Episode 325: Ivan the Terrible (Part Two)

the army. So on November twenty fourth, fifteen forty nine, Ivan set out from Moscow at the head of the largest Russian army ever, raised nearly sixty thousand men. It took nearly four weeks through freezing temperatures for the army to reach Kazan, the aptly named capital of the Khanate of Kazan. Ivan was the first Russian leader to ever set sight on the city. So much planning had gone

into this campaign. Everything was set up for success, but then, as so often happens, on the step, the weather ruined everything. Massive rains and winds made any attack impossible. Ivan held out for a while, but on February twenty fifth, he decided to raise the siege. This turn of events only seemed to encourage the Tartars to a separate group, who launched a series of raids that summer and only serve to solidify Russian determination to destroy the two khanates once

and for all. And again, just to be clear, we're talking about two different groups here. We've got the Khanate of Kazan, which is to the east essentially of modern day Moscow, and then you have the Crimean Tartars, which is where the Crimea is today. Those are two separate political entities. So in the spring of fifteen fifty one, the Russian army sets out again back towards Kazan. This time,

the Russian plan was to conquer Kazan by threat and negotiation. Hence, Ivan's war council reached out to dissident Khanate nobles, hoping to encourage them to join in on this attack. Embassies arrived shortly thereafter, offering Ivan another pro Russian khan who could serve. Ivan was receptive, but he wanted more. He insisted on a law that any Kazan found having Russians

as slaves would be executed immediately without a trial. All Russians presently enslaved in Kazan needed to be freed and return. In the end, all this negotiation came to nothing. So it was by fifteen fifty two Ivan became determined to conquer Kazan by military force. He was twenty one years old and determined to win some martial glory. On January the sixteenth, fifteen fifty two, Ivan the Fourth set out at the head of yet another army bound for Kazan.

But this time Ivan had a slightly different strategy. He moved against the fortress city of Coloma and then wait for his enemy to attack him. Unfortunately, this didn't work. It gave up all the initiative he had as the attacker and cost Ivan the momentum. So here's the thing. Ivan is a lot of things, but brilliant military commander isn't one of them. And so in June, the Tartars were advancing. Their army included both their own troops and

borrowed janissaries from the Ottomans. Ivan however, did not flinch. He ordered his entire army to pull up stakes and march on the advancing enemy at once. Interestingly enough, and our sources on this aren't good. The Khan, for whatever reason got spooked by Ivan's decisiveness and ordered a headlong retreat.

Interestingly enough, and our sources on this aren't good. The Khan, for whatever reason, got spooked by Ivan's decisiveness and ordered a headlong retreat, abandoning camels and baggage carts along the route. The Khan was now decisively beaten, and the way was open to march on the capital city of Kazan. The plan of the campaign was carefully worked out from Colomna.

The army would march on to Svinsk in two columns, the northern column taking the northern road, the southern one taking the southern The two columns would then meet at a crossing of the Sura River before advancing from there. Ivan's army was around one hundred and twenty five thousand men strong, but it wasn't a professional army by any stretched the imagination. The nobles from Novgorod in particular resisted the idea of going any further. Ivan was irritated, but

later learned it was simply an economic problem. These nobles didn't own enough land to continue to pay for their retinues. Ivan was able to convince them to keep going, using the alleged riches of Kazan as a sort of carot. But this medieval military arrangement is going to continue to hamper Russia right up to Peter the Great. On the thirteenth of July, the army reached Moram, not far from the border, and on the March twentieth of the following year,

his army crossed into Tartar territory. This prompted a variety of chieftains to reverse course and renew their allegiance to the Czar. Ivan forgave them and accepted them and their armed retinues back into the Fold. In August, the Tsar's army penetrated deep into Kazan before finally reaching the capital. Ivan had no illusions about what was to come. The Khan was not going to surrender. He would need to take the city by force. The Khan had an army

of nearly thirty thousand to defend Kazan. He had heavy artillery, cannons and ample supplies of gunpowder. Both sides were heavily armored, to the extent that in the midst of a battle it would be almost impossible to tell them apart. Ivan was under no illusions about the difficulty of the tasks that confronted him. The Khan was a determined, daring, and ruthless adversary. He would be expected to use every trick in the book to prevent the city from falling into

Russian hands. There was no possibility of a sudden surprise attack. It was not simply a question of conquering a well defended city, but there was also the question of how to deal with the Khan's armies outside the city. The many soldiers based in the town of Arsk, which lay on the other side of a dense forest stretching almost to the walls of Kazan. The Russians would have to defend themselves against sudden sorties from the forest and against

marauders from all directions. All together, there were about thirty five thousand troops loyal to the Khan outside the city, most of them hidden in the forest of Arsk. Of necessity, I even would have to take special measures to protect his rear, his lines of communication with the supply ships moored on the Volga, and his own person because the Khan knew well that if the Czar was killed or captured the siege would be lifted. On August the twentieth.

