Who is the first ambassador of the order. Ambassadorial order: structure and functions. Death and legacy
Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich (? -1570) - statesman, diplomat, Duma clerk. First chapter Ambassadorial order(from 1549), one of the main officials of the state. From poor feudal lords. During the oprichnina period, he was accused of high treason and executed.
Orlov A.S., Georgieva N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical Dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 84.
Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich (born July 25, 1570), statesman, one of the major government figures Ivan IV in the 1550-1560s. He was promoted thanks to his personal qualities, and also because he actively pursued the tsar’s centralizing policy. He came from the noble family of the Viskovatys, a branch of the Meshchersky princes. In 1542 he served as a clerk in the Ambassadorial Prikaz, from 1549 he was appointed its head, from 1553 - a Duma clerk, from 1561 - a printer (keeper of the state seal). Participated in almost all negotiations with foreign ambassadors in the 1550-60s. He played a prominent role in foreign policy and was one of the supporters of the Livonian War of 1558-83. Foreign diplomats called him "Chancellor". Viskovaty sharply objected to innovations in icon painting (images of disembodied spirits in the form of human images). He was executed on suspicion of participation in a boyar conspiracy and treasonous relations with Turkey, Crimea and Poland.
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Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich (d. 1570, Moscow) - statesman. Came from the nobility. Served 1542 clerks in the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In 1549 he headed it. V. was entrusted with all matters relating to foreign relations. He acted as an intermediary between foreign ambassadors and the Tsar and the Boyar Duma. The most educated man of his time, V., in addition to his ambassadorial activities, was known as an opponent of the innovation in icon painting that appeared in Moscow (depicting spirits in human form). Despite V.'s condemnation by the church council of 1554, his career did not suffer, February 9. 1561 was appointed "printer", i.e. guardian of the seal, for which foreigners called him chancellor. In 1562 - 1563 he traveled to Denmark as part of the embassy, and then was repeatedly appointed to the boyar commissions for negotiations with foreign ambassadors. V. spoke out in defense of people innocently executed by the guardsmen. He was accused of treasonous relations with the Crimeans, Turks and Poles. On July 25, in the presence of Ivan the Terrible and Tsarevich Ivan, public executions took place, where the executioners were the guardsmen and those who wanted to prove their non-involvement with the “conspirators.” Each of the king’s entourage cut off a piece of the body from V., who was tied to a post. Oprichnik Ivan Reutov, whose blow turned out to be fatal, was accused of wanting to shorten V.'s torment. Only death from the plague saved Reutov from execution. V.'s mother and widow were imprisoned by order of the king in a monastery, where they died.
Book materials used: Shikman A.P. Figures national history. Biographical reference book. Moscow, 1997.
Viskovaty, Ivan Mikhailovich - Duma clerk, first head of the embassy order (...). Even when he was a clerk, Tsar Ivan IV entrusted him with “embassy affairs” in 1549. For more than 20 years, he negotiated with all foreign ambassadors, surprising them with his diplomatic skill. Contemporaries speak of him as a straightforward and courageous person. During the reign of the “elected Rada,” V., together with Adashev, headed the diplomatic department. Ivan IV considered him a religious freethinker; for his criticism of new trends in the field of icon painting, he was almost accused of heresy. In 1561 V. was appointed to the position of printer (that is, custodian of the seal). After the fall of the “elected Rada,” V. continued to lead the entire foreign policy and participate in negotiations with foreign ambassadors. In 1562-63 he was part of the embassy that traveled to Denmark. At the Zemstvo Council of 1566, V. recommended concluding a truce with Poland, without demanding the concession of the disputed Livonian cities, but with the condition of the withdrawal of Polish troops from them and the neutrality of Poland in the Russian-Livonian war. When Turkey and Crimea entered the war in 1569-70, V. was accused of treason, of independent relations with the Sultan's government and with the Crimean Khan, as well as of negotiations with the Polish king on the transfer of Novgorod to him. He was removed from office, apparently in the middle of 1570, and executed at the end of that year. Before his execution, V. vigorously denied the charges brought against him.
Diplomatic Dictionary. Ch. ed. A. Ya. Vyshinsky and S. A. Lozovsky. M., 1948.
Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich (d. 25.VII.1570) - Russian statesman, one of the major figures in the government of Ivan IV Vasilyevich in the 50-60s of the 16th century. He was promoted thanks to his personal qualities, and also because he actively pursued the tsar’s centralizing policy. He came from the noble family of the Viskovatys, a branch of the Meshchersky princes. From 1542 - clerk of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, from 1549 - its head, from 1553 - Duma clerk, from 1561 - printer (keeper of the state seal). Participated in almost all negotiations with foreign ambassadors in the 50-60s of the 16th century. He played a prominent role in foreign policy and was one of the supporters of the Livonian War of 1558-1583. Foreign diplomats called him "Chancellor". Viskovaty sharply objected to innovations in icon painting (images of disembodied “spirits” in the form of human images). Executed on suspicion of participation in a boyar conspiracy and treasonous relations with Turkey, Crimea and Poland.
Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 3. WASHINGTON - VYACHKO. 1963.
Sources: Search or list about blasphemous lines and doubt about the holy honest icons of Deacon Ivan Mikhailov, son of Viskovaty, "CHOIDR", 1858, book. 2, dept. 3.
Literature: Belokurov S. A., About the Ambassadorial Prikaz, M., 1906; Sadikov P. A., Essays on the history of the oprichnina, M.-L., 1950; Smirnov I.I., Essays on political history Rus. state 30-50s. XVI century, M.-L., 1958; Andreev N. E., About the “Case of the clerk Viskovaty”, “Seminarium Kondakovianum”, t. 5, Prague, 1932, p. 191-241.
Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich - Russian statesman, diplomat. Clerk of the Ambassadorial Prikaz (1542-1549). From 1549 he headed the order together with A. Adashev.
From 1553 - clerk of the Duma; since 1561 - printer. He played a prominent role in foreign policy and was one of the supporters of the Livonian War of 1558-1583. In 1570 he was suspected of a boyar conspiracy and executed.
The origin and date of birth of Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty is unknown to us. His name was first mentioned in diplomatic affairs in 1542. It follows from them that he was a clerk and wrote a letter of peace with Poland.
Ivan Mikhailovich was promoted thanks to his abilities and diligence.
In addition, he had patrons: most likely, the relatives of the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV, Anastasia, Zakharyina, favored him.
Since January 1549, ambassadorial books increasingly contain indications that the tsar orders the letters brought by the ambassadors to be accepted by Viskovaty. Probably, Ivan IV had grounds when he ordered him to “be in charge of ambassadorial affairs.”
On January 2, 1549, he left for the Nogai ambassadors. January 17 - to the former Astrakhan "king" Derbysh. January 22 - “with an answer” to the Lithuanian ambassadors. Then, in the presence of foreign ambassadors, the tsar ordered the clerk Viskovaty to be called a clerk. The official promotion took place a few months later and was associated with the appointment of Viskovaty as head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz.
From 1549 to 1559, 32 embassies from different countries came to Moscow. Viskovaty participated in all negotiations.
Ivan Mikhailovich, as the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, was in charge of the correspondence of the Tsar and the Boyar Duma with foreign ambassadors, participated in preliminary negotiations, resolved issues related to the arrival and stay of foreign diplomats in Moscow, prepared Russian embassies for sending to different countries.
As a neighbor of the sovereign, clerk Viskovaty made notes, which were then used as preparations for the official chronicle. In addition, having become the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Ivan Mikhailovich received control of the Tsar's archive, which contained a huge number of handwritten books and various state acts of the Moscow grand and appanage princes, their genealogies, government records, all documentation of a foreign policy nature, as well as various investigative materials.
At the end of the 15th - first half of the 16th centuries, the Tsar's archive was under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke's clerks, each of whom had a chest for current documentation. In the second half of the 16th century, the Tsar's archive finally took shape as an independent institution headed by embassy clerks. The first of them was Viskovaty.
When solving diplomatic problems, Ivan Mikhailovich and his subordinates had to take into account the entire history of relations with other countries. Otherwise, it was impossible to make inquiries, make extracts, references to earlier negotiations, letters, etc. Viskovaty systematized the documents of the state archive and organized its current office work.
