add much to the narrative. The other thing I will say is that while I am not going to get into the gory details of much of this, these episodes are still probably not the best for kids, especially younger kids. The last caveat I'm going to make is I do not speak Russian. I am not well versed in many of these names. I'm going to do my best, and what I am going to try to do is limit the number of names to

only those absolutely necessary to understand the flow of the story. Because, like we have recognized in many, many different cultures across the Western world, the House of the russ tends to reuse the same names over and over and over again. With all that being said, let's get into Ivan's father, Valissi, who died at the very tail end of our last episode. Now, when he passed, Ivan was all powerful even at three

years old. A few days after his father's burial, he was invested with the powers of a sovereign of Russia by the boyars and the church officials. As a quick aside, the leader of the Orthodox Church of Moscow in the sources is referred to as the Metropolitan. I'll remind you as we go, but just remember that term metropolitan. It means something like bishop. I'm being a little loose with my facts here, but that's kind of the closest equivalent

that I can give you. The total population of Russia, and I'm putting that in air quotes right now in the early sixteenth century was about eight million people. It stretched from the Arctic to the southern steppe, where you start to run into the various khanates that succeeded the Golden Horde. To the east, it was bordered by the Khanate of Hazan and to the west by Livonia, Lithuania, and Poland. Much of what is today Ukraine, including Kiev, was actually at the time in the possession of the

Kingdom of Lithuania. By and large, young Ivan lived out his youthful life at court within the confines of the Kremlin, which by the way, functioned as both palace, fortress and government center. Life wasn't necessarily carefree. There was a lot of protocol to follow, especially around the more powerful Boyar families, of which they're about fifteen. They were the hereditary lords of Moscow after Ivan, who was the Grand Prince at

this point. There are only two titles in those days, Veli khi Khinas, which meant grand Prince, and Kinnas, which meant prince or princess. Every boy are in titled to it used the second title. So there are a lot of princes and princesses in this story arc. I'm going to tell you that they are not by and large related to Ivan or to the royal house, just a title. Now. The Kremlin was designed to defend the Grand Prince more than anything else. The hallways were narrow, the ceilings were low,

and every door was guarded. Every ruler of Moscow knew the biggest risk to his life came from those closest to them. Ivan was absolutely no exception here. Ivan spent most of his formative years with his mother Elena in the Tarim Palace. Her uncle Mikhail Glinski, was the most powerful man on the Regency Council and effectively ran Russia

after Vassili's death. Glinski was utterly ruthless when he heard of a plot to place the hapless Yuri, Ivan's younger brother and who, as you may recall from the last episode, was bored with we would today say mental birth defects when they plan to place him on the throne in exchange for Ivan. Glenskey didn't take any chances. He clapped Yuri the young boy in chains, and he threw him in a jail cell. He died there two years later.

There had likely never been any plot to put Yuri on the throne, but even the hint was too much for Glinski. Russia was and still is a very rough place to play politics. Glinsky himself did not last long after Princess Elena decided she wanted a new romantic partner, whom Golinsky opposed. Elena now wasted no time. She had Glensky summoned before the Privy Council and accused of wanting to rule Russia as a despot, He, like Yuri, was clapped at irons and tossed into a cell. He, like Yuri,

was dead by fifteen thirty six. In fact, he outlived the prince that he imprisoned by only a few weeks. This now left Elena's consort, Prince Olensky in charge. Now. All the while, of course, Ivan continued to grow nervous, passionate, and somewhat easily excitable, and of course incapable of concealing his emotions. Child Ivan showed many of the characteristics he's going to reveal later. He was fascinated by church rituals, pilgrimages, sacred relics, and the idea of kingship. At an early age,

he memorized long passages of the scriptures by heart. From his tutors. He acquired an absorbing interest in the sacred and ancient history. His heroes were men like David, Solomon, Augustus, Constantine, and Theodosius. The kings and emperors of Jerusalem, Rome and Byzantine interest him just as much, if not more than the list of grand princes of Moscow. His ancestors. The

emperors of Byzantine to him were also his ancestors. And he could thus convinced himself that he was descended from a long line of royal personages reaching all the way back to King David himself. He was fascinated by the Russian chronicles, the sermons and the holmonies of the church fathers, Roman and Byzantine history. He walked with kings and saints, and quite frankly, knew very little about the lives of ordinary people. Then, rather abruptly, the regency came to an end.

