Grand Duke of All Russia from the Chingizid family
400 years ago, 5 January 1616 g., Died Kasimov khan and Grand Prince of All Russia Simeon II Bekbulatovich. Not everyone now remembers such a Russian autocrat, and if his reign is mentioned, it is only as a strange episode of the epoch of Ivan the Terrible. However, contemporaries were extremely serious about the royal dignity of Simeon. No wonder he was repressed first by Boris Godunov, and then by Lzhedmitry. In 1575, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich “abdicated” the throne and raised the Tatar prince, a direct descendant of the khans of the Golden Horde Simeon Bekbulatovich, to him. In the fall, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Simeon was put on the kingdom by Ivan the Terrible: “... he planted Simeon Bekbulatovich as king in Moscow and crowned him with the royal crown, but he himself became Ivan Moscow and left the city, lived on Petrovka; The Tsar gave all his rank to Simeon, and he just went, like a boyar, in shafts ... ”Simeon Bekbulatovich (Semyon Kasimovskiy) stayed the Grand Duke of All Russia 11 months. In August, the city of Ivan the Terrible 1576 officially returned to the throne, and Tsar Simeon complained to the Grand Duchy of Tver with the title of Grand Duke of Tver. Simeon had his grand-ducal court — his orders, his boyars and stolniki, the palace in Tver, and his permanent residence in the village of Kushalino. The lands given to him were disposed of almost arbitrarily, and had a special right to judge and complain about his people.
Simeon Bekbulatovich was a royal blood baptized Tatar, the former king of the Kasimov kingdom Sain-Bulat. His father, Bek-Bulat, was the grandson of Khan Akhmat, who ruled the Golden Horde and the Astrakhan prince. In the genealogical book about him it appeared: "Of a kind of great Hordes of kings." In 1558, Ivan IV invited him from the Nogai Horde to his service. Thus, Sain-Bulat (Simeon Bekbulatovich) was Chingizid, a descendant of Genghis Khan.
As a result, the Kassimov tsar occupied the highest place on the social ladder of the Russian state, second only to the ruling dynasty. Earlier, the kings of the Horde were the actual rulers of Russia, and many aristocratic families were descended from the Tatar khans who were considered people of the “royal root” who had entered the Russian service. In addition, he was a relative of Rurik. In 1573, at the insistence of the king, Sain-Bulat was baptized, taking the name Simeon (Semyon), and at the same time married Princess Anastasia Mstislavsky, daughter I. F. Mstislavsky (his mother was the niece of Grand Duke Vasily III) and I.A. Shuiskaya, marrying thus with the offspring of Ivan III. Mstislavskys were relatives of Tsar Ivan IV, and his relative and Simeon Bekbulatovich became his relatives. In addition, the Mstislavl occurred Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas. So, the marriage of Mstislavskaya representative of the royal family of Chingizidov intermarried with Rurikovich and Gediminovich.
Thus, Simeon was an ideal candidate for the role of Grand Duke of All Russia. He was not associated with the traditional boyar clans that Ivan the Terrible fought against and organized genealogically and in other respects boyars and high-ranking officials, since according to the notions of the time, Simeon was considered a man of very noble birth (of royal blood).
Sain-Bulat was appointed Tsar Kasimov no later than 1570. The Kasimov "kingdom" was a special area of the Russian state. Specific possession of the Tatar khans, who went to the service of the Russian rulers, with the center in the city of Kasimov. It originated in the middle of the XV century and existed for more than 200 years. It was ruled by Tatar "kings" or princes (khans) appointed by the Russian government. The first Khan was Kasim-Tregub (the son of Khan Ulu-Mohammed, expelled from the Golden Horde), to whom the Grand Duke of Moscow Basil II the Dark, for military services rendered to him by the Kazan prince, gave to Gorodets Meshchersky with the parish. The “kingdom” was created in opposition to the Kazan Khanate that appeared at that time, which was rapidly gaining strength and threatening the south-eastern border of the Russian state. It is worth noting that the Tatars actively went to the service of Moscow and played a large role in the subsequent wars of the Russian state. The Kasimov khans did not have political independence; in fact, the governors appointed from the Ambassadorial Order actually controlled all the affairs of the “kingdom”. “Tsars” and princes received a salary from the Moscow government, and the local Mordovian and Meshcher population paid them tribute, they also received dues and various fees.
