Ivan Tarasyevich Gramotin () (died 1638) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and head of the ''

Posolsky Prikaz A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 1 ...

'' (

foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

). Ivan Gramotin was known to have been a very smart, well-read and eloquent person. He was one of the prominent figures during 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 ...

in Russia. Gramotin was appointed head of the ''Posolsky Prikaz'' in August 1605 during the reign of the

False Dmitry I False Dmitry I ( rus, Лжедмитрий I, Lzhedmitriy I) (or Pseudo-Demetrius I) reigned as the Tsar of Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich ( rus, Дмитрий Иванович). A ...

. In 1606, he conducted negotiations with the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

envoys. Two years later, he betrayed the False Dmitry and tried to become close to

Vasily IV of Russia Vasili IV Shuisky (russian: Василий IV Иванович Шуйский, ''Vasiliy IV Ivanovich Shuyskiy'', c. 155212 September 1612) was Tsar of Russia between 1606 and 1610 after the murder of False Dmitri I. His rule coincided ...

, but eventually failed. In 1608, Ivan Gramotin joined the ranks of the

False Dmitry II False Dmitry II ( rus, Лжедмитрий II, Lzhedmitrii II; died ), historically known as Pseudo-Demetrius II and also called "тушинский вор" ("rebel/criminal of Tushino"), was the second of three pretenders to the Russian throne ...

and became a close associate of

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

in 1610. After Vasily IV had been admitted to monastic vows, the Polish king appointed Gramotin head of the ''Posolsky Prikaz'' in the rank of stamp bearer. He also held a position in the ''

Pomestny Prikaz A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 1 ...

'' and the

Boyar Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

. In 1612, Gramotin was sent to Poland by the

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 ...

s to negotiate the accession of Wladislaus to the Russian throne. It appears that during his stay in Poland between 1612 and 1617 Gramotin became good friends with the future Russian patriarch Filaret, who had been a prisoner in the hands of the Polish king. In 1618, Gramotin returned to

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 ...

and kept his previous titles thanks to this friendship. Upon his return to Moscow in 1619, Philaret entrusted Gramotin with important missions, such as negotiations with the Turkish and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

s in 1621-1622 and the case with the Robe of Jesus sent by

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Abbas I of Safavid. In 1626, however, Gramotin was sent into

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

to Alatyr at the insistence of Filaret for his intrigues. He was able to return to Moscow only after Filaret's death in 1634 and once again assumed his diplomatic duties. Ivan Gramotin died as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

under the name of Joel at

Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...

in 1638.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gramotin, Ivan Diplomats of the Russian Empire Tsardom of Russia people Year of birth unknown 1638 deaths Russian Orthodox monks