Ivan 4 the first Zemsky Sobor. Zemsky Sobors

Zemsky Sobors are a government body where all classes of the Russian kingdom were represented in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Only the king could convene them. The decisions of the Zemsky Sobors, with rare exceptions, had advisory value. The first Zemsky Sobor in February 1549 was convened by the Tsar of the Russian state, Ivan IV Vasilyevich. The main reason for the convocation was the reduction of the power of the boyars and the elevation of the role of the nobility.

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Childhood and youth of Ivan IV

When Ivan Vasilyevich was three years old, his father Grand Duke Vasily III died. His mother became the regent for the young Grand Duke. Elena Vasilievna was an energetic and powerful woman. She imprisoned her uncle Mikhail Glinsky and her late husband's brothers Andrei and Yuri. They put up strong resistance her reign. They did not leave prison. And in 1538, Elena Vasilievna was poisoned by disgruntled boyars. Eight-year-old Ivan and his five-year-old brother were left orphans.

For the young Grand Duke, the boyars began to rule Muscovy. At first, the most noble princes of Shuisky seized power. Brothers before usurped power, that sometimes they did not convene the Boyar Duma when solving important state issues. Prince Belsky took away their power, but after some time the Shuiskys regained power again. During this struggle for supremacy, the boyars did not listen to the admonishing words of the metropolitans, whom they forcibly drove out of the metropolis. The Grand Duke was not spared, did not give him any honors. The young children of Vasily III and Elena Vasilievna were taken hostage by the power-hungry boyars.

The future tsar of the Russian state did not see love and good attitude from the boyars. Only during official ceremonies were signs of respect shown to the people. According to Ivan’s own recollections, he and his brother grew up as “the very last child.” This disrespect greatly offended Ivan. The boy gradually became embittered. Without a wise mentor and educator, he acquired bad manners and habits. I learned to be two-faced and pretend.

The dream of revenge on the boyars grew stronger and stronger. The anger in him had already become constant. At the age of thirteen, he managed to take revenge on one of the Shuiskys, Prince Andrei. Having chosen the right moment, he and his hounds set dogs on Andrei, who bit their victim to death.

Ivan met only one kind person in his adolescence. The intelligent and educated Metropolitan Macarius took up the education of the Grand Duke. He instilled in him a love of reading and developed his natural intelligence. Macarius inspired the teenager that Moscow is the third Rome and instilled in Ivan the desire to create an Orthodox kingdom on the basis of the Great Moscow Principality. He raised the future sovereign in Ivan. He urged not to harm the church. And indeed, while Macarius, king, was alive Ivan did not conflict with the clergy.

But the influence and upbringing of the metropolitan could not reverse Ivan’s anger towards the boyars, cruelty and deceit. At the age of sixteen he announced to the boyar duma his desire to marry and be crowned king. At the beginning of 1547, he became the first Tsar of the Russian state and married Anastasia Yuryeva from the family of Fyodor Koshka.

Boyars

Starting from the fifteenth century in the Great Moscow Principality, and then in the Russian Tsardom, one of the acute problems in the state was the problem of the relationship between the Grand Duke (Tsar), the boyars and the nobles.

Boyars are the highest aristocrats who appeared in Kievan Rus. The main characteristics that distinguished the boyars were:

• Nobility. The boyars had an illustrious and rich pedigree. Their authority was equal to the authority of the ruler of the state. Princes who did not become great princes or kings became boyars. Or rich relatives of state rulers.
• Wealth. The boyars were largest landowners.
• Independence. The boyars did not owe anything to the ruler and perceived him as their equal.

By the beginning of the fifteenth century, there were several boyar families in Muscovy, which were centers of power, completely independent of the rulers of the states. Who were these most influential families? This cohort of the most influential families included:

• Shuisky.
• Golitsyn.
• Belsky.
• Miloslavsky.
• Romanovs.
• Morozovs.
• Godunovs.
• Other clans equal to them in nobility.

The boyars sought to weaken the power of the supreme ruler and elevate their clan over others. Therefore the boyars were the main initiators of intrigues, conspiracies and unrest. This confrontation became most acute during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

Nobility

Nobles are subjects of the sovereign who are in the sovereign service and receive remuneration for this. The word "nobleman" originally defined people from the princely court. They were hired by the ruler to perform military service, judicial and administrative functions and other assignments. The nobles initially constituted the lower class of nobility, firmly connected with the prince and his household. Distinctive features of the nobility were:

The nobility experienced its most rapid development during the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible. They became his support in the confrontation with the boyars.

