Rurik Dynasty summary. Rurik dynasty scheme with dates

The rule of the Rurik dynasty began with the unification of disparate lands into a single state. Although it was too early to talk about the final formation of the current borders of Russia, the foundations of statehood were laid by the Grand Dukes. Each individual sovereign left his important contribution to the historical past.

Oleg Rurikovich Prophetic

His reign began in 879 after the death of Prince Rurik. The activity of this prince was aimed at strengthening the state, expanding borders. He was able to lay the foundations that guided all subsequent princes. Among the achievements of the prince were the following acts:
created a strong army from various tribes of the Ilmen Slavs, Krivichi, and partly Finnish tribes;
annexed the lands of Smolensk and Lyubich;
captured Kyiv, making it his capital;
directed efforts to strengthen the city;
built a network of outposts along the borders of their territories;
expanded influence along the coast of the Dnieper, Bug, Dniester and Sozh.

Igor Rurikovich

Having taken the throne of the dynasty, he was able to keep the legacy. After the death of Oleg, many lands tried to get out of the power of Kyiv. Igor not only suppressed these attempts, but also expanded the borders of the state. Among his achievements are:
defeated the Pechenegs, driving them out of their territories;
cleared the passage "from the Varangians to the Greeks";
built the first fleet;
concluded a number of peace agreements with the nomads.

Duchess Olga

The reign of the princess was distinguished by progressive conduct of business. She was engaged in expanding the influence of the state among civilized countries. She was the founder of the educational movement in her native lands. During the reign of Olga, reforms were carried out:
from 945 introduced a fixed amount of dues;
laid the foundation for taxation;
carried out the administrative-territorial division of the lands of Novgorod;
established and strengthened ties with the Byzantine Empire.

Svyatoslav Rurikovich

One of the progressive figures of the dynasty, he was able to carry out many successful military actions. His activities were aimed at alienating the territories previously occupied by the Tatar-Mongol Khanate. He reformed the property law. Poimom this was known for deeds:
laid the viceroy system;
developed a system of local self-government;
expanded territory in the East.

Vladimir Monomakh

Under the prince rule of Rurikovich, a clear state was formed. His system of influence on domestic politics was marked by the formation of a feudal social order. The system of relations between different administrative territories built by Monomakh contributed to the strengthening of statehood:
established relationships with neighboring princes;
transferred the main title of Grand Duke to the brother of Svyatopolk 2 Izyaslavovich;
regulated the rules of contract law;
strengthened the economic and political significance of Russia;
invested money and efforts in the development of science and culture.

Yury Dolgoruky

A bright representative of the dynasty, he led the principality with a firm hand. Participated in many internecine wars. Thanks to his strategic mindset, he was able to expand his influence in the Russian lands. The following achievements are attributed to the period of his reign:
founded Moscow;
led an active creative activity;
engaged in the arrangement of urban settlements;
erected new churches;
actively defended the interests of its citizens.

Andrey Bogolyubsky

The reign of the prince was marked by active political and social activity. Continuing the work of his father, he was engaged in the arrangement of territories. He built the strengthening of power through an honest and competent distribution of resources and human resources. During the period of his reign was committed:
foundation of the city of Bogolyub;
moved the capital to Vladimir;
subjugated vast territories;
won significant political influence in the northeastern lands.

Vsevolod Big Nest

He held a princely post in the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, strengthened the position of the dynasty. He showed himself as a skilled politician, a subtle strategist. Among his deeds are:
made companies in Mordva;
from 1183-1185 he organized military marches against Bulgaria;
united various princes in the fight against the Polovtsians;
gained control in Vladimir
built economic and political relations with Kyiv;
conquered the Novgorod territories.

Vasily 2

The reign of this prince was marked by numerous agreements with Lithuania, the Polovtsians. Thanks to this, the state received a short respite between wars. Among the heirs of the Rurikovich, he was distinguished by a special talent for establishing diplomatic ties:
strengthened power in the Grand Duchy;
united Moscow lands;
glorified Novgorod, Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod, Vyatka land, Pskov principalities;
contributed to the election of the first Russian bishop John;
laid the foundation for the independence of the Russian Church.

Ivan 3

The first of the Rurikovichs who combined various laws of national law into a single code. He devoted all his strength to this work, which eventually served as the appearance of the Sudebnik Ivan 3. Collected in one document, all the rules of law were analyzed. Structured knowledge helped solve the problem of constant claims in various contentious issues. Thanks to this work, he managed to unite all the lands of the state into a single whole.

Vasily 3

The successor of the Rurikovich cause, sought to strengthen the state. The ice-covered lands under his rule were defeated by the reformations. Under his rule, the lands were annexed:
Ryazan;
Pskov;
Novgorod-Seversk principality;
Smolensk;
Starodub principality.
During the reign of Vasily 3, the rights of boyar families were significantly limited.

Ivan the Terrible

The brightest representative of the dynasty, the last of the reigning Ruriks. He was famous for his tough temper, but he was distinguished by high political talents. The reforms of Ivan the Terrible had a strong impact on statehood. He laid the foundation for a strong country, denied the boyar families the right to dispose of the treasury for their own purposes. His reforms include:
a new set of regulations;
introduced a system of punishments for boyar families;
pursued bribery in the clergy;
introduced a system for receiving complaints addressed to the king from the population;
affected taxation;
centralized local government.

Rurik- according to the chronicle legend, the head of the Varangian military detachment, called by the Ilmen Slavs to reign together with the brothers Sineus and Truvor in Novgorod. Founder of the Rurik dynasty.

Oleg(? -912) - a relative of Rurik, Prince of Novgorod (from 879) and Kyiv (from 882). In 907 he made a trip to Byzantium, in 907 and 911 he concluded agreements with her.

