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Devin · 05-11-2000, 21:37

A History of Russia (1614-1792)

Part I: Prologue

When Ivan the Terrible died in 1584, he was succeeded by his sickly son Fyodor I. The real power in Russia, however, was Fyodor's brother-in-law Boris Godunov. When Fyodor died childless in 1598, the dynasty of the house of Rurik came to an end and the Zemsky Sobor (a national assembly of town representatives and the church) elected Godunov the czar. Godunov was a capable ruler who did much to enhance Russia's growing economic power, albeit at the expense of the serfs' freedom. Two years into his reign, Godunov became embroiled in a scandal when Dmitry Ivanovich, Ivan the Terrible's other son and legal heir to the throne, died in a mysterious accident. This led to a period of turmoil that came to be known as 'Smutnoye Vremya', the Time of Troubles.

In 1604, a pretender to the Russian throne known as the False Dmitry won the support of the Polish nobility and the Cossacks. After Godunov's death in 1605, Dmitry I entered Moscow and was crowned czar. Dmitry also proved to be an able ruler, but he made himself unpopular with the powerful boyars, who had him murdered. A second pretender named Dmitry II led an army of peasants and Cossacks to unseat the new czar selected by the boyars. The Polish King Zygmunt III invaded from the West to secure the crown for himself, and Sweden sent military support for the boyar's regime in Moscow. After years of struggle, a Polish army eventually entered Moscow and installed Zygmunt's son as czar in 1610. Anarchy descended on Russia.

Eventually, a charismatic butcher (in a meat and poultry sense of the word) by the name of Kuzma Minin raised an army in northeast Russia. In 1612, Minin's army booted the Poles and Swedes out of Russia, but both states managed to seize significant Russian territory. The Zemsky Sobor convened and appointed Mikhail Romanov as czar. Thus began the Romanov dynasty.

05-11-2000, 21:37	#1
Devin Second Lieutenant Join Date: May 2000 Location: Germany Posts: 117	A History of Russia (1614-1792) Part I: Prologue When Ivan the Terrible died in 1584, he was succeeded by his sickly son Fyodor I. The real power in Russia, however, was Fyodor's brother-in-law Boris Godunov. When Fyodor died childless in 1598, the dynasty of the house of Rurik came to an end and the Zemsky Sobor (a national assembly of town representatives and the church) elected Godunov the czar. Godunov was a capable ruler who did much to enhance Russia's growing economic power, albeit at the expense of the serfs' freedom. Two years into his reign, Godunov became embroiled in a scandal when Dmitry Ivanovich, Ivan the Terrible's other son and legal heir to the throne, died in a mysterious accident. This led to a period of turmoil that came to be known as 'Smutnoye Vremya', the Time of Troubles. In 1604, a pretender to the Russian throne known as the False Dmitry won the support of the Polish nobility and the Cossacks. After Godunov's death in 1605, Dmitry I entered Moscow and was crowned czar. Dmitry also proved to be an able ruler, but he made himself unpopular with the powerful boyars, who had him murdered. A second pretender named Dmitry II led an army of peasants and Cossacks to unseat the new czar selected by the boyars. The Polish King Zygmunt III invaded from the West to secure the crown for himself, and Sweden sent military support for the boyar's regime in Moscow. After years of struggle, a Polish army eventually entered Moscow and installed Zygmunt's son as czar in 1610. Anarchy descended on Russia. Eventually, a charismatic butcher (in a meat and poultry sense of the word) by the name of Kuzma Minin raised an army in northeast Russia. In 1612, Minin's army booted the Poles and Swedes out of Russia, but both states managed to seize significant Russian territory. The Zemsky Sobor convened and appointed Mikhail Romanov as czar. Thus began the Romanov dynasty.