Elena Glinskaya's great work was completed. From small, separate patches of Russian land, the large, powerful Moscow state was forged. It was not easy for the Moscow collectors of the Russian land to accomplish this task: a lot of lies and violence were happening; but there were even more of them during the appanage unrest and strife. But by the beginning of the reign of Elena Glinskaya, the Moscow state was not afraid of either Lithuania or the Horde; and people’s lives have become calmer than during their time.
Elena Glinskaya. Reconstruction from the skull, S. Nikitina
The power of the Moscow sovereign-autocrat also grew to unprecedented strength and height; but on the other hand, ruling was a heavy burden on him. The stormy evenings in Novgorod and Pskov fell silent, the people began to wean themselves from the old order, they forgot how to take care of their needs and affairs, and in other places, even earlier, common people called themselves “orphans” and “little people” and placed all their hopes and hopes to the sovereign's mercy and protection: the people were greatly receptive during the times of appanage turmoil and Tatar pogroms and extortions - he did not think about liberties and rights, but about their daily bread and protection from violence. The more powerful the autocrat became, the more formidable he was for external enemies and boyars who committed violence against the people, the easier life was for the common people. “Where the king is, there is truth, and fear, and thunder,” the people began to say; but he also developed another proverb: “A king without servants is like without hands!” He needed faithful servants and assistants. The former free warriors, the boyars, without whose advice no business was done, no longer existed. Instead of them there were boyars who tried more to “please” and “strive” for the sovereign than to tell the truth. He had many obsequious servants, but few faithful servants, advisers and assistants. That is why the power of the autocrat often became a heavy burden for him. Great trouble threatened the entire state when Vasily III died and left behind only his young son Ivan and his wife Elena Glinskaya, without an adult heir who could take into his own hands the entire burden of rule. “Without a king, the earth is a widow,” the people used to say.
Vasily Ivanovich understood this completely. Before his death, he told the boyars:
“I order you Princess Elena and my children; serve my princess and my son, Grand Duke Ivan, and protect the Russian state and all Christianity (all people) from all its enemies: from insanity (Muslim) and from Latin and from their own strong people...
The dying autocrat was greatly afraid that strife would begin after his death; that things would not go well for the young heir and his mother Elena Glinskaya, - and he said to his brothers:
- You, my brothers, Prince Yuri and Prince Andrey, would stand firmly in your word, on which you kissed the cross.
The dying man reminds the boyars of his origin, reminds him that he and his son are born sovereigns. In case of sedition and strife, a reliable, intelligent, decisive person is needed - one whose benefits would be associated with the benefits of the child sovereign. Vasily III sees such support in his wife Elena’s uncle, Mikhail Glinsky.
“And you, Prince Mikhailo,” the dying sovereign tells him, “for my son, Grand Duke Ivan, for my Grand Duchess Elena and for my son, Prince Yuri, shed your blood and gave your body to be crushed.”
Guardianship of the child sovereign and administration of the grand duchy were to fall into the hands of Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya. Mikhail Glinsky became her closest and main adviser.
Vasily’s fears were justified: his funeral had just taken place, and the ruler Elena Glinskaya was already informed that some boyars were plotting sedition - they wanted to put Yuri Ivanovich on the throne. By order of the Grand Duchess, he was immediately captured and imprisoned.
Telepnev-Obolensky
Glinsky did not dominate the court for long. Besides him, there was one more person close to the ruler Elena: it was her favorite, Prince Ivan Ovchina-Telepnev-Obolensky. Glinsky and Obolensky could not get along with each other. Elena Glinskaya had to sacrifice one of them - and her uncle Mikhail, accused of ambitious plans, was captured and put in the same ward where he was sitting before. He died in custody.
The reign of Elena Glinskaya and the dominance of Obolensky were not at all to the liking of many. There was great excitement among the boyars. Several of them fled to Lithuania. Others were imprisoned for helping them. And little Ivan’s second uncle, Andrei Ivanovich, Prince Staritsky, got into trouble. They reported on him that he was planning to flee to Lithuania. He, sensing a thunderstorm, thought about defending himself by force, but succumbed to the admonitions of Prince Obolensky and promises that no harm would be done to him, and came to Moscow to justify himself from the accusations; here, by order of Elena, he was imprisoned.
The Polish king Sigismund was happy about the unrest that began in Moscow during the reign of Elena Glinskaya; he thought, taking advantage of the troubles in Rus', to return again the lands taken from Lithuania under Ivan III and Vasily III. In 1534 war began; she walked with varying happiness; but it did not bring any benefit to Poland - Smolensk remained with Moscow. For a long time, the Polish ambassadors bargained with the Russians - they hoped to gain at least something, but they could not achieve anything; a truce had to be concluded in 1537 on the same terms. Elena Glinskaya was glad about this truce: at this time she had to think about Kazan. There was a constant internal struggle here: a conspiracy was formed, and the Khan of Kazan Enalei, a Moscow henchman, was killed. Safa-Girey, the Crimean prince, was proclaimed Khan. He began to attack Russian possessions, and the Crimean Khan also supported him.
