Authors

Earl Hodil¹;  ¹ Pomona College, Department of History, United States

Discussion

Using both Russian and Danish sources, this paper examines how three tsars (Boris Godunov, Vasilii Shuiskii, and Mikhail Romanov) justified their individual claims to the Russian throne during the Time of Troubles (1598-1613). In this turbulent era, each of these rulers dispatched ambassadors to their neighbor, Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, attempting to persuade him of the legitimacy of their respective reigns. Their arguments, remarkably similar in some respects, demonstrate a certain continuity despite the turmoil of the Troubles. Each claimed broad support from God and various Muscovite social groups, while both Vasilii and Mikhail contrasted the righteousness of their rules against the unjust invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The combination of old and new arguments for sovereignty developed over time and can be traced from Boris to Mikhail, with the latter's claim fleshed out in the greatest detail. Mikhail's definition of his legitimacy set the tone for his relations with Denmark-Norway and other powers as the Romanov dynasty solidified in the first half of the seventeenth century. As early modern Russia experienced the disruptions of civil strife, foreign invasion, and multiple dynastic changes, the notion of the Muscovite tsar's sovereignty remained durable, even if novel justifications were employed to support it.