Igor(?-945) - the son of Rurik, the Grand Duke of Kyiv from 912. In 941 and 944 he made campaigns in Byzantium, with which he concluded an agreement. Killed by the Drevlyans who Revolted during the collection of tribute.

Children: Svyatoslav - see below
Olga (? -969) - the wife of Prince Igor, Grand Duchess of Kyiv. Rules in the early childhood of the son of Svyatoslav and during his campaigns. Suppressed the uprising of the Drevlyans. Around 957 adopted Christianity.

Svyatoslav(? -972) - son of Prince Igor, Grand Duke of Kyiv. He made campaigns from 964 from Kyiv to the Oka, the Volga region, the North Caucasus and the Balkans; liberated the Vyatichi from the power of the Khazars, fought with the Volga Bulgaria, defeated (965) the Khazar Khaganate, in 967 fought with Bulgaria on the Danube. In alliance with the Hungarians, Bulgarians and others, he waged the Russo-Byzantine War of 970–971. Strengthened the foreign policy position of the Kievan state. Killed by the Pechenegs at the Dnieper rapids.

Children: Vladimir (see below)
Oleg (?-977), Prince of Drevlyansky

Yaropolk(? -980), Prince of Kyiv (since 972). He tried to subjugate the territories in the north and northeast of Russia, but was defeated by his younger brother Vladimir.

Vladimir(? -1015) - son of Prince Svyatoslav, Prince of Novgorod (since 969), Grand Duke of Kyiv (since 980). He conquered the Vyatichi, Radimichi and Yotvingians; fought with the Pechenegs, Volga Bulgaria, Byzantium and Poland. Under him, defensive lines were built along the rivers Desna, Osetr, Trubezh, Sula and others, Kyiv was re-fortified and built up with stone buildings. In 988-989 he introduced Christianity as the state religion. Under Vladimir, the ancient Russian state entered its heyday, and the international prestige of Russia increased. In Russian epics, the Red Sun is called. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Children: Boris (? -1015), Prince of Rostov. Killed by supporters of Svyatopolk. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Vsevolod, Prince of Vladimir-Volynsky
Vysheslav, Prince of Novgorod

Gleb(7-I 0 I 5), Prince of Murom. Killed by order of Svyatopolk. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church

Izyaslav (see below)

Mstislav(? -1O36), Prince Tmutarakansky (since 988) and Chernigov (since 1026). Conquered a number of Caucasian tribes. The struggle with Prince Yaroslav the Wise ended with the division of the state along the Dnieper River, which remained until the death of Mstislav.

Svyatoslav(?—1015), Prince Drevlyansky. Killed by order of Svyatopolk

Svyatopolk the Cursed(c. 980-1019), Prince of Turov (from 988) and Kyiv (1015-1019). He killed three of his brothers and took possession of their destinies. Exiled by Yaroslav the Wise. In 1018, with the help of Polish and Pecheneg troops, he captured Kyiv, but was defeated.

Stanislav
Sudislav (?-1063)

Izyaslav(? -1001) - son of Prince Vladimir, Prince of Polotsk

Children: Bryachislav (? -1044), Prince of Polotsk
Grandchildren: Vseslav (? -1101), Prince of Polotsk
Great-grandchildren: Gleb (? -1119), Prince of Minsk
Great-great-grandchildren: Vladimir, Prince of Minsk
Great-great-great-grandchildren: Vasily, Prince Logovsky
Great-great-grandchildren: Vsevolod, Prince Izyaslavl

Rostislav, Prince of Polotsk

Great-grandchildren: David, Prince of Polotsk
Rogvolod (Boris), Prince of Polotsk
Great-great-grandchildren: Vasily (Rogvolod), Prince of Polotsk
Great-great-great-grandchildren: Gleb, Prince Drutsky
Great-grandchildren: Roman (? -1116), Prince of Polotsk
Rostislav (George)
Svyatoslav, Prince of Polotsk
Great-great-grandchildren: Vasilko, Prince of Polotsk
Great-great-great-grandchildren: Bryachislav, Prince of Vitebsk
Vseslav, Prince of Polotsk

Yaroslav the Wise(c. 978-1054) - son of Prince Vladimir, Grand Duke of Kyiv (1019). He expelled Svyatopolk the Accursed, fought with his brother Mstislav, divided the state with him (1026), and in 1036 united it again. A number of victories secured the southern and western borders of Russia. Established dynastic ties with many European countries. Under him, Russkaya Pravda was compiled.

Children: Anastasia, Queen of Hungary
Anna (c. 1024 - not earlier than 1075), wife (1049-1060) of the French king Henry I. The ruler of France in the infancy of her son - Philip I
Vladimir (?-1052), Prince of Novgorod
Grandchildren: Rostislav, Prince Tmutarakansky
Great-grandchildren: Vasilko (? -1124), Prince Terebovskiy

Volodar(?—1124), Prince of Przemysl. He sought the independence of the Galician land from Kyiv. Using an alliance with the Polovtsians and Byzantium, together with his brother Vasilko, he successfully fought against the Hungarian and Polish feudal lords. He fought with the princes Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and David Igorevich. Established together with Vasilko in Terebovlya.

