WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:25.039 Hello and Welcome to Western Siev Episode three hundred and 2 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:30.399 twenty five, Ivan The Terrible Part two. On August tenth, 3 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:33.840 fifteen forty nine, the Czarina, which is the name that 4 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.000 they give essentially queen, gave birth to her first child, 5 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:41.200 a daughter named Anna. But at the same time Ivan 6 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:44.399 and his council were debating the looming prospect with a 7 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:50.719 newly belligerent Kingdom of Kazan. Ultimately, not only did Ivan 8 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:53.920 decide on war, but he decided he would go with 9 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:58.479 the army. So on November twenty fourth, fifteen forty nine, 10 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:01.000 Ivan set out from Moscow at the head of the 11 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:07.319 largest Russian army ever, raised nearly sixty thousand men. It 12 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:12.079 took nearly four weeks through freezing temperatures for the army 13 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:16.280 to reach Kazan, the aptly named capital of the Khanate 14 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:22.040 of Kazan. Ivan was the first Russian leader to ever 15 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:27.640 set sight on the city. So much planning had gone 16 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:33.560 into this campaign. Everything was set up for success, but then, 17 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:39.159 as so often happens, on the step, the weather ruined everything. 18 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:45.640 Massive rains and winds made any attack impossible. Ivan held 19 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:48.760 out for a while, but on February twenty fifth, he 20 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:53.480 decided to raise the siege. This turn of events only 21 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.920 seemed to encourage the Tartars to a separate group, who 22 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.959 launched a series of raids that summer and only serve 23 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:06.079 to solidify Russian determination to destroy the two khanates once 24 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.439 and for all. And again, just to be clear, we're 25 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.039 talking about two different groups here. We've got the Khanate 26 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:15.240 of Kazan, which is to the east essentially of modern 27 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:18.960 day Moscow, and then you have the Crimean Tartars, which 28 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.360 is where the Crimea is today. Those are two separate 29 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.599 political entities. So in the spring of fifteen fifty one, 30 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:31.520 the Russian army sets out again back towards Kazan. This time, 31 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:36.960 the Russian plan was to conquer Kazan by threat and negotiation. Hence, 32 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:42.439 Ivan's war council reached out to dissident Khanate nobles, hoping 33 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:46.599 to encourage them to join in on this attack. Embassies 34 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:52.000 arrived shortly thereafter, offering Ivan another pro Russian khan who 35 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.439 could serve. Ivan was receptive, but he wanted more. He 36 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.240 insisted on a law that any Kazan found having Russians 37 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:04.759 as slaves would be executed immediately without a trial. All 38 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:10.800 Russians presently enslaved in Kazan needed to be freed and return. 39 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:15.319 In the end, all this negotiation came to nothing. So 40 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:19.120 it was by fifteen fifty two Ivan became determined to 41 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.280 conquer Kazan by military force. He was twenty one years 42 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:27.960 old and determined to win some martial glory. On January 43 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.039 the sixteenth, fifteen fifty two, Ivan the Fourth set out 44 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:35.000 at the head of yet another army bound for Kazan. 45 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:40.360 But this time Ivan had a slightly different strategy. He 46 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:44.120 moved against the fortress city of Coloma and then wait 47 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:49.400 for his enemy to attack him. Unfortunately, this didn't work. 48 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:51.879 It gave up all the initiative he had as the 49 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:56.919 attacker and cost Ivan the momentum. So here's the thing. 50 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:01.800 Ivan is a lot of things, but brilliant military commander 51 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:06.159 isn't one of them. And so in June, the Tartars 52 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:10.360 were advancing. Their army included both their own troops and 53 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:15.520 borrowed janissaries from the Ottomans. Ivan however, did not flinch. 54 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:18.279 He ordered his entire army to pull up stakes and 55 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:23.240 march on the advancing enemy at once. Interestingly enough, and 56 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.639 our sources on this aren't good. The Khan, for whatever 57 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:31.600 reason got spooked by Ivan's decisiveness and ordered a headlong retreat. 