WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.760 Hello, and welcome to Western Siev episode three hundred and 2 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:30.120 twenty seven, even the terrible part four. Early on the 3 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:35.359 morning of July twenty fifth, fifteen seventy, a hand picked 4 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:39.560 troop of Ivan's goons arrived on the Red Square and 5 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:44.280 began to hammer twenty heavy steaks into the ground. Then 6 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.399 logs were roped to the stakes in such a way 7 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:51.840 that they formed a continuous horizontal line, each log touching 8 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.560 the one to the next. Then they lit fires, and 9 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.560 over each fire they set a cauldron of water, which 10 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:02.520 was soon boiling. The people who had been walking about 11 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:07.000 the Red Square were, of course alarmed. It was obvious 12 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:14.040 that these preparations had only one purpose, more executions. Ivan 13 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.000 rode up and down the streets of Moscow, telling his 14 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.480 people they had nothing to fear, invited them to come 15 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.040 to the Red Square, where he promised no harm would 16 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.319 come to them. I would not have gone, but then again, 17 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:31.239 I did not have Russian guards menacingly looking at me 18 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:35.719 and my family. My guess is most people felt they 19 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:41.599 had no choice. Eventually, the townspeople decided to send several 20 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.719 older men. The sources indicate these men felt that they 21 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:48.719 were close to death anyway, and so they had less 22 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:54.000 to fear. Ivan received them warmly and indicated the people 23 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:57.400 of Moscow had nothing to fear from him, and so 24 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:02.319 reluctantly the people came to the square. Once they assembled, 25 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.280 Ivan led out the prisoners he had been holding in 26 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:10.120 the dungeons of the Kremlin. These were mostly lesser boyars 27 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:15.639 and former merchants, all people Ivan had prejudged guilty of treason. 28 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:20.840 These victims, about three hundred total, were led out into 29 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:24.120 the square. Many had to be carried as their legs 30 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:28.000 had been broken. They were then tied to the logs 31 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:34.280 which had been prepositioned. Ivan rather unexpectedly, then ordered the 32 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:36.960 release of one hundred and eighty four of these prisoners, 33 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:41.520 whom he had judged less guilty, not innocent, just less guilty. 34 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:47.840 The rest were not so lucky. Ivan had alternating cauldrons 35 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:51.599 of boiling and freezing water poured on one man until 36 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:57.240 his skin reportedly just melted off. The rest were stabbed 37 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:01.560 and hacked to death, with Ivan reportedly gleefully joining in 38 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:07.240 the executions, all the while the terrified population of Moscow 39 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:14.159 stood by watching. Amazingly, this did not end Ivan's bloodlust. 40 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:18.719 A few days after the massacre, he had the wives 41 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:22.360 and children of the men executed club to death and 42 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:27.240 their bodies tossed into the river. Amongst those that were 43 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:32.759 dead were some of the higher ranking boyars of the administration. Finally, 44 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:37.840 the reality became clear to everyone there were not really 45 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:43.199 two governments. The power sharing concept had never been real. 46 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:47.000 There was Ivan's government and then there was the false 47 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:53.479 Russian government, which held no power. Unfortunately, Russia would soon 48 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:58.319 learn that Ivan's government was much less adept at confronting 49 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:05.159 very real enemies than massacring women and children. Early in 50 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:10.080 September fifteen seventy, rumors reached Moscow of a large Tartar 51 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:14.639 army on the move. Ivan himself made his way south 52 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.519 to the Oka River with an army to investigate and 53 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:23.279 prevent any further advance. Eventually everybody realized this quote unquote 54 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.600 large Tartar force was little more than a scouting force 55 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:30.519 of around six thousand men. Ivan remained on the river 56 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:35.399 for a few days before returning to alexandros Levoda, his headquarters. 