Boris Godunov
1551 – 1605 Russian Regent and then Tsar of Russia
A courtier who became tsar and whose reign collapsed into the chaos of the Time of Troubles.
- Religion
- Russian Orthodox; as tsar he backed the creation of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1589.
- Affiliations
- Rose under Ivan the Terrible; regent for Tsar Feodor I; elected tsar in 1598 after the Rurik line ended.
Godunov gained power as brother-in-law and adviser to the weak Tsar Feodor, then was elected tsar when the old dynasty died out. His reign was struck by famine and by the rise of the pretender known as the False Dmitry. His sudden death in 1605 opened the Time of Troubles.
Connections
- associate of Ivan the Terrible — Godunov rose as a courtier and in-law during Ivan's reign and later took the throne himself.
- associate of Ivan the Terrible — Served at Ivan's court and married into his inner circle before taking the throne.
- connected to Michael of Russia — His fall amid the Time of Troubles cleared the way for the Romanovs a few years later.