Main focus foreign policy in the middle of the 16th century it became eastern. In 1552 it was conquered Khanate of Kazan, in 1556 - Astrakhan. Although Viskovaty accompanied the tsar on the Kazan campaign, according to the testimony of the German oprichnik Heinrich Staden, who was in the service in Russia, “he was not averse to the Crimean tsar taking the Russian land, was disposed towards all the Tatars and helped them.” The tsar himself accused Viskovaty of “exiling from the Crimea and bringing turkish rule into Rus'.”
The head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz paid special attention to Russia’s relations with Western Europe. In the second half of the 16th century, Russia, which did not have access to the Baltic Sea, maintained contact with Europe through the White Sea. In 1553, Ivan IV invited the British to Moscow. After a magnificent reception, the English envoy Richard Chancellor received a friendly letter for King Edward VI. Two years later, Chancellor again came to Russia with two agents of a trading company. After the official reception, negotiations with them were conducted by Viskovaty together with the “best” Moscow merchants. Ivan Mikhailovich understood the importance of trade relations between Russia and England. As a result of his efforts, the British received a preferential charter with many privileges.
In gratitude for this, King Philip, who replaced Edward VI on the throne, allowed Russian subjects to trade in England just as freely and duty-free, and took them under his protection. Free entry into Russia of artists, artisans, various craftsmen, doctors, and “miners” was allowed. Friendly diplomatic ties between Russia and England, profitable trade, military and economic assistance continued until the second half of the 17th century. The foundation of such a strong alliance was laid by Viskovaty.
To establish broad economic ties with the advanced countries of Western Europe, access to the Baltic Sea was needed. This was prevented by Poland, Lithuania and the Livonian Order. Sweden and Denmark also sought dominance in the Baltic Sea. Livonia especially annoyed Moscow. Livonian merchants sought to control the entire trade movement in their hands and did not allow Russian people to the sea and foreigners into Russia.
In 1558, Russian troops entered Livonia, and a war began that dragged on for 25 years.
From the very first days of the war, two parties were formed in the government. Tsar A.F.'s favorite Adashev and his circle considered it necessary to continue military operations in the south with Crimean Tatars and Turkey. The Moscow nobility, together with the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Viskovaty, advocated for the continuation of the Livonian War. The nobility counted on new local distributions of land and expansion of trade with the countries of the East and Western Europe. The victorious conclusion of the war in Livonia was very close, but Adashev, who led the troops, did not take advantage of the favorable moment, and the offensive soon stopped.
The successes of Russian troops in the Baltic states alarmed Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, which also laid claim to the Livonian inheritance. They tried to end the outbreak of war diplomatically. The main role in concluding the truce of 1559 was played by the mediation of the Danish king, who sent an embassy to Moscow for negotiations. During the negotiations, Viskovaty decisively stated that Denmark should not have accepted complaints from the Livonians, subjects of the Moscow sovereign. According to the clerk, by turning to foreign states, the Livonians became like unfaithful servants who, having stolen their master’s property, sell it [the property] to another. He said that the Moscow sovereigns were not accustomed to ceding the lands they had conquered to anyone; they are ready for an alliance, but not in order to sacrifice their acquisitions.
Viskovaty hoped that his determination would help Moscow defend its interests in the Baltic states and force the European powers to recognize the Russian gains made in the early years of the Livonian War. However, it was not possible to achieve success through diplomacy; the situation was unfavorable for the Moscow state.
In 1562, the Russian command began major military operations against Lithuania. Ivan IV also took part in the campaign. Under the tsar there was an embassy field office, which was headed by clerk Andrei Vasiliev instead of Viskovaty. Remaining in Moscow, Viskovaty received the Danish embassy. As a result, a draft treaty was adopted, according to which Denmark refused to take part in military actions against Russia.
In order to turn all his forces against Lithuania, Viskovaty took a step quite unexpected at that time for a man of his rank and rank. On August 12, 1562, he went to Denmark himself to confirm the contractual record. Thanks to successful negotiations, an alliance treaty with Denmark and a 20-year truce with Sweden were concluded. The Livonian War continued with varying success.
In 1566, the great Polish embassy arrived in Moscow to negotiate peace. Polish diplomats did not want to cede the seaport of Riga to Russia, and the Russians did not want to cede Polotsk and Smolensk to Poland. The negotiations were in jeopardy. Viskovaty at a special Zemsky Sobor recommended concluding a truce without demanding Poland to cede the disputed Livonian cities, subject to the withdrawal of Polish troops from there and Poland's neutrality in the Livonian War. But the participants of the Zemsky Sobor spoke out against this and assured the government that for the sake of the complete conquest of Livonia they were ready to make any sacrifices. Subsequently, Viskovaty’s diplomatic foresight was justified. Unsuccessful negotiations in 1566 contributed to the unification of Poland and Lithuania into a single one in 1569 at the Polish-Lithuanian Sejm in Lublin large state- Rzeczpospolita.
Viskovaty was known as one of the most educated people in Russia. Under the Ambassadorial Prikaz, he created a library, which he himself constantly used. Among the books collected there were works on geography, "cosmography", Russian chronicles, Polish and Lithuanian chronicles, works of Damascus and Chrysostom, the Koran, etc. He was so fluent in the style of church literature that at one time he even wrote letters on behalf of the metropolitan Macaria. Therefore, it is no coincidence that he found himself at the center of events related to the “case of the heresy of Matvey Bashkin.”
At the end of June - beginning of July 1553, at a church council in Moscow, one of the radical religious thinkers of the 16th century, Matvey Bashkin, and his “like-minded” were condemned. Viskovaty also spoke at this council. In the presence of the Tsar and the boyars, he accused the Tsar's confessor Sylvester and the archpriest Annunciation Cathedral Simeon in aiding heretics. He also spoke out against innovations that, in his opinion, did not correspond to the church canons of icon painting and were borrowed from the West.
But unexpectedly for himself, Viskovaty turned from an accuser into an accused. This is evidenced by the definition of the church council given to “Deacon Ivan Mikhailov... for his spiritual correction” because for three years “he had doubts about his opinion about those holy, honest icons, and screamed and outraged the people... in a temptation and reproach to many."
On January 14, 1554, Viskovaty was excommunicated from the church for three years. In the first year, he had to stand near the temple, repent and ask those entering the temple to pray for him; in the second, enter the church only to listen to divine scripture; in the third - to be in church, but without the right to communicate. Quite rudely, he was instructed to “keep his rank” and not imagine himself as a “head”, being a “leg”.
Viskovaty's official position did not change due to excommunication: he remained the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. It is possible that the tsar himself patronized Ivan Mikhailovich.
On February 9, 1561, Ivan IV bestows on Viskovaty the title of “printer” (keeper of the state seal), calling him “his neighbor and faithful Duma member.” From that time on, Viskovaty in diplomatic documents was simultaneously called a printer and a clerk. The German guardsman Heinrich Staden testified: “Whoever received his signature letter must go to Ivan Viskovaty, who kept the seal. He is a proud man, and the one who received the letter from him within a month could consider himself happy.”
Viskovaty repeatedly made speeches on behalf of Ivan IV. So, in 1561, when the Swedes asked for a partial change in the practice of exchanging embassies between Moscow and Stockholm, he said: “That matter should be more painful than anything else, that the old people should destroy their ancestors.” In diplomatic practice, excerpts from documents of the Tsar's archive and references to examples of the past were often used. The ambassadors decorated their speech with quotes from biblical texts, proverbs and aphorisms.
After returning from Denmark in November 1563, Viskovaty was constantly appointed by the tsar to the boyar commissions for negotiations with foreign ambassadors, but was practically not involved in the paperwork of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. During Viskovaty’s stay in Denmark, clerk Andrei Vasiliev began to be styled “the Tsar’s Majesty’s Duma clerk” and retained this title in the future. Thus, in the summer of 1562, the work of the embassy clerk actually passed to Vasiliev. Viskovaty, as the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, continued to remain an adviser.
