TheTsardom of Russia,[a] also known as theTsardom of Moscow,[b] was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title oftsar byIvan IV in 1547 until the foundation of theRussian Empire byPeter the Great in 1721.
While the oldestendonyms of theGrand Principality of Moscow used in its documents were "Rus'" (Русь) and the "Russian land" (Русская земля,Russkaya zemlya),[12] a new form of its name in Russian became common by the 15th century.[13][14][15] The vernacularRus' was transformed intoRus(s)iya orRos(s)iya (based on the Greek name for Rus').[16] In the 1480s, Russian state scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name"Росиа" (Rosia), and Medovartsev also mentions the sceptre "of Russian lordship" (Росийскаго господства,Rosiyskago gospodstva).[17] In the following century, the new forms co-existed withRus' and appeared in an inscription on the westernportal of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery inYaroslavl (1515), on theicon case of theTheotokos of Vladimir (1514), in the work byMaximus the Greek,[18] theRussian Chronograph written by Dosifei Toporkov (died 1543 or 1544)[19] in 1516–1522, and in other sources.[20]
On 16 January 1547,Ivan IV was crowned thetsar and grand prince of all Russia (Царь и Великий князь всея Руси,Tsar i Velikiy knyaz vseya Rusi),[21] thereby proclaiming the Tsardom of Russia, or "the Great Russian Tsardom", as it was called in thecoronation document,[22] byConstantinople PatriarchJeremiah II,[23][24] and in numerous official texts.[25][26][27][28][29][30] The formula in manuscripts "to all his state of Great Russia" later replaced those found in other manuscripts – "to all the Russian realm" (vo vse Rossisskoe tsarstvo); the former is more typical of the 17th century, when the usage of the term "Great Russia" (Velikaya Rossiya) became widely established.[31] By the 17th century, the formRossiya replaced Rus' to describe the extent of the tsar's imperial authority inchiny, withFeodor III using the term "Great Russian Tsardom" (Velikorossisskoe tsarstvie) to denote an imperial and absolutist state, subordinating both Russian and non-Russian territories.[32] The old nameRus' was replaced in official documents, though the namesRus' andRussian land were still common and synonymous to it.[33]
The Russian state partly remained referred to asMoscovia (English:Muscovy) throughout Europe, predominantly in itsCatholic part, though thisLatin term was never used in Russia.[34] The two namesRussia andMoscovia appear to have co-existed as interchangeable during the late 16th century and throughout the 17th century with different Western maps and sources using different names, so that the country was called "Russia, or Moscovia" (Latin:Russia seu Moscovia) or "Russia, popularly known as Moscovia" (Latin:Russia vulgo Moscovia). In England in the 16th century, it was known both as Russia and Muscovy.[35][36] Such notable Englishmen asGiles Fletcher, author of the bookOf the Russe Common Wealth (1591), andSamuel Collins, author ofThe Present State of Russia (1668), both of whom visited Russia, were familiar with the termRussia and used it in their works.[37] So did numerous other authors, includingJohn Milton, who wroteA brief history of Moscovia and of other less-known countries lying eastward of Russia, published posthumously,[38] starting it with the words: "The Empire of Moscovia, or as others call it, Russia...".[39]
According to prominent historians likeAlexander Zimin and Anna Khoroshkevich, the continuous use of the termMoscovia was a result of traditional habit and the need to distinguish between theMuscovite and theLithuanian part of Rus', as well as of the political interests of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which competed with Moscow for the western regions of Rus'. Due to the propaganda of the Commonwealth,[40][41] as well as of theJesuits, the termMoscovia was used instead of Russia in many parts of Europe where prior to the reign of Peter the Great there was a lack of direct knowledge of the country. InNorthern Europe and at the court of theHoly Roman Empire, however, the country was known under its own name,Russia orRossia.[42]Sigismund von Herberstein, ambassador of theHoly Roman Emperor in Russia, used bothRussia andMoscovia in his work on the Russian tsardom and noted: "The majority believes that Russia is a changed name ofRoxolania. Muscovites ("Russians" in the German version) refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia (Rosseia)".