Of which there are almost twenty tribes of rulers of Rus', they descend from Rurik. This historical character was presumably born between 806 and 808 in the city of Rerik (Raroga). In 808, when Rurik was 1-2 years old, the domain of his father, Godolub, was seized by the Danish king Gottfried, and the future Russian prince became half an orphan. Together with his mother Umila, he found himself in a foreign land. And his childhood is not mentioned anywhere. It is assumed that he spent them in Slavic lands. There is information that in 826 he arrived at the court of the Frankish king, where he received an allotment of land “beyond the Elbe”, in fact the land of his murdered father, but as a vassal of the Frankish ruler. During the same period, Rurik is believed to have been baptized. Later, after being deprived of these plots, Rurik joined the Varangian squad and fought in Europe, not at all as an exemplary Christian.
Prince Gostomysl saw the future dynasty in a dream
Rurikovich, family tree whom Rurik’s grandfather (Umila’s father) saw, as the legend says, in a dream, made a decisive contribution to the development of Rus' and Russian state, since they ruled from 862 to 1598. The prophetic dream of old Gostomysl, the ruler of Novgorod, showed precisely that from “the womb of his daughter a wonderful tree would sprout that would feed the people in his lands.” This was another “plus” in favor of inviting Rurik with his strong squad at a time when civil strife was observed in the Novgorod lands, and the people suffered from attacks from outside tribes.
The foreign origin of Rurik may be disputed
Thus, it can be argued that the family tree of the Rurik dynasty began not with foreigners, but with a person who by blood belonged to the Novgorod nobility, who long years fought in other countries, had his own squad and the age allowed to lead the people. At the time of Rurik’s invitation to Novgorod in 862, he was about 50 years old - quite a respectable age at that time.
Was the tree based on Norway?
How did the Rurikovich family tree form further? The image shown in the review gives a complete picture of this. After the death of the first ruler of Rus' from this dynasty (the Book of Veles testifies that there were rulers in the Russian lands before him), power passed to his son Igor. However, due to the young age of the new ruler, his guardian, which is allowed, was Oleg (“Prophetic”), who was the brother of Rurik’s wife, Efanda. The latter was a relative of the kings of Norway.
Princess Olga was co-ruler of Rus' under her son Svyatoslav
Rurik's only son, Igor, born in 877 and killed by the Drevlyans in 945, is known for pacifying the tribes subordinate to him, going on a campaign against Italy (together with the Greek fleet), trying to take Constantinople with a flotilla of ten thousand ships, and was the first military commander Rus', which he encountered in battle and fled from in horror. His wife, Princess Olga, who married Igor from Pskov (or Pleskov, which may indicate the Bulgarian city of Pliskuvot), brutally took revenge on the Drevlyan tribes that killed her husband, and became the ruler of Rus' while Igor’s son Svyatoslav was growing up. However, after her son came of age, Olga also remained a ruler, since Svyatoslav was mainly engaged in military campaigns and remained in history as great commander and conqueror.
The family tree of the Rurik dynasty, in addition to the main ruling line, had many branches that became famous for unseemly deeds. For example, Svyatoslav's son, Yaropolk, fought against his brother Oleg, who was killed in battle. His own son from the Byzantine princess, Svyatopolk the Accursed, was something like the biblical Cain, since he killed the sons of Vladimir (another son of Svyatoslav) - Boris and Gleb, who were his brothers by his adoptive father. Another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise, dealt with Svyatopolk himself and became the prince of Kyiv.
Bloody feuds and marriages with all of Europe
We can safely say that the family tree of the Rurikovichs is partially “saturated” with bloody events. The diagram shows that the reigning ruler from his presumably second marriage with Ingigerda (daughter of the Swedish king) had many children, including six sons who were rulers of various Russian appanages and married foreign princesses (Greek, Polish). And three daughters who became queens of Hungary, Sweden and France also by marriage. In addition, Yaroslav is credited with having a seventh son from his first wife, who was taken into Polish captivity from Kiev (Anna, son Ilya), as well as a daughter, Agatha, who presumably could have been the wife of the heir to the throne of England, Edward (the Exile).
Perhaps the distance of the sisters and interstate marriages somewhat reduced the struggle for power in this generation of Rurikovichs, since most of the time of the reign of Yaroslav's son Izyaslav in Kiev was accompanied by a peaceful division of his power with the brothers Vsevolod and Svyatoslav (the Yaroslavovich triumvirate). However, this ruler of Rus' also died in battle against his own nephews. And the father of the next famous ruler of the Russian state, Vladimir Monomakh, was Vsevolod, married to the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh the Ninth.
In the Rurik family there were rulers with fourteen children!
The Rurik family tree with dates shows us that this outstanding dynasty was continued for many years to come by the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh, while the genealogies of the remaining grandchildren of Yaroslav the Wise ceased in the next hundred to one hundred and fifty years. Prince Vladimir had, as historians believe, twelve children from two wives, the first of whom was an English princess in exile, and the second, presumably a Greek. Of this numerous offspring, those who reigned in Kyiv were: Mstislav (until 1125), Yaropolk, Vyacheslav and Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky). The latter was also distinguished by his fertility and gave birth to fourteen children from two wives, including Vsevolod the Third (Big Nest), so nicknamed, again, for the large number of offspring - eight sons and four daughters.
What outstanding Rurikovichs do we know? The family tree, extending further from Vsevolod the Big Nest, contains such eminent surnames as Alexander Nevsky (grandson of Vsevolod, son of Yaroslav the Second), Michael the Second Saint (canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church due to the incorruptibility of the relics of the murdered prince), John Kalita, who gave birth to John the Meek, who, in turn, gave birth to Dmitry Donskoy.