57 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:38.480 But little did he or anyone else know that this 58 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:42.240 scouting force was intended merely to test the Russian defenses. 59 00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:48.279 The Tartars were indeed planning a major invasion. The real 60 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:52.120 army was one hundred and twenty thousand strong, and in 61 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:55.040 April fifteen seventy one, it marched out of the Crimea 62 00:04:55.120 --> 00:05:00.959 with one goal, sack Moscow. On the march, the Khan 63 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:05.360 met several disaffected Russian nobles fleeing south. They told the 64 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:08.879 Khan that Ivan wasn't in Moscow, he was at Alexandros Laboda, 65 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:10.959 and that the country was in the midst of a 66 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.279 famine and in total disarray. There was little that could 67 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:18.839 be done to stop the Tartar advance. Now, Ivan himself 68 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.600 did not get news of the real invasion until it 69 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:26.279 was far too late. Ivan might have had no issue 70 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:31.480 murdering women, children and defenseless men, but he always had 71 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.720 a real issue standing up to actual armies. He only 72 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.800 paused for one night, gathering up all the gold and 73 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.279 silver his men could carry, before fleeing to the north, 74 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:48.000 abandoning Moscow to its fate. He fled all the way 75 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:52.480 to the stronghold at Vlogoda, which was an impressive fortress 76 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:58.639 surrounded by five hundred permanent musketeers. Even so, Ivan wasn't 77 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:03.319 sure he was shape, so he had ships rapidly constructed, 78 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.360 which would then transport himself, his two young sons, and 79 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:11.319 his wealth, first to the White Sea and hence to England, 80 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.759 where he hoped to seek refuge in the court of 81 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:19.360 now Queen Elizabeth the First. The Tartars drove up from 82 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:22.720 the south, their intention to destroy the city, acquire as 83 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.759 much plunder as possible, and then return to their homeland. 84 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:29.079 But in order to destroy the city they had to 85 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:34.439 get to it, and Ivan Belski, and remaining still, took 86 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.759 up positions with his army to the south of the 87 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:40.000 river in an effort to try to defend There, he 88 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:45.199 offered battle. There was some savage fighting, Belski himself was 89 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:49.600 wounded and the Russians were forced back. Meanwhile, the Tartars 90 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:51.680 pressed closer to the city, not only in the south, 91 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:54.519 but also in the west, where an entire army crossed 92 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:57.199 a ford of the river to attack a portion of 93 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:00.639 the Kremlin, which they stormed and set on fire. There 94 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.199 had been little rain for some weeks, and a strong 95 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:06.720 west wind was blowing, and the flames soon spread across 96 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:11.079 the kremlin. Moments later, nearly all the palaces and churches 97 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:14.160 within the kremlin walls were on fire. The small wooden 98 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.360 churches exploded, the iron girders supporting the palace melted away, 99 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:22.959 the bell towers caught on fire, and the bells melted. Afterwards, 100 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.120 the Russians remembered that all the church bells of Moscow 101 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:30.920 were ringing, and that one by one the sound died away. 102 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.120 On the morning of May twenty fourth, fifteen seventy one, 103 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:37.879 the heart of Moscow perished in flames. Only a few 104 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:43.480 charged buildings survived the fire by seemingly a miracle. Sixty 105 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:48.879 thousand people, around half the population of Moscow, died. According 106 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:52.360 to one chronicler quote, the entire city was burned down 107 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:58.399 in three hours. The Khan left two days later, transporting 108 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:02.279 another one hundred thousand captured Russian south, where they would 109 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:07.519 flood the Ottoman slave markets. Ivan, realizing now that the 110 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:13.399 Tartars were not after him, decided to return. Interestingly, he 111 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:17.600 did not blame himself at all for the debacle. Instead, 112 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:23.319 he blamed his own men, the Alpriniki. They had been incompetent. 