On April third, fifteen thirty eight, when Ivan was eight years old, Princess Elena suddenly died, likely of a heart attack. Her death shocked Ivan, but it seems to have been totally random. There are no suggestions of foul play in any of our sources, which is somewhat telling. As soon as she died, one of the boyars on the Privy Council, Vassili Shuski, seized power. He had Elena's old consort chucked

into prison. Shushki treated Ivan very differently. He made it clear that the boy lived only so long as he did what he was told, kept his mouth shut. Needless to say, Ivan despised him. Vasili Shuski wasn't inexperienced in government. He was in his sixties. He was a soldier and administrator. He was a man of few words. In fact, they called him the silent one, silence being one of his most formidable weapons. He was totally without scruples, morality, and

totally merciless. He had at one point the governor of Smolensk arrested and then hanged from the city walls when he thought he was colluding with the Grand Prince of Lithuania. One of his first tasks when he came to power was to open the prisons and release all those sentenced by Olena for treachery. Two months after her death, he married Anastasia, Ivan's first cousin, the daughter of his aunt.

The princess had not the least wish to be married to this man, but he was the regent with the power of life and death of everyone, so she submitted. By marrying into Ivan's family, Veliskishuski was legitimizing his slow usurpation of power. The princess, by the way, was doubly royal because she was also the granddaughter of the Grand Prince Ivan the third and a former Khan of Kazan. Immediately after the marriage, Vasily Shuski moved with his new

very young bride into the Kremlin Palace. Only three people remained close to Ivan. Ivan Belski was the most important Boyar to stay loyal to the young prince. In fact, Belski worked actively to bring down Shouski from within. First, he packed the Boyar council with his own supporters. His next step was to reduce Shushki's power to the extent that he was once again one of many regency members, not the leader. Then his final step was to execute

a coup. It did not work. We have no idea as naside whether the young Ivan the fourth knew anything at all about this. Belski's revolt failed, mostly because he organized it so poorly. Belski tried to move against sue Huski when he was absent from Moscow. After the attempted coup fell apart, all of the conspirators were arrested and Belski found himself under house arrest. Then Belski got extremely lucky.

Shuski abruptly died, apparently of natural causes. He was succeeded on the council by his brother, who annoyingly had the exact same name. This new Shouski, however, had a lot less ability. In fifteen forty, Belski escaped his home confinement and made his way to Ivan. Together with the Metropolitan, the lead Orthodox bishop of Moscow. The three stage a coup, and this time they were able to remove the new

Shouski from power. Belski proved to be a moderate. He became the new regent, which pleased Ivan and decided he wouldn't punish Shuski, given that his fall from power was punishment enough. Ivan was now ten years old. What he had learned so far was that power was everything maintaining It was about stealth, surprise, and murder. These were lessons he learned well. Ever, since the year twelve twenty three, the Russians had been forced to deal with the Mongols

the Golden Horde or some sech successor state. Only Novgorod had been untouched by the Mongol invasions, with the rest of Russia being reduced to some form of a client state. By the time of Ivan the Fourth, the only real remaining Mongol presence was to the southeast. These were the Tartars, sort of an ethnic mix between Mongol invaders and Turkic peoples. The Tartars still rated, sometimes extensively, into southern Russia and

remained a major obstacle to further Russian expansion. Belski's rise to power somewhat ironically made the situation more acute for Ivan. Belski's younger brother Simeon had initially fled to Lithuania for reasons that are far from clear in the record, but now he found himself in the kart of the Tartar Khan and in fifteen thirty four started actively pushing the Khan to invade Russia. In July fifteen forty one, the Tartars crossed the Don River into Russian territory. Moscow was

