In June 1547, Moscow townspeople (townspeople) rebelled. The reason for the uprising was a terrible fire that destroyed almost the entire city north of the Moscow River (about 2 thousand people died). The supply of food to the capital stopped and famine began. The people demanded an end to boyar arbitrariness, the removal of the Glinsky princes from power, and an increase in the role of Ivan IV in government decision-making. With great difficulty, the authorities managed to restore order in the city. This uprising was of great importance. Firstly, Ivan IV saw with his own eyes the full power of popular anger and subsequently tried to use it in his political interests. Secondly, the tsar became convinced of the need for serious government reforms.
By 1549, a group of people close to him gradually formed around the young autocrat, which Prince Andrei Kurbsky (one of its participants) later called the Chosen Rada. It was not an authority, a government, and had no legal basis for its activities. Everything was built on the personal relationships of Ivan IV with his advisers, and while he was under their influence, gradual changes were carried out in the country aimed at consolidating the ruling layer and strengthening the administrative apparatus, strengthening the state, and solving foreign policy problems.
The nobleman Alexei Adashev supervised the activities of the Petition Izba, which received complaints and denunciations, and at the same time served as the tsar’s personal office. An active participant in the Elected Rada was the priest Sylvester, who influenced the spiritual life of the Tsar and introduced him to books. The circle of those close to him also included: Metropolitan Macarius and the talented diplomat and Duma clerk Ivan Viskovaty.
In the early 1560s. Ivan IV is freed from the influence of the Elected Rada. Almost all of its participants were repressed.
Zemsky Sobor 1549
In February 1549, on the initiative of Ivan IV, a central estate-representative legislative body, the Zemsky Sobor, was convened for the first time. Subsequently (until the middle of the 17th century), the use of Zemsky Sobors to resolve the most important state issues became a common practice. Zemstvo councils were convened irregularly, solely at the will of the sovereign; they had no legislative initiative and, therefore, did not in any way limit the autocratic power of the tsar.
The Council of 1549, which historians often call the “Cathedral of Reconciliation,” was attended by the Boyar Duma, church hierarchs, and representatives of landowners. At the very first meeting, the sovereign accused the boyars of “untruths,” abuses and “negligence.” The boyars apologized and tearfully begged for forgiveness, promising to serve “truly, without any cunning.” The tsar forgave them and called on everyone to live in peace and harmony, but still insisted on removing the “children of the boyars” (small and medium-sized landowners) from the jurisdiction of the feeding governors. During the council, decisions were also made on the need for judicial reform, on the “organization” of local self-government, and on preparations for war with the Kazan Khanate.
Law code 1550
In 1550, by decision of the Zemsky Sobor of 1549, a new Code of Law was adopted. It largely repeated the provisions that already existed in the Code of Laws of Ivan III, but took into account the accumulated legal practice and was significantly expanded.
At the expense of butlers, treasurers, clerks and all sorts of clerks, the composition of the judiciary expanded. Landowners were removed from the jurisdiction of the boyars and governors. Nobles and merchants could elect special people - kissers who participated in the vicegerental court. The rights of governors were also curtailed by the fact that the responsibility for collecting taxes passed to elected people - favorite heads (elders), which prepared the way for the abolition of the feeding system. A procedure for filing complaints against governors and volosts was established. Service people, who were the support of the royal power, were protected from falling into servitude. The judicial privileges of appanage princes were also sharply reduced.
New in the Code of Laws of Ivan IV was the concept of anti-state activity - “sedition”, which included serious criminal offenses, conspiracies, and rebellions. The first articles of this code of laws established severe penalties for bribery and willful injustice.
The Code of Law also concerned the position of dependent peasants. Their attachment to the land intensified, since, despite the fact that the right of St. George's Day was preserved, payments for the elderly increased.