There is little documentary evidence of his activities upon his return from Denmark. Viskovaty, Vasiliev and the Zakharyins’ protege Nikita Funikov, who headed the State Prikaz, held in their hands important order documentation.
On May 7, 1570, Ivan IV received the Lithuanian ambassadors in Moscow, and “...they had two meetings: the first meeting, the printer Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovatogo came out of the dining room on the locker, and the clerk Andrei Shchelkalov.” In June 1570, Viskovaty participated in the negotiations of the boyar commission with the Polish ambassadors in Moscow and on June 22 presented the ambassadors with a letter.
The situation in the country became increasingly tense. The king saw betrayal everywhere. The Oprichnina Duma decided to march to the western regions.
In January 1570, a punitive expedition staged a brutal pogrom in Novgorod.
Immediately after the tsar’s return from Novgorod, the so-called “Moscow case” of the highest officials was started, according to which, among others, Viskovaty Tretyak’s brother was arrested and executed. Ivan Mikhailovich explained to the tsar, convincing him to stop the bloodshed. The morbidly suspicious Ivan IV decided that opposition had formed against him. Viskovaty persistently advised the tsar that he “... especially not exterminate his boyars, and asked him to think about with whom he will not only fight in the future, but also live, if he executed so many brave people.” In response to Viskovaty’s words, the king burst out with threats: “I have not exterminated you yet, but have just begun, but I will try to eradicate you all so that your memory will not remain.” Soon more than 300 people were charged, including almost all the chief clerks of the Moscow orders. Viskovaty was accused of conspiracy to surrender Novgorod and Pskov to the Polish king, to place Staritsky on the throne, and of treasonous relations with the Turkish Sultan and the Crimean Khan, to whom he allegedly “offered” Kazan and Astrakhan.
On July 25, 1570, the great diplomat was executed in the market square. At first, the oprichniki tried to force him to publicly admit his “crimes” and ask the tsar for mercy. But his last words were: “Cursed, bloodsuckers, along with your king!” After a proud refusal, Ivan Mikhailovich was crucified on a cross made of logs and dismembered alive in front of the Tsar and the crowd.
Following Viskovaty, more than 100 people were executed, including his former assistant, the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz A. Vasilyev and the state treasurer N. Funikov, who was boiled by pouring boiling water over him.
Thus ended the life of Viskovaty, about whom the compiler of the Livonian Chronicle B. Russov wrote: “Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty is an excellent person, the like of whom was not found in Moscow at that time: foreign ambassadors were very surprised by his intelligence and art as a Muscovite who had not studied anything.”
Describing the execution of Viskovaty, the Polish chronicler Alexander Guagnini concluded: “This is the end of an excellent man, outstanding in intelligence and many virtues, the chancellor of the Grand Duke, whose equal will no longer be in the Moscow state.”
Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
Read further:
Rus' in the 16th century (chronological table).
Literature:
Belokurov S.A. About the Ambassadorial order. M., 1906.
Sadikov P. A., Essays on the history of the oprichnina, M.-L., 1950;
Smirnov I. I., Essays political history Rus. state 30-50s. XVI century, M.-L., 1958;
Andreev N. E., About the “Case of the clerk Viskovaty”, “Seminarium Kondakovianum”, t. 5, Prague, 1932, p. 191-241.
Historians do not know exactly when Ivan Viskovaty was born. The first mention of him dates back to 1542, when this clerk wrote a letter of conciliation with the Kingdom of Poland. Viskovaty was quite thin; he belonged to an unproven noble family. He built his career thanks to his own diligence, natural talents and the intercession of patrons. Contemporaries described him as an extremely eloquent person. The abilities of an orator were very important for a diplomat, so it is not surprising that over time Ivan Viskovaty headed the Ambassadorial Prikaz (the prototype of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). But despite his merits, he was among the victims of Ivan the Terrible’s terror.
Until the middle of the 16th century, all diplomatic system Russian state was built around the Grand Duke. He could delegate some powers individually, but no state institution existed.
The state of affairs in Moscow diplomacy at that time can be judged from the entries in the embassy books. They say that, starting in 1549, Ivan the Terrible, who had recently been crowned king, ordered Viskovaty to accept official letters brought by foreign delegations. At the same time, the official’s first foreign trips began. In the same 1549, he went to the Nogais and the ruler of Astrakhan, Derbysh.
Compared to his colleagues, Ivan Viskovaty was also distinguished by his low rank. He was just a jerk. Ivan the Terrible, appreciating Viskovaty’s abilities, equated him with other more eminent diplomats - Fyodor Mishurin and Menshik Putyanin. So the nobleman became a clerk. In the same 1549, Ivan Viskovaty was suddenly appointed head of the diplomatic department. He became the first official of this kind in Russian history.
From this moment Viskovaty began to active work, which mostly boiled down to meetings with numerous foreign delegations. Ambassadors from the Nogai Horde, Lithuania, Poland, Kazan, Denmark, Germany, etc. came to the clerk. Viskovaty’s unique status was emphasized by the fact that he received high-ranking guests in person. For such meetings there was a special sexton's hut. Ivan the Terrible himself mentioned it in his letters.
In addition to meetings with ambassadors, Ivan Viskovaty was in charge of their correspondence with the Tsar and the Boyar Duma. The clerk was present at all preliminary negotiations. In addition, he was involved in organizing Russian embassies abroad.
During the tsar’s meetings with delegations, Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich kept the minutes of the negotiations, and his notes were later included in the official chronicles. In addition, the sovereign entrusted him with the management of his own archive. This treasure trove contained unique documents: all kinds of decrees of Moscow and other appanage princes, genealogies, foreign policy papers, investigative materials, government records.
The person who looked after the royal archive had to have enormous responsibility. It was under Viskovaty that this repository was reorganized into a separate institution. The head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz had to work a lot with papers from the archives, since without them it was impossible to make inquiries about relations with other states and organize meetings with foreign delegates.
In 1547, Moscow experienced a terrible fire, which contemporaries called “the great.” The archive was also damaged in the fire. Taking care of him and restoring valuable documents became Viskovaty’s primary task from the very beginning of his tenure as head of the diplomatic department.
The prosperous career of Ivan Viskovaty was successful not only thanks to his own zeal. Behind him stood powerful patrons who looked after and helped their protégé. These were the Zakharyins, relatives of Ivan the Terrible’s first wife Anastasia. Their rapprochement was facilitated by the conflict that flared up in the Kremlin in 1553. The young king became seriously ill, and his entourage seriously feared for the life of the sovereign. Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich suggested that the crown bearer draw up a spiritual will. According to this document, power in the event of the death of Ivan Vasilyevich was to pass to his six-month-old son Dmitry.
In a situation of uncertainty about the future, Grozny’s relatives, the Staritskys (including his claimant to power) cousin Vladimir Andreevich), fearing the excessive strengthening of the enemy boyar clan, began to intrigue against the Zakharyins. As a result, half of the court did not swear allegiance to the young Dmitry. Even the tsar’s closest adviser, Alexei Adashev, hesitated until the last moment. But Viskovaty remained on the side of Dmitry (that is, the Zakharyins), for which they were always grateful to him. After some time, the king recovered. All the boyars who did not want to support Dmitry’s claims were marked with a black mark.
In the middle of the 16th century, the main direction of Russian foreign policy was the east. In 1552, Grozny annexed Kazan, and in 1556 - Astrakhan. At court, the main supporter of the advance to the east was Alexei Adashev. Viskovaty, although he accompanied the tsar on his Kazan campaign, was involved in Western affairs with much greater zeal. It was he who stood at the origins of diplomatic contacts between Russia and England. Muscovy (as it was called in Europe at that time) had no access to the Baltic, so maritime trade with the Old World was carried out through Arkhangelsk, which froze in winter. In 1553, the English navigator Richard Chancellor arrived there.
Subsequently, the merchant visited Russia several more times. Each of his visits was accompanied by a traditional meeting with Ivan Viskovaty. The head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz met with Chancellor in the company of the most influential and wealthy Russian merchants. We were talking, of course, about trade. The British sought to become a monopoly on Russian market, full of goods unique to Europeans. Important negotiations where these issues were discussed were carried out by Ivan Viskovaty. In the history of relations between the two countries, their first trade agreement played a fundamentally important and long-term role.
