Russian History · Chronicle IV of VIII

The Tsardom of Russia

Tsardom of Russia

From Ivan the Terrible, through the Time of Troubles, to Peter the Great's new empire.

Span: 1547 – 1721
Entries: 27
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Entry 1 of 27

1547
Birth of the TsardomPolitical
Ivan IV is crowned tsar of all Russia
In the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the sixteen-year-old grand prince Ivan IV is crowned tsar, the first ruler of Moscow to take the imperial title formally.
Meanwhile, elsewhere
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1549
Reform of the StatePolitical
The first Zemsky Sobor convenes
Ivan IV summons the first 'Assembly of the Land', bringing together clergy, boyars, and servitors to support a program of reform under the so-called Chosen Council.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1552
Eastward ExpansionMilitary
Conquest of the Khanate of Kazan
Ivan IV's armies storm Kazan, destroying the Tatar khanate on the middle Volga and opening the river to Russian control.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1556
The Volga SecuredMilitary
Annexation of the Khanate of Astrakhan
Moscow takes Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga, gaining control of the entire river and access to the Caspian Sea.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1565
The OprichninaPolitical
Ivan IV launches the oprichnina
Ivan divides the realm and creates the oprichnina, a personal domain policed by black-clad oprichniki who terrorize the boyar aristocracy.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1571
Crisis and WarMilitary
Crimean Tatars burn Moscow
An army of the Crimean Khanate under Devlet Giray storms and burns Moscow, exposing the strain of Ivan's wars and the weakness of the oprichnina system.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1582
Into SiberiaMilitary
Yermak's Cossacks open the conquest of Siberia
The Cossack ataman Yermak Timofeyevich, in the service of the Stroganov merchants, defeats the Khanate of Sibir and begins Russia's expansion across the Urals.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1584
Death of IvanPolitical
Death of Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV dies, leaving the throne to his weak and pious son Feodor I, with real power held by the regent Boris Godunov.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1589
An Independent ChurchReligious
The Moscow Patriarchate is established
With the consent of the Eastern patriarchs, the metropolitan of Moscow, Job, is raised to patriarch, giving the Russian Church its own independent head.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1598
End of a DynastyPolitical
The Rurikid line ends; Boris Godunov is elected tsar
The death of the childless Feodor I extinguishes the ancient dynasty of Rurik, and a Zemsky Sobor elects the regent Boris Godunov as tsar.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1601
The Great FamineEvent
Famine devastates Russia
A catastrophic famine, caused by ruined harvests after a global cooling event, kills perhaps a third of the population and shatters confidence in Boris Godunov's rule.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1605
Time of TroublesPolitical
False Dmitry I seizes the throne
After Boris Godunov's sudden death, a pretender claiming to be the murdered Tsarevich Dmitry, backed by Polish-Lithuanian magnates, enters Moscow and is crowned tsar.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1610
Polish OccupationMilitary
Polish forces occupy Moscow
Amid the collapse of central authority, Polish-Lithuanian troops occupy the Moscow Kremlin and the boyars offer the throne to the Polish prince Władysław.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1612
National DeliveranceMilitary
Minin and Pozharsky liberate Moscow
A volunteer army raised in Nizhny Novgorod by the merchant Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky drives the Polish garrison from the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1613
The RomanovsPolitical
Michael Romanov is elected tsar
A great Zemsky Sobor elects the sixteen-year-old Michael Romanov as tsar, founding the dynasty that would rule Russia until 1917.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1649
Law and SerfdomPolitical
The Sobornoye Ulozheniye binds the serfs
Under Tsar Alexis, a comprehensive law code abolishes the time limit on recovering fugitive peasants, binding serfs permanently to the land and their masters.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1652
The Great SchismReligious
Patriarch Nikon's reforms split the Church
Patriarch Nikon revises liturgical books and rituals to match Greek practice, provoking fierce resistance from traditionalists led by the archpriest Avvakum.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1654
Union with UkrainePolitical
The Pereyaslav Agreement
The Cossack hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky places the Zaporozhian Host under the protection of the tsar, drawing Russia into war with Poland-Lithuania.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1667
Gains from PolandPolitical
The Truce of Andrusovo
The Thirteen Years' War with Poland-Lithuania ends with Russia gaining Smolensk and left-bank Ukraine, including the city of Kyiv.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1670
Cossack RebellionMilitary
The revolt of Stenka Razin
The Don Cossack Stenka Razin leads a vast rebellion of Cossacks, peasants, and frontier peoples along the Volga against the nobility and the state.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1682
A Divided ThronePolitical
Peter I and Ivan V become joint tsars
After a bloody streltsy revolt, the boy Peter and his sickly half-brother Ivan V are proclaimed joint tsars, with their sister Sophia ruling as regent.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1689
Peter Takes PowerPolitical
Peter overthrows the regent Sophia
The seventeen-year-old Peter outmaneuvers his half-sister Sophia, confines her to a convent, and takes real power into his own hands.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1696
A Window to the SeaMilitary
Peter captures Azov from the Ottomans
On his second campaign, Peter takes the Ottoman fortress of Azov with the help of a newly built river fleet, gaining an outlet to the southern seas.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1700
The Great Northern WarMilitary
War with Sweden begins at Narva
Peter launches the Great Northern War against Sweden but suffers a crushing defeat at Narva, where Charles XII routs a much larger Russian army.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1703
A New CapitalCultural
Peter founds Saint Petersburg
On marshland newly seized from Sweden at the mouth of the Neva, Peter founds Saint Petersburg, his 'window to the West'.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1709
PoltavaMilitary
The Battle of Poltava
Peter's reformed army decisively defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava in Ukraine, breaking Swedish military power.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1721
The Russian EmpirePolitical
Peter the Great is proclaimed emperor
The Treaty of Nystad ends the Great Northern War with victory over Sweden, and the Senate proclaims Peter 'Emperor of All Russia', founding the Russian Empire.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
19 more entries, to 1721

The Tsardom of Russia

Ivan IV is crowned tsar of all Russia

The first Zemsky Sobor convenes

Conquest of the Khanate of Kazan

Annexation of the Khanate of Astrakhan

Ivan IV launches the oprichnina

Crimean Tatars burn Moscow

Yermak's Cossacks open the conquest of Siberia

Death of Ivan the Terrible

The Moscow Patriarchate is established

The Rurikid line ends; Boris Godunov is elected tsar

Famine devastates Russia

False Dmitry I seizes the throne

Polish forces occupy Moscow

Minin and Pozharsky liberate Moscow

Michael Romanov is elected tsar

The Sobornoye Ulozheniye binds the serfs

Patriarch Nikon's reforms split the Church

The Pereyaslav Agreement

The Truce of Andrusovo

The revolt of Stenka Razin

Peter I and Ivan V become joint tsars

Peter overthrows the regent Sophia

Peter captures Azov from the Ottomans

War with Sweden begins at Narva

Peter founds Saint Petersburg

The Battle of Poltava

Peter the Great is proclaimed emperor