Formidable representatives of the dynasty
The Rurikovichs, whose family tree ceased to exist at the end of the 16th century (1598), included in their ranks the great Tsar John the Fourth, the Terrible. This ruler strengthened autocratic power and significantly expanded the territory of Rus' by annexing the Volga region, Pyatigorsk, Siberian, Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms. He had eight wives, who bore him five sons and three daughters, including his successor on the throne, Theodore (the Blessed). This son of John was, as expected, weak in health and, possibly, in mind. He was more interested in prayers, the ringing of bells, and the tales of jesters than in power. Therefore, during his reign, power belonged to his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov. And subsequently, after the death of Fedor, they completely switched to this statesman.
Was the first of the reigning Romanov family a relative of the last Rurikovich?
The family tree of the Rurikovichs and the Romanovs, however, has some points of contact, despite the fact that the only daughter of Theodore the Blessed died at the age of 9 months, around 1592-1594. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - first new dynasty, was crowned in 1613 by the Zemsky Sobor, and came from the family of boyar Fyodor Romanov (later Patriarch Filaret) and noblewoman Ksenia Shestova. He was a cousin’s nephew (to the Blessed), so we can say that the Romanov dynasty to some extent continues the Rurik dynasty.
In March 1584, one of the most merciless rulers of the Russian state, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, died after a serious illness. Ironically, his heir turned out to be the complete opposite of his tyrant father. He was a meek, pious man and suffered from dementia, for which he even received the nickname Blessed...
A blissful smile never left his face, and in general, although he was distinguished by extreme simplicity and dementia, he was very affectionate, quiet, merciful and pious. He spent most of the day in church, and for entertainment he liked to watch fist fights, the fun of jesters and fun with bears...
Born for the cell
Fedor was the third son of Ivan the Terrible. He was born on May 11, 1557, and on this day the happy king ordered the foundation of a temple in the Feodorovsky monastery of Pereslavl-Zalessky in honor of the heavenly patron of the son of St. Theodore Stratilates.
It soon became clear that the boy, as they say, “is not of this world.” Looking at his growing son, Ivan the Terrible even once remarked:
- He was born more for a cell and a cave than for sovereign power.
Fyodor was short, plump, weak, pale-faced, with an uncertain gait and a blissful smile constantly wandering on his face.
Tsar Feodor I Ioannovich
In 1580, when the prince was 23 years old, Ivan IV decided to marry him. At that time, brides for royalty were chosen at special bridesmaids, for which girls from the most noble families came to the capital from all over the state.
In the case of Fedor, this tradition was broken. Grozny personally chose his wife - Irina, the sister of his favorite former guardsman Boris Godunov. However, the marriage turned out to be happy, since Fyodor adored his wife until his death.
The only contender
Despite the fact that Fyodor was completely unsuited to become the head of state, after the death of Ivan the Terrible he turned out to be the only contender for the throne. The Tsar's two sons, Dmitry and Vasily, died in infancy.
A worthy successor to Ivan the Terrible could be his second son, his father’s namesake, Tsarevich Ivan, who helped his father rule and took part in military campaigns with him. But he unexpectedly died three years before the death of Ivan IV, leaving no offspring. There were rumors that the king killed him in anger, without meaning to.
Another son, who, like the one who died in infancy, was named Dmitry, was not even two years old at the time of the death of Ivan the Terrible; of course, he could not yet take over the state. There was nothing left but to place the 27-year-old blessed Feodor on the throne.
Realizing that his son was not capable of ruling, Ivan the Terrible, before his death, managed to appoint a regency council to govern the state. It included the Terrible’s cousin Prince Ivan Mstislavsky, the famous military leader Prince Ivan Shuisky, the Tsar’s favorite Bogdan Belsky, as well as Nikita Zakharyin-Yuryev, the brother of the first wife of Ivan IV.
However, there was one more person, although he was not included in the number of regents of the new blessed king, but also thirsted for power - Boris Godunov.
Power of the council
The reign of the regency council began with repression. Ivan the Terrible died on March 18, 1584, and the very next night the Supreme Duma dealt with all the former royal confidants who were objectionable to the new government: some were put in prison, others were expelled from Moscow.
Meanwhile, a rumor spread throughout the capital that Ivan the Terrible did not die a natural death. It was rumored that he was poisoned by Bogdan Belsky! Now the Likhodey, being the regent of Fedor, wants to remove his son in order to place him on his throne best friend- 32-year-old Boris Godunov.
Portrait of Boris Godunov
A rebellion broke out in Moscow. It got to the point that the rioters laid siege to the Kremlin and even brought up cannons, intending to take it by storm.
- Give us the villain Belsky! - the people demanded.
The nobles knew that Belsky was innocent, however, in order to avoid bloodshed, they convinced the “traitor” to leave Moscow. When the people were informed that the criminal had been expelled from the capital, the riot stopped. Nobody demanded Godunov's head. Of course, he was the brother of the queen herself!
Fyodor was horrified at the sight of the popular uprising. He looked for support and found it - next to him was Boris, the brother of his beloved wife Irina, who, without any malicious intent, contributed to his friendship with the young tsar. Soon Boris became perhaps the main figure in the state.
"Man of God"
On May 31, 1584, as soon as the six-week prayer service for the repose of the soul of Ivan IV ended, Fyodor’s crowning ceremony took place. On this day, at dawn, a terrible storm with a thunderstorm suddenly hit Moscow, after which the sun suddenly began to shine again. Many regarded this as a “foreshadowing of disasters to come.”
The regency council appointed by Ivan the Terrible was not in power for long. Soon after the flight of the first regent Belsky, Nikita Zakharyin-Yuryev became seriously ill. He retired and died a year later. The third regent, Prince Ivan Mstislavsky, contacted the conspirators dissatisfied with the rise of Godunov.
Alexey Kivshenko “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich puts a gold chain on Boris Godunov.” 19th century painting
Mstislavsky agreed to lure Boris into a trap: invite him to a feast, but in fact lead him to assassins. But only the conspiracy was revealed, and Prince Mstislavsky was exiled to a monastery, where he was forcibly tonsured a monk.