113 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:27.879 He felt they should have made some preparations to defend 114 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:31.399 the city. Never mind the fact that he was the 115 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:35.200 one in charge of the government. But that was in 116 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:38.120 the past. The most urgent task now was the rebuilding 117 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:41.200 of Moscow. But first he had to clear away all 118 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:44.200 the dead bodies. It was important since it was high 119 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.840 summer and nothing had been done in several weeks to 120 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.679 remove them. Most of the survivors had fled in fear 121 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:54.360 of pestilence. The rivers were choked with bodies, and there 122 00:08:54.440 --> 00:08:57.639 was more to come for Ivan now gave orders to 123 00:08:57.639 --> 00:08:59.639 throw all the dead bodies found in the ruins into 124 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:03.440 the river. This was worse than the situation that had 125 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:06.759 been before. With more and more bodies thrown into it, 126 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.639 the Moskowa River was no longer a river. It's changed 127 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:15.080 its course and the likelihood of disease only increased. The 128 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:18.360 wells were dry, there was no fresh water, and the 129 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:23.879 situation was desperate. Still, all the Muscovites who had fled 130 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:27.679 were ordered back. People from far off towns and villages 131 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.919 were ordered to go to Moscow to dig graves and 132 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:35.759 help to rebuild the city. Masons, carpenters, and craftsmen of 133 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:39.440 all kind were impressed into service and promised freedom from 134 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:42.200 all taxes and custom duties. While the work was going on, 135 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:48.080 it took four years to repair the damage. When the 136 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:50.799 four years had passed. There was a new white wall 137 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.960 of stone around the Kremlin, with essentially a new city 138 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:58.679 of Moscow surrounding it. It was not long before Ivan 139 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:02.480 began a purge of the Yappuniki. This time there were 140 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:06.399 no public executions. Many were clubbed to death and their 141 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:11.840 bodies disposed of in secret. Simultaneously, I even wanted to 142 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.960 make sure that he could avoid another war with the Tartars, 143 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:19.320 given that the first one had gone so poorly. Privately, 144 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.039 he knew the price of peace would be the return 145 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.639 of Kazan, and he hoped to avoid that as long 146 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:29.480 as possible. Hence, when an ambassador from the Crimea arrived, 147 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:33.279 I even refused to see him. At the same time, 148 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.240 he prepared to sign a treaty of friendship with the 149 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:41.360 Swedes and Livonia to avoid of two front war. Publicly, 150 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.200 I even claimed that the reversals were all because of 151 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.879 a general sinful nature of the Russian people, and God 152 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:52.919 was punishing them for it. He promised soon that the 153 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:56.159 Crimean Khan would be his vassal and that all the 154 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:00.000 reversals of fifteen seventy fifteen seventy one would be forgotten. 155 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:06.759 He was wrong. By fifteen seventy two, after negotiations failed, 156 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:09.759 it was clear that the Khan would attempt another invasion, 157 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.519 but this time it wasn't just going to be a 158 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:17.399 mere sack and raid of Moscow. This time, he wanted 159 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:22.440 to reduce Russia to a vassal state. Once again, Ivan 160 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.679 wanted no part in the military defense of his own kingdom. 161 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.600 He withdrew to Novgorod with all his treasure and his court, 162 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.039 while dispatching one of the remaining Boyar princes with the 163 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:37.080 army to the Oka River, promising him rich rewards if 164 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:40.159 he turned back the Tartars, and a terrible torture and 165 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:44.639 death for him and his family if he failed. Near 166 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:48.080 the end of July, the massive Tartar army reached the 167 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:52.120 Oka River and slipped past the Russians somehow, I'm honestly 168 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:56.240 not sure how that could possibly happen, but it's what 169 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:01.879 the sources indicate. The Russians quickly pursued, and the two 170 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.519 sides bought a sort of pitched battle at a place 171 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:09.279 called Melodi. I say sort of because it seems like 172 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:11.600 and again the sources are a little confused here, but 173 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:14.559 it seems like the Russians had time to set up 174 