1533-1598.] RUSSIA 93 conquests in Livonia; and the attempt to open up a passage for Russia into the Baltic failed till carried out by the efforts of Peter the Great. One of the chief events of this reign was the conquest of Siberia by a Cossack named Yermak, who had formerly been a robber, but was pardoned by the czar on laying his conquests at the imperial feet. Among many points in which Ivan resembled Henry VIII. was the number of his wives. On the death of the seventh, he was anxious to procure an eighth from the court of his friend Elizabeth of Eng- land, and the daughter of the Earl of Huntingdon was offered to the inspection of the Russian ambassador, Feodor Pisemski, at her own desire and the queen's. She was presented to him in the gardens of York House. The ambassador prostrated himself before her, and pro- fessed to be dazzled by her beauty. Before, however, the negotiations for the marriage were concluded, the young lady, of whom a very favourable account had been trans- mitted to the court of Moscow, became alarmed. Rumours had reached her about the former wives of the czar and his habits. She therefore declined the brilliant prospect of an alliance associated with so many dangers. Full details of the adventures of the Englishmen who resided at Ivan's court will be found in Hakluyt's Voyages. In 1567 Anthony Jenkinson was commissioned by the czar to convey a special message to Queen Elizabeth, " that the Queen's Majestie and he might be to all their eneinyes joyned as one, and that England and Russland might be in all manners as one." In fact Ivan wanted the assistance of the English in his wars against the Swedes and the Poles ; he could appreciate the superiority of their weapons and military tactics ; but Elizabeth only cared to secure a monopoly of trade, which the English for a long time enjoyed, and, according to the historian Ustrialoff, the Russians were but little benefited by it. The declining days of Ivan were embittered by the death of his eldest son, whom he had stricken in a fit of passion with his iron staff. When the paroxysm of his anger was over, his grief was boundless. Full of remorse and continually afraid of conspiracies which might be concocted by his subjects, and harassed by superstitious dread, in which he betook himself to the divination of witches, 1 he expired in the year 1584. Feodor. Ivan was succeeded by his eldest surviving son Feodor (Theodore), at that time twenty-seven years of age. He was feeble both in mind and body, and very superstitious. Fletcher calls him "very simple, and almost a natural," and Solomon Henning, author of a Chronicle of Livonia, says that he was so weak-minded that he could find no greater amusement than tolling the church bells before service. In consequence, the chief power in the empire fell into the hands of Boris Godunoff, 2 the brother-in-law rof Feodor, a man of boundless ambition and great capacity. His inordinate lust of rule he concealed under the guise of piety; his commanding presence extorted respect wherever he went. Between him and the throne were only the sickly Feodor and his brother Dmitri, still a child, who had been previously removed to the town of Uglich in the government of Yaroslavl. For a while Boris had nourished the idea of proclaiming Dmitri illegitimate, on the ground that he was the son of Ivan's seventh wife, a marriage forbidden by the canons of the church. Finally, as there seems every reason to believe, he caused the child to be assassinated at Uglich on the 15th of May 1591. The circumstances of the death of the young prince are involved in mystery ; so much, however, is certain. Dmitri was playing in a court-yard; his gover- 1 Horsey's Diary, edited for the Hakluyt Society, 1856, p. 199. 2 He was of Mongol descent, his ancestor being a certain Murza Tchet. ness Vasilissa Volokhova, his nurse, and a servant-maid were in attendance. Whether from accident or design they all for a time lost sight of him. According to their testimony while under examination, the young prince had a knife in his hand when last seen ; he amused himself with sticking it into the ground and cutting pieces of wood. Suddenly the nurse, on looking round, saw him prostrate and covered with blood. He died almost immediately from a large wound in his throat. The account of how the news was brought to Moscow is described in a highly dramatic manner by Horsey. 3 We have no direct evi- dence of the complicity of Godunoff in this murder ; but there seems little doubt of it. A secret inquiry was con- ducted; the body, however, was not examined, and the commissioners reported that Dmitri had died of a wound accidentally inflicted by himself in a fit of epilepsy. On account of the riot which had taken place at Uglich, Boris proceeded to punish the town. More than two hundred of the inhabitants were put to death and many sent to Siberia. The church bell of Uglich was banished with them and placed in the capital of Siberia ; it was not brought back till the earlier part of the present century. The remains of Dmitri, who was afterwards canonized, were deposited in the cathedral of St Michael, the burial- place of the czars. Soon afterwards a great fire broke out in Moscow, and Boris caused many streets to be rebuilt at his own expense, distributed aid, and exempted the sufferers from taxes; but still the people murmured secretly; they felt that the stain of blood was upon him, and ungratefully accused him of having caused the city to be set on fire. In the same year (1591) the khan of the Crimea made one of his periodical raids against Moscow. He set out from Perekop, and marched in a straight line, everywhere plun- dering and devastating. In these circumstances, Feodor displayed nothing but imbecility. He merely remarked that the saints who protected Russia would fight for her, and again betook himself to his favourite amusement of bell-ringing. Boris, however, showed vigour. In a few days he caused Moscow to be surrounded with palisades, redoubts, and artillery. The Mongols were repulsed with great slaughter; but, although Boris saved his country, he could not secure the goodwill of the people. Indeed, they accused him of having invited the Mongols that the general danger might make them forget the death of Dmitri. The czarina, Irene, wife of Feodor and sister of Boris, about this time gave birth to a female child, which lived but a few days, and Boris was of course accused of having poisoned it. In reality the princess suffered from continual ill-health, and on one occasion we find Elizabeth of England sending her a physician. Boris, however, still persevered in his energetic measures for strengthening the empire. Smolensk was fortified, Archangel built ; and a strong cordon was drawn round the territories occupied by the Mongols. The Swedes. were driven into Narva, and dip- lomatic relations were opened with the European powers. About this time the imbecile Feodor died, and with him became extinct the dynasty of Scandinavian Rurik. This event occurred in 1598, and Boris was elected to Boris, succeed him. Godunoff, however, who felt sure of the crown, at first affected to be unwilling to receive it. He retired to a monastery and was followed by the people, supplicating him to be their emperor. He kept Russia in this state of suspense for six weeks, and then relented. As soon as he ascended the throne, the traces of his vigorous hand could be found everywhere. One of his first plans was the abridgment of the power of the nobility, which had been begun by Ivan III. and continued by Ivan IV. By this a benefit was conferred upon Russia; but Boris also served his own ambition. He was particularly severe to 3 Diary, ed. Bond, p. 254.
