The culmination of absolutism was dramatically symbolized by the grandson of Ivan III, IVAN IV (r. 1533-84). Assuming (1547) the title of tsar, he underlined his claim to the succession of both Byzantium and the Golden Horde. The conquests of the khanates of Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) followed, putting the entire course of the Volga under Russian control. These conquests initiated further expansion (1581) into Siberia, whose western regions were conquered by the Cossack leader YERMAK TIMOFEYEVICH, sponsored by the Novgorod family of salt merchants, the Stroganovs.
Relying on his absolute power and increased military potential, Ivan IV attempted to eliminate the competition of Lithuania and gain a port on the Baltic. The 25-year war (1558-83) against Poland-Lithuania, Livonia, and Sweden--accompanied by several devastating raids of Crimean Tatars against Moscow (for example, in 1571)--ended in failure and seriously debilitated the country. To mobilize all resources and cope with internal opposition, Ivan IV set up his own personal guard and territorial administration (oprichnina, 1565-72), whose exactions and oppression did great damage to both the economy and the social stability of the realm. The combined needs of the military servitor class for labor and of the government for tax-paying peasants led to legislation limiting the mobility of peasants. The edicts of Ivan's successors (Fyodor I, r. 1584-98, and BORIS GODUNOV, r. 1598-1605) initiated a process that culminated in the complete enserfment of the Russian peasantry (Code of 1649).
The main political task of the grand dukes of Moscow was the absorption of formerly independent princes and their servitors into the service hierarchy of Moscow. This absorption was achieved by expanding the membership of the boyar council (duma) to include the newcomers. A system of precedence (mestnichestvo) based on both family status and service position kept the boyar class divided. In addition, from the late 15th century on, the grand duke created a class of military servitors (dvorianstvo) entirely subordinated to him by grants of land on a temporary basis, subject to performance of service. The peasantry remained outside this system, with village communes taking care of local fiscal and police matters. Towns were under the direct rule of the grand duke's representatives and enjoyed no municipal freedoms.
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