questions:

1. The Moscow Tsardom is a new stage in the development of Russian statehood.

2. Through the harsh trials of the Time of Troubles.

3. Strengthening the autocratic power of the tsar.

The work of Ivan III Vasilyevich, the "sovereign of All Russia," in collecting the Russian lands was completed by his son, Vasily III Ivanovich. He continued the strict policy of centralizing state power. During his reign, Pskov, Smolensk, and Ryazan were annexed to the Moscow state. After the death of his younger brothers, their individual territories were abolished. The service princes and boyars became vassals of Vasily III, who had the power to deprive them of their lands and even their lives.

The Boyar Duma continued to exist as an advisory body to the Moscow sovereign. The number of its members, including okolnichy, did not exceed 24. In the 16th century, princes were also granted the title of duma boyar. Until the middle of the century, there were only two central government institutions: the Palace, which managed the lands of the Grand Prince, and the Treasury (Kazny Dvor), which was not only a financial center but also a state office. In the middle of the century, the Treasury was divided into orders, which were the central government bodies: The Posadsky, who was in charge of land distribution to the nobility; the Razryadny, who provided them with salaries and kept records of all the servicemen, thus structuring the ruling class; the Razboyny, the Posolsky, and the Chelobitny.

The Muscovite state was divided into counties (their borders were close to the former principalities), and these were divided into volosts. The county was headed by a governor, and the volost was headed by a volostel. These positions were usually given in exchange for previous military service. The lack of stable local government made the personal power of the ruler of the Muscovite state stronger than that of the local authorities.

The convening of the first Zemsky Sobor in February 1549 was an important milestone in the development of Russian statehood. The Sobor consisted of members of the Boyar Duma, hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, representatives of princely families, and various segments of the service nobility. The convening of the Zemsky Sobor marked a significant step towards the establishment of a representative monarchy in Russia. Although the Sobor was convened to address critical national issues, it never became a regularly functioning body.

The adoption of a new Judicial Code in 1550 was associated with the development of Moscow's statehood. The Judicial Code of 1497 served as its foundation. The Code regulated the transfer of peasants from one owner to another, limited the rights of governors, increased penalties for robbery, and introduced articles on the punishment for bribery.

Vasily III passed away in December 1533, leaving his three-year-old son, Ivan IV, the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible, on the throne of Moscow. His mother, Elena Glinskaya, became the regent. This led to a power struggle between three factions of the court: the Shuiskys, the Belskys, and the Glinskys. The weakening of central authority resulted in a popular uprising in Moscow in June 1547.

In order to strengthen the central government, on January 16, 1547, the 17-year-old Grand Prince Ivan assumed the title of Tsar and was formally equalized with European emperors, following a ritual devised by Metropolitan Makarii. This emphasized the unlimited power of the monarch in the state. In February 1547, also at the initiative of the Metropolitan, a church council was convened, which canonized a large number of local saints, symbolizing the transformation of the country into a unified Russian state.

The events of 1547 necessitated profound state reforms. A group of close associates, known as the Izbornaya Rada, formed around the young tsar. The Rada was led by the wealthy and noble nobleman A.F. Adashev, the archpriest of the Kremlin's Annunciation Cathedral, Sylvester, and the prince-voivode A.M. Kurbsky. The Izbornaya Rada essentially became the government of Russia.

In order to strengthen the armed forces of the Moscow Tsardom, Ivan IV began to implement military reforms in 1550. A uniform procedure for military service is defined; "by country" (by origin) and " by device "(by choice). Nobles and children of the boyars (small feudal lords in the service of princes and boyars) served their military service "for the fatherland". Their service was regulated by the "Service Statute" issued in 1556 and was inherited. It began at the age of 15. Until that age, a nobleman was considered a minor. For every 150 acres of land, boyars and nobles were required to provide one warrior "mounted and armed," and if they failed to do so, they were fined.

In 1550, a Streltsy army was formed from among the serving people "according to the device", armed with manual squeaks, berdyshs and sabers. At first, three thousand people were recruited to Streltsy. They were reduced to 6 " orders "(regiments). They formed the tsar's personal guard. By the end of the XVI century, there were 25 thousand people in the permanent Streltsy army. The "apparatus people" also included city Cossacks, gunners, gatekeepers (serf soldiers), state-owned blacksmiths, and others. They served in cities and on the border, settled in separate settlements, and received collective land "dachas" for their service. They were rarely paid in bread and money. Foreigners were also recruited for military service. By the end of the 16th century, there were 2,500 foreigners (Poles and Germans).

