Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Western CIV. Episode three hundred and
Speaker 1: twenty three Russian Review. It has been quite a long
Speaker 1: time since we talked about the rus In fact, I'm
Speaker 1: not even sure how long it has been, so in
Speaker 1: order to give context to Ivan the Fourth slash Ivan
Speaker 1: the Terrible, I want to do a quick recap of
Speaker 1: Russian rous history up to this point. First, it's important
Speaker 1: to remember from the outset that Eastern Europe and particularly Russia,
Speaker 1: is ethnically distinct from West Europe. Russia today is Slavic.
Speaker 1: The early Slavs lived in central and eastern Europe beginning
Speaker 1: at some point between the fifth and tenth centuries. Scholars
Speaker 1: believed that the Slavs originated in Eastern Europe and migrated west. Certainly,
Speaker 1: proto Slavic cultures were present in western Poland and Belarus
Speaker 1: by around fifteen hundred BCE. The Slavs were generally enemies
Speaker 1: of the Romans, though the Romans didn't call them Slavs.
Speaker 1: Beginning in the fifth century CE, the Slavs began to
Speaker 1: increasingly put pressure on the borders of the then dying
Speaker 1: Roman Empire. In the five fifties, the Slavs tried to
Speaker 1: capture Thessalonica but failed. Note by this point the Western
Speaker 1: Roman Empire had fallen, so we're really talking about the Byzantines.
Speaker 1: The first source which actually records the Slavs by name
Speaker 1: is not until the sixth century of the Common Era
Speaker 1: the Byzantines acknowledged the Slavs. It was around this period
Speaker 1: that the Slavs melded from the north with Viking traders
Speaker 1: and ultimately founded Kiev, becoming known then in our Byzantine
Speaker 1: sources as the Kievan rus Kiev was a large territory
Speaker 1: then and extended a long distance into what is today Russia.
Speaker 1: In five eighty five, the Slavs marched on Constantinople, but
Speaker 1: failed to take the city. They were, however, able to
Speaker 1: establish a permanent foothold in Greece. The Slavs also frequently
Speaker 1: rated the Byzantine Empire's Danube border, becoming a sort of
Speaker 1: persistent issue for the Byzantines from the sixth century onward.
Speaker 1: Byzantine writers often divide the Slavs into two groups, but crucially,
Speaker 1: they always indicate that they spoke the same language. Scholars
Speaker 1: today believe that many of the previous step tribes that
Speaker 1: lived along the Danube River. Groups like the Sarmatians and
Speaker 1: the Scythians were incorporated into the Slavic tribes over decades
Speaker 1: and over the course potentially of an entire century. Slavic
Speaker 1: and Slava, of course, refers to an ethnic group. In essence.
Speaker 1: Here what we mean is a group of people who
Speaker 1: share a common cultural and particularly linguistic background. Writing scholars
Speaker 1: believe did not come to the Slavic peoples until their
Speaker 1: conversation to Christianity in the ninth and tenth centuries Common era.
Speaker 1: Our major source for the early Ruse was referred to
Speaker 1: as the Russian Primary Chronicle, written in one thirteen CE.
Speaker 1: According to this, three Viking brothers decided to establish three
Speaker 1: kingdoms in the region around Kiev. After the two older
Speaker 1: brothers died, their lands felt the third and final Ruric,
Speaker 1: who was the one who actually founded the city of Kiev.
Speaker 1: When Rurik died, his lieutenant Oleg, ruled until his son
Speaker 1: Egor came of age. It was actually Oleg the lieutenant,
Speaker 1: who rapidly expanded the state so that it was much
Speaker 1: more prosperous by the time Egor came of age. One
Speaker 1: quick fun story about Oleg. He was told a prophecy
Speaker 1: near the end of his life that his favorite horse
Speaker 1: would kill him naturally. He sent the horse away, and
Speaker 1: it later died of perfectly natural causes. Oleg then decided
Speaker 1: to go see the corpse of the horse himself to
Speaker 1: prove that the prophecy had been false, But when he
Speaker 1: stepped on the horse's skull, a poisonous snake slithered out
Speaker 1: and bit him. He died the next day. True or not,
Speaker 1: Oleg is a positive character from the history of the
Speaker 1: russ because he made no effort to keep the Kingdom
Speaker 1: of Kiev from Igor, and the Cave and russ were
Speaker 1: all the stronger for his stewardship. One of the major
Speaker 1: obstacles to Slavic expansion in the Middle Ages were the Kazars.
