Boris Godunov is the first elected tsar in the history of Russia. He ascended the throne not by birthright, but thanks to his talents and abilities. Why was he so disliked by his contemporaries, and especially by his descendants?
Exemplary family man
Even enemies admitted that Boris Godunov was an outstanding person. This is clear. Without mind, will and determination, he would never have reached the heights of power.
Boris was considered an excellent speaker. Even in his young years, he knew how to insert a sharp word into a conversation, for which Ivan the Terrible appreciated him, who himself had a sense of humor, albeit a very peculiar one.
Later, Godunov more than once made speeches that were remembered by his contemporaries. They called him "the sweet-talking Velma."
The personal life of Boris Godunov is, one might say, a role model. Especially in comparison with Ivan the Terrible, who changed wives like gloves and often indulged in revelry.
Godunov, on the other hand, is an exemplary family man. He loved his wife and doted on children. He made his son Fyodor co-regent, and his daughter Ksenia was ready to marry off a foreign prince, but with one condition: she must live in Russia. Boris could not even think about parting with his beloved daughter.
Promotional video:
It would seem that we are facing a wonderful person. The trouble is that this man was accused of all mortal sins. He is crafty, cruel, and power-hungry. Boris is to blame for the deaths of Ivan the Terrible and Fyodor Ivanovich. He killed Tsarevich Dmitry and blinded Simeon Bekbulatovich. And even the Danish prince Hans, the groom of Ksenia Godunova, Boris also sent to the next world.
Here we see not a wonderful person, but some kind of fiend of hell. True, there is a problem. All these accusations were put forward by Godunov's enemies - False Dmitry I, Vasily Shuisky and the Romanovs. But it was they who ruled after his death. And they were the ones who wrote history.
How was it really? Let's try to figure it out.
Favorite of Grozny
“Yesterday’s slave, Tatar, Malyuta’s son-in-law,” says Pushkin about Godunov. Or rather, Shuisky, a character in Pushkin's work. In these words, one thing is true - "Malyuta's son-in-law." Calling Boris "yesterday's slave" is somehow strange. Godunov's ancestor - Dmitry Zerno - was a boyar even under Ivan Kalita.
And "Tatar" was not even a curse at that time. Rather, the opposite is true. In order to exalt their clan, the Godunovs came up with the origin of the Tatar murza Chet. This was considered honorable.
The Godunovs did not carry the princely title, but it is also impossible to call their family completely seedy. Although Boris Godunov, of course, owes his rapid rise to Ivan the Terrible. Young Boris served in the oprichnina. And he successfully married - to Maria Skuratova-Belskaya, daughter of the tsar's favorite Malyuta Skuratov.
And then Fedor Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible and the future tsar, got married. Irina Godunova, Boris's sister, became his wife.
Godunov became close to Ivan the Terrible. Moreover - the king's favorite. Boris assured that Grozny even called him his son. In any case, the tsar made Boris a boyar - that's a fact.
Generally speaking, being the favorite of Ivan the Terrible is a great honor, but also a great danger. Times were harsh: today you are a favorite, and tomorrow you will be taken to execution. But Godunov managed to avoid disgrace.
However, when Ivan the Terrible married Maria Naga, her relatives came to the fore. Godunov didn't like it very much.
English diplomat Jerome Horsey assures that in the last minutes of Ivan the Terrible's life Boris Godunov and Bogdan Velsky were with him. And the king "was strangled."
It turns out that Godunov is the murderer of Grozny? Hardly. Other sources do not confirm Horsey's words.
New Dmitry Donskoy
After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the feeble-minded Fyodor Ivanovich became tsar. His wife is Boris's sister. And Boris himself became the de facto ruler. True, at first he had to endure a stubborn struggle.
Godunov had competitors - Mstislavsky, Shuisky, Romanovs. But Boris turned out to be the most skillful intriguer.
Nikita Yuriev, the head of the Romanov clan, died at the right time. Boris made an alliance with his sons. And then, following the motto "divide and conquer", dealt with the opponents one by one.
The head of the Boyar Duma, Ivan Mstislavsky, was forced to leave for a monastery. The Shuiskys remained, posing a serious threat to Boris. The Shuiskys demanded that Tsar Fyodor divorce the childless Irina Godunova. For Boris, this meant one thing - the end of his career.
Tsar Fyodor, usually soft and malleable, suddenly became obstinate. He did not want to divorce his beloved wife. As a result, his wife remained with him, and the Shuisky fell into disgrace. Godunov became the sole ruler.
