What was one of the results of the elected Rada. Reforms of the Chosen Rada: the path to the centralization of state power. Formation of the Chosen One

The first Russian Tsar Ivan Vasilievich IV the Terrible was born on August 25, 1530, died on March 18, 1584.

After the death of Vasily III in 1533, his three-year-old son Ivan IV took over the throne. In fact, his mother, Elena Vasilievna, the daughter of Prince Glinsky, a native of Lithuania, ruled the state. And during the reign of Elena, and after her death (1538; there is an assumption that she was poisoned), the struggle for power between the boyar groups of Belsky, Shuisky, Glinsky did not stop.

Boyar rule led to a weakening of the central government, and the arbitrariness of the votchinniki had a serious impact on the position of the masses, causing discontent and open speeches in a number of Russian cities.

The boy-sovereign, by nature smart, lively, impressionable and observant, grew up in an atmosphere of abandonment and neglect. Thus, a feeling of hostility and hatred for the boyars as his enemies and thieves of power formed early in the boy's soul. The ugly scenes of boyar self-will and violence, and his own helplessness and impotence, developed in him timidity, suspicion, distrust of people, and on the other hand, disregard for the human person and human dignity.

Having a lot of free time at his disposal, Ivan indulged in reading and re-read all the books that he could find in the palace. His only sincere friend and spiritual mentor was Metropolitan Macarius (since 1542), the famous compiler of the Four Menaia, a huge collection of all church literature known at that time in Russia.

The young Grand Duke was not yet 17 years old when his uncle Mikhail Glinsky and his grandmother Princess Anna managed to prepare a political act of great national importance. On January 16, 1547, the Grand Duke of Moscow and All Russia Ivan Vasilievich was solemnly crowned with the title of Tsar Ivan IV. The ceremony of taking the royal title took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. From the hands of the Moscow Metropolitan Macarius, who developed the ritual of the wedding to the kingdom, Ivan IV received the Monomakh's hat and other regalia royal power. The Church, as it were, affirmed the divine origin of royal power, but at the same time strengthened its own authority. Upon completion of the wedding rite, the Grand Duke became the “God-crowned Tsar”.

Thus, the new title - tsar - not only sharply emphasized the sovereignty of the Russian monarch in external relations, especially with the Horde khanates (khans in Russia were called tsars), but also separated the sovereign from his subjects more clearly than before. The royal title secured the transformation of vassal princes into subjects. The capital of the state, Moscow, from now on was adorned with a new title - it became the "royal city", and the Russian land - the Russian kingdom. But for the peoples of Russia one of the most tragic periods of its history began. The “time of Ivan the Terrible” has come.

By the way, Russia as the name of the state appears in Russian sources in the second half of the 16th century. The term "Russia" in its origin is not Russian, but Greek. It has been known in Byzantium since the 10th century. and was used in the lists of eparchs: the great princes in Greek were called archons of all Russia. During the wedding of Ivan IV, in order to give the person more authority, they returned to this “foreign” word.

The term " Moscow state” along with the name “Russia” was used in official documents in the XVI-XVII centuries. Russian began to mean belonging to the state, and "Russian" - to the ethnos (nationality).

On June 21, 1547, a severe fire broke out in Moscow. The flames raged for two days. The city was almost completely burned out. About 4 thousand Muscovites died in the fire. Ivan IV and his entourage, fleeing from smoke and fire, hid in the village of Vorobyevo. The cause of the fire was sought in the actions of real people. Rumors spread that the fire was the work of the Glinskys, with whose name the people associated the difficult years of boyar rule.

In the Kremlin, on the square near the Assumption Cathedral, a veche gathered. One of the Glinskys was torn to pieces by the insurgent people. The yards of their supporters and relatives were burned and looted. With great difficulty, the government managed to suppress the uprising. Actions against the feudal lords took place in the cities of Opochka, and somewhat later in Pskov and Ustyug.

Popular performances showed that the country needs reforms. The further development of the country required the strengthening of statehood, the centralization of power. The nobility showed particular interest in reforms. A talented publicist of that time, nobleman Ivan Semenovich Peresvetov, was his peculiar ideologist. He turned to the king with messages in which the program of transformations was outlined. These proposals of Peresvetov largely anticipated the actions of Ivan IV.

Based on the interests of the nobility, I.S. Peresvetov sharply condemned the boyars' arbitrariness. He saw the ideal state structure in a strong royal power, based on the nobility. “A state without a thunderstorm is like a horse without a bridle,” I.S. Peresvetov.

With the participation of Metropolitan Macarius, those people who were destined to symbolize the new government in the eyes of contemporaries turned out to be surrounded by the young king - “ Chosen Rada". Around 1549 a new government took shape. It was called the Chosen Rada - so A. Kurbsky called it in the Polish manner in one of his writings. The composition of the Chosen Rada is not entirely clear. It was headed by A.F.Adashev, who came from a rich but not very noble family. Representatives of various strata of the ruling class participated in the work of the Elected Rada: princes D. Kurlyatev, M. Vorotynsky, Moscow Metropolitan Macarius and the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin (the home church of the Moscow tsars) Sylvester, the clerk of the Ambassadorial order I. Viskovaty. The composition of the Elected Rada, as it were, reflected a compromise between the various strata of the ruling class. The elected council lasted until 1560 and was the body that carried out the transformations that were called the reforms of the middle of the 16th century.