Speaker 1: These were a Turkic people who originated in Central Asia
Speaker 1: and eventually converted to Judaism. The Kazars controlled a large
Speaker 1: swath of Eastern Europe, including, in its heyday, much of
Speaker 1: modern day Russia. Initially, they allied with the Byzantines against
Speaker 1: the Sassinid Caliphate, but in the nine hundreds CE this
Speaker 1: alliance began to fray. Both the Slavs i e. Kievan
Speaker 1: russ and the Kasars sought to dominate the trade routes
Speaker 1: from China and the East to Europe, which were extremely lucrative.
Speaker 1: The Kasars constantly butted heads with both the Slavs and
Speaker 1: the Vikings, the Vikings, having first arrived in Russia in
Speaker 1: the sixth century, but by the late eight hundreds, having
Speaker 1: merged with the Slavs, were firmly in control of Kiev
Speaker 1: and Novgorod. Novgorod, for reference, by the way, is about
Speaker 1: one hundred miles southeast of Saint Petersburg, so it's pretty
Speaker 1: far north. I'm pointing this out because Novgorod actually plays
Speaker 1: a pretty substantial role in our story to come once
Speaker 1: we get to Ivan. Now, by the nine sixties, after
Speaker 1: a series of war with the Byzantines and the Rus,
Speaker 1: the Kasars were eliminated as a major political force. Hence,
Speaker 1: from a macro level, what you have at this point
Speaker 1: is a shrinking Byzantine Empire to the south and a
Speaker 1: growing Rus state centered around the cities of Kiev and
Speaker 1: Novgorod to the north. And this was the status quo
Speaker 1: roughly at the turn of the millennium. In the tenth century,
Speaker 1: relations between Kiev and Constantinople improved for a time, and
Speaker 1: both sides were able to make advantageous trade deals and treaties.
Speaker 1: Olik had by then expanded the Kievan Roos territory to
Speaker 1: the Nepa River, and under Igor, this boundary moved all
Speaker 1: the way to the Baltic Sea. Then, in the nine
Speaker 1: and sixties, Grand Prince Sladislav the First conquered the Kazars.
Speaker 1: Kiev was now at least territorially larger than the Byzantine Empire.
Speaker 1: In fact, the Kievan Russ now found themselves as the
Speaker 1: most powerful kingdom in the region. It exacted tribute from
Speaker 1: smaller Slavic communities around it and negotiated on equal par
Speaker 1: with the Byzantines, though the latter still referred to them
Speaker 1: as barbarians. At the moment, at least, the Rus were
Speaker 1: still pagan, but that would change under Prince Vladimir the First.
Speaker 1: He was the youngest son of Sladislav, who had conquered
Speaker 1: the Kazars. Vladimir took power in his own right in
Speaker 1: nine seventy eight, following a brief civil war with his brothers.
Speaker 1: He then spent the next decade both expanding and fortifying
Speaker 1: his borders. It was during the same period that he
Speaker 1: sent envoys out to examine the various religions of Europe
Speaker 1: and beyond and to make a recommendation as to what
Speaker 1: religion the Kievan Rush should follow. When the envoys returned
Speaker 1: from visiting various sites, they declared Orthodox Christianity of Constantinople
Speaker 1: to be the most impressive religion they have found. This
Speaker 1: makes perfect sense to me, by the way, Constantinople was
Speaker 1: the most impressive European city at the time, and the
Speaker 1: Isophia that Basilica was definitely the most impressive place of worship.
