Marriage to Elena Glinskaya. Elena Glinskaya - reforms. Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya, mother of Ivan the Terrible. Monetary reform by Elena Glinskaya. Prerequisites for monetary reform

The first wife of Vasily III was Solomonia Saburova. She was chosen from 500 girls presented to the court from different parts of the country. Solomonia won this “beauty contest.” During 20 years of marriage, no heir was born. Vasily III decided to divorce, enlisting the support of the boyar Duma. He sent his wife to a monastery. The woman spent 17 years here. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, like other representatives of the clergy, condemned the divorce of the Grand Duke and predicted the birth of a child in his second marriage, whose cruelty the whole world would talk about.

Vasily III. (Pinterest)

The next chosen one of the sovereign was the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Elena Glinskaya. The marriage produced two children - Ivan and Yuri. On December 3, 1533, Vasily III died. Elena became the ruler of Russia as regent under Ivan, removing her guardians from the throne. Her reign was marked by successes in the international arena - for example, a free trade agreement was concluded with Sweden. Another victory was peace with the Polish king Sigismund I, which put an end to the Starodub War. Lithuania started this war, hoping to return to the borders of 1508. The offensive ended in failure. In accordance with the treaty of 1537, Zavolochye, Velizh and Sebezh remained part of the Russian state.

Wedding of Vasily III and Elena Glinskaya. (Pinterest)

Despite diplomatic successes, Elena Glinskaya never established relationships with the boyars. They tried to overthrow the wayward princess several times. Formally, the reason for dissatisfaction was her relationship with a married man, which Elena stopped hiding immediately after the death of her husband.

The Grand Duchess of Moscow carried out a monetary reform. Each of the principalities had its own mint, and this made trade with its neighbors difficult. Counterfeiters took advantage of the situation and made great money. Now a unified monetary circulation system was introduced, which was of great importance for the development of foreign trade.

Under Glinskaya, Russian cities are growing. Yaroslavl and Ustyug were restored, and new settlements arose on the border with Lithuania. China Town was founded in Moscow.

In April 1538, Elena Glinskaya died. An examination of her remains revealed that the cause of death was mercury poisoning. However, it is unclear whether the Grand Duchess of Moscow was poisoned by her enemies - in the 16th century, mercury was used to treat various diseases; it could be ingested in small doses over a long period of time. A week after Glinskaya’s death, her favorite Ivan Telepnev-Ovchina-Obolensky was captured. He died in prison from malnutrition.

The reign of Elena Glinskaya (briefly)

In 1526, Elena Glinskaya, whose family, according to some sources, comes from the legendary Mamai, was chosen to play the role of the wife of Grand Duke Vasily the Third, who had to divorce his first wife because she could not give birth to a child. Glinskaya gave birth to Vasily the Third two sons - Yuri and Ivan. In 1533, the prince died, and Elena had to implement a complex but necessary plan.

Thus, in 1533, Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya actually carried out a palace coup, as a result of which she managed to remove from power the so-called regents, guardians who were appointed by Vasily the Third. At the same time, the princess did not spare anyone and not only her brother-in-law, but also her own uncle fell under her hand.

Thanks to the successful implementation of her plan, Princess Elena was able to become the first ruler of the Russian land after the great and wise Princess Olga (it is also worth mentioning Sofya Vitovna, whose power was more formal than real).

At first, as a woman of Lithuanian upbringing and morals, the attitude towards the ruler was ambiguous among both the masses and the boyars. Her closest ally was considered her married favorite Ivan Telepnev-Obolensky. It was this connection between Elena and her slightly arrogant disposition that caused extreme discontent among the boyars. For expressing such thoughts out loud, Elena’s uncle Mikhail was imprisoned by his niece for many years, where he died in agony from hunger.

In 1537, Glinskaya managed to conclude a peace treaty with Sigismund the First, who was the king of Poland at that time. Thanks to this document, Russia was not only able to end the Russian-Lithuanian war on favorable terms, but formed a strong alliance of two states aimed at repelling their opponents. In addition, during the reign of Glinskaya, the Kitai-Gorod wall was erected, and many other large cities were fortified.

However, historians consider the most important moment in the history of the reign of Princess Elena Glinskaya to be her financial or monetary reform, which began in 1535. This reform actually introduced a single currency throughout Russian territory. It was a silver coin weighing 0.34 grams.

The princess died on April 4, 1538. Most researchers believe that Elena was poisoned by Shuisky. This is also indicated by data from a study of Glinskaya’s remains, analyzes of which indicate the presence of poison in the body.

The story of the birth of one of the most prominent figures of the Russian throne, Ivan the Terrible, testifies and confirms this unity more than ever. After all, the father of the first tsar was the Russian Grand Duke and native of the Poltava region, Elena Glinskaya.

In 1430, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas donated Poltava and Glinsk to the Tatar Murza Leksada Mansur

Ukrainian mother of the Russian Tsar.