The 19-year-old tsar initiates the “Cathedral of Reconciliation” in Moscow, in which selected representatives of all social groups of the Moscow state took part. The main question was eliminating corruption among local officials. Apparently, the population's dissatisfaction with the abuses of the royal governors had already taken the form of an acute conflict. The Council of Reconciliation later became known as the Zemsky Council, because its participants gathered from all lands. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, an estate-representative monarchy began to take shape in Russia. Beginning in 1549, Zemsky Sobors were held in Russia until the beginning of the reign of Peter I.
It is characteristic that at the council Ivan IV made a speech of repentance before all the people. The Tsar publicly repented of his sins from the Execution Square in the Kremlin, which is evidence of his sincere Christian faith, because Confession is one of the main church sacraments. In this way, the king informed the people that he would take care of them in a Christian manner and protect them from corrupt officials honestly before God.
At the cathedral, it was announced that the population in the lands needed to elect elders, kissers, sotskys and courtiers, who should take away the functions of local government from the royal governors. Thus began the Zemstvo reform, which abolished the corrupt feeding system and infringed on the interests of the upper class. At the same time, the Zemstvo reform is usually attributed to the Elected Rada under the Tsar. The traitor-renegade Kurbsky, a supporter of the Chosen Rada, was the person who actually described the Chosen Rada. No one except Kurbsky mentions the Elected Rada. However, it was Kurbsky who was part of that group of royal people who ultimately suffered from the Zemstvo reform, losing the possibility of abuses on the ground. Therefore, the leading role of the Chosen Rada in the Zemstvo and other reforms of the tsar, who carried out active reforms, looks doubtful.
The code of law of Ivan IV (the Terrible) is adopted at the Zemsky Sobor and approved at the church Stoglavy Sobor
The Code of Law of Tsar Ivan, which was adopted at the Zemsky Sobor, was supposed to limit local corruption by strengthening the position of local government and expanding the role of the peasantry in judicial, tax and police matters. The mechanism for the transfer of a peasant from one owner to another was clarified, which made it impossible for the owners to abuse it. Criminal cases were transferred from the feeders to provincial elders, who, like the feeders, were chosen by the population from the nobles and children of the boyars.
In case of a deadlock, a judicial duel was resolved (Field). The disputing parties fought for their truth. It was impossible to conduct a Field between a warrior and a non-warrior (by age or occupation), except in cases where the non-warrior himself wanted it.
The Code of Law introduces an order system of public administration. Under Ivan IV, the following orders were created: Petition, Ambassadorial, Local, Streletsky, Pushkarsky, Bronny, Robbery, Printed, Sokolnichiy, Zemsky orders. The system of orders streamlined and placed state affairs under the control of the tsar, while infringing on the boyars, who previously carried out affairs without control. Boyars, nobles and clerks served in the orders. Only the court okolnichy and the clerk served in the Petition Order. The boyars negatively perceived their removal from government administration and formed conspiracies. For example, this state of affairs became one of the reasons for the state treason of one of the main commanders of the Russian army, Andrei Kurbsky.
The Tsar asked for the Code of Law to be approved at the Church Council of the Stoglavy in 1551. At the church council, Ivan complained that his boyars and nobles were mired in theft and injustice. However, the king called on all Christians for reconciliation.
In addition to approving the Code of Law, the Stoglavy Council unified church rites in the lands and transferred local saints to the status of all-Russian saints. Stoglav also ordered the organization of schools (schools at churches and monasteries) for teaching literacy. The first Russian Patriarch Job came from one of these schools. Usury was prohibited for Orthodox priests.
The church council also discussed the issue of secularization of church lands in the form of a dispute between the Josephites and non-covetous people. Metropolitan Macarius was on the side of the Josephites, and the king and priest Sylvester were on the side of the non-covetous. The young king hoped to secularize the church lands. However, the Josephite party did not allow this to happen and prevailed.