Speaker 1: There are a few versions of events that then lead
Speaker 1: to Vladimir's ultimate conversion to Orthodox Christianity. One is that
Speaker 1: he simply believed what his envoys told him and he
Speaker 1: converted on the basis of their report. Another has the
Speaker 1: Byzantine Emperor Basil the second approach Vladimir about a potential
Speaker 1: military alliance. To sweeten the deal, Basil offers one of
Speaker 1: his sisters, Anna, in a marriage to Vladimir, and he
Speaker 1: converts to make that happen. The third version of events
Speaker 1: has Vladimir simply falling in love with Anna and converting again,
Speaker 1: so that he could marry her. Regardless, in nine eighty eight,
Speaker 1: the Kievan russ converted to Orthodox Christianity. Vladimir had his
Speaker 1: entire court and all his sons baptized, and immediately ordered
Speaker 1: that all pagan cults and temples should be suppressed. By
Speaker 1: It was still the Middle Ages, and you couldn't change
Speaker 1: the religion of the kingdom by decree, So when Vladimir
Speaker 1: died in ten fifteen, there were still very large pockets
Speaker 1: of resistance throughout the Kievan territory to this new fangled religion.
Speaker 1: Vladimir did become a saint. However, after Vladimir's death, the
Speaker 1: Kievan russ continued to enjoy a relative period of peace
Speaker 1: and prosperity under several successive rulers, notably Yaroslav the Wise,
Speaker 1: but when he died in ten fifty four, all of
Speaker 1: that changed. For decades, after various princes and I'm not
Speaker 1: going to get into this in great detail, fought over
Speaker 1: different territories and the right to command them all, but
Speaker 1: really to no avail. And the reason I'm not going
Speaker 1: to get into it is because it just probably doesn't
Speaker 1: really matter, because in the end, it's the arrival of
Speaker 1: the Mongols. That really changes the situation in Russia and
Speaker 1: sets the stage for the ultimate rise of a new city, Moscow.
Speaker 1: By the late twelfth century, the Mongols were pressing east
Speaker 1: into Kievan territory. Then in twelve twenty three CE, at
Speaker 1: the Battle of Kalka, the Mongols crushed the Kievan Rus
Speaker 1: in battle, effectively eliminating their capacity to resist further Mongol incursions.
Speaker 1: The heavily armored Kievan troops were simply no match for
Speaker 1: the swift Mongolian horsemen on the wide planes of what
Speaker 1: is today Ukraine. In twelve thirty seven, Batu Khan moved
Speaker 1: his own army firmly into Rus territory. He took and
Speaker 1: destroyed several key cities, including Moscow, actually which he burned
Speaker 1: to the ground, and then in twelve forty he captured Kiev.
Speaker 1: In response to these incursions, those who wanted to and
Speaker 1: could resist really didn't have much of a choice but
Speaker 1: to flee further and further north, where they struggled to
Speaker 1: eke out in existence. Once the Rus had been defeated,
Speaker 1: the Mongols marched west toward the Hungarians and Poles, who
Speaker 1: they defeated at the Battle of Mohai but this is
Speaker 1: around the time that Oga Dai Khan dies and the
Speaker 1: Mongol Empire fractures. The territories in Europe then fell under
Speaker 1: the control of the famous or i suppose infamous, Golden Horde.
Speaker 1: The Golden Horde effectively dominated the region for the next
Speaker 1: two centuries, but failed to fan their territory in any
Speaker 1: meaningful way. The Golden Horde built a new capital at Sarai,
Speaker 1: but largely left the Rus alone as long as they
Speaker 1: paid their tribute. One such Rus kingdom that paid tribute
Speaker 1: and was left alone was that of Novgorod, far to
Speaker 1: the north. In twelve forty six, Alexander Newsky came to
Speaker 1: power in Novgorod. While he would win a major victory
Speaker 1: over the Swedes on a frozen lake, which is what
Speaker 1: his last name means, he would decide that the time
Speaker 1: was not right to take on the Golden Horde. Newski
Speaker 1: spent his reign rebuilding Russian infrastructure, passing laws, and continuing
Speaker 1: to establish the Orthodox Church as a sense of cultural identity,
Speaker 1: something that the people could rally around. All of these
Speaker 1: investments would pay off in time, none of them would
Speaker 1: have happened, and Novesky chosen to fight the Mongols, but
Speaker 1: when he died, the Kingdom of the Rus again splintered. Ultimately, however,
Speaker 1: his son Daniel was able to take control over the
Speaker 1: rising Principle of Moscow. Now, Mongol rule had a number
Speaker 1: of consequences. For the Rus, Kiev was absolutely devastated and
Speaker 1: it took years for those roots living further south and
Speaker 1: west to recover. To the North and Novgorod, things were
Speaker 1: not as bad and recovery was a lot faster. The
Speaker 1: Golden Horde, however, built new postal roads, improved communications, and
Speaker 1: introduced badly needed military innovations to Eastern Europe. Importantly, the
Speaker 1: line of power between where the Horde held more sway
Speaker 1: and where it held less. Roughly, it corresponds today to
Speaker 1: the border between Ukraine and Russia and to some extent Belarus.