Merchants from Foggy Albion received a preferential charter full of all kinds of privileges. They opened their own representative offices in several Russian cities. Moscow merchants also received a unique right to trade in Britain without duties.
Free entry into Russia was open to English craftsmen, artisans, artists and doctors. It was Ivan Viskovaty who made a huge contribution to the emergence of such beneficial relations between the two powers. The fate of his agreements with the British turned out to be extremely successful: they lasted until the second half of the 17th century.
The lack of his own Baltic ports and the desire to enter Western European markets pushed Ivan the Terrible to start a war against the Livonian Order, located on the territory of modern Estonia and Latvia. By that time, the best era of the knights was left behind. Their military organization was experiencing a serious decline, and the Russian Tsar, not without reason, believed that he would be able to conquer the important Baltic cities with relative ease: Riga, Dorpat, Revel, Yuryev, Pernava. In addition, the knights themselves provoked the conflict by not allowing European traders, craftsmen and goods into Russia. The natural war began in 1558 and dragged on for as long as 25 years.
The Livonian question split the tsar's entourage into two parties. The first circle was led by Adashev. His supporters believed that it was necessary, first of all, to increase their pressure on the southern Tatar khanates and the Ottoman Empire. Ivan Viskovaty and other boyars held the opposite point of view. They advocated continuing the war in the Baltic states to a victorious end.
At the first stage of the conflict with the knights, everything turned out exactly as Ivan Viskovaty wanted. The biography of this diplomat is an example of a politician who every time accepted right decisions. And now the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz has guessed right. The Livonian Order was quickly defeated. The knights' castles surrendered one after another. It seemed that the Baltics were already in the pocket.
However, the successes of Russian weapons seriously alarmed neighboring Western states. Poland, Lithuania, Denmark and Sweden also laid claim to the Livonian inheritance and did not intend to give the entire Baltic region to Ivan the Terrible. At first, the European powers tried to stop the unfavorable war through diplomacy. Embassies flocked to Moscow. They were met, as expected, by Ivan Viskovaty. A photo of this diplomat has not survived, but even without knowing his appearance and habits, we can safely assume that he skillfully defended the interests of his sovereign.
The head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz consistently refused Western crafty mediation in the conflict with the Livonian Order. Further victories of the Russian army in the Baltic states led to the fact that frightened Poland and Lithuania united into one state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A new player in the international arena openly opposed Russia. Soon Sweden also declared war on Grozny. The Livonian War dragged on, and all the successes of Russian weapons were nullified. True, the second half of the conflict passed without Viskovaty’s participation. By this time he had already become a victim of repression by his own king.
Grozny's conflict with the boyars began in 1560, when his first wife Anastasia suddenly died. Evil tongues spread rumors about her poisoning. Gradually, the king became suspicious, paranoia and fear of betrayal gripped him. These phobias intensified when the monarch’s closest adviser, Andrei Kurbsky, fled abroad. The first heads rolled in Moscow.
The boyars were imprisoned or executed based on the most dubious denunciations and slander. Ivan Viskovaty, the envy of many competitors, was also in line for execution. The diplomat's brief biography, however, suggests that he managed to avoid the wrath of his sovereign for a relatively long time.
In 1570, against the backdrop of defeats in Livonia, Ivan the Terrible and his guardsmen decided to go on a campaign against Novgorod, whose inhabitants they suspected of treason and sympathy for foreign enemies. After that bloodshed, the sad fate of Ivan Viskovaty was decided. In short, the repressive machine could not stop on its own. Having started terror against his own boyars, Grozny needed more and more traitors and traitors. And although no documents have survived to this day that would explain how the decision about Viskovat was made, it can be assumed that he was slandered by the tsar’s new favorites: the guardsmen Malyuta Skuratov and Vasily Gryaznoy.
Shortly before that, the nobleman was removed from the leadership of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In addition, one day Ivan Viskovaty openly tried to intercede for the terrorized boyars. In response to the diplomat's admonitions, Grozny burst into an angry tirade. Viskovaty was executed on July 25, 1570. He was accused of treacherous ties with the Crimean Khan and the Polish king.
The word diplomacy is of Greek-French origin and literally means “a leaf folded in half.” Everyone is free to put their own meaning into it. First, the sheet is folded to hide what is written.
Secondly, to hide the fact that nothing is written on the sheet. Finally, a folded sheet can mean that the goals of diplomatic efforts are half achieved by each side. As you can see, diplomacy is a delicate matter.
While the diplomats are talking, the guns are silent. But often diplomats continue to speak even under the roar of cannonade. So war is a defeat for diplomacy, although not always deserved. It is no coincidence that the ambassadors are the first to know about the outbreak of war, and they are the first to pack their bags.
To the English Ambassador Henry Wotton owns the aphorism: “An ambassador is honest man who is sent abroad to lie for the good of his homeland.”
The monuments of the most ancient periods of Russian history do not contain any information about the existence of a special governing body for foreign relations.
In Kievan Rus, the princely squad took part in solving foreign policy matters, as well as in internal administration. In North-Eastern Rus' there is a boyar duma.
Conducting correspondence was the responsibility of the clerks. But neither among the members of the squad and the Boyar Duma, nor among the clerks in ancient times there was no specialization of classes.
The cohort of outstanding Russian career diplomats and intelligence officers during the reign of Ivan the Terrible was rightfully opened in 1549 by a special embassy clerk, who was specifically in charge of embassy affairs, Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty. The origin and date of birth of this Duma clerk are unknown to us.
At first, the handsome Ivan Mikhailovich was not considered the tsar’s favorite, but after a few years he influenced him great influence and thanks to his natural talents, he rose to the highest levels of the career ladder.
He even made speeches on behalf of Ivan IV. As they say, he wrote it himself and voiced it himself. True, over time, these two functions separated, so that what was written by one was attributed to the other.
Viskovatov, or Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich, was from the noble house of the Viskovatovs, branch of the Meshchersky princes, clerk of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, then a Duma clerk and managed the embassy order from 1556 together with Alexei Adashev.
The Tsar used him as a skilled diplomat in the most important matters of both domestic and foreign policy. Thus, on the issue of succession to the throne and in the case of the oath to the son of the Terrible, Dimitri Viskovaty is the sovereign’s confidant, and at the beginning of the Livonian War he, together with Adashev, negotiates with the Livonian ambassadors.
In 1549, the embassy business was ordered to be transferred to Ivan Viskovaty. It was probably not without reason that Ivan IV entrusted him with ambassadorial work two years after he was crowned king.
The first head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz since 1549, Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty, was the first head of the diplomatic service of Tsar Ivan the Terrible; in addition, he was responsible for leading foreign intelligence.
He led diplomatic preparations for the annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, headed engineering work during the siege of Kazan, diplomatic correspondence for the preparation of the Livonian War, and was in charge of foreign relations of Muscovy in the first years of the war.
From 1553 to 1561 he was a printer, that is, the custodian of the main state seal; he was an ardent supporter of the Livonian War. On the same Livonian affairs, Viskovaty was at the embassy in Denmark in 1563–1564, communicating with the Crimea.
But as soon as Viskovaty sees a real war and evaluates its consequences, he immediately becomes its consistent opponent.
The Ambassadorial Prikaz is a central government institution that directed foreign policy in 1549–1720, was in charge of the ransom and exchange of prisoners, and controlled a number of territories in the southeast of the country and certain categories of service people.
According to historians, the tsar loved this “excellent man, outstanding in intelligence and many virtues of the chancellor, as himself.” He, like no one else at court, knew how to delve into the texts of messages to Ivan the Terrible from foreign sovereigns and rulers, find the true meaning between the lines, and interpret the content to the benefit of the tsar and the state.
For the first time the name of Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty was mentioned in diplomatic affairs in 1542. It follows from them that he was a clerk and wrote a letter of peace with Poland.
Ivan Mikhailovich was promoted thanks to his abilities and diligence. In addition, he had patrons: most likely, the relatives of the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV, Anastasia, Zakharyina, favored him.