In 1591, Boris received the title of the tsar's "servant" - higher than the boyar. In truth, he deserves this title. The Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey with a hundred thousandth army was advancing on Moscow.
Twenty years before that, Khan Devlet I Giray burned Moscow down. Then Ivan the Terrible left the capital. And Boris Godunov remained in Moscow and took charge of the defense. Kazy-Girei retreated, and Godunov received unprecedented honors. Fyodor Ivanovich presented him with a fur coat from the royal shoulder, a gold chain and a gold vessel that once belonged to Dmitry Donskoy, the winner of Mamai.
This happened in the summer of 1571. And a little earlier - on May 15 of the same year - an event occurred that became fatal for Boris Godunov. In Uglich, under mysterious circumstances, Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible by Maria Nagoya, died.
Boys are bloody in the eyes
Dmitry suffered from "black sickness" - epilepsy. He had several seizures. Once, during such a fit, he stabbed his mother with a nail.
And on May 15, the eight-year-old prince "amused himself with the robata, played over the line with a knife." And he went so far as to die of a knife wound in the throat.
The naked declared publicly that Dmitry had been killed. And the killers were sent by Boris Godunov. The Naked family provoked riots: the people, outraged by the villainous murder, lynched and - in turn - killed 12 people.
The bodies of those killed lay without burial. The naked put knives and a club on their bodies - supposedly the murder weapon of Tsarevich Dmitry (although cutting the throat with a club is very problematic). The knives were moistened with blood. Later it turns out that it was chicken blood.
Boris Godunov appointed a commission of inquiry headed by Vasily Shuisky. Already on May 19, the commission arrived in Uglich and began to interview witnesses.
In the "case of Tsarevich Dmitry" we have two scales in front of us. On one - the entire chronicle and literary tradition, which blames Godunov for the murder. On the other - the materials of the investigation case that have come down to us, which unequivocally testify: Tsarevich Dmitry died in an accident. He had a seizure and ran into a knife.
Of course, we have the right not to believe the materials of the investigation. After all, the commission was appointed by Boris Godunov - the main suspect. He could put pressure on the investigators, and they put pressure on the witnesses. This is how the "necessary" indications and the "necessary" conclusion appeared.
The head of the commission of inquiry, Vasily Shuisky, is also not credible. During his life, he changed his testimony several times. First confirmed the accident. Then, under False Dmitry I, he swore that the prince was saved. And then, when he himself became tsar, he accused Boris Godunov of the murder. That is, he was a supporter of all three hypothetically possible versions.
But - with the same success - we have the right not to believe the chroniclers. After all, they worked at the order of Godunov's enemies.
Prince or bastard?
The death of Tsarevich Dmitry is a separate and complex topic. But still, we will give several arguments in defense of Boris Godunov. He could hush up the case. Instead, he created a commission and appointed it head of his ill-wisher, Vasily Shuisky. The results of the commission's work were considered at a meeting of the Boyar Duma and the church council. Would Godunov have made the case public if he had really been the organizer of the murder?
Further. We used to call Dmitry Tsarevich. But he was the son of Ivan the Terrible from his seventh wife. And the Orthodox canons allowed a maximum of three marriages. Therefore, when Ivan the Terrible died, Dmitry was declared illegitimate, they ceased to call him a prince and even forbade him to mention his name at divine services. So his rights to the throne were highly controversial.
Finally, Dmitry's death had not yet opened the way to the throne for Godunov. Tsar Fyodor was alive. Irina Godunova was also alive. She could well give birth to an heir to the king. Yes, she was long considered barren, but in 1592 she still gave birth to a child. True, the girl, who, moreover, soon died. But it could be a boy - the rightful heir to the throne. And then they would have forgotten about Tsarevich Dmitry.
In general, if a jury trial existed in Russia at that time, it would hardly have passed a “guilty” verdict against Boris Godunov.
People's choice
One way or another, in January 1598, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich died without leaving any heirs. The legal dynasty was cut short.
Fedor has not appointed a successor. They asked him, but he denied: "Everything is God's will."
Boris tried to make Irina Godunova a full-fledged queen. But the woman on the throne was too unexpected for medieval Russia. A week later, Irina went to the monastery.
Her brother Boris also moved to the Novodevichy Convent, but not forever, but for a while. Most likely, he feared the anger of Muscovites.
And then the patriarch Job got down to business. He assembled the Zemsky Sobor, which he elected Boris Godunov to reign.
