Boris Godunov

Czar of Russia (r. 1598-1605)

• Born: c. 1551
• Birthplace: Unknown
• Died: April 23, 1605
• Place of death: Moscow, Russia

the harsh rule of Ivan the Terrible and the unsettled period of the Time of Troubles.

Early Life

Boris Fyodorovich Godunov (buhr-YEES FYAHD-uhr-uhv-yihch guh-dew-NAHF) was born about 1551. His father, Fyodor Ivanovich, was a moderate landowner in Kostroma on the Volga River. Most sources claim that the Godunovs were Tatar in origin and could trace their Muscovite service to approximately 1330. At best, Godunov’s education was limited. He was superstitious, which was not unusual for his time. Following his father’s death, Godunov became connected with his uncle, Dmitri Ivanovich Godunov. Through the association, the younger Godunov became a member of the Oprichnina, which was organized by Ivan the Terrible to restructure Muscovy (modern Moscow) and provide a secret police.

Godunov’s career began to advance rapidly in 1570, when he married Maria, the daughter of Grigori Malyuta, a trusted and loyal supporter of Ivan. Thus entrenched at court, Godunov became a constant companion to the czar’s sons and a member of Ivan’s personal entourage. Ivan selected Godunov’s sister, Irina, to be the wife of Fyodor, his second son. This relationship proved beneficial for Godunov when Ivan’s death in 1584 brought the feebleminded Fyodor to the throne. Ivan had previously killed his eldest son in a fit of rage.

There was a drastic difference between the court of Ivan the Terrible and the one ruled by Fyodor and Godunov. Ivan’s years had been full of violence and death. The court of Fyodor and Godunov was peaceful and quiet. Ever careful to govern jointly in their names, Godunov was the actual ruler. While many of the princely boyars resented the rise of Godunov to power, the English actually called him “Lord Protector” of Muscovy.

Life’s Work

To many, Godunov was a handsome and striking figure. He was average in height. He was outwardly kind and possessed a captivating charm. To those who were of princely origin, he displayed an appropriate degree of subservience. Many contemporaries commented on his concern for the poor and observed that Godunov did not like to see human suffering.

One of Godunov’s major achievements was the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate. Muscovites considered themselves the “Third Rome.” To enhance this claim, they demanded that their church be raised to the position of a patriarchate. This dream became possible when Jeremiah II, the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to Muscovy in 1589 to collect alms for the church. Godunov prevailed on him to approve the establishment of a patriarchate for Muscovy. After much consideration, Jeremiah agreed, even allowing the Russian metropolitan Iov to fill the position. The Council of Eastern Churches officially recognized the decision in the spring of 1590.

Perhaps the most significant event in Godunov’s career, however, was the death in May, 1591, of the young Dmitry, the son of Ivan by his seventh wife, Maria Nagoi. While the boy’s possible claim to the throne was weak since his mother’s marriage was uncanonical, he would have been a serious claimant to the throne when Fyodor died without heirs. Godunov immediately appointed a special commission of inquiry to determine what had happened to Dmitry. The official story that emerged was that, while playing a game with friends, the nine-year-old boy suffered an epileptic fit and killed himself with a knife. Some doubted that story.

Another major crisis began to emerge in the late 1590’s because of a decline in population in certain areas of Muscovy. In an attempt to keep people on the lands, Godunov issued in 1597 a decree that ordered all peasants who had deserted the lands since 1592 to be returned to their landlords. This limiting of peasant movement greatly aided the establishment of serfdom.

On January 7, 1598, Fyodor died without heirs, which caused much fear in Muscovy. To Muscovites, the end of a dynasty was similar to the end of the world. The czar was considered a godhead, closer to God than even the patriarch. With the end of the dynasty, many believed that God’s favor had been withdrawn.

According to church sources, Fyodor appointed his wife, Irina, to be the ruler. She refused the position, desiring to enter the church instead. Some supporters urged her to reign but to allow Godunov to rule as he had done under Fyodor. She refused. Meanwhile, Godunov had retired to a monk’s cell to await the outcome. Undoubtedly, Godunov planned his election. He realized that he had to be careful as there were several other possible claimants to the throne. His most serious opponent was Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, from the powerful Romanov family.

The Patriarch Iov and his party came to Godunov and pleaded with him to take the throne. Godunov knew the boyars would accept him only if they could limit the czar’s authority. Since he refused any conditions, he told Iov that he would accept the throne if a zemsky sobor (assembly of the land) asked him to do so. Iov immediately called an assembly that, according to custom, contained clergy, boyars, gentry, and merchants, to meet in February, 1598. The assembly offered the crown to Godunov, who accepted. The boyar-dominated duma, however, did not like the election.

Godunov had many plans for his reign. To solidify his dynasty, he tried to arrange a European marriage for his daughter, Kseniya. His first attempt was with the exiled Gustavus of Sweden, but this failed. He then attempted to arrange a marriage with Duke Johann, the brother of Christian IV of Denmark. Johann died, however, before a marriage could take place. Realizing that Muscovy needed Western technology, Godunov hired many European doctors, engineers, and military men. Though not formally educated himself, he wanted to establish a university in Moscow. When this idea failed, he sent eighteen students to study in Europe, but none ever returned.

Heavy rains began to fall during the spring of 1601 and continued for ten weeks; the grain could not ripen. In mid-August, severe frosts killed what few crops there were in the fields. Grain stocks were soon exhausted, and by winter the people were starving. Muscovy had entered the period known as the Time of Troubles. Nothing Godunov did seemed to help. He opened many granaries in Muscovy and distributed their contents to the people, and he launched a massive building program to increase employment. Yet people still died. To Muscovites, a famine signified a visitation of God’s displeasure, and they worried.