Subject's age: 19
Place: Moscow
Path: Volga
Subject: Ivan IV the Terrible
Country: Moscow State
Geographic coordinates: 55.751666676667,37.617777787778
Year: 1549
Zemsky Sobors are a government body where all classes of the Russian kingdom were represented in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Only the king could convene them. The decisions of the Zemsky Sobors, with rare exceptions, had advisory value. The first Zemsky Sobor in February 1549 was convened by the Tsar of the Russian state, Ivan IV Vasilyevich. The main reason for the convocation was the reduction of the power of the boyars and the elevation of the role of the nobility.
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Childhood and youth of Ivan IV
When Ivan Vasilyevich was three years old, his father Grand Duke Vasily III died. His mother became the regent for the young Grand Duke. Elena Vasilievna was an energetic and powerful woman. She imprisoned her uncle Mikhail Glinsky and her late husband's brothers Andrei and Yuri. They put up strong resistance her reign. They did not leave prison. And in 1538, Elena Vasilievna was poisoned by disgruntled boyars. Eight-year-old Ivan and his five-year-old brother were left orphans.
For the young Grand Duke, the boyars began to rule Muscovy. At first, the most noble princes of Shuisky seized power. Brothers before usurped power, that sometimes they did not convene the Boyar Duma when solving important state issues. Prince Belsky took away their power, but after some time the Shuiskys regained power again. During this struggle for supremacy, the boyars did not listen to the admonishing words of the metropolitans, whom they forcibly drove out of the metropolis. 
The Grand Duke was not spared, did not give him any honors. The young children of Vasily III and Elena Vasilievna were taken hostage by the power-hungry boyars.
The future tsar of the Russian state did not see love and good attitude from the boyars. Only during official ceremonies were signs of respect shown to the people. According to Ivan’s own recollections, he and his brother grew up as “the very last child.” This disrespect greatly offended Ivan. The boy gradually became embittered. Without a wise mentor and educator, he acquired bad manners and habits. I learned to be two-faced and pretend.
The dream of revenge on the boyars grew stronger and stronger. The anger in him had already become constant. At the age of thirteen, he managed to take revenge on one of the Shuiskys, Prince Andrei. Having chosen the right moment, he and his hounds set dogs on Andrei, who bit their victim to death.
Ivan met only one kind person in his adolescence. The intelligent and educated Metropolitan Macarius took up the education of the Grand Duke. He instilled in him a love of reading and developed his natural intelligence. Macarius inspired the teenager that Moscow is the third Rome and instilled in Ivan the desire to create an Orthodox kingdom on the basis of the Great Moscow Principality. He raised the future sovereign in Ivan. He urged not to harm the church. And indeed, while Macarius, king, was alive Ivan did not conflict with the clergy.
But the influence and upbringing of the metropolitan could not reverse Ivan’s anger towards the boyars, cruelty and deceit. At the age of sixteen he announced to the boyar duma his desire to marry and be crowned king. At the beginning of 1547, he became the first Tsar of the Russian state and married Anastasia Yuryeva from the family of Fyodor Koshka.
Boyars
Starting from the fifteenth century in the Great Moscow Principality, and then in the Russian Tsardom, one of the acute problems in the state was the problem of the relationship between the Grand Duke (Tsar), the boyars and the nobles.
Boyars are the highest aristocrats who appeared in Kievan Rus. The main characteristics that distinguished the boyars were:
- Nobility. The boyars had an illustrious and rich pedigree. Their authority was equal to the authority of the ruler of the state. Princes who did not become great princes or kings became boyars. Or rich relatives of state rulers.
- Wealth. The boyars were largest landowners.
- Independence. The boyars did not owe anything to the ruler and perceived him as their equal.
By the beginning of the fifteenth century, there were several boyar families in Muscovy, which were centers of power, completely independent of the rulers of the states. Who were these most influential families? This cohort of the most influential families included:
- Shuisky.
- Golitsyn.
- Belsky.
- Miloslavsky.
