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Fyodor I Ivanovich (russian: Фёдор I Иванович) or Feodor I Ioannovich (russian: Феодор I Иоаннович; 31 May 1557 – 17 January (NS) 1598), also known as Feodor the Bellringer (russian: Феодор Звонарь), reigned as
Tsar of Russia This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mos ...
from 1584 until his death in 1598. Feodor's mother died when he was three, and he grew up in the shadow of his father, Ivan the Terrible. A pious man of retiring disposition, Feodor took little interest in politics, and the country was effectively administered in his name by Boris Godunov, the brother of his beloved wife
Irina Irina (Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene (Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of pe ...
. His childless death marked the end of the
Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...
, and spurred Russia's descent into the catastrophic
Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...
. In Russian documents, Feodor is sometimes called ''blessed'' (russian: Блаженный). He is also listed in the "Great Synaxaristes" of the Orthodox Church, with his feast day on January 7 (OS).


Background

Feodor was born 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 millio ...
, the son of Ivan IV (The Terrible) by his first wife
Anastasia Romanovna Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva (1530 – 7 August 1560) was the first spouse of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible and the first Russian Tsaritsa. She was the mother of Feodor I, the last lineal Rurikid Tsar of Russia and the great-au ...
. Although he was the sixth and youngest child of his mother, he grew up with only one older brother,
Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
, because all his other older siblings died before Feodor was one year old. His mother also died by the time Feodor was three years old, and her death greatly affected his father, who had been very attached to his wife. Ivan the Terrible began to earn his sobriquet during the years of Feodor's childhood. He also took a series of other wives, but Feodor's only surviving half-sibling,
Dmitry of Uglich Dmitri Ivanovich ( rus, Дмитрий Иванович, Dmitrii Ivanovich; 19 October 1582 – 15 May 1591), also known as Dmitry of Uglich (, ''Uglichskii'') or Dmitry of Moscow (, ''Moskovskii''), was the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, T ...
, was twenty-five years younger than him. Feodor therefore grew up in the shadow of a terrible father, with no mother to succor him, and only his older brother
Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
for family solidarity. He grew to be sickly of health and diffident of temperament. He was extremely pious by nature, spending hours in prayer and contemplation. He was very fond of visiting churches, and would often cause the bells to be rung according to a special tradition in the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. For this reason, he is known to history as Feodor the Bellringer. In Russian documents, he is sometimes called blessed (russian: Блаженный). He is also listed in the ''Great Synaxaristes'' of the Orthodox Church, with his feast day on January 7 (OS). Overall, he was considered a good-natured, simple-minded man who took little interest in
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
. By some reports, he may have had either an
intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signif ...
or a learning disability, but this may have been a misinterpretation of his nature and behavior.


Marriage

In 1580, Feodor married Irina (Alexandra) Feodorovna Godunova (1557 – 26 October/23 November 1603), sister of Ivan's minister, Boris Godunov. Although the marriage was arranged by the Tsar and the couple knew nothing of each other before their wedding day, they went on to have a strong marriage. The lonely Feodor soon grew extremely close to his wife, to a degree that was unusual for that period and
milieu The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educate ...
. Husband and wife shared a relationship of warmth and trust which was the support of Feodor's life as long as he lived. However, Feodor and Irina's marriage did not immediately produce children, and may not have even been consummated for some years. It was only in 1592, after almost twelve years of marriage, that Tsaritsa Irina gave birth to a daughter, who was named Feodosia after her father. Feodor and his wife doted on their daughter, who however died aged two in 1594. There were no other children from the marriage.


Reign

In November 1581, Feodor's elder brother Ivan Ivanovich was killed by their father in a fit of rage. His death meant that Feodor became the heir to his father's throne. He had never been considered a candidate for the Russian throne until that moment, and was not a little daunted by the prospect. One year later, in October 1582, his father's latest wife bore a son,
Dmitry of Uglich Dmitri Ivanovich ( rus, Дмитрий Иванович, Dmitrii Ivanovich; 19 October 1582 – 15 May 1591), also known as Dmitry of Uglich (, ''Uglichskii'') or Dmitry of Moscow (, ''Moskovskii''), was the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, T ...
, who was Feodor's only surviving sibling. Ivan the Terrible died in March 1584, and Feodor became Tsar. Two months later, on 31 May 1584, he was crowned Tsar and Autocrat of all Russia at Dormition Cathedral 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 millio ...
. Feodor was only the nominal ruler: his wife's brother and trusted minister Boris Godunov legitimized himself, after Ivan IV's death, as a ''de facto''
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for the weak and disabled Feodor. Feodor's failure to sire other children brought an end to the centuries-old central branch of the
Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...
(although many princes of later times are descendants of Rurik as well). Feodor was succeeded as tsar by Godunov. The termination of the dynasty can also be considered to be one of the reasons for the
Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...
. He died 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 millio ...
and was buried at
Archangel Cathedral The Cathedral of the Archangel (russian: Архангельский собор, Arkhangel'skiy sobor) is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is located in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia between the G ...
, Kremlin. His troubled reign was dramatised by
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most ...
in his verse
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
'' Tsar Fiodor Ioannovich'' (1868).


Foreign policy

Unlike his father, Feodor had no enthusiasm for maintaining exclusive trading rights with the
Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...
. Feodor declared his kingdom open to all foreigners, and dismissed the English ambassador Sir Jerome Bowes, whose pomposity had been tolerated by Feodor's father.
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
sent a new ambassador,
Giles Fletcher, the Elder Giles Fletcher, the Elder (c. 1548 – 1611) was an English poet and diplomat, member of the English Parliament. Giles Fletcher was the son of Richard Fletcher, vicar of Bishop's Stortford. Fletcher was born in Watford, Hertfordshire. He s ...
, to demand of Boris Godunov that he convince the tsar to reconsider. The negotiations failed because Fletcher addressed Feodor with two of his titles omitted. Even after this setback, Elizabeth continued to address Feodor on that topic in half appealing, half reproachful letters. She proposed an alliance between Russia and England, something which she had refused to do when it had been sought by Feodor's father, but he turned her down.''Russia and Britain'' by Crankshaw, Edward, published by Collins, 126 p. ''The Nations and Britain'' series


See also

*
Bibliography of Russian history (1223–1613) This is a select bibliography of post World War II English language books (including translations) and journal articles about the history of Russia and its borderlands from the Mongol invasions until 1613. Book entries may have references to rev ...
*
Tsars of Russia family tree The following is a family tree of the monarchs of Russia. Rurik dynasty Romanov dynasty Gallery File:Ruriks.jpg, File:Romanov f ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feodor 01 Of Russia 1557 births 1598 deaths 16th-century Russian monarchs Candidates for the Polish elective throne Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox monarchs Royalty and nobility with disabilities Russian tsars Yurievichi family 16th-century Russian people Russian tsareviches