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90-591: The first units were established by Ivan the Terrible as part of the first Russian standing army. The streltsy were under the administration of the Streletsky prikaz from 1571. The first streltsy units were created by Ivan the Terrible sometime between 1545 and 1550 and armed with arquebuses. During his reign, Russia was fighting wars almost continuously, including the Livonian War against Scandinavia and

180-574: A tyrant came from politicised Western travel literature of the Renaissance era. Anti-Russian propaganda during the Livonian War portrayed Ivan as a sadistic and oriental despot. Vladimir Dal defines grozny specifically in archaic usage and as an epithet for tsars: "courageous, magnificent, magisterial and keeping enemies in fear, but people in obedience". Other translations have also been suggested by modern scholars, including formidable , as well as awe-inspiring . Ivan Vasilyevich

270-513: A "Russe" and highlighting his "German" descent from Rurik. Such genealogies served to elevate the position of the Russian monarch in the eyes of his subjects and other European powers, who were also creating mythological ancestors for themselves. Despite calamities triggered by the Great Fire of 1547 , the early part of Ivan's reign was one of peaceful reforms and modernization. Ivan revised

360-498: A development of the wagon-fort concept. The usage of installable shields instead of permanently armoured wagons cost less and allowed the assembly of more possible configurations. Gulyay-gorod provided the cavalry with a mobile and impregnable (for the Tatars) shelter. From there, the cavalry could launch surprise attacks. A common technique was fire ambush, when the pursuers were lured by a false retreat under fire from gulyay-gorod, as it

450-477: A difficult position by 1579. The displaced refugees fleeing the war compounded the effects of the simultaneous drought, and the exacerbated war engendered epidemics causing much loss of life. Báthory then launched a series of offensives against Muscovy in the campaign seasons of 1579–81 to try to cut the Kingdom of Livonia from Muscovy. During his first offensive in 1579, he retook Polotsk with 22,000 men. During

540-509: A few thousand Azaps and Akıncıs were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and to begin the canal works while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov . In early 1570, Ivan's ambassadors concluded a treaty at Constantinople that restored friendly relations between the sultan and the tsar. The envoys were directed to tell to the sultan: "My Tsar is not an enemy of the Moslem faith. His servant Sain Bulat rules

630-619: A grandson of Ivan III . He succeeded his father after his death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers united around the young Ivan, crowning him as tsar in 1547 at the age of 16. In the early years of his reign, Ivan ruled with the group of reformers known as the Chosen Council and established the Zemsky Sobor , a new assembly convened by the tsar. He also revised the legal code and introduced reforms, including elements of local self-government, as well as establishing

720-505: A new dimension of power that was intimately tied to religion. He was now a "divine" leader appointed to enact God's will, as "church texts described Old Testament kings as 'Tsars' and Christ as the Heavenly Tsar". The newly appointed title was then passed on from generation to generation, and "succeeding Muscovite rulers... benefited from the divine nature of the power of the Russian monarch... crystallized during Ivan's reign". Like

810-533: A season campaigning meant loss of income. The streltsy and their families lived in their own neighborhoods or districts settlements and received money and bread from the State Treasury. In certain locations, the streltsy were granted strips of land instead of money. The streltsy settlement in Moscow was located near where the main campus of Moscow State University now stands. Military commanders deployed

900-467: A wider sense the Russian term has come to be applied to foreign mobile fortifications, such as wagon forts of Hussites . Photographs exist of a similar device that was captured by German forces from the Russians in 1914, at the beginning of World War 1. Russian armies would construct a gulyay-gorod from large wall-sized prefabricated shields (with holes for guns) installed on wheels or sleds , as

990-532: Is a legend that he was so impressed with the structure that he had the architect, Postnik Yakovlev , blinded so that he could never design anything as beautiful again. However, in reality Postnik Yakovlev went on to design more churches for Ivan and the walls of the Kazan Kremlin in the early 1560s as well as the chapel over Saint Basil's grave, which was added to Saint Basil's Cathedral in 1588, several years after Ivan's death. Although more than one architect

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1080-413: Is a somewhat archaic translation. The Russian word grozny reflects the older English usage of terrible as in "inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful" (i.e., similar to modern English terrifying or formidable ). It does not convey the more modern connotations of English terrible such as "defective" or "evil". According to Edward L. Keenan , Ivan the Terrible's image in popular culture as