58 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.360 Interestingly enough, and our sources on this aren't good. The Khan, 59 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:41.199 for whatever reason, got spooked by Ivan's decisiveness and ordered 60 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:46.560 a headlong retreat, abandoning camels and baggage carts along the route. 61 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:49.879 The Khan was now decisively beaten, and the way was 62 00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:53.160 open to march on the capital city of Kazan. The 63 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.680 plan of the campaign was carefully worked out from Colomna. 64 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.879 The army would march on to Svinsk in two columns, 65 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:03.319 the northern column taking the northern road, the southern one 66 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:05.839 taking the southern The two columns would then meet at 67 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:08.759 a crossing of the Sura River before advancing from there. 68 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:12.279 Ivan's army was around one hundred and twenty five thousand 69 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:15.000 men strong, but it wasn't a professional army by any 70 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.639 stretched the imagination. The nobles from Novgorod in particular resisted 71 00:05:19.639 --> 00:05:23.439 the idea of going any further. Ivan was irritated, but 72 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.639 later learned it was simply an economic problem. These nobles 73 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:29.360 didn't own enough land to continue to pay for their retinues. 74 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.279 Ivan was able to convince them to keep going, using 75 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:35.879 the alleged riches of Kazan as a sort of carot. 76 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.720 But this medieval military arrangement is going to continue to 77 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:43.680 hamper Russia right up to Peter the Great. On the 78 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:47.040 thirteenth of July, the army reached Moram, not far from 79 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.079 the border, and on the March twentieth of the following year, 80 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.680 his army crossed into Tartar territory. This prompted a variety 81 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:57.480 of chieftains to reverse course and renew their allegiance to 82 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:00.759 the Czar. Ivan forgave them and accepted them and their 83 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:05.079 armed retinues back into the Fold. In August, the Tsar's 84 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:08.879 army penetrated deep into Kazan before finally reaching the capital. 85 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.720 Ivan had no illusions about what was to come. The 86 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.519 Khan was not going to surrender. He would need to 87 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:20.360 take the city by force. The Khan had an army 88 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:24.439 of nearly thirty thousand to defend Kazan. He had heavy artillery, 89 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:30.199 cannons and ample supplies of gunpowder. Both sides were heavily armored, 90 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:32.240 to the extent that in the midst of a battle 91 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.279 it would be almost impossible to tell them apart. Ivan 92 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:38.079 was under no illusions about the difficulty of the tasks 93 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:41.560 that confronted him. The Khan was a determined, daring, and 94 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:45.199 ruthless adversary. He would be expected to use every trick 95 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:47.560 in the book to prevent the city from falling into 96 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:52.000 Russian hands. There was no possibility of a sudden surprise attack. 97 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:54.920 It was not simply a question of conquering a well 98 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.639 defended city, but there was also the question of how 99 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:00.439 to deal with the Khan's armies outside the city. The 100 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:03.560 many soldiers based in the town of Arsk, which lay 101 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:06.399 on the other side of a dense forest stretching almost 102 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:09.639 to the walls of Kazan. The Russians would have to 103 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:13.240 defend themselves against sudden sorties from the forest and against 104 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:18.240 marauders from all directions. All together, there were about thirty 105 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.240 five thousand troops loyal to the Khan outside the city, 106 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:25.480 most of them hidden in the forest of Arsk. Of necessity, 107 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:28.240 I even would have to take special measures to protect 108 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:31.480 his rear, his lines of communication with the supply ships 109 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:35.160 moored on the Volga, and his own person because the 110 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:37.399 Khan knew well that if the Czar was killed or 111 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:42.279 captured the siege would be lifted. On August the twentieth. 