Much is said and written about the unity of the two Slavic peoples, as well as about their common history. The story of the birth of one of the most prominent figures of the Russian throne, Ivan the Terrible, testifies and confirms this unity more than ever. After all, the father of the first tsar was the Russian Grand Duke and native of the Poltava region, Elena Glinskaya.

Whose boys will you be?

The Glinsky family was a famous and quite noble family. At the same time, the princely family had Tatar roots. In 1430, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt gave Poltava and Glinsk to the Tatar Murza Leksada Mansurkanovich, who converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Alexander in baptism. Leksada, according to the testimony of many eminent historians, was a direct relative of Khan Mamai, the same one who defeated Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field. The neophyte chose his surname after the name of his estate - Glinsky.

According to the famous Ukrainian historian, local historian, to candidate of historical sciences, honored cultural worker of Ukraine, Vera Nikanorovna Zhuk, it was Leksada, following the city of Glinsk, who founded our village of Glinsk. " Dekhto, having respected him as one of the nashchadki of the Golden Ordn temnik (military leader), and from the 60s of the 14th century. the actual ruler of the Golden Horde, Mamai, after the defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo 1380 r. It is even more likely that Lexa was from the family of Tokhtamish, an ally of Vitovt. 1430 rub. Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt gave (gifted) from Lenna Volodinya Leksadi Poltava, Glinsk, and Glinitsya. Leksada then fell asleep and entered the village of Glinsk on Vorskla, near Opishna. Poltava pre-revolutionary historians had the idea that the ancient town-fort of Opishnya was destroyed by the Golden Ordians 1399 rubles, and then a small settlement called Glinitsa was built. Well, it’s important that it’s actually a whole Opishnya. This first Poltava landowner converted to Orthodoxy, took the name Alexander, and from the town of Glinsky - the nickname Glinsky and thus became the ancestor of the Glinsky princes, who were one of the richest in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania."

Leksada-Alexander Glinsky made the town of Belsk, which is in the middle reaches of the Vorskla (now Kotelevsky district of the Poltava region), the center of his possessions. Ukrainian historians believe that the Belsk settlement preserved here is nothing more than the remains of the legendary capital of great Scythia - the city of Gelon*.

* "….When it comes to toponymic structures, we must pay respect to those who, in the deserted outskirts of the Bielskoye fortification, have built up the village of Glinske (Glinsk), which, as O.S. Strizhak put it, is named after the song of the world. I will call it Gelon. It is possible, therefore, to inherit the ancient toponym. Before the river, Bil Glinsky, the gratings of the settlement of the Scythian period (VI-V centuries BC) were found. As the name Glinske (Glinsk) rightly coincided with the infusion of the toponym Gelon, then this can be yet another confirmation of the fact that the Bilsk settlement is ancient ій Gelon ..."
Boris Andreevich Shramko- an outstanding Ukrainian archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Honored Professor of KhNU. Member of the field committee of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

(These two important comments to this article, highlighted in blue above, were added by us - glinskoe.livejournal.com)

In a short time, his heirs strengthened not only their family glory, but also their status as experienced politicians and governors. The descendants of the Tatar Murza became: Gregory - governor in Ovruch, Bogdan - in Putivl.

The most famous Glinsky was Prince Mikhail Lvovich, a great adventurer and adventurer who had a medical degree, a talented military leader and diplomat, whom all of Europe knew. Mikhail managed to serve with the German Emperor Maximilian, then with Albert of Saxony. He was received in Italy, and he was the marshal of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian court.

During the period of powerful Polish expansion, Mikhail, realizing the threat of total Polishization, decided to raise an uprising, first of all involving his brothers Ivan and Vasily Slipy. The conspiracy of the Ukrainian and Belarusian gentry against King Sigismund I the Old failed and the brothers fled to Muscovy. The brothers' lands were confiscated and only a small part of them went to the daughters of Vasily Glinsky-Slepy Agrofena and Elena. The eldest daughter bequeathed the lands to her son-in-law Mikhail Gribunovich-Baybuze, but the story of the youngest daughter was much more interesting.

Glinsky at court

It’s no wonder that such an irrepressible politician as Mikhail Glinsky was able to quickly earn the love of Grand Duke Vasily III. The reckless but talented military leader wins several victories over the Tatars and is not shy about flattery and servility. Soon Glinsky receives the rank of boyar, and his wealth triples. However, Mikhail wanted more, especially since there was a war with the Lithuanians. Mikhail managed to become famous in the Moscow service, quarrel with many, harbor a grudge, and even plan to return to Lithuania when the governor did not get Smolensk, which had been taken from the enemy.

Suspicion of treason led Glinsky to the damp prison basements, but when the “tick and rack specialists” were about to come to grips with him, a sensitive question arose - the accused discovered a beautiful niece who made an indelible impression on the Grand Duke of Moscow.

I want to get married!