It appeared that the Russians would be prepared to storm the city. Then they held back. There was a council of war and it was decided that they would wait to try to learn more about the conditions within the city before moving forward. The working assumption of the Russians was that the city could only be taken after a

lengthy sea. The Tartars remained masters of misdirection. At times, the Russians moved cautiously right up to the walls, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, Assuming their adversaries had simply fled into the forest, then without warning, a flood of enemy warriors would burst forth from one of the gates, taking the Russians by surprise. None of these assaults ever made a serious dent in the Russian army, but it kept it tentative and unsure,

making matters worse. To the north of Kazan, as I mentioned, was a dense forest within the Forest of Arsk, they had positioned a relief force. Hence, the Russians always had to be concerned about their flank and could never devote

their full attention to the city itself. On August the twenty eighth, a Russian cavalry contingent was devastated by an attack from the forest, forcing the Russian generals to concede that they would never be able to take the city, while the army and the forest of Arsk remained at large, Yet both sides there were no easy victories. Ivan was coming to the realization that the siege might last through the winter, a fact that would provide major logistical challenges.

Ivan's real hope were his sappers. These men tunneled underneath the city walls in the hope of them blowing the mine, collapsing the tunnel, and causing the wall above to come tumbling down. This process was called undermining and was common in medieval siege craft. On September the fourth, the sappers succeeded in crushing Tartar, access to the only fresh water

in the city, but still those within fought on. Even after the Russians that autumn hunted down and destroyed the final Khan armies in the forest, Kazan refused to surrender. The siege was going well, despite the fact outwardly that there was little to show for it, but by October the first, the sappers had finished the main tunnel. The barrels of powder were set and the assault scheduled for October the second. At dawn that morning, the barrels were

set alight. In an instant, the earth rocketed with a massive explosion, Earth, timber, and stone flew into the air as to massive defensive towers, plus the large section of the wall came tumbling down. The general assault began immediately. The Russians quickly pushed the Tartars back, but then the rank and file started looting. Instead of prosecuting the assault, the Russian generals sent in their elite cavalry to restore order,

which worked to an extent and the assault reformed. Finally, the Russians broke into the palace, slaughtering men, women and children. The Khan escaped with some remnants of his army, but the war was effectively over. The resistance came to an end, and the Tzar effectively annexed Kazan. It would prove to be the military highlight of Ivan's career. He was only twenty two, and frankly, the victory over Kazon would prove to be the highlight of his entire life, and he

was going to live to be fifty four. Now Ivan had taken no part in the fighting, but he still believed it was his presence on the battlefield that induced God to intervene on the part of the Russian army and deliver them victory. On October fourth, he made his triumphal entry into the city of Kazan for the purpose of choosing a site for a new cathedral. The Cathedral of Annunciation was built astonishingly quickly. In fact, Ivan celebrated a thanksgiving in it before leaving the city. Then Ivan

got even better news. On his way Basked to Moscow. A messenger met him on the road with the news that on Tastasia had given birth to a son. This was truly a turning point for Russia. Ivan the fourth had become the first Czar and now the first leader of Russia to push its borders south and set Russia on a path toward becoming an imperialistic power. And it also changed Ivan, though not for the better. Now, more than ever, he was determined to rule as an autocrat,

independent of the nobles and the boyars. One day, shortly after the conquest of Kazan, he addressed them saying, quote God protected me from you. I could not torment you while cousin stood on its own. I needed you for all manner of things. But now I am free to inflict upon you my torment and wrath. And he meant it. Then, in March fifteen fifty three, Ivan fell dangerously ill. It was probably a version of pneumonia, but in either event

he came close to death. He pulled through, but mentally this event seemed to have pitched him over the edge. He had always been suspicious, but he emerged from his sick bed as a man beset by paranoia. Still, a few weeks after the birth of his son, I even't continued to get good news. The Russian army had continued to roll and now had pushed the Russians to the other side of the Volga. Interestingly, it was during this period when Russia had its first ever diplomatic interaction with England.

The England made their way to Russia as a result of the efforts of John Cabot, the man who sailed to Newfoundland. The English wanted the right to trade in Russia, and the Czar was only too happy to oblige this request. As a consequence, the English were given very favorable terms of trade in England, being permitted to trade throughout Russia without paying any duty whatsoever. Was eager to concede these terms because he wanted to get more sophisticated Western weaponry.

