The Reign of Fedor, the Son of Ivan the Terrible – Guest Post by Ken Czech

Fedor was the second son of Ivan the Terrible by Ivan’s first wife, Anastasia Romanova. Young Fedor was often described as sickly and extremely shy, and was kept away from his father’s court. As he grew older, he spent innumerable hours in prayer, loved visiting churches, and supposedly enjoyed ringing church bells. Modern scholarship suggests he may have had Down’s syndrome.

In 1580 in a union arranged by Tsar Ivan, fourteen-year-old Fedor married twenty-three-year-old Irena, the sister of Boris Godunov, one of the tsar’s closest advisors. Although many considered him mentally unfit to ascend to the throne, he became the heir following the murder of his older brother, Ivan Ivanovich, by their father in 1581, a scene depicted in my novel The Tsar’s Locket.  After Ivan the Terrible’s death in 1584, Fedor was crowned tsar.

Giles Fletcher, an ambassador sent to Russia by Queen Elizabeth I of England, described Fedor: For his person of a mean stature, somewhat low and gross, of a sallow complexion, and inclining to the dropsy, hawk-nosed, unsteady in his pace by reason of some weakness of his limbs, heavy and inactive, yet commonly smiling  almost to laughter … simple and slow-witted, but very gentle …

According to historical sources, Fedor was well liked by the Russian people, perhaps because he had none of the unpredictable and savage behaviors of his father. Despite his physical and mental shortcomings, it was extremely important to the population that the ruling dynasty be maintained to provide continuity and stability. The lack of a legitimate heir would undoubtedly have led to internal chaos. Supported by his loving wife, Fedor provided that stability. There are few scholarly accounts in English that describe Fedor’s reign in detail, but his time on the throne is generally regarded as one of peace and relative prosperity. 

While Fedor occupied the throne, Boris Godunov acted as the new tsar’s regent and made many of Russia’s domestic and international decisions. He quickly quelled any notions held by others about replacing Fedor with someone who had greater ability. Godunov also cemented his position in the Russian court to the extent that he proclaimed himself tsar after Fedor’s death in 1598. Because Fedor and Irina produced no heir (they had a daughter who died at age two), the Rurikid Dynasty that had ruled Russia since 862 A.D. effectively came to an end.

Godunov would ably rule Russia until he died in 1605. Soon after, the period known as the Time of Troubles would erupt as various Russian boyars and Polish power mongers promoting their own successors to the vacant throne plunged Russia into a decade of destruction. 

Here is a link to a forensic facial reconstruction of Fedor I by Mikhail Gerasimov:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodor_I_of_Russia#/media/File:Fedor_ioannovich01_reconstruction.jpg

Sources:

Bobrick, Benson. Fearful Majesty. The Life and Reign of Ivan the Terrible. New York, 1987.

Payne, Robert & Nikita Romanoff. Ivan the Terrible. New York, 1975.

Madariaga, Isabel de. Ivan the Terrible. New Haven, 2005.

Wikipedia. Feodor I of Russia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodor_I_of_Russia

Recommended Article: The Tsar’s Locket – a Review