On February 27, 1549, the First Zemsky Sobor was convened. He decided to draw up a new Code of Laws (approved in 1550) and formulated a program of reforms in the mid-16th century. According to experts, more than 50 Zemsky Sobors took place; The last Zemsky Sobors in Russia met in the 80s. 16th century The Zemsky Sobors included the Boyar Duma, the Consecrated Cathedral - representatives of the higher clergy; many Zemsky Sobors were also attended by representatives of the nobility and the top tenants.

1. Under the Elected Rada, an order system of state administration is formalized. Even before the reforms of the middle of the XVI century. individual branches of state administration in individual territories began to be entrusted (“ordered”, as they were then called) to the boyars. This is how the first orders-institutions appeared that were in charge of branches of government or individual regions of the country. In the middle of the XVI century. there were already two dozen orders. Military affairs were led by the Discharge Order (in charge local army), Pushkarsky (artillery), Streltsy (archers), Armory (Arsenal), Foreign affairs were in charge of the Ambassadorial order, state lands distributed to the nobles, Local order; serfs - serf order. There were orders that were in charge of certain territories: the order of the Siberian Palace ruled Siberia; order of the Kazan Palace - by the annexed Kazan Khanate.

At the head of the order was a boyar or clerk - a major government official. Orders were in charge of administration, tax collection and court. With the increasing complexity of the tasks of public administration, the number of orders grew. By the time of Peter's reforms in early XVII 1st century there were about 50 of them. The design of the order system made it possible to centralize the administration of the country.

2. It should be noted that at first the Elected Rada was not going to radically change the established order of local government. The Code of Laws of Ivan IV only clarified the rights and obligations of feeders (governors - in counties and volosts - in volosts) and at the same time expanded the competence of zemstvo elders and tselovalniks, turning them into permanent jurors (before that, they simply acted as witnesses at the court of governors and volosts ).

On the ground, a unified management system gradually began to be created. The collection of local taxes was previously entrusted to the boyars-feeders. They were in fact the rulers of individual lands. All funds collected in excess of the necessary taxes to the treasury, i.e., were at their personal disposal. they "feed" at the expense of managing the lands. In 1556 feedings were cancelled. On the ground, management (investigation and court on especially important state cases) was transferred into the hands of the labial elders (lip-okrug), elected from local nobles, zemstvo elders - from among the wealthy strata among the black-sowed population where there was no noble land ownership, and city clerks or favorite heads in the cities. Thus, in the middle of the XVI century. the apparatus of state power was formed in the form of a class-representative monarchy.

3. Sudebnik 1550

The general trend of centralization of the country and the state apparatus led to the publication of a new collection of laws, the Sudebnik of 1550. Taking the Sudebnik of Ivan III as a basis, the compilers of the new Sudebnik made changes to it related to the strengthening of central power. It confirmed the right of the peasants to move on St. George's Day and the payment for the "elderly" was increased. The feudal lord was now responsible for the crimes of his peasants, which increased their personal dependence on the master. For the first time, punishment for bribery was introduced.

4. Even under Elena Glinskaya, a monetary reform was launched. The Moscow ruble has become the main payment unit in the country. The right to collect trade duties passed into the hands of the state. The population of the country was obliged to bear the tax - a complex of natural and monetary duties. In the middle of the XVI century. a single unit of taxation for the entire state was established - a large plow. Depending on the fertility of the soil, as well as social status owner of the land, the plow was 400-600 hectares of land. The tax reform further worsened the position of the masses.

5. Military reform

Much has been done to strengthen the country's forces. The core of the army was the noble militia. Near Moscow, a "chosen thousand" was planted on the ground - 1070 provincial nobles, who, in the opinion of the tsar, were to become the mainstay of power.

The "Code of Service" was drawn up. An votchinnik or landowner could start service from the age of 15 and pass it on by inheritance. From 150 acres of land, both the boyar and the nobleman had to put up one warrior and appear at the reviews “horse, crowded and armed”.

A big step forward in the organization of the military forces of Russia was the creation in 1550 of a permanent archery army. At first, there were three thousand archers. In addition, foreigners began to be recruited into the army, the number of which was insignificant. Artillery was reinforced. For carrying border service attracted the Cossacks.

The boyars and nobles who made up the militia were called “service people in the fatherland”, i.e. by origin. Another group of persons was made up of “service people according to the device” (i.e., according to recruitment). In addition to the archers, there were gunners (artillerymen), city guards, and Cossacks were close to them. The rear work (convoy, construction of fortifications) was carried out by the "staff" - a militia from among the black-eared, monastic peasants and townspeople.

6. Restriction of localism

At the time of military campaigns, localism was limited - the procedure for filling positions depending on the nobility and service career of the ancestors. In the middle of the XVI century. An official reference book was compiled - “The Sovereign Genealogy”, which streamlined local disputes.

7. Church councils

Significant reforms were carried out in the life of the church. During the period of feudal fragmentation, each principality had its own, “revered”, saints. In 1549, the church council conducted the canonization of the “new wonderworkers”: the local saints became all-Russian, and a single pantheon was created for the whole country. In 1551 a new church council took place.