Great-great-grandchildren: Vladimir (? -1152)
Great-great-great-grandchildren: Yaroslav Osmomysl (? -I87), Prince of Galicia. Member of numerous feudal wars, campaigns against the Polovtsians and Hungarians. He strengthened the Principality of Galicia with many international connections. He fought against the separatism of the boyars.
Great-great-grandchildren: Rostislav
Great-great-great-grandchildren: Ivan Berladnik (? -1162)
Great-grandchildren: Rurik (?—1092), Prince Przemysl
Children: Vsevolod (1030-1093), Prince Pereyaslavsky (from 1054), Chernigov (from 1077), Grand Duke of Kyiv (from 1078). Together with the brothers Izyaslav and Svyatoslav, he fought against the Polovtsians.
Grandchildren: Vladimir Monomakh (see below)
Eupraxia (?-1109)

Rostislav(?—1093), Prince Pereyaslavsky

Children: Vyacheslav (? -1057), Prince of Smolensk
Grandchildren: Boris (? -1078), Prince Tmutarakansky
Children: Elizabeth, Queen of Norway
Igor (?—1060), Prince of Vladimir
Grandchildren: David (? -1112), Prince of Vladimir-Volynsky
Children: Izyaslav (1024-1078), Grand Duke of Kyiv (1054-1068,1069-1073,1077-1078). He was expelled from Kyiv (by a popular uprising in 1068 and by his brothers in 1073), he returned power with the help of foreign troops.
Grandchildren: Eupraxia, Queen of Poland
Mstislav (?-1068)

Svyatopolk(1050-1113), Prince of Polotsk in 1069-1071, Novgorod in 1078-1088, Turov in 1088-1093, Grand Duke of Kyiv from 1093. Hypocritical and cruel, incited princely civil strife; By oppressing the people, he prepared the uprising that broke out after his death in Kyiv.

Great-grandchildren: Bryachislav (? -1127)
Izyaslav (?-1127)
Mstislav (?-1099)
Yaroslav (? - 1123), Prince of Vladimir
Great-great-grandchildren: Yuri (? -1162)
Grandchildren: Yaropolk (? -1086), Prince Turovsky
Great-grandchildren: Vyacheslav (? -1105)
Yaroslav (? -1102), Prince of Brest
Children: Ilya (? -1020)

Svyatoslav(1027-1076), Prince of Chernigov from 1054, Grand Duke of Kyiv from 1073. Together with his brother Vsevolod, he defended the southern borders of Russia from the Polovtsians and Turks

Grandchildren: Gleb (? -1078), Prince of Novgorod and Tmutarakansky
David (see below)
Oleg Gorislavich (see below)
Roman (?—1079), Prince Tmutarakansky
Yaroslav (? -1129), Prince of Murom and Chernigov
Davil Svyatoslavich (?—1123), grandson of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Prince of Chernigov
Children: Vladimir (? -1151), Prince of Chernigov
Grandchildren: Svyatoslav (? -1166), Prince Vshchizhsky
Children: Vsevolod (? -1124), Prince of Murom
Izyaslav (?—1161), Grand Duke of Kyiv
Rostislav (?-1120)
Svyatoslav (Svyatosha) (? -1142), Prince of Chernigov

Oleg Svyatoslavich(Gorislavich) (? -1115) - the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. He reigned in the Rostov-Suzdal land, in Volhynia; having lost his possessions, he fled to Tmutarakan, twice captured Chernigov with the support of the Polovtsy, was captured by the Khazars, then in Byzantium in exile on Fr. Rhodes. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" he was nicknamed Gorislavich.

Children: Vsevolod (? -1146), Prince of Chernigov (1127-1139), Grand Duke of Kyiv (since 1139). Member of civil strife; brutally oppressed the people, which caused an uprising in Kyiv after his death.
Grandchildren: Svyatoslav (? -1194), Grand Duke of Kyiv
Great-grandchildren: Vladimir (?—1201), Prince of Novgorod
Vsevolod Chermny (?-1212)
Great-great-grandchildren: Mikhail (1179-1246), Prince of Chernigov. In the 20s. several times he was a prince in Novgorod. From 1238 Grand Duke of Kyiv. During the offensive of the Mongol-Tatar troops, he fled to Hungary. Returned to Russia; killed in the Golden Horde.
Great-great-great-grandchildren: Rostislav (? -1249)
Great-grandchildren: Gleb (? -1214)
Great-great-grandchildren: Mstislav, Prince of Turov
Great-grandchildren: Mstislav (?—1223), Prince of Chernigov
Oleg (?—1204), Prince of Chernigov
Great-great-grandchildren: David
Grandchildren: Yaroslav (? -1198), Prince of Chernigov
Great-grandchildren: Rostislav (?—1214), Prince Snovsky

Yaropolk

Children: Vsevolod the Big Nest (1154-1212), Grand Duke of Vladimir. Successfully fought with the feudal nobility; subjugated Kyiv, Chernigov, Ryazan, Novgorod. During his reign, Vladimir-Suzdal Rus reached its peak. Had 12 children (hence the nickname).
Grandchildren: Ivan (? -1239), Prince Starodubsky

Konstantin(1186-1219), Grand Duke of Vladimir (since 1216). In 1206-1207 he reigned in Novgorod. With the support of Prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udaly and the Novgorod-Pskov-Smolensk-Rostov common army, he defeated his brothers Yaroslav and Yuri in the Battle of Lipitsa (1216). He took away the grand-ducal table from Yuri.

Great-grandchildren: Vasily (? -1238), Prince of Rostov
Vladimir (? - 1249), Prince of Uglitsky
Vsevolod (7-1238), Prince of Yaroslavl
Grandchildren: Svyatoslav (? -1252)

Yuri (George)(1188-1238), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1212-1216 and from 1218). He was defeated in the Battle of Lipitsa (1216) and ceded the great reign to his brother Konstantin. In 1221 Nizhny Novgorod was founded; defeated and died in battle with the Mongol-Tatars on the river Sit.