placed on high alert. Although Ivan was only a boy and could not direct the defense of the city per se, he remained an important figurehead. The people believed he was their direct connection to God, so it was important that he be seen as active in the defense of the city. When news reached Moscow that the Tartars had reached the Oka River not far from the city, Prince Dmitribelski was dispatched with an army to prevent the Tartars from crossing

the order he was given read as follows quote. But if it should happen that the Khan succeeds in crossing the river, then you must hold fast for the sake of the Holy Churches and the Orthodox Christians, and fight the Tartars with God's help. I this is from Ivan, shall reward you and your children. And those of you whom God shall take will have their names entered into the Book of Life. And I shall give rewards to

their wives and children. This proclamation, which at least officially came from Ivan himself, had the effect of showing Ivan as deeply concerned for the welfare for his army, and it boosted morale. So the army of Crimea reached the Oka River at three o'clock in the afternoon on July the thirtieth, fifteen forty one. The Tartar engineers had already laid down pontoons near a small town, and a massive crossing was about to take place when the Russian army

suddenly appeared on the opposite bank. The Khan zayoup Gari set up his headquarters on a hill overlooking the river. Only the first detachment of Dmitribelski's army had reached the river bank. But they were so numerous that for a while the Khan thought he was confronted by the entire Russian army. It was a hot summer day, and were told the arms and armor of the Russians glintered in

the sun. The Khan nevertheless prissed his advantage. His troops raced across the pontoons, and the Turkish guns he had brought with him opened up. The Tartar archers drew their bows and arrows fell on the Russians. The chronicle indicates, thick as rain. This relentless, massive assault seem to shudder through the Russian lines, which faltered and they were close to breaking. Remember this was only the tip of the Russian Iceberg. More and more Russian troops came up, and

the line held. Soon the Russian heavy guns were answering the fire of the Turkish guns, and the Tartars were being forced off the north bank of the river. That night, the Khan held a council of war. The forces arrayed against him were clearly more than he expected. He became convinced that there was no way his army could successfully cross the river. Before morning. He had decided to break off the engagement. Before long, the whole of the Tartar

army was fleeing south. Ultimately, Demise Tribelski decided to pursue them with only a token force. He feared an ambush, and it was generally the policy of the Russian army at this stage not to pursue a retreating army. Back in Moscow, with much of the army loyal, Toubelski and Ivan absent, Ivan Shuyski decided to attempt a coup. This plot called for the simultaneous arrests of Velski, the Metropolitan,

and Ivan himself. It worked perfectly. In fact, when the Lithuanian ambassador arrived that March, he wrote back how surprised he was at the sudden and abrupt change in regent. Indeed, it was becoming increasingly imparent in Russia that coups were the order of the day. Ivan responded to all of this by behaving as he was expected to in public, while seething in private, making matters worse. Ivan Shusky treated

Ivan the Fourth just as poorly as his brother had. Luckily, for our Ivan Shuski, like his brother before him, died pretty quickly. He died of natural causes. In May fifteen forty two, Ivan Belski unfortunately died in prison. That same month, Ivan Shuski was succeeded as regent by his brother Andrey Shuski, but this time Ivan had had enough. On December the twenty ninth, fifteen forty three, Andrey Shuski came to an audience with Ivan unarmed, without personal guards. Ivan did not

need two chances. He ordered Shusky arrested and given over to the keeper of the hounds, where he was clubbed to death before his body was unceremoniously flung outside the Kremlin. Ivan the fourth was done being a puppet. That September he turned fifteen, and Ivan could now be formally invested as the Grand Prince of Moscow in his own right. Before he could, however, affairs in the south took over. It seemed likely the Tartars were going to try another invasion.