Death of Elena Glinskaya
It was necessary to settle these matters; but in April 1538, ruler Elena Glinskaya died unexpectedly. (There is news that she was poisoned.) The Grand Duke was only 8 years old. Boyar rule began.
After the death of Elena Glinskaya, Telepnev-Obolensky was confused, did not know what to do, and sensed trouble above him. Seven days have passed since the ruler passed away. Once, when Obolensky was in the Grand Duke’s room with his sister, Ivan’s former mother, soldiers came and, in the name of the senior boyar and the Duma, seized Obolensky and his sister. Little Ivan cried bitterly and begged not to be touched by his mother and her brother. No attention was paid to his requests; Obolensky and his sister were imprisoned, where he soon died; they say he was starved to death...
The history of the birth of one of the most prominent figures of the Russian throne, Ivan the Terrible, testifies and confirms this unity more than ever. After all, the father of the first tsar was the Russian Grand Duke and native of the Poltava region, Elena Glinskaya.
In 1430, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas donated Poltava and Glinsk to the Tatar Murza Leksada Mansur
The history of the birth of one of the most prominent figures of the Russian throne, Ivan the Terrible, testifies and confirms this unity more than ever. After all, the father of the first tsar was the Russian Grand Duke and native of the Poltava region, Elena Glinskaya.
Ukrainian mother of the Russian Tsar.
Much is said and written about the unity of the two Slavic peoples, as well as about their common history. The history of the birth of one of the most prominent figures of the Russian throne, Ivan the Terrible, testifies and confirms this unity more than ever. After all, the father of the first tsar was the Russian Grand Duke and native of the Poltava region, Elena Glinskaya.
Whose boys will you be?
The Glinsky family was a famous and quite noble family. At the same time, the princely family had Tatar roots. In 1430, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt gave Poltava and Glinsk to the Tatar Murza Leksada Mansurkanovich, who converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Alexander in baptism. Leksada, according to the testimony of many eminent historians, was a direct relative of Khan Mamai, the same one who defeated Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field. The neophyte chose his surname after the name of his estate - Glinsky.
According to the famous Ukrainian historian, local historian, to candidate of historical sciences, honored cultural worker of Ukraine, Vera Nikanorovna Zhuk, it was Leksada, following the city of Glinsk, who founded our village of Glinsk. " Dekhto, having respected him as one of the nashchadki of the Golden Ordn temnik (military leader), and from the 60s of the 14th century. the actual ruler of the Golden Horde, Mamai, after the defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo 1380 r. It is even more likely that Lexa was from the family of Tokhtamish, an ally of Vitovt. 1430 rub. Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt gave (gifted) from Lenna Volodinya Leksadi Poltava, Glinsk, and Glinitsya. Leksada then fell asleep and entered the village of Glinsk on Vorskla, near Opishna. Poltava pre-revolutionary historians had the idea that the ancient town-fort of Opishnya was destroyed by the Golden Ordians 1399 rubles, and then a small settlement called Glinitsa was built. Well, it’s important that it’s actually a whole Opishnya. This first Poltava landowner converted to Orthodoxy, took the name Alexander, and from the town of Glinsky - the nickname Glinsky and thus became the ancestor of the Glinsky princes, who were one of the richest in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania."
Leksada-Alexander Glinsky made the town of Belsk, which is in the middle reaches of the Vorskla (now Kotelevsky district of the Poltava region), the center of his possessions. Ukrainian historians believe that the Belsk settlement preserved here is nothing more than the remains of the legendary capital of great Scythia - the city of Gelon*.
* "….When it comes to toponymic structures, we pay respect to those who, in the deserted outskirts of the Bielskoye fortification, have reclaimed the village of Glinske (Glinsk), which, as O.S. resounding with the name Gelon. It is possible, therefore, to inherit the ancient toponym. Before the speech, the settlement of the Scythian period (VI-V centuries BC) was found. Since the name Glinske (Glinsk) was rightly combined with the toponym Gelon, then there may be further evidence that the Bielsko settlement is an ancient ny Gelon ..."
Boris Andreevich Shramko- an outstanding Ukrainian archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Honored Professor of KhNU. Member of the field committee of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
(These two important comments to this article, highlighted in blue above, were added by us - glinskoe.livejournal.com)
In a short time, his heirs strengthened not only their family glory, but also their status as experienced politicians and governors. The descendants of the Tatar Murza became: Gregory - governor in Ovruch, Bogdan - in Putivl.
