Feodor Ivanovich I

Feodor Ivanovich I

Feodor Ivanovich I was born on May 31, 1557 to Ivan the Terrible and his wife, Anastasiya Romanovna. He came into power after the death of his father in 1584. Although Feodor was the middle son, he became first in line to the throne after the death of his oldest brother, Ivan Ivanovich. His father did not have the utmost confidence in his ability to rule the country which is why Ivan instilled a regency council in order to help guide his incompetent son. In this council were five trusted boyards. One being Feodor’s brother-in-law Boris Godunov.

            Not only was Feodor an incompetent ruler who many believed to be mentally retarded, he also did not have much luck in bearing children either. He married Irina Feodorovna Godunova in 1580. Twelve years later they had a daughter that only lived two years. He had no other children.

            Feodor was a very religious person and spent more time in prayer than he did fulfilling the duties of tsar. He had little interest in expanding on the accomplishments of his father. He closed trade with England almost as soon as he was crowned. Despite Queen Elizabeth’s efforts to keep an ambassador in Russia, Feodor showed no interest and refused.

            As incompetent as Feodor was, there were several positive strides made during his reign. These were in no way attributed to Feodor, but to his appointed guardian, Boris Godunov. Feodor left most of the decision making up to Boris during his reign. This is why it is no surprise that after Feodor was stabbed to death, Boris was unanimously elected as tsar.

            In comparison to his power hungry father, Feodor was ignorant, incompetent, and a disappointment to the progression of Russian expansion. This is exactly how he went down in history.