Reinventing the Russian Monarchy in the 1550s: Ivan the Terrible, the Dynasty, and the Church

Reinventing the Russian Monarchy in the 1550s: Ivan the Terrible, the Dynasty, and the Church by Sergei Bogatyrev This article focuses on the political and cultural priorities of the Daniilovichi dynasty in the middle of the sixteenth century. In the late 1540s to 1550s Ivan IV faced two interrelated challenges: strengthening the prestige of the dynasty and securing succession for his heir. Using the relations with the Orthodox East, the court functionaries, apparently actively supported by Ivan, launched an ambitious dynastic project which was focused on the antiquity of the Muscovite dynasty, the confirmation of Ivan's title of tsar by the patriarch, and the commemoration of members of the dynasty in ancient ccntres of Orthodoxy. The 'Greek project' of Ivan the Terrible was a major step in turning the Muscovite monarchy into a dynastic state.