The most famous Glinsky was Prince Mikhail Lvovich, a great adventurer and adventurer who had a medical degree, a talented military leader and diplomat, whom all of Europe knew. Mikhail managed to serve with the German Emperor Maximilian, then with Albert of Saxony. He was received in Italy, and he was the marshal of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian court.
During the period of powerful Polish expansion, Mikhail, realizing the threat of total Polishization, decided to raise an uprising, first of all involving his brothers Ivan and Vasily Slipy. The conspiracy of the Ukrainian and Belarusian gentry against King Sigismund I the Old failed and the brothers fled to Muscovy. The brothers' lands were confiscated and only a small part of them went to the daughters of Vasily Glinsky-Slepy, Agrofena and Elena. The eldest daughter bequeathed the lands to her son-in-law Mikhail Gribunovich-Baybuze, but the story of the youngest daughter was much more interesting.
Glinsky at court
It’s no wonder that such an irrepressible politician as Mikhail Glinsky was able to quickly earn the love of Grand Duke Vasily III. The reckless but talented military leader wins several victories over the Tatars and is not shy about flattery and servility. Soon Glinsky receives the rank of boyar, and his wealth triples. However, Mikhail wanted more, especially since there was a war with the Lithuanians. Mikhail managed to become famous in the Moscow service, quarrel with many, harbor a grudge, and even plan to return to Lithuania when the governor did not get Smolensk, which had been taken from the enemy.
Suspicion of treason led Glinsky to the damp prison basements, but when the “tick and rack specialists” were about to come to grips with him, a sensitive question arose - the accused discovered a beautiful niece who made an indelible impression on the Grand Duke of Moscow.
I want to get married!
Vasily III was the son of the Moscow prince Ivan III and the Byzantine princess Sophia Palaiologos. When the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, suddenly died and Vasily became a contender for the throne, his father and mother carefully and for a long time selected a bride for him. According to eyewitnesses, as many as five hundred people were brought to Moscow! The choice fell on Solomonia - the daughter of governor Yuri Konstantinovich Saburov, a moderately well-born boyar, a relative of the Godunovs and Velyaminovs. Almost nothing is known about the personal life of the Grand Duke and his wife. Although it is obvious that Vasily III was nervous about the absence of heirs in a long marriage.
The complexity of the political situation and two rival brothers complicated the prospects of the reign. At this time he meets Elena Glinskaya, who was not distinguished by nobility, but could and knew how to please. As the chronicle indicates, the Grand Duke loved Elena Glinskaya “for beauty for the sake of her face and the beauty of her age, and especially for the sake of chastity.”
In November 1525, while staying in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, Vasily III gathered a council of the closest boyars, where he decided to forcefully divorce and tonsure his wife Solomonia as a nun. “The prince is great... tonsured... Solomonia, on her advice, because of the burden of illness and childlessness; but he lived with her for 20 years, but there were no children.”
This act was unheard of according to the canons of that time. Only a madman could dissolve a marriage sanctified by the church, send his wife to a monastery and plan to marry again while his first wife was alive! The marriage was also opposed because the prince’s chosen one was a foreigner, and her relatives were vassals of the main enemy of Moscow - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
But it wasn't that simple. It is possible that Grand Duke Vasily III used the church conflict between the “non-possessors” and the “Josephites” in this matter. Solomonia was associated with the circle of Maxim the Greek, and Elena Glinskaya was an admirer of Joseph Volotsky and even the “spiritual daughter” of Metropolitan Daniel, who, with his authority, allowed the divorce and blessed the second marriage. Thus, in a sharp and dangerous struggle, where everything was at stake, even life. The Metropolitan strengthened his influence, and the prince strengthened his rear.
But they opposed the marriage, and besides, 47-year-old Prince Vasily Ivanovich took a very bold (from the point of view of breaking traditions) step for the sake of the bride - he shaved off his beard - the pride of a man and, as the chronicler wrote, “wore a mustache.” This caused indignation at court, almost greater than the marriage itself. The Beloozersky monks declared marriage to be fornication, and there were those who saw in this a bias towards Catholicism.
The unrest led to the fact that the Metropolitan himself, a great and prolific master of the epistolary genre, composed a special praise for the marriage and the act of the prince, for “he will appear naked with head and brad... like a strategist of the forces of heaven.” Despite the protests, Vasily III was adamant and in January 1526, “he married a second time, understood Princess Elena, Prince Vasilyeva is the daughter of Lvovich Glinsky; and Metropolitan Daniel married them.” The chronicle has preserved a description of the wedding ceremony, where the smallest details are described, down to how many coins should be placed on the loaves and how the bride should be combed in order to place a kiki (pre-wedding accessory) on her. Not a single grand-ducal wedding has been described in such detail.