Since January 1549, ambassadorial books increasingly contain indications that the tsar orders the letters brought by the ambassadors to be accepted by Viskovaty. Ivan IV probably had reasons when he ordered him to be in charge of embassy affairs.
On January 2, 1549, he left for the Nogai ambassadors. January 17 - to the former Astrakhan Khan Derbysh. January 22 - with a response to the Lithuanian ambassadors. Then, in the presence of foreign ambassadors, the tsar ordered the clerk Viskovaty to be called a clerk. The official promotion took place a few months later and was associated with the appointment of Viskovaty as head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz.
From 1549 to 1559, 32 embassies from different countries came to Moscow. Viskovaty participated in all negotiations. Ivan Mikhailovich, as the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, was in charge of correspondence between the Tsar and the Boyar Duma with foreign ambassadors, participated in preliminary negotiations, and resolved issues related to the arrival and stay in Moscow foreign diplomats, prepared Russian embassies for sending to different countries.
As a neighbor of the sovereign, clerk Viskovaty made notes, which were then used as preparations for the official chronicle. In addition, having become the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Ivan Mikhailovich received control of the Tsar's archive, which contained a huge number of handwritten books and various state acts of the Moscow grand and appanage princes, their genealogies, government records, all documentation of a foreign policy nature, as well as various investigative materials.
At the end of the 15th - first half of the 16th centuries, the Tsar's archive was under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke's clerks, each of whom had a chest for current documentation. In the second half of the 16th century, the Tsar's archive finally took shape as an independent institution headed by embassy clerks. The first of them was Viskovaty.
When solving diplomatic problems, Ivan Mikhailovich and his subordinates had to take into account the entire history of relations with other countries. Otherwise, it was impossible to make inquiries, make extracts, references to earlier negotiations and letters. Viskovaty systematized the documents of the state archive and organized its current office work.
A striking figure among similar people is Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty, the first head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, about whom foreigners said that he “had no equal at that time in Moscow.”
While on an important diplomatic mission in July-August 1562 in Denmark, where it was necessary to persuade it to an alliance with Russia, during the Livonian War of 1558–1583, Viskovatov had to achieve his goal by acquiring agents of influence.
In other words, Viskovaty resorted to direct bribery of the right people - a very delicate job, since it was necessary to offer money to dignitaries, who were sure to accept gifts and bribes.
It would be very unpleasant if the dignitary refused and reported where he should go. Therefore, initially it was necessary to carry out a large preparatory work, finding out the tastes, requests, weaknesses of the proposed object in order to make it work for you.
Russian intelligence diplomats will use similar techniques - bribery of influential dignitaries - for a very long period of time.
In addition, Viskovaty analyzed important government reports, including working with messages to the Tsar from abroad, prepared draft responses, and planned further actions, using his own talents and broad erudition.
To obtain secret information, Ivan IV, with the help of Viskovaty, resorted to the help of defectors. "In Lithuania we have large number Moscow defectors, who, having learned our affairs, means and customs, freely return to their own, while they are with us, secretly convey our plans to theirs.”
Among the Moscow defectors who, on dark nights, killed people in Vilna-Vilnius and freed their captive fellow countrymen from prison, there was one priest who sent his prince copies of treaties, decrees and other papers secretly obtained from the royal chancellery.
Ivan IV appointed a reward for returning defectors, even empty and useless ones: “for a slave - freedom, for a commoner - nobility, for a debtor - forgiveness of debts, for a villain - absolution.”
The main direction of foreign policy in the middle of the 16th century was the east. In 1552, the Kazan Khanate was conquered, and in 1556, the Astrakhan Khanate. Although Viskovaty accompanied the tsar on the Kazan campaign, according to the denunciation of the German oprichnik Heinrich Staden, who was in the service in Russia, “he was not averse to the Crimean tsar taking the Russian land, was disposed towards all the Tatars and helped them.” The tsar himself accused Viskovaty of “exiling from the Crimea and bringing turkish rule to Rus'.”
The head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz paid special attention to Russia’s relations with Western Europe. In the second half of the 16th century, Russia, which did not have access to the Baltic Sea, maintained contact with Europe through the White Sea.
In 1553, Ivan IV invited the British to Moscow. After a magnificent reception, the English envoy Richard Chancellor received a friendly letter for King Edward VI.
Two years later, Chancellor again came to Russia with two agents of a trading company. After the official reception, negotiations with them were conducted by Viskovaty together with the best Moscow merchants.
Ivan Mikhailovich understood the importance of trade relations between Russia and England. As a result of his efforts, the British received a preferential charter with many privileges.
In gratitude for this, King Philip, who replaced Edward VI on the throne, allowed Russian subjects to trade in England just as freely and duty-free, and took them under his protection.
Free entry into Russia of artists, artisans, various craftsmen, doctors, and ore miners was allowed. Friendly diplomatic ties between Russia and England, profitable trade, military and economic assistance continued until the second half of the 17th century. The foundation of such a strong alliance was laid by Viskovaty.
To establish broad economic ties with the advanced countries of Western Europe, access to the Baltic Sea was needed. This was prevented by Poland, Lithuania and the Livonian Order.
Sweden and Denmark also sought dominance in the Baltic Sea. Livonia especially annoyed Moscow. Livonian merchants sought to control the entire trade movement in their hands and did not allow Russian people to the sea and foreigners into Russia.
In 1558, Russian troops entered Livonia, and a war began that dragged on for 25 years. From the very first days of the war, two parties were formed in the government.
The Tsar's favorite Adashev and his entourage considered it necessary to continue military operations in the south with the Crimean Tatars and Turkey. The Moscow nobility, together with the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Viskovaty, advocated for the continuation of the Livonian War.
The nobility counted on new local distributions of land and expansion of trade with the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. The victorious conclusion of the war in Livonia was very close, but Adashev, who led the troops, did not take advantage of the favorable moment, and the offensive soon stopped.
The successes of Russian troops in the Baltic states alarmed Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, which also laid claim to the Livonian inheritance. They tried to end the outbreak of war diplomatically.
The main role in concluding the truce of 1559 was played by the mediation of the Danish king, who sent an embassy to Moscow for negotiations.
During the negotiations, Viskovaty decisively stated that Denmark should not have accepted complaints from the Livonians, subjects of the Moscow sovereign. According to the clerk, by turning to foreign states, the Livonians became like unfaithful servants who, having stolen their master’s property, sell his property to another.
He said that the Moscow sovereigns were not accustomed to cede the lands they had conquered to anyone; they are ready for an alliance, but not in order to sacrifice their acquisitions.
Viskovaty hoped that his determination would help Moscow defend its interests in the Baltic states and force the European powers to recognize the Russian gains made in the early years of the Livonian War. However, it was not possible to achieve success through diplomacy; the situation was unfavorable for the Moscow state.
In 1562, the Russian command began major military operations against Lithuania. Ivan IV also took part in the campaign. Under the tsar there was an embassy field office, which was headed by clerk Andrei Vasiliev instead of Viskovaty.
Remaining in Moscow, Viskovaty received the Danish embassy. As a result, a draft treaty was adopted, according to which Denmark refused to take part in military actions against Russia.
In order to turn all his forces against Lithuania, Viskovaty took a step quite unexpected at that time for a man of his rank and rank.
On August 12, 1562, he went to Denmark himself to confirm the contractual record. Thanks to successful negotiations, an alliance treaty with Denmark and a 20-year truce with Sweden were concluded. The Livonian War continued with varying success.
In 1566, the great Polish embassy arrived in Moscow to negotiate peace. Polish diplomats did not want to cede the seaport of Riga to Russia, and the Russians did not want to cede Polotsk and Smolensk to Poland.
The negotiations were in jeopardy. Viskovaty at a special Zemsky Sobor recommended concluding a truce without demanding Poland to cede the disputed Livonian cities, subject to the withdrawal of Polish troops from there and Poland's neutrality in the Livonian War.
But the participants of the Zemsky Sobor spoke out against this and assured the government that for the sake of the complete conquest of Livonia they were ready to make any sacrifices.
