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Vorotynsky was one of the most eminent
Rurikid
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 ...
princely houses of
Muscovite Russia
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
. Their lands lay principally in the
Upper Oka region and comprised the towns of
Peremyshl and
Vorotynsk as well as parts (дольницы) of
Novosil
Novosil (russian: Новоси́ль) is a town and the administrative center of Novosilsky District in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Zusha River east of Oryol, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
His ...
and
Odoyev
Odoyev (Russian: ''Одоев'') is an urban settlement (Russian: ''рабочий посёлок'') since 1959, in the west of Tula Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Odoyevsky District. It sits on the left bank of the Upa river, a rig ...
.
Between Russia and Lithuania
Originally lords of
Vorotynsk, a tiny
Upper Oka principality, these princes entered the service of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...
in the mid-15th century, when Prince Fyodor Romanovich was betrothed to
Algirdas
Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...
' granddaughter. Their grandson, Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky, defected to the
Grand Duchy of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
and helped
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 ...
besiege and take
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
. He was a singularly successful commander, routing the
Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
in the
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
in 1508 and again in 1517 near
Tula. Aiming at advantage against his young rival
Prince Belsky, Ivan did nothing to help him when the Tatars routed Belsky's army four years later. On this event, Vorotynsky fell into disgrace until 1525, when he solemnly promised to forget his enmity against Belsky and to suspend all the contacts with his Lithuanian relatives. The suspicion as to his plans of defecting to Lithuania still lingered, however. It was the reason given by regent
Elena Glinskaya
Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya (russian: Елена Васильевна Глинская; 1510 – 4 April 1538) was the Grand Princess consort of Russia, as the second wife of Grand Prince Vasili III and de facto regent of Russia for 5 consecutiv ...
when she ordered him to be taken into custody and immured in the distant
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (russian: Кирилло-Белозерский монастырь), translated into English as White Lake ranslation of the town name of BeloozeroSt. Cyril's Monastery, used to be the largest monastery and the stron ...
, where he died on July 21, 1535.
The Vorotynskys and Ivan the Terrible
Ivan Mikhailovich had three sons, all of whom played a part in Muscovite politics as
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 and
Voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
s. The eldest of these, Prince Vladimir Ivanovich Vorotynsky, was solicitous to talk
Vladimir of Staritsa
Vladimir Andreyevich (1533 – 9 October 1569) was the last appanage Russian prince. His complicated relationship with his cousin, Ivan the Terrible, was dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's movie '' Ivan the Terrible''.
The only son of Andrey of ...
into swearing allegiance to
Ivan IV
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 ...
's baby son during the tsar's grave illness in 1553 but died himself on September 27 that year. The youngest, Prince Alexander Ivanovich, was recorded in 1558 as governing the stronghold of
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 ...
but later lost the tsar's favor and died as a monk in the
Sretensky Monastery of
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 ...
on February 6, 1565.
The most famous of the brothers was Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky. He was one of those commanders who led the
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 ...
in 1552 and was the first to take the
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 ...
Tower. In 1561 the prince was exiled to
Beloozero, and his estates were confiscated. Four years later, he was let out on bail and dispatched to govern Kazan. For ten years, Mikhail Vorotynsky was in charge of Russian southern borders, founding new forts and strengthening the
Great Abatis Belt
Zasechnaya cherta (russian: Большая засечная черта, loosely translated as Great Abatis Line or Great Abatis Border) was a chain of fortification lines, created by Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia to prot ...
. His bold leadership made itself felt at the
Battle of Molodi
The Battle of Molodi (Russian: Би́тва при Мóлодях) was one of the key battles of Ivan the Terrible's reign. It was fought near the village of Molodi, south of Moscow, in July–August 1572 between the 40,000–60,000-strong'' ...
, where he routed the 120,000-strong Tatar army in the three-day battle (1572).
According to memoirs of Ivan's opponent
Prince 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 ...
, a year later, one of Vorotynsky's menials, incriminated in theft, insinuated that Vorotynsky was plotting the tsar's death by magic charms.
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 ...
, who never wanted a pretext to execute a boyar, put Vorotynsky to the torture. Mikhail's body was placed between two bonfires, and the tsar personally "raked the burning coals closer to his holy body with an accursed staff". Following the torture, the badly burnt boyar was taken to Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. He died on the way and was buried in that monastery close to his father.
The official register books (''
Razriady'') briefly report that Vorotynsky was executed along with two other military leaders, without further details.
Time of Troubles
Mikhail's son, Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky, was eventually released from the monastery and sent to subdue minor risings in the land of
Udmurts
The Udmurts ( udm, Удмуртъёс, ) are a Permian ( Finnic) ethnic group in Eastern Europe, who speak the Udmurt language. In the course of history, Russian-speakers have referred to them as ' (), Otyaks, Wotyaks or Votyaks.
Etymology
The ...
. Vorotynsk and other confiscated
votchina
Votchina (russian: во́тчина) or otchina (о́тчина – from word ''Father'') was an East Slavic land estate that could be inherited. The term "votchina" was also used to describe the lands of a knyaz.
The term originated in the la ...
s of his father were compensated by new lands near
Murom
Murom ( rus, Муром, p=ˈmurəm; Old Norse: ''Moramar'') is a historical city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the left bank of the Oka River. Population:
History
In the 9th century AD, the city marked the easternmost settle ...
,
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, and
Starodub-Ryapolovsky. During
Feodor I
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), ...
's reign, he championed the
Shuiskys
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 deriv ...
against
Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
, thus provoking the latter's ire. This time he was exiled to "very distant places", then served as a voivod in Kazan before finally returning to Moscow in 1598. He remained a loyal adherent of
Vasily Shuisky
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 w ...
in all of his undertakings and appears as such on the pages of
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's tragedy ''Boris Godunov''. In 1610, however, Vorotynsky was one of the boyars who demanded and secured Shuisky's deposition and imprisonment. In 1611 he supported
Patriarch Germogen against the pro-Polish party, which had them both put in chains. After the Poles were expelled from the Kremlin, Vorotynsky was nominated one of the candidates to the Russian throne. When the
Zemsky Sobor
The Zemsky Sobor ( rus, зе́мский собо́р, p=ˈzʲemskʲɪj sɐˈbor, t=assembly of the land) was a parliament of the Tsardom of Russia's estates of the realm active during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The assembly represented Russi ...
named
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 ...
as a new tsar, Vorotynsky led a deputation of boyars to the
Ipatiev Monastery
The Ipatiev Monastery (), sometimes translated into English as Hypatian Monastery, is a male monastery situated on the bank of the Kostroma River just opposite the city of Kostroma. It was founded around 1330 by a Tatar convert, Prince Chet, who ...
to inform Mikhail about his election. Later, he governed
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 ...
and
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 ...
during the tsar's absence from the capital. He died as a monk on January 8, 1627.
Thenceforward the Vorotynskys didn't figure prominently in national politics. Ivan's only son, Prince Aleksey Ivanovich (1610–42), died at the age of 32, survived by his wife, a sister of Tsarina
Eudoxia Streshneva
Eudoxia Streshneva (, ''Yevdokiya Lukyanovna Streshneva''; 1608 – 18 August 1645) was the Tsaritsa of Russia as the second spouse of Tsar Michael of Russia.
Life
Eudoxia Streshneva was a daughter of the noble Lukyan Stepanovich Streshnev (d ...
. Their son Ivan Alekseyevich Vorotynsky probably profited from his being first cousin of
Tsar Alexis
Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...
, as the 1678
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
shows him as one of the biggest private landowners in Russia. He died the following year, on July 24, leaving no male heirs. Thereupon his lands fell to a daughter, Anastasia, who married Prince Peter
Galitzine
The House of Golitsyn or Galitzine was one of the largest princely of the noble houses in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. Among them were boyars, warlords, diplomats, generals (the Mikhailovichs), stewards, chamberlains, the richest m ...
. Anastasia died on December 12, 1691 and was buried by the Patriarch in
Epiphany Monastery
The Epiphany Monastery (russian: Богоявленский монастырь, ''Bogoyavlensky monastyr''; better translated as " Theophany Monastery") is the oldest male monastery in Moscow, situated in the Kitai gorod, just one block away fro ...
of
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 ...
.
References
{{authority control
Russian noble families
Rurikids
Tsardom of Russia