Stoglavy Cathedral

In 1551, on the initiative of the tsar and the metropolitan, the Council of the Russian Church met, which received the name Stoglavy, since its decisions were formulated in one hundred chapters. The decisions of the clergy reflected the changes associated with the centralization of the state. The council approved the adoption of the Sudebnik of 1550 and the reforms of Ivan IV. From among the local saints revered in individual Russian lands, an all-Russian list was compiled. Ritualism was streamlined and unified throughout the country. Even art was subject to regulation.

The Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 drew a line under the historical dispute between the Josephites and non-possessors. Even before its convocation in September 1550, an agreement was reached between the tsar and Metropolitan Macarius (1542-1568), according to which the monasteries were forbidden to establish new settlements in the cities, and to establish new courtyards in the old ones. Posad people were expelled from the monastery settlements, hiding there from the burden of the draft. In the future, churchmen could buy land and receive it as a gift only with the royal permission. Thus, in the issue of monastic landownership, the line on its restriction and control by the king won.

Even under Ivan III and Vasily III, the issue of church land ownership was acute. A number of clergy, whose spiritual forerunner was Nil Sorsky (1433-1508), advocated the monasteries' refusal from land ownership and strict asceticism (hence their name - non-possessors). Against this struggled another group of church leaders, headed by hegumen Joseph Volotsky (1439-1515), who believed that only a rich church could fulfill its high mission in the state. In the reign of Basil Shi, the Josephites (money-grubbers) prevailed.

During the Stoglavy Council, the issue of church lands was raised again. It was decided to keep the lands of churches and monasteries, but in the future, their acquisition or receiving as a gift could be carried out only after a report to the king.

Reforms of the middle of the XVI century. significantly strengthened the central government and public administration, which allowed Ivan IV to move on to solving problems foreign policy.

Agreement between the king and his closest advisers, i.e. Sylvester and Adashev did not last long: the ardent power-hungry John soon began to be weighed down by the influence of his favorites. This was also joined by their rivalry with the Zakharyins, the tsarina's relatives, and Anastasia herself's dislike for them.

The beginning of this disposition is attributed to 1553. Soon after the Kazan campaign, the tsar fell into a serious illness; wrote a spiritual one, appointed his son, the infant Demetrius, as heir, and demanded that the boyars swear allegiance to him. Then there was noise and scolding in the palace: some took the oath, others refused on the grounds that Demetrius was still small and the Zakharins would rule instead of him, that it was better for an adult to be a sovereign, while they pointed to the royal cousin Vladimir (son of Andrei Staritsky) , the latter also did not want to swear allegiance to Dimitri, Sylvester and Adashev's father took the side of the disobedient boyars. Only after the persistent persuasion of the king and the nobles loyal to him did the opposing side yield. John recovered, although he showed no signs of displeasure at first, but he could not forget this incident and began to look suspiciously at the people around him. The queen also considered herself offended.

After his recovery, John, with his wife and little Demetrius, took a vow to go on a pilgrimage to the Kirillov Belozersky Monastery. First, the tsar stopped at the Trinity Lavra. Here, - says Prince Kurbsky in his History of Ivan the Terrible, - the famous Maxim the Greek talked to him and persuaded him not to undertake such a long and difficult journey, but rather to alleviate the fate of the widows and orphans who remained after the soldiers who fell under the walls of Kazan. But the tsar went by water to Kirillov. The journey was really unfortunate: John lost his son. On the way, in a monastery, he met Vassian, the former Bishop of Kolomna, and asked him how it was necessary to reign in order to have nobles in obedience. “If you want to be an autocrat,” Vassian replied, “then don’t keep advisers smarter than yourself” (an allusion to Sylvester and Adashev).

Seeing John's cooling towards himself, Sylvester himself retired from the court, and the king sent Adashev to Livonia (to the army). In 1560 Anastasia died. At court they started talking that Sylvester and Adashev had exhausted the queen. The tsar imprisoned Sylvester in the Solovetsky Monastery, and Alexei Adashev was imprisoned (in Yuriev). Relatives and supporters of the accused were exiled or executed.

Oprichnina of Ivan IV (the Terrible):

purpose and means of its implementation

On December 3, 1564, Ivan IV with his family and close associates suddenly went on a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery to the tomb of Sergius of Radonezh. Having lingered near Moscow due to the sudden onset of mud, the tsar by the end of December reached the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda (now the city of Aleksandrov, Vladimir Region), where Ivan III and Vasily III. From there, on January 3, 1565, a messenger arrived in Moscow, who brought two letters.

The first, addressed to the metropolitan, reported that “the sovereign laid his anger on all bishops and abbots of monasteries, and on all service people, from boyars to ordinary nobles, because service people drain his treasury, serve poorly, and church hierarchs cover them” . He asked for a special lot for him. The term "oprichnina" comes from the word "oprich" - except. This is how Ivan IV called the territory, which he asked to allocate to himself as a special inheritance.

In the second message, addressed to the townspeople, the tsar reported on the decision made and added that he had no complaints against the townspeople.