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:19.240 some sort of rudimentary palisade before the Tartars attacked them. 175 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:23.399 This mattered because it forced the cohns men to fight 176 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:26.559 on foot, but they were much better when they fought 177 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:30.240 on horsebacks, so they were suddenly at a disadvantage. It 178 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.360 seems that the Russians managed in the midst of the 179 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:37.840 fighting to sneak a force around the Tartar flank and 180 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:41.840 then hit them in the rear. The Tartars broke and fled, 181 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.679 and Moscow was saved from a second sack. It was 182 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:49.399 a decisive victory and proved to be the last time 183 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:52.759 the Tartars would attempt an invasion for the remainder of 184 00:12:52.919 --> 00:13:17.440 Ivan's reign. For the next three years after the Battle 185 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:21.639 of Melodi, Russia was at peace, but Ivan's health continued 186 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.440 to deteriorate. Though after Melodi, Ivan was less terrible, at 187 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:29.240 least for a time. My guess is that there were 188 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:35.399 simply less people to murder. Oftentimes now, instead of outright slaughter, 189 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:40.799 Ivan simply confiscated everything a man had, sometimes including the 190 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:44.159 clothing he walked into the room with. But there is 191 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:49.759 another reason that there's a market decline in outright atrocities 192 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:52.159 within Russia at the time, and that is because there 193 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:58.000 were other external pressures on Ivan's kingdom. The Swedes started 194 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.840 to become more and more of an issue in Livonia 195 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:05.440 after fifteen seventy five, and as we will see, Lithuania 196 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:08.679 was far from being an ally. When the Polish king 197 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:13.240 died in fifteen seventy two, Ivan rather bizarrely put forward 198 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:18.080 his own name as a potential candidate. Had he aggressively 199 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.360 pushed his son instead, and he might have had a chance. 200 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:26.840 But as always Ivan's decisions weren't driven by strategy. They 201 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:32.440 were driven by fear, jealousy, and suspicion. In the autumn 202 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:35.960 of fifteen seventy five, Ivan made what was one of 203 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:41.080 the most bizarre decisions of a reign that is filled 204 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:48.200 with already bizarre decisions. Quite suddenly, without warning, Ivan simply 205 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:52.240 stepped down from the throne and gave a Tartar khan 206 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:56.320 all the rights and privileges of a grand prince, and 207 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:58.480 then he went on to set up his residence outside 208 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:03.799 the Kremlin bounced that henceforth the former Czar Ivan the 209 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.639 fourth would be known as Prince Ivan Muskofki. The man 210 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:11.200 that he placed on the throne was sayin Balut Khan 211 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:15.559 of Kosimov, a tiny, tiny, tiny Tartar enclave on the 212 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:20.159 Oka River. Now a lot of ink has been spilt 213 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:25.399 over the centuries trying to explain this decision. Perhaps Ivan 214 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:30.200 was sick, Perhaps he genuinely wanted a break. I'm not 215 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:34.039 sure I can say definitely. But to be clear, this 216 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:39.879 wasn't an abdication. Ivan left power, but expressly with the 217 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:44.720 proviso that he could reclaim it whenever he wanted. Stepping 218 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:48.600 aside also allowed Ivan to continue to work in secret, 219 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:52.879 which was the way he always liked to operate. Honestly, 220 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:54.559 if I had to guess, I would say that this 221 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:57.879 was just another effort to keep the Boyars off balance 222 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:01.759 and see who might tip the her hand against him. 223 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:06.159 After he stepped down, in late November fifteen fifty five, 224 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.679 Ivan gave an audience to Daniel Sylvester, an Englishman sent 225 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:15.679 by Queen Elizabeth to appease his wrath. Ivan had been 226 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:18.960 extremely displeased with the result of embassies that he had 227 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.399 sent to England. Elizabeth paid no attention at all to 228 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:27.320 Ivan's suggestion that both sovereigns should agree to grant refuge 229 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.320 to the other. In the event of an internal disorder, 230 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:33.600 or rather, she offered him asylum but didn't request asylum 231 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.519 for herself. Elizabeth had no intention of going to Russia. 