"The Case of Solomonia"
Resistance to the marriage and the fight against supporters of Maxim the Greek made it possible for various rumors to spread. This is how one of the first legends about an impostor in Russian history appeared. And the main character in it was the ex-wife of Grand Duke Solomony. The fact is that testimony about Solomonia’s “infirmity” (that is, the inability to give birth to an heir) was heard before a special commission of inquiry, which made it possible for rumors to spread. They talked about the “illness” of the prince himself, and then they began to talk about Solomonia’s pregnancy. These rumors were spread by the wives of the treasury guard Georgy Maly and the bed servant Yakov Mazur, for which they paid. But the rumor that the real heir of the Grand Duke is a certain son of Solomonia, George, has already begun to spread throughout the country. Subsequently, the same rumor claimed that the prince’s son allegedly became the famous robber Kudeyar.
The mysterious divorce and new marriage also make modern historians doubtful, who even find doubts about why Vasily III later gave two volosts to his first wife, hiding under the name “Elder Sophia”...
Happy father
However, there were initially no children in the new marriage. This is how the myth “about the childlessness” of the Grand Duke himself arose. But Vasily III had two sons. The eldest was born on the morning of August 25, 1530. “In the summer of 7030 August 25, in memory of the holy apostles Bartholomew and Titus, at 7 o’clock in the night, a son was born to Grand Duke Vasily from his Grand Duchess Elena and was named Ivan.” According to legend, a furious storm swept across all of Rus' at that hour and thunder struck. The Kazan Khansha, having learned about the birth of the tsar, allegedly told the messengers: “A tsar was born to you, and he has two teeth: with one he can eat us Tatars, and with the other you.”
The heir was named Ivan in honor of St. John the Baptist and the prince-grandfather. The happy family went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, where they invited elders known for their holiness, for example, the elderly Cassian Bosogo, who, for the sake of such an occasion, was “brought like a baby” and held by the hands. The prince's successors were hegumen Daniel from Pereyaslav-Zalessky and monk Iev Kurtsov of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. At the baptism ceremony, Grand Duke Vasily III carried the baby in his arms to the tomb of Sergius of Radonezh, as if entrusting him to the patronage of the great saint.
The Grand Duke was so happy with the heir that he even forgave his first wife and transferred her from the Kargopol monastery closer to Suzdal. He pardoned the punished nobles, and now, feeling his rear, he even allowed his competitors to marry - the brothers Yuri, who was imprisoned in Dmitrov, and Prince Andrei Staritsky.
In honor of the birth of his son and in gratitude to God, a temple was built in the center of Moscow, and a year later the famous tented church appeared in the village of Kolomenskoye. Having become a father at an already mature age, Vasily took touching care of his son. In his letters, he worries about the inflammation of the abscess on the heir’s neck, and inquires about his diet: “And about the food of Ivan’s son, write to me in advance, what Ivan’s son eats, so that I know.” In 1532, Elena gave birth to a second son, who was named Yuri (George), who turned out to be deaf and mute and mentally disabled.
Who will get the throne?
Death overtook the Grand Duke, completely unexpectedly. When the prince was three years old, Vasily III, while hunting near Volokolamsk, suddenly “began to be exhausted naked, and a sore appeared on that nose, and the disease began to be severe due to the sore…”. Apparently, the prince suffered from inflammation of the periosteum, which broke him. Age and illness quickly took their toll and the prince ordered the delivery of a will, the contents of which were allegedly kept secret from Elena. Upon arrival in Moscow, the prince convenes frequent meetings of the boyars, where they decide on the “dispensation of the zemstvo.” According to the chronicles, he did not invite his wife there.
Elena was released to her husband a few hours before her death. The prince told her that: “I blessed my son Ivan with the state and the great reign, and I wrote you in a spiritual letter, as in the previous spiritual letters of our fathers and ancestors by inheritance, like the former great duchesses.” That is, she received the so-called “widow's inheritance.” At the same time, he told everyone “..how she would be without him, how the boyars should come to her.” It is clear from everything that Vasily prepared thoroughly for death.
The transfer of power caused a lot of rumors and discussions. Until now, historians have put forward hypotheses about who the power was transferred to: the regents, the Boyar Duma or the guardians. Among the latter were Dmitry Belsky and Mikhail Glinsky “he is related through his wife.” Although the boyars Andrei Staritsky, Mikhail Yuryev, Vasily and Ivan Shuisky, Mikhail Tuchkov and Ivan Shigona were also considered such - a kind of forerunner of the “seven boyars”. It is clear that there was a redistribution of powers at the bedside...
The guardians crowned three-year-old Ivan a few days after the death of his parent, and then the formal medieval showdown began. The brother of the deceased, Prince Yuri, tried to start a rebellion, but he was arrested and imprisoned, and starved to death. Discord flared up between the Duma and the executors.
Usurper?
Elena, having taken off her mourning, was distracted with her favorite, a handsome and quite good and even dashing warrior, Ivan Ovichnaya-Telepnev. Tula voivode, he distinguished himself in the wars with the Lithuanians, led regiments to Kazan and the rebellious Serpukhov, was named among the boyars, even received the rank and title of equestrian. His sister Agrafena Chelyadina was the wet nurse of the born Ivan. At the burial of the Grand Duke, Ivan was present next to Elena.