Luckily for Ivan, the Tartar court was just as riven with factional intrigue as the Russian one. A pro Russia candidate emerged and, with Russian support, became khan, hence the Khanate of Kazan suddenly and once more became a Russian vassal, the threat for the moment was gone. Ivan finally reached Moscow on December the twelfth, fifteen forty six. At present his two uncles, both from the Glinsky family, were in charge, but everyone now agreed it was time for Ivan to

be crowned. But crowned what. For As long as Moscow had existed, the ruler had been crowned Grand Prince. But now the ruler of Moscow also ruled Novgorod, extensive territories to the south and, through its vassal, the Khanate of Kazan, so the title of prince no longer seemed appropriate. Ivan was an emperor. It was a new caesar. Hence, when Ivan was crowned on January the sixteenth, fifteen forty seven, he was crowned the first ever Russian czar, a term

derived from the word caesar. The association with the great and glorious Roman Empire was clear. From this point on, every Russian ruler up to Nicholas the Second would be crowned Czar even happily claimed this new title in his coronation speech, quote, Father, most Holy Metropolitan, by the will of our God, our ancestors, the grand Princes have from earliest times to the present day handed down the Grand

principality to their eldest sons. Thus, my father, Grand Prince Velisi venage of all of Russia during his lifetime, endowed me with the Grand Principality of Vladimir and of Moscow and of Novgorod and of all Russia, and commanded that I should ascend the grand princely throne and be anointed and crowned with the Tsar's crown according to our ancient customs, and my father, the Grand Prince wrote about this in

his testament. Therefore, our father, thou shouldst bless my ascension to the throne and pronounce me grand Prince and Tzar crowned by God end quote. Asar Ivan wasted little time in solidifying his dynasty. He married Anastasia Zacharina, the daughter of a powerful Boyar family, in February fifteen forty seven. Now, in that same spring, Moscow was hit by not one but two major fires. Like many European cities, but even

more so, Moscow was a city built of timber. As a result, it was extremely susceptible to fires, and would be so throughout Ivan's reign. Honestly, fires will remain a problem in Moscow for about the next two centuries. On June the twenty first, fifteen forty seven, at ten o'clock in the morning, a fire began in the Church of Exultation of the Cross on the crowded Arbat Street, and within an hour the entire area beyond the Neglina River had gone up in total flames. A strong wind was blowing.

The fire took the form of sheets of flame moving at will across Moscow, and when the wind changed directions, the fires and flames stormed across the Kremlin walls. The Tsar's palace even caught fire. His stables, armory, treasury all went up in flames. Within this treasury was kept the regalia, vast stores of gold, and the jeweled Cross, containing a fragment of the True Cross. The gold domed of the Cathedral of the Renunciation, which stood next to the treasury,

caught fire and all of its treasures perished. Famous buildings within the Kremlin compound went up in flames. The people of Moscow were furious. They could not blame the Tsar, as he essentially descended directly from God to attack. The Tsar was to mount an assault on the Almighty, but they could blame his ministers, and in this case they

blamed the Glinsky family. At this time, Mikhayo Glinski and his older mother, the Princess Anna Glinskaya, were living at their estates and out of reach, but Prince Yuri Glinsky, Mikhail's brother, had recently arrived in Moscow and was actually present on the square outside the cathedral. He was being accused of practicing magic against the people, as were all

members of the Glinski family. He was recognized and fled for safety into the cathedral, hoping to receive sanctuary, but the crowd ran after him, murdered him, and dragged his body through the main gates of the cathedral and carried it triumphantly to the place of execution on the red Square, where it was exposed for everyone to see. In this way, the goal was to show that the accused had been properly executed for his crimes, but the chief target of

the mob remained the Princess Anna Glinskaya. Ivan, however, hated the mob and detested the idea of mob violence. He wanted to control, and the mob represented the absolute absence of control. So for the first time in his reign, Ivan used duplicity to get what he wanted. He addressed the crowd directly. He told them he was not hiding the princess, which he was. The mob then dispersed. No sooner had it than Ivan had the ringleaders arrested and

summarily executed. It was his second act of decisive ruthlessness. Now there are many portraits of a young Ivan, but there are a few miniatures that survive. They show a round face, curly haired youth laden down with crowns and jewels. In each of these, Ivan is surrounded by monks and church officials, with whom he seems to have spent a genuine amount of time with. The Tsar's principal adviser at

this point was alexey Adishev. He presided over what was called the Chosen Council, a small deliver to body of men who effectively ran Russia during these years. And these were tough years for Russia overall. There were a series of bad harvest and tons of issues with the Crimean Tartars, who remained distinct from the Kannate of Kazan. Prince Dmitri Belski set out again to deal with the threat in