Hence he sent an ambassador to England, who arrived in February fifteen fifty seven during the reign of Mary the First. The Russian ambassador made a good impression on the English and was invited to attend an Order of the Garter ceremony with bi of Queen Mary and King Philip the Second. Back at home, Ivans generals continued to press the war against the Tartars, now looking to press south into the Crimea.

In February fifteen fifty nine, an army of eight thousand Russians sailed down the Neper River and attacked Crimea from the west. The Tartars were taken by surprise and many were killed. The Russians ultimately succeeded in taking all the islands along the lower Neper River. The times had changed. The once in Vin's old Tartar horsemen were now no match at all for Russian musketeers. Gunpowder was the ultimate

weapon of the day. If you did not have it you no longer had a chance, so the Tartar Khan ultimately retreated to the Crimea. As much as Ivan wanted to finish the job and add Crimea to his growing empire, affairs closer to Moscow demanded his attention first. The Livonians, who occupied the southern shores of the Gulf of Finland, had been a thorn in moscow side for decades. This region was still ruled by the Livonian Order, an offshoot of the old Teutonic Knights. There was truly no love

lost between the Germans and the Russians. The feudal knights, who had ruled the Livonian territory for hundreds of years, were masters of the arts of blockade. They didn't allow guns, gunners, armorers, no metalsmiths, no skilled artisans, nothing to go from essentially

Western Europe to Russia under pain of death. Determined to isolate Russia from the military inventions of the West, they actually succeeded only in alienating the Russians, who regarded the Germans in general as interlopers and all of Livonia as their ancestral properties. For more than fifty years now, Livonia under the Old Teutonic Knights and Russia had lived together in an uneasy piece, but at the same time, this

piece was always tentative at best. By the late fall of fifteen fifty seven, on the excuse that the city of Dorpat had failed for fifty years to pay tribute to the Grand Princes of Moscow, Ivan bought together an army of forty thousand men on the Livonian frontier. The failure of Dorpot to pay the tribute was merely one of the things that exasperated Ivan. He wanted to break the blockade, and more than anything else, he wanted to acquire a seaport on the Baltic that the Livonian territories

would allow. The Livonians responded quickly. They preferred to fight at a time and place of their own choosing, and therefore they sent ambassadors to Moscow to negotiate a truce. In particular, they offered to pay a yearly tribute of one thousand gold ducats and a lump sum of forty five thousand talents. Ivan asked them whether or not they brought the money with them. He said they had not. He therefore invited them to a state dinner, at which

they ate off empty plates. Then, still hungry, they were permitted to return to Livonia. Clever, clever, I'll say that in the following month, Ivan unleashed his army. It was to be a purely punitive expedition designed to ravage and destroy as much of Livonia as possible. There were to be no frontal assaults on any fortresses or fortress like cities. Those who suffered the most were the peasant, not the knights or the landowners. Next time, I've bean hoped the

Livonians would show up with the money. Now the Russians were able to capture Narva, and then they did set their sides, ultimately on Dorpot, the largest and the wealthiest city in central Livonia. By July of fifteen fifty eight, the Russians surrounded the city. They told the Livonians they would be treated well and with respect if they surrendered, but if they did not, then everyone within the walls would be slaughtered. Those of then Dorpont really had no choice.

There was no one coming to relieve the siege, and they didn't have sufficient men to resist if the Russians truly decided to storm the walls. Thus Dorpot surrendered and fell temporarily at least under Russian control, a major blow to the Livonian Order. Now, as an aside, if you are interested in the rise and fall of the Teutonic Order, I did a long, deep dive on the subject in

Western two point zero. You can click the link in the show notes and get a free trial and listen to it right now if you'd like, And as always, if you stick around, I appreciate the support. It is what keeps the show moving. But back to our story. Not every town in Livonia surrendered. As a consequence, the Russians continued to pillage and destroy the countryside. In January fifteen fifty nine, they continued that policy. The Russians and

Livonian Order fought back. Throughout fifteen to fifty nine, the Russians and Livonian Order fought back and forth in a series of skimmerses and raids. The only real losers, like before, were the peasants. In early fifteen sixty, the city of fell In surrendered to Russia and the Livonian War, at least this one came to an end. Large areas of Livonia were in Russian hands, but most of Estonia was still ruled by the Order. Livonia had become a patchwork kingdom.