232 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:41.720 Ivan was infuriated by her lack of reciprocity, her assumption 233 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:44.200 that she was in no need of his help. He 234 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.080 therefore had made life very difficult for English merchants in Russia. 235 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.720 But the audience with Sylvester was friendly. He discussed, among 236 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:56.360 other things, the reason that led him to abandon the throne. 237 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.200 Sylvester was an intelligent man. He knew and spoke rush 238 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.480 and well, and he gives the impression of a man 239 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:08.599 who quite accurately related what Ivan told him. Ivan explained 240 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:11.640 that the real reason why he conducted these negotiations with 241 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:15.400 Queen Elizabeth was that he highly foresaw the variable and 242 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.880 dangerous estate of princes, and that therefore he had come 243 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:22.680 to suspect quote his own magnificence end, quote, by which 244 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.119 he meant that he had started to doubt whether he 245 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:28.519 would long remain on the throne. He went on to say, quote, 246 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:32.000 we have resigned the estate of our government, which hitherto 247 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:34.960 hath been so royally maintained in the hands of a 248 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.880 stranger who is nothing allied onto us our land or crown. 249 00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:42.759 The occasion whereof is the perverse and evil dealing of 250 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:47.599 our subjects, who murmur and repine at us forgetting loyal 251 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:52.200 obedience they practice against our person, the which to prevent 252 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.440 we have given them over unto another prince to govern them, 253 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:58.960 but have reserved in our custody all the treasure of 254 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:02.880 the land was sufficient, train and place for our relief. 255 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:07.680 End quote. One thing Ivan made abundantly clear to the 256 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:13.880 Englishman he had kept his entire treasury intact. He alone 257 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:18.640 possessed the wealth of the Russian Kingdom. That meant no 258 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:22.359 matter his official title or lack thereof, Ivan was in 259 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:26.680 full control. Now. In the summer of fifteen seventy six, 260 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:31.640 Ivan made an ostentatious show of asking his pretend car 261 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.880 this Tartar Khan, for forty thousand rubles and the right 262 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:39.920 to command an army against of all foes, the Tartars. 263 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.640 The sun was obviously granted, but there were no battles. 264 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:49.720 Ivan took an army to the Oka River, where he 265 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.720 spent what could only be described as a lovely holiday. 266 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:56.839 When he came back that autumn, he had evidently had 267 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:00.000 enough of this Sharad and took back power from the tar. 268 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:04.599 It was a weird episode, but now was over. Ivan 269 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:07.640 the Fourth was czar once more, but I'm not sure 270 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:13.480 anyone was happy about that. In fifteen seventy seven, Ivan's 271 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:17.920 armies stormed into Livonia. The kingdom was divided between north 272 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:23.359 and south and totally unprepared for the attack. The Russians 273 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:27.640 drove the Swedes in the north and the Poles in 274 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:33.680 the south back, respectively. The conquest of Livonia had been 275 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.599 one of Ivan's goals since his very coronation, and for 276 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.799 once it seemed like it might be within his grasp. 277 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:45.680 Before the year was out, everything but the towns of 278 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:51.000 Riga and Reval fell into Russian hands. Riga remained under 279 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:54.200 Polish control, and Revolt was still held by the Swedes. 