Vasily III was the son of the Moscow prince Ivan III and the Byzantine princess Sophia Palaeologus. When the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, suddenly died and Vasily became a contender for the throne, his father and mother carefully and for a long time selected a bride for him. According to eyewitnesses, as many as five hundred people were brought to Moscow! The choice fell on Solomonia - the daughter of governor Yuri Konstantinovich Saburov, a moderately well-born boyar, a relative of the Godunovs and Velyaminovs. Almost nothing is known about the personal life of the Grand Duke and his wife. Although it is obvious that Vasily III was nervous about the absence of heirs in a long marriage.

The complexity of the political situation and two rival brothers complicated the prospects of the reign. At this time he meets Elena Glinskaya, who was not distinguished by nobility, but could and knew how to please. As the chronicle indicates, the Grand Duke loved Elena Glinskaya “for beauty for the sake of her face and the beauty of her age, and especially for the sake of chastity.”

In November 1525, staying in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, Vasily III gathered a council of the closest boyars, where he decided to forcefully divorce and tonsure his wife Solomonia as a nun. “The prince is great... tonsured... Solomonia, on her advice, because of the burden of illness and childlessness; but he lived with her for 20 years, but there were no children.”

This act was unheard of according to the canons of that time. Only a madman could dissolve a marriage sanctified by the church, send his wife to a monastery and plan to marry again while his first wife was alive! The marriage was also opposed because the prince’s chosen one was a foreigner, and her relatives were vassals of the main enemy of Moscow - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

But it wasn't that simple. It is possible that Grand Duke Vasily III used the church conflict between the “non-possessors” and the “Josephites” in this matter. Solomonia was associated with the circle of Maxim the Greek, and Elena Glinskaya was an admirer of Joseph Volotsky and even the “spiritual daughter” of Metropolitan Daniel, who, with his authority, allowed the divorce and blessed the second marriage. Thus, in a sharp and dangerous struggle, where everything was at stake, even life. The Metropolitan strengthened his influence, and the prince strengthened his rear.

But they opposed the marriage, and besides, 47-year-old Prince Vasily Ivanovich took a very bold (from the point of view of breaking traditions) step for the sake of the bride - he shaved off his beard - the pride of a man and, as the chronicler wrote, “wore a mustache.” This caused indignation at court, almost greater than the marriage itself. The Beloozersky monks declared marriage to be fornication, and there were those who saw in this a bias towards Catholicism.

The unrest led to the fact that the Metropolitan himself, a great and prolific master of the epistolary genre, composed a special praise for the marriage and the act of the prince, for “he will appear naked with head and braid... like a strategist of the forces of heaven.” Despite the protests, Vasily III was adamant and in January 1526 “he married secondly, understood Princess Elena, Prince Vasilyeva is the daughter of Lvovich Glinsky; and Metropolitan Daniel married them.” The chronicle has preserved a description of the wedding ceremony, where the smallest details are described, down to how many coins should be placed on the loaves and how the bride should be combed in order to place a kiki (pre-wedding accessory) on her. Not a single grand-ducal wedding has been described in such detail.

"The Case of Solomonia"

Resistance to the marriage and the fight against supporters of Maxim the Greek made it possible for various rumors to spread. This is how one of the first legends about an impostor in Russian history appeared. And the main character in it was the ex-wife of Grand Duke Solomony. The fact is that testimony about Solomonia’s “infirmity” (that is, the inability to give birth to an heir) was heard before a special commission of inquiry, which made it possible for rumors to spread. They talked about the prince’s “illness,” and then they began to talk about Solomonia’s pregnancy. These rumors were spread by the wives of the treasury guard Georgy Maly and the bed servant Yakov Mazur, for which they paid. But the rumor that the real heir of the Grand Duke is a certain son of Solomonia, George, has already begun to spread throughout the country. Subsequently, the same rumor claimed that the prince’s son allegedly became the famous robber Kudeyar.

The mysterious divorce and new marriage also make modern historians doubtful, who even find doubts about why Vasily III later gave two volosts to his first wife, hiding under the name “Elder Sophia”...

Happy father

However, there were initially no children in the new marriage. This is how the myth “about the childlessness” of the Grand Duke himself arose. But Vasily III had two sons. The eldest was born on the morning of August 25, 1530. “In the summer of August 70-30, 25, in memory of the holy apostles Bartholomew and Titus, at 7 o’clock in the night, a son was born to Grand Duke Vasily from his Grand Duchess Elena and was named Ivan.” According to legend, a furious storm swept across all of Rus' at that hour and thunder struck. The Kazan Khansha, having learned about the birth of the tsar, allegedly told the messengers: “A tsar was born to you, and he has two teeth: with one he can eat us Tatars, and with the other you.”

The heir was named Ivan in honor of St. John the Baptist and the prince-grandfather. The happy family went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, where they invited elders known for their holiness, for example, the elderly Cassian Bosogo, who, for the sake of such an occasion, was “brought like a baby” and held by the hands. The prince's successors were hegumen Daniel from Pereyaslav-Zalessky and monk Iev Kurtsov of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. At the baptism ceremony, Grand Duke Vasily III carried the baby in his arms to the tomb of Sergius of Radonezh, as if entrusting him to the patronage of the great saint.