Subsequently, Viskovaty’s diplomatic foresight was justified. Unsuccessful negotiations in 1566 contributed to the unification in 1569 at the Polish-Lithuanian Sejm in Lublin of Poland and Lithuania into a single large state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Viskovaty was known as one of the most educated people in Russia. Under the Ambassadorial Prikaz, he created a library, which he himself constantly used.
Among the books collected there were works on geography, Russian chronicles, Polish and Lithuanian chronicles, works of Damascus and Chrysostom, the Koran, and so on.
He was so fluent in the style of church literature that at one time he even wrote letters on behalf of Metropolitan Macarius. Therefore, it is no coincidence that he found himself at the center of events related to the case of Matvey Bashkin’s heresy.
At the end of June - beginning of July 1553, at a church council in Moscow, one of the radical religious thinkers of the 16th century, Matvey Bashkin, and his associates were condemned.
Viskovaty also spoke at this council. In the presence of the tsar and the boyars, he accused the confessor of the tsar Sylvester and the archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral Simeon of aiding heretics. He also spoke out against innovations that, in his opinion, did not correspond to the church canons of icon painting and were borrowed from the West.
But unexpectedly for himself, Viskovaty turned from an accuser into an accused. This is evidenced by the definition of the church council given to “Deacon Ivan Mikhailov for his spiritual correction” because for three years he “had doubts about his opinion about those holy, honest icons, and screamed and outraged the people to the temptation and reproach of many.”
On January 14, 1554, Viskovaty was excommunicated from the church for three years. In the first year, he had to stand near the temple, repent and ask those entering the temple to pray for him; in the second, enter the church only to listen to divine scripture; in the third - to be in church, but without the right to communicate. Quite rudely, he was instructed to “keep his rank” and not imagine himself as a “head”, being a “leg”.
Viskovaty's official position did not change due to excommunication: he remained the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. It is possible that the tsar himself patronized Ivan Mikhailovich.
On February 9, 1561, Ivan IV granted Viskovaty the title of printer - keeper of the state seal, calling him “his neighbor and faithful Duma member.”
From that time on, Viskovaty in diplomatic documents was simultaneously called a printer and a clerk. The German guardsman Heinrich Staden testified: “Whoever received his signature letter must go to Ivan Viskovaty, who kept the seal. He is a proud man, and anyone who received a letter from him within a month could consider himself happy.”
Viskovaty repeatedly made speeches on behalf of Ivan IV. Thus, in 1561, when the Swedes asked for a partial change in the practice of exchanging embassies between Moscow and Stockholm, he said: “That matter should be more painful than anything else, that the old people should destroy their ancestors.”
In diplomatic practice, excerpts from documents of the Tsar's archive and references to examples of the past were often used. The ambassadors decorated their speech with quotes from biblical texts, proverbs and aphorisms.
After returning from Denmark in November 1563, Viskovaty was constantly appointed by the tsar to the boyar commissions for negotiations with foreign ambassadors, but was practically not involved in the paperwork of the Ambassadorial Prikaz.
During Viskovaty’s stay in Denmark, clerk Andrei Vasiliev began to be styled “the Tsar’s Majesty’s Duma clerk” and retained this title in the future. Thus, in the summer of 1562, the work of the embassy clerk actually passed to Vasiliev. Viskovaty, as the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, continued to remain an adviser.
There is little documentary evidence of his activities upon his return from Denmark. Viskovaty, Vasiliev and the Zakharyins’ protege Nikita Funikov, who headed the State Prikaz, held in their hands important order documentation.
On May 7, 1570, Ivan IV received the Lithuanian ambassadors in Moscow, and “they had two meetings: the first meeting, the printer Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovatogo came out of the dining room on the locker, and the clerk Andrei Shchelkalov.” In June 1570, Viskovaty participated in the negotiations of the boyar commission with the Polish ambassadors in Moscow and on June 22 presented the ambassadors with a letter.
In addition, he prepared draft responses, assessed the situation on a particular issue, and planned further actions. His professionalism and erudition greatly contributed, in particular, to the development of Russian-British relations and the establishment of free trade.
He actively studied the situation in the Baltic states, personally negotiated in 1562 in Denmark in order to weaken the alliance of states opposing Russia - Poland, Sweden, Livonia, Denmark. He concluded an alliance treaty with her and a twenty-year truce with Sweden.
Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty managed to do a lot until Ivan the Terrible put an end to his career. The situation in the country became increasingly tense. The sick king imagined betrayals and conspiracies everywhere. The Oprichnina Duma decided to march to the western regions. In January 1570, a punitive expedition staged a brutal pogrom in Novgorod.
Immediately after the tsar’s return from Novgorod, the so-called Moscow case of the highest officials was started, according to which, among others, Viskovaty’s brother Tretyak was arrested and executed.
Ivan Mikhailovich explained to the tsar, convincing him to stop the bloodshed. The morbidly suspicious Ivan IV decided that opposition had formed against him.
Viskovaty persistently advised the tsar that he “in particular should not exterminate his boyars, and asked him to think about with whom he would not only fight in the future, but also live, if he executed so many brave people.”
In response to Viskovaty’s words, the king burst out with threats: “I have not exterminated you yet, but have just begun, but I will try to eradicate you all so that your memory will not remain.”
He was indiscriminately accused of participating in a boyar conspiracy, relations with Poland, Turkey and Crimea, falsely accused of high treason and sentenced to death.
Soon more than 300 people were charged, including almost all the chief clerks of the Moscow orders. On the square in Kitai-Gorod, in the presence of the Tsar himself, Viskovaty was the first to read the indictments: that he had conspired to surrender Novgorod and Pskov to the Polish king Sigismund, wanted to put Staritsky on the throne, had treasonous contacts with the Turkish Sultan, to whom he offered to take Kazan and Astrakhan , and called the Crimean Khan to devastate Russia.
On July 25, 1570, the great diplomat was executed in the market square. At first, the oprichniki tried to force him to publicly admit his crimes and ask the tsar for mercy.
Viskovaty began a speech to the people, in which he called these accusations blatant slander, but he was not allowed to speak. But his last words were: “Cursed, bloodsuckers, along with your king.”
After a proud refusal, Ivan Mikhailovich was crucified on a cross made of logs and dismembered alive in front of the Tsar and the crowd. Following Viskovaty, more than 100 people were executed, including his former assistant, the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Vasiliev, and the state treasurer, Funikov, who was boiled by pouring boiling water over him.
The wife of Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty was deprived of all his wealth, exiled to a monastery and forcibly tonsured a nun. This is how the life of Viskovaty ended tragically, about whom the compiler of the Livonian Chronicle Russov wrote: “Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty is an excellent person, the like of whom was not found in Moscow at that time: foreign ambassadors were very surprised at his intelligence and art as a Muscovite who had not studied anything.”
Describing the execution of Viskovaty, the Polish chronicler Alexander Guagnini concluded: “This is the end of an excellent man, outstanding in intelligence and many virtues, the chancellor of the Grand Duke, whose equal will no longer be in the Moscow state.”
Since 1583, by decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, “commemoration of the disgraced” began to be regularly held in all monasteries of Rus'. One of the first on the tragic memorial list was Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty.
This was the beginning of a massive personnel purge, which, in less extreme forms, continues through the centuries. So no diplomacy can save you from the highest anger. Later, the Ambassadorial Order was replaced by Peter I with the Collegium of Foreign Affairs.
Boss Ambassadorial Prikaz - head of the foreign affairs department. He could be the Duma clerk (in the beginning) or then, more and more often, a boyar, a close boyar, i.e., a person especially trusted by the tsar. At the beginning of the 18th century. - chancellor, i.e. the highest official of the first rank in the state, the second person in government after the king. This clearly demonstrates the increasing role of foreign policy affairs in the overall government leadership in Russia.
Chief's comrades Order.
At first, in the 16th century, - clerks, in the 17th century, - clerks, but not Duma officials, but only ambassadorial ones; at the end of the 17th century, - boyars. As a rule, there was only one comrade (i.e., deputy) of the head of the Order, although there could be from one to three at the same time, or in parallel, or sequentially. At least one of them had to have such competence that, if necessary, he could replace the chief either as an acting or as the actual chief of the Order.
