Boris Godunov was born in 1552 in the famousboyar family. He had Tatar roots. Boris's father, Fyodor Ivanovich, was a small landowner in the Moscow region, near the city of Vyazma. In 1569, the young man died dad, and Boris moved to his uncle Dmitry, who became the oprichnik. He served in the Bed order. He was followed by the young nephew Boris Godunov. A brief biography of his takeoff included a marriage alliance with the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov, the main oprichnik of the country.
Approximate Grozny
Boris met Tsar Ivan the Terrible, withwhich he developed a trusting relationship, despite the fastidious nature of the ruler. He decided to marry his younger son Fedor on his sister Boris Irina. After the heir to the throne, Ivan, died, this status passed to the younger brother.
But until the last years of the king, Boris continued to leadyourself carefully at court. Together with Bogdan Belsky he became the main approximate of Ivan the Terrible. Sir Jerome Horsey, who was the English ambassador, wrote that between the two were the feelings of a son and a father. When the king was dying, Boris Godunov was among them. A brief biography of the boyar received a new twist. Now he became the brother-in-law of Tsar Fedor.
Brother-in-law of the king
Last Rurikovich had poor health andgentle character. He had no administrative or managerial talent. He was not trained at all for the role of the ruler of a great power. Therefore, a council of four boyars (including Godunov) was created, who gave advice to the sovereign and himself was engaged in political affairs. Immediately, those close to them started plotting against each other to get rid of their competitors and move closer to the king. Various groups, including family members, slandered enemies who were in prison and subjected to repression.
Очень быстро единственным советником и доверенным the face of the king became Boris Godunov. A brief biography of the brother-in-law of the king during this period includes the organization of the election of the first patriarch. This was an important step aimed at strengthening the church and state. After the fall of Byzantium, Russia had no reference points in Orthodoxy. The Greek high priests stopped coming to the country. Therefore, it was decided that the first patriarch would be the Russian Metropolitan Job.
Talented regent
Then Boris had to face the devastation,which persisted in the country after the unprecedented repression of Ivan the Terrible and the existence of the oprichnina. First of all, cities began to be built. After the Tatar khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan were captured, the Volga needed numerous fortresses to protect them from nomads. Therefore, Samara, Saratov and Tsaritsyn appeared. Construction was carried out on other frontiers of the great kingdom (Belgorod, Voronezh, Livny). More recently, Yermak with the Cossacks conquered Western Siberia, and now colonists and enterprising people went there en masse. So Tomsk appeared. Boris Godunov patronized all this creation. The brief biography of the stable included numerous expenses for urban planning.
Another important issue was the economicruin. Lands were not plowed, yields yielded little production. In recent years, Grozny has become frequent cases of famine. Boris Godunov’s policy in this direction was to enslave the peasants, who became the property of the landowners. This allowed us to quickly create large and stably operating farms yielding yield. In 1597, a decree was signed on lesson years - a period during which fugitive peasants were caught and punished by the authorities. Then it was a gap of six years.
Foreign policy
Despite the fact that Fedor formally ruled, allimportant decisions were made by his brother-in-law with complete non-resistance of the king. This is evidenced by the foreign policy of Boris Godunov. In 1591 there was an invasion of the Crimean Khan Kazy-Giray. He even went to Moscow, but, faced with a new, recently rebuilt line of fortifications, stepped back. His huge wagon train did not allow to develop great speed. The army, including Godunov, overtook the Tatars and destroyed them. After returning to the capital, it was Boris who was showered with royal mercy, although Fyodor Mstislavsky was the main voivod.
Another important campaign was the war with Sweden.After the failure of Ivan the Terrible in Livonia, the territories in the Baltic were rejected from Russia. Therefore, Fedor and Boris wanted to take revenge. They succeeded thanks to the coordinated actions of the troops. In 1593, a peace treaty was signed, under which Russia received Ivangorod, Koporye and other territories lost under Grozny. The domestic and foreign policy of Boris Godunov was accompanied by success.
Death of Tsarevich Dmitry
В 1591 году трагически погиб младший брат Федора Dmitriy. If the king had no heirs left, then this particular child would have received the throne. He lived in Uglich, where he died under unclear circumstances. In order to find out the cause of death of the heir, a commission was sent from Moscow, headed by the boyar Vasily Shuisky. He wanted to please Godunov and said that the boy died because of the carelessness and carelessness of his mentors when he was playing with a knife. Later, when Boris came to power, many began to accuse him of conspiracy and the murder of Dmitry. At first it was just a rumor, but in the end it was they who caused the king to fall.
Kingdom Wedding and Repression
Федор отличался слабым здоровьем.Therefore, his death in 1598 did not surprise anyone. But the question of the heir was acute. The king had daughters, but they died in infancy. The situation became unique, as before Rurikovich always had heirs in a straight line. The decisive was the voice of the wife of Tsar Irina, who offered power to her brother.