1170-489: The oprichniki . Originally, it numbered 1000. The oprichniki were headed by Malyuta Skuratov . One known oprichnik was the German adventurer Heinrich von Staden . The oprichniki enjoyed social and economic privileges under the oprichnina . They owed their allegiance and status to Ivan, not heredity or local bonds. The first wave of persecutions targeted primarily the princely clans of Russia, notably

1260-550: The oprichnina and disbanded his oprichniki . In September or October 1575, Ivan proclaimed Simeon Bekbulatovich , his statesman of Tatar origin, the new grand prince of all Russia. Simeon reigned as a figurehead leader for about a year. According to the English envoy Giles Fletcher the Elder , Simeon acted on Ivan's instructions to confiscate all of the lands that belonged to monasteries, and Ivan pretended to disagree with

1350-551: The oprichnina and Tatar raids, the prolonged war and overpopulation caused a severe social and economic crisis in the second half of Ivan's reign. The 1560s brought to Russia hardships that led to a dramatic change in Ivan's policies. Russia was devastated by a combination of drought, famine, unsuccessful wars against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Tatar invasions and the sea-trading blockade carried out by

1440-619: The Baltic ports owned by Livonia. Russia remained isolated from sea trade. Ivan established close ties with the Kingdom of England . Russian–English relations can be traced to 1551, when the Muscovy Company was formed by Richard Chancellor , Sebastian Cabot , Sir Hugh Willoughby and several London merchants. In 1553, Chancellor sailed to the White Sea and continued overland to Moscow, where he visited Ivan's court. Ivan opened up

1530-533: The Bulavin Rebellion of 1705–1706 in Astrakhan . At the same time, those streltsy who had been on top of the hierarchy enjoyed their social status and, therefore, tried to hold back the regular streltsy forces and keep them on the government’s side. In the late 17th century, the streltsy of Moscow began to actively participate in a struggle for power between different government groups, supporting

1620-581: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania ), claimed descent both from Orthodox Hungarian nobles and the Mongol ruler Mamai (1335–1380). Born on 25 August, he received the name Ivan in honor of St.  John the Baptist , the day of whose beheading falls on 29 August. In some texts of that era, it is also occasionally mentioned with the names Titus and Smaragd, in accordance with the tradition of polyonymy among

1710-705: The Habsburgs and other monarchs in Europe, the first Russian tsars adopted mythological genealogies that connected them to Ancient Rome . In The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir , their lineage is traced to Rurik , the first prince of Novgorod in northern Russia, while a certain Prus, an alleged brother of Augustus who ruled what would become Prussia , is mentioned as a direct ancestor of Rurik. Ivan IV often mentioned his apparent kinship with Augustus, claiming not to be

1800-755: The Kazan Khanate repeatedly raided northeastern Russia. In the 1530s, the Crimean khan formed an offensive alliance with Safa Giray of Kazan , his relative. When Safa Giray invaded Russia in December 1540, the Russians used Qasim Tatars to contain him. After his advance was stalled near Murom, Safa Giray was forced to withdraw to his own borders. The reverses undermined Safa Giray's authority in Kazan. A pro-Russian party, represented by Shahgali , gained enough popular support to make several attempts to take over

1890-534: The Northern Wars in the early 17th century, and military operations in Poland and Crimea , in the second half of the 17th century, the streltsy started to display their backwardness compared to the regular soldier or reiter regiments (see Imperial Russian Army ). Military service hardships, frequent salary delays, abuse on the part of local administration and commanders led to regular streltsy, especially

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1980-538: The Oka River , which defined the border. The following year, Devlet launched another raid on Moscow, now with a numerous horde, reinforced by Turkish janissaries equipped with firearms and cannons. The Russian army, led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky , was half the size but was experienced and supported by streltsy , equipped with modern firearms and gulyay-gorods . In addition, it was no longer divided into two parts (the oprichnina and zemsky ), unlike during

2070-534: The Old Believers and showing hostility towards any foreign innovations. The streltsy became something of a "praetorian element" in Muscovite politics in the late 17th century. In 1682, they attempted to prevent Peter I from coming to the throne in favor of his half-brother, Ivan V . After the fall of Sophia Alekseyevna in 1689, the government of Peter I engaged in a process of gradual limitation of