Great-grandchildren: Vladimir (? -1238)
Vsevolod (?—1238), Prince of Novgorod
Mstislav (?-1238)
Grandchildren: Yaroslav (1191-1246). He reigned in Pereyaslavl, Galich, Ryazan, was invited and expelled several times by the Novgorodians; participant in feudal wars, was defeated in the Battle of Lipitsa (1216). In 1236-1238 he reigned in Kyiv, from 1238 the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Twice traveled to the Golden Horde, as well as to Mongolia.
Great-grandchildren: Alexander Nevsky (see below)
Andrew (?—1264)
Children: Gleb (? -1171), Prince Pereyaslavsky
Ivan (? -1147), Prince of Kursk
Michael (? -1176), Prince of Vladimir
Mstislav, Prince of Novgorod
Grandchildren: Yaroslav (7-1199), Prince Volokolamsky
Children: Rostislav (7-1151), Prince Pereyaslavsky
Grandchildren: Mstislav (? - 1178), Prince of Novgorod
Great-grandchildren: Svyatoslav, Prince of Novgorod
Grandchildren: Yaropolk (? -1196)
Children: Svyatoslav (? -1174)
Yaroslav (?-1166)

The Rurikoviches are a dynasty of princes (and since 1547, tsars) of Kievan Rus, later - Muscovite Rus, the Moscow Principality, the Muscovite Kingdom. The ancestor of the dynasty is a legendary prince named Rurik (this is the answer to the question why the dynasty was called by the name of the founder). Many copies have been broken in disputes about whether this prince was a Varangian (that is, a foreigner) or a native Russian.

The family tree of the Rurik dynasty over the years of reign is in such a well-known Internet resource as Wikipedia.

Most likely, Rurik was a primordially Russian contender for the throne, and this contender turned out to be at the right time in the right place. Ruled by Rurik from 862 to 879. It was then that the predecessor of the modern Russian alphabet appeared in Russia - the Cyrillic alphabet (created by Cyril and Methodius). From Rurik begins a long, 736-year history of the great dynasty. Her scheme is branched and extremely interesting.

After the death of Rurik, the ruler of Novgorod, and from 882 of Kievan Rus, became his relative - Oleg, nicknamed the Prophet. The nickname was justified in full: this prince defeated the Khazars - dangerous opponents of Russia, then, together with the army, crossed the Black Sea and "nailed a shield to the gates of Tsaregrad" (this is what Istanbul was called in those years).

In the spring of 912, Oleg died from an accident - a viper bite (this snake is especially poisonous in spring). It happened like this: the prince stepped on the skull of his horse and managed to disturb the snake that hibernated there.

Igor became the new prince of Kievan Rus. Under him, Russia continued to grow stronger. The Pechenegs were defeated, power over the Drevlyans was strengthened. The most important event was the clash with Byzantium.

After a failure in 941 (the so-called Greek fire was used against the Russian fleet), Igor returned to Kyiv. Having gathered a large army, in 944 (or 943) he decided to attack Byzantium from two sides: from land - cavalry, and the main forces of the army were to attack Tsargrad from the sea.

Realizing that this time the battle with the enemy is fraught with defeat, the emperor of Byzantium decided to pay off. In 944, a trade and military treaty was signed between Kievan Rus and the Byzantine Empire.

The dynasty is continued by Igor's grandson Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (aka the Baptist or Yasno Solnyshko) - a mysterious and controversial personality. He often fought with his brothers, shed a lot of blood, especially during the planting of Christianity. At the same time, the prince took care of a reliable system of defensive structures, hoping to solve the problem of Pecheneg raids.

It was under Vladimir the Great that a terrible misfortune began, which eventually destroyed Kievan Rus - civil strife between the local Rurikovichs. And although strong princes like Yaroslav the Wise or Vladimir Monomakh appeared (it is symbolic that it was the "Monomakh's crown" that adorned the heads of the first Romanovs), Russia was strengthened only for the duration of their reign. And then civil strife in Russia flared up with renewed vigor.

Rulers of Muscovite and Kievan Rus

After the split of the Christian Church into Orthodox and Catholic directions, the Suzdal and Novgorod princes realized that Orthodoxy was much better. As a result, the original paganism was fused with the Orthodox direction of Christianity. This is how Russian Orthodoxy appeared, a powerful unifying idea. Thanks to this, the mighty Moscow principality, and later the kingdom, arose as a result. Russia later emerged from this nucleus.

In 1147, a settlement called Moscow became the center of new Russia.

Important! The Tatars played an important role in the foundation of this city. They became a link between Christians and pagans, a kind of mediators. Thanks to this, the Rurik dynasty firmly occupied the throne.

But Kievan Rus sinned with one-sidedness - Christianity was forcibly introduced there. At the same time, the adult population professing paganism was destroyed. It is not surprising that there was a split between the princes: someone defended paganism, and someone converted to Christianity.

The throne has become too shaky. So the family tree of the Rurik dynasty was divided into successful rulers, creators of the future Russia, and losers who disappeared from history by the end of the 13th century.

In 1222, a squad of one of the princes robbed a Tatar trade caravan, killing the merchants themselves. The Tatars set out on a campaign and in 1223 collided with the Kyiv princes on the Kalka River. Due to civil strife, the princely squads fought uncoordinated, and the Tatars utterly defeated the enemy.

The insidious Vatican immediately took advantage of a convenient occasion and got into the confidence of the princes, including the ruler of the Galicia-Volyn principality Danila Romanovich. They agreed on a joint campaign against the Tatars in 1240. However, an unpleasant surprise awaited the princes: the allied army came and ... demanded a colossal tribute! And all because they were the infamous Crusader Knights of the Teutonic Order - bandits in armor.

Kyiv desperately defended, but on the fourth day of the siege, the crusaders broke into the city and staged a terrible pogrom. Thus perished Kievan Rus.

One of the rulers of Muscovite Rus, Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, learned about the fall of Kyiv. If before that there was a serious distrust of the Vatican, now it has grown into enmity.

It is quite possible that the Vatican tried to play the same card as with the Kyiv princes and sent envoys with a proposal for a joint campaign against the Tatars. If the Vatican did so, then in vain - the answer was a categorical refusal.