The Boyar Duma, which decided to put an end to the dominance of guardians, undertook to patronize Ivan Fedorovich Ovchina. Enormous power appeared in the hands of the ex-stable himself. The relationship between the princess and Ovchina-Telepnev was the subject of discussion both during their lifetime and after. Elena was accused of debauchery. The Swedish diplomat Pyotr Petrey, who visited Russia a century later, wrote about her that the princess went “to a dissolute house and was very debauched and fornicated,” although the foreigner was clearly lying, a hundred years had passed and even when the Swede visited, there were no dissolute houses in Moscow, Moscow but not Europe. One way or another, we have to admit that Elena Glinskaya also became the parent of Russian favoritism, a phenomenon that is very widespread and often even useful for the state body.
Dying, Vasily III asked Mikhail Glinsky: “Shed your blood and give your body to be crushed for my son Ivan and for my wife...”. Mikhail did not like Ovchina and allegedly demanded that his niece break up with her favorite. The reaction was pressure on Elena. The princess is faced with a dilemma - surrender her uncle and receive freedom from her guardians, or surrender her favorite and submit to the executors. She chose the first option, essentially violating her husband's will. It was Ovchina-Telepnev who ordered Elena’s uncle Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky to be sent to prison, where he died.
The rules of “palace coups” came into play. Having eliminated the main enemy, attacks began on the others. Belsky and Yuriev fled, Vorontsov retired. The brother of the Grand Duke Andrei Staritsky was forced to sign a letter of submission to the ruler. He, demonstrating his non-involvement in the encroachment on power, even demonstratively withdrew his troops. However, they surrounded him and tried to destroy him. Then the prince fled to Novogrod, where he tried to raise the people there, but was captured. He was thrown into prison with what looked like an iron mask placed on his head. There Staritsky died, his supporters were brutally executed.
Or a reformist?
Elena Glinskaya did not rule for long, about five years, but her reign went down in history with its innovations. First of all, Helena concluded a truce with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, although at first there was some war. Under Elena, peaceful ties were established with the Nogai Horde, Livonia and the Astrakhan Khanate and Kazan, which made it possible to carry out work to strengthen the Moscow Kremlin, build China Town and build a new defensive system around the city. The cities of Tver, Vladimir, and Yaroslavl, which suffered from various troubles and misfortunes, were also restored.
Elena partially limited the land ownership of monasteries and ordered the persecution of “dashing people” to be transferred to provincial elders - to the districts, which became the forerunner of local government reforms.
One of the outstanding reforms of this time was the monetary reform. The fact is that the Muscovy of that time was developing at a particularly rapid pace. The growth in the production of goods did not correspond to the production of coins, which was taken advantage of by counterfeiters who created pure “financial chaos.” The princess ordered the withdrawal of the multi-weight coin and the printing of a single coin, and it was with her that the penny was born. Before that, the system was based on the “Moskovka” or “saber” coin, named after the image of a warrior with a saber. It was then replaced by silver Novgorod money, which, because of the image of a warrior with a spear, began to be called “kopek”.
Behind death is death
The Lvov chronicle testified: “... the state of Great Russia ruled for four years and four months for the sake of this, because I was young, Grand Duke Ivan ... her son, who was eight years old from his birth.” On April 3, 1538, Elena Glinskaya passed away. The Grand Duchess was buried according to tradition, but in a hurry and with animation. The boyars received Elena's death with delight. Many loudly and publicly, without mincing words, scolded Glinskaya. Mikhail Tuchkov, as the Tsar himself later claimed, uttered “arrogant words” at his death and thereby became like a viper regurgitating poison.
A wooden coffin with a body dressed in a shroud made of yellow Italian silk with a blue border was placed on a sleigh and carried in their hands to the ancestral necropolis of the Moscow grand-ducal family - the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin. Such a pagan custom persisted in remote corners of Russia almost until the end of the 19th century, but was officially abolished by Peter I. Glinskaya “was established in the Church of the Ascension of Our Lord ... near the Grand Duchess Sophia of the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich.” In the tomb, the body was moved to a stone sarcophagus, near the grave of Sophia Palaeologus, which was closed with a lid with carved words. Later, a slab and a tombstone were erected over it.
The death of Elena was followed by reprisals against her favorite. Ivan Ovchina-Telepnev was taken six days later. Initially, he was going to be executed, “and after the death of the Grand Duchesses on the 6th day of the Grand Duke, the boyars caught Prince Ovichnu-Teplepnev and put him in a blanket in the Embankment, where Glinsky was sitting, and the burden on him, iron, was the same as on Glinsky , there he died.” After Ovchina’s death, his sister, the heir’s nurse Agrafena Chelyadina, was tonsured and sent to a monastery. Even his son Fyodor was impaled, and his brother Ivan Drogobuzhsky was beheaded on the ice of the Moscow river...