2160-481: The Ottoman Empire , and the conquest of Siberia . Contemporary sources present disparate accounts of Ivan's complex personality. He was described as intelligent and devout, but also prone to paranoia, rage, and episodic outbreaks of mental instability that worsened with age. Historians generally believe that in a fit of anger, he murdered his eldest son and heir, Ivan Ivanovich ; he might also have caused

2250-852: The Rurikids . Baptized in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius by Abbot Joasaph (Skripitsyn), two elders of the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery were elected as recipients—the monk Cassian Bossoy and the hegumen Daniel. Tradition says that in honor of the birth of Ivan, the Church of the Ascension was built in Kolomenskoye . When Ivan was three years old, his father died from an abscess and inflammation on his leg that developed into blood poisoning . The closest contenders to

2340-619: The Russian nobility , which he violently purged using Russia's first political police, the oprichniki . The later years of Ivan's reign were marked by the massacre of Novgorod by the oprichniki and the burning of Moscow by the Tatars . Ivan also pursued cultural improvements, such as importing the first printing press to Russia, and began several processes that would continue for centuries, including deepening connections with other European states, particularly England , fighting wars against

2430-486: The Russo-Kazan Wars , and it was understood not only as a type of wagon-fort , but also as siege towers . Later, this term could cover mobile barriers like the cheval de frise . It was probably just an adaptation of the German term "wagenburg" . At first, it was used to cover artillery during the siege of fortresses. In 1572 gulyay-gorod was very successfully used by the commander Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky in

2520-1078: The Stroganov merchant family the patent for colonising "the abundant region along the Kama River", and, in 1574, lands over the Ural Mountains along the rivers Tura and Tobol . The family also received permission to build forts along the Ob River and the Irtysh River . Around 1577, the Stroganovs engaged the Cossack leader Yermak Timofeyevich to protect their lands from attacks of the Siberian Khan Kuchum . In 1580, Yermak started his conquest of Siberia. With some 540 Cossacks , he started to penetrate territories that were tributary to Kuchum. Yermak pressured and persuaded

2610-539: The gulyay-gorod in his Of the Russe Common Wealth (1591). At the end of the 16th century, the term "gulyai-gorod" was gradually replaced by the term "oboz" , literally "wagon train". A Russian eyewitness describes how, during the next invasion of the Crimean Tatars in 1591, Russian troops retreated to Moscow and defended themselves in the "wagon train" — "and by the ancient name - gulyay". At

2700-591: The 1571 defeat. On 27 July, the horde broke through the defensive line along the Oka River and moved towards Moscow. The Russian troops did not have time to intercept it, but the regiment of Prince Khvorostinin vigorously attacked the Tatars from the rear. The Khan stopped only 30 km from Moscow and brought down his entire army back on the Russians, who managed to take up defense near the village of Molodi . After several days of heavy fighting, Mikhail Vorotynsky with

2790-421: The 16th century, there were 20,000 to 25,000 streltsy. In 1681, there were 55,000, including 22,500 in Moscow alone. The engagements of the streltsy in handicrafts and trade led to a significant proprietary inequality among them and their blending with tradesmen. Even though the streltsy demonstrated their fighting efficiency on several occasions, such as during the siege of Kazan in 1552, the war with Livonia ,

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2880-572: The Kazan throne. In 1545, Ivan mounted an expedition to the River Volga to show his support for the pro-Russian party. In 1551, the tsar sent his envoy to the Nogai Horde , and they promised to maintain neutrality during the impending war. The Ar begs and Udmurts submitted to Russian authority as well. In 1551, the wooden fort of Sviyazhsk was transported down the Volga from Uglich all

2970-940: The Khanate of Kassimov; Prince Kaibula in Yuriev, Ibak in Suroshsk, and the Nogai Princes in Romanov.” In 1558, Ivan launched the Livonian War in an attempt to gain access to the Baltic Sea and its major trade routes. The war ultimately proved unsuccessful and stretched on for 24 years, engaging the Kingdom of Sweden , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Teutonic Knights of Livonia. The prolonged war had nearly destroyed

3060-747: The Moscow government to gain a foothold on the Middle Volga kept provoking uprisings of local peoples, which was suppressed only with great difficulty. In 1557, the First Cheremis War ended, and the Bashkirs accepted Ivan's authority. In campaigns in 1554 and 1556, Russian troops conquered the Astrakhan Khanate at the mouths of the Volga River, and the new Astrakhan fortress was built in 1558 by Ivan Vyrodkov to replace