Speaker 1: So the centuries of Horde rule also led to a
Speaker 1: cultural divide that the world is still experiencing very much today.
Speaker 1: And of course, the Mongol piece was responsible for the
Speaker 1: Black Death reaching Europe, which ravaged the region between thirteen
Speaker 1: fifty nine and thirteen eighty two. As a result of
Speaker 1: the plague, Mongol control over the region began to weaken significantly,
Speaker 1: so much so that in thirteen eighty the Russians won
Speaker 1: their first major victory over the Mongols at the Battle
Speaker 1: of Kulikhovo. Eventually, the Golden Horde fractured into various khanates
Speaker 1: and receded from power, until eventually, by the time of
Speaker 1: Ivan the Fourth, they only effectively held Crimea. All corresponded
Speaker 1: with the rise of Moscow during the reign of Vladimir
Speaker 1: the First. Moscow was still a small trading post, but
Speaker 1: it was relatively safe from Mongol attack compared to other
Speaker 1: potential targets, so more and more people moved there, setting
Speaker 1: the stage for our first true Russian dynasty under Ivan
Speaker 1: the First, who ruled from thirteen twenty five to thirteen forty.
Speaker 1: We don't know a lot about Ivan the First or
Speaker 1: Ivan the Second, but things get a lot more serious
Speaker 1: under Ivan the Third, also known as Ivan the Great,
Speaker 1: who was born in fourteen forty. When he succeeded his
Speaker 1: father in fourteen sixty two, his main goals were continuing
Speaker 1: to get Russia out from under the Mongol Yokin unifying
Speaker 1: the kingdom. In fourteen seventy six, he decided he would
Speaker 1: try his luck and didn't pay the yearly tribute to
Speaker 1: the Khanate. The Horde attacked four years later, but for
Speaker 1: the first time, at least in Moscow's history, Ivan was
Speaker 1: able to win. The Horde had no choice but to
Speaker 1: retreat in the days of Moscow paying tribute to the
Speaker 1: khan were over for good. Once that was done, Ivan
Speaker 1: wanted to unite Moscow and Novgorod. The two cities had
Speaker 1: been enemies for years, but Ivan defeated Novgorod in battle
Speaker 1: and brought the territory under his rule. He was also
Speaker 1: able to take Yaroslav, Rostov and Tavayr, which ended all
Speaker 1: the independent principalities. And so really this is the time
Speaker 1: first time that we can speak of a unified Russia
Speaker 1: in any real sort of sense. Ivan I also formally
Speaker 1: allied the monarchy with the Orthodox Church and established a
Speaker 1: formal code of law for the kingdom. Ivan invented craftsman
Speaker 1: from the foreigner Byzantine Empire to beautify Moscow, hoping to
Speaker 1: turn it into the centure of culture for the author
Speaker 1: the Doc's faith. He also imported what we might call
Speaker 1: an imperial government structure. For centuries, the leading princess had
Speaker 1: ruled the various Russian principalities in conjunction with nobles. These
Speaker 1: numbles were called boyars. Ivan, though, wanted to rule as
Speaker 1: an autocrat, so he did everything he could to crush
Speaker 1: the power of the boyar class to an extent. This
Speaker 1: worked the position of czar, which actually doesn't start until
Speaker 1: we get to his grandson, Ivan the Fourth, was much
Speaker 1: much stronger thanks to Ivan the Third. He died in
Speaker 1: fifteen oh five and power passed to his son, Vasili
Speaker 1: the Third. Vasily continued to expand Moscow's borders, which was
Speaker 1: easier thanks to the rapid decline of the Golden Horde.
Speaker 1: He captured Smolensk from the Lithuanians. But Valissi was much
Speaker 1: more known for his oppressive rule than his expansion is tendencies.