At the end of 1240, the combined army of the Crusader Knights and the Swedes was utterly defeated on the Neva. Hence the nickname of the prince -

In 1242, the crusader knights again clashed with the Russian army. The result - the complete defeat of the crusaders.

Thus, in the middle of the 13th century, the paths of Kievan and Muscovite Rus diverged. Kyiv fell under the occupation of the Vatican for several centuries, while Moscow, on the contrary, grew stronger and continued to defeat its enemies. But the history of the dynasty continued.

Princes Ivan III and Vasily III

By the 1470s, the Moscow principality was a fairly strong state. His influence gradually expanded. The Vatican sought to solve the problem of Russian Orthodoxy, and therefore constantly stirred up a quarrel between noble princes and boyars, hoping to crush the future Russian state.

However, Ivan III continued reforms, along the way establishing beneficial ties with Byzantium.

It is interesting! Grand Duke Ivan III was the first to use the title "Tsar", albeit in correspondence.

Vasily III continued the reforms begun under his father. Along the way, the struggle continued with the eternal enemies - the Shuisky family. The Shuiskys were engaged, in Stalinist terms, in espionage for the benefit of the Vatican.

Childlessness upset Vasily so much that he divorced his first wife and secured her tonsure as a nun. The second wife of the prince was Elena Glinskaya, and it turned out to be a love marriage. The first three years of marriage were childless, but in the fourth year a miracle happened - the heir to the throne was born!

Board of Elena Glinskaya

After the death of Vasily III, his wife Elena managed to seize power. For a short five years, the Empress of All Russia has achieved a lot.

For example:

One of the rebellions was put down. The instigator, Mikhail Glinsky, ended up in prison (in vain he went against his niece).
The evil influence of the Shuiskys decreased.
For the first time a coin was minted, on which a horseman with a spear is depicted, the coin was called a penny.

However, the enemies poisoned the hated ruler - in 1538 the princess dies. And a little later, Prince Obolensky (possible father of Ivan the Terrible, but the fact of paternity has not been proven) gets into the dungeon.

Ivan IV the Terrible

The name of this king was cruelly slandered at first by order of the Vatican. Later, the Freemason-historian N. Karamzin, commissioned by Amsterdam, in the book "History of the Russian State" will draw a portrait of the great ruler of Russia, Ivan IV, only in black colors. At the same time, both the Vatican and Holland called great scoundrels such as Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell.

If we take a sober look at what these politicians did, we will see a completely different picture. For Ivan IV, murder was an unpleasant thing.

Therefore, he executed enemies only when other methods of struggle were ineffective. But Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell considered murder the norm and strongly encouraged public executions and other horrors.

The childhood of the future Tsar Ivan IV was disturbing. His mother and named father waged an unequal struggle with numerous enemies and traitors. When Ivan was eight years old, his mother died, and the named father ended up in prison, where he also died soon after.

Five long years dragged on for Ivan like a nightmare. The Shuiskys were the most terrible figures: they robbed the treasury with might and main, walked around the palace as if at home, and could unceremoniously throw their legs on the table.

At the age of thirteen, young Prince Ivan showed his character for the first time: on his orders, one of the Shuiskys was seized by the psari, and this happened right at a meeting of the boyar duma. Taking the boyar out into the yard, the psari finished him off.

And in January 1547, an important event, truly historic, happened: Ivan IV Vasilyevich was “crowned to the kingdom”, that is, he was declared king.

Important! The genealogy of the Romanov dynasty was tied to kinship with the first Russian tsar. It was a weighty trump card.

The reign of Ivan IV the Terrible is a whole era of 37 years. You can learn more about this era by watching the video material dedicated to it by analyst Andrey Fursov.

Let's briefly go over the most important milestones of this reign.

Here are the milestones:

1547 - the wedding of Ivan to the kingdom, the marriage of the tsar, the fire of Moscow set up by the Shuiskys.
1560 - the death of Ivan's wife Anastasia, the aggravation of enmity between the tsar and the boyars.
1564 - 1565 - the departure of Ivan IV from Moscow, his return and the beginning of the oprichnina.
1571 - Tokhtamysh burns Moscow.
1572 - Khan Devlet Giray gathered the entire army of the Crimean Tatars. They attacked, hoping to finish off the kingdom, but the whole people rose to defend the country, and the Tatar army returned to the Crimea.
1581 - Tsarevich Ivan, the eldest son of the Tsar, dies of poisoning.
1584 - death of Tsar Ivan IV.

There were many disputes about the wives of Ivan IV the Terrible. However, it is reliably known that the king was married four times, and one of the marriages, as it were, was not counted (the bride died too soon, the reason was poisoning). And three wives were exterminated by the boyars-poisoners, among whom the main suspects are the Shuiskys.

The last wife of Ivan IV, Marya Nagaya, outlived her husband for a long time and became a witness to the Great Troubles in Russia.

The last of the Rurik dynasty

Although Vasily Shuisky is considered the last of the Rurik dynasty, this has not been proven. In reality, the last of the great dynasty was the third son of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor.

Fyodor Ivanovich ruled only formally, but in reality the power was in the hands of the chief adviser Boris Fyodorovich Godunov. In the period from 1584 to 1598, tension grew in Russia associated with the confrontation between Godunov and the Shuiskys.

And 1591 was marked by a mysterious event. Tsarevich Dmitry tragically died in Uglich. Was Boris Godunov guilty of this, or was it the diabolical machinations of the Vatican? So far, there is no clear answer to this question - this story is so confused.

In 1598, the childless Tsar Fedor died without continuing the dynasty.

