McChesney and Eisenhardt Podcast Project

During the podcast, the hosts discuss the Russian Times of Trouble from the 16th and 17th centuries. It was a period of political succession, social upheaval, foreign invasions, and civil war. The trouble began with the end of the Rurik dynasty and a famine. After the death of Tsar Fedor, there was a succession crisis, leading to chaos in Russia. Boris Godunov became leader, but his rule was short-lived due to a famine and political unrest. False Dmitries claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne, but they were quickly ousted or killed. Vasily Shuisky took control, but many Russians didn't accept him. Eventually, Michael Romanov became Tsar, and his family ruled until 1917. The Times of Trouble ended when Peter the Great took power. Welcome to our podcast where we discuss and debate history. Today we have a special topic, Eisenhardt and I will be delving into the Russian times of trouble. Now you may be wondering, what is that? But first, a word from our sponsor, Raid Shadow Legends, the top mobile game in 2019 and it's completely free. Raid Shadow Legends is an immersive online experience with everything you'd expect from a brand new RPG title. It's got an amazing storyline, awesome 3D graphics, giant boss fights, PvP battles, and hundreds of never-before-seen champions to collect and customize. Make sure to use the link in description when downloading it, but anyways, back to the podcast. Now Cole, please give us a little background on the Russian times of trouble. Well this refers to the adversity happening in Russia during the 16th and 17th century, specifically through 1598 to 1613. This time period is known for the political succession, widespread social upheaval, foreign invasions, and civil war taking place. As you can see, there was so much going on during this time, so try to follow along and don't forget to hit that follow button. Times of trouble started with the end of the Rurik dynasty and a famine. Ivan IV, otherwise known as Ivan the Terrible, being the most notable of the Rurik bloodline. Ivan IV was the Grand Prince of Russia who was the first Russian leader to be crowned as the Tsar of Russia, who died in 1584. Following his death, his son Fedor took the throne. He was the Tsar of all Russia from 1584 until his death in 1598. Fedor's mother died when he was three and grew up in the shadow of his father, Ivan the Terrible. By the time of Fedor's death, he had no children, ending the Rurik dynasty. Wait, hold on, I'm getting a phone call. Is that John Pork? John Pork, can you tell the audience the problem with Fedor dying? Of course. The problem with Fedor dying is that there was no heirs to his throne. This meant that now it was possible for other outside hereditary kingships to take charge. Fedor's death then led to the succession crisis and chaos throughout Russia. Thanks, John! Boris Godunov was elected boyar following the death of Fedor, however, his rule ended short in 1605. Even though he tried to keep Russia intact, a famine swept across the nation from 1601 to 1603, killing about one-third of the Russian population. Due to the political unrest, strained resources, and factions against his rule, he was not able to accomplish much during his short reign, which only lasted until 1605. This caused a lot of uncertainty in fighting for leadership. False Dmitries also started to become prevalent in trying to attain leadership. Cole, what are those? Well, false Dmitries were people who claimed to be the long-lost youngest son of Ivan IV, Dmitri Ivanovich, which meant that they were the next in line to the throne. However, these fakes did not make it far. The first imposter told Polish forces that he truly was the son of Ivan. The Polish forces saw this as an opportunity and appointed him leader. Dmitry was killed by armed mobs and the Polish forces during an uprising in Moscow after he was ousted from the Kremlin. Many of his Polish advisors were also killed or imprisoned during the rebellion. Within a year, Vasily Shuisky, a Rurik prince staging an uprising against false Dmitry, murdered him and seized control over power in Moscow for himself. He ruled between 1606 and 1610 and was known as Vasily IV. However, the boyars and mercenaries were still displeased with this new ruler. Shuisky managed to seize power, but many Russians were unwilling to accept the usurper star Vasily IV. His enemies circulated rumors that Tsar Dmitry had survived the assassination attempt and would soon return to punish the traitors. In desperation, Tsar Vasily eventually turned to Sweden for support. In 1609, King Karl IX sent military forces into Russia to aid Shuisky and seize territory. That prompted Polish military intervention, and in June 1610, Tsar Vasily's army was crushed by Polish forces at the Battle of Kushino. Soon after the battle, Tsar Vasily IV was ousted by the seven boyars and Tsiolkiewski entered Moscow with little opposition. The seven boyars then complained that the Polish Lutheran prince of the Commonwealth, Wenceslaus IV, was as the new Tsar of Russia. Despite some military victories, he was unable to capture Moscow. The Commonwealth gained some disputed territories in the Truce of Dolino, but Wenceslaus was never able to reign in Russia. The throne during this time was instead held by Michael Romanov. He held on to the title without any real power until 1634. After Michael's death, his son Alexis succeeded his father, and Fyodor III succeeded his father Alexis. But after Fyodor's death, both his brother Ivan and his half-brother Peter vied for the same throne. Instead of Ivan or Peter taking the throne, Sofia Alekseevna, the half-sister of Peter the Great, took it and was the first woman to rule Russia. After a power struggle, in which the Streltsy was forced to shift its loyalty, Sofia was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-Tsars, yet Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. The throne was instead exercised by his mother, Natalya Naryshchikha, Peter on the Russian throne. Natalya died in 1694 when Peter, then age 22, became independent sovereign. Formerly, Ivan V was the co-ruler with Peter, though being ineffective, Peter became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696 without male offspring two years later. Once Peter the Great became Tsar of Russia, the times of trouble started to slow down and everything started to go back to normal. Peter's lineage, the Romanovs, would rule Russia up to 1917 when Lenin came into power. However, that's a story for another day. So that's the time of troubles wrapped up. It was basically just a bunch of power struggle and betrayal with some revolutions in the making. Yeah, that's about it for this episode, A Trouble Podcast. See you guys on the next episode.