[43] Pointing to the difference between Latin and Russian names, French captainJacques Margeret, who served in Russia and left a detailed description ofL'Empire de Russie of the early 17th century that was presented to KingHenry IV, stated that foreigners make "a mistake when they call them Muscovites and not Russians. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond 'Russac', which means 'Russians', and when they are asked what place they are from, the answer is Moscow,Vologda, Ryasan and other cities".[44] The closest analogue of the Latin termMoscovia in Russia was "Tsardom of Moscow", or "Moscow Tsardom" (Московское царство,Moskovskoye tsarstvo), which was used along with the name "Russia",[45][46] sometimes in one sentence, as in the name of the 17th century Russian workOn the Great and Glorious Russian Moscow State (О великом и славном Российском Московском государстве,O velikom i slavnom Rossiyskom Moskovskom gosudarstve).[47]
By the 16th century, the Russian ruler had emerged as a powerful, autocratic figure, aTsar. By assuming that title, the sovereign ofMoscow suggested that he was a major ruler oremperor on a par with theByzantine emperor.Tsar (царь) represents the Slavic adaptation of the Roman Imperial title/nameCaesar)[48] Indeed, afterIvan III marriedSophia Palaiologina, the niece of the late Byzantine EmperorConstantine XI Palaiologos, in 1472, the Moscow court adoptedByzantine terms, rituals, titles, and emblems such as thedouble-headed eagle, which survives in thecoat of arms of Russia. The Byzantine Empire was ready to be succeeded since it had been conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453.
At first, the Byzantine termautokrator expressed only the literal meaning of an independent ruler, but in the reign ofIvan IV (1533–1584) it came to imply unlimited (autocratic) rule. In 1547 the Grand Duke Ivan IV was crowned Tsar and thus was recognized – at least by theRussian Orthodox Church – as Emperor. Notably, the hegumenPhilotheus of Pskov claimed in 1510 that afterConstantinople fell to theOttoman Empire, the Russian tsar remained the only legitimate Orthodox ruler, and thatMoscow was the Third Rome, becoming the final lineal successor toRome andConstantinople; these were the two centers ofChristianity and of theWestern andEastern Roman empires of earlier periods. The"Third Rome" concept would resonate in the self-image of the Russian people in future centuries.
The development of the Tsar's autocratic powers reached a peak during the reign of Ivan IV, and he gained the sobriquet "Grozny". The English wordterrible is usually used to translate the Russian wordgrozny in Ivan's nickname, but this is a somewhat archaic translation. The Russian wordgrozny reflects the older English usage ofterrible as in "inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful; formidable". It does not convey the more modern connotations of Englishterrible, such as "defective" or "evil".Vladimir Dal definedgrozny specifically in archaic usage and as an epithet for tsars: "Courageous, magnificent, magisterial and keeping enemies in fear, but people in obedience".[49] Other translations have also been suggested by modern scholars.[50][51][52]
Ivan IV becameGrand Prince of Moscow in 1533 at the age of three. TheShuysky andBelsky factions of theboyars competed for control of the regency until Ivan assumed the throne in 1547. Reflecting Moscow's new imperial claims, Ivan's coronation as Tsar was a ritual modeled after those of the Byzantine emperors. With the continuing assistance of a group of boyars, Ivan began his reign with a series of useful reforms. In the 1550s, he declared a new law code, revamped the military, and reorganized local government. These reforms undoubtedly were intended to strengthen the state in the face of continuous warfare.
Muscovy remained a fairly unknown society in Western Europe until BaronSigismund von Herberstein published hisRerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii (literallyNotes on Muscovite Affairs) in 1549. This provided a broad view of what had been a rarely visited and poorly reported state. In the 1630s, the Russian Tsardom was visited byAdam Olearius, whose lively and well-informed writings were soon translated into all the major languages of Europe.