January fifteen forty eight. The weather, however, was awful and the rains made it impossible to move the heavy artillery. It is a somewhat unique aspect of war in Russia and on the Eastern Step, that is easier to fight in the dead of winter or when the temperatures are such that moving artillery along frozen rivers is possible. In this case, though, the Russians were ultimately able to force a battle with the Tartars on the Plane of Arsk,

which Belski won. It was the first true military achievement of Ivan's reign. While Belski was in the south, Kishev was working on major reforms for the state. After being appointed, Adishev had analyzed hundreds of petitions to the Tsar and realized there was a great deal to be done. His biggest push was to eliminate the great monastic states. These owned huge amounts of land and wealth. Adishev thought this was both an inefficient use of land and contrary to scripture.

He suggested that they'd be broken up and their lands redistributed to the peasant class, which simply needed more land to survive. Likewise, the abuses of the boyar class needed to be curbed. The tsar needed to be responsive to

his people, his peasant people, not the wealthy nobility. Here the concrete suggestions were that peasants be allowed to pay their taxes in grain rather than coin or cattle, that they be exempt from all state obligates if working for a lord, and that the landlords in those circumstances be responsible for paying the peasants taxes. Essentially, the peasants were working to improve the land on an a state, and if they were doing so, that should be their sole obligation.

The goal was to improve the material welfare of the peasants while reducing the power of the boyars. Adishev also suggested banning the sale of liquor, which he felt was a drain on society. The fact that these reforms could be discussed at all suggests a decline on the part of the boyars and a rise in power for the czar. By fifteen forty nine, it was pretty clear that at

least some rudimentary reforms were needed to keep going. Ivan's first major political convocation opened on February twenty seventh, fifteen forty nine. He started out by simply conceding that things had gone very wrong during his minority, but now he would act as an arbiter or judge in the event of a major dispute to ensure that justice was done. Likewise, not wanting to re litigate the past, Ivan decreed that

the state should be wiped clean, effective immediately. However, when Ivan addressed the people, he called the Boyars quote unquote, rapacious and fabricators of false justice. This was clearly a pr move. Ivan wanted the people to believe he was on their side, while constantly reassuring the Boyars he was not going to go back and relitigate old grievances. Ultimately, Ivan had shown himself here to be a fantastic actor. He knew he could not be on the side of

both the Boyars and the peasants. He knew he could not redistribute all the Church's lands it owned one third of the land in Russia, and he could not alienate the metropolitan because it was the church that gave him legitimacy. In the end, he certainly realized these grand, sweeping reforms would give way to smaller ones. Another reformer was Ivan periyastav Periyestav believed that it was Russia's divine mission to

conquer the Tartars once and for all. He envisioned an imperial future for Russia and was the first to contemplate direct confrontation with the Ottomans. He wanted Ivan to pursue major military reforms and get the Boyars out of their traditional roles as relatively ineffective military leaders. Perostov's reforms were not very helpful, but they had the merit of offering practical solutions to practical problems. Neither Ivan nor the ruling Boyars were quite ready to reform the basic concepts of

the state. The princely families remained enormously powerful, The pellety nobility received their land in titles at the pleasure of the czar, and the peasants were at the bottom, at the mercy of the landlords. Only the church was open to immediate reforms, and these could be brought about more readily because the Church was divided between a couple of different followers. In the end, the most vulnerable entity for reform was the church, and that was where Ivan struck.

He didn't alienate it exactly, but he did curtail its land holding powers. He decreed that any lands which had been given to the church for the payment of a debt owed to the church would immediately revert to the government and be redistributed. The Church was also from this point forward barred from acquiring new lands. These reforms were designed to limit the power of the monasteries, but Ivan also wanted to improve the church. He instituted a requirement

of universal education for all Russian cities. The Church would run these schools, and the idea was to produce in the long run, better educated priests, just like honestly the reformers were trying to do in Western Europe. Now next week, I even turned his attention to conquest, just as Periostav would have wanted in the meantime. If you're interested in more Western CIV, check out the links in the show notes for a free trial of Western CIV two point zero.

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