It is interesting! At the autopsy of the remains, scientists learned the terrible truth: Fedor was poisoned for many years, like the family of Ivan the Terrible in general! It turned out a convincing explanation of the fact why Tsar Fedor was childless.

The throne was taken by Boris Godunov, and the reign of the new tsar was marked by an unprecedented crop failure, a famine of 1601-1603, and rampant crime. The intrigues of the Vatican also affected, and as a result, from 1604, the active phase of unrest began, the Time of Troubles. This time ended only with the accession of a new dynasty - the Romanovs.

The Rurik dynasty is an integral part of the history of Russia. The genealogy of Russian princes, sovereigns and the first Russian tsars is what any self-respecting historian of Russia needs to know.

You can see a photo of the family tree of the Rurik dynasty with the years of government below.

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In October 1582, Ivan the Terrible's son Dmitry was born, who was destined to become the last offspring (in the male line) of the royal Rurik dynasty. According to accepted historiography, Dmitry lived for eight years, but his name hung like a curse over the Russian state for another 22 years.

Russian people often have the feeling that the Motherland is under some kind of spell. “Everything is wrong with us – not like normal people.” At the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries in Russia they were sure that they knew the root of all troubles - the curse of the innocently murdered Tsarevich Dmitry was to blame.

Nabat in Uglich

For Tsarevich Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible (from his last marriage to Maria Naga, who, by the way, was never recognized by the church), everything ended on May 25, 1591, in the city of Uglich, where he, in the status of a specific prince of Uglich, was in an honorable exile . At noon, Dmitry Ioannovich threw knives with other children who were part of his retinue. In the materials of the investigation into the death of Dmitry, there is evidence of one youth who played with the tsarevich: “... the tsarevich played de poking with a knife with them in the backyard, and an illness came upon him - an epileptic ailment - and attacked the knife." In fact, these testimonies became the main argument for the investigators to qualify the death of Dmitry Ioannovich as an accident.

However, the arguments of the investigation would hardly have convinced the residents of Uglich. Russian people have always trusted signs more than the logical conclusions of "people." And there was a sign ... And what another! Almost immediately after the heart of the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible stopped, the alarm rang over Uglich. The bell of the local Spassky Cathedral rang. And everything would be fine, only the bell would ring on its own - without a bell ringer. This is according to a legend, which the Uglichans for several generations considered a true story and a fatal sign.

When the inhabitants learned of the death of the heir, a riot began. The Uglichites smashed the Prikaznaya hut, killed the sovereign's clerk with his family, and several other suspects. Boris Godunov, who actually ruled the state under the nominal Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, hastily sent archers to Uglich to suppress the rebellion.

Not only the rebels got it, but also the bell: they tore it off the bell tower, tore out the “tongue”, cut off the “ear” and publicly punished on the main square with 12 lashes. And then he, along with other rebels, was sent into exile, to Tobolsk. The then Tobolsk voivode, Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, ordered that the bell-eared bell be locked in the command hut, with the inscription “first exiled inanimate from Uglich” written on it. However, the massacre of the bell did not save the authorities from the curse - everything was just beginning.

End of the Rurik dynasty

After the news of the death of the prince spread throughout the Russian Land, rumors spread among the people that the boyar Boris Godunov had a hand in the "accident". But there were daredevils who suspected of a "conspiracy", and the then tsar - Fyodor Ioannovich, the elder half-brother of the deceased prince. And there were reasons for this.

40 days after the death of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor, heir to the Moscow throne, began to actively prepare for his coronation. By his order, a week before the wedding to the kingdom, the widow-tsarina Maria and her son Dmitry Ioannovich were sent to Uglich - "to reign." The fact that the last wife of Tsar John IV and the prince were not invited to the coronation was a terrible humiliation for the latter. However, Fedor did not stop there: for example, the content of the prince's court was sometimes reduced several times a year. Just a few months after the beginning of his reign, he orders the clergy to remove the traditional mention of the name of Tsarevich Dmitry during divine services.

The formal basis was that Dmitry Ioannovich was born in his sixth marriage and, according to church rules, was considered illegitimate. However, everyone understood that this was just an excuse. The ban on mentioning the prince during divine services was perceived by his court as a wish for death. There were rumors among the people about failed assassination attempts on Dmitry. So, the Briton Fletcher, while in Moscow in 1588-1589, wrote that his nurse died from the poison intended for Dmitry.

Six months after the death of Dmitry, the wife of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, Irina Godunova, became pregnant. Everyone was waiting for the heir to the throne. Moreover, according to legend, the birth of a boy was predicted by numerous court magicians, healers and healers. But in May 1592, the queen gave birth to a girl. Rumors circulated among the people that Princess Theodosia, as the parents named their daughter, was born exactly a year after the death of Dmitry - on May 25, and the royal family delayed the official announcement for almost a month.

But this was not the worst sign: the girl lived only a few months, and died in the same year. And here they already began to talk about the curse of Dmitry. After the death of his daughter, the king changed; he finally lost interest in his royal duties, and spent months in monasteries. People said that Fedor was apologizing for his guilt before the murdered prince. In the winter of 1598, Fedor Ioannovich died without leaving an heir. The Rurik dynasty also died with him.

Great Famine

The death of the last sovereign from the Rurik dynasty opened the way to the kingdom of Boris Godunov, who was actually the ruler of the country while Fyodor Ivanovich was still alive. By that time, Godunov had gained a reputation among the people as the “murderer of the prince”, but this did not bother him much. Through cunning manipulation, he was nevertheless elected king, and almost immediately began with reforms.

In two short years, he carried out more transformations in the country than previous kings in the entire 16th century. And when Godunov already seemed to have won people's love, a catastrophe struck - from unprecedented climatic cataclysms, the Great Famine came to Russia, which lasted for three whole years. The historian Karamzin wrote that people “like cattle plucked grass and ate it; the dead had hay in their mouths. Horse meat seemed like a delicacy: they ate dogs, cats, bitches, all kinds of uncleanness. People became worse than beasts: they left families and wives so as not to share the last piece with them.