3150-824: The Municipal Streltsy started to be disbanded. The liquidation of most streltsy units was finished in the 1720s. The Municipal Streltsy were kept in some cities until the late 18th century. The Preobrazhensky Regiment and the Semyonovsky Regiment of the Imperial Guard replaced the streltsy and the traditional ryndy as the tsar's bodyguards. Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich ( Russian : Иван IV Васильевич ; 25 August 1530 – 28 March [ O.S. 18 March] 1584), commonly known as Ivan

3240-593: The Ottoman Empire .) Khan Devlet I Giray of Crimea repeatedly raided the Moscow region. In 1571, the 40,000-strong Crimean and Turkish army launched a large-scale raid. The ongoing Livonian War left Moscow with a garrison of only 6,000 troops, which could not even delay the Tatar approach. Unresisted, Devlet devastated unprotected towns and villages around Moscow and caused the Fire of Moscow . Historians have estimated

3330-478: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the north and wars against the khanates of the south. They first saw combat at the siege of Kazan in 1552. Tsar Ivan passed a decree on 1 October 1550 "on the stationing in Moscow and surrounding districts of one thousand service people," which is considered to be the formal founding of the streltsy regiments. Initially, streltsy were recruited from among

3420-487: The Print Yard being burned in an arson attack. The first Russian printers, Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets , were forced to flee from Moscow to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . Nevertheless, the printing of books resumed from 1568 onwards, with Andronik Timofeevich Nevezha and his son Ivan now heading the Print Yard. Ivan had Saint Basil's Cathedral constructed in Moscow to commemorate the seizure of Kazan . There

3510-948: The Swedes, the Poles and the Hanseatic League . His first wife, Anastasia Romanovna, died in 1560, which was suspected to be a poisoning. The personal tragedy deeply hurt Ivan and is thought to have affected his personality, if not his mental health. At the same time one of Ivan's advisors, Prince Andrey Kurbsky, defected to the Lithuanians, took command of the Lithuanian troops and devastated the Russian region of Velikiye Luki . This series of treacherous acts made Ivan paranoically suspicious of nobility. On 3 December 1564 Ivan left Moscow for Aleksandrova Sloboda , where he sent two letters in which he announced his abdication because of

3600-416: The Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to a fledgling empire, but at an immense cost to its people and long-term economy. Ivan IV was the eldest son of Vasili III by his second wife Elena Glinskaya , and

3690-493: The Terrible with a message that proclaimed Yermak-conquered Siberia to be part of Russia to the dismay of the Stroganovs, who had planned to keep Siberia for themselves. Ivan agreed to reinforce the Cossacks with his streltsy, but the detachment sent to Siberia died of starvation without any benefit. The Cossacks were defeated by the local peoples, Yermak died and the survivors immediately left Siberia. Only in 1586, two years after

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3780-534: The Turks, Ivan sent in 1558 a delegation to Egypt Eyalet by Archdeacon Gennady, who, however, died in Constantinople before he could reach Egypt. From then on, the embassy was headed by Smolensk merchant Vasily Poznyakov, whose delegation visited Alexandria, Cairo and Sinai; brought the patriarch a fur coat and an icon sent by Ivan and left an interesting account of his two-and-a-half years of travels. Ivan

3870-479: The White Sea and the port of Arkhangelsk to the company and granted it privilege of trading throughout his reign without paying the standard customs fees. With the use of English merchants, Ivan engaged in a long correspondence with Elizabeth I of England . While the queen focused on commerce, Ivan was more interested in a military alliance. Ivan even proposed to her once, and during his troubled relations with

3960-739: The age of 16, Ivan was crowned at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin . The metropolitan placed on Ivan the signs of royal dignity: the Cross of the Life-Giving Tree , barmas, and the cap of Monomakh ; Ivan Vasilyevich was anointed with myrrh , and then the metropolitan blessed the tsar. He was the first Russian monarch to be crowned the tsar of all Russia , partly imitating his grandfather, Ivan III. Until then,

4050-436: The alleged embezzlement and treason of the aristocracy and the clergy. The boyar court was unable to rule in Ivan's absence and feared the wrath of the Muscovite citizens. A boyar envoy departed for Aleksandrova Sloboda to beg Ivan to return to the throne. Ivan agreed to return on condition of being granted absolute power. He demanded the right to condemn and execute traitors and confiscate their estates without interference from