On February 20, 1598, the people went to Godunov: we ask, they say, to the kingdom. Boris refused. Apparently, the number of people did not impress him. The next day there were more people. Boris continued to refuse. He tied a handkerchief around his neck: I'd rather strangle myself, they say, than go to reign. The people insisted. Godunov agreed.
But there was one important problem. The Boyar Duma did not agree. So the people had to go to Boris for the third time, and that one - once again refuse, and then agree.
And still, not all boyars were reconciled to the election of Godunov. But he outwitted the boyars. Boris went on a campaign against the Crimean Khan. He summoned a militia and himself stood at the head of the troops.
What should the boyars do? To oppose Godunov means to be traitors. I had to stand under the banner of Godunov.
For two months Boris Godunov stood on the Oka. There were no battles. But the boyars still swore who was in charge and who should command whom. And they went to settle disputes with Godunov. Thus, everyone recognized him as king. In September 1598, Boris Godunov was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral.
After a while, he dealt with those who most actively opposed his candidacy - the Romanovs. They were accused of witchcraft. The elder Romanov, Fyodor Nikitich, was forcibly tonsured into a monk. His brothers Alexander, Mikhail and Vasily died in exile.
Fighter against corruption
For twenty years Boris Godunov ruled Russia - first as a ruler under Fedor Ivanovich, then as a tsar. And - with the exception of recent years - he ruled quite successfully.
“He is now the sovereign of his subjects, not slaves, and maintains order by mercy, not fear and tyranny,” the Englishman Horsey wrote about Godunov. This is definitely an exaggeration. But under Godunov, in fact, there was no mass terror, as under Ivan the Terrible. Of course, Boris dealt with his opponents, but he preferred exile rather than execution.
Godunov fought against bribery and embezzlement, although, as always in our history, without much success.
It was under Boris - the ruler under Tsar Fedor - that the real development of Siberia began, Tobolsk and Tyumen were founded. Voronezh, Belgorod, Livny appeared on the southern borders for protection from the Tatars. On the Volga - Samara, Saratov and Tsaritsyn, in the north - Arkhangelsk.
Construction is generally Godunov's favorite pastime. Under him, the Smolensk fortress was built, the wall and towers of the White City in Moscow were erected. In addition, a "miracle of technology" - a water supply system - was built in the Moscow Kremlin.
Boris Godunov waged a successful war with Sweden: he recaptured the cities lost by Ivan the Terrible - Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod and Korela.
Thanks to Godunov, a patriarchate was established in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church has become completely independent, and Russia's authority has grown enormously.
Boris - a hundred years before Peter the Great - turned his gaze to the West. He was interested in Western culture, encouraged trade, recruited foreigners - foremen, doctors, miners. And he even created a detachment of his own bodyguards from the German mercenaries.
Boris Godunov was the first of the Russian monarchs to send noble children to Europe to study sciences. Unfortunately, the first pancake came out lumpy: none of those sent abroad to Russia returned.
Godunov opened printing houses and even wanted to establish schools and a university in the Moscow state.
Great hunger
And then everything went to pieces. Boris Godunov was killed … by natural disasters.
In 1601, it rained all summer. And then frost struck immediately. The crop is lost. The same thing happened the next year. A "great famine" began in Russia.
Boris did his best to help people. But it only got worse.
He gave alms. But this business was handled by officials and profited from the people's misfortune. In addition, upon learning about the distribution of alms, crowds of people rushed to Moscow. There was no way to feed them all, and people were dying en masse from hunger.
Boris distributed grain to the people from the royal granaries. But nobody followed his example. Godunov fought against speculators by setting firm prices for bread. But the rich, even the patriarch, held back their grain, expecting prices to rise.
As a result, the fight against speculation only hurt, destroying free trade.
In Moscow alone, 120 thousand people died of hunger. People ate cats, dogs and rats, cannibalism began.
Peasants and slaves, unable to feed themselves, fled and often united in robber bands.
Naturally, the people blamed the authorities for everything, and specifically - Boris Godunov. The people believed that hunger was God's punishment for Boris's sins. Naturally, they remembered both the innocently murdered Tsarevich Dmitry, and the Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, whom Godunov allegedly also killed.
And at that very time, an impostor appeared in Poland, posing as a miracle of escaped Dmitry. People exhausted by adversity were ready to believe in this fairy tale.
If Boris Godunov had been “lawful,” that is, hereditary monarch, tsar by “God's grace,” he would have been forgiven for everything. But he was not. And after the death of Boris, the people did not want to protect his son Fyodor. The Troubles began, which became the hardest test for the whole country.
Boris SARPINSKY