So, of the regents appointed by Ivan IV, only one remained - Prince Ivan Shuisky. However, he did not have much power. By that time, everyone understood that only Godunov, who was already openly called the ruler, was at the head of the state.
What about the king? The ascension to the throne did not in any way affect Fedor’s attitude towards state affairs. He “avoided worldly vanity and boredom,” relying entirely on Godunov. If someone addressed a petition directly to the tsar, he sent the petitioner to the same Boris.
Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. Sculptural reconstruction based on the skull.
The sovereign himself spent time in prayer, walked around monasteries, and received only monks. Fyodor loved the ringing of bells and was sometimes seen personally ringing the bell tower.
At times, Fedor’s character still showed his father’s traits - despite his piety, he liked to watch bloody games: he loved to watch fist fights and fights between people and bears. However, the people loved their blessed king, because the weak-minded in Rus' were considered sinless, “people of God.”
Childless Irina
The years passed, and in the capital hatred of Godunov, who usurped power, grew more and more.
– Boris left Fedor only the title of Tsar! - both the nobility and ordinary citizens grumbled.
It was clear to everyone that Godunov occupied such a high position only thanks to his relationship with the tsar’s wife.
“We’ll remove my sister and remove my brother,” Boris’s opponents decided.
Moreover, Irina herself did not suit many people. After all, she did not sit in the mansion with folded arms, as befits a queen, but, like her brother, she studied state affairs: received ambassadors, corresponded with foreign monarchs and even participated in meetings of the Boyar Duma.
However, I visited Irina serious drawback- She couldn’t give birth. Over the years of marriage, she became pregnant several times, but was never able to bear a child. The opponents of the Godunovs decided to use this fact.
The wife of the quietest and most humble Russian Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, Tsarina Irina Fedorovna Godunova.
In 1586, a petition was delivered to the palace: “ Sovereign, for the sake of childbearing, accept a second marriage, and release your first queen to the monastic rank" This document was signed by many boyars, merchants, civil and military officials. They asked to send childless Irina to a monastery, as his father had done with one of his childless wives.
The Moscow nobles even chose a new bride for the tsar - the daughter of Prince Ivan Mstislavsky, the same regent whom Godunov exiled to a monastery. However, Fedor flatly refused to part with his beloved wife.
Godunov was furious at this news. He quickly revealed the names of those who were up to no good. As it turned out, the conspiracy was led by the last of the royal regents, Prince Ivan Shuisky, as well as his relatives and friends. As a result, not Irina, but her opponents were forcibly sent to the monastery.
The end of the line
Meanwhile, another heir of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, was growing up in Uglich. It was he who should have taken power if Fyodor never had children.
And suddenly in 1591 a tragedy occurred. Eight-year-old Dmitry played “poke” with his friends - they threw a sharp nail at a distance from behind the line into the ground. As eyewitnesses later claimed, when it was the prince’s turn, he had an epileptic attack and accidentally hit himself in the throat with a nail. The wound turned out to be fatal.
Since then, Fedor remained the last in the family. And since he refused to accept another woman besides Irina, all the state’s hope was in her. A year after the death of Tsarevich Dmitry, she still managed to give birth to a child, though not an heir, but an heiress.
The granddaughter of Ivan IV was named Feodosia. However, she did not live very long. Blessed Fyodor never had any other children. Therefore, when at the end of 1597 the 40-year-old king fell seriously ill and in January next year died, and with his departure the famous line of Moscow rulers was interrupted.
Thus ended the rule of the Rurik dynasty, which ruled Rus' for 736 years.
Oleg GOROSOV
Rurikovich- princely and royal dynasty that ruled in Ancient Rus', and then in the Russian kingdom from 862 to 1598. In addition, in 1606-1610 the Russian Tsar was Vasily Shuisky, also a descendant of Rurik.
Numerous noble families go back to Rurik, such as the Shuisky, Odoevsky, Volkonsky, Gorchakov, Baryatinsky, Obolensky, Repnin, Dolgorukov, Shcherbatov, Vyazemsky, Kropotkin, Dashkov, Dmitriev, Mussorgsky, Shakhovsky, Eropkin, Lvov, Prozorovsky, Ukhtomsky, Pozharsky, Gagarins, Romodanovskys, Khilkovs. Representatives of these clans played a significant role in social, cultural and political life Russian Empire, and then Russian diaspora.
The first Rurikovichs. Period of the centralized state
The Kiev chronicler of the early 12th century brings the Rurik dynasty “from beyond the sea.” According to chronicle legend, the peoples of the north of Eastern Europe- Chud, all, Slovenes and Krivichi, - they decided to look for the prince among the Varangians, who were called Rus. Three brothers responded to the call - Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. The first sat down to reign in Novgorod, the center of the Slovenes, the second - on Beloozero, the third - in Izborsk. Rurik's warriors Askold and Dir, having descended the Dnieper, began to reign in Kyiv, in the land of the glades, saving the latter from the need to pay tribute to the nomadic Khazars. Many scientists identify Rurik with the Scandinavian king Rorik of Jutland; F. Kruse was the first to put forward this hypothesis in 1836.
The direct ancestors of the subsequent Rurikovichs were the son of Rurik Igor (ruled 912-945) and the son of Igor and Olga (945-960) Svyatoslav (945-972). In 970, Svyatoslav divided the territories under his control between his sons: Yaropolk was planted in Kyiv, Oleg in the land of the Drevlyans, and Vladimir in Novgorod. In 978 or 980, Vladimir removed Yaropolk from power. In Novgorod (Slovenia) he planted his eldest son - Vysheslav (later Yaroslav), in Turov (Dregovichi) - Svyatopolk, in the land of the Drevlyans - Svyatoslav, and in Rostov (land Merya, colonized by the Slavs) - Yaroslav (later Boris), in Vladimir -Volynsk (Volynians) - Vsevolod, in Polotsk (Polotsk Krivichi) - Izyaslav, in Smolensk (Smolensk Krivichi) - Stanislav, and in Murom (originally the land of the Murom people) - Gleb. Another son of Vladimir, Mstislav, began to rule the Tmutorokan principality - an enclave of Rus' in the Eastern Azov region with its center on the Taman Peninsula.