4140-399: The beginning of the 17th century, another term appeared to denote a mobile fortification - "tabor" . Additionally, for much of the 16-18th centuries, the Zaporozhian Cossacks used this type of fortification extensively, as for example by Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the siege of Zbarazh in 1649. With the proliferation of field artillery , this kind of fortification fell into disuse. In

4230-410: The boyar council or church. Ivan decreed the creation of the oprichnina . The oprichnina was a separate territory within the borders of Russia, mostly in the territory of the former Novgorod Republic in the north. Ivan held exclusive power over the territory. The Boyar Council ruled the zemshchina ('land'), the second division of the state. Ivan also recruited a personal guard known as

4320-433: The boyars, he even asked her for a guarantee to be granted asylum in England if his rule was jeopardised. Elizabeth agreed on the condition that he provide for himself during his potential stay. Ivan corresponded with overseas Orthodox leaders. In response to a letter of Patriarch Joachim of Alexandria asking him for financial assistance for the Saint Catherine's Monastery , in the Sinai Peninsula , which had suffered by

4410-427: The boyars. There followed brutal reprisals and assassinations, including those of Metropolitan Philip and Prince Alexander Gorbatyi-Shuisky . Ivan ordered in 1553 the establishment of the Moscow Print Yard , and the first printing press was introduced to Russia. Several religious books in Russian were printed during the 1550s and 1560s. The new technology provoked discontent among traditional scribes, which led to

4500-410: The brother of Fredrick II and a former ally of Ivan, died in 1583, Poland invaded his territories in the Duchy of Courland , and Frederick II decided to sell his rights of inheritance. Except for the island of Saaremaa , Denmark had left Livonia by 1585. In the later years of Ivan's reign, the southern borders of Muscovy were disturbed by Crimean Tatars, mainly to capture slaves. (See also Slavery in

4590-450: The city. The oprichniki burned and pillaged Novgorod and the surrounding villages and the city has never regained its former prominence. Casualty figures vary greatly from different sources. The First Pskov Chronicle estimates the number of victims at 60,000. According to the Third Novgorod Chronicle, the massacre lasted for five weeks. The massacre of Novgorod consisted of men, women and children who were tied to sleighs and run into

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4680-443: The conquest of Kazan, the Siberian khan Yadegar and the Nogai Horde , under Khan Ismail, pledged their allegiance to Ivan in the hope that he would help them against their opponents. However, Yadegar failed to gather the full sum of tribute that he proposed to the tsar and so Ivan did nothing to save his inefficient vassal. In 1563, Yadegar was overthrown and killed by Khan Kuchum , who denied any tribute to Moscow. In 1558, Ivan gave

4770-575: The control of the Streletsky prikaz ( стрелецкий приказ ). In times of war, they came under their superiors. The municipal streltsy were also under the jurisdiction of the local voivodes (local governors or semi-independent rulers). The largest military administrative unit of the streltsy forces was the body responsible for the issuing of gear or kit ( прибор ). This body was later renamed prikaz ( Russian : приказ , romanized :  prikaz , lit.   'office, department'), and in 1681, regiments ( полк ). The commanders of

4860-401: The death of Ivan, would the Russians manage to gain a foothold in Siberia by founding the city of Tyumen . Gulyay-gorod Gulyay-gorod , also guliai-gorod ( Russian : Гуля́й-го́род , literally: "wandering town"), was a mobile fortification used by the Russian army between the 16th and the 17th centuries. The use of term gulyay-gorod is noted in sources from the 1530s, during

4950-451: The decision. When the throne was returned to Ivan in September 1576 he returned some of the confiscated land and kept the rest. In 1547, Hans Schlitte, the agent of Ivan, recruited craftsmen in Germany for work in Russia. However, all of the craftsmen were arrested in Lübeck at the request of Poland and Livonia . The German merchant companies ignored the new port built by Ivan on the River Narva in 1550 and continued to deliver goods in

5040-480: The economy, and the oprichnina had thoroughly disrupted the government. Meanwhile, the Union of Lublin had united the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland , and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired an energetic leader, Stephen Báthory , who was supported by Russia's southern enemy, the Ottoman Empire. Ivan's realm was being squeezed by two of the time's great powers. After rejecting peace proposals from his enemies, Ivan had found himself in