The Grand Duke was so happy with the heir that he even forgave his first wife and transferred her from the Kargopol monastery closer to Suzdal. He pardoned the punished nobles, and now, feeling his rear, he even allowed his competitors to marry - the brothers Yuri, who was imprisoned in Dmitrov, and Prince Andrei Staritsky.

In honor of the birth of his son and in gratitude to God, a temple was built in the center of Moscow, and a year later the famous tented church appeared in the village of Kolomenskoye. Having become a father at an already mature age, Vasily took touching care of his son. In his letters, he worries about the inflammation of the abscess on the heir’s neck, and inquires about his diet: “And about the food of the son Ivan, write to me in advance, what Ivan the son eats, so that I know.” In 1532, Elena gave birth to a second son, who was named Yuri (George), who turned out to be deaf and mute and mentally disabled.

Who will get the throne?

Death overtook the Grand Duke, completely unexpectedly. When the prince was three years old, Vasily III, while hunting near Volokolamsk, suddenly “began to be exhausted naked, and a sore appeared on that nose, and the disease began to be severe due to the sore...”. Apparently, the prince suffered from inflammation of the periosteum, which broke him. Age and illness quickly took their toll and the prince ordered the delivery of a will, the contents of which were allegedly kept secret from Elena. Upon arrival in Moscow, the prince convenes frequent meetings of the boyars, where they decide on the “dispensation of the zemstvo.” According to the chronicles, he did not invite his wife there.

Elena was released to her husband a few hours before her death. The prince told her that: “I blessed my son Ivan with the state and the great reign, and I wrote you in a spiritual letter, as in the previous spiritual letters of our fathers and ancestors by inheritance, like the previous great princesses.” That is, she received the so-called “widow's inheritance.” At the same time, he told everyone “..how she would be without him, how the boyars should come to her.” It is clear from everything that Vasily prepared thoroughly for death.

The transfer of power caused a lot of rumors and discussions. Until now, historians have put forward hypotheses about who the power was transferred to: the regents, the Boyar Duma or the guardians. Among the latter were Dmitry Belsky and Mikhail Glinsky “he is related through his wife.” Although the boyars Andrei Staritsky, Mikhail Yuryev, Vasily and Ivan Shuisky, Mikhail Tuchkov and Ivan Shigona were also considered such - a kind of forerunner of the “seven boyars”. It is clear that there was a redistribution of powers at the bedside...
The guardians crowned three-year-old Ivan a few days after the death of his parent, and then the formal medieval showdown began. The brother of the deceased, Prince Yuri, tried to start a rebellion, but he was arrested and imprisoned, and starved to death. Discord flared up between the Duma and the executors.

Usurper?

Elena, having taken off her mourning, was distracted with her favorite, a handsome and quite good and even dashing warrior, Ivan Ovichnaya-Telepnev. Tula voivode, he distinguished himself in the wars with the Lithuanians, led regiments to Kazan and the rebellious Serpukhov, was named among the boyars, even received the rank and title of equestrian. His sister Agrafena Chelyadina was the wet nurse of the born Ivan. At the burial of the Grand Duke, Ivan was present next to Elena.

The Boyar Duma, which decided to put an end to the dominance of guardians, undertook to patronize Ivan Fedorovich Ovchina. Enormous power appeared in the hands of the ex-stable himself. The relationship between the princess and Ovchina-Telepnev was the subject of discussion both during their lives and after. Elena was accused of debauchery. A century later, the Swedish diplomat Peter Petrey, who visited Russia, wrote about her that the princess went “to a dissolute house and was very debauched and fornicated,” although the foreigner was clearly lying, a hundred years had passed and even when the Swede visited, there were no dissolute houses in Moscow, Moscow but not Europe. One way or another, we have to admit that Elena Glinskaya also became the parent of Russian favoritism, a phenomenon that is very widespread and often even useful for the state body.

Dying, Vasily III asked Mikhail Glinsky: “Shed your blood and give your body to be crushed for my son Ivan and for my wife...”. Mikhail did not like Ovchina and allegedly demanded that his niece break up with her favorite. The reaction was pressure on Elena. The princess is faced with a dilemma - surrender her uncle and receive freedom from her guardians, or surrender her favorite and submit to the executors. She chose the first option, essentially violating her husband's will. It was Ovchina-Telepnev who ordered Elena’s uncle Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky to be sent to prison, where he died.

The rules of “palace coups” came into play. Having eliminated the main enemy, attacks began on the others. Belsky and Yuryev fled, Vorontsov retired. The brother of the Grand Duke Andrei Staritsky was forced to sign a letter of submission to the ruler. He, demonstrating his non-involvement in the encroachment on power, even demonstratively withdrew his troops. However, they surrounded him and tried to destroy him. Then the prince fled to Novogrod, where he tried to raise the people there, but was captured. He was thrown into prison with what looked like an iron mask placed on his head. There Staritsky died, his supporters were brutally executed.

