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theory, arguing that Dmitrii was the son of Ivan the Terrible's seventh wife at a
time when church law allowed only three wives, and therefore Dmitrii's claim
to the throne was questionable. A formal commission absolved Boris Godunov
of the crime, but the implication would come back to haunt him and Russia in
the following decade.
Even if Boris did not murder Dmitrii, he made every other effort to take
power. Coming from a Mongol gentry family, which had been converted to
Orthodoxy and Russified, and virtually illiterate, Boris Godunov showed
uncanny intelligence and abilities in palace intrigue, diplomacy, and statecraft.
He capitalized on his proximity to Feodor, who was married to Boris's sister,
Irina. In the course of several years, Boris defeated his rivals and became the
effective ruler of Muscovy by about 1588. He acquired enormous personal
wealth, an ever-growing official title, the formal right to conduct foreign rela-
tions on behalf of Muscovy, and a separate court, imitating that of the czar,
where foreign ambassadors had to pay their respects after going to Feodor.
When Feodor I died in 1598 without an heir, Boris Godunov was ready to
take the throne. His reign (1598-1605), however, was not a smooth transfer of
power but the prelude to an extremely complex period of internal instability,
known as the Time of Troubles (Smutnoe vremia), which lasted until 1613. His-
torians have generally divided the Time of Troubles into three overlapping
phases: dynastic, social, and national. The dynastic phase was defined by inter-
nal struggles over the issue of succession to the throne of Muscovy. The social
phase was marked by revolts that resulted from the growing rigidity of the Mus-
covite state and its attempt to limit the freedom of movement of its peoples, par-
ticularly the peasants. The national phase was connected to the rivalries that
had developed in the preceding century between Muscovy and its two western
neighbors, Poland and Sweden, both of whom invaded and controlled Russian
territories during these years.
The crisis of the Time of Troubles ended with the establishment of a new
dynasty—the Romanov—that would rule Russia until 1917. The first three
Romanov czars, Michael, Aleksei, and Feodor III, have generally been portrayed
as relatively weak, certainly when compared to their successor, Peter I. But
recent research suggests that at least Michael and Aleksei actually had some tal-
ent for governing and restored a measure of stability to Muscovy after the deba-
cle of the Time of Troubles.
Czar Michael (r. 1613-45) was only 16 when he was crowned. According to
most sources, the
zemskii sobor
(Assembly of the land) that elected Michael
stayed active in Moscow for about ten years, serving as advisers and supporters.
Michael also appointed his own advisers but especially relied on his father,
Filaret, once he returned from being imprisoned by the Poles. Filaret, who had
been metropolitan, became patriarch of the Orthodox Church. Filaret exercised
a great deal of power, even arranging to receive the title great sovereign (along
with Michael) and setting up his own court. Filaret died in 1633, at almost 80
years old. Michael took over a country devastated by continuous wars, drought,
and famine. During his reign, Muscovy managed to find some kind of peace
with Sweden and Poland (even though Muscovy had to give up some land).
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