- Romanovs.
- Morozovs.
- Godunovs.
- Other clans equal to them in nobility.
The boyars sought to weaken the power of the supreme ruler and elevate their clan over others. Therefore the boyars were the main initiators of intrigues, conspiracies and unrest. This confrontation became most acute during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
Nobility
Nobles are subjects of the sovereign who are in the sovereign service and receive remuneration for this. The word "nobleman" originally defined people from the princely court. They were hired by the ruler to perform military service, judicial and administrative functions and other assignments. The nobles initially constituted the lower class of nobility, firmly connected with the prince and his household. Distinctive features of the nobility were:
The nobility experienced its most rapid development during the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible. They became his support in the confrontation with the boyars.
Zemsky Sobor
After the crowning of the kingdom, the young Ivan the Fourth sets as his main goal the reduction of the power and influence of the boyars and the construction of a centralized system of government. Who proposed to the sovereign to convene the Zemsky Sobor as a legislative body? In this matter, he was greatly assisted by Ivan Semyonovich Peresvetov, writer and one of the brightest representatives of political and social thought in the middle of the sixteenth century.
In his writings, I. S. Peresvetov acts as a fierce denouncer of the boyar system and substantiates the usefulness of the rise of the nobility. He argued that a person should be promoted based on personal merit, and not on the basis of family nobility. His intentions for reforms in the state basically coincided with the tsar's policies.
The convening of the first Zemsky Sobor took place in 1549 in February. What is the Zemsky Sobor? The Zemsky Sobor included representatives of the highest clergy, the Boyar Duma, nobles, and wealthy citizens. They were elected on class and territorial grounds. Only the Boyar Duma did not elect its representatives. She was present at the Council in full force.
The functions of the Zemsky Sobor were developed personally by the tsar. They became the adoption of certain legislative acts that are urgently needed at the moment in the activities of the state. The First Council was divided into sections, according to the position and ranks of the participants. Decisions were considered adopted if they voted for it unanimously.
The elected composition of the first Council completed its work in two days. The king spoke there three times. He publicly accused the boyars of endless abuse of the power given to them.. Called for joint efforts to strengthen the power of the state. Famous boyars spoke. And at the end of the cathedral, a separate meeting of the boyar duma was held.
Subsequently, the first Zemsky Sobor was called the “Cathedral of Reconciliation.” He marked the beginning of the transition of the Russian kingdom into an estate-representative monarchy through the formation of a leading estate-representative body, dominated by representatives of the nobility. A decision was made to compile a Code of Laws, which was approved by the Tsar in 1550. According to him, any person could file a petition in court against the boyar. Therefore, the Petition Hut is being created.
But the highest aristocracy did not want to give up their positions. They ensured that if the Boyar Duma vetoed any decision of the Zemsky Sobor, then this decision was only advisory in nature and did not become law.
Conclusion
The convening of the first Zemsky Sobor is of great importance in the history of the Russian kingdom. The First Council became the initial stage in Ivan the Terrible’s struggle against the boyars. Later, sixteen years later, the introduction of the oprichnina in Rus' followed, seven dark years in the history of the Russian state.
Zemsky Sobor is called the highest estate-representative state institution, which was a meeting of representatives of the majority of the population (with the exception of serfs) to discuss administrative, economic, and political issues.
Convening of the very first Zemsky Sobor in 1549(February twenty-seventh) coincided with the beginning of the period of reforms of Tsar Ivan the Fourth (the Terrible). It addressed two main issues: the abolition of feeding, as well as abuses by local officials. The cathedral emerges as a nationwide analogue of the city councils that previously existed in large county towns. The First Zemsky Sobor united the highest clergy (members of the Consecrated Cathedral), boyars and appanage princes (Boyar Duma), wealthy citizens, as well as the tsar's courtiers. The meeting was held according to rank, and the decisions made were recorded as completely unanimous. The Zemsky Sobor consisted of two chambers. The first included: treasurers, okolnichy, butlers, as well as boyars. And in the second: great nobles, princes, boyar children and governors. The council lasted two days. During this time, the tsar, the boyars spoke three times, and finally a boyar meeting took place.