280 00:19:55.720 --> 00:20:00.440 In the end, Ivan's victories proved hollow. He may have 281 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.640 had a plan for conquest, oh but like so many 282 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:08.240 failed conquerors, he had no plan for peace. His armies 283 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:12.559 had devastated the countryside and done little more than breed 284 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:18.200 the conditions for more conflict. By fifteen seventy eight, the 285 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:22.839 Russians were on their heels everywhere towns and cities. They 286 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:27.160 had taken rows and revolt. Supported by the Poles and 287 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:30.880 the Swedes. Ivan attempted to send a massive army of 288 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:34.839 eighteen thousand to put down the rebellions, but a huge 289 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:39.880 combined force of Germans, Lithuanians and Swedes utterly destroyed it 290 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:43.640 in battle. Around one third of the Russian army was 291 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:47.880 totally lost. In the spring of fifteen seventy nine, Polatovsk, 292 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:53.680 a city in Kievan, Russia, fell to the Lithuanians. Ultimately, 293 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:58.000 Ivan had done little other than provoke a hornet's nest, 294 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:03.839 and he was totally unprepared to respond. Worse still, Ivan 295 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:08.880 didn't seem to care at all about the unfolding events well. 296 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:12.359 Ivan presented himself as a man of majesty. He was 297 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.680 becoming increasingly aware that the Livonian War had become a 298 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:20.160 costly mistake, was draining Russia of manpower, its wealth, and 299 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:23.960 its munitions. The landed gentry, who supplied the bulk of 300 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.759 the army were ruined. The peasants were running away from 301 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:31.920 the estates to avoid being taxed and conscripted. The entire 302 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.160 social system was falling apart. By the winter of fifteen 303 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:39.720 seventy nine, Ivan had come to the conclusion that the Church, 304 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.279 which owned vast properties, must be made to turn over 305 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:47.480 some of its wealth. He therefore some of the leading bishops, 306 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:52.079 abbots and archbishops to a conclave in the Kremlin to 307 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:54.599 decide how the wealth of the Church should be put 308 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:58.440 into the service of the state. In an opening speech, 309 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:02.880 Ivan spoke of the nation desperate need, its efforts to 310 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:07.240 replenish the exhausted treasury, and the incessant dangers that confronted 311 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:11.599 the country. Quote. He told them that which he was 312 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:13.880 to say, the best known to themselves. He had spent 313 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:18.119 the most part of his time wits vigor and youth 314 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:23.359 warfaring for their wealth and safety, preservation and defense of 315 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:28.119 his kingdoms and people. What dangers and troubles had passed 316 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:32.480 was not unknown to them. Above many others, they apart 317 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:35.920 to whom he makes his moan, have only reaped the 318 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:40.400 benefit thereof by which his treasuries have been exhausted and 319 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:45.480 theirs increased. Theirs, he means the church safeties, peace and 320 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:50.880 tranquility preserved, and his lessened and daily endangered by foreign 321 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:55.279 enemies and practices both at home and abroad, which he 322 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:59.759 was very sensibly too acquainted with. How could he or 323 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:05.160 they any longer subsist without there the Church's essential assistance. 324 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:09.880 Their willingness must be the touchstone and trial of their fidelity, 325 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.599 as well as their contemplations. Their pretended prayers prevailed not 326 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:18.839 end quote. Now, the Church aimed to give up as 327 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:22.839 little of its property as possible. Had it been more sensible, 328 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:26.759 the Orthodox Church would have offered Ivan half maybe, or 329 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:31.240 something else. It wasn't even close, though. As a result, 330 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:34.519 Ivan reverted to the policies that he knew best. He 331 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:37.599 summoned seven of the fattest monks he could find and 332 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.039 threw them into a bear pit. Each was given a spear, 333 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:43.920 but had no idea how to fight a bear. Each 334 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.319 was mauled to death. Ivan let it be known that 335 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:51.599 this was only the beginning. He proposed to burn seven 336 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:54.559 more monks at the stake unless a full inventory of 337 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:58.880 the church's wealth was forthcoming. Such an inventory was quickly 338 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:03.400 drawn up. On January fifteenth, fifteen eighty, the Church council 339 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:06.759 agreed to pay three hundred thousand marks into the Tsar's 340 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:10.640 treasury to surrender all mortgaged lands in their possession, together 341 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:13.519 with the patrimonial land of the princes, which had been 342 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:16.720 purchased or bequeathed to the Church, and to acquire no 343 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:23.319 further lands. Ivan's treasury was suddenly brimming over. But if 344 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:26.000 