The characteristic of Boris Godunov spoke in hisfavor Being the regent of Fedor, he gained plenty of experience in public administration. The power in the representation of the people of that time was bestowed on God. Godunov from birth was not part of the ruling dynasty. Therefore, many considered him only the first among equals in the Boyar Duma.
This situation could not affect Boris,which developed persecution mania. He became suspicious. Many people in the neighborhood began to take advantage of this situation and slander their enemies. So, for example, happened with the Romanovs. The head of the clan Fyodor Nikitich was sent to the monastery after he was accused of organizing a conspiracy against the king. Someone just removed from the yard.
Hunger and peasant uprisings
And, nevertheless, the bickering in the upper authoritiesconcerned the bulk of the population - the peasants. "From below" there was no resistance to the fact that Boris Godunov was in power. The tragedy broke out a few years after the wedding of the kingdom. In 1601, a massive famine began throughout the country. For several seasons there was a cold weather, due to which most of the harvest died. Modern research suggests that the cause of this was a volcanic eruption in South America and the subsequent accumulation of ash in the atmosphere. One way or another, but the cold was in Europe. This is not to find the guilt of Boris, but the peasants were distinguished by superstition, and hunger led to an increase in social tensions.
Landlords who could not feedthe serfs attached to them let them go. There was nothing left but to rob on the roads in order to at least somehow find food and the means to live. Some landowners hid their grain to survive the troubled times. When the peasants learned about it, pogroms began. So the famous uprising of the Cotton flared up when a huge gang of embittered beggars went to Moscow for the army. It was broken, but this did not add to the popularity of power. Tsar Boris Godunov ordered an investigation into the causes of the incident. He also tried to help the starving. In Moscow, barns were opened with bread. However, the generosity led to the fact that tramps from the whole country went to the capital. Soon the bins are empty.
The appearance of the impostor
After these events, the characteristic of Boris Godunovin the eyes of contemporaries was spoiled. Meanwhile, rumors were spreading in the west of the country that the son of Ivan the Terrible was alive and was already on his way to Moscow to expel Godunov and restore the legitimate dynasty. This impostor was Gregory Otrepiev. He was a runaway monk who moved to Poland. With the help of local noblemen, he conceived an intrigue - to pretend to be dead Dmitry and seize power in Russia. He managed to meet with the Polish king Sigismund. The nobleman Yuri Mnishek gave him money and troops. Also, the Cossacks of Zaporizhzhya Sich first joined Otrepyev.
The forces of the parties
The life of Boris Godunov at that time was difficult. In his country, rebellions raged. The hungry and embittered peasants happily went under the banner of False Dmitry.
Однако самозванцу не удалось эффективно organize your campaign. The troops crossed the Russian border in October, when it began to rain and cold. This was due to delays and delays in Poland. Another tactical failure of False Dmitry was the refusal of the Crimean Khan to invade Moscow. In Poland, they hoped that the Russian Tsar would be between two fires, which would make it difficult for him to organize a defense. However, Kazy-Girey did not dare to go with the army to Moscow. Another drawback of the False Dmitry squad was the lack of artillery.
But there were mistakes that Boris Godunov made.The tragedy was that he did not take the news about some impostor seriously. He, meanwhile, did not sit idly by, but organized an effective campaign, the center of which was Oster Castle.
Defeat of False Dmitry
The applicant's army was divided into two parts.In the first were the Cossacks, who openly walked the roads. The second army, in which the False Dmitry himself was, went through the forests. Moravsk and Chernigov fell first without a fight. But Novgorod-Seversky did not want to surrender, and the local boyar Peter Basmanov organized the defense, receiving reinforcements from neighboring cities. In the same place the first battle of this war took place, in which the impostor won. Boris Godunov was struck by this news. Then he sent the governor Fyodor Mstislavsky to the west.
During this time, Kursk was in the hands of the "prince"Kromy, Rylsk and Sevsk. Mstislavsky met with him near the village of Dobrynichi on January 21, 1605. 20 thousand royal soldiers attacked 23 thousand supporters of the False Dmitry. Success was for the Moscow army. The impostor fled to Putivl. It seemed to be the final victory.
Death
But suddenly the death of Boris Godunov.On April 13, the 53-year-old king felt sick after a meal and quickly died. Recently, he was sick a lot due to heavy loads. But so far it is not known exactly what the reason for this departure was. Some researchers believe that Godunov either poisoned himself from despair, or someone from the courtiers planted poison on him.
It is now impossible to figure this out.also due to the fact that the remains of the king were reburied several times. The fact is that after his death, his son Fyodor took the throne. But he was overthrown by False Dmitry and killed (just like his mother). On this the rule of the dynasty of the Godunovs ended. The Troubles began, during which numerous groups and even Poles claimed power. But in the end, Mikhail Romanov became the tsar - the son of Fyodor Nikitich, who was sent to the monastery by Boris Godunov. The story finally judged opponents.
