Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky

Prince Alexander Borisovich Gorbatyi-Shuisky (Александр Борисович Горбатый-Шуйский) was probably the most celebrated and popular general of

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

. The town of Gorbatov in

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localiti ...

bears his name. He belonged to the powerful

Shuisky The Princes Shuisky (russian: Шуйские, Shuyskiye) was a Rurikid family of Boyars descending from Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich of Vladimir-Suzdal and Prince Andrey Yaroslavich, brother to Alexander Nevsky. The surname is derived f ...

family, being the last scion of its junior branch. His father was one of the most successful generals of

Vasily III Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 * Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...

, but Alexander managed to outshine him at an early age. He was made

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

in 1544 and led the Russian armies against

Khanate of Kazan The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...

in 1547. Five years later, when

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

was besieged, he annihilated the force of prince Yapancha at

Arsk Arsk ( rus, Арск, p=ˈarsk; tt-Cyrl, Арча, ''Arça'') is a town and the administrative center of Arsky District in the Tatarstan, Russia, located on the Kazanka River, from the republic's capital of Kazan. As of the 2010 Census, its ...

Field, making possible the final

conquest of Kazan The siege of Kazan in 1552 was the final battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars and led to the fall of the Khanate of Kazan. Conflict continued after the fall of Kazan, however, as rebel governments formed in Çalım and Mişätamaq, and a new khan wa ...

later that year. In acknowledgement of his important services, he was appointed the first Russian governor of

. During the next decade he not only managed to keep Kazan in Russian hands, but also rebuilt the ruined citadel and converted a large portion of the khanate's population to Christianity.

, apparently, grew jealous of Alexander's popularity in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In 1564 the tsar incriminated him of secretly supporting

Andrey Kurbsky Knyaz (Prince) Andrey Mikhailovich Kurbsky (russian: Андрей Михайлович Курбский, pl, Andriej Michajłowicz Kurbski; 1528–1583) was a Russian political figure, military leader, and political philosopher, known as an intim ...

and plotting against Ivan's life. After that, Alexander and his 17-year-old son Peter were brought to

and beheaded. He left two daughters, one of them being married to the noblest Muscovite

, Prince Ivan

Mstislavsky Mstislavsky ( Russian Мстиславский) was a Russian princely family of Gediminid origin who prior to their move to Russia ruled the principality of Mstislavl. In the following, the Mstislavsky family produced some notable military command ...

, and another one – to the tsar's brother-in-law,

Nikita Romanovich Nikita Romanovich (russian: Никита Романович; born c. 1522 – 23 April 1586), also known as Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuriev, was a prominent boyar of the Tsardom of Russia. His grandson Michael I (Tsar 1613-1645) founded ...

as his second wife. The latter was grandfather of tsar

Mikhail Romanov Michael I ( Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia. He ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorbatyi-Shuisky, Alexander 1564 deaths

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Russian military leaders Tsardom of Russia people People executed by the Tsardom of Russia Executed Russian people Year of birth unknown People executed by Russia by decapitation 16th-century executions by Russia