112 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:44.800 It appeared that the Russians would be prepared to storm 113 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:48.399 the city. Then they held back. There was a council 114 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:50.759 of war and it was decided that they would wait 115 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:52.879 to try to learn more about the conditions within the 116 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:57.160 city before moving forward. The working assumption of the Russians 117 00:07:57.600 --> 00:07:59.399 was that the city could only be taken after a 118 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:05.680 lengthy sea. The Tartars remained masters of misdirection. At times, 119 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.120 the Russians moved cautiously right up to the walls, seeing nothing, 120 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:13.720 hearing nothing, Assuming their adversaries had simply fled into the forest, 121 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:18.800 then without warning, a flood of enemy warriors would burst 122 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:21.639 forth from one of the gates, taking the Russians by surprise. 123 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:25.040 None of these assaults ever made a serious dent in 124 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.959 the Russian army, but it kept it tentative and unsure, 125 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.799 making matters worse. To the north of Kazan, as I mentioned, 126 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.440 was a dense forest within the Forest of Arsk, they 127 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:41.720 had positioned a relief force. Hence, the Russians always had 128 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:44.759 to be concerned about their flank and could never devote 129 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:48.679 their full attention to the city itself. On August the 130 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:53.039 twenty eighth, a Russian cavalry contingent was devastated by an 131 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:56.480 attack from the forest, forcing the Russian generals to concede 132 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:58.559 that they would never be able to take the city, 133 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:03.080 while the army and the forest of Arsk remained at large, 134 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:07.480 Yet both sides there were no easy victories. Ivan was 135 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:10.120 coming to the realization that the siege might last through 136 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:14.399 the winter, a fact that would provide major logistical challenges. 137 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:20.720 Ivan's real hope were his sappers. These men tunneled underneath 138 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.960 the city walls in the hope of them blowing the mine, 139 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:27.559 collapsing the tunnel, and causing the wall above to come 140 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:32.919 tumbling down. This process was called undermining and was common 141 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:37.519 in medieval siege craft. On September the fourth, the sappers 142 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:41.080 succeeded in crushing Tartar, access to the only fresh water 143 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:45.919 in the city, but still those within fought on. Even 144 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:49.759 after the Russians that autumn hunted down and destroyed the 145 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:53.879 final Khan armies in the forest, Kazan refused to surrender. 146 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.600 The siege was going well, despite the fact outwardly that 147 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:02.879 there was little to show for it, but by October 148 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:06.279 the first, the sappers had finished the main tunnel. The 149 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:09.559 barrels of powder were set and the assault scheduled for 150 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.759 October the second. At dawn that morning, the barrels were 151 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:18.440 set alight. In an instant, the earth rocketed with a 152 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.759 massive explosion, Earth, timber, and stone flew into the air 153 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:26.039 as to massive defensive towers, plus the large section of 154 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:30.960 the wall came tumbling down. The general assault began immediately. 155 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.360 The Russians quickly pushed the Tartars back, but then the 156 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.600 rank and file started looting. Instead of prosecuting the assault, 157 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:42.159 the Russian generals sent in their elite cavalry to restore order, 158 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:46.720 which worked to an extent and the assault reformed. Finally, 159 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.559 the Russians broke into the palace, slaughtering men, women and children. 160 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.039 The Khan escaped with some remnants of his army, but 161 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:58.879 the war was effectively over. The resistance came to an end, 162 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:04.320 and the Tzar effectively annexed Kazan. It would prove to 163 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:08.279 be the military highlight of Ivan's career. He was only 164 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:13.080 twenty two, and frankly, the victory over Kazon would prove 165 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.519 to be the highlight of his entire life, and he 166 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:21.840 was going to live to be fifty four. Now Ivan 167 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.519 had taken no part in the fighting, but he still 168 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:29.279 believed it was his presence on the battlefield that induced 169 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:31.799 God to intervene on the part of the Russian army 170 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:36.440 and deliver them victory. On October fourth, he made his 171 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:40.080 triumphal entry into the city of Kazan for the purpose 172 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:44.399 of choosing a site for a new cathedral. The Cathedral 173 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:50.600 of Annunciation was built astonishingly quickly. In fact, Ivan celebrated 174 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:54.639 a thanksgiving in it before leaving the city. Then Ivan 175 00:11:54.679 --> 00:11:56.919 got even better news. On his way Basked to Moscow. 