the matter of the Church had been resolved, there was 345 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:30.119 still the matter of the impoverished nobility, an issue honestly 346 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.799 that Ivan himself had done much to create. I mentioned 347 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.799 before under Ivan that Russia took its first steps towards 348 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:46.000 imperial expansion. Now it took its first steps towards permanent serfdom. Normally, 349 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.440 in late November, peasants were allowed to leave the service 350 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:53.720 of their lord and hire themselves out for cash. All 351 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:57.119 the death and destruction of the last three decades had 352 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:01.720 left a relative dearth of workers. Hence the peasants could 353 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:04.440 get a good wage if they were willing to travel 354 00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:09.480 and work. But the boyars could no longer afford this arrangement. 355 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:14.119 Ivan sided with the boyars, perhaps for the one and 356 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:18.000 only time, He decreed that peasants could not leave their 357 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:22.839 lord's manor unless it was an emergency. It was the 358 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:26.759 first step down a path that would lead to permanent 359 00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:33.200 and perpetual serfdom in Russia. But the issues facing Ivan 360 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:38.200 predominantly remained in foreign affairs, King Stephen Bathory had now 361 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:41.039 been elected both the King of Poland and the Grand 362 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:44.720 Prince of Lithuania, and he intended to use his full 363 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:48.960 might to destroy Ivan. During that summer, Ivan was in 364 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:51.839 a state of panic. He knew the massive attack on 365 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:54.599 Russia was being prepared, but he didn't know where the 366 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:57.400 attack would come from. He was trying to get a 367 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:01.240 truce on almost any terms he could. He invited King 368 00:26:01.319 --> 00:26:04.359 Bathory to send ambassadors to Moscow, but the king refused, 369 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:08.519 saying that the Russian ambassadors must come to him. He 370 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:12.240 laid down conditions the ambassadors must arrive in the city 371 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:16.839 of Vilno during the five weeks beginning June fourteenth, fifteen eighty. 372 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.279 Ivan replied that it would take five weeks for his 373 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:23.880 ambassadors to reach the Lithuanian frontier, and many more days 374 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:27.240 for them to reach Vilno. The king answered that this 375 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:30.400 was a matter of indifference to him. After five weeks, 376 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:33.359 he would be in the field with his army, and 377 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:36.640 if they wanted to, they could find him there. Knowing 378 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:39.920 that war was imminent, Ivan ordered inspectors to comb the 379 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.119 land for nobles who had gone into hiding. Once found, 380 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:45.240 they would be beaten and then sent under guard with 381 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:49.000 guarantees of good behavior to Novgorod to serve in the army. 382 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:54.079 In the end, King Bathory named his peace conditions. Ivan 383 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:58.160 would have to seed all of Livonia plus Novgorod to him, 384 00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:03.559 otherwise would be war. Realizing that he had no choice, 385 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:06.759 I even prepared for battle. But he still didn't know 386 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:09.440 where the attack would come, and so I even scattered 387 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:12.359 his troops in a dozen different locations all the way 388 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:16.440 from Pistav to Novgorod and Slamensk on the western Diana River, 389 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:19.160 and then put a few and a couple of remaining 390 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:23.400 strongholds in Livonia, especially in northern Livonia, where he expected 391 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:27.000 an attack from the Swedes. King Bartholomew sent a column 392 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.720 of nine thousand men against Smolensk, but in the end 393 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:35.480 that was only a feint. The real attack was directed 394 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:40.720 at Lithuania and Livonia, and this was a long, securitous 395 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:47.440 route through forest and marshlands. Some fifty thousand Polish, Lithuanian, 396 00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:52.519 German and Hungarian troops were quickly outside the walls of 397 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:56.720 the town of Beliki Luki. Biliki Luki was defended by 398 00:27:56.759 --> 00:28:00.559 only six thousand Russians and its wooden outer walls and 399 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:04.799 wooden watch towers were especially vulnerable to the flaming cannon 400 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:08.359 balls used in the King's army. The Russians had just 401 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:11.440