Mounted archers of Muscovy
Further information about Russia was circulated by English and Dutchmerchants. One of them,Richard Chancellor, sailed to theWhite Sea in 1553 and continued overland to Moscow. Upon his return to England, theMuscovy Company was formed by himself,Sebastian Cabot, SirHugh Willoughby, and several London merchants. Ivan IV used these merchants to exchange letters withElizabeth I.
Despite the domestic turmoil of the 1530s and 1540s, Russia continued to wage wars and to expand. It grew from 2.8 to 5.4 million square kilometers from 1533 to 1584.[53] Ivandefeated and annexed theKhanate of Kazan on the middleVolga in 1552 and later theAstrakhan Khanate in 1556, where the Volga meets theCaspian Sea. An east-west line of fortifications was continuously pushed southward from the 1550s. This had the effect of making theNogai Horde the main adversary of Moscow in the steppe. A network of fortresses by Moscow was established to fortify the Kama basin and the Kazan heartland.[54] These victories transformed Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state, which it continues to be today. The tsar now controlled the entire Volga River and gained access to Central Asia.
Expanding to the northwest toward theBaltic Sea proved to be much more difficult. In 1558, Ivan invadedLivonia, eventually involving himself in atwenty-five-year war against thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden, and Denmark. Despite first successes, Ivan's army was pushed back, and the nation failed to secure a coveted position on the Baltic Sea.
Hoping to make profit from Russia's concentration on Livonian affairs,Devlet I Giray ofCrimea, accompanied by as many as 120,000 horsemen,repeatedly devastated the Moscow region, until theBattle of Molodi put a stop to such northward incursions. But for decades to come, the southern borderland was annually pillaged by theNogai Horde and theCrimean Khanate, who took local inhabitants with them as slaves. Tens of thousands of soldiers protected theGreat Abatis Belt – a burden for a state whose social and economic development was stagnating.
During the late 1550s, Ivan developed a hostility toward his advisers, the government, and theboyars. Historians have not determined whether policy differences, personal animosities, or mental imbalance caused his wrath. In 1565, he divided Russia into two parts: his private domain (oroprichnina) and the public realm (orzemshchina). For his private domain, Ivan chose some of the most prosperous and important districts of Russia. In these areas, Ivan's agents attacked boyars, merchants, and even common people, summarily executing some and confiscating land and possessions. Thus began a decade of terror in Russia that culminated in theMassacre of Novgorod (1570).
As a result of the policies of theoprichnina, Ivan broke the economic and political power of the leadingboyar families, thereby destroying precisely those persons who had built up Russia and were the most capable of administering it. Trade diminished, and peasants, faced with mounting taxes and threats of violence, began to leave Russia.Efforts to curtail the mobility of the peasants by tying them to their land brought Russia closer to legalserfdom. In 1572, Ivan finally abandoned the practices of the oprichnina.
According to a popular theory,[citation needed][by whom?] the oprichnina was started by Ivan in order to mobilize resources for the wars and to quell opposition. Regardless of the reason, Ivan's domestic and foreign policies had adevastating effect on Russia and led to a period of social struggle and civil war, theTime of Troubles (Smutnoye vremya, 1598–1613).
Ivan IV was succeeded by his sonFeodor, who was uninterested in ruling and possibly mentally deficient. Actual power went to Feodor's brother-in-law, the boyarBoris Godunov (who is credited with abolishingYuri's Day, the only time of the year when serfs were free to move from one landowner to another). Perhaps the most important event of Feodor's reign was the proclamation of thePatriarchate of Moscow in 1589. The creation of the patriarchate climaxed the evolution of a separate and totally independentRussian Orthodox Church.
In 1598, Feodor died without an heir, ending theRurik Dynasty. Boris Godunov then convened aZemsky Sobor, a national assembly of boyars, church officials, and commoners, which proclaimed him tsar, although various boyar factions refused to recognize the decision. Widespread crop failures caused theRussian famine of 1601–1603, and during the ensuing discontent, a man emerged who claimed to beTsarevich Demetrius, Ivan IV's son who had died in 1591. This pretender to the throne, who came to be known asFalse Dmitriy I, gained support in Poland and marched to Moscow, gathering followers among the boyars and other elements as he went. Historians speculate[55] that Godunov would have weathered this crisis had he not died in 1605. As a result, False Dmitriy I entered Moscow and was crowned tsar that year, following the murder of TsarFeodor II, Godunov's son.