This first Zemsky Sobor was nicknamed the “Cathedral of Reconciliation”, since it was he who marked the change of the Russian state into an estate monarchy through the formation of an estate-representative central institution, in which the nobility played a significant role. However, at the same time, the aristocracy was obliged to give up its privileges in favor of the common layer of the population. This cathedral also became famous thanks to the compilation (correction and addition) of a new Code of Law, which was approved already in June 1550.
Also, simultaneously with the holding of the Zemsky Sobor, meetings of the Church Council took place, by the decision of which, after considering their lives, the celebration of sixteen saints was established.
Another innovation introduced at the Zemsky Sobor in connection with the decision to “give justice” to a petitioner against the boyars was the Petition Izba. It not only received petitions in the sovereign’s name, but also made decisions. This Izba became a kind of control body and appellate department that oversaw other institutions.
The Zemsky Sobor is a body of class representation.
The prerequisites for its appearance were three circumstances:
- and advice as traditions of Russian history;
- intensification of interclass struggle;
- the country’s difficult position in the foreign policy arena, which requires government support from the estates (not an approving and establishing veche, but an advisory body).
The tsars elected by the Zemsky Sobor are almost all the tsars ruling the Russian state, with the exception of:
- Ivan the Terrible;
- puppet Simeon Bekbulatovich;
- “queens for an hour” - the widow of Irina Godunova;
- Fyodor 2nd Godunov;
- two impostors;
- Fedor 3rd Alekseevich.
The most famous of the elections was the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, at which he was elected. The last rulers to undergo this procedure were Ivan the 5th.
In 1649, the Lay Council took place, which has a special significance: it adopted the Council Code.
All material of the Code was collected into 25 chapters and 967 articles.
The laws formulated in it retained the significance of the law of the Russian state until the 1st half of the 19th century.
The creation of the Compilation Code is the first attempt to collect all existing legal norms into a single set of laws. It was based on:
- decree books of the Local, Zemsky, Robber and other orders;
- collective petitions of nobles and townspeople;
- Pilot's book;
- Lithuanian status 1588, etc.
Throughout the 16th-17th centuries. Many councils were convened. The historian Cherepnin lists 57 cathedrals, and also includes three church and zemstvo cathedrals due to the presence of the zemstvo element on them. In addition, the religious issues raised at these three councils had a secular significance.
Historians are unanimous regarding the first Zemsky Sobor, but there is no consensus on the termination of the convening of councils.
Some consider the Zemsky Sobor of 1653 to be the last (on the annexation of Ukraine to the Russian state), after which conciliar activity became less active and gradually faded away.
Others believe that the last council took place in 1684 (on eternal peace with Poland).
Zemsky Sobors: conditional classification
The Zemsky Sobor can be divided in composition into those present in full, the highest clergy and representatives of various ranks (local nobility and merchants). Craftsmen and peasants were not present.
Zemsky Sobors are divided into complete and incomplete. In the second case, there may be an absolute or partial absence of the “zemsky element,” that is, the local nobility and townspeople.
According to the type of activity, councils are divided into advisory and electoral.
If we consider the social and political significance of the Zemsky Sobor, we can distinguish four groups:
- councils that were convened by the king;
- councils convened by the king on the initiative of the estates;
- convocation by estates;
- electoral - for the kingdom.
To more fully understand the role of cathedrals, consider another classification:
- councils convened on reform issues;
- councils concerning the foreign policy situation;
- cathedrals resolving issues of the internal “structure of the state”, suppression of uprisings;
- cathedrals of the Time of Troubles;
- electoral councils.
The classification of cathedrals makes it possible to understand the content of their activities.