November 19, 1581: Murder of Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich of Russia

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Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva, Boris Godunov, Czar of Russia, House of Romanov, House of Rurik, Ivan IV of Russia, Ivan Ivanovich, Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich of Russia

Ivan Ivanovich of Russia (March 28, 1554 – November 19,1581) of the House of Rurik, was a Tsarevich (heir apparent) of Russia. He was the son of Czar Ivan IV the Terrible, who killed him in a fit of rage.

Early life

Ivan IV Vasilyevich (August 25, 1530 – March 28, 1584), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Moscow ruler who declared himself tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.

Ivan was the first Moscow ruler born after its independence. The son of Vasili III, the Rurikid ruler of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, he was appointed grand prince when he was three years old after his father’s death. A group of reformers known as the “Chosen Council” united around the young Ivan, declaring him Czar of All Rus’ in 1547 at the age of 16 and establishing the Czardom of Russia with Moscow as the predominant state.

Ivan was the second son of Czar Ivan IV the Terrible by his first wife Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva (1530 – August 7, 1560).

Anastasia was the second daughter of the boyar Roman Yurievich Zakharyin-Yuriev and Uliana Ivanovna. Roman Yurievich served as Okolnichy under the reign of Grand Prince Vasily III. The house of Zakharyin-Yuriev was a minor branch of a noble house, that had already been at court, so it’s possible that Ivan met Anastasia before the bride show, though no records of that exist.

One of her uncles had been one of Ivan’s guardians during the regency of his mother Grand Princess Elena Glinskaya, who held all the real power. Anastasia’s father was descended from boyar Feodor nicknamed “Koshka” (“Cat”), the fourth son of boyar Andrei Kobyla. The origins of her mother Uliana Ivanovna are unknown.

Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva was also the first Russian Czarina. She was the mother of Feodor I, the last lineal Rurikid Czar of Russia and the great-aunt of Michael I of Russia, the first Tsar of the Romanov dynasty. Her parents were Boyar Roman Yurievich Zakharyin, Okolnichi, who died on February 16, 1543, who gave his name to the Romanov dynasty of Russian monarchs, and Uliana Ivanovna, who died in 1579.

Ivan Ivanovich’s brother was Feodor. The young Ivan accompanied his father during the Massacre of Novgorod at the age of 15. For five weeks, he and his father would watch the Oprichniks with enthusiasm and retire to church for prayer. At age 27, Ivan was at least as well read as his father, and in his free time, wrote a biography on Antony of Siya. Ivan is reputed to have once saved his father from an assassination attempt. A Livonian prisoner named Bykovski raised a sword against the Czar, only to be rapidly stabbed by the Tsarevich.

Marriages

In 1566, it was suggested that the 12-year-old Ivan marry Virginia Eriksdotter, daughter of King Eric XIV of Sweden, but this did not come about. At the age of seventeen, Ivan was betrothed to Eudoxia Saburova, who had previously been proposed as a bride for Czar Ivan. Indeed, she had been one of twelve women paraded before the Tsar in a bride-show for him to make a choice.

The Czar had rejected Eudoxia as a bride for himself but she was later married to the Czar’s son. The Czar wanted his daughter-in-law to produce an heir very quickly, and this did not happen, so the Czar banished her to a convent and got his son another bride. This second wife was Praskovia Solova, who quickly met with the same fate as her predecessor, and was also put away into a convent. The Czar then got his son a third wife, Yelena Sheremeteva, who was found to be pregnant in October 1581. That child was presumably miscarried around the time when Ivan died by his father’s hand in November 1581.

Death

Ivan Ivanovich is believed to have been killed by his father, Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan Ivanovich’s relationship with his father began to deteriorate during the later stages of the Livonian War. Angry with his father for his military failures, Ivan demanded to be given command of some troops to liberate besieged Pskov.

Their relationship further deteriorated when on November 15, 1581, the Czar, after seeing his pregnant daughter-in-law wearing unconventionally light clothing, physically assaulted her. Hearing her screams, the Tsarevich rushed to his wife’s defense, angrily shouting, “You sent my first wife to a convent for no reason, you did the same with my second, and now you strike the third, causing the death of the son she holds in her womb.”

Yelena subsequently suffered a miscarriage. The Tsarevich confronted his father on the matter, only to have the topic changed to his insubordination regarding Pskov. The elder Ivan accused his son of inciting rebellion, which the younger Ivan denied, but vehemently stuck to the view that Pskov should be liberated.

Angered, Ivan’s father struck him on the head with his sceptre. Boris Godunov, who was present at the scene, tried to intervene but received blows himself. The younger Ivan fell, barely conscious and with a bleeding wound on his temple. The elder Ivan immediately threw himself at his son, kissing his face and trying to stop the bleeding, whilst repeatedly crying, “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!”

The younger Ivan briefly regained consciousness and was reputed to have said “I die as a devoted son and most humble servant”. For the next few days, the elder Ivan prayed incessantly for a miracle, but to no avail, and the Tsarevich died on November 19, 1581.