They not only robbed and killed for a loaf of bread, but also devoured each other… Human meat was sold in pies in the markets! Mothers gnawed at the corpses of their babies!..” In Moscow alone, more than 120,000 people died of starvation; numerous gangs of robbers were operating throughout the country. Not a trace of the people's love for the elected tsar was born - the people again talked about the curse of Tsarevich Dmitry and the "cursed Boris".

End of the Godunov dynasty

1604 finally brought a good harvest. It seemed the troubles were over. It was the calm before the storm - in the fall of 1604, Godunov was informed that the army of Tsarevich Dmitry was moving from Poland to Moscow, miraculously escaping from the hands of Godunov's killers in Uglich back in 1591. The “worker”, as Boris Godunov was popularly called, probably realized that Dmitry’s curse was now embodied in an impostor.

However, Tsar Boris was not destined to meet face to face with False Dmitry: he died suddenly in April 1605, a couple of months before the triumphant entry into Moscow of the “surviving Dmitry”. There were rumors that the desperate "cursed king" committed suicide - poisoned himself. But Dmitry's curse also extended to Godunov's son, Fyodor, who became king, who was strangled along with his own mother shortly before False Dmitry entered the Kremlin. It was said that this was one of the main conditions of the "prince" for a triumphant return to the capital.

The end of the people's trust

Until now, historians argue whether the "king was not real." However, we will probably never know. Now we can only talk about the fact that Dmitry did not manage to revive the Rurikoviches. And again, the end of spring became fatal: on May 27, a cunning conspiracy was staged in the boyars under the leadership of Vasily Shuisky, during which False Dmitry was killed. The people were told that the tsar, whom they had recently idolized, was an impostor, and they staged a public posthumous reproach. This absurd moment finally undermined the people's trust in the authorities. Ordinary people did not believe the boyars and bitterly mourned Dmitry.

Shortly after the assassination of the impostor, at the beginning of summer, terrible frosts hit, which destroyed all the crops. A rumor spread around Moscow about the curse that the boyars had brought to the Russian Land by killing the legitimate sovereign. The cemetery at the Serpukhov Gates of the capital, where the impostor was buried, became a place of pilgrimage for many Muscovites.

There were many testimonies about the "appearances" of the resurrected tsar in different parts of Moscow, and some even claimed to have received a blessing from him. Frightened by popular unrest and a new cult of the martyr, the authorities dug up the corpse of the “thief”, loaded his ashes into a cannon and fired towards Poland. The wife of False Dmitry Marina Mnishek recalled that when the body of her husband was being dragged through the Kremlin gates, the wind tore off the shields from the gates, and unharmed, in the same order, installed them in the middle of the roads.

Shuisky's end

Vasily Shuisky became the new tsar, a man who in 1598 introduced an investigation into the death of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich. The man who concluded that the death of Dmitry Ioannovich was an accident, having finished with False Dmitry and received royal power, suddenly admitted that the investigation in Uglich had evidence of the violent death of the prince and direct involvement in the murder of Boris Godunov. Saying this, Shuisky killed two birds with one stone: he discredited - even if already dead - his personal enemy Godunov, and at the same time proved that False Dmitry, who was killed during the conspiracy, was an impostor. Vasily Shuisky even decided to reinforce the latter with the help of the canonization of Tsarevich Dmitry.

A special commission was sent to Uglich on the head of Metropolitan Filaret of Rostov, which opened the grave of the prince and allegedly found in the coffin the incorruptible body of a child that exuded fragrance. The relics were solemnly brought to the Kremlin's Archangel Cathedral: a rumor spread throughout Moscow that the boy's remains were miraculous, and the people went to St. Dmitry for healing. However, the cult did not last long: there were several cases of death from touching the relics.

Rumors spread around the capital about false relics and about Dmitry's curse. The crayfish with the remains had to be removed from sight in the reliquary. And very soon several more Dmitriev Ioannovichs appeared in Russia, and the Shuisky dynasty, the Suzdal branch of the Rurikovichs, who for two centuries were the main rivals of the Danilovich branch for the Moscow throne, was interrupted by the first king. Vasily ended his life in Polish captivity: in the country towards which, on his orders, the ashes of False Dmitry I were once shot.

Last Curse

Trouble in Russia ended only in 1613 - with the establishment of a new Romanov dynasty. But did Dmitri's curse dry up along with this? The 300-year history of the dynasty suggests otherwise. Patriarch Filaret (in the world Fyodor Nikitich Romanov), the father of the first "Romanov" Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, was in the thick of "passions for Dmitry". In 1605, he, imprisoned by Boris Godunov in a monastery, was released as a “relative” by False Dmitry I. After Shuisky’s accession, it was Filaret who brought the “miraculous relics” of the prince from Uglich to Moscow and planted the cult of St. Dmitry Uglitsky - in order to convince Shuisky that False Dmitry, who once saved him, was an impostor. And then, standing up in opposition to Tsar Vasily, he became the “named patriarch” in the Tushino camp of False Dmitry II.

Filaret can be considered the first of the Romanov dynasty: under Tsar Mikhail, he bore the title of "Great Sovereign" and was actually the head of state. The reign of the Romanovs began with the Troubles and the Troubles ended. Moreover, for the second time in Russian history, the royal dynasty was interrupted by the murder of the prince. There is a legend that Paul I closed the prediction of the elder Abel concerning the fate of the dynasty in a casket for a hundred years. It is possible that the name of Dmitry Ioannovich appeared there.