Zemsky Sobor

After the crowning of the kingdom, the young Ivan the Fourth sets as his main goal the reduction of the power and influence of the boyars and the construction of a centralized system of government. Who proposed to the sovereign to convene the Zemsky Sobor as a legislative body? In this matter, he was greatly assisted by Ivan Semyonovich Peresvetov, writer and one of the brightest representatives of political and social thought in the middle of the sixteenth century.

In his writings, I. S. Peresvetov acts as a fierce denouncer of the boyar system and substantiates the usefulness of the rise of the nobility. He argued that a person should be promoted based on personal merit, and not on the basis of family nobility. His intentions for reforms in the state basically coincided with the tsar's policies.

The convening of the first Zemsky Sobor took place in 1549 in February. What is the Zemsky Sobor? The Zemsky Sobor included representatives of the highest clergy, the Boyar Duma, nobles, and wealthy citizens. They were elected on class and territorial grounds. Only the Boyar Duma did not elect its representatives. She was present at the Council in full force.

The functions of the Zemsky Sobor were developed personally by the tsar. They became the adoption of certain legislative acts that are urgently needed at the moment in the activities of the state. The First Council was divided into sections, according to the position and ranks of the participants. Decisions were considered adopted if they voted for it unanimously.

The elected composition of the first Council completed its work in two days. The king spoke there three times. He publicly accused the boyars of endless abuse of the power given to them.. Called for joint efforts to strengthen the power of the state. Famous boyars spoke. And at the end of the cathedral, a separate meeting of the boyar duma was held.

Subsequently, the first Zemsky Sobor was called the “Cathedral of Reconciliation.” He marked the beginning of the transition of the Russian kingdom into an estate-representative monarchy through the formation of a leading estate-representative body, dominated by representatives of the nobility. A decision was made to compile a Code of Laws, which was approved by the Tsar in 1550. According to him, any person could file a petition in court against the boyar. Therefore, the Petition Hut is being created.

But the highest aristocracy did not want to give up their positions. They ensured that if the Boyar Duma vetoed any decision of the Zemsky Sobor, then this decision was only advisory in nature and did not become law.

Conclusion

The convening of the first Zemsky Sobor is of great importance in the history of the Russian kingdom. The First Council became the initial stage in Ivan the Terrible’s struggle against the boyars. Later, sixteen years later, the introduction of the oprichnina in Rus' followed, seven dark years in the history of the Russian state.

The 19-year-old tsar initiates the “Cathedral of Reconciliation” in Moscow, in which selected representatives of all social groups of the Moscow state took part. The main question was eliminating corruption among local officials. Apparently, the population's dissatisfaction with the abuses of the royal governors had already taken the form of an acute conflict. The Council of Reconciliation later became known as the Zemsky Council, because its participants gathered from all lands. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, an estate-representative monarchy began to take shape in Russia. Beginning in 1549, Zemsky Sobors were held in Russia until the beginning of the reign of Peter I.

It is characteristic that at the council Ivan IV made a speech of repentance before all the people. The Tsar publicly repented of his sins from the Execution Square in the Kremlin, which is evidence of his sincere Christian faith, because Confession is one of the main church sacraments. In this way, the king informed the people that he would take care of them in a Christian manner and protect them from corrupt officials honestly before God.

At the cathedral, it was announced that the population in the lands needed to elect elders, kissers, sotskys and courtiers, who should take away the functions of local government from the royal governors. Thus began the Zemstvo reform, which abolished the corrupt feeding system and infringed on the interests of the upper class. At the same time, the Zemstvo reform is usually attributed to the Elected Rada under the Tsar. The traitor-renegade Kurbsky, a supporter of the Chosen Rada, was the person who actually described the Chosen Rada. No one except Kurbsky mentions the Elected Rada. However, it was Kurbsky who was part of that group of royal people who ultimately suffered from the Zemstvo reform, losing the possibility of abuses on the ground. Therefore, the leading role of the Chosen Rada in the Zemstvo and other reforms of the tsar, who carried out active reforms, looks doubtful.

The code of law of Ivan IV (the Terrible) is adopted at the Zemsky Sobor and approved at the church Stoglavy Sobor

The Code of Law of Tsar Ivan, which was adopted at the Zemsky Sobor, was supposed to limit local corruption by strengthening the position of local government and expanding the role of the peasantry in judicial, tax and police matters. The mechanism for the transfer of a peasant from one owner to another was clarified, which made it impossible for the owners to abuse it. Criminal cases were transferred from the feeders to provincial elders, who, like the feeders, were chosen by the population from the nobles and children of the boyars.