176 00:11:57.639 --> 00:11:59.559 A messenger met him on the road with the news 177 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:03.440 that on Tastasia had given birth to a son. This 178 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:07.720 was truly a turning point for Russia. Ivan the fourth 179 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:11.279 had become the first Czar and now the first leader 180 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:15.039 of Russia to push its borders south and set Russia 181 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:20.440 on a path toward becoming an imperialistic power. And it 182 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:23.639 also changed Ivan, though not for the better. Now, more 183 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:26.519 than ever, he was determined to rule as an autocrat, 184 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:31.039 independent of the nobles and the boyars. One day, shortly 185 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:34.000 after the conquest of Kazan, he addressed them saying, quote 186 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:37.639 God protected me from you. I could not torment you 187 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:40.600 while cousin stood on its own. I needed you for 188 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.679 all manner of things. But now I am free to 189 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:50.759 inflict upon you my torment and wrath. And he meant it. Then, 190 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:55.799 in March fifteen fifty three, Ivan fell dangerously ill. It 191 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:59.639 was probably a version of pneumonia, but in either event 192 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:03.639 he came close to death. He pulled through, but mentally 193 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:06.320 this event seemed to have pitched him over the edge. 194 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.399 He had always been suspicious, but he emerged from his 195 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:16.879 sick bed as a man beset by paranoia. Still, a 196 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:19.360 few weeks after the birth of his son, I even't 197 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.960 continued to get good news. The Russian army had continued 198 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:26.039 to roll and now had pushed the Russians to the 199 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.840 other side of the Volga. Interestingly, it was during this 200 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:35.720 period when Russia had its first ever diplomatic interaction with England. 201 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:38.559 The England made their way to Russia as a result 202 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.159 of the efforts of John Cabot, the man who sailed 203 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.879 to Newfoundland. The English wanted the right to trade in Russia, 204 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:48.480 and the Czar was only too happy to oblige this request. 205 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.799 As a consequence, the English were given very favorable terms 206 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.799 of trade in England, being permitted to trade throughout Russia 207 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:01.559 without paying any duty whatsoever. Was eager to concede these 208 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:06.399 terms because he wanted to get more sophisticated Western weaponry. 209 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.559 Hence he sent an ambassador to England, who arrived in 210 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:14.200 February fifteen fifty seven during the reign of Mary the First. 211 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:18.240 The Russian ambassador made a good impression on the English 212 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:21.360 and was invited to attend an Order of the Garter 213 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:26.039 ceremony with bi of Queen Mary and King Philip the Second. 214 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:31.360 Back at home, Ivans generals continued to press the war 215 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.960 against the Tartars, now looking to press south into the Crimea. 216 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.000 In February fifteen fifty nine, an army of eight thousand 217 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:44.039 Russians sailed down the Neper River and attacked Crimea from 218 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:48.159 the west. The Tartars were taken by surprise and many 219 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:53.279 were killed. The Russians ultimately succeeded in taking all the 220 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:57.840 islands along the lower Neper River. The times had changed. 221 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:02.600 The once in Vin's old Tartar horsemen were now no 222 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:07.600 match at all for Russian musketeers. Gunpowder was the ultimate 223 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.360 weapon of the day. If you did not have it 224 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:15.360 you no longer had a chance, so the Tartar Khan 225 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:21.440 ultimately retreated to the Crimea. As much as Ivan wanted 226 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:25.000 to finish the job and add Crimea to his growing empire, 227 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:30.879 affairs closer to Moscow demanded his attention first. The Livonians, 228 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.720 who occupied the southern shores of the Gulf of Finland, 229 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:38.559 had been a thorn in moscow side for decades. This 230 