Povytya- departments or departments of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. As a rule, from the middle of the 17th century there were five rises, although at the beginning, in the 16th century, there were only two or three, in the first half of the 17th century. - four, and by the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century. even six appeared.
At the same time, despite the stable number of appointments, cases were distributed differently between them, i.e., firstly, the composition of individual departments included different countries in different periods, and secondly, administrative economic functions between departments in different periods. However, the main principle of division into departments from the very beginning of the existence of the Russian Foreign Ministry was regional studies.
At the head of the clerk stood the old clerk, that is, the eldest of the clerks who worked in the clerk. There were five old clerks in the Ambassadorial Prikaz in total - strictly according to the number of promotions. Each senior clerk was subordinate to 4 more junior clerks, from the last quarter of the 17th century. they began to be divided into middle clerks, junior (or young) clerks and new non-performers, or “newbies” - trainees, trainees appointed to the posts without salary, so that they “keep an eye on things”, i.e. for training. Total number The personnel thus engaged in diplomatic work in the central apparatus of the Ambassadorial Prikaz was as follows: 5 old clerks - heads of departments (divisions), 10-12 junior ones. Since 1689, states were established: 5 old, 20 middle and young and 5 new, i.e. 30 people in total. However, in practice, foreign policy personnel were always under-recruited due to the lack of trained persons, and at various times there were from 18 to 28 people in the Ambassadorial Prikaz. It was on them, on this small number of people, that the main burden of foreign policy work lay for a century and a half.
When distributing functions from the old clerk (head of the department) to the assistant (i.e., the junior clerk who has just moved to this rank from among the trainees, or “newbies”), the consistently pursued principle of differentiation was maintained, strictly depending on knowledge and work experience . This was reflected primarily in the salaries of diplomats. It ranged from 1600 rubles. (for the head of the department) up to 50 rubles. per year (for the referent) at comparable prices at the end of the 19th century. In the last year of operation of the Ambassadorial Prikaz (1701), before its actual liquidation, 6 old clerks, 7 middle-aged and 11 young clerks worked there, which gives some idea of the distribution of roles.
Distribution of responsibilities between departments. The districts (departments) were each occupied by a certain number of countries. generally far from equal. This depended at each historical stage on the specific state international relations, from the presence of frequently changing counterparties (partners), i.e. foreign powers with which Russia maintained relations, from the real significance and hence from the actual volume of work with a particular country, from the competence of individual old clerks, from their specific knowledge of certain countries and, finally, not least, from the will of the tsar and the head of the order and their discretion regarding what should be the “equal” workload for the workers of each division, what criteria were used and by what criteria it was determined and determined in each specific historical period was compared.
If we take into account all these complex circumstances, then the structure of increases that has never been constant, but changed and formed in a confused and unsystematic manner, will become explainable to us. Although the basis of the work has been improvements since the end of the 16th century. the principle of specialization of departments by country clearly prevailed, but the very layout of these countries in districts, their combination may seem senseless, fantastic and downright inconvenient to us if we do not take into account the above circumstances and approach the assessment of the work of the then departments of the Ambassadorial Prikaz from a modern point of view . Departments (divisions) were first called by the names of their chief clerks: Alekseev’s division, Volkov’s division, Gubin’s, then by numbers; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, So, already in the middle of the 17th century. (1646) there were 4 districts (in the 70s. - 5, in the 90s - 6). Responsibilities between them were distributed as follows:
1st era: Kizilbashi (Dagestan, Azerbaijani khanates, Persia), Denmark, Holland.
2nd division: Bukhara, Yurgench (Khanate of Khiva), India, Crimea.
3rd stage: Sweden, Moldavia, Greek authorities (i.e. Patriarch of Constantinople, Metropolitan of Kiev).
4th episode: Lithuania and the Turkish Sultan.
"Incomprehensible" on modern look the inclusion of Moscow's relations with Denmark and Azerbaijan (Persia) in one department is actually explained by the fact that these countries were in constant, stable friendly relations with Russia, and therefore the employees of this department had to develop and cultivate a certain diplomatic language, a certain soft, polite , respectful form of address when drawing up documents.
On the contrary, in the 4th period, where it was necessary to speak rather harshly, but at the same time without breaking down and avoiding insults, with two “eternal” enemies of Russia - with the Sultan and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, with the most unpredictable neighbors of Russia - naturally , other qualities had to be developed in diplomats. Neither traditions nor regulations allowed us to flexibly change the form of relationships on the fly; and everything related to changes in policy was decided by the tsar, his Duma, and it was up to the officials of the Ambassadorial Prikaz to strictly implement the instructions. That is why all shades of diplomatic relations - from hostile to varying degrees of friendly - were distributed into the five most possible categories, and the distribution of countries in these categories changed depending on specific historical circumstances. So, for example, having quarreled with the Moldavian ruler, the king could order the transfer of business with Moldova to the 4th division, and this was already enough, because the officials of this division would automatically write to the Moldavian ruler in the same tone and in the same spirit as the Turkish Sultan or Grand Duke of Lithuania. Retraining employees of the same department and changing forms of work depending on the situation was considered in the 16th and 17th centuries. extremely inconvenient and impractical: the clerks themselves could get confused, and this would be detrimental to the tsar’s prestige. The king should not have changed his orders so that this change in policy would be noticeable to his subjects: they were accustomed to everything being unchanged and stable, otherwise they would either get lost or, conversely, lose respect for power as a stable institution. Only in the 80s. XVII century, when Europeans began to be placed at the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz educated people and when the very nature and intensity of European affairs begin to differ too sharply from Asian affairs and, moreover, everything begins to play big role linguistic factor, knowledge of individual European and Asian languages, while previously it was enough to know two or three “international” ones - Church Slavonic (for all Slavic and Orthodox countries), Latin (for all Western European) and Greek (for all Eastern and for relations with church hierarchs - the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Metropolitan of Kyiv), the breakdown of the affairs of individual increases begins to acquire a modern regional character.
1st chapter: The Papal Throne, the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, Spain, France, England and all protocol issues.
2nd stage: Sweden, Poland, Wallachia, Moldova, Turkey, Crimea, Holland, Hamburg, Hanseatic cities, Greeks and visits of “Greek authorities” (Patriarch of Constantinople).
3rd Division: Denmark, Brandenburg, Courland and all matters related to the jurisdiction technical support relations: translators, interpreters, dragomans, scribes, gold writers.
4th stage: Persia, Armenia, India, the Kalmyk state, the Don Cossacks, as well as everything related to communications: the diplomatic post and post office in general, couriers, messengers, messengers, messengers, the security service for diplomatic workers (“violence cases” ) and sales office.
5th region: China, Bukhara, Urgench (Khiva), Siberian Kalmyks (Zzungarian state), Georgia and provision of equipment for embassy workers and registration of receptions (cloth work, gauze, linen factories, etc.).
Thus, in the 80s, 17th century, three departments dealt with European affairs, and two with Asian affairs. Here there was already a more rational organization of diplomatic work, in which it was possible to specialize workers not only on the form of work, but also on the country, on the very content of diplomatic work. And yet, even at the end of the 17th century. have not yet come to a decision on separating all auxiliary departments from diplomatic work - security, communications, economic services, trade missions. They were given “as a load” little by little to each of the main promotions, without realizing to relieve diplomats from the functions of supply managers or security guards, which were not typical for them.
This structure remains, in fact, until the very end of the existence of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, for back in 1701-1702. there was the following division into divisions (departments), where, on the one hand, a shift towards even greater rationality in the division of countries is visible, and on the other, blind adherence to tradition in preserving the old order: 1st division: Papal Throne, German Empire, France , England, Portugal, Florence, Italy, Venice, the Electors of Germany, as well as protocol (ceremonial) matters and medical support(quarantines, doctors, pharmacists).
2nd stage: Greek issues (Constantinople), Denmark, Brandenburg, Courland, as well as security issues (bailiffs and watchmen) and technical support (translators, interpreters, scribes, gold-scribes, etc.).