And the expansion of the territory of Russian lands was facilitated by more than seven centuries of rule of the Rurik dynasty.
Russian chronicle legends, in particular " ", explain the appearance of the leaders of the Varangian squads at the head of the ancient Russian state, with the request of the Novgorodians. It was the Novgorodians who invited Rurik the Varangians to reign in order to stop civil strife.This legend of the appearance of the founder of the Rurik dynasty is refuted by many historians and the Rurik brothers are considered invaders who took advantage of the internecine strife of the Slavs.

But in any case, 862 is considered the beginning of the reign of the Rurik dynasty - the great princes of Novgorod, Kyiv, Vladimir, Moscow. Russian tsars, until the 16th century, were considered the descendants of Rurik. The last of this dynasty was Tsar Fedor Ioannovich.So, from 862 to 879, Rurik Varyazhsky became the great prince of Novgorod. His reign was marked by the development of feudal relations, identical to the European feudal system.

After his death, power passed to, who was the guardian of Rurik's young son, Igor. Oleg Veshchy is known as the first collector of Russian land into one state. According to legend, he died from a snake bite.For the first time, the son of Rurik became the Grand Duke of Kyiv and all Russia. He contributed to the strengthening of statehood among the Eastern Slavs by extending the power of the Kyiv prince to the Eastern Slavic tribal associations between the Dniester and the Danube.

The first Russian prince, named after him in non-Russian chronicles. This happened during his campaign in Byzantium during the capture of Constantinople. His reign was not successful; from 915, numerous Pecheneg tribes began to settle between the Don and the Danube, who made devastating raids on peaceful Slavic tribes. Igor himself was killed in 945 while collecting annual tribute from conquered tribes.

His wife and temporary ruler severely punished the Drevlyane tribe for the death of her husband and prince of Kyiv. She became the first woman to rule the state. Her reign is marked by rationality, wisdom and diplomatic skills. She personally made a detour of the possessions, established the amount of state tribute, the timing of its collection, and divided all the land into graveyards (volosts).As the ruler of the Russian land, Olga was known in all European states.

The son of Olga and Igor was the first among the princes of Kyiv to bear a Slavic name. Known as a prominent commander, for the most part, who was in military campaigns.His son Yaropolk is considered guilty of the death of his brother Oleg, who tried to claim the throne of Kyiv. Yaropolk himself was killed by his brother Vladimir.The Kyiv Grand Duke in Russian chronicles received the nickname "Saint". The brave and warlike prince was a fanatical pagan in his youth and, at the same time, a vindictive and bloodthirsty fratricide who, because of his desire to possess the princely throne, went to war against his half-brother.

Under the influence of circumstances, he decided that Russia should become Christian, and in 988 the townspeople were gathered on the banks of the Dnieper and held a solemn rite of baptism. From that moment on, Christianity became the state religion, the persecution of pagan idols began, and the Christian church began to call Prince Vladimir "Holy" and "Equal to the Apostles."

His son Yaroslav Vladimirovich, to whom history added the nickname “Wise”, was a truly wise and diplomatic ruler of the Old Russian state. The time of his reign is not only internecine feudal wars between close relatives, but also attempts to bring Kievan Rus to the world political arena, attempts to overcome feudal fragmentation, and the construction of new cities. The reign of Yaroslav the Wise is the development of Slavic culture, a kind of golden period of the Old Russian state.

Himself a great connoisseur and admirer of beauty, he directed his energy to the development of education - schools were organized for all classes. He personally collected the richest library of ancient and modern manuscripts, contributed to the development of monasteries, which at that time played a fundamental role in the spread of book business in Russia. Under Yaroslav, the first written laws of state administration appeared, called "Russian Truth", which became the basis of legal proceedings in Russia.

The sons of Yaroslav the Wise, during their stay on the throne of Kiev, tried to supplement the deeds of their great father.Izyaslav made additions to the Russian Truth, Svyatoslav replenished the library. The famous "Izbornik" with instructions and teachings is one of the pearls of Russian literature.Vsevolod, throughout his reign, tried to reconcile and unite the growing dynasty - his additions to the Russian Truth abolish blood feuds, regulate the degree of feudal dependence, and determine the status of princely combatants.

One of the most prominent rulers of Ancient Russia was Vladimir Monomakh, who fought to restore the unity of the Russian lands. He was the first of the Kyiv princes to inherit his throne to his son Mstislav, thereby laying the foundation for succession to the throne and taking a step towards state centralization.The sons tried to continue the work of their father in uniting the Russian lands, and Prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky and his son, the grandson of Monomakh, Andrey Yuryevich Bogolyubsky, most succeeded in this.

During their reign, the principalities of Vladimir and later Moscow became the center of the Old Russian state. Kyiv begins to lose its political and economic importance. Numerous Ruriks move to the outskirts of Russia, turning them into developed and significant principalities.Feudal strife and princely strife led to the Mongol invasion. For almost 300 years, Russian princes paid a shameful tribute to the Mongol khans. Separate centers of protests were severely punished not only by the Baskaks, the governors of the Horde khans, but also by the Russian princes, who preferred to pay tribute than fight.

The grandson was able to unite the forces of the Russian princes and, as a result of the victory on the Kulikovo field, put an end to the hated power of the Horde. The Moscow principality expands and becomes the center. The son of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily I, becomes the next ruler, and Moscow becomes an all-Russian cultural and political center, in which state power is concentrated.Vasily II, even during his reign, makes his son Ivan co-ruler and heir. Under the eldest son of Ivan - Vasily III, the unification of Russian lands into a single state ends.

He became the first tsar of all Russia, who significantly increased the territory of the state and forced European countries to reckon with Muscovy.The last Russian tsar from the Rurik dynasty was the childless son of Ivan the Terrible Fedor Ioannovich, on whom this dynasty is stopped.