Posolsky Prikaz - one of the central state bodies of Russia in the middle of the 16th - early 18th centuries, which carried out general management and ongoing work on relations with foreign states.

Ambassadorial Order- one of the central state bodies of Russia in the middle of the 16th - early 18th centuries, which carried out general management and current work on relations with foreign states. It was formed at the beginning of 1549 in connection with the transfer of "embassy affairs" to I. M. Viskovaty. The main functions of the Ambassadorial Order were: sending Russian embassies abroad and receiving foreign embassies, preparing texts of "mandates" for Russian ambassadors, agreements, negotiating, from the beginning of the 18th century. - Appointment and control over the actions of permanent Russian diplomatic representatives abroad.

The embassy order was in charge of foreign merchants during their stay in Russia. In addition, the Posolsky Prikaz was engaged in the ransom and exchange of Russian prisoners, ruled a number of territories in the south-east. country, was in charge of the Don Cossacks and service Tatars-landlords of the central counties. Depending on the Ambassadorial order in the 2nd half of the 17th century. were the Little Russian order, the order of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Smolensk order.

Board of the order in the 17th century. usually headed the Novgorod couple (see Cheti), as well as the Vladimir quarter and the Galician quarter. The order kept the state seals (applied to diplomatic and domestic political acts), the state archive, which included the most important foreign and domestic political documentation. The appearance in the 17th century is associated with the order. a number of official historical and political works. In addition to his board (from 2-3 to 5-6 people), the structure of the order included clerks, clerks, translators and gold painters. Structurally, the Posolsky order was divided into povytya on a territorial-state basis. In the 16-17 centuries. The ambassadorial order was headed by the most prominent Russian diplomats - Viskovaty, A. Ya. and V. Ya. Shchelkalov, A. I. Ivanov, A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin, A. S. Matveev, V. V. Golitsyn and others.

With education in the early 18th century. The Embassy office (at first traveling, then permanent in St. Petersburg), the role of the Ambassadorial order is gradually falling. Abolished in 1720. Replaced by the College of Foreign Affairs.

Lit .: Belokurov S. A., On the ambassadorial order, M., 1906; Leontiev A.K., Formation of the command system of government in the Russian state, M., 1961.

Historians do not know exactly when Ivan Viskovaty was born. The first mention of him refers to 1542, when this clerk wrote a letter of conciliation with the Kingdom of Poland. Viskovaty was quite thin, he belonged to a noble family that had little to no reputation. He built his career thanks to his own diligence, natural talents and the intercession of patrons. Contemporaries described him as an extremely eloquent person. The ability of a speaker was very important for a diplomat, so it is not surprising that over time, Ivan Viskovaty headed the Ambassadorial Order (the prototype of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). But despite his merits, he was among the victims of the terror of Ivan the Terrible.

Until the middle of the 16th century, the entire diplomatic system Russian state was built around the Grand Duke. He could delegate some powers individually, but no state institute didn't exist.

The state of affairs in the Moscow diplomacy of that time can be judged from the entries in the embassy books. They say that, starting in 1549, Ivan the Terrible, who had recently been crowned king, ordered Viskovaty to accept official letters brought by foreign delegations. At the same time, the official's first foreign trips began. In the same 1549, he went to the Nogais and the ruler of Astrakhan, Derbysh.

Compared with his colleagues, Ivan Viskovaty was also distinguished by his low rank. He was just a pick up. Ivan the Terrible, appreciating Viskovaty's abilities, equated him with other more eminent diplomats - Fyodor Mishurin and Menshik Putyanin. So the nobleman became a deacon. In the same 1549, Ivan Viskovaty was suddenly appointed head of the diplomatic department. He became the first official of his kind in national history.

From that moment on, Viskovaty began active work, which for the most part amounted to meetings with numerous foreign delegations. Ambassadors from the Nogai Horde, Lithuania, Poland, Kazan, Denmark, Germany, etc. came to the clerk. The unique status of Viskovaty was emphasized by the fact that he received high-ranking guests in person. For such meetings there was a special deacon's hut. Ivan the Terrible himself mentioned it in his letters.

In addition to meetings with ambassadors, Ivan Viskovaty was in charge of their correspondence with the tsar and the Boyar Duma. The clerk was present at all preliminary negotiations. In addition, he was involved in the organization of Russian embassies abroad.

During the meetings of the king with delegations Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich kept the minutes of the negotiations, and his notes were later included in the official annals. In addition, the sovereign entrusted him with the management of his own archive. This fount contained unique documents: all kinds of decrees of Moscow and other specific princes, genealogies, papers of a foreign policy nature, investigative materials, government office work.

The person who kept track of the tsarist archive had to have a huge responsibility. It was under Viskovat that this repository was reorganized into a separate institution. The head of the Embassy Department had to work a lot with papers from the archive, since without them it was impossible to make inquiries about relations with other states and organize meetings with foreign delegates.

In 1547, Moscow experienced a terrible fire, which contemporaries called "great". The archive was also damaged in the fire. Taking care of him and restoring valuable documents became Viskovaty's primary task from the very beginning of his tenure as head of the diplomatic department.

The prosperous bureaucratic fate of Ivan Viskovaty was successful not only thanks to his own zeal. Behind him were powerful patrons who took care of and helped their protégé. These were the Zakharyins, relatives of Ivan the Terrible's first wife, Anastasia. Their rapprochement was facilitated by the conflict that broke out in the Kremlin in 1553. The young king became seriously ill, and his entourage was seriously afraid for the life of the sovereign. Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich suggested that the crown bearer draw up a spiritual testament. According to this document, power in the event of the death of Ivan Vasilyevich was to pass to his six-month-old son Dmitry.

