Elena Glinskaya

Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya (Russian: Елена Васильевна Глинская ; c. 1510 – 4 (13) April 1538, Moscow) was the second wife of Grand Prince Vasili III and regent of Russia for 5 years (1533–38).

Background

Elena was a daughter of Prince Vasili Lvovich Glinsky and Princess Ana Jakšić of Serbia. It is to her powerful uncle, Prince Mikhail Glinsky, that the family owned its distinction. In 1525, Vasili III resolved to divorce his barren wife, Solomoniya Saburova, and marry Elena. According to the chronicles, he chose Elena "because of the beauty of her face and her young age."^[1]

Grand Princess

Despite strong opposition from the Russian Orthodox Church, the divorce was effected, and Elena gave birth to Ivan (future Ivan IV the Terrible) in 1530 and Yuri (future prince of Uglich) in 1532.^[2] It was later rumoured, that Elena brought witches from Finland and people of the Sami to help her conceive by the help of magic^[3] On his deathbed, Vasili III transferred his powers to Elena Glinskaya until his oldest son Ivan was mature enough to rule the country.^[4] The chronicles of those times do not provide any more or less precise information on Elena's legal status after Vasili's death. All that is known is that it could be defined as regency and that the boyars had to report to her. That is why the time between Vasili's death and her own demise in 1538 is called the reign of Elena.

Regency

Elena Glinskaya challenged the claims of her brothers-in-law, Yury of Dmitrov and Andrey of Staritsa. The struggle ended with their incarceration in 1534 and 1537, respectively. Elena's reign is also known for conflicts inside the government caused by her close association with a handsome young boyar named Ivan Feodorovich Ovchina-Telepnev-Obolensky and Metropolitan Daniel. In 1535, Elena carried out a currency reform that introduced a unified monetary system in the state. In foreign affairs, Glinskaya succeeded in signing an armistice with Lithuania in 1536, while simultaneously neutralizing Sweden. She had a new defensive wall constructed around Moscow, invited settlers from Lithuania, bought Russian prisoners free and instigated measures to protect travelers against street bandits.^[5] She is recorded as having visited several convents^[6]

Elena died in 1538 at a relatively young age. Some historians believe that she was poisoned by the Shuiskys, who usurped power after her death. Recent studies of her remains tend to support the thesis that Elena was poisoned.^[7]

References