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:43.360 region was still ruled by the Livonian Order, an offshoot 231 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:49.159 of the old Teutonic Knights. There was truly no love 232 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:53.639 lost between the Germans and the Russians. The feudal knights, 233 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.320 who had ruled the Livonian territory for hundreds of years, 234 00:15:56.360 --> 00:16:02.240 were masters of the arts of blockade. They didn't allow guns, gunners, armorers, 235 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:07.559 no metalsmiths, no skilled artisans, nothing to go from essentially 236 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.240 Western Europe to Russia under pain of death. Determined to 237 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:14.919 isolate Russia from the military inventions of the West, they 238 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.679 actually succeeded only in alienating the Russians, who regarded the 239 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:23.480 Germans in general as interlopers and all of Livonia as 240 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:29.159 their ancestral properties. For more than fifty years now, Livonia 241 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.919 under the Old Teutonic Knights and Russia had lived together 242 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.720 in an uneasy piece, but at the same time, this 243 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.279 piece was always tentative at best. By the late fall 244 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:43.200 of fifteen fifty seven, on the excuse that the city 245 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:46.360 of Dorpat had failed for fifty years to pay tribute 246 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:50.799 to the Grand Princes of Moscow, Ivan bought together an 247 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:54.600 army of forty thousand men on the Livonian frontier. The 248 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:57.759 failure of Dorpot to pay the tribute was merely one 249 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:01.600 of the things that exasperated Ivan. He wanted to break 250 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:04.640 the blockade, and more than anything else, he wanted to 251 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:08.079 acquire a seaport on the Baltic that the Livonian territories 252 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:13.160 would allow. The Livonians responded quickly. They preferred to fight 253 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:15.400 at a time and place of their own choosing, and 254 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.799 therefore they sent ambassadors to Moscow to negotiate a truce. 255 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:22.839 In particular, they offered to pay a yearly tribute of 256 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:26.039 one thousand gold ducats and a lump sum of forty 257 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.000 five thousand talents. Ivan asked them whether or not they 258 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:31.400 brought the money with them. He said they had not. 259 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:34.799 He therefore invited them to a state dinner, at which 260 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:38.200 they ate off empty plates. Then, still hungry, they were 261 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:42.519 permitted to return to Livonia. Clever, clever, I'll say that 262 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:46.759 in the following month, Ivan unleashed his army. It was 263 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.240 to be a purely punitive expedition designed to ravage and 264 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.440 destroy as much of Livonia as possible. There were to 265 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:57.200 be no frontal assaults on any fortresses or fortress like cities. 266 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:01.079 Those who suffered the most were the peasant, not the 267 00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:05.519 knights or the landowners. Next time, I've bean hoped the 268 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:10.440 Livonians would show up with the money. Now the Russians 269 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.559 were able to capture Narva, and then they did set 270 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:17.480 their sides, ultimately on Dorpot, the largest and the wealthiest 271 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.000 city in central Livonia. By July of fifteen fifty eight, 272 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.279 the Russians surrounded the city. They told the Livonians they 273 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:26.960 would be treated well and with respect if they surrendered, 274 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:29.480 but if they did not, then everyone within the walls 275 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.880 would be slaughtered. Those of then Dorpont really had no choice. 276 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:37.160 There was no one coming to relieve the siege, and 277 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.480 they didn't have sufficient men to resist if the Russians 278 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:45.680 truly decided to storm the walls. Thus Dorpot surrendered and 279 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:49.720 fell temporarily at least under Russian control, a major blow 280 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.559 to the Livonian Order. Now, as an aside, if you 281 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:56.599 are interested in the rise and fall of the Teutonic Order, 282 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.599 I did a long, deep dive on the subject in 283 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:02.759 Western two point zero. You can click the link in 284 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:04.839 the show notes and get a free trial and listen 285 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.200 to it right now if you'd like, And as always, 286 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.079 if you stick around, I appreciate the support. It is 287 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:15.160 what keeps the show moving. But back to our story. 