In case of a deadlock, a judicial duel was resolved (Field). The disputing parties fought for their truth. It was impossible to conduct a Field between a warrior and a non-warrior (by age or occupation), except in cases where the non-warrior himself wanted it.

The Code of Law introduces an order system of public administration. Under Ivan IV, the following orders were created: Petition, Ambassadorial, Local, Streletsky, Pushkarsky, Bronny, Robbery, Printed, Sokolnichiy, Zemsky orders. The system of orders streamlined and placed state affairs under the control of the tsar, while infringing on the boyars, who previously carried out affairs without control. Boyars, nobles and clerks served in the orders. Only the court okolnichy and the clerk served in the Petition Order. The boyars negatively perceived their removal from government administration and formed conspiracies. For example, this state of affairs became one of the reasons for the state treason of one of the main commanders of the Russian army, Andrei Kurbsky.

The Tsar asked for the Code of Law to be approved at the Church Council of the Stoglavy in 1551. At the church council, Ivan complained that his boyars and nobles were mired in theft and injustice. However, the king called on all Christians for reconciliation.

In addition to approving the Code of Law, the Stoglavy Council unified church rites in the lands and transferred local saints to the status of all-Russian saints. Stoglav also ordered the organization of schools (schools at churches and monasteries) for teaching literacy. The first Russian Patriarch Job came from one of these schools. Usury was prohibited for Orthodox priests.

The church council also discussed the issue of secularization of church lands in the form of a dispute between the Josephites and non-covetous people. Metropolitan Macarius was on the side of the Josephites, and the king and priest Sylvester were on the side of the non-covetous. The young king hoped to secularize the church lands. However, the Josephite party did not allow this to happen and prevailed.

Subject's age: 19
Place: Moscow
Path: Volga
Subject: Ivan IV the Terrible
Country: Moscow State
Geographic coordinates: 55.751666676667,37.617777787778
Year: 1549

What is known about the First Zemsky Sobor
The Zemsky Sobor is a gathering of representatives of different segments of the population of the Russian state to resolve political, economic and administrative issues. The word “zemsky” meant “nationwide” (that is, the matter of “the whole earth”).
Such meetings were convened to discuss the most important issues of the internal and foreign policy of the Moscow state, and also on urgent matters, for example, they examined issues of war and peace, taxes and fees, mainly for military needs.
In the 16th century, the process of forming this public institution was just beginning; initially it was not clearly structured, and its competence was not strictly defined. The practice of convening, the procedure for forming, especially the composition of zemstvo councils for a long time were also not regulated.
The first is considered to be the Zemstvo Sobor of 1549, which lasted for two days; it was convened to resolve issues about the new Tsar Code of Law and the reforms of the “Elected Rada”. The sovereign and the boyars spoke at the cathedral, and later a meeting of the Boyar Duma took place, which adopted a provision on the non-jurisdiction (except in major criminal cases) of boyar children to governors.
There is also an opinion that this was the so-called “cathedral of reconciliation” (possibly between the king and the boyars or reconciliation between representatives of different classes among themselves).

How it all happened (“The Degree Book”)
1549 - under the influence of his environment, Tsar Ivan IV decided to take a new step in Russian history - the convening of the first Zemsky Sobor. “In the twentieth year of his age,” it is said in the Degree Book, “seeing the state in great anguish and sadness from the violence of the strong and from untruths, the king intended to bring everyone into love. Having consulted with the metropolitan about how to destroy sedition, ruin untruths, and quench enmity, he called for assembling his state from cities of all ranks.” When the elected officials gathered, on Sunday the Tsar went out with a cross to the Place of Execution and after the prayer service began to say to the Metropolitan:
“I pray to you, holy master! Be my helper and champion of love. I know that you desire good deeds and love. You yourself know that I remained four years after my father, and eight years after my mother; my relatives did not care about me, and my strong boyars and nobles did not care about me and were autocratic, they stole dignity and honors for themselves in my name and practiced themselves in many selfish thefts and troubles. I was as if deaf and did not hear, and had no reproach in my mouth due to my youth and helplessness, but they ruled.”
And, addressing the boyars who were in the square, Tsar Ivan threw at them passionate words: “O unrighteous covetous and predators and unrighteous judges! What answer will you give us now that many have brought tears upon themselves? I am pure from this blood, expect your reward.”
After bowing in all directions, Ivan IV continued: “People of God and given to us by God! I pray for your faith in God and love for us. Now we cannot correct your previous troubles, ruins and taxes due to my long minority, the emptiness and lies of my boyars and authorities, the recklessness of the unrighteous, covetousness and love of money. I pray you, leave each other enmity and burdens, except perhaps for very big matters: in these matters and in new ones, I myself will be your judge and defense, as much as possible, I will ruin untruths and return what was stolen.”
That same day, Ivan Vasilyevich granted Adashev a okolnichy and at the same time told him: “Alexey! I instruct you to accept petitions from the poor and offended and analyze them carefully. Do not be afraid of the strong and glorious, who steal honors and brutalize the poor and weak with their violence; do not look at the false tears of the poor, who slander the rich, who want to be right with false tears, but consider everything carefully and bring the truth to us, fearing the judgment of God; choose righteous judges from the boyars and nobles.”