It was a well-calculated political maneuver. Using the faith of the people in the tsar, Ivan the Terrible expected to be called back to the throne. Soon a crowded deputation beat him with their foreheads, begging him to return to the kingdom. The king dictated his conditions: the right of unlimited autocratic power and the institution of the oprichnina. The country was divided into two parts: the oprichnina and the zemshchina.

For the maintenance of his new court, or personal inheritance, Ivan IV took over 10 cities with counties, separate volosts, several settlements near Moscow, and even several streets in Moscow itself. The tsar granted his faithful servants land, not stopping before the eviction of the former votchinniks and landowners), some of them simply moved to the oprichnina (to the “zemstvo” districts. The new servants chosen for her were obliged to obey exclusively the tsar. The guardsmen dressed in black, whose corps originally numbered a thousand people, they were called upon to “gnaw” the tsar’s enemies and “sweep out” treason from the country (dog heads and brooms were attached to their saddles, symbolizing the canine devotion of the guardsmen to the tsar and their readiness to sweep treason out of the country).

With an increase in the number of oprichnina troops (up to 6 thousand people), the oprichnina possessions and the zone of special (oprichnina) administration expanded. The rest of the territory of the state constituted the “zemshchina”, remaining under the jurisdiction of the “zemstvo” boyars, who ruled according to the will of Tsar Ivan “according to the old custom” (i.e., the Boyar Duma).

The introduction of the oprichnina (1565-1572) was preceded by a number of events that had an undeniable impact on the state of mind of Ivan IV.

So, in 1554, he became aware of the boyar sympathies for the staritsky prince Vladimir Andreevich, which manifested themselves during his serious illness in 1553.

It was then that he first began to distrust Adashev and Sylvester. In 1557-1558. The tsar faced boyar opposition to the course of unleashing the Livonian War. He did not find support in this matter and the Chosen Rada.

In 1560, Ivan IV was deeply distressed by the death of his beloved wife, Anastasia Romanovna. Then there was his final break with Sylvester and Adashev. Suspected of infidelity, the closest advisers to the king were removed from the court, and then sent into exile.

A real flurry of emotions caused the tsar to escape the voivode Prince Andrey Kurbsky to Lithuania (1564). After this, the persecution of the boyars was intensified.

There is no doubt that each of these events could somehow influence the change in political course in 1565. It seems, however, that the transition to the oprichnina was due not so much to the personal motives of Tsar Ivan, but to the objective contradictions (political and social) of the internal structure of the Muscovite state:

1. Relations between the monarch and the boyar aristocracy remained disordered and unsettled.

2. Active military policy and the need for a constant increase in the number of troops forced the state to systematically subordinate the interests of producers (peasants, artisans and merchants) to the interests of the service class.

Both contradictions in their development in the second half of the XVI century. created a state crisis.

Indeed, the titled boyars at that time occupied all the highest positions in the central and local administration, commanded the Moscow regiments (very often the former specific prince continued to rule his inheritance as the Moscow governor). At the same time, the boyars were dissatisfied with the burdensome military service and other duties entrusted to them by the supreme power, and bitterly regretted the lost benefits of their former specific independence. The Moscow sovereigns did not always take into account his opinion and advice.

Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich called the boyars "smerds". The omnipotence enjoyed by the titled nobility in the years of Ivan the Terrible's youth should have increased their dissatisfaction with the strengthening of the position of their matured sovereign, who became the "tsar". Part of the boyars doubted his right to single-handedly dispose of state power and pass it on by inheritance.

The attempts of the Chosen Rada to mitigate the contradictions of the boyars with the tsar and the nobility ended in failure. It is possible that in carrying out structural changes, she showed more pandering to the boyar interests than the tsar wanted. In addition, the tsar and his advisers had different concepts of centralization, and their rivalry ended with the victory of the concept of Ivan the Terrible.

At the same time, one should not overestimate the anti-boyar orientation of the oprichnina policy. It is estimated that at the beginning of the XVII century. the prince's patrimony, on average, was twice the area of ​​the noble estate.

Oprichnina was a system of internal political measures of a predominantly repressive nature, was not something unified for seven years:

1. At the very beginning of the oprichnina rule (1565/), about 100 of the 282 princes were sent to Kazan exile with simultaneous confiscation from the patrimonial estates.

2. Then came the turn of the boyars and zemstvo nobles (only in the "case" of the boyar I.P. Fedorov in 1568, 500 people were executed.).

Among the guardsmen, Prince A.I. Vyazemsky, the boyar Vasily Gryaznoy and the nobleman G.L. Malyuta Skuratov-Belsky, who was in charge of executions and torture.

In an effort to destroy the separatism of the feudal nobility, Ivan IV did not stop at any cruelty. Oprichnina terror began, executions, exile. Major church leaders were among the first to die at the hands of the guardsmen: in 1568 - Archimandrite German, in 1569 in Tver the deposed Metropolitan Philip was strangled by Skuratov, who publicly refused the tsar's blessing. In the autumn of the same year, the entire family of Prince Vladimir Staritsky was destroyed and he himself was killed.

Tsar Ivan Vasilievich "thrashed" Novgorod the Great. The reason for this terrible action was a false denunciation that the Novgorodians allegedly want to come under the authority of the Polish king, and Tsar Ivan himself to be "lime" and put in his place the staritsa appanage prince Vladimir Andreevich. The pogrom lasted more than five weeks - from January 6 to February 13, 1570, when 500-600 people were “thrown into the water” (under the ice) daily, and on other days up to 1500 people.