5130-467: The first Russian standing army, the streltsy . Ivan conquered the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan , and significantly expanded the territory of Russia. After he had consolidated his power, Ivan rid himself of the advisers from the Chosen Council and triggered the Livonian War of 1558 to 1583, which ravaged Russia and resulted in failure to take control over Livonia and the loss of Ingria , but allowed him to establish greater autocratic control over

5220-506: The free tradespeople and from the rural population. Later, military service in this unit became lifelong and hereditary . While earlier in the 16th century they had been an elite force, their effectiveness was reduced by poor training and lack of choice in recruiting. Streltsy were subdivided into "select" ( Russian : выборные , romanized :  vybornyje ), later "Muscovite" ( Russian : московские ); and "municipal" ( городские , in different Russian cities). The streltsy came under

5310-460: The freezing waters of the Volkhov River, which Ivan ordered on the basis of unproved accusations of treason. He then tortured its inhabitants and killed thousands in a pogrom. The archbishop was also hunted to death. Almost every day, 500 or 600 people were killed, some by drowning, but the official death toll named 1,500 of Novgorod's "big" people (nobility) and mentioned only about the same number of "smaller" people. Many modern researchers estimate

5400-424: The grim conditions of the epidemic, a famine and the ongoing Livonian War, Ivan grew suspicious that noblemen of the wealthy city of Novgorod were planning to defect and to place the city under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A Novgorod citizen, Petr Volynets, warned the tsar about the alleged conspiracy, which modern historians believe not to have been real. In 1570 Ivan ordered the oprichniki to raid

5490-433: The heavy field battle of Molodi . So in the following years, the use of gulyay-gorod expanded, and pre-made shields were stored not only in the border fortresses, but also near Moscow. For the transportation and equipment of Gulyai-gorod, a special voivode was appointed, who had a separate cavalry detachment for reconnaissance. Giles Fletcher, the Elder , English ambassador to Russia , left an early Western description of

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5580-429: The influential families of Suzdal. Ivan executed, exiled or forcibly tonsured prominent members of the boyar clans on questionable accusations of conspiracy. Among those who were executed were the Metropolitan Philip and the prominent warlord Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky. In 1566 Ivan extended the oprichnina to eight central districts. Of the 12,000 nobles, 570 became oprichniki and the rest were expelled. Under

5670-403: The law code, creating the Sudebnik of 1550 , founded a standing army (the streltsy ), established the Zemsky Sobor (the first Russian parliament of feudal estates) and the council of the nobles (known as the Chosen Council) and confirmed the position of the Church with the Council of the Hundred Chapters (Stoglavy Synod), which unified the rituals and ecclesiastical regulations of

5760-408: The main part of the army flanked the Tatars and dealt a sudden blow on 2 August, and Khvorostinin made a sortie from the fortifications. The Tatars were completely defeated and fled. The next year, Ivan, who had sat out in distant Novgorod during the battle, killed Mikhail Vorotynsky. During Ivan's reign, Russia started a large-scale exploration and colonization of Siberia . In 1555, shortly after

5850-435: The mighty boyars from the Shuisky and Belsky families. In a letter to Andrey Kurbsky , Ivan remembered, "My brother Iurii, of blessed memory, and me they brought up like vagrants and children of the poorest. What have I suffered for want of garments and food!" That account has been challenged by the historian Edward Keenan, who doubts the authenticity of the source in which the quotations are found. On 16 January 1547, at

5940-412: The miscarriage of the latter's unborn child. This left his younger son, the politically ineffectual Feodor Ivanovich , to inherit the throne, a man whose rule and subsequent childless death led directly to the end of the Rurik dynasty and the beginning of the Time of Troubles . The English word terrible is usually used to translate the Russian word grozny ( грозный ) in Ivan's epithet, but this

6030-446: The new political system the oprichniki were given large estates but, unlike the previous landlords, could not be held accountable for their actions. The men "took virtually all the peasants possessed, forcing them to pay 'in one year as much as [they] used to pay in ten. ' " This degree of oppression resulted in increasing cases of peasants fleeing, which in turn reduced overall production. The price of grain increased ten-fold. Ivan

6120-430: The number of casualties of the fire to be 10,000 to 80,000. To buy peace from Devlet Giray, Ivan was forced to relinquish his claims on Astrakhan for the Crimean Khanate, but the proposed transfer was only a diplomatic maneuver and was never actually completed. The defeat angered Ivan. Between 1571 and 1572, preparations were made upon his orders. In addition to Zasechnaya cherta , innovative fortifications were set beyond