Ivan’s death had grave consequences for Russia, since it left no competent heir to the throne. After the Czar’s death in 1584, his unprepared son Feodor I succeeded him with Godunov as de facto ruler. After Feodor’s death, Russia entered a period of political uncertainty known as the Time of Troubles.

September 6, 1666: Birth of Czar Ivan V of Russia.

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Czar of Russia, Ivan V of Russia, Peter the Great of Russia, Regency, Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia, Tsar of Russia

Ivan V Alekseyevich (September 6, 1666 – February 8, 1696) was a joint Tsar of Russia with his younger half-brother Peter I the Great, who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. Ivan was the youngest son of Czar Alexei of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was the only son of Czar Alexei by his second wife, Natalya Naryshkina. Ivan’s reign was solely titular because he had serious physical and mental issues.

Ivan V was born in 1666 in Moscow, the youngest son of Czar Alexi and Maria Miloslavskaya. Only two of his older brothers survived childhood; his eldest brother, Alexei, died aged 15 in 1670, therefore his second brother, Feodor, became Czar upon the death of their father. When Feodor III died in 1682 without leaving an heir, Ivan, who was thought to be “infirm in body and mind”, was passed over in favor of his younger half-brother, Peter.

The church and the Naryshkins (family of Peter’s mother, Natalya Naryshkina) supported Peter’s ascension to the throne, however, the family of Ivan’s mother (the Miloslavski) and Ivan’s older sister, Sofia Alekseyevna, in particular, disputed the move. Rumors spread around Moscow that Feodor III had been poisoned and Ivan strangled by boyars so that the 10-year-old Peter could become Czar. These rumours fomented the Moscow Uprising of 1682, and the streltsy stormed the Kremlin. These disturbances subsided only after Ivan appeared in person in the city, and proved to everyone that he was alive and well.

The streltsy demanded that Ivan be named Czar, and a compromise was found by declaring Ivan and Peter as co-rulers, with a regency government until the boys came of age. Sofia Alekseyevna, who had been influential at court during her brother Feodor’s reign, was named regent. While Ivan was 16 years old at this time, his co-ruler Peter I was only 10. Ivan was considered the “senior Czar”, but actual power was wielded by Sophia Alekseyevna, Ivan’s sister and Peter’s half-sister, for the next seven years.

Czar and co-ruler

Sophia was always considerate of Ivan, although she is never known to have consulted him on any important matter. She was anxious that every outward sign of respect and deference be paid to Ivan, which was a subtle way of undermining the influence of Peter’s faction in court. Thus, every wish or opinion expressed by Ivan was deferred to, and his general prestige in court remained intact during the years of Sophia’s regency.

As Peter the Great grew up, he and his faction, led by his mother’s Naryshkin family, contended with Regent Sophia for influence and power. Indeed, Sophia is blamed for the murders of Peter’s uncles on his mother’s side of the family. Due to this and other situations, tension arose between the factions of the co-Czars.

In 1689, Peter was 17, and intent upon declaring his majority and demanding power. To pre-empt this, Sophia attempted to raise a riot in the city, spreading the rumour that the Naryshkins had destroyed Ivan’s crown and were poised to set his room on fire. This was untrue, and when riots began, Ivan’s tutor, Prince Prozorovsky, persuaded him to publicly declare his faith in his brother Peter and make it known that he was unharmed and in no danger for life or liberty.

Ivan did this, and also supported Peter’s contention that the time had come for terminating the regency. Peter was declared to be of age and Sophia’s regency was terminated. Ivan being both incapable and disinterested, Peter came into his own and functioned as though he were the sole Czar. The eventual result was that, over time, the outward signs of deference and power which Ivan had enjoyed during the regency slowly withered away and he became a non-entity in the Russian court. For the last decade of his life, Ivan was completely overshadowed by the more energetic Peter I. He spent his days with his wife, Praskovia Saltykova, caring about little but “fasting and praying day and night”.

In late 1683 or early 1684, Ivan married Praskovia Saltykova, daughter of Fyodor Petrovich Saltykov, a minor nobleman, by his wife, whose name is uncertain – it was either Yekaterina Fyodorovna or Anna Mikhailovna Tatishcheva. Ivan’s marriage was arranged in the traditional style of Russian rulers: he selected a bride from a parade of potential candidates. Praskovia Saltykova, who came from a rather obscure family, had been raised in a middle-class household and adhered to conventional values and moral standards.

Praskovia bonded strongly with her gentle and simple husband, and proved to be an exemplary wife to a mentally-challenged man. She became the mainstay of his life and earned the lifelong respect of her powerful brother-in-law, Peter the Great, who entrusted the care and education of his own two daughters to her. Ivan’s purported debility did not prevent him from producing robust offspring, and Praskovia bore him five daughters, three of whom lived to adulthood. Their children were:

Maria Ivanovna (1689–1692)

Feodosia Ivanovna (1690–1691)

Ekaterina Ivanovna (1691–1733)

Anna Ivanovna (1693–1740) Empress Regnant of Russia from 1730 to 1740

Praskovia Ivanovna (1694–1731)

Death and succession

At the age of 27, Ivan was described by foreign ambassadors as senile, paralytic and almost blind. He died two years later, on February 8, 1696, and was interred in the Archangel Cathedral. It was fortuitous to Peter’s faction that Ivan produced several daughters but no sons, as there was no confusion regarding the succession of the crown upon his death. His co-ruler was left to become supreme ruler of Russia; with Ivan’s death, the struggle for power within the family had finally ended.

