Boris Godunov

by Eric P. and Alexandra C.

Boris Godunov became tzar when Feodor, Ivan The Terrible's son died in 1598. Feodor was too young to have any heirs and his younger brother, Dmitri had died mysteriously. Since Boris had been Feodor's regent he was elected by the Imperial Embasy to the throne. Later in Boris's reign many would claim to be Dmitri in order to take the throne, but Boris had them killed. Many believed that Boris had the original Dmitri killed in order to inherit the throne.

The people of Russia were scared and worried because Boris wasn't a descendant of Rurik. They believed that God would punish Russia for this. Boris was an unlucky man and he had an unsuccessful reign. Russia experienced drought, famine, and plague. This weakened Russia and was known as the Time of Troubles (smutnoe uremya in Russian). Russia's enemies used Russia's weak state to attack the borders and cause further trouble. In 1605 Boris comitted suicide. After his death Russia was plunged into chaos. After this struggle of civil war a new dynasty would emerge in Russia and reign for the next 300 years, the Romanov dynasty.