6210-409: The number of victims to range from 2,000 to 3,000 since after the famine and epidemics of the 1560s the population of Novgorod most likely did not exceed 10,000–20,000. Many survivors were deported. The oprichnina did not live long after the sack of Novgorod. During the 1571–72 Russo-Crimean War the oprichniki failed to prove themselves worthy against a regular army. In 1572, Ivan abolished

6300-485: The old Tatar capital. The annexation of the Tatar khanates meant the conquest of vast territories, access to large markets and control of the entire length of the Volga River. The subjugation of the Muslim khanates turned Russia into an empire. After his conquest of Kazan, Ivan is said to have ordered the crescent, a symbol of Islam, to be placed underneath the Christian cross on the domes of Orthodox Christian churches. In 1568, Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha , who

6390-416: The poorest ones, to participate in anti- serfdom uprisings in the 17th and early 18th centuries. These included the peasant wars in the Time of Troubles and after the last Rurikids were replaced by the Romanov tsars at the beginning of the 17th century and in 1670–1671 (such as by the cossacks of Stenka Razin ), urban uprisings such as the Moscow uprising of 1682 , the streltsy uprising of 1698, and

6480-541: The rebellion. The corps was technically abolished in 1689. After having suffered a defeat at Narva in 1700, the government stopped their disbandment. The most efficient streltsy regiments took part in the most important military operations of the Great Northern War and in Peter’s Pruth River Campaign of 1711. Gradually, the streltsy were incorporated into the regular army. At the same time,

6570-484: The rulers of Moscow were crowned as grand princes, but Ivan III assumed the title of sovereign of all Russia and used the title of tsar in his correspondence with other monarchs. Two weeks after his coronation, Ivan married his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna , a member of the Romanov family , who became the first Russian tsaritsa . By being crowned tsar, Ivan was sending a message to the world and to Russia that he

6660-677: The second, in 1580, he took Velikie Luki with a 29,000-strong force. Finally, he began the Siege of Pskov in 1581 with a 100,000-strong army. Narva , in Estonia , was reconquered by Sweden in 1581. Unlike Sweden and Poland, Frederick II of Denmark had trouble continuing the fight against Muscovy. He came to an agreement with John III of Sweden in 1580 to transfer the Danish titles of Livonia to John III. Muscovy recognised Polish–Lithuanian control of Livonia only in 1582. After Magnus von Lyffland ,

6750-754: The streltsy ( стрелецкие головы ) and colonels in charge of regiments served as senior officers of the prikazy . They had to be nobles and were appointed by the government. Regiments were subdivided into "Hundreds" ( сотни ) and "Decades" ( Russian : десятки , romanized :  desyatki , lit.   'tens'). They could be dragoons or cavalry ( Russian : стремянные , lit.   'with stirrups') or footsoldiers ( пешие ). The streltsy had uniforms that were similar in cut but in different colours according to regiment. These uniform coats were red, yellow, blue or green ( kaftans ) with orange or natural leather coloured boots. Training and weapons were also standardised. Their primary weapon

6840-404: The streltsy in static formations, often against set formations or fortifications. They often fired from a platform and employed a mobile wooden "fortification" known in Russian as a " gulyay-gorod " (literally a "walking fort"). They reportedly fired in volley or caracole fashion, the first line firing and then stepping back to reload while the second line stepped forward to fire. At the end of

6930-582: The streltsy's military and political influence. Eight Moscow regiments were removed from the city and transferred to Belgorod , Sevsk , and Kiev . In spite of these measures, the streltsy revolted yet again during the Grand Embassy of Peter the Great in Europe. Although the revolt was put down by the Scottish general Patrick Gordon who had entered Russian service under Alexis I in 1661 even before

7020-562: The throne, except for the young Ivan, were the younger brothers of Vasily. Of the six sons of Ivan III , only two remained: Andrey and Yuri . Ivan was proclaimed the grand prince at the request of his father. His mother Elena Glinskaya initially acted as regent, but died in 1538, when Ivan was eight years old; many believe that she was poisoned. The regency then alternated between several feuding boyar families that fought for control. According to his own letters, Ivan, along with his younger brother Yuri , often felt neglected and offended by