Or a reformist?

Elena Glinskaya did not rule for long, about five years, but her reign went down in history with its innovations. First of all, Helena concluded a truce with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, although at first there was some war. Under Elena, peaceful ties were established with the Nogai Horde, Livonia and the Astrakhan Khanate and Kazan, which made it possible to carry out work to strengthen the Moscow Kremlin, build China Town and build a new defensive system around the city. The cities of Tver, Vladimir, and Yaroslavl, which suffered from various troubles and misfortunes, were also restored.

Elena partially limited the land ownership of monasteries and ordered the persecution of “dashing people” to be transferred to provincial elders - to the districts, which became the forerunner of local government reforms.
One of the outstanding reforms of this time was the monetary reform. The fact is that the Muscovy of that time was developing at a particularly rapid pace. The growth in the production of goods did not correspond to the production of coins, which was taken advantage of by counterfeiters who created pure “financial chaos.” The princess ordered the withdrawal of the multi-weight coin and the printing of a single coin, and it was with her that the penny was born. Before that, the system was based on the “Moskovka” or “saber” coin, named after the image of a warrior with a saber. It was then replaced by silver Novgorod money, which, because of the image of a warrior with a spear, began to be called “kopek”.

Behind death is death

The Lvov chronicle testified: “... the state of Great Russia ruled for four years and four months for the sake of this, because I was young, Grand Duke Ivan ... her son, who was eight years old from his birth.” On April 3, 1538, Elena Glinskaya passed away. The Grand Duchess was buried according to tradition, but in a hurry and with animation. The boyars received Elena's death with delight. Many loudly and publicly, without mincing words, scolded Glinskaya. Mikhail Tuchkov, as the Tsar himself later claimed, uttered “arrogant words” at his death and thereby became like a viper regurgitating poison.

A wooden coffin with a body dressed in a shroud made of yellow Italian silk with a blue border was placed on a sleigh and carried in their hands to the ancestral necropolis of the Moscow grand-ducal family - the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin. Such a pagan custom persisted in remote corners of Russia almost until the end of the 19th century, but was officially abolished by Peter I. Glinskaya “was established in the Church of the Ascension of Our Lord ... near the Grand Duchess Sophia of the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich.” In the tomb, the body was moved to a stone sarcophagus, near the grave of Sophia Palaeologus, which was closed with a lid with carved words. Later, a slab and a tombstone were erected over it.

The death of Elena was followed by reprisals against her favorite. Ivan Ovchina-Telepnev was taken six days later. Initially, he was going to be executed, “and after the death of the Grand Duchesses on the 6th day of the Grand Duke, the boyars caught Prince Ovichnu-Teplepnev and put him in a blanket in the Embankment, where Glinsky was sitting, and the burden on him, iron, was the same as on Glinsky , there he died.” After Ovchina’s death, his sister, the heir’s nurse Agrafena Chelyadina, was tonsured and sent to a monastery. Even his son Fyodor was impaled, and his brother Ivan Drogobuzhsky was beheaded on the ice of the Moscow river...

"The Poisoning Case"

The Grand Duchess suddenly died, since there was no evidence of illness in the young and strong-looking woman. The Austrian diplomat Sigismund Herberstein began to talk about the poisoning in his “Notes on Muscovy,” who was an actual witness to what was happening. The facts were partially supported by the official version, which was supported by Ivan the Terrible himself, who adored his mother.

They started talking about the murder in detail after the reconstruction of the tomb. The coffin was partially disturbed back in 1929. Then after in the thirties. Finally. In 1999, a substantive study of the sarcophagus began, where fragments of secular clothing, a lace headdress and bones were discovered. The skull was significantly damaged, but leading forensic specialist Sergei Nikitin, using Gerasimov’s method, was able to restore the appearance of the Grand Duchess.

Chemical analysis helped establish the causes of Elena Vasilievna’s death. Spectral analysis of pieces of hair showed that the Grand Duchess was poisoned with mercury salts, large quantities of which were also found in the remains of bone tissue. As experts noted, such a content of poison could not be accidental - the Grand Duchess was killed...

This is how the second ruler of the Russian land after Princess Olga ended her earthly journey.

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Elena Glinskaya's reforms were carried out in conditions when the young united Russian state was changing its structure, abandoning the outdated orders of the period of fragmentation.

Personality of Elena Glinskaya

In 1533, Grand Duke Vasily III died suddenly. His first wife was never able to bear him a child. Therefore, very shortly before his death, he concluded his own, despite the fact that it went against church rules. His second wife was Elena Glinskaya. As in any monarchy, in the Moscow principality, in the absence of an heir, the question of succession of power arose acutely. Because of this, the personal life of the ruler became an invariable part of state life.

