§ 57. Childhood and youth of Grand Prince Ivan IV Vasilyevich.

The Grand Prince of Moscow Vasili III, dying (1533), left two sons, Ivan and Yuri. The eldest of them, Ivan was just three years old. Of course, the new Grand Prince could not govern by himself. Power was concentrated in the hands of his mother, Elena Glinskaya, who was power-hungry and energetic woman. She sent to prison her own uncle, Prince Mikhail Glinsky, and the Grand Prince's uncles – princes Yuri Ivanovich and Andrei Ivanovich, as they seemed dangerous to Elena. All three died in jail. Elena herself didn't live long, too. She was said to have been poisoned by disgruntled boyars (1538).

Elena Glinskaya

After his mother's death, Ivan was only seven and a half years old, and his brother was five. The children had no close relatives, because they, as was said above, had died in prison. Ivan only had a cousin, the young son of prince Andrei, Vladimir, prince Staritsky. So, underage Grand Prince Ivan was a defenseless orphan. In the old days boyars and metropolitans governed instead young princes of Moscow (as was, for example, during childhood of Dmitry Donskoy). Boyars began governing instead young Ivan IV, too. But in the old days boyars and Metropolitans were loyal to their princes and complied their interest. And during childhood of Ivan IV boyars were already altogether different. The noblest members of Rurik dynasty – princes of Shuisky family – took autocratically the governing. Afterwards prince Belsky took them away the power but after that Belsky was overthrown by princes Shuisky. During the unrest boyars spared neither the Grand Prince, nor metropolitans. They did not show any respect to Ivan, burst into his chambers with their quarrels and fights. Metropolitans were driven out Metropolis by force (first Daniel and then Joasaphus). Only archbishop Macarius, called on metropolitan of Novgorod, kept his post, as he was a man of great intelligence and tact.The boyars treated the common people "like lions", robbing and hurting, instead of governing justly.

Boyars

That was the atmosphere of Ivan IV's childhood. He did not see the goodness and love of the boyars. Only during ceremonies, in front of the people, they provided him signs an external reverence as the Grand Prince. In real life Ivan and his brother grew up (as Ivan himself told) as the most miserable people. Boyars did not almost feed them, their rulers, on time. They were poorly dressed and mistreated in every way. When the sovereigns were playing in the rooms of his father, a prince Shuisky, for example, stretched himself on the bench, putting his foot on their bed. Little Ivan was terribly offended with this disrespect, as well as with the open predation of princes Shuisky, who stole out of the palace gold and silver, fur and fabric. The boy grew more and more angry. Without good education, he succumbed to bad feelings. He dreamed of revenge on boyars. When Ivan was only thirteen, he managed to take revenge on one of the Shuisky (prince Andrei Mikhailovich). Ivan ordered his huntsmen grab it, and huntsmen killed this prince. At the same time, Ivan showed cruelty in all their games, torturing and maiming animals and humans. Anger was planted in Ivan with boyars' education, and with it, he was evolved into duplicity and hypocrisy. Not daring yet to eliminate the rulers he hated, he concealed his feelings and was with them double-dealing. Ivan only had a good friend in his boyhood – the Metropolitan Macarius. Educated and intelligent, Macarius compiled at that time his famous collection of the lives and teachings – the Great Menaion Reader – and possess a huge library. He imbued to Ivan thirst of reading and formed his mind, acquainting Ivan with the concept of Moscow as the Third Rome, and arousing in him a desire to make a great reign in Moscow Orthodox "kingdom". But the influence of Macarius could not destroy in Ivan moral deterioration and lack of discipline. A smart and well-read, lively and active, the Grand Prince at the same time grew up angry and cunning, capable of cruelty and with weakness for bad fun and enjoyment.

Metropolitan Macarius

This was Ivan IV to his adulthood, that is, to 16-17 years. Having reached the age of 16, he announced the Metropolitan and the boyars of his desire to marry and adopt a Tsars' crown. He chose as his wife a common noble girl (not princess) Anastasia Romanova, from Fedor Koshka's family, and in early 1547 was crowned tsar and got married. Solemn rite of the coronation turned Grand Prince of Moscow in the "tsar". It was necessary to gain recognition of the new title from the Eastern Patriarchs (which resumed in Moscow universal Orthodox kingdom, lost with the fall of Constantinople), and then of all the other states. The Patriarch of Constantinople sent his consent and blessing to Ivan IV (1561), but many other sovereigns rejected royal title of Moscow tsars for a long time, naming them only Grand Princes, as before.