7110-469: The tsar's return to Russia, Peter cut short his embassy and returned to crush the streltsy with reprisals, including public executions and torture. Tortures included roasting the bare back, tearing flesh with iron hooks, and crushing feet in wooden presses called butuk s. Executions included being broken on the wheel and being buried alive. Many of the bodies were hung around Novodevichy Convent where Sophia Alekseyevna and Eudoxia were confined for aiding

7200-551: The various family-based tribes to change their loyalties and to become tributaries of Russia. Some agreed voluntarily because they were offered better terms than with Kuchum, but others were forced. He also established distant forts in the newly conquered lands. The campaign was successful, and the Cossacks managed to defeat the Siberian army in the Battle of Chuvash Cape , but Yermak still needed reinforcements. He sent an envoy to Ivan

7290-454: The way to Kazan. It was used as the Russian place-of-arms during the decisive campaign of 1552. On 16 June 1552, Ivan led a strong Russian army towards Kazan. The last siege of the Tatar capital commenced on 30 August. Under the supervision of Prince Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky, the Russians used battering rams, a siege tower, undermining, and 150 cannons. The Russians also had the advantage of efficient military engineers. The city's water supply

7380-485: The whole country. He introduced local self-government to rural regions, mainly in northeastern Russia, populated by the state peasantry. In 1553 Ivan suffered a near-fatal illness and was thought not able to recover. While on his presumed deathbed Ivan had asked the boyars to swear an oath of allegiance to his eldest son, an infant at the time. Many boyars refused since they deemed the tsar's health too hopeless for him to survive. This angered Ivan and added to his distrust of

7470-541: Was an arquebus or musket , and they carried pollaxes or bardiches , and sabres for defense. Some units used pikes . The longer weapons were also used to support the arquebus or musket while firing. The Russian government was chronically short of cash and so often did not pay the streltsy well. While "entitled" to an estimated four rubles a year in the 1550s, they were often allowed to farm or trade in order to supplement their incomes. This reduced their combat effectiveness and often their desire to go on campaigns, since

7560-476: Was associated with that name, it is believed that the principal architect is the same person. Other events of the period include the introduction of the first laws restricting the mobility of the peasants, which would eventually lead to serfdom and were instituted during the rule of the future Tsar Boris Godunov in 1597. (See also Serfdom in Russia .) The combination of bad harvests, devastation brought by

7650-448: Was blocked and the walls were breached. Kazan finally fell on 2 October, its fortifications were razed and much of the population massacred. Many Russian prisoners and slaves were released. Ivan celebrated his victory over Kazan by building several churches with oriental features, most famously Saint Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. The fall of Kazan was only the beginning of a series of so-called " Cheremis wars". The attempts of

7740-419: Was now the only supreme ruler of the country, and his will was not to be questioned. According to historian Janet Martin, the new title "symbolized an assumption of powers equivalent and parallel to those held by the former Byzantine caesar and the Tatar khan, both known in Russian sources as tsar. The political effect was to elevate Ivan's position". The new title not only secured the throne but also granted Ivan

7830-457: Was repentant after the death of his son and his actions with the oprichnina , and afterwards, he sent out lists compiling the deaths of his Christian victims killed by the system and asked monasteries to pray for every known one. Conditions under the oprichnina were worsened by the 1570 epidemic, a plague that killed 10,000 people in Novgorod and 600 to 1,000 daily in Moscow. During

7920-541: Was the first ruler to begin cooperating with the free cossacks on a large scale. Relations were handled through the Posolsky Prikaz diplomatic department; Moscow sent them money and weapons, while tolerating their freedoms, to draw them into an alliance against the Tatars. The first evidence of cooperation surfaces in 1549 when Ivan ordered the Don Cossacks to attack Crimea. While Ivan was a child, armies of

8010-548: Was the first son of Vasili III by his second wife, Elena Glinskaya . Vasili's mother, Sophia Palaiologina , was a Byzantine princess of the Palaiologos family . She was a daughter of Thomas Palaiologos , the younger brother of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos ( r.  1449–1453 ). Elena's mother was a Serbian princess and her father's family, the Tatar Glinski clan (nobles based in

8100-399: Was the real power in the administration of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim , initiated the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and its future northern rival. The results presaged the many disasters to come. A plan to unite the Volga and Don by a canal was detailed in Constantinople. In the summer of 1569, a large force under Kasim Pasha of 1,500 Janissaries , 2,000 Sipahis and

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