Elena gave birth to Vasily two sons - Ivan and Yuri. The eldest of them was born in 1530. At the time of his father's death he was only three years old. Therefore, a regency council was assembled in Moscow, which included boyars from various influential aristocratic families.

Board of Elena Glinskaya

The head of the state was Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya, the mother of the young prince. She was young and full of strength. According to law and tradition, Elena was supposed to transfer power to her son when he reached adulthood (17 years old).

However, the regent died suddenly in 1538 at the age of 30. There were rumors in Moscow that she was poisoned by the Shuisky boyars, who wanted to take over all power in the council. One way or another, the exact causes of death were never clarified. Power passed to the boyars for another decade. This was a period of unrest and disorder, which influenced the character of the future king.

Nevertheless, during the short period of her reign, Elena managed to implement many government reforms that were designed to improve life within the country.

Prerequisites for monetary reform

In 1535, an unprecedented transformation of the monetary system began, initiated by Elena Glinskaya. Reforms have been needed for decades. Under Ivan III and Vasily III, many new sovereign territories of Pskov, the Ryazan Principality, etc. were annexed. Each region had its own currency. Rubles differed in denomination, mintage, share of precious metals, etc. While the appanage princes were independent, each of them had their own mint and determined financial policy.

Now all the scattered Russian lands were under the jurisdiction of Moscow. But the discrepancy between money led to complications in interregional trade. Often, the parties to a transaction simply could not settle accounts with each other due to the mismatch of their coins. This chaos could not remain without consequences. Counterfeiters were caught all over the country, flooding the market with low-grade counterfeits. There were several methods for their work. One of the most popular was coin clipping. In the 1930s, the amount of low-quality money became alarming. Executing criminals did not help either.

The essence of the changes

The first step to correcting the financial situation was to ban the coin regalia (the right to mint) of the former free fiefs, on the territory of which there were their own mints. The essence of Elena Glinskaya’s monetary reform - all

At this time, the number of European merchants who happily went to trade in the markets of Muscovy increased. The country had many goods that were rare for Western buyers (furs, metals, etc.). But the growth of trade was hampered by the turmoil with counterfeit coins within the Moscow principality. The monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya was supposed to correct this situation.

Continuation of the policy of Vasily III

It is interesting that measures to change monetary policy were discussed even under Vasily III. The prince pursued an active foreign policy (fought with Lithuania, Crimea, etc.). Army costs were reduced due to the deliberate deterioration of the quality of coins, in which the proportion of precious metals decreased. But Vasily III died prematurely. Therefore, Elena Glinskaya’s monetary reform took place in unexpected circumstances. The princess successfully completed her task in a short time. This can only be explained by the fact that she was an active assistant in Vasily's affairs when he was still alive. That is why Elena Glinskaya was aware of all matters and necessary measures. The turmoil inside and the regency council could not stop the young ruler.

Carrying out reform

In February 1535, a decree on changes in monetary circulation was announced in Moscow. Firstly, all old coins that were minted before that day became invalid (this applied to both low-quality counterfeits and coins of the same quality). Secondly, new money weighing a third of a gram was introduced. For the convenience of small payments, they also began to mint coins that were twice as light (0.17 grams). They were called half-hearted. At the same time, the word of Turkic origin “money” was officially established. Initially it was common among the Tatars.

However, there were also reservations that were provided for by the monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya. Briefly speaking, some exceptions were introduced for Veliky Novgorod. It was this city that was the merchant capital of the principality. Traders from all over Europe came here. Therefore, for ease of calculations, Novgorod coins received their own weight (two-thirds of a gram). They depicted a horseman armed with a spear. Because of this, these coins began to be called kopecks. Later this word spread throughout Russia.

Consequences

It is difficult to overestimate the benefits that Elena Glinskaya’s reforms brought, which are very difficult to describe briefly. They helped the country move to a new stage of development. A unified monetary system made trade easier and faster. Rare goods began to appear in distant provinces. Food deficit has decreased. Merchants grew rich and invested their profits in new projects, boosting the country's economy.

The quality of coins minted in Moscow improved. They began to be respected among European merchants. The country's foreign trade was activated, which made it possible to sell rare goods abroad, which provided significant profits to the treasury. All this was facilitated by the reforms of Elena Glinskaya. The table shows the main features of these transformations not only in financial, but also in other spheres of society.

Lip reform

Princess Elena Glinskaya, whose reforms did not end with finances, also began to change the system of local government. The change in the boundaries of the state under her husband led to the fact that the old internal administrative divisions became ineffective. Because of this, the lip reform of Elena Glinskaya began. It concerned local government. The adjective “labial” comes from the word “to ruin.” The reform also covered criminal proceedings in the province.

According to the princess’s innovation, labial huts appeared in the country, in which provincial elders worked. Such bodies were to begin work in every volost town. The provincial elder could conduct a trial over robbers. This privilege was taken away from the feeders who appeared during the growth of the Moscow principality. Boyars who lived outside the capital became more than just governors. At times their power was too dangerous for the political center.