After Vladimir's death in 1015, his sons launched an internecine struggle for power. Vladimir wanted to see his son Boris as his successor, but power in Kyiv ended up in the hands of Svyatopolk. He organized the murder of his three brothers - Boris and Gleb, who later became the first Russian saints, as well as Svyatoslav. In 1016, Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod, opposed Svyatopolk. In the battle of Lyubech, he defeated his younger brother, and Svyatopolk fled to Poland to his father-in-law Boleslav the Brave. In 1018, Boleslav and Svyatopolk set out on a campaign against Rus' and were taken to Kyiv. Having returned the Kiev throne to his son-in-law, the Polish prince returned. Yaroslav, having hired a Varangian squad, again moved to Kyiv. Svyatopolk fled. In 1019, Svyatopolk came to Kyiv with the Pecheneg army, but was defeated by Yaroslav in the battle on the Alta River.
In 1021, the war with Yaroslav was waged by his nephew, the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, and in 1024 - by his brother, the Tmutorokan prince Mstislav. Mstislav's forces won a victory at Listven near Chernigov, but the prince did not lay claim to Kyiv - the brothers entered into an agreement under which the entire left bank of the Dnieper with its center in Chernigov went to Mstislav. Until 1036, there was dual power in Rus' between Yaroslav and Mstislav Vladimirovich, but then the second died, leaving no sons, and Yaroslav concentrated all power in his hands. To prevent a repetition of civil strife, he drew up a will, according to which Kyiv and Novgorod remained in the hands of one person - the eldest son of Izyaslav. In the south of Rus', power was to be shared with Izyaslav by his brothers Svyatoslav (Chernigov) and Vsevolod (Pereyaslavl). After the death of Yaroslav in 1054, this “triumvirate” shared supreme power in the state for 14 years, after which Rus' again faced strife. The Kiev table was captured by the Polotsk prince Vseslav Bryachislavich (in 1068-1069), and then Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (in 1073-1076). After 1078, when Vsevolod Yaroslavich became the prince of Kyiv, the situation in Rus' stabilized. In 1093, after his death, internecine strife broke out with new strength: Yaroslav’s grandchildren and great-grandsons competed for power. A particularly fierce struggle took place in the South-West of Rus'; in addition to the Russian princes, foreigners - the Hungarians and the Polovtsians - were involved in it. At the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, the descendants of Yaroslav were able to agree on the distribution of volosts: at the congress of princes in Lyubech (1097) it was decided that the descendants of the three eldest sons of Yaroslav Vladimirovich should own the lands received from their fathers - “patterns”.
The period of strengthening the supreme power in Rus' began after the reign in Kyiv in 1113 of the son of Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh - Vladimir Vsevolodovich, who also received the nickname “Monomakh”. He reigned in Kyiv until 1125. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mstislav Vladimirovich, after whose death the process of separation of the principalities became irreversible. Several appeared on the territory of Rus' state entities. Of these, only the Kyiv land did not have its own dynasty or its semblance, and, as a result, until the invasion of Batu, Kyiv was the object of constant struggle between different princes.
Rurikovich during the period of fragmentation
All lands gained political independence at different times. The Chernigov land actually received it before 1132. By decision of the Lyubech Congress, Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich, sons of Prince of Kyiv Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, and then their descendants - the Davydovichs and Olgovichs. In 1127, the Murom-Ryazan land was separated from the Chernigov principality, inherited by Oleg and Davyd’s brother Yaroslav and later divided into Murom and Ryazan. The Przemysl and Trebovl principalities united in 1141 under the rule of Vladimirko Volodarievich, the great-grandson of the eldest son of Yaroslav the Wise Vladimir. Vladimirko made Galich his capital - this is how the history of the separate Galician land began. The Polotsk land in 1132 again passed into the hands of the descendants of Izyaslav Vladimirovich. Representatives of the senior branch of the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh (from his first wife) ruled in the Smolensk and Volyn lands. His grandson Rostislav Mstislavich became the first independent prince in Smolensk and the founder of an independent Smolensk dynasty. In the Volyn land, a local dynasty was founded by Izyaslav Mstislavich, the brother of the previous one, and in the Suzdal (Rostov) land - the son of Monomakh from his second marriage, Yuri Dolgoruky. All of them - Rostislav, Mstislav, and Yuri - at first received their lands only as a holding, but after some time they secured them for themselves and their closest relatives.
Another territory where the power of the Monomashichs was established was the Pereyaslavl land. However, a full-fledged dynasty did not form there - both branches of Monomakh’s descendants argued over ownership of the land.
Turovo-Pinsk land for a long time passed from hand to hand, and only by the end of the 1150s did the princely family, founded by Yuri Yaroslavich, the grandson of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, gain a foothold there. In 1136 it finally separated from Kyiv and Novgorod land- after the expulsion of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, the period of the Novgorod Republic began here.
In conditions of division of the state, the most powerful princes tried to expand their possessions and political influence. The main struggle took place over Kyiv, Novgorod, and, from 1199, the Galician table. After the death of Vladimir Yaroslavich, the Galician land was captured by the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, who united the Galician and Volyn lands into a single power. Only his son Daniel, who ruled the Galician-Volyn principality from 1238 to 1264, was able to finally restore order in these territories.