Subsequently, Russia entered a period of continuous chaos, known asTheTime of Troubles (Смутное Время). Despite the Tsar's persecution of the boyars, the townspeople's dissatisfaction, and the gradual enserfment of the peasantry, efforts at restricting the power of the Tsar were only halfhearted. Finding no institutional alternative to the autocracy, discontented Russians rallied behind various pretenders to the throne. During that period, the goal of political activity was to gain influence over the sitting autocrat or to place one's own candidate on the throne. The boyars fought among themselves, the lower classes revolted blindly, and foreign armies occupiedthe Kremlin in Moscow, prompting many to acceptTsarist autocracy as a necessary means to restoring order and unity in Russia.
The Time of Troubles included a civil war in which a struggle over the throne was complicated by the machinations of rival boyar factions, the intervention of regional powers Poland and Sweden, and intense popular discontent, led byIvan Bolotnikov. False Dmitriy I and his Polish garrison were overthrown, and a boyar,Vasily Shuysky, was proclaimed tsar in 1606. In his attempt to retain the throne, Shuysky allied himself with the Swedes, unleashing theIngrian War with Sweden.False Dmitry II, allied with the Poles, appeared under the walls of Moscow and set up a mock court in the village ofTushino.
The immediate task of the new dynasty was to restore order. However, Russia's major enemies, Poland and Sweden, were engaged in a conflict with each other, which provided Russia with the opportunity to make peace with Sweden in 1617. ThePolish–Muscovite War was ended with theTruce of Deulino in 1618, restoring temporarily Polish and Lithuanian rule over some territories, includingSmolensk, lost by theGrand Duchy of Lithuania in 1509.
The earlyRomanovs were weak rulers. Under Mikhail, state affairs were in the hands of the tsar's father,Filaret, who in 1619 became Patriarch of Moscow. Later, Mikhail's sonAleksey (r. 1645–1676) relied on a boyar,Boris Morozov, to run his government. Morozov abused his position by exploiting the populace, and in 1648 Aleksey dismissed him in the wake of theSalt Riot in Moscow.
Afteran unsuccessful attempt to regain Smolensk from Poland in 1632, Russia made peace with Poland in 1634. Polish kingWładysław IV Vasa, whose father and predecessor wasSigismund III Vasa, had been elected by Russian boyars as tsar of Russia during the Time of Troubles, renounced all claims to the title as a condition of the peace treaty.
Theautocracy survived theTime of Troubles and the rule of weak or corrupt tsars because of the strength of the government's centralbureaucracy. Government functionaries continued to serve, regardless of the ruler'slegitimacy or theboyar faction controlling the throne. In the 17th century, the bureaucracy expanded dramatically. The number of government departments (prikazy; sing.,prikaz ) increased from twenty-two in 1613 to eighty by mid-century. Although the departments often had overlapping and conflictingjurisdictions, the central government, throughprovincial governors, was able to control and regulate all social groups, as well as trade, manufacturing, and even theEastern Orthodox Church.
TheSobornoye Ulozheniye, a comprehensivelegal code introduced in 1649, illustrates the extent of state control over Russian society. By that time, the boyars had largely merged with the new elite, who were obligatory servitors of the state, to form a newnobility, thedvoryanstvo. The state required service from both the old and the new nobility, primarily in the military because of permanent warfare on southern and western borders and attacks ofnomads. In return, the nobility received land andpeasants. In the preceding century, the state had gradually curtailed peasants' rights to move from onelandlord to another; the 1649 code officially attached peasants to theirhome.
The state fully sanctionedserfdom, and runaway peasants became statefugitives. Landlords had complete power over their peasants. Peasants living on state-owned land, however, were not considered serfs. They were organized intocommunes, which were responsible for taxes and other obligations. Like serfs, however, state peasants were attached to the land they farmed. Middle-class urbantradesmen and craftsmen were assessed taxes, and, like the serfs, they were forbidden to change residence. All segments of the population were subject to military levy and to special taxes. By chaining much of Russian society to specific domiciles, the legal code of 1649 curtailed movement and subordinated the people to the interests of the state.