288 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:19.000 Not every town in Livonia surrendered. As a consequence, the 289 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:23.400 Russians continued to pillage and destroy the countryside. In January 290 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:27.880 fifteen fifty nine, they continued that policy. The Russians and 291 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:32.680 Livonian Order fought back. Throughout fifteen to fifty nine, the 292 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:35.359 Russians and Livonian Order fought back and forth in a 293 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:39.720 series of skimmerses and raids. The only real losers, like before, 294 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:43.880 were the peasants. In early fifteen sixty, the city of 295 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:47.440 fell In surrendered to Russia and the Livonian War, at 296 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:51.799 least this one came to an end. Large areas of 297 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.599 Livonia were in Russian hands, but most of Estonia was 298 00:19:55.640 --> 00:20:01.079 still ruled by the Order. Livonia had become a patchwork kingdom. 299 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:06.319 Soon it would be riven with allout civil war. But 300 00:20:06.599 --> 00:20:10.680 as was usual in this time, good news abroad came 301 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:14.759 with bad news at home. On August the sixth, fifteen sixty, 302 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:19.559 the Princess Anastasia died. Her death became another nail in 303 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:24.359 the coffin of Ivan's sanity. While she lived, she had 304 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:29.079 been a moderating influence on the czar, but now she 305 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:52.680 was gone. Now, for the last portion of this episode, 306 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:56.200 I want to talk about something that's tangential to the 307 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.000 actual history of Ivan's reign but really important, and that 308 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:04.160 is Saint Basil's Cathedral. Now, at first there was only 309 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:07.200 a small wooden church on the site where Saint Basils, 310 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.359 which is, honestly, if you google Russia, if you google 311 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:13.759 Moscow in particular, it is the image that comes up 312 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:16.720 over and over and over again. It's the wonderful, colorful 313 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:19.519 domed church that you can picture right now and if 314 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:23.279 you close your eyes, don't if you're driving. The wooden 315 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:25.680 church was built in fifteen fifty three, but it was 316 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.359 actually taken down after only two years. Now, the architects 317 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:32.720 who ultimately put together what we think of as Saint 318 00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:37.119 Basils ironically came from the exact same town. These were 319 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:41.839 two nemmen named Pasnik and Barma. The ground plan was 320 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:45.039 based on the eight pointed Star of the Virgin, an 321 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:48.359 emblem which appears on the robe of the Virgin in 322 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:52.839 the headdress, and numerous Byzantine images that's essentially a Byzantine 323 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:57.359 Basilica copied. There would be a cluster of domed chapels 324 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:00.359 of all different heights and colors around a central fire 325 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:04.559 crowned with a small golden dome. The idea was to 326 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:09.839 capture the grace of a group of budding flowers. The 327 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:15.920 cathedral itself was concentrated on October the first, fifteen fifty nine. 328 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:20.880 In fifteen eighty eight, a noomed domed cathedral was erected 329 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.400 over the tomb of Saint Basil, which is actually where 330 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:27.440 the cathedral gets its name from today Saint Basil. It 331 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.400 was actually canonized by the Orthodox Church that same year, 332 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:34.119 in fifteen fifty eight. Just a quick history about him. 333 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.440 He was born in fourteen sixty nine, the son of 334 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.359 peasants belonging to the village of I'm going to get 335 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:44.519 this wrong, but Yeleichino, near Moscow. He was apprenticed to 336 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.599 a shoemaker, but he possessed that he got the gift 337 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:50.839 of second sight. A customer entered the shop and asked 338 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:52.880 for a pair of boots that would last for several years. 339 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:56.400 Basil took the order and smiled. When he was asked 340 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:58.400 later why he smiled, he said the customer would not 341 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.480 lead a long lasting pair of shoes because he was 342 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:06.480 going to die tomorrow, and it happened soon. He left 343 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:11.160 the shoemaker's shop and became a sort of wandering pilgrim. 