Soon it would be riven with allout civil war. But as was usual in this time, good news abroad came with bad news at home. On August the sixth, fifteen sixty, the Princess Anastasia died. Her death became another nail in the coffin of Ivan's sanity. While she lived, she had been a moderating influence on the czar, but now she was gone. Now, for the last portion of this episode, I want to talk about something that's tangential to the actual history of Ivan's reign but really important, and that

is Saint Basil's Cathedral. Now, at first there was only a small wooden church on the site where Saint Basils, which is, honestly, if you google Russia, if you google Moscow in particular, it is the image that comes up over and over and over again. It's the wonderful, colorful domed church that you can picture right now and if you close your eyes, don't if you're driving. The wooden church was built in fifteen fifty three, but it was

actually taken down after only two years. Now, the architects who ultimately put together what we think of as Saint Basils ironically came from the exact same town. These were two nemmen named Pasnik and Barma. The ground plan was based on the eight pointed Star of the Virgin, an emblem which appears on the robe of the Virgin in the headdress, and numerous Byzantine images that's essentially a Byzantine

Basilica copied. There would be a cluster of domed chapels of all different heights and colors around a central fire crowned with a small golden dome. The idea was to capture the grace of a group of budding flowers. The cathedral itself was concentrated on October the first, fifteen fifty nine. In fifteen eighty eight, a noomed domed cathedral was erected over the tomb of Saint Basil, which is actually where

the cathedral gets its name from today Saint Basil. It was actually canonized by the Orthodox Church that same year, in fifteen fifty eight. Just a quick history about him. He was born in fourteen sixty nine, the son of peasants belonging to the village of I'm going to get this wrong, but Yeleichino, near Moscow. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, but he possessed that he got the gift of second sight. A customer entered the shop and asked for a pair of boots that would last for several years.

Basil took the order and smiled. When he was asked later why he smiled, he said the customer would not lead a long lasting pair of shoes because he was going to die tomorrow, and it happened soon. He left the shoemaker's shop and became a sort of wandering pilgrim. He would move about Moscow naked, wearing heavy chains, and sleeping under the stars. One day, in the marketplace, he

scattered a tray of cakes on the ground. It had been revealed to him that the cake maker had added chalk to the dough, and then when it rained subsequently it was clear to everyone. On another occasion, he was walking in the square wrapped in a fur coat given to him by a rich benefactor. A thief approached him, pointing to another pretending to be dead, and asked Basil for his coat, saying that it would pay for the funeral expenses. Bezel saw through the ruse, which, yeah, I mean,

obviously he should if he had second sight. But regardless, he said to the man pretending to be dead, quote, you will surely die for your wickedness, for it is written that the wicked shall perish quote. And so it happened. That might have just been coincidence, though Ivan honored Basil and with Anastasia and visited him when he was lying on his deathbed. When Basil ultimately died in fifteen fifty two, Ivan accompanied the funeral buyer to a small cemetery on

the Red Square. Over the cemetery, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin was built, but Ivan ordered that Basil's bone should be untouched. The tomb, with the old chains lying on it, became an object of veneration in many miracles were said to have been performed there, and so it was actually only after his death that Basil became a saint as a result of the miracles that happened after his death. It's a little bit of an

interesting story. Regardless, this would be the ultimate site where the cathedral would then be constructed, and that's how the cathedral gets its name. Today, the cathedral remains the supreme architectural achievement of all of Ivan's reign. But Ivan's reign wasn't just about architecture. The Moscow School of Painting undertook a major program of monumental design throughout Ivan's reign. This is expressed in icons, frescoes, and wood carvings, all created

throughout the time. Most of these have subsequently been destroyed. There survives an astonishingly detailed account written in the seventeenth century of the frescoes that once adorned Ivan's golden palace, the Zolettaya Palata, where the chosen Council met and foreign ambassadors were received. The frescoes were designed to exalt Ivan and at the same time impress upon him a proper

humility towards Christ and the Church. On the ceiling was the inevitable Christ in majesty, seated on a rainbow, with an orb and sceptor reigning over the universe. Below Christ were shown four virtues and four vices. There were panels representing the four seasons, the Sun and the Moon, the Sea and the Earth. Harribles and biblical episodes were also depicted. There was the rich Lazarus in Hell and the poor Lazarus at his prayers. The parable of the wedding Feast,

and the Parable of the Lost Sheep. All of these were shown. Unfortunately, the Golden Palace that housed this fresco and many other items was later torn down and rebuilt. During the reign of Ivan, the Moscow School of painting also enjoyed painting immensely crowded scenes. Compositional rhythm was finally sacrificed, while harmony and simplicity were forgotten in an effort to

put as many people impossible into the scene. Now Ivan also seems to have been at least partially responsible for the introduction of liturgical song into the Russian Orthodox Church, but even if that's true, what is going to follow will overshadow any artistic or architectural achievement. Beginning next week, Ivan starts to earn the name history remembers him by the Terrible. If you have enjoyed the show, there are a couple links in the show notes. You can check

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