Therefore, transformations began in local government, initiated by Elena Glinskaya. The reforms also introduced new territorial districts (guba), which corresponded to the territory formerly under the jurisdiction of the provincial elders. This was a division according to criminal jurisdiction. It did not abolish the usual volosts, which corresponded to administrative boundaries. The reform began under Elena and continued under her son Ivan. In the 16th century, the boundaries of the lips and volosts coincided.

Changes in local government

The elders were chosen from local boyars. They were controlled by the Duma, which met in the capital, as well as the Robust Order. This governing body was in charge of criminal cases of robbery, robbery, murder, as well as the work of prisons and executioners.

The division of powers between the local administration and the courts has made it possible to increase the efficiency of their work. The position of lip kisser also appeared. He was chosen from among wealthy peasants and was supposed to help the headman in his work.

If a criminal case could not be examined in the provincial hut, then it was sent to the Robbery Order. All these innovations have been brewing for a long time, but they appeared precisely at the time when Elena Glinskaya ruled. The reforms made it safer for merchants and travelers to travel on the roads. The new system was useful in the improvement of the Volga lands annexed during the (Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates).

Also, lip huts helped the authorities fight anti-government protests among the peasantry. As mentioned above, reform was necessary not only to change local government, but also to combat feeding. The abandonment of this outdated practice occurred a little later, when, under Elena’s successors, they began to update the zemstvo legislation. As a result, over time, the appointed governors were replaced by elected ones who knew their volost better than the appointees from Moscow.

Work of lip huts

The appearance of labial huts and the beginning of an organized fight against crime were the result of the understanding that any violation of the law is not a private matter of the victim, but a blow to the stability of the state. After Elena Glinskaya, criminal norms were also updated in the Code of Laws of her son. Each provincial elder received a staff of employees (cassers, tens, etc.). Their number depended on the size of the bay and the number of residential courtyards within this territorial unit.

If before this the feeders were only involved in the adversarial and accusatory process, then the elders carried out search and investigative activities (for example, interviewing witnesses, searching for evidence, etc.). This was a new level of legal proceedings, which made it possible to more effectively fight crime. The reforms of Elena Glinskaya became an unprecedented impetus in this area of social life.

The mother of Ivan IV (the Terrible), Elena Glinskaya, is rarely mentioned today. But her life story is inextricably linked with Russia. Thanks to the efforts of this woman ruler, the state was able to survive without irreversible damage...

The Glinskys are considered descendants of the famous Khan Mamai. After the victory of the Russians on the Kulikovo field, one of the family of Khan Mamai, having converted to Orthodoxy, began to serve the Lithuanian prince. Subsequently, he received the title of Prince Glinsky. In terms of nobility, the Glinsky family was second only to the reigning dynasties.

The Glinskys ended up in Rus' thanks to Prince Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky, who was called into service by the Russian Tsar, offering a large salary and assistance to him and his close relatives. Therefore, Prince Glinsky brought his family with him to his new place of residence. And indeed, the sovereign kept his promise and endowed Glinsky with lands and even two cities (Medyn, Yaroslavl). Unfortunately, the prince did not get along on Russian soil and wanted to return to Lithuania. But that was not the case: he was immediately imprisoned for a long time, accusing him of treason.

It is not known for sure whether Elena Glinskaya was born in Moscow or was brought as a child. It is known for certain that she met Tsar Vasily III at the age of eighteen. Elena Glinskaya not only had amazing beauty, but was also smart, received an excellent education: she spoke Polish, German, and knew Latin. Vasily III was delighted with the young Helen. Why the king chose Elena as his wife is unknown. But her candidacy was quite satisfactory to the sovereign’s closest associates: the family of the future queen was not connected by ties to any boyar families. The Tsar needed an heir, and Elena always dreamed of taking a higher position in society. And as subsequent events showed, the sovereign sincerely fell in love with his young wife. For the sake of young Elena, the tsar changed many established customs, bringing them closer to European fashion. It cannot be said that the environment was against such changes. Many people liked to shave their beards, wear European clothes, adorn themselves with jewelry and use incense.

The first wife of Vasily III was unable to give birth to an heir. And this became the reason for the divorce. They say that the Tsar ordered the Novodevichy Convent to be built for her. Four months after his first wife was tonsured as a nun, Vasily III married Elena Glinskaya.

Despite the sovereign's marriage to Elena, the fate of Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky did not immediately change - he was still in prison. Only the persistent requests of his wife were able to soften the king’s heart, and he gave freedom to the captive and brought him into his circle.

Prince Ivan Telepnev-Obolensky was considered the tsar’s closest ally at this time. The handsome, wonderful military leader did not take his loving gaze off the young queen. Over time, he will become the closest person to Elena.