Sain-Bulat took an active part in the Livonian war at the head of his court of Kasimov Tatars. He proved himself a good commander and faithful companion of the king. Approximately September 1 1575 Ivan IV proclaimed him the Grand Duke of All Russia. Simeon was crowned in the Assumption Cathedral and became known as the “Grand Prince of All Russia,” and the Tsar — Prince Ivan Vasilievich of Moscow. Simeon lived with his family in Moscow, in wealth and lush surroundings, and Ivan the Terrible settled in Petrovka in a modest setting. Ivan Grozny addressed his nominee with an emphatically respectful, bowed low, wrote to him: “Sovereign Grand Prince of All Russia Simeon Bekbulatovich Ivanets Vasilyev with his children Ivants and the Fedorets beat them with the brow”. At the Duma meeting, Tsar Ivan began to sit far from the throne, along with the boyars.
Formally, the state was divided into "sovereign inheritance" and a special "inheritance of Ivan," but in fact, Ivan IV the Terrible remained the ruler of Russia. Having asked for “permission” from Simeon, Ivan “sifted through” the boyars' children in his inheritance, left someone, relocated someone. The rest made up a personal regiment of Ivan the Terrible, but, unlike the oprichniki, they did not receive any special rights.
During his reign on the Russian throne, Simeon chaired the Boyar Duma and issued government decrees on his own behalf. But in essence, he had no political weight and was the formal ruler of the Russian state. Ivan IV continued to retain all the power in his hands. Even letters and documents signed by Simeon and sealed by the state seal were ignored by clerks, only the orders of Ivan the Terrible were executed. Ivan IV received foreign ambassadors, they did not show Simeon Bekbulatovich. Ivan the Terrible led the army in the summer campaign 1576
In August, 1576, Mr .. Ivan Vasilyevich returned to the throne, and Tsar Simeon complained of the Grand Duchy of Tver with the title of Grand Duke of Tver, and Ivan the Terrible again reigned. Simeon retained his grand-ducal courtyard, reigned to go as an autocrat. However, in the year 1584, with the death of Ivan the Terrible, everything changed. With the weak Tsar Fedor Ioannovich, power was in the hands of the royal brother-in-law Boris Godunov. Then black days came for the "king" Simeon. Godunov was suspicious of all rivals - obvious and possible. From the beginning, Simeon's father-in-law, Mstislavsky, who, according to the will of Ivan the Terrible, was a member of the Regency Council under Fyodor Ivanovich, was accused of plotting against Boris Godunov. He was exiled to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, and was tonsured as a monk with the name of Jonah.
After the death of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich and the death of the childless Tsar Fyodor in Russia, Russia faced the necessity of choosing a new autocrat. Godunov began to fear that Simeon would challenge him (although the descendant of Genghis Khan apparently did not have political ambitions) and his opponents would unite around him. And such an opportunity was, if Simeon showed political will, he was Chingizid and a relative of Rurik. His wife was a relative of the royal family, with Sofia Sophia Palaeologus running in her veins. In the marriage they had six children and these were the last descendants of Ivan III and Sophia Paleolog, known from written sources. Therefore, Godunov took measures: kissing the cross to the new tsar, each boyar had to promise "Tsar Simeon Bekbulatovich and his children and no one else in the Moscow kingdom want to see ...". Simeon was deprived of his inheritance and reduced to one Tversky patrimony - exiled to live in the Tver village of Kushalino.