Under this code, increased state taxes and regulations altered the social discontent that had been simmering since the Time of Troubles. In the 1650s and 1660s, the number of peasant escapes increased dramatically. A favourite refuge was theDon River region, domain of theDon Cossacks. A major uprising occurred in theVolga region in 1670 and 1671.Stenka Razin, a Cossack who was from the Don River region, led a revolt that drew together wealthy Cossacks who were well established in the region and escaped serfs seeking free land. The unexpected uprising swept up the Volga River valley and even threatened Moscow. Tsarist troops finally defeated the rebels after they had occupied major cities along the Volga in an operation whose panache captured the imaginations of later generations of Russians. Razin was publicly tortured and executed.
The Tsardom of Russia continued its territorial growth through the 17th century. In the southwest, it claimed theWild Fields (modern dayEastern Ukraine and South-Western Russia), which had been underPolish–Lithuanian rule and sought assistance from Russia to leave the rule of the Commonwealth.[citation needed] TheZaporozhian Cossacks, warriors organized in military formations, lived in the frontier areas bordering Poland, theCrimean Tatar lands. Although part of them was serving in the Polish army asRegistered Cossacks, theZaporozhian Cossacks remained fiercely independent and staged several rebellions against the Poles. In 1648, the peasants of what is now Eastern Ukraine joined the Cossacks in rebellion during theKhmelnytsky Uprising, because of the social and religious oppression they suffered under Polish rule. Initially, Cossacks were allied withCrimean Tatars, which had helped them to throw off Polish rule. Once the Poles convinced the Tartars to switch sides, the Zaporozhian Cossacks needed military help to maintain their position.
Russia's southwestern expansion, particularly its incorporation of the Wild Fields (modern day Eastern Ukraine), hadunintended consequences. MostLittle Russians were Orthodox, but their close contact with theRoman Catholic Polish also brought them Western intellectual currents. Through the CossackAcademy in Kiev, Russia gained links to Polish and Central European influences and to the wider Orthodox world. Although the Zaporozhian Cossack link induced creativity in many areas, it also weakened traditional Russian religious practices and culture. The Russian Orthodox Church discovered that its isolation fromConstantinople had caused variations to appear between theirliturgical books and practices.
The Russian Orthodox patriarch,Nikon, was determined to bring the Russian texts back into conformity with theGreek texts and practices of the time. But Nikon encountered opposition among the many Russians who viewed the corrections as improper foreign intrusions. When the Orthodox Church forced Nikon's reforms, a schism resulted in 1667. Those who did not accept the reforms came to be called theOld Believers; they were officially pronounced heretics and were persecuted by the church and the state. The chief opposition figure, the protopopeAvvakum, was burned at the stake. The split afterwards became permanent, and many merchants and peasants joined the Old Believers.
The tsar's court also felt the impact of Little Russia and the West. Kiev was a major transmitter of new ideas and insight through the famed scholarlyacademy thatMetropolitan Mohyla founded there in 1631. Other more direct channels to the West opened as international trade increased and more foreigners came to Russia. The Tsar's court was interested in the West's more advanced technology, particularly when military applications were involved. By the end of the 17th century, Little Russian, Polish, and West European penetration had weakened the Russian cultural synthesis – at least among the elite – and had prepared the way for an even more radical transformation.
Russia's eastward expansion encountered little resistance. In 1581, theStroganov merchant family, interested in the fur trade, hired aCossack leader,Yermak Timofeyevich, to lead an expedition into westernSiberia. Yermak defeated theKhanate of Sibir and claimed the territories west of theOb andIrtysh Rivers for Russia.
From such bases asMangazeya, merchants, traders, and explorers pushed eastward from the Ob River to theYenisey River, then on to theLena River and the coast of the Pacific Ocean. In 1648, CossackSemyon Dezhnyov opened the passage between America and Asia. By the middle of the 17th century, Russians had reached theAmur River and the outskirts of theChinese Empire.