344 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:16.200 He would move about Moscow naked, wearing heavy chains, and 345 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.759 sleeping under the stars. One day, in the marketplace, he 346 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:23.960 scattered a tray of cakes on the ground. It had 347 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.039 been revealed to him that the cake maker had added 348 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:29.240 chalk to the dough, and then when it rained subsequently 349 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:33.279 it was clear to everyone. On another occasion, he was 350 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:36.000 walking in the square wrapped in a fur coat given 351 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:39.240 to him by a rich benefactor. A thief approached him, 352 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:42.119 pointing to another pretending to be dead, and asked Basil 353 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.079 for his coat, saying that it would pay for the 354 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:48.319 funeral expenses. Bezel saw through the ruse, which, yeah, I mean, 355 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:51.400 obviously he should if he had second sight. But regardless, 356 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:54.079 he said to the man pretending to be dead, quote, 357 00:23:54.200 --> 00:23:56.759 you will surely die for your wickedness, for it is 358 00:23:56.759 --> 00:24:00.000 written that the wicked shall perish quote. And so it happened. 359 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:05.799 That might have just been coincidence, though Ivan honored Basil 360 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:08.960 and with Anastasia and visited him when he was lying 361 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.400 on his deathbed. When Basil ultimately died in fifteen fifty two, 362 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.480 Ivan accompanied the funeral buyer to a small cemetery on 363 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:21.519 the Red Square. Over the cemetery, the Cathedral of the 364 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:25.440 Intercession of the Virgin was built, but Ivan ordered that 365 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:29.200 Basil's bone should be untouched. The tomb, with the old 366 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:32.319 chains lying on it, became an object of veneration in 367 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:34.839 many miracles were said to have been performed there, and 368 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:38.119 so it was actually only after his death that Basil 369 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:41.079 became a saint as a result of the miracles that 370 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.960 happened after his death. It's a little bit of an 371 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:48.319 interesting story. Regardless, this would be the ultimate site where 372 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:51.000 the cathedral would then be constructed, and that's how the 373 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:56.000 cathedral gets its name. Today, the cathedral remains the supreme 374 00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:01.480 architectural achievement of all of Ivan's reign. But Ivan's reign 375 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:05.319 wasn't just about architecture. The Moscow School of Painting undertook 376 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:09.920 a major program of monumental design throughout Ivan's reign. This 377 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:14.200 is expressed in icons, frescoes, and wood carvings, all created 378 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.640 throughout the time. Most of these have subsequently been destroyed. 379 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:22.960 There survives an astonishingly detailed account written in the seventeenth 380 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.880 century of the frescoes that once adorned Ivan's golden palace, 381 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:32.119 the Zolettaya Palata, where the chosen Council met and foreign 382 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:36.640 ambassadors were received. The frescoes were designed to exalt Ivan 383 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:39.240 and at the same time impress upon him a proper 384 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:43.440 humility towards Christ and the Church. On the ceiling was 385 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:46.720 the inevitable Christ in majesty, seated on a rainbow, with 386 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:50.400 an orb and sceptor reigning over the universe. Below Christ 387 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:54.119 were shown four virtues and four vices. There were panels 388 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:56.920 representing the four seasons, the Sun and the Moon, the 389 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:00.839 Sea and the Earth. Harribles and biblical episodes were also depicted. 390 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:03.920 There was the rich Lazarus in Hell and the poor 391 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.000 Lazarus at his prayers. The parable of the wedding Feast, 392 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:08.920 and the Parable of the Lost Sheep. All of these 393 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:14.359 were shown. Unfortunately, the Golden Palace that housed this fresco 394 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:18.319 and many other items was later torn down and rebuilt. 395 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:22.440 During the reign of Ivan, the Moscow School of painting 396 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:28.640 also enjoyed painting immensely crowded scenes. Compositional rhythm was finally sacrificed, 397 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:32.839 while harmony and simplicity were forgotten in an effort to 398 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:37.079 put as many people impossible into the scene. Now Ivan 399 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:41.160 also seems to have been at least partially responsible for 400 00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:45.160 the introduction of liturgical song into the Russian Orthodox Church, 401 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:51.240