In 1605, those sworn to the son of Godunov, Fyodor II, gave the same commitment. Simeon was poorer and blind. Apparently, he was blinded at the direction of Boris Godunov, the Nikon Chronicle reports: “Put Boris into your heart and from him (Simeon) to be terrified ... and led him to blindness.” The blinded king became a zealous Christian and spent his wealth on the construction of temples and contributions to monasteries, he sent particularly rich contributions to Solovki. However, he was still feared. So, the False Dmitry I tonsured Simeon in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery in the monks under the name of the elder Stephen, and then ordered him to be exiled to Solovki. In 1612, he was returned to Kirillov, since he was no longer a threat. Out of life 5 January 1616 year.
The researchers do not have a single point of view on this event. Since Ivan the Terrible, in the view of many of his detractors, was a “bloody tyrant”, most versions have a negative connotation. Some researchers believe that superstitious Ivan IV wanted to save his life so much because the wise men predicted the imminent death of the Moscow tsar, others wanted to untie their hands to fight for the Polish throne, still others that Grozny restored the oprichnina canceled in 1572. etc. So, historian R. G. Skrynnikov believed that the renunciation of Grozny was connected with a serious internal crisis: “Apparently, the tsar and his entourage long puzzled over how to restore the oprichnichnaya regime and at the same time preserve the appearance of legality in Russian state, while the tendency to joke and hoaxes did not tell the king the right decision. ”
It is possible that in this way Ivan the Terrible reacted to the next boyars plot, trying to confuse opponents by directing the discontent of the enemies to the formal king. So, in 1575, another conspiracy against the king was revealed. There is little information about him. It is known that the conspirators wanted to kill the king and his sons. But it is not known what plans they hatched, whom they wanted to enthrone, how they were revealed. Judging by the number of repressed, the conspiracy was narrow. In August, one of the tsar's entourage, Boris Tulupov, with several accomplices was executed, and later, in the autumn, several more people were executed. Among them were representatives of the highest circles of the Russian nobility - the boyar Peter Kurakin, the okolnichie Buturlin, Borozdin, four representatives of the clergy, headed by the archbishop of Novgorod Leonid. Total punished about 20 people.
In addition, the decision of Ivan Vasilyevich can be explained by two more reasons. First, Ivan the Terrible was truly a believer. Even small repressions, in comparison with the Western rulers, tormented his conscience. As the modern historian V. Shambarov writes: “The appointment of Simeon Bekbulatovich was a form of penance for the king. Ivan Vasilievich humbled his pride and pride. ” Ivan determined himself to sit down in the last places, to accept and bow down - just as they turned to him.
Secondly, Ivan the Terrible was a wise man. After many attempts, Ivan Vasilyevich thought about the future of the state. What will happen if he can still be killed, like his sons? Distemper will begin. A possible successor was needed. A man of high clan (Chingizid and a relative of Rurikovich, Gediminovich) and a good manager. Simeon Bekbulatovich possessed all the necessary qualities: in him and his children there was the blood of three great dynasties of Eurasia (the sacredness of power), was faithful, fought bravely for the motherland. The king weighed it all and gave him the right to the throne! The throne itself gave way formally, but the rights were quite real. The whole ruling class, all of Russia, was shown a possible future king. At the same time, Ivan the Terrible showed potential conspirators that even if his family was destroyed (as it eventually happened, Ivan the Terrible was poisoned, his capable son was killed), you still will not be. The heir to Ivan Vasilyevich will reign. To secure such rights for Simeon, the king restored the long-abolished title of the Grand Duke of Tver. And he gave him a large inheritance - although he had previously destroyed all of them.
In the era of Ivan the Terrible, these steps were obvious to all. No wonder this will take into account such a flexible politician as Boris Godunov. He will take action: the boyars will give an appropriate oath, Simeon will be deprived of his lot and vision. A False Dmitry I will send Simeon to Solovki.
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