In the summer of 1570, with the personal participation of Ivan IV, mass repressions unfolded in Moscow, where about a hundred people were executed. The terror was all the more terrible because it was completely unpredictable. On average, there were 3-4 ordinary landowners per killed boyar, and 10 commoners per 1 landowner. In 1570, the turn came to the organizers of the oprichnina themselves: they were all killed no less brutally than they killed themselves. The bloody list was closed by the direct creators of the oprichnina - the father and son of the Basmanovs, Prince Athanasius Vyazemsky, Mikhail Cherkassky (brother of Maria Temryukovna, Russian Empress 1561-1569).

The end of the oprichnina was helped, paradoxically, by the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, who broke through to Moscow in the summer of 1571 through the fault of the oprichnina army, which offered no resistance to him. Khan did not besiege the city, but managed to set fire to it. Moscow burned to the ground, the bodies of the burnt and suffocated were removed for almost two months. Ivan the Terrible realized that mortal danger hung over the state.

In the summer of 1572, Devlet-Giray repeated his campaign against Moscow. The tsar appointed Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky commander of the troops.

The united army on June 30, 1572, near the village of Molodi (about 45 km south of Moscow, near Podolsk), utterly defeated Devlet Giray. Even the famous Crimean commander Divey-Murza was captured. The country was saved. Tsar Ivan thanked Vorotynsky in his own way: less than a year later he was executed on the denunciation of his serf, who claimed that Vorotynsky wanted to bewitch the king.

Most historians believe that in the fall of 1572 the tsar abolished the oprichnina. However, the executions of the “conspirators” did not stop. In 1573, the governor Prince M.I. died of torture. Vorotynsky, who defeated Devlet Giray in the Battle of Molodin in 1572. In 1575, Ivan IV tried to return to the oprichnina order. He again secured his “destiny”, leaving formally to govern the country to the baptized Tatar Khan Simeon Bekbulatovich, who was titled “Grand Duke of All Russia”. The reign of Simeon lasted less than a year, then Ivan IV returned to the throne again. The mass terror has stopped. However, since lawlessness, “brute force of little people” continued until the death of Ivan the Terrible, some scientists (S.M. Solovyov, S.F. Platonov, P.A. Sadikov) considered the oprichnina in chronological framework 1565-1584

What are the immediate and long-term results of the oprichnina?

1. Over the seven years of the oprichnina, the country has made significant progress along the path of centralization: the influence of the titled Moscow boyars has weakened; with the death of Vladimir Staritsky, the last specific principality; with the deposition of Metropolitan Philip Kolychev, the former relations between the state and the church were violated; with the defeat of Novgorod, the social independence of the “third estate” was finally undermined.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the oprichnina policy, carried out in the absence of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for centralization (in the 16th century, the state did not yet have the necessary funds to maintain a numerous bureaucracy, regular troops, developed punitive bodies, separated from the estate of landowners), with inevitably gave rise to such relapses of decentralization, such as, for example, the division of the country into oprichnina and zemshchina.

2. Oprichnina led to an aggravation economic crisis: a significant area was not cultivated, the “hard population”, fleeing the burden of ever new state duties, landlord enslavement, hunger and disease, especially in the late 60s - early 70s of the 16th century, fled to the southern and eastern outskirts of the state. This flow, continuing until the end of the 16th century, led to the fact that vast areas of the central and northwestern counties were half empty. Villages in the 70s and 80s overgrown with forest, arable land turned into pastures for livestock.

Oprichnina gave new impetus to the process of enslavement. Having an anti-peasant orientation, it helped many service people to acquire land and peasants, and in those areas where not only large boyar land ownership did not prevail, but where feudal-serf relations in general were distinguished by comparative immaturity. The first serfdom decrees that forbade peasants to leave their former owners even on St. George's Day, in the so-called reserved years, appeared in the early 80s, even under Ivan IV. The government of Fyodor Ivanovich (1584-1598) and Boris Godunov (1598-1605) also adhered to the course of enslaving the peasants. It is even possible that around 1592-1593. a decree was issued that forever banned the peasant "exit" throughout the country. If the government of Godunov in 1601-1602. during the famine and allowed the passage of certain categories of peasants, they were of a temporary, situational nature. In 1597, a law was passed that established a five-year limitation period for the investigation of peasants (lesson years). At the same time, government power proceeded primarily from its own interests, trying to prevent the progressive desolation of the central districts. Until the beginning of the 17th century. the state considered the contractual relations between landlords and peasants as their private affair: fugitives were persecuted only on the claims of landowners.

4. Ultimately, the oprichnina inevitably degenerated into a senseless war between Ivan the Terrible and his people. Oprichnina, splitting the nobility, contributed to the maturation of the prerequisites for the first civil war(from the turmoil) in Russia at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries.