The result of the first Zemsky Sobor
No other information about the first Zemsky Sobor has survived to this day, however, from a number of indirect signs one can see that the matter could not be limited to one speech by the sovereign, but many practical issues were also raised. Ivan IV ordered the boyars to make peace with all Christians of the state. And in fact, soon after this, an order was given to all feeding governors to quickly put an end to all disputes with zemstvo societies regarding feeding by the world order.
At the Council of the Stoglavy in 1551, Ivan Vasilyevich said that the previous council had given him a blessing to correct the old Code of Laws of 1497 and to establish elders and kissers throughout all the lands of his state. This means that the Zemsky Sobor of 1549 discussed a number of legislative measures with the aim of restructuring local government.
This plan began with the urgent liquidation of all litigation between the zemstvo and the feeders, continued with the revision of the Code of Law with the mandatory universal introduction of elected elders and kissers into the court, and ended with the granting of charters that abolished feeding altogether. As a result of these measures, local communities were supposed to free themselves from the petty tutelage of boyar-governors, collect taxes themselves and administer justice themselves. It is known that feeding, unjust trials and uncontrolled collection of taxes became the real scourge of Russian life by the middle of the 16th century.

The many abuses of boyar-governors in the performance of their duties are reported in all sources of that era. By abolishing feeding and creating independent community courts, Ivan Vasilyevich tried to destroy the evil that had taken deep roots in Russian society. All these measures were fully consistent with the new state of mind of the sovereign and followed from his speech delivered to all the people in 1549. But the charters, according to which the volosts were given the right to be governed by both elected authorities, were paid off. The volost paid off the governors with a certain amount contributed to the treasury; the government gave her the right to pay off as a result of her request; if she did not strike, considering the new order of things unprofitable for herself, then she remained with the old one.
The following year, 1551, a large church council, usually called Stoglav, was convened to organize church administration and the religious and moral life of the people. A new Code of Law was presented at it, which was a corrected and disseminated edition of the old grandfather’s Code of Law of 1497.

The Zemsky Sobor is a body of class representation.

The prerequisites for its appearance were three circumstances:

• and advice as traditions of Russian history;
• intensification of interclass struggle;
• the country’s difficult position in the foreign policy arena, which requires government support from the estates (not an approving and establishing veche, but an advisory body).

The tsars elected by the Zemsky Sobor are almost all the tsars ruling the Russian state, with the exception of:

• Ivan the Terrible;
• puppet Simeon Bekbulatovich;
• “queens for an hour” - the widow of Irina Godunova;
• Fyodor 2nd Godunov;
• two impostors;
• Fedor 3rd Alekseevich.

The most famous of the elections was the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, at which he was elected. The last rulers to undergo this procedure were Ivan the 5th.

In 1649, the Lay Council took place, which has a special significance: it adopted the Council Code.

All material of the Code was collected into 25 chapters and 967 articles.

The laws formulated in it retained the significance of the law of the Russian state until the 1st half of the 19th century.

The creation of the Compilation Code is the first attempt to collect all existing legal norms into a single set of laws. It was based on:

• decree books of the Local, Zemsky, Robber and other orders;
• collective petitions of nobles and townspeople;
• Pilot's book;
• Lithuanian status 1588, etc.

Throughout the 16th-17th centuries. Many councils were convened. The historian Cherepnin lists 57 cathedrals, and also includes three church and zemstvo cathedrals due to the presence of the zemstvo element on them. In addition, the religious issues raised at these three councils had a secular significance.

Historians are unanimous regarding the first Zemsky Sobor, but there is no consensus on the termination of the convening of councils.

Some consider the Zemsky Sobor of 1653 to be the last (on the annexation of Ukraine to the Russian state), after which conciliar activity became less active and gradually faded away.

Others believe that the last council took place in 1684 (on eternal peace with Poland).

Zemsky Sobors: conditional classification

The Zemsky Sobor can be divided in composition into those present in full, the highest clergy and representatives of various ranks (local nobility and merchants). Craftsmen and peasants were not present.