After a period ofSino-Russian border conflicts with theQing dynasty, Russia made peace with China in 1689. By theTreaty of Nerchinsk, Russia ceded its claims to the Amur Valley, but it gained access to the region east ofLake Baikal and the trade route toBeijing. Peace with China strengthened the initial breakthrough to the Pacific that had been made in the middle of the century.
Peter the Great (1672–1725), who became ruler in his own right in 1696, brought the Tsardom of Russia, which had little prior contact with Western Europe, into the mainstream of European culture and politics. After suppressing numerous rebellions with considerable bloodshed, Peter embarked onan incognito tour of Western Europe. He became impressed with what he saw and was awakened. Peter began requiring the nobility to wear Western European clothing and shave off their beards, an action that theboyars protested bitterly.Arranged marriages among the nobility were banned, and the Orthodox Church was brought under state control. Military academies were established to create a modern Western European-style army and officer corps.
These changes did not win Peter many friends, and in fact caused great political division in the country. These, along with his notorious cruelties (such as thetorture murder ofhis own son for plotting a rebellion) and the immense human suffering that accompanied many of his projects, such as the construction ofSaint Petersburg, led many pious Russians to believe that he was theAntichrist. TheGreat Northern War against Sweden consumed much of Peter's attention for years; however, the Swedes were eventually defeated, and peace was agreed to in 1721. Russia annexed the Baltic coast from Sweden and parts of Finland, which would become the site of the new Russian capital, Saint Petersburg. The Russian victory in the Great Northern War marked a watershed in European politics, as it not only brought about the eclipse of Sweden as agreat power, but also Russia's decisive emergence as a permanent European great power. TheRussian colonization of Siberia also continued, andwar withPersia brought about the acquisition of territory in theCaucasus, although Russia surrendered those gains after Peter's death in 1725.[56]
Standard of the Tsar of Russia (1693–1700): white-blue-red tricolor with goldendouble-headed eagle in the center.[57] Replaced by the Imperial standard in 1700 (see below).[57]
Imperial Standard of the Tsar of Russia: black double-headed eagle carrying St. Vladimir Red Coat of Arms, on a golden rectangular field, adopted in 1700 instead of the older white-blue-red Standard of the Tsar of Moscow.[57]
Civil flag: The earlyRomanov Tsars instituted the two-headed eagle Imperial Flag of the Tsar, which origin dates back to 1472, as a Civil Flag, it remained the Civil Flag of Russia until replaced during the Empire in 1858.[58]
Civil ensign of Russia: the white-blue-red tricolor, that was adopted on 20 January 1705 by decree ofPeter I.[57]
Naval ensign of theImperial Russian Navy: white field with a blue saltire, adopted in 1712.[59] Before that, the naval ensign of Russia was white-blue-red tricolor.[59]
Naval jack of the Imperial Russian Navy: red field with a blue saltire, adopted in 1700.
Naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy (1697–1699)[59] andcivil ensign of Russia (from 1705)[57]
Naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy (1699–1700),[59] a transitional variant between the 1697–1699 ensign and theAndreevsky Flag of 1712
Naval jack of the Imperial Russian Navy (from 1700)[60]
Naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy (from 1712)[59]
^W. Werth, Paul (2014).The Tsar's Foreign Faiths: Toleration and the Fate of Religious Freedom in Imperial Russia. Oxford University Press. p. 147.ISBN978-0199591770.
^Lee Trepanier. Political Symbols in Russian History: Church, State, and the Quest for Order and Justice. Lexington Books, 2010. p. 61: "so your great Russian Tsardom, more pious than all previous kingdoms, is the Third Rome"
^Barbara Jelavich. Russia's Balkan Entanglements, 1806–1914.Cambridge University Press, 2004. p. 37. Note 34: "Since the first Rome fell through the Appollinarian heresy and the second Rome, which is Constantinople, is held by the infidel Turks, so then thy great Russian Tsardom, pious Tsar, which is more pious than previous kingdoms, is the third Rome"
^Richard S. Wortman. Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II. Princeton University Press, 2013. p. 17
^Maija Jansson. England and the North: The Russian Embassy of 1613–1614. American Philosophical Society, 1994. p. 82: "...the towns of our great Russian Tsardom", "all the people of all the towns of all the great Russian Tsardom".