Ivan the Terrible died on March 18, 1584. Of the children of Anastasia, John and Fedor reached the age of majority: during the Livonian War in 1581, the tsar once became angry with his eldest son Ivan for a contradiction and so carelessly hit him with his iron crutch that the prince died a few days later . The heir to the throne was his second son Theodore, weak, sickly, weak-minded. Together with his eldest son Ivan, who died at the hands of his father, his hope for a worthy successor perished. Ivan the Terrible appointed Fedor to help the regency council to govern the country, where the leading role belonged to the tsar's brother-in-law Boris Godunov. Boris Fedorovich Godunov is an intelligent, capable, energetic and ambitious boyar. Under Ivan the Terrible, he strengthened his position by marrying the daughter of his beloved guardsman Malyuta Skuratov-Belsky, and then Tsarevich Fedor married his sister Irina, and Boris thus became close to royal family man. Having overcome the resistance of the old nobility, Godunov becomes the ruler of the state under Tsar Fedor.

A dynastic dispute arose immediately after the death of Ivan the Terrible. Tsarevich Dmitry was the youngest and last son of Ivan IV from the eighth (and fifth “married”) wife Maria Nagoya.

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the young Dmitry (1882), with his mother and uncles, was sent to Uglich, allocated to the tsarevich. On May 15, 1591, Dmitry was killed under mysterious circumstances. The dynastic dispute that arose with the murder of Dmitry was removed from the agenda.

At the very end of the 1540s. a circle of close associates formed around the young king, called the government of the Chosen Rada (diagram 62). The nobleman A.F., who was not noble by birth, became its actual leader. Adashev. Big influence the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Macarius and the priest of the Cathedral of the Annunciation, Sylvester, exerted their influence on the tsar. Princes D. Kurlyatiev, A. Kurbsky, M. Vorotynsky, and clerk I. Viskovaty took part in the work of the Chosen Council. The elected council carried out a number of important changes in the life of the country, aimed at strengthening the centralized state.

Scheme 62

It was during the reign of the Chosen Rada in 1549 that an important step was taken in the formation of a class-representative monarchy - the first Zemsky Sobor in Russian history was assembled. So began to be called meetings periodically collected by the tsar to resolve and discuss the most important issues of the domestic and foreign policy of the state. The Zemsky Sobor of 1549 considered the problems of canceling "feedings" and suppressing the abuses of the governors, so it was called the Cathedral of Reconciliation.

During this period, profound changes took place in the system of the state apparatus. The Government of the Chosen One is pleased to begin the formation of sectoral governing bodies. They were distant prototypes of modern ministries and were called orders, and their employees - clerks and clerks. Among the first were formed petition, local, zemstvo orders.

In 1550, a new Sudebnik of the Russian state was adopted. The very structure of this most important document speaks of the rapid pace of development of the state and legal system in the 15th-16th centuries. The articles of the Sudebnik of 1550 are more clearly separated from one another than the articles of the Sudebnik of 1497. Legal norms were added to the first articles of the previous Sudebnik, defining punishments for officials for an unjust trial and bribery. The judicial powers of the royal governors were limited. Cases of robbers were transferred to the jurisdiction of the labial elders. The Sudebnik contained instructions on the activities of orders. Some of his articles dealt with social sphere. Here the right of the peasant transition on St. George's Day was confirmed. The Sudebnik of 1550 introduced a significant restriction on the enslavement of the children of serfs. A child born before his parents were in bondage was recognized as free.

The principles of local government were fundamentally changed. In 1556, the "feeding" system was abolished throughout the state. Administrative and judicial functions were transferred to the labial and zemstvo elders.

The Code of Service adopted by the government streamlined the bearing by feudal lords military service. A significant reorganization of the armed forces began. From service people (nobles and children of the boyars) a cavalry army was formed. In 1550, a permanent archery army was created. Archers began to be called infantrymen armed with firearms. The artillery was also reinforced. From the total mass of service people, a "chosen thousand" was formed: it included the best nobles endowed with lands near Moscow.

The tax policy was determined by the introduction of a unified system of land taxation - the "big Moscow plow". The size of tax payments began to depend on the nature of land ownership and the quality of the land used. Secular feudal lords, landowners and patrimonials received great benefits compared to the clergy and state peasants.

An outstanding church leader Macarius, who was in 1542-1563, played an important role in strengthening Russian statehood. Russian metropolitan. In the 1540s he convened church councils at which questions were decided on the canonization of Russian saints. In February 1551, under the leadership of Macarius, a council was convened, which received the name Stoglavy, since its decisions were set out in 100 chapters. The council discussed a wide range of issues: church discipline and morality of monks, enlightenment and spiritual education, appearance and standards of Christian behavior. Of particular importance was the unification of the rites of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The reform activity of the Elected Rada lasted about 10 years. As early as 1553, disagreements between the tsar and his entourage began. In this year, due to Ivan's dangerous illness, the question of succession to the throne arose. Not hoping to survive, the king bequeathed the throne to his infant son Dmitry. Many of the courtiers refused to swear allegiance to the baby. As a candidate for the throne, Ivan's cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky, was nominated. Sylvester and many other members of the Chosen Rada at the decisive moment betrayed the king and went over to the side of his opponents. Contrary to everyone's expectation, Tsar Ivan recovered. He announced the forgiveness of his relative and associates.

The reason for the resumption of the conflict was the death in 1560 of Empress Anastasia. Members of the Chosen Rada were accused of having killed their beloved royal wife with evil sorcery. Recent rulers fell into disgrace. The elected council ceased to exist, and the implementation of reforms was suspended (Scheme 63).