Zemsky Sobors are divided into complete and incomplete. In the second case, there may be an absolute or partial absence of the “zemsky element,” that is, the local nobility and townspeople.

According to the type of activity, councils are divided into advisory and electoral.

If we consider the social and political significance of the Zemsky Sobor, we can distinguish four groups:

• councils that were convened by the king;
• councils convened by the king on the initiative of the estates;
• convocation by estates;
• electoral - for the kingdom.

To more fully understand the role of cathedrals, consider another classification:

• councils convened on reform issues;
• councils concerning the foreign policy situation;
• cathedrals resolving issues of the internal “structure of the state”, suppression of uprisings;
• cathedrals of the Time of Troubles;
• electoral councils.

The classification of cathedrals makes it possible to understand the content of their activities.

The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 marked the end of the Time of Troubles and was supposed to bring order to the government of Russia. Let me remind you that after the death of Ivan 4 (the Terrible), the place on the throne was free, since the king did not leave behind heirs. That is why the Troubles occurred, when both internal forces and external representatives carried out endless attempts to seize power.

Reasons for convening the Zemsky Sobor

After the foreign invaders were expelled not only from Moscow, but also from Russia, Minin, Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent invitation letters to all parts of the country, calling on all representatives of the nobility to appear at the Council, where a new tsar would be elected.

The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 opened in January, and the following took part in it:

• Clergy
• Boyars
• Nobles
• City elders
• Peasant representatives
• Cossacks

In total, 700 people took part in the Zemsky Sobor.

Progress of the Council and its decisions

The first decision approved by the Zemsky Sobor was that the Tsar must be Russian. He should not relate to the Nostrians in any way.

Marina Mnishek intended to crown her son Ivan (whom historians often call “the little crow”), but after the Council’s decision that the tsar should not be a foreigner, she fled to Ryazan.

Historical reference

The events of those days must be considered from the point of view of the fact that there were a huge number of people wishing to take a place on the throne. Therefore, groups began to form that united, promoting their representative. There were several such groups:

• Noble boyars. This included representatives of the boyar family. One part of them believed that Fyodor Mstislavsky or Vasily Golitsyn would be the ideal tsar for Russia. Others leaned towards the young Mikhail Romanov. The number of boyars was divided approximately equally by interests.
• Nobles. These were also noble people with great authority. They promoted their “tsar” - Dmitry Trubetskoy. The difficulty was that Trubetskoy had the rank of “boyar,” which he had recently received in the Tushensky courtyard.
• Cossacks. According to tradition, the Cossacks sided with the one who had the money. In particular, they actively served the Tushensky court, and after the latter was dispersed, they began to support the king, who was related to Tushin.

Mikhail Romanov's father, Filaret, was a patriarch in the Tushensky courtyard and was highly respected there. Largely due to this fact, Mikhail was supported by the Cossacks and the clergy.

Karamzin

Romanov did not have many rights to the throne. The more serious claim against him was that his father was on friendly terms with both False Dmitrys. The first False Dmitry made Philaret a metropolitan and his protege, and the second False Dmitry appointed him patriarch and his protege. That is, Mikhail’s father had very friendly relations with foreigners, whom they had just gotten rid of by decision of the Council of 1613 and decided not to call him to power again.

results

The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 ended on February 21 - Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar. Now it is difficult to reliably talk about all the subtleties of the events of those days, since not many documents have survived. Nevertheless, it is known for certain that the Council was surrounded by complex intrigues. This is not surprising - the stakes were too high. The fate of the country and entire ruling dynasties was being decided.

The result of the Council was that Mikhail Romanov, who at that time was only 16 years old, was elected to the throne. A clear answer: “Why exactly?” no one will give it. Historians say that this was the figure most convenient for all dynasties. Allegedly, young Mikhail was an extremely suggestible person and could be “controlled as needed by the majority.” In fact, all power (especially in the first years of Romanov’s reign) was not with the tsar himself, but with his father, Patriarch Filaret. It was he who actually ruled Russia on behalf of his son.

Feature and contradiction

The main feature of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was its mass character. Representatives of all classes and estates took part in deciding the future of the country, with the exception of slaves and rootless peasants. In fact, we are talking about an all-class Council, which has no analogues in the history of Russia.

The second feature is the importance of the decision and its complexity. There is no clear answer why Romanov was chosen. After all, this was not the most obvious candidate. The entire Council was marked by a large number of intrigues, attempts at bribery and other manipulations of people.

To summarize, we can say that the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was important for the history of Russia. He concentrated power in the hands of the Russian Tsar, laid the foundation of a new dynasty (the Romanovs) and saved the country from constant problems and claims to the throne from the Germans, Poles, Swedes and others.