In the meantime, all churches are ordered to pray that the Lord will grant the reigning couple an heir. The couple themselves also made pilgrimage trips to monasteries to see miraculous icons, attended church services and gave gifts to the poor. The heir was born only four years later, after the wedding in 1530. Everyone was sure that this long-awaited event happened thanks to the intervention of divine forces. The firstborn was baptized in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and named John. The baby's nanny was the sister of Prince Obolensky.

Vasily III dearly loved and cared for his son. Even when leaving Moscow, he constantly demanded to report to him about the boy’s health.

Soon a second son, Yuri, was born into the royal family. And five weeks after this joyful event, Vasily III fell ill and died: according to the official version, from blood poisoning.

After the death of the sovereign, Elena Glinskaya found herself in a difficult situation: her son Ivan had not reached the age when it was possible to take the Russian throne, and she was considered a foreigner and the daughter of a Lithuanian governor, whom the sovereign accused of treason. She did everything possible to secure her son's right to the throne. A ceremony was held to declare the young Ivan the Grand Duke. Messengers were sent to the cities with orders to swear allegiance to the new Grand Duke.

Her husband's brothers became open opponents of Elena Glinskaya and her son, who were hindered by the guardianship council, which ruled on behalf of the young sovereign. This council was created during the life of Vasily III and no one could influence its activities, including Elena Glinskaya herself. The young ruler needed serious support. And it was provided by Ivan Telepnev-Obolensky. The reason for such a rapprochement between the famous governor and the ruler still remains a mystery. Perhaps the governor’s sister and at the same time the nanny of the young Ivan Vasilyevich played her role in this, or there had long been a love affair between the queen and the nobleman during the life of Vasily III. Whatever the reason, Telepnev and Elena found themselves together at this historical interval, welded together by one fate.

In order to preserve the throne for her son, Elena Glinskaya took brutal measures against those who hatched plans to prevent Ivan from gaining access to the Russian throne. She physically destroyed her opponents. The ruler’s uncle, Mikhail Glinsky, also came under reprisal, because he did not accept the fact that Elena interfered in government and reproached her for cohabiting with Telepnev-Obolensky. The ruler put her relative in prison, and after him deprived all members of the guardianship council of power. Only the Shuiskys and Vasily III’s brother, Andrei Staritsky, survived, who did not interfere with Elena’s reign and lived quietly in Moscow. But, as it turned out, not for long. Andrei Staritsky demanded the city from Elena as his inheritance, having received a refusal, he fled from Moscow, fearing for his life. Finding himself a refugee, Andrei began to be perceived by Elena and her governor Obolensky as a threat. Andrei Staritsky was caught and imprisoned. The same fate befell the wife and son of the disgraced prince.

Simultaneously with the internal struggle, the ruler also waged external wars. Troops led by Obolensky attacked Polish and Lithuanian lands, as a result of victories and defeats, they managed to conclude a temporary truce. The weakening of power led to the fact that the Kazan people attacked the Russian estates. It was not possible to take revenge on the Kazan people for the robbery of the Kostroma district: the Crimean Khan threatened Moscow. Six-year-old Ivan had to receive the Kazan ambassadors and offer peace.

Elena Glinskaya ruled the state as best she could. New fortresses appeared on the borders of Russia, and the old ones were re-fortified. Three hundred families of refugees from Lithuania were placed on Russian lands. A fight was waged against counterfeiters, and a new coin was introduced into use, on which the heir to the throne Ivan is depicted with a spear in his hand (kopek). Kitai-Gorod was being built up and strengthened.

It seemed to Elena that life was gradually returning to a calm direction: internal enemies were destroyed, and external ones were not bothered... Her unexpected death in April 1538 surprised everyone. The chronicles claim that the Grand Duchess was poisoned by the boyars who hated her. Until now, no one can explain why Elena Glinskaya was buried the very next day and why there is no mention of the fact that the Metropolitan conducted a funeral ceremony over the ruler’s body. Neither the people nor the boyars expressed grief for the deceased princess. Only the little son and Prince Obolensky mourned Elena Glinskaya.

Seven days after the death of the Grand Duchess, the boyar council, ruled by Shuisky, decided to imprison Prince Obolensky, where he soon died of hunger and cold. Rus' for a long time passed into the hands of all kinds of boyar groups. Only Ivan Vasilyevich changed the situation. Having taken over the rule of the country, he burned out his enemies with “blood and iron.”

It is still doubtful that Ivan IV was the son of Vasily III. For contemporaries, the close relationship between Elena Glinskaya and Obolensky was no secret, so Ivan the Terrible could well be the son of the governor Telepnev-Obolensky. Perhaps the difficult years of childhood and the loss of parents affected the character of the future Russian Tsar. Ivan IV (the Terrible) remained in the memory of generations as the most cruel ruler, not disdaining the most barbaric methods of government.

But a bright memory remained about his mother, because although she was from the Principality of Lithuania, having become the Russian queen, she proved herself to be a true patriot of her new homeland.