In a situation of uncertainty about the future, Grozny's relatives, the Staritskys (including his cousin Vladimir Andreevich, who claimed power), fearing an excessive strengthening of the enemy boyar clan, began to intrigue against the Zakharyins. As a result, half of the court did not swear allegiance to the young Dmitry. Until the last, even the closest adviser to the tsar, Alexei Adashev, hesitated. But Viskovaty remained on the side of Dmitry (that is, the Zakharyins), for which they were always grateful to him. After some time, the king recovered. On all the boyars who did not want to support the claims of Dmitry, there was a black mark.

In the middle of the 16th century, the east was the main direction of Russia's foreign policy. In 1552 Grozny annexed Kazan, and in 1556 Astrakhan. At court, Alexei Adashev was the main supporter of the advance to the east. Viskovaty, although he accompanied the tsar in his Kazan campaign, dealt with Western affairs with much greater zeal. It was he who stood at the origins of the emergence of diplomatic contacts between Russia and England. Muscovy (as it was called in Europe at that time) did not have access to the Baltic, so sea trade with the Old World was carried out through Arkhangelsk, which freezes in winter. In 1553, the English navigator Richard Chancellor arrived there.

In the future, the merchant visited Russia several more times. Each of his visits was accompanied by a traditional meeting with Ivan Viskovaty. The head of the Posolsky Prikaz met with Chancellor in the company of the most influential and wealthy Russian merchants. It was, of course, about trade. The British wanted to become a monopoly on Russian market full of goods unique to Europeans. Important negotiations, where these issues were discussed, were carried out by Ivan Viskovaty. In the history of relations between the two countries, their first trade agreement played a fundamentally important and long-term role.

Merchants from Foggy Albion received a preferential letter full of all sorts of privileges. They opened their own offices in several Russian cities. Moscow merchants also received the unique right to trade in Britain without duties.

Free entry into Russia was open to English craftsmen, artisans, artists and physicians. It was Ivan Viskovaty who made a huge contribution to the emergence of such beneficial relations between the two powers. The fate of his agreements with the British turned out to be extremely successful: they lasted until the second half of XVII centuries.

The lack of own Baltic ports and the desire to enter Western European markets pushed Ivan the Terrible to start a war against the Livonian Order, located on the territory of modern Estonia and Latvia. By that time, the best era of the knights was left behind. Their military organization was in serious decline, and the Russian Tsar, not without reason, believed that he would be able to conquer the important Baltic cities with relative ease: Riga, Derpt, Revel, Yuryev, Pernava. In addition, the knights themselves provoked the conflict by not letting European merchants, craftsmen and goods into Russia. The regular war began in 1558 and dragged on for as much as 25 years.

The Livonian question split the tsar's close associates into two parties. The first circle was headed by Adashev. His supporters believed that it was necessary first of all to increase their pressure on the southern Tatar khanates and Ottoman Empire. Ivan Viskovaty and other boyars took the opposite view. They advocated the continuation of the war in the Baltic States to a victorious end.

At the first stage of the conflict with the knights, everything went exactly as Ivan Viskovaty wanted. The biography of this diplomat is an example of a politician who made the right decisions every time. And now the head of the Ambassadorial order guessed right. The Livonian Order was quickly defeated. The castles of the knights surrendered one by one. It seemed that the Baltics were already in your pocket.

However, the successes of Russian weapons seriously alarmed neighboring western states. Poland, Lithuania, Denmark and Sweden also claimed the Livonian inheritance and were not going to give the entire Baltic to Grozny. At first, the European powers tried to stop the war, which was unprofitable for them, through diplomacy. Embassies rushed to Moscow. Met them, as expected, Ivan Viskovaty. The photo of this diplomat has not been preserved, but even without knowing his appearance and habits, we can safely assume that he skillfully defended the interests of his sovereign.

The head of the Posolsky Prikaz consistently refused Western crafty mediation in the conflict with the Livonian Order. Further victories of the Russian army in the Baltics led to the fact that the frightened Poland and Lithuania united into one state - the Commonwealth. A new player in the international arena openly opposed Russia. Soon, Sweden also declared war on Grozny. The Livonian war dragged on, and all the successes of Russian weapons were nullified. True, the second half of the conflict passed without the participation of Viskovaty. By this time, he had already become a victim of repression by his own king.

Grozny's conflict with the boyars began in 1560, when his first wife Anastasia suddenly died. Evil tongues spread rumors about her poisoning. Gradually, the king became suspicious, paranoid and fearful of betrayal seized him. These phobias intensified when Andrei Kurbsky, the closest adviser to the monarch, fled abroad. In Moscow, the first heads flew.

The boyars were imprisoned or executed on the most dubious denunciations and slanders. Ivan Viskovaty, who caused envy of many competitors, was also in the queue for reprisal. short biography diplomat, however, says that he managed to avoid the wrath of his sovereign for a relatively long time.

In 1570, against the backdrop of defeats in Livonia, Grozny and his guardsmen decided to go on a campaign against Novgorod, whose inhabitants they suspected of treason and sympathy for foreign enemies. After that bloodshed, the sad fate of Ivan Viskovaty was also decided. In short, the repressive machine could not stop on its own. Having begun terror against his own boyