John IV Vasilievich (Ivan the Terrible) - Grand Duke of Moscow and All Russia, the first king of all Russia. Grozny became the ruler of Russia at the age of 3; he ruled with the participation of the regency council - the "Elected Council".
For the whole of Russian history, the strengthening of autocratic power and the Russian state, the reign of Ivan the Terrible was of great importance. His policy consisted of 2 stages: reform of the 50s, reinforcing the autocratic power, which was limited to estate-representative institutions; then, with the help of the oprichnina, Ivan IV tried to establish an absolute monarchy.
The king’s childhood passed during the "boyar rule", which greatly shook the state structure. Therefore, when Grozny began to rule the state on his own in 1547. he founded the "Chosen Rada", which was to implement the ideas of European absolutism.
After 2 years, Grozny gathered the first Zemsky Sobor in the history of Russia (a collection of representatives of all classes, with the exception of serfs and landlords). At the cathedral, the king came up with a reform program. The result of such a cathedral was the release of a new Code of Law (1550), which was adopted by the Boyar Duma.
The judicial code sharply limited the power of governors, thereby strengthening the central government of the state, and also determined the strict order of judicial and administrative cases in the state structure. Elected from the people: elders, sotsky, could participate in court. The tax privileges of large spiritual and secular feudal lords were also limited. The situation of the peasantry was regulated: the fee for leaving the owner on Yuryev’s day was increased, and serfdom laws were significantly strengthened.
With the adoption of the Code of Law, reforms began in the country. In 1556, the feeding system was abolished, the monetary salaries of the boyars for service became their only income. In the same year, the "Code of Service" was adopted, according to which both boyars and nobles should carry out military service.
Ivan the Terrible completes the formation of the army. He creates a streltsy army, the number of which in the early 50s was 3, 000 people, and by the end of the century - 20, 000 archers. The tsar allocated artillery to a separate branch of the army, which at the end of the reign of Grozny had 2, 000 guns in its arsenal.
In the second half of the 50s, order reform was carried out, the result of which was the completion of the creation of a coherent system of public administration and executive power. The reform consisted of 22 orders, increased the size of the bureaucracy, and encompassed all spheres of society with its influence.
To solve the most important issues, Ivan the Terrible created the highest state body - Zemsky Sobor. Boyars, nobles, clergy and merchants could participate in it, which testified to the country's transformation into an estate-representative monarchy. This was reflected in the places of zemstvo self-government, governors were abolished, and elders from among the peasants and townspeople were chosen in their places.
At the same time, Grozny was carrying out Church reform, which canonized the saints. Thus, uniting the entire Russian people into a single state. The reform strengthened the corporate organization of the church, weakening its independence from the state.
December 3, 1564, having made a kind of coup d'etat, Ivan IV introduced the oprichnina. The new order divided the central administration into 2 parts: zemstvo and oprichnina yards. The land of the state was also divided into 2 parts: zemshchina and oprichnina. The Oprichnina was completely under the authority of the king, and in the zemstvo the old order of government remained. All who were not recorded in the oprichnina were evicted to the zemstvo, thus the nobles lost their clan estates. Terrible created an oprichnina army - his personal guard. At this time, torture, investigation, the destruction of estates, mass executions, robberies are becoming commonplace. In 1572, the oprichnina was abolished, however, some of its elements continued to exist until the death of the king. Oprichnina directly contributed to the economic crisis in the country, depleted its economy, and disrupted economic ties. Hunger and poverty began in the country, which caused the ripening of popular discontent.