Monomashichi - descendants of Yuri Dolgoruky
Suzdal Prince Yuri Dolgoruky had several sons. In an effort to protect the Suzdal land from internal fragmentation, he allocated land to them not within its borders, but in the South. In 1157, Yuri died and was succeeded in the Suzdal land by Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174). In 1162, he sent several brothers and nephews outside the Suzdal region. After his death at the hands of the conspirators, two of his expelled nephews - Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavich - were invited by the Rostov and Suzdal residents to the throne. Meanwhile, the “younger” cities of Suzdal land supported the claims to power of Andrei’s brothers - Mikhalka and Vsevolod. In 1176, after the death of his brother, Vsevolod began to reign individually in Vladimir, and a year later he defeated the Rostov squad of Mstislav Rostislavich near Yuryev. Vsevolod Yurievich ruled until 1212, he received the nickname Big Nest. He began to title himself "Grand Duke."
After the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest, his sons, and then the sons of his son, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, became the Grand Dukes of Vladimir for several decades, one after another. In 1252, Alexander Nevsky received the label for the great reign of Vladimir. Under him, the authority of the Grand Duke's power strengthened, and Novgorod and Smolensk finally entered its field of influence. After the death of Alexander, under his sons Dmitry Pereyaslavsky (1277-1294) and Andrei Gorodetsky (1294-1304), Vladimir’s political weight, on the contrary, weakened. The “ladder system” of succession to the Vladimir throne assumed that the great reign would belong to the eldest descendant of Vsevolod the Big Nest, and from the beginning of the 14th century the great princes of Vladimir preferred to live in the centers of their fiefs, only occasionally visiting Vladimir.
Moscow dynasty
The independent Principality of Moscow arose under Alexander Nevsky. Daniil of Moscow became the first prince. By the end of his life, he annexed a number of territories to his inheritance, and the young principality began to quickly gain strength. The goal of Daniel's eldest son, Yuri (1303-1325), was the great reign of Vladimir: in 1318, having defeated the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich, Yuri received the label, but in 1322 Khan Uzbek transferred it to the Tver prince Dmitry. Having gone to the Horde to defend his rights, Yuri was killed by Dmitry Tverskoy. Childless Yuri was succeeded by his younger brother Ivan Danilovich, better known by his nickname Kalita. His goal was the rise of Moscow. In 1327, he took part in the punitive campaign of the Tatars against Tver, the inhabitants of which killed a large Tatar detachment, and soon received the khan's label for the great reign of Vladimir. Both Kalita and his sons Semyon the Proud (1340-1353) and Ivan the Red (1353-1359) strove in every possible way to maintain peace in relations with the Horde. Ivan the Red was succeeded by his young son Dmitry. Under him, the great reign of Vladimir became the “patrimony” of the Moscow princes. In 1367, the Moscow ruling elite took into custody the Tver prince Mikhail, who came to the negotiations. He miraculously escaped from captivity and complained to his son-in-law, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd. The Lithuanians marched on Moscow three times. In 1375, Dmitry Ivanovich marched to Tver with a large army. The city withstood the siege, but Mikhail Tverskoy decided not to risk it and recognized himself as a vassal of Dmitry of Moscow. In the mid-1370s, Dmitry began to prepare for war with the Horde. Many princes supported him. In 1380, Russian troops won a decisive victory over the forces of the Horde commander Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo, but the princes failed to quickly unite in the face of a new danger. In the summer of 1382, Moscow was captured by the troops of Khan Tokhtamysh, and Dmitry had to resume paying tribute. After Dmitry Donskoy, his son Vasily I (1389-1425) reigned. Under him, Moscow managed to avoid plunder twice: in 1395, Timur, who had already occupied the city of Yelets, unexpectedly abandoned the campaign against Moscow, and in 1408, the Muscovites managed to pay off Timur’s protege Edigei, whose troops were already standing under the walls of the city.
In 1425, Vasily I died, and a long dynastic turmoil began in the Moscow principality (1425-1453). Some of the descendants of Dmitry Donskoy and the nobility supported the young Vasily II, and some supported his uncle, Prince Yuri of Zvenigorod. A weak ruler and commander, in the summer of 1445 Vasily II was captured by the Tatars and was released in exchange for a huge ransom. The son of Yuri Zvenigorodsky, Dmitry Shemyaka, who ruled in Uglich, took advantage of the outrage over the size of the ransom: he captured Moscow, took Vasily II prisoner and ordered him to be blinded. In February 1447, Vasily regained the Moscow throne and gradually took revenge on all his opponents. Dmitry Shemyaka, who fled to Novgorod, was poisoned in 1453 by people sent from Moscow.
In 1462, Vasily the Dark died, and his son Ivan (1462-1505) ascended the throne. During the 43 years of his reign, Ivan III managed for the first time after hundreds of years of fragmentation to create a single Russian state. Already in the 1470s, Ivan Vasilyevich ordered that in diplomatic correspondence he be called “Sovereign of All Rus'.” In 1480, with the stand on the Ugra, more than two centuries of the Horde yoke ended. Ivan III set out to gather all Russian lands under his scepter: one after another, Perm (1472), Yaroslavl (1473), Rostov (1474), Novgorod (1478), Tver (1485), Vyatka (1489), Pskov fell under the rule of Moscow. (1510), Ryazan (1521). Most of the estates were liquidated. Ivan III's heir was ultimately his son, Vasily III, born in marriage to Sophia Paleologus. Thanks to his mother, he won the long dynastic struggle with the grandson of Ivan III from the eldest son born of his first wife. Vasily III ruled until 1533, after which the throne was taken by his heir Ivan IV the Terrible. Until 1538, the country was actually ruled by the regent, his mother Elena Glinskaya. Ivan Vasilyevich's heir was his eldest son Ivan, but in 1581 he died from a blow from a staff that his father dealt him. As a result, his father was succeeded by his second son, Fedor. He was incapable of government, and in fact the country was ruled by his wife’s brother, boyar Boris Godunov. After the death of the childless Fyodor in 1598, the Zemsky Sobor elected Boris Godunov as tsar. The Rurik dynasty on the Russian throne came to an end. In 1606-1610, however, Vasily Shuisky, from the family of descendants of the Suzdal princes, also Rurikovich, reigned in Russia.