"The Poisoning Case"
The Grand Duchess suddenly died, since there was no evidence of illness in the young and strong-looking woman. The Austrian diplomat Sigismund Herberstein began to talk about the poisoning in his “Notes on Muscovy,” who was an actual witness to what was happening. The facts were partially supported by the official version, which was supported by Ivan the Terrible himself, who adored his mother.
They started talking about the murder in detail after the reconstruction of the tomb. The coffin was partially disturbed back in 1929. Then after in the thirties. Finally. In 1999, a substantive study of the sarcophagus began, where fragments of secular clothing, a lace headdress and bones were discovered. The skull was significantly damaged, but leading forensic specialist Sergei Nikitin, using Gerasimov’s method, was able to restore the appearance of the Grand Duchess.
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During the five years of her regency, Elena Glinskaya managed to do as much as not every male ruler manages to accomplish in decades.
The father of the powerful and cruel Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible), Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III, was married twice: the first time to Solomonia from the Saburov family, chosen from one and a half thousand noble and boyar daughters - brides. This marriage was childless, and after 20 years of marriage, Vasily III imprisoned his wife in a monastery. The Moscow prince chose his second wife “for the sake of her face and the beauty of her age.” She became the young beauty Princess Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya, who was not distinguished by great nobility: her ancestors descended from Khan Mamai. An alliance with her did not promise any benefits for the prince, but Elena knew how to please. Vasily was so passionate about his young wife that he was not afraid to break the custom of antiquity by “putting the lads on the brada” (that is, shaving). Four years after the wedding, Elena and Vasily had an heir, the future Tsar of All Rus' Ivan IV,
However, the childhood of the autocratic youth was cloudless only for the first three years: in 1533, the prince’s father fell ill and soon died. His last will was to transfer the throne to his son, and Vasily III ordered his “wife Olena” with the boyar council to “keep the state under her son” until he matured.
Quite quickly, Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya became the sole ruler of Russia as regent for the young Ivan.
Glinskaya managed to uncover several boyar conspiracies aimed at overthrowing her, and she managed, although this required her to repeatedly disregard moral standards, to remain on the throne.
During the five years of her regency, Elena Glinskaya managed to do as much as not every male ruler manages to accomplish in decades. The Lithuanian king Sigismund was deceived in his calculations of internal unrest and the powerlessness of the state
Led by a woman: he started a war against Russia in 1534 and lost it. Glinskaya's government continuously waged intricate intrigues in the field of international diplomacy, trying to gain the “top” in the rivalry with the Kazan and Crimean khans, who half a century ago felt like masters on Russian soil. Princess Elena Vasilievna herself conducted negotiations and, on the advice of her faithful
the boyars made decisions. In 1537, thanks to her far-sighted plans, Russia concluded a treaty with Sweden on free trade and benevolent neutrality,
Elena Glinskaya's domestic policy was also very active. Like Princess Olga, who founded in the 10th century. many new settlements, Elena Vasilievna gave the order to build cities on the Lithuanian borders, to restore Ustyug and Yaroslavl, and in Moscow in 1535, the builder Pyotr Maly Fryazin founded Kitay-Gorod. During the reign of Glinskaya, an attempt was made to change the system of local government, which anticipated the future reforms of Ivan IV.
Emigrants from other countries flocked to rich Muscovy; 300 families left Lithuania alone. However, the largest event in Elena Vasilievna’s domestic policy was the monetary reform of 1535, which led to the unification of monetary circulation in the country and overcoming the consequences of fragmentation. All over Russia they began to print money with the image of a horseman with a spear, which is why the coins were called “kopecks”.
Broad prospects opened up for Elena Glinskaya. In 1538, she was only 30. She was young, ambitious, full of plans... But on April 3, she died suddenly. Many of Glinskaya’s contemporaries believed that she was poisoned, but there is no verified information about this.
The reign of Elena Glinskaya (briefly)
In 1526, Elena Glinskaya, whose family, according to some sources, comes from the legendary Mamai, was chosen to play the role of the wife of Grand Duke Vasily the Third, who had to divorce his first wife because she could not give birth to a child. Glinskaya gave birth to Vasily the Third two sons - Yuri and Ivan. In 1533, the prince died, and Elena had to implement a complex but necessary plan.
Thus, in 1533, Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya actually carried out a palace coup, as a result of which she managed to remove from power the so-called regents, guardians who were appointed by Vasily the Third. At the same time, the princess did not spare anyone and not only her brother-in-law, but also her own uncle fell under her hand.
Thanks to the successful implementation of her plan, Princess Elena was able to become the first ruler of the Russian land after the great and wise Princess Olga (it is also worth mentioning Sofya Vitovna, whose power was more formal than real).