Godunov became paranoid. He was convinced that plots were being hatched against him. He counteracted with an elaborate system of spies, who performed effectively. Indeed, they discovered a serious plot concerning the young Dmitry, who had supposedly died in 1591. The false Dmitry, as he is portrayed, appeared in Poland claiming to be the real czar of Moscow. While King Sigismund III of Poland refused to grant the pretender any official support, the monarch allowed the false Dmitry to raise money and men. With this and strong support from the Catholic Church, the false Dmitry invaded Muscovy to claim the throne. Godunov asserted that the false Dmitry was really the monk Grigorii Otrepev, who had at one time been in the employ of the powerful Romanov family, Godunov’s major continuing opposition.

Godunov continued to fight the invasion, but on April 23, 1605, he died unexpectedly. His sixteen-year-old son, Fyodor, succeeded him, but the false Dmitry seized control of the throne within six weeks. A popular theory concerning Godunov’s death is that he had been poisoned at the dinner table. The more likely story is that he died of heart disease, as he had experienced severe troubles with his heart since suffering a stroke in 1604.

Significance

Godunov stands as a significant figure in the history of Muscovy. Following the rule of the powerful Ivan, who literally reshaped the state in a brutal fashion, Godunov provided a brief period of peace and governmental reorganization. Fyodor was not able to rule effectively; therefore, Godunov was forced to do so. He reestablished respectable relationships with the West, advocating trade and closer contacts. He wanted European technology and European educational standards for his people. One of his most notable accomplishments was the establishment of the patriarchate. Godunov loved power and proved effective at using it.

Despite his accomplishments, Godunov remains a puzzle to contemporary historians. When the Orthodox Church accepted the false Dmitry as the legitimate czar, Godunov became the incarnation of evil, an attempted murderer. Seventeenth and eighteenth century Russian historians apparently accepted the premise that Godunov attempted to have the young boy killed and thus condemned him. The official Russian version was established by a noted Russian historian, N. M. Karamzin, who painted Boris as nothing more than a power-hungry despot who deserved what happened to him. In the West, Godunov is primarily known through a drama written by Alexander Pushkin, who took his position from Karamzin. Another vehicle of knowledge about Godunov comes from the opera composed by Modest Mussorgsky, who was influenced by Pushkin. A historical consensus on Godunov is unlikely.

Bibliography

Dunning, Chester S. L. Russia’s First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Founding of the Romanov Dynasty. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001. Massive volume covering the Time of Troubles, beginning with Godunov’s czarship. Provides post-Marxist analysis of the civil uprisings, claiming that they were struggles between factions of equal rank, rather than initial attempts by serfs to win their freedom. Includes illustrations, maps, bibliographic references, and index.

Emerson, Caryl. Boris Godunov: Transpositions of a Russian Theme. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986. Examines Godunov as he has appeared in the different periods of literature. He explains how Godunov has evolved in literature and how various writers treat him. The notes are valuable in gathering bibliographical information.

Emerson, Caryl, and Robert William Oldani. Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov: Myths, Realities, Reconsiderations. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Study of Mussorgsky’s opera about Godunov details the history of its reception, as well as the relationship between the myth constructed in the opera and the reality of the historical Godunov.

Grey, Ian. Boris Godunov: The Tragic Tsar. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973. This book tends to be one of the most apologetic books in English on the subject. Grey depicts Godunov as an able, honest, and even humane ruler, whom historians have slandered. In his attempt to explain Godunov in a good light, Grey often loses sight of his subject. Makes good use of most published biographies. Easy to read and has an adequate bibliography.

Perrie, Maureen. Pretenders and Popular Monarchism in Early Modern Russia: The False Tsars of the Time of Troubles. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Study of the claims of the impostors to the throne during the Time of Troubles, and the reactions of the populace to their claims. Begins with discussion of Godunov and the false Dmitry. Includes illustrations, maps, bibliographic references, and index.

Platonov, S. F. Boris Godunov: Tsar of Russia. Translated by L. Rex Pyles. Gulf Breeze, Fla.: Academic International Press, 1973. Platonov presents a rather colorful account of his subject’s life with the aim of restoring Godunov to his proper place in historical scholarship. Provides a satisfactory overview of the subject. Contains a short bibliography from the translation and one from the author which is in Russian.

Platonov, S. F. The Time of Troubles: A Historical Study of the Internal Crisis and Social Struggle in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Moscow. Translated by John Alexander. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1970. Platonov offers a picture of the entire period of Russian history known as the Time of Troubles. The work has approximately thirty-seven pages on Godunov and is a good, brief account.

Skrynnikov, Ruslan G. Boris Godunov. Edited and translated by Hugh F. Graham. Gulf Breeze, Fla.: Academic International Press, 1982. Skrynnikov published several articles on Godunov during the 1970’s, and is generally favorable toward him. He disputes the prevailing view that Godunov’s family was descended from Tatar nobility and claims that the story was created to make Godunov appear more in the line of royalty. A straightforward account. The bibliography is short and entirely in Russian, as are most of the notes.

Vernadsky, George. The Tsardom of Moscow, 1547-1682. Vol. 5 in A History of Russia. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1969. Vernadsky is a Russian émigré who has written many books on Russian history. Generally, he presents a balanced but brief view of Godunov. Large bibliography for the entire period.