In 1564, Prince Andrey Kurbsky, who for a long time was considered Ivan's closest adviser and personal friend, betrayed the tsar and moved to the Poles. From exile, he wrote a letter to his former master full of accusations and reproaches. The response message of Ivan the Terrible will become a real manifesto of autocratic power. Both Andrei Kurbsky and Ivan the Terrible had great literary talent.

Scheme 63

Their correspondence, which stretched over many years, is one of the outstanding monuments of Russian literature and social thought of the 16th century.

The activities of Tsar Ivan the Terrible are still considered controversial by historians. But there is no doubt that at the beginning of his reign, the then young tsar was thinking about progressive transformations in the country. And she helped him Elected Rada. What is the Chosen Council? Who was part of it? What transformations did Ivan the Terrible carry out together with its members?

Elected Rada

The Elected Rada is an informal council under Ivan the Terrible, which included his friends and like-minded people. Despite the fact that the Rada was not an official body of power, it was its activities that primarily determined politics in Russia. The term was proposed by the closest associate of the king - Prince A.M. Kurbsky. The word "rad" among the Western Slavs meant "council".

Years of activity of the Chosen Rada

The elected Rada lasted 11 years: from 1549 to 1560 years. It was during this period that Grozny carried out large-scale reforms in literally all spheres of life.

Composition of the Elected Rada

Confessor of the king Sylvester

A.F.Adashev

Metropolitan Macarius

Head of the Ambassadorial Order I.M. Viskovaty

Princes Kurbsky A.M. , Vorotynsky, Serebryany, Sheremetyevs and others.

Reforms of the Elected Rada

Reform of local self-government.

In 1549 was first convened Zemsky Sobor, which marked the beginning of class representation in Russia. The cathedral provided communication between the central government and local authorities, discussed important issues.

AT 1556 the system was abolished feeding, in their place were taken by representatives of the zemstvo (local) self-government - heads and kissers. The local nobility also had the opportunity to elect their own zemstvo authorities and resolve local issues.

Judicial reform.

In 1550, the Sudebnik was adopted, which significantly added the provisions of the Sudebnik of Ivan III: the central authority was strengthened, the powers of governors and volostels were reduced, the right of the peasants to leave on St. George's Day was confirmed, but the elderly , that is, payment for the use of the landowner's land, which became the next stage in the enslavement of the peasants.

Reform of the Central Government

It was the beginning of the formation command system of power. Orders - central government bodies, were in charge of a certain area of ​​\u200b\u200bactivity. At the head are clerks and clerks. A similar system existed until the end of the 17th century and was then replaced by Peter I with colleges. Orders: Petition, Local, Ambassadorial, Streltsy, Rogue and others .

Church reform.

AT 1551 was convened Stoglavy Cathedral the name was given by the number of chapters of decisions made). Purpose: unification of church rites, recognition of local saints as all-Russian. Church canons (that is, requirements, laws) were clearly defined, for example, how to be baptized, how to go in procession, etc.

Much was devoted to improving the morality of the priests themselves.

Military reform

Much attention was paid to strengthening military power countries. For this purpose, it was created standing army- archers, gunners, 1556 adopted Service regulations, in which a single order of service was determined. Interestingly, the Code noted that localism was limited during wars.

Thus, the Elected Rada played a huge role in reforming the country, its progressive development, and strengthening the state. For the first time Russia became class - representative monarchy. This is a great merit.

Reasons for the fall of the Chosen Rada

The desire of Ivan the Terrible for autocracy, he no longer needed friends and advisers.

The difficult relationship of some members of the Rada (Sylvester and Adashev) with the relatives of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia Zakharyeva-Yuryeva, especially after her death.

There were foreign policy differences related to the Livonian War.

Differences over reforms. The king was waiting for quick results, and the reforms were designed for long term, it was difficult to immediately transform so many aspects of life, and the state apparatus itself was not yet ready for this, it worked inefficiently.

The fate of the members of the Elected Rada

The fate of Grozny's closest supporters was tragic.

Sylvester was exiled in 1560 to the Solovetsky Monastery

Adashev was sent to the war with Livonia, was soon arrested, and he died in prison.

Prince Kurbsky, seeing the massacre of members of the Rada, fled to Livonia in 1564 and even fought Grozny on the side of the Lithuanians.

The fate of the other members of the Chosen Rada is also tragic. The defeat of the Rada was the beginning oprichnina- one of the most terrible periods in the history of Russia.

You can read about the life and work of Tsar Ivan the Terrible on my website

"Historical portraits":istoricheskiy-portret.ru

Material prepared: Melnikova Vera Alexandrovna

Creation of the "Chosen Rada"

In the late 1540s, under the young Tsar Ivan IV, a circle of figures was formed who were allowed to manage the affairs of states. The very name "Chosen Rada" was later given by Andrey Kurbsky. The rest of the members of the "Chosen Rada" were Alexey Fedorovich Adashev, confessor Sylvester, the head of the Ambassadorial Department Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty, as well as several other princes.

Initially, meetings of nobles and governors were held, at which significant issues were discussed. Subsequently, in 1549, the February meeting was held, which became the first Zemsky Sobor.