Tver branch
The Tver principality began to gain strength in the second half of the 13th century, becoming an independent fief younger brother Alexander Nevsky Yaroslav Yaroslavich. After him, Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (until 1282) and Mikhail Yaroslavich (1282-1318) reigned in Tver in turn. The latter received the label for the great reign of Vladimir, and Tver became the main center North-Eastern Rus'. Serious political mistakes led to the loss of leadership in favor of Moscow of the Tver princes: both Mikhail Tverskoy and his sons Dmitry Mikhailovich the Terrible Ochi (1322-1326) and Alexander Mikhailovich (1326-1327, 1337-1339) were executed by order of the Horde khans. The fate of his two older brothers forced Konstantin Mikhailovich (1328-1346) to be extremely careful in his political steps. After his death, another son of Mikhail Tverskoy, Vasily Mikhailovich (1349-1368), reigned in Tver. As a result of long strife, he eventually lost the throne, and Tver came under the rule of the appanage prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Mikulinsky. In 1375, he made peace with Dmitry of Moscow, after which Moscow and Tver did not conflict for a long time. In particular, the Tver prince maintained neutrality during the war between Dmitry of Moscow and Mamai in 1380. After Mikhail Alexandrovich, Ivan Mikhailovich (1399-1425) ruled in Tver; he continued his father’s policies. The heyday of the Tver principality came under the successor and grandson of Ivan Mikhailovich, Boris Alexandrovich (1425-1461), but the continuation of the policy of “armed neutrality” did not help the Tver princes prevent the conquest of Tver by Moscow.
Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan branches
The Principality of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod occupied a prominent position in North-Eastern Rus'. The short-lived rise of Suzdal occurred during the reign of Alexander Vasilyevich (1328-1331), who received the label for the great reign from the Uzbek Khan. In 1341, Khan Janibek transferred Nizhny Novgorod and Gorodets from Moscow back to the Suzdal princes. In 1350, Prince Konstantin Vasilyevich of Suzdal (1331-1355) moved the capital of the principality from Suzdal to Nizhny Novgorod. The Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes failed to achieve the flourishing of their state: uncertain foreign policy Dmitry Konstantinovich (1365-1383) and the strife that began after his death undermined the resources and authority of the principality and gradually turned it into the possession of the Moscow princes.
The Ryazan principality, which emerged in the middle of the 12th century, was ruled by the descendants of Yaroslav Svyatoslavich, the youngest son of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich of Chernigov, one of the three Yaroslavichs. In the second half, Prince Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky ruled here. He tried to pursue a flexible policy, maintaining neutrality in the confrontation between the Tatars and Moscow. In 1402, Oleg Ryazansky died, and dynastic ties between Ryazan and Moscow began to strengthen. Prince Vasily Ivanovich (1456-1483) married the daughter of Ivan III of Moscow, Anna. In 1521 Vasily III included the lands Ryazan Principality into their possessions.
Polotsk, Chernigov, Galician dynasties
The Polotsk princes did not descend from Yaroslav the Wise, like all the other Russian princes, but from another son of Vladimir the Holy, Izyaslav, therefore Principality of Polotsk always kept to himself. The Izyaslavichs were the senior branch of the Rurikovichs. From the beginning of the 14th century, rulers of Lithuanian origin reigned in Polotsk.
In the Chernigovo-Bryansk and Smolensk principalities, Moscow competed with Lithuania. Around 1339, Smolensk recognized the suzerainty of Lithuania over itself. In the winter of 1341-1342, Moscow established family relations with the Bryansk princes, vassals of Smolensk: the daughter of Prince Dmitry Bryansk was married to the son of Ivan Kalita. By the beginning of the 15th century, both Smolensk and Bryansk were finally captured by the Lithuanians.
At the beginning of the 14th century, the grandson of Daniil Galitsky Yuri Lvovich (1301-1308), having subjugated the entire territory of Galicia-Volyn Rus', following the example of his grandfather, took the title of “King of Rus'”. Galicia-Volyn Principality acquired serious military potential and a certain foreign policy independence. After Yuri's death, the principality was divided between his sons Lev (Galich) and Andrei (Vladimir Volynsky). Both princes died in 1323 under unclear circumstances and left no heirs. With the passing of the Yuryevichs, the Rurikovich line in Galicia-Volyn Rus', which had ruled for more than a hundred years, came to an end.
Recent studies of the gene pool of Rurik's descendants have revealed the presence of a Y chromosome with the N1c1d1 haplotype. This subclade of haplogroup N formed in the southeastern part of the Baltic about three thousand years ago and is characteristic of the inhabitants of the modern Baltic states, Finland and southern Scandinavia. Having learned the results of these studies, supporters of the Norman theory triumphed, declaring that genetics itself now confirms their assumptions. However, all the studied Rurikovichs are not descendants of Rurik at all. This is how it really was.
It was autumn 945. Prince Igor has just paid another tribute to the Khazars. Six years earlier, the Khazar governor Pesach ravaged Kyiv and restored Khazar rule in Rus', interrupted in 882 by Oleg the Prophet. Under the terms of the treaty, the Russians were forced to fight the enemies of Khazaria. So, in 941, Igor was forced to organize a campaign against Constantinople, which ended in the defeat of the Russian fleet, and in 943, make a campaign against Caucasian Albania, during which the city of Berdaa was captured, and all the booty after its plunder was given to the Khazars upon their return.
However, in addition to this, Rus' again had to pay an annual tribute to Khazaria, and this year the Khazars considered the tribute insufficient. Igor had to go to the people again and ask again for more honey and skins for the Khazar tribute. So he returned again to the land of the Drevlyans.