3rd region: Poland, Sweden, Holland, Türkiye, Crimea, Moldova, Wallachia. (It is easy to see that all the most important, key foreign policy relations of that time were united in this department; the tsar himself was often interested in this department and often led its affairs, and therefore both European and Asian affairs relating to military-strategic and military-foreign policy issues were united here : it was a department of neighboring countries on the western border of the empire.) Holland fell into this company for two reasons: firstly, it was a country that was distinguished at that time by the tsar himself (Peter I), and secondly, it was closely connected with the solution of military-diplomatic issues, all the naval equipment and training necessary for Peter I’s wars at sea with both Turkey and Sweden came from there; in addition, Holland competed with Sweden in trade in the Baltic.
4th War: Persia, Armenia, Don Cossacks, Hanseatic cities, Riga, regulation of the position of foreign merchants in Russia - dealt with the affairs of neutral countries.
5th era: Georgia - Kartalinia and Georgia - Imereti, China, Central Asia - Bukhara, Urgench (Khiva) - was of a purely Asian character.
6th stage: Separately, issues of relations with the North and Siberia, the so-called. Stroganov affairs, i.e. for the first time the government took into its own hands a vast area of relations with the Siberian and northern peoples, which began to be in charge from the 15th century. in fact, various private individuals under the personal power of attorney of the king. As a result, Russia’s relations with the peoples of Siberia, including with various local (native) states, acquired distorted, colonial-coercive forms, which did not even come from the state, but from private individuals who for centuries allowed arbitrariness for narrow selfish purposes. Such were the relations with the Great Perm, Vym, Pelym, Kondinsky, Lyapinsky, Obdorsky, Surgut “principalities”, i.e. with the local state-tribal formations of the Mansi (Vogul) and Khanty (Ostyak) peoples, as well as with the Zhungarian, Oirat and others tribal unions and states (khanates) located from the Urals to the borders Chinese Empire. Starting from 1700, relations in this region were for the first time placed under the direct control of the state and therefore included in the jurisdiction of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, its special, g-th, department.
This was the structure of the Russian Foreign Ministry before its reorganization into the Collegium of Foreign Affairs.
In the Ambassadorial Prikaz, in addition to the actual diplomatic workers of the central apparatus, various support workers constantly worked to ensure the technical implementation of diplomatic orders and acts.
1. Translators- this was the name given only to translators from various foreign languages who prepared Russian texts of foreign documents and verified the identity of the texts of Russian treaties with their foreign version.
In addition to the actual diplomatic work, they were also busy compiling various reference and educational “state books.” Thus, it was in the Ambassadorial Prikaz that the “Titular Book”, “Cosmography”, the collection of church-state canonical rules and laws “Vasiliologion” and other books were compiled that were of an enduring encyclopedic nature and, moreover, related to the processing and collection of information from foreign sources. The translators were, in fact, the first press attachés of the then foreign policy department.
The number of translators from the moment of the organization of the Ambassadorial Prikaz until its dissolution at the beginning of the 18th century. It fluctuated greatly, but grew all the time as the volume of work and the number of countries that entered into diplomatic relations with Moscow grew. There were from 10 to 20 translators from languages (pay was three to five times higher than interpreters and interpreters):
1) Greek classical (ancient Greek, or Hellenic);
2) colloquial Greek (Modern Greek);
3) Volosh (Vlach, Romanian);
4) Latin (classical);
5) Caesar's Latin (i.e. from Vulgar Latin);
6) Polish;
7) Dutch;
8) English;
9) Caesar (Austrian-German);
10) Tatar;
11) Kalmyk;
12) Tursky (Turkish);
13) Arabic;
14) German (Low Saxon);
15) Swedish.
2. Tolmachi- in total from 12 to 16. Everyone knew from 2 to 4 languages. Combinations: Tatar, Turkish and Italian - common for that time, as well as Latin, Polish, German. Translated from the following languages.
Caused a significant expansion of the functions of the Ambassadorial Prikaz and its staff (in 1689 it already included 53 clerks, 22 translators and 17 interpreters). Structurally, it was divided on a territorial-state basis into districts. In addition, since 1621, the clerks of the Ambassadorial Prikaz began to prepare handwritten “Newsletters” - the first Russian newspaper - especially for Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich. Foreign newspapers served as a source of information from abroad; news within the country came from various orders.
The Ambassadorial Order was entrusted with the general management of the country's foreign policy and all current diplomacy: sending Russian embassies abroad, receiving and leaving foreign embassies, preparing texts of instructions (“mandates”) for Russian ambassadors and correspondence with them, preparing agreements, conducting negotiations, and with the beginning of the 18th century, also the appointment and control over the actions of permanent Russian diplomatic representatives abroad. The embassy order was in charge of foreign merchants during their stay in Russia and in general with all visiting foreigners, except for the military. In addition, he was involved in the ransom and exchange of Russian prisoners, governed the newly annexed territories (Siberia, Smolensk land, etc.), and was in charge of the serving Tatar landowners of the central districts.
Chapters
| № | Name | Authority | Current head of state | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | |||
| Ambassadorial order | ||||
| 1 | Ivan Viskovatov | Ivan IV | ||
| 2 |  Andrey Shchelkalov |
Ivan IV, Fedor I Ioannovich, Boris Godunov | ||
| 3 | Vasily Shchelkalov |
Boris Godunov | ||
| 4 | Afanasy Vlasev |
Boris Godunov, Fedor II Godunov, False Dmitry I | ||
| 5 | Ivan Gramotin |
False Dmitry I | ||
| 6 | Peter Tretyakov |
Vasily Shuisky | ||
| 7 | Ivan Gramotin |
False Dmitry II | ||
| 8 | Peter Tretyakov |
Mikhail Fedorovich | ||
| 9 |  Ivan Gramotin |
Mikhail Fedorovich | ||
| 10 | Almaz (Erofey) Ivanov |
Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexey Mikhailovich | ||
| 11 |  Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin |
Alexey Mikhailovich | ||
| 12 |  Artamon Matveev |
Alexey Mikhailovich, Fedor III Alekseevich | ||
| 13 | Larion Ivanov |
Fedor III Alekseevich, Peter I | ||
| 14 |  Vasily Golitsyn |
Peter I | ||
| 15 | Emelyan Ukraintsev |
Peter I | ||
| 16 |  Lev Naryshkin |
Peter I | ||
| 17 |  Fedor Golovin |
Peter I | ||
| 18 |  Pyotr Shafirov |
Peter I | ||
| 19 |  Gavrila Golovkin |
Peter I, Catherine I, Peter II, Anna Ioannovna | ||
See also
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Literature
- Vasilenko N. P.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- Demidova N. F. Education under the Ambassadorial and Local orders // Essays on the history of school and pedagogical thought of the peoples of the USSR from ancient times to the end of the 17th century. - M., 1989. - P. 103-107.
- Review of embassy books from the funds - collections stored in the Central State Academy of Arts (late 15th - early 18th centuries) / Comp. N. M. Rogozhin. - M., 1990.
- Inventory of the archive of the Ambassadorial Prikaz of 1626: In 2 hours / Ed. S. O. Schmidt. - M., 1977.
- Inventory of the archive of the Ambassadorial Prikaz of 1673: In 2 hours / Ed. S. O. Schmidt. - M., 1990.
- Rogozhin N. M. Ambassadorial order and its role in the conduct of Russian foreign policy // History of Russian foreign policy. The end of the XV-XVII centuries (from the overthrow of the Horde yoke to the Northern War). - M., 1999. - P. 343-406.
- Rogozhin N. M. In sovereign affairs it is ordered... - M., 2002.
- Rogozhin N. M. Dialogue of religions in the diplomacy of medieval Rus' // Ancient Rus'. Questions of medieval studies. - 2000. - No. 1. - P. 40-50.
- Savva V.I. About the Ambassadorial Prikaz in the 16th century. - Kharkov, 1917.
- Savva V.I. Clerks and clerks of the Ambassadorial Prikaz in the 16th century: Directory / Comp. V. I. Savva; Preface S. O. Schmidt; . - M., 1983. - 228 p.
Links
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
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