In 1552, the Palace Notebook was created, a list of members of the Tsar's court (about 4,000 people), from among whom the highest officials of the state were appointed: military commanders, city commanders, diplomats, and other officials.

One of the foundations of the Russian autocracy was its reliance on the church, which, in turn, was also interested in strengthening the tsar's power. In January-May 1551, at the initiative of Ivan IV, a Council of the Russian Church was convened. This Council, known as the Stoglav Council, was named after the number of chapters in which its decisions were recorded. The Council established the unification of the Russian pantheon of saints, a unified cult and rituals, and established rules (canons) for church painting. The Cathedral declared its high role in shaping morals and ethics. The Church was also responsible for establishing schools for the laity.

The reforms of the mid-16th century significantly strengthened the Moscow autocracy and became the foundation of statehood in the Moscow Tsardom for almost a century and a half, until the formation of the Russian Empire.

The Izbrannaya Rada existed until 1560. The main reason for its fall was disagreement over the main paths of Russia's political development. The Izbrannaya Rada advocated gradual reforms that would strengthen and centralize power. However, Ivan IV the Terrible chose the path of terror to consolidate his autocratic rule. This led to the establishment of the Oprichnina, which lasted from 1565 to 1572. The Tsar divided the state into two parts: the Oprichnina, which was set aside as his personal domain, and the Zemshchina. An Oprichnina army was created, which was a punitive mechanism that combined the outward appearance of a monastic order with the customs of a bandit gang.

The end of the oprichnina was "helped" by the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, who broke through to Moscow in the summer of 1571. He failed to capture the city, but he did set fire to the vast wooden structure. The oprichnina army was unable to resist the Crimean forces. As a result, Ivan IV abolished the oprichnina.

The results of Ivan IV the Terrible's reign were highly controversial for the country. The main outcome of his nearly 50-year reign was the establishment of a centralized Russian state (known as Muscovy by foreigners), a kingdom that rivaled the great empires of the past. In the 16th century, Russia gained significant international recognition and developed a powerful bureaucratic and military apparatus, with the "Autocrat of All Russia" at its helm. Ivan IV's reforms laid the foundation for Moscow's statehood until the early 16th century. On the other hand, it was during this time that Russia was engaged in the exhausting and fruitless Livonian War for access to the Baltic Sea. In domestic politics, this period was marked by the terrible terror of the Oprichnina.

Fyodor Ivanovich, the successor of Ivan IV the Terrible on the throne, was not much like his father. Under his rule, a council was established to serve as the government. Boris Godunov, a boyar, became the most influential member of this council and effectively ruled the country. He played a significant role in the consolidation of serfdom. In 1589, Boris Godunov established the Patriarchate in Russia, making the Russian Orthodox Church virtually independent from the Patriarch of Constantinople.

2

In 1598, with the death of the childless Fyodor Ivanovich, the Rurik dynasty came to an end. Boris Godunov was elected tsar by another Zemsky Sobor. Upon ascending the throne, he began to rely on the nobility. The disgruntled boyar families, such as the Mstislavskys, Yuriev, and Shuysky, were removed from the political arena.

Boris Godunov, who sought to strengthen the autocracy, immediately faced enormous difficulties: a three-year crop failure and the ensuing famine, which led to numerous popular uprisings, the opposition of the boyars, and finally, the invasion of the borderlands by the mercenary forces of False Dmitry I. All of this undermined the power of the Moscow tsar.

After the sudden death of Boris Godunov, his 16 - year-old son Fyodor ascended to the throne. However, the boyars did not recognize him. He was strangled along with his mother. Moscow was ruled by an impostor-Tsar Dmitry I, who was soon killed by conspirators during the anti-Polish uprising in 1606.

The country was in turmoil. False Dmitry II appeared on the political stage, but he was unable to take Moscow, where a new Russian tsar, Vasily Shuisky, was already on the throne.

There were two governments in the Tsardom of Moscow. In Moscow, there was Vasily Shuisky, and in neighboring Tushino, there was False Dmitry II. Both had their own Boyar Duma and orders. The impostor relied on Polish mercenary troops who plundered the country. In the autumn of 1609, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth launched an open intervention against Russia.

Sigismund III's royal army laid siege to the Smolensk fortress. False Dmitry II once again approached Moscow. This sealed the fate of Tsar Shuisky, who was overthrown by the nobility. He was forcibly tonsured as a monk.

Power in Moscow was transferred to a government of seven boyars (the "Seven Boyars"), led by Fyodor Miloslavsky. The government decided to sign an agreement with the Polish king to invite his son, Prince Vladislav, to the Russian throne. The boyar government committed an act of national treason by allowing the Polish army led by Hetman Zholkevsky to enter Moscow. At the same time, the Swedes captured the Russian North and Novgorod.