The Drevlyans were an ancient Slavic tribe. However, having moved to the territory of the present Zhitomir region, the Drevlyans mixed with the autochthons, who belonged to a number of tribes close to modern Finns. Their princes were elected, and it is not surprising that one day a descendant of those same autochthons became a prince.
That year, Prince Mal ruled in the Drevlyan land. According to one version, this name is the Semitic name Malchus distorted by the chronicler. In accordance with this version, his mother was a Khazar woman and gave her son such a strange name for the Russian ear.
However, Russian linguist and researcher of Russian chronicles, professor at St. Petersburg University Alexey Aleksandrovich Shakhmatov (1864–1920), established that Mal is an abbreviation of the Scandinavian name Malfred. Thus, according to Shakhmatov, Mal was a Viking.
It was this same Mal or Malchus who lured Igor’s squad into an ambush. The ancient Slavs had this custom: if someone kills a prince, he becomes a prince. So Oleg, having killed Askold and Dir, unhinderedly took the Kiev throne. This is what Malchus hoped to do. Having killed the prince, he took possession of everything he had, including Igor’s wife Olga. But Olga did not intend to become the wife of the man who killed her husband. Therefore, having played a comedy with a wedding, Olga killed all these Drevlyans along with their prince. But the Russian person has two enemies - conscience and pity. Succumbing to one of these feelings, Olga took pity on the child - the daughter of the Drevlyan prince, who was also called Malka.
This same Malka, whom Olka affectionately called Malusha, made a dizzying career at Olga’s court, achieved the position of housekeeper and even dragged Olga’s son Svyatoslav into bed, after which, revealing herself to be pregnant, she retired to Budyatin. She was accompanied by Dobrynya, called her brother, but since he was not Malkovich, but Nikitich, he was more like a cousin. This is the same Dobrynya Nikitich who was right hand Vladimir in all his endeavors and whom Vladimir revered “like a father.” Or maybe not “how”? And maybe from him this same Malka gave birth to the future baptist of Rus', Prince Vladimir? If this is so and if Dobrynya was the son or nephew of Mal-Malfred, then the Scandinavian haplogroup in the Y-chromosome of the Rurikovichs becomes quite understandable and all the Rurikovichs are in fact not Rurikovichs, but Dobrynichs. http://www.anaga.ru/genotip-ryurikovichej.html
The male Y-chromosome DNA is not involved in gene recombination and is passed on almost unchanged from father to son, so a group of scientists led by Polish researcher Andrzej Bajor and others conducted a study of the Y-chromosome DNA in about 25 people who consider themselves descendants of Rurik. Also included in the list on the website were people who turned out to have haplotypes close to the Rurikovichs. The overwhelming majority of these people have a common ancestor with them, after all, significantly earlier than Rurik’s life, and for such people the designation “proto-Rurikovich” was invented. Full list consisted of 191 people. The study was published on FamilyTreeDNA, the world's largest genetic database, with DNA studies of 293,266 people registered as of early 2010.
The first to be examined was Prince D. M. Shakhovskoy (professor at the Russian Orthodox Institute in Paris). His haplogroup N-M178 was established (previously it was designated N3a, then N1c1), which is geographically Mongolian and linguistically Finno-Ugric in origin. Then they examined A.P. Gagarin (professor from St. Petersburg), his cousin G. G. Gagarin, Prince N. D. Lobanov-Rostovsky from England, N. Rzhevsky from Smolensk, who also belonged to haplogroup N1c1. All of them belonged to the branch of descendants of Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh. In total, of the 191 people examined, haplogroup N1 was identified in 130 people (68%), including the descendants of princes Trubetskoy (Canada), Putyatin (Russia), Kropotkin (Russia), Khilkov (Russia), Khovansky (Russia) and Golitsyn (Russia). Also, 114 people (60%) underwent an extended test using 67 markers, from which Bayor identified 15 standard matching markers, which he considers to be the Rurikovich haplotype (in addition to the SMGF standard for the presence of 9 matching markers to determine the haplogroup).
Haplogroup N1c is found in 60% of Finns in Finland and 40% of the Baltic states (about the same among Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians and East Prussian Germans). Approximately 16% of residents of the central regions of Russia have haplogroup N1c (see Gene pool of the Slavs), it is most common among the descendants of Finno-Ugric tribes and is often found, along with R1a and I1, in northern Russia.
The theory that Rurik is a close relative of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas was not confirmed, although the examined descendants of Gediminas belong to the same haplogroup N-L550 (the common ancestor of the two of them lived no later than 2000 years ago).
Also during the study, haplogroup R1a1 was discovered in some princes. Many of them belonged to the family of descendants of the Chernigov prince Oleg Svyatoslavich (grandson of Yaroslav the Wise). For example, Prince Volkonsky, Prince Obolensky and Prince Baryatinsky turned out to be close relatives to each other on the Y chromosome, which is not surprising, since they are considered descendants of Oleg Svyatoslavich, but they all had haplogroup R1a1. This haplogroup made up approximately 50% of the population of Eastern Europe about 5,000 years ago. However, the haplotypes closest to the indicated princes are found not in Eastern, but in Central Europe.
Thus, the modern corporation of Rurikovichs (recognized as such by the Russian Assembly of Nobility) belongs to at least two different DNA haplogroups: N1c1 (most branches descending from Monomakh), R1a1 (Tarussky branch, from Yuri Tarussky). There are at least 3 more Rurikovichs recognized by the Russian Assembly of Nobility, belonging to other haplogroups that do not coincide with each other. Thus, if we can say about the two above-mentioned branches that they originate from at least Vladimir Monomakh and Yuri Tarussky, respectively, then about the “restless” haplotypes we cannot say anything about when their ancestors began to consider themselves Rurikovich and Why.