At first, as a woman of Lithuanian upbringing and morals, the attitude towards the ruler was ambiguous among both the masses and the boyars. Her closest ally was considered her married favorite Ivan Telepnev-Obolensky. It was this connection between Elena and her slightly arrogant disposition that caused extreme discontent among the boyars. For expressing such thoughts out loud, Elena’s uncle Mikhail was imprisoned by his niece for many years, where he died in agony from hunger.
In 1537, Glinskaya managed to conclude a peace treaty with Sigismund the First, who was the king of Poland at that time. Thanks to this document, Russia was not only able to end the Russian-Lithuanian war on favorable terms, but also formed a strong alliance between the two states, aimed at repelling their opponents. In addition, during the reign of Glinskaya, the Kitai-Gorod wall was erected, and many other large cities were fortified.
However, historians consider the most important moment in the history of the reign of Princess Elena Glinskaya to be her financial or monetary reform, which began in 1535. This reform actually introduced a single currency throughout Russian territory. It was a silver coin weighing 0.34 grams.
The princess died on April 4, 1538. Most researchers believe that Elena was poisoned by Shuisky. This is also indicated by data from a study of Glinskaya’s remains, analyzes of which indicate the presence of poison in the body.
Despite the measures taken, troubled times followed after the death of Vasily III. The Grand Duchess's character turned out to be extremely harsh: for the sake of preserving the integrity of the state and strengthening its power, it did not spare any of its enemies. During this period, not only obvious enemies suffered, but also some of their close relatives. The first of them to pay was her uncle, Prince Mikhail Glinsky, for conspiring with a strong boyar group: he was first accused of poisoning the Grand Duke and taken into custody, and then killed under torture.
Few could imagine a situation with events unfolding in such a way. In fact, the largest princely and boyar families were broken or destroyed because they did not want to serve the ambitious plans of the Grand Duchess. At the same time, a new wave of devoted and ambitious statesmen and commanders appeared. The most famous in those days was Ivan Fedorovich Telepnev, Prince Obolensky (Obolensky or Abolensky; prince of the northern Rus with the capital of Obo or Abo - the principality of Obodrits, Obederites of Russian chronicles). Over time, his last name began to be written: Telepnev-Obolensky. This prince was not only a devoted heart friend of Elena Vasilievna, but was distinguished by a sharp mind and amazing acumen, which contributed to the strengthening of the power of the Grand Duchess.
Immediately after the death of her husband, she began to strengthen Moscow by building the walls of China Town. She also ordered the immediate construction of new settlements in border areas, and in a number of large cities - Yaroslavl, Vladimir. In Ustyug, fortified centers - Kromy - were restored and rebuilt. Her important steps to strengthen state lands and property while limiting large boyar and especially monastic land ownership, as well as an attempt to change the system of local government, anticipated the future reforms of her son Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible.
The monetary reform carried out in 1535 contributed to the unification of monetary circulation in the country and brought the Moscow state onto an independent financial path. From that time on, metal money was minted in Russia for several centuries. The coin was based on a silver ruble equal to 100 kopecks. Under Elena Glinskaya, the main and most common monetary unit of Muscovite Rus' was the “penny” - a coin with the image of a horseman (according to some sources - St. George the Victorious, according to others - the Grand Duke, but not with a sword, as before, but with a spear, hence name of the coin). Glinskaya's monetary reform completed the political unification of the Russian lands and largely contributed to their more intensive development, as it contributed to the revival of the economy.
The reorganization of local self-government (“gut reform”) also began: Elena ordered the removal of affairs from the jurisdiction of the governors and their transfer to the provincial elders and “favorite heads” subordinate to the Boyar Duma, since the governors, as they reported to her, were “fierce, like Lvov.” This largely anticipated the future reforms of Glinskaya’s son, Ivan the Terrible.
Elena Vasilievna conducted foreign affairs no less successfully: she concluded treaties and agreements with all her border neighbors: the Crimean and Kazan khans, the Swedish king. She treated her “countrymen” quite harshly: after King Sigismund’s proposal to return the lands annexed by her late husband, she sent an army led by her favorite Prince Telepnev-Obolensky. After a series of successful battles, the successful Muscovite in 1536 achieved the signing of a peace treaty on terms favorable to himself, which for some time stopped the claims not only of the Lithuanian side.
The short reign of the Grand Duchess helped the country overcome many conservative ideas about interstate and internal relations, which led the Moscow state onto the path of reform and progress. There were rumors that the Grand Duchess took revenge on many boyar families for the disgrace of her ancestors. On the night of April 3-4, 1538, Elena Glinskaya died suddenly (according to some sources, she was only thirty years old, but the exact date of birth is unknown, so her age is also unknown). The chronicles do not mention her death.