Speaker 1: More than even his father, he brutally oppressed any Boyar
Speaker 1: effort to undercut the power of the king. Had it
Speaker 1: not been for his son Ivan the Fourth slash Ivan
Speaker 1: the Terrible, as you know him, he might actually get
Speaker 1: remembered for that oppressive stuff he did. But as we're
Speaker 1: going to see, Ivan the Fourth takes it to a
Speaker 1: next level. The most important way that Vasily decreased the
Speaker 1: power of the boyars was to replace them in the
Speaker 1: government with what we might call professional technocrats or bureaucrats.
Speaker 1: These men also had the advantage of actually being pretty
Speaker 1: good at their jobs. In reality, while Vasili tried to
Speaker 1: produce an air, these bureaucrats ran the kingdom. It should
Speaker 1: probably come as little surprise, but in this era there
Speaker 1: was a massive disparity of wealth between the rich and
Speaker 1: the poor. In Russia, the peasants were terribly poor, while
Speaker 1: the wealth he lived in relative luxury. Banking was beginning
Speaker 1: to take root in Russia, though most financial transactions, even
Speaker 1: as we transition and dive in the Terrible were still
Speaker 1: gone through barter. Vasily traced his lineage all the way
Speaker 1: back to Rurek, the legendary founder of the Russian state,
Speaker 1: though this was purely a propaganda tool. The biggest issue, though,
Speaker 1: that faced Vasily as he reached middle age, was the
Speaker 1: fact that he didn't have an heir. As a result,
Speaker 1: he divorced his wife, who, according to the sources, willingly
Speaker 1: retired to a convent and married a Lithuanian princess who
Speaker 1: had then been being held as a sort of hostage
Speaker 1: in the court at Moscow. Said Lithuanian girl was twenty
Speaker 1: years old at the time, Vasily was in his forties.
Speaker 1: The two were married in fifteen twenty six, Despite that,
Speaker 1: as the months went by, this younger bride seemed also
Speaker 1: unable to produce an air. Of course, it's highly that
Speaker 1: the women were never the issue here, But in August
Speaker 1: of fifteen thirty the Princess Elena finally gave birth to
Speaker 1: a son I. Then in fifteen thirty two, Elena gave
Speaker 1: birth to a second son named Yuri. But according to
Speaker 1: our sources, he suffered from some kind we're not sure
Speaker 1: a birth defect and was never considered to be a
Speaker 1: realistic option for the throne. Not that that fact will
Speaker 1: prevent the Boyars from trying to use him as a
Speaker 1: puppet alternative to Even later on, in fifteen thirty three,
Speaker 1: Vassily fell very sick. In truth, he had suffered from
Speaker 1: ill health for a long time. The doctors were summoned
Speaker 1: but could do nothing. Sensing the end was near, Vasili
Speaker 1: sent riders to the Kremlin to get his old will.
Speaker 1: He had never actually revised it since his marriage to Elena,
Speaker 1: which seems like a very big oversight to me. And
Speaker 1: this old will still gave power to his brother, Vassily
Speaker 1: didn't want his brother to succeed him, and in fact
Speaker 1: wanted to cut him out of what was going to
Speaker 1: have to be a very lengthy regency, given that Ivan
Speaker 1: at the time was only three years old. In November
Speaker 1: fifteen thirty three, Vasily was able to return to the
Speaker 1: Kremlin in person, where he immediately summoned his privy council.
Speaker 1: There he made them swear an oath that his son
Speaker 1: would be the next ruler of the Ruse. Moreover, the
Speaker 1: regency council would be run by the Princess Elena and Boyars.
Speaker 1: In general, Vasili's brother was effectively cut out. The Boyars
Speaker 1: swore it was done. Vassili died at midnight on December third,
Speaker 1: fifteen thirty three. The people of Moscow wept at his passing.
Speaker 1: For more than seventy years, the people of Moscow had
Speaker 1: been under the capable rule of first Ivan the Third
Speaker 1: and now Vassili. Now they faced a long and uncertain regency.
Speaker 1: As we will see, basically, everyone would soon be praying
Speaker 1: for the return of a ruler more like Vasili or
Speaker 1: his father. Next week we begin Ivan the Terrible, and
Speaker 1: let me tell you he is going to earn that
Speaker 1: name and then some