To explain the fact that there are two different haplogroups among the alleged descendants of Rurik, A. Bayor puts forward the version that haplogroup R1a1 could have been introduced into the Rurik line during wars and captures of cities. However, taking into account that the discrepancy appeared in the generation of sons-grandsons of Yaroslav the Wise, that is, Vsevolod Yaroslavich - Vladimir Monomakh and Svyatoslav Yaroslavich - Oleg Svyatoslavich - the sources do not know events in which the wives of the mentioned princes were or could be subjected to military violence.
According to S. S. Aleksashin, it is haplogroup R1a1 that is the original haplogroup of the Rurikovichs, while haplogroup N1c1 appeared as a result of infidelity to Yaroslav the Wise by his wife Ingigerda (Irina), whose “secret love” for the former Norwegian king Olaf II is spoken of in the Scandinavian sagas - namely as a result of this love, presumably, Vsevolod Yaroslavich, the father of Vladimir Monomakh, appeared (Ingigerda and Olaf met in 1029, during Olaf’s trip to Rus'; Vsevolod was born in 1030). This version, however, does not take into account the fact that haplogroup N1c1 also belongs to the descendants of the Rurikovichs, who descend from another son of Yaroslav the Wise, Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (Puzyna and Masalsky). In addition, for the majority of descendants of the Rurikovichs who have haplogroup R1a1, a common ancestor who lived in the right time. Only Volkonsky, Obolensky and Baryatinsky are related to each other, whose ancestor lived about 800 years ago, that is, during the time of Yuri Tarussky.
Historian E.V. Pchelov explains the haplogroup of the descendants of the Tarusa princes, which is different from the rest of the Rurikovichs, by the genealogical addition of the local dynasty of Verkhovsky rulers to the offspring of the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich. For more information about the problem of falsification of Verkhne-Oka princely genealogies, see Genealogy of the Chernigov princes.
According to S.V. Dumin, expressed in a report at the XVII Savyolov Readings (2010), this haplotype discrepancy may be due to the absence of St. Mikhail of Chernigov male heirs and the transfer of the throne in this principality through the female line; at the same time, the Verkhovsky princes could preserve the real tradition of origin, although distorted in genealogies; Moreover, Yuri Tarussky could be the son-in-law or grandson (son of the daughter) of St. Mikhail.
Like this with light hand our modern genetic scientists, history is closely intertwined with different DNA haplogroups. On the other hand, it’s interesting to suddenly find out that Yaroslav the Wise did not escape the fate of a deceived husband, although this came to light 987 years later and this makes him neither hot nor cold...
The history of the founding of Rus' in the 9th century AD is shrouded in a dense veil of secrets, which sometimes contradict the statements of the official history of the Russian state. The name of Prince Rurik is associated with many hypotheses and studies that try to restore the chain of true events of that distant time.
Maybe there would be fewer of these hypotheses if not for one main circumstance: the name of Rurik is associated with the foundation ruling dynasty, whose representatives occupied the Russian thrones until 1610, until the Time of Troubles, until the change from the Rurik dynasty to the Romanov dynasty.
So, Rurik.
Official details:
- year of birth unknown, from the Varangian princely family, family coat of arms - a falcon falling down.
- Called by the Slavs to suppress civil strife with the Finno-Ugric tribes in 862 AD.
- becomes the Prince of Novgorod and the founder of the princely, royal Rurik dynasty.
- died in 879 AD.
The arrival of Rurik with his family retinue, in historiography, is usually called the “Calling of the Varangians.” Brothers Sineus and Truvor came with Rurik. After the death of the brothers in 864, Rurik became the sole ruler of the Novgorod principality.
Versions of the origin of Rurik:
- The Norman version claims that Rurik comes from Scandinavian Vikings. Some researchers associate Rurik with Rorik of Jutland from Denmark, and others with Eirik from Sweden.
— The West Slavic version claims that Rurik was from the Vagrs or Prussians. This theory was adhered to by M.V. Lomonosov.
After Rurik's death in 879, he was succeeded by his son Igor. Raised Igor Prophetic Oleg, whose involvement in the Rurik family is doubtful. Most likely, Prophetic Oleg was one of Rurik’s squad, or at least was distantly related.
The influence of the Rurik dynasty began to spread to all Slavic lands south of Novgorod.
The direct line of succession after Rurik continued. After Igor came Svyatoslav Igorevich, Vladimir Svyatoslavich(Great), Yaroslav (Wise). After the death of Yaroslav the Wise (1054), the process of branching of the Rurikovich genealogical line began.
The division was caused by the Ladder order and the increasing feudal fragmentation of Rus'. Individual descendants of the senior princes became sovereign princes of the separated principalities. The sons of Yaroslav the Wise led the so-called “Triumvirate”:
- Izyaslav ruled Kiev, Novgorod and the lands west of the Dnieper.
- Svyatoslav ruled Chernigov and Murom.
- Vsevolod reigned in Rostov, Suzdal and Pereyaslavl.
Of these three branches, the strongest was the branch of Vsevolod and his son Vladimir Monomakh. This branch was able to expand its possessions at the expense of Smolensk, Galich and Volyn. In 1132, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav the Great, died. At that time Kievan Rus completely collapsed. The formation and strengthening of local dynasties began, which, however, were also Rurikovichs.
We will focus on the Rurik dynasty from the main branch - the Monomakhovichs.
The following famous princes belonged to this branch: Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei Bogolyubsky, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the First Kalita, Simeon Ivanovich Proud, Ivan the Second Red, Dmitry Donskoy; hereditary princes: Vasily the First Dmitrievich, Vasily the Second Dark, Ivan the Third Vasilyevich, Vasily the Third Ivanovich; Moscow kings: Ivan the Fourth the Terrible, Fyodor the First Ioannovich.
The reign of Fyodor Ioannovich, the third son of Ivan the Terrible, became the last in a long line of offspring of the semi-legendary Varangian prince Rurik. With the death of Fyodor Ioannovich, a bloody period began Time of Troubles for Russia, which ended with the capture of Kitay-gorod in Moscow on November 4, 1612 and the election of a new tsar.