The main political strategy of the "Chosen Rada" was centralization Russian state in accordance with the civilizational model of the West. Of course, the implementation of this strategy required reforming most areas.

The transformations of all spheres of society's life were carried out by the "Chosen Rada" in the period of 1549-1560 in the field of administrative, military, church, legal, financial and other systems.

Reforms of the "Chosen Rada" in the legal and administrative systems

By the decision of the "Council of Reconciliation", held in 1549, a new set of state laws was prepared.

In 1550, the corrected Sudebnik was written. Of course, relations between peasants and feudal lords did not change, laws and norms were preserved, however, the power of feeders in the field was somewhat limited and the process of forming orders was accelerated.

Definition 1

Orders are the first functional governing bodies that were in charge of certain areas of public affairs.

The most famous of them were the Posolsky, Streletsky, Petition and other orders.

At the same time, there was a centralization of local self-government, expressed in the strengthening of the positions of the nobles in society. For example, viceroyal administrations were replaced by elective administration.

Army reform

In the mid-50s of the 16th century, the Code of Service was adopted, establishing a strict procedure for its performance. All landowners, regardless of the size of their holdings, became servants.

The government of Alexei Adashev organized a streltsy army and formed a detachment of archers to protect the tsar.

Remark 2

As a result of military reform tens of thousands of soldiers had weapons, equipment and food.

Church reforms of the Chosen One

As for the church reforms of the Chosen One, it is worth noting the adoption in 1551 of Stoglav, containing one hundred chapters-articles of Ivan the Terrible's answers on the structure of the church. Stoglav was aimed at strengthening church discipline and regulating life.

One of the intentions of Ivan the Terrible was the confiscation of land from the church, but the Chosen Council was against it. The Church tried as much as possible to strengthen its authority, which fell in the eyes of the population.

Reforms of the Chosen One in the financial system

Of course, none of the administrative reforms could be fully implemented without changing the tax system. For this purpose, a census was conducted in 1550.

Remark 3

Household taxation was replaced by land taxation. In the central territory, a separate tax unit called the “big plow” was introduced, the value of which varied depending on the position of the landowners. In general, the payment of taxes became more and more centralized.

In general, we can say that the reforms of the Chosen One were ambiguous and compromise. They were aimed at strengthening power and improving the position of the nobility, but their implementation was interrupted due to the resignation of the Chosen Council in 1560.

By the end of the 1540s, under the young ruler Ivan IV, a circle of figures was formed, to whom he entrusted the conduct of affairs in the state. Later, Andrei Kurbsky called the new government "The Chosen Rada." Its most famous members were Adashev Alexei Fedorovich, confessor Sylvester, Mikhailovich - the head and several other noble princes.

Reforms of the Chosen One

The first steps towards reforms were meetings of nobles and governors. In 1549, the February meeting took place, which became the first Zemsky Sobor. The main political strategy of the Chosen One was the centralization of the Russian state according to the civilizational model of the West. The change in strategy required a set of reforms. The reforms of the Chosen Rada had an anti-boyar orientation. It relied on the landlords, nobles, townspeople, and therefore expressed exclusively their interests.

The elected council, whose reforms took place in 1549-1560, implemented transformations in all spheres of society. The changes affected the administrative, church, legal, financial and tax and other systems.

Reforms of the Chosen One in the legal and administrative systems

By decision of the "Council of Reconciliation" in 1549, a new code of laws was being prepared. The corrected Sudebnik was established in 1550. Relations between feudal lords and peasants have not changed, the old norms and laws have been preserved. At the same time, the power of feeders in the field was somewhat limited, and the process of forming orders was accelerated. Orders are the first functional governing bodies that were in charge of certain areas of state affairs (otherwise they were called chambers, courtyards, etc.). The most famous were the Petition, Streletsky, Posolsky and other orders.

At the same time, the centralization of local self-government was carried out. Viceroys were replaced by elected administrations. These and other innovations strengthened the positions of the nobles in society, united the provincial nobility into service cities.

Army reform

In the mid-50s of the 16th century, the Code of Service was adopted. A strict order of service was established. All landowners, regardless of the size of their possessions, became service people. The government organized and formed a detachment of archers to protect the king. As a result of military reforms, tens of thousands of soldiers received weapons, equipment and food.

Church reforms of the Chosen One

In 1551, Stoglav was adopted, in which one hundred chapters-articles were published on the answers of Ivan the Terrible about the structure of the church. Stoglav strengthened the general discipline in the church, regulated life. The tsar intended to confiscate land from the church, but these intentions were not approved by the Chosen Rada. The Church tried in every possible way to strengthen its authority, which was steadily falling in the eyes of the people.

The Chosen One's reforms are welcome financial system

None administrative reforms could not be implemented without restructuring the tax system. In 1550, a census of the entire population was carried out. Household taxation was replaced by land taxation. In the central territory, a tax unit called the “big plow” was introduced, its value varied depending on the position of the landowners. The payment of taxes by the population became more and more centralized. "Feeding income" was replaced by a nationwide "feeding farm".

In general, the reforms of the Chosen Rada under Ivan the Terrible were ambiguous. They were of a compromise nature. The reforms contributed to strengthening power and improving the position of the nobility. Their implementation was interrupted due to the resignation of the Chosen One in 1560.