Organization of the Muscovite State - Page 2© Alexander Batyukov
Page 2
Jun 1, 2000
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).
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