Vasili IV of Russia

Vasili IV
Portrait of Vasili IV in Tsarsky Titulyarnik, 1672
Tsar of All Russia
Reign 19 May 1606–19 July 1610
(&100000000000000040000004 years, &1000000000000006100000061 days)
Predecessor Dmitriy II (False Dmitryi I)
Successor Time of Troubles
(throne claimed by Władysław IV)
proceeded as Tsar by Mikhail I
Consort Elena Mikhailovna Repnina
Maria Ekaterina Bugnosova-Rostovskaia (needs better translation)
Issue
Tsarevna Anna Vasilievna
Tsarevna Anastasia Vasilievna
Full name
Vasily Ivanovich Shuyskiy
House Shuyskiy
(branch of Rurikid dynasty)
Father Ivan Andreyevich Shuisky
Mother Marfa Feodorovna
Born 22 September 1552(1552-09-22)
Nizhny Novgorod
Died 12 September 1612(1612-09-12) (aged 59)
Gostynin
Religion Eastern Orthodox

Vasili IV of Russia (Russian: Василий IV Иванович Шуйский, Vasíliy Ivánovich Shúyskiy, other transliterations: Vasiliy, Vasily, Vasilii) (22 September 1552 – 12 September 1612) was Tsar of Russia between 1606 and 1610 after the murder of False Dmitriy I. His reign fell during the Time of Troubles.

Born Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, he was descended from sovereign princes of Nizhny Novgorod and a 20th generation male line descendant of Rurik the Viking. He was one of the leading boyars of Tsardom of Russia during the reigns of Feodor I and Boris Godunov. In all the court intrigues of the Time of Troubles, Vasily and his younger brother Dmitry Shuisky usually acted together and fought as one.

It was he who, in obedience to the secret orders of Tsar Boris, went to Uglich to inquire into the cause of the death of the Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, who had perished there in mysterious circumstances. Shuisky reported that it was a case of suicide, though rumors abounded that the Tsarevich had been assassinated on the orders of the regent Boris Godunov. Some suspected that Dmitry escaped the assassination and that another boy was killed in his place, providing impetus for the repeated appearance of impostors (See False Dmitry I, False Dmitry II, and False Dmitry III). On the death of Boris, who had become tsar, and the accession of his son Feodor II, Shuisky went back upon his own words in order to gain favour with the pretender False Dmitriy I, who was attempting to gain the throne by impersonating the dead Tsarevich. Shuisky recognized the pretender as the "real" Dmitry despite having earlier determined the boy had committed suicide, thus bringing about the assassination of the young Feodor.

Shuisky then conspired against the false Dmitriy and brought about his death (May 1606). After stating publicly that the real Dmitriy had indeed been slain and that the reigning tsar was an impostor, Shuisky's adherents thereupon proclaimed him tsar on 19 May 1606. He reigned until 19 July 1610, but was never generally recognized. Even in Moscow itself he had little or no authority, and he only avoided deposition by the dominant boyars because they had no one to replace him with.

The popularity of his cousin, Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, who commanded an army aided by a small allied Swedish army led by Jacob de la Gardie, demanding cessions of Russian territory in Karelia in return, allowed Shuisky, for a time, to remain on his unstable throne. In 1610, he was deposed by his former adherents Princes Vorotynsky and Mstislavsky. He was made a monk and eventually transported to Warsaw by the Polish hetman Stanislaus Zolkiewski. He died a prisoner in the castle of Gostynin, near Warsaw, in 1612.

Contents

Descent from Rurik

Vasili IV, the last male-line Rurikid to rule Russia, traced his descent from Rurik thus:

  1. Rurik the Viking
  2. Igor I Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev
  3. Sviatoslav I Igorevich, Grand Prince of Kiev
  4. Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great, Grand Prince of Kiev
  5. Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev
  6. Vladimir II Yaroslavich Monomakh, Grand Prince of Kiev
  7. Yuri Vladimirovich the Long Arm, Grand Prince of Kiev, (1099–1157)
  8. Vsevolod III Yuryevich the Big Nest, Grand Prince of Kiev, (1154–1212)
  9. Yaroslav II Feodor Vsevolodich, Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, (1191–1246)
  10. Andrei II Yaroslavich, Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, (1221–1264)
  11. Vasili Andreievich, Prince of Suzdal, (1264–1309)
  12. Konstantin Vasilievich, Prince of Suzdal, (1295–1355)
  13. Dmitri Konstantinovich, Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, (1324–1383)
  14. Vasili Dmitrievich Kirdyapa, Prince of Nizhniy Novgorod
  15. Yury Vasilievich, Prince Shuisky
  16. Vasili Yuryevich, Prince of Shuia, (d. 1446/58)
  17. Mikhail Vasilievich, Prince Shuisky, (d. 1445)
  18. Andrey Mikhailovich "Chastokol", Prince Shuisky, (d. 1543)
  19. Ivan Andreyevich, Prince Shuisky, (d. 1573)
  20. Vasili IV Ivanovich of Russia (1552–1612)

See also

References

External links

Vasili IV of Russia
Cadet branch of the Rurik Dynasty
Born: 22 September 1552 Died: 12 September 1612
Regnal titles
Preceded by
False Dmitriy I
Tsar of Russia
1606–1610
Succession broken due to
Time of Troubles
(throne claimed by Władysław IV)
proceeded as Tsar by Mikhail I