^Walter G. Moss. A History of Russia Volume 1: To 1917. Anthem Press, 2003. p. 207
^Readings for Introduction to Russian civilization, Volume 1. Syllabus Division, University of Chicago Press, 1963. p. 253
^Hans Georg Peyerle, George Edward Orchard. Journey to Moscow. LIT Verlag Münster, 1997. p. 47
^William K. Medlin. Moscow and East Rome: A Political Study of the Relations of Church and State in Muscovite Russia. Delachaux et Niestl, 1952. p. 117: Addressing Patriarch Jeremiah, Tsar Feodor Ivanovich declares, "We have received the sceptre of the Great Tsardom of Russia to support and to watch over our pious and present Great Russian Tsardom and, with God's grace".
^Б. М. Клосс. О происхождении названия "Россия". М.: Рукописные памятники Древней Руси, 2012. С. 4
^Шмидт С. О. Памятники письменности в культуре познания истории России. М., 2007. Т. 1. Стр. 545
^Felicity Stout. Exploring Russia in the Elizabethan commonwealth: The Muscovy Company and Giles Fletcher, the elder (1546–1611). Oxford University Press. 2015
^Jennifer Speake (editor).Literature of Travel and Exploration: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. 2014. p. 650
^Marshall Poe (editor). Early exploration of Russia. Volume 1. Routledge. 2003
^John T. Shawcross. John Milton: The Self and the World. University Press of Kentucky, 2015. p. 120
^Кудрявцев, Олег Фёдорович.Россия в первой половине XVI в: взгляд из Европы. Русский мир, 1997.[2]Archived 13 August 2002 at theWayback Machine
^Тихвинский, С. Л., Мясников, В. С.Восток – Россия – Запад: исторические и культурологические исследования. Памятники исторической мысли, 2001 – С. 69
^Хорошкевич А. Л. Русское государство в системе международных отношений конца XV – начала XVI в. – М.: Наука, 1980. – С. 84
^Sigismund von Herberstein. Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii. Synoptische Edition der lateinischen und der deutschen Fassung letzter Hand. Basel 1556 und Wien 1557. München, 2007. p. 29
^Advertissement au Lecteur // Jacques Margeret. Estat de l'empire de Russie et grande duché de Moscovie, avec ce qui s'y est passé de plus mémorable et tragique... depuis l'an 1590 jusques en l'an 1606 en septembre, par le capitaine Margeret. M. Guillemot, 1607. Modern French-Russian edition: Маржерет Ж. Состояние Российской империи (Тексты, комментарии, статьи). Ж. Маржерет в документах и исследованиях. Серия: Studia historica М. Языки славянской культуры. 2007. С. 46, 117
^О великом и славном Российском Московском государстве. Гл. 50 // Арсеньев Ю. В. Описание Москвы и Московского государства: По неизданному списку Космографии конца XVII века. М, 1911. С. 6–17 (Зап. Моск. археол. ин-та. Т. 11)
Grigory Kotoshikhin'sRussia during the reign of Alexey Mikhailovich (1665) is the indispensable source for those studying administration of the Russian tsardom
Domostroy is a 16th-century set of rules regulating everyday behaviour in the Russian boyar families.
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![Naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy (1697–1699)[59] and civil ensign of Russia (from 1705)[57]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFlag_of_Russia.svg)
![Naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy (1699–1700),[59] a transitional variant between the 1697–1699 ensign and the Andreevsky Flag of 1712](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFlag_of_Russian_Navy_(Krepost)_1699-1700.svg)
![Naval jack of the Imperial Russian Navy (from 1700)[60]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNaval_Jack_of_Russia.svg)
![Naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy (from 1712)[59]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNaval_ensign_of_Russia.svg)