Most contemporaries had no doubt that she was poisoned in order to seize power by the Shuisky boyars. Vasily Vasilyevich Shuisky becomes the de facto head of state. He organized the arrest of Prince Ivan Ovchina-Telepnev (Obolensky) and his placement in a monastery prison, where he died the next year. In order to eliminate supporters of strong grand-ducal power, Vasily III's nephew, Prince Ivan Fedorovich Belsky, was arrested and Metropolitan Daniel was deposed, who was replaced by Metropolitan Joseph for the next four years. The counter move was the elimination of Vasily Shuisky, but his brother Ivan Vasilyevich retained power.
For several years, the rule of the Shuisky family continued, who firmly held onto power and were not going to give it up to anyone. At the beginning of January 1544, the unexpected happened: the Grand Duke ordered Andrei Mikhailovich Shuisky to be captured and given to the hounds, who killed the prince. The chronicle reported that “the hounds killed him at the Kuretny Gate by order of the boyars, and he lay naked in the gate for two hours.” Thus, the era of the Shuiskys ended and the regency ended. The Glinsky star shone again on the political horizon: their clan was once again in power.
The rise to power of the group of princes Glinsky was characterized by the strengthening of the influence of the Catholic Church in Muscovy and the creation of Jesuit colleges in the country already in 1545. Starting next year, active propaganda of Catholicism in the country began: Herbest, a Jesuit, rector of the College in Yaroslavl, wrote a series of articles calling Russians to convert to Catholicism.
In 1547, the solemn wedding of Ivan IV to the throne took place (January 16) in Moscow. February 2 - marriage of Ivan IV with Anastasia Romanova Zakharyina, daughter of the okolnichy Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Koshkin. Since that time, a new force has entered the political arena, led by the founder of the Romanov family - the father-in-law of the Moscow Tsar. Using the church differences of the Glinsky family, a prominent boyar, okolnichy and representative of a large family, Roman Yuryevich, began to prepare the ground for the extermination of representatives of a rival dynasty. He received unexpected help in the form of a great misfortune that befell Moscow in the summer of 1547. On the day of the summer solstice, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Moscow, on Arbatskaya Street, caught fire. Windy weather contributed to the rapid spread of fire throughout the city, which brought untold disasters: the fire lasted for several days, and most of the Moscow buildings burned out, and about two thousand people died.
In the following 1547-1560. The activity of the “Chosen Rada” is very noticeable - a circle of people close to the tsar (A.F. Adashev, princes A.M. Kurbsky, Kurlyatev, Odoevsky, Vorotynsky, Gorbaty-Shuisky, boyars Viskovaty, Sheremetev, priest Sylvester, Metropolitan Macarius). During these same years, the formation of the order system took place.
The next mention in the chronicles of the Glinski family occurred only a quarter of a century later: on July 7, 1572, Sigismund II Augustus, the childless king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, died (it received a new name after the Union of Lublin in 1569 between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Russia and Litvinsk (White Russia). With his death The Jagiellon dynasty was interrupted. His death led to a long period of internal political unrest. This period was called "Bezkruly" (1572-1577). A commissioner named Voropai arrived in Moscow with a proposal to place Tsarevich Fyodor on the Polish-Lithuanian throne. Ivan the Terrible refused the offer to take the vacated throne for himself or one of his sons, putting forward unacceptable conditions. From then on, the Glinskys no longer shined in Muscovy and Russia.
On March 18, 1584, at the age of 54, Ivan the Terrible, who ruled Muscovy (not counting the reign of Glinskaya and the boyars) for 37 years, died. He left two heirs: Fedor (from his first marriage to Anastasia Romanova) and Dmitry (from his seventh marriage to Maria Naga). March 19(29). The accession to the throne of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, the last tsar from the Rurik dynasty, was accompanied by another round of courtyard intrigues involving the largest influential groups.
April. The conspiracy of Bogdan Belsky (a descendant of the brother of Vasily III), who is trying to elevate the young Tsarevich Dmitry to the throne and restore the oprichnina order. Belsky fails, and he is exiled by the governor to Nizhny Novgorod, and Maria Naguya and Dmitry are sent to live in Uglich. Tsar Fyodor's uncle (on his mother's side) Nikita Zakharyin (Romanov) comes to the fore. May 31 (June 10) - convening of the Zemsky Sobor and the crowning of Fyodor Ioannovich.
The following years passed under the sign of the struggle of the boyar groups and the frequent death of the reigning persons. In 1598, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik family, died. Then, over the course of 15 years, there were several kings belonging to various noble families. Finally, at the beginning of 1613, Moscow Patriarch Filaret (Fyodor Romanov, brother of the late Tsarina Anastasia Romanova) managed, with the help of the Cossacks, to “push” the candidacy of his 16-year-old son Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov for the position of Tsar.
From that time on, a new era began - the era of the Romanovs.