The "Great Ruin" of the Russian land led to a widespread patriotic movement led by Patriarch Hermogenes, Kuzma Minin, the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod, and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. A temporary government, the "Council of All the Land," was established in Yaroslavl. In 1612, the People's Militia led by Minin and Pozharsky liberated Moscow.

The liberation of Moscow allowed for the restoration of state power in the country. In January 1613, a Zemsky Sobor was convened in the capital, consisting of nearly 700 representatives from the nobility, boyars, clergy, 50 cities, streltsy, and Cossacks. The issue of electing a new Russian tsar was resolved. Mikhail Romanov, the 16-year-old son of Metropolitan Filaret, was chosen as the new tsar.

3

The beginning of the Romanov dynasty's reign marked the flourishing of the representative monarchy. Under the young tsar, the Boyar Duma seized power, with the Romanovs, Cherkassky, and Saltykovs playing a significant role. However, to strengthen the centralized authority in the state, it was crucial to maintain the support of the broader nobility and the upper echelons of the urban population. Consequently, the Zemsky Sobor met almost continuously from 1613 to 1619.

The situation in the country normalized after the conclusion of peace with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. The peace cost Russia the loss of access to the Baltic Sea through the Neva River, Smolensk, and the Chernigov-Seversk region. With the return of the tsar's father, Metropolitan Filaret, from Polish captivity, the process of strengthening the state through autocracy began. In 1625, a new state seal was introduced, and the word "autocrat" was added to the tsar's title.

The establishment of absolutism in Russia began after the accession of 16-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich to the throne in 1645.

Under the pressure of the service nobility, which was the backbone of the military power of the Muscovite state, a new set of laws was being prepared to take into account the class interests of the landowners (landlords) and the urban elite (primarily the merchants), which would strengthen the autocracy. The "Code" was adopted at the Zemsky Sobor in 1649. It legally established the hereditary ownership of land by peasants, and the state assumed the responsibility for the indefinite search for runaway serfs.

An important innovation in the state administration system was the creation of the Secret Affairs and Accounting Orders at the initiative of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The Secret Affairs Order was directly subordinate to the tsar and was placed above all state institutions and individuals. The Accounting Order was the first to unite the country's financial administration.

After Alexei Mikhailovich's death in 1676, his eldest son, Fyodor, a sickly 14-year-old boy, became the new Tsar. In fact, his mother's relatives, the Miloslavskys, and his sister, Sophia, who was known for her strong will and energy, seized power. The ruling circle under the Tsarevna was led by the intelligent and talented Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn. The focus remained on elevating the nobility and creating conditions for the merging of the nobility and the boyars into a unified class.

In 1682, the abolition of the system of hereditary ranks weakened the influence of the Russian aristocracy on government. Instead of relying on "breeding," appointments were based on merit.

With the death of the childless Fyodor Alekseyevich in 1682, the question of the heir to the throne arose again. Of his two brothers, the feeble-minded Ivan could not hold the throne, and Peter, the son from his second marriage, was only 10 years old. A struggle broke out at court between the relatives of the tsars from their mothers' sides. Ivan was supported by the Miloslavskys, led by Tsarevna Sophia, while Peter was supported by the Naryshkins, who were backed by Patriarch Joachim, who had replaced Nikon. At a joint meeting of the "Consecrated Cathedral" and the Boyar Duma, Peter Alekseyevich was proclaimed tsar.

However, on May 15, the Streltsy rebelled in Moscow, incited by Prince Ivan Khovansky, the head of the Streltsy Order. All prominent supporters of the Naryshkins were killed. At the Streltsy's request, both princes were placed on the throne, and Princess Sophia became their regent.

With the coming of age of Peter in 1689, the regency of Sophia lost its foundation. Not wanting to voluntarily give up power, Sofia, relying on her favorite chief of the Streletsky order, F. Shaklovitogo, waiting for armed support from the Moscow Archers. But her hopes were not fulfilled - the palace coup failed. Sophia was deprived of power and imprisoned in the Novodevichy Monastery. Some of her closest relatives were executed, some were exiled, and their property was confiscated in favor of the royal treasury.

With the accession of Peter I Alekseyevich to the throne, the historical chronicle of the Moscow state reached its natural conclusion. A vast country with great economic potential, human resources, and military strength was destined to become a powerful European power. This transformation occurred during the reign of Peter I the Great, the last Russian tsar and the first all-Russian emperor. Under his rule, the Tsardom of Moscow evolved into the Russian Empire.

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