In 1730, more than 30 years after Ivan’s death, his second surviving daughter, Anna, Duchess of Courland, was invited to the throne of Russia by the country’s privy council. She ruled for more than 10 years, and was succeeded by Ivan’s infant great-grandson Ivan VI; however, a palace coup engineered in 1741 by Ivan’s niece Elizabeth resulted in the throne passing finally to the progeny of Peter I the Great.

Royal Nicknames

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Alexander III of Russia, Czar of Russia, David Duke of Windsor, Duke of Cambridge, George VI, King Edward VII, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Lilibet, Nicholas II, Prince of Wales, Prince William of Wales, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Royal Nicknames, Victoria-Patricia of Connaught

“Lilibet”

Last week I discussed double names. This week I will discuss nicknames. Nicknames are common and they seem to be common in every family. In my family I remember my mother not caring for nicknames and in my family I seem to have been the only member to have received a nickname. Well, that is not entirely true. I have an elder sister whom all her friends call her Cathy but family members call her Catherine. It is the opposite for me. All my friends call me Bill but all my family members call me Billy. I am pushing 50 and they still call me Billy!! Grr.

Royalty is no exception. I will mainly be referring to Queen Victoria’s family and extended family and their descendants in this entry. I can conceive that even those royals with a double name had nicknames. I do know that is true. Edward VII, called Albert-Edward, when he was Prince of Wales, was called Bertie in the family. His son, Albert-Victor, was known as Eddy in the family. King George VI was actually named Albert and took the name George after the abdication crisis in order to sooth the crisis by giving the monarchy a sense of continuity when Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936. George VI was also called Bertie in the family. And speaking of Edward VIII he was called David in the family. According to the biography on Edward VIII by Philip Ziegler the name David was an after thought and many reasons were given for the name David ranging from trying to gratify the Marchionese of Waterford and even some vague prophecy about a great king over the water named David. The book mentions that even from birth he was called David within the family. However, no reasons were given why his last name, out of a long string of names, was chosen.

Like the name Bertie in the above paragraph some nicknames get handed down. Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (himself a son of Queen Victoria) was nicknamed Daisy as was her granddaughter, the current Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II. I think also specific nicknames developed to distinguish family members with the same first name. The above mentioned cases of Albert-Edward and Albert-Victor are a good examples. Sometimes nicknames came from their personalities. Princess Alix of Hess and by Rhine was called Sunny when she was younger. However after the early death of her mother, Princess Alice, second daughter of Queen Victoria, Alix became more sullen and shy and withdraw. As an adult married to Czar Nicholas II of Russia (and known as Alexandra he name upon conversion to Russian orthodoxy) she was called Alicky by her husband.

I could go on and on with all the nicknames and I will leave a list of nicknames at the end of this blog post but I want to finish this post with a bit of a rant. To my knowledge all of these nicknames were private and not used publicly. To have done so would have expressed a degree on familiarity with the royals that I don’t think would have been acceptable during the Victorian and later eras. So I have a little beef with Prince Harry of Wales. I think this is one of the first occasions that a royal nickname has been used both within the family and by the general public. Personally much prefer Henry to Harry. I have nothing against the name Harry I just like Henry better. It is a name with a long royal tradition in Britain. I had once remember reading that the queens uncle, the late Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester also held the nickname Harry, but that is was used privately. I cannot find that information to confirm it, so I may be wrong. Oh well, that is my little rant.

So nicknames are as common within royal families as they are in other families. I will leave you now with a list of nicknames for many royals of the Victorian era. This list is not exhaustive.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain ~ Lilibet
Victoria, Princes Royal ~ Vicky (she was called Pussy when very young)
Wilhelm II, German Emperor ~ Willy
Augusta-Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein ~ Dona
William, Duke of Clarence ~ Wills
Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh ~ Affie
Friedrich III, German Emperor ~ Fritz
Alexander III, Czar of Russia ~ Sasha
Helena of Great Britain ~ Lenchen
Victoria-Mary of Teck (Queen Mary) ~ May
Victoria-Melita of Edinburgh ~ Ducky
Beatrice of Edinburgh ~ Baby Bee
Victoria-Patricia of Connaught ~ Patsy
Charles-Edward, Duke of Albany (Carl-Eduard, Duke of Coburg) ~ Charlie
Caroline-Matilda of Albany-Coburg ~ Calma
Victoria-Eugenie of Battenberg ~ Ena
Elisabeth of Hess and by Rhine ~ Ella
Friedrich-Wilhelm of Hess and by Rhine ~ Frittie
Marie of Hess and by Rhine ~ May & Maly
Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hess and by Rhine ~ Ernie
Nicholas II, Czar of Russia ~ Nicky
George V, King of Great Britain ~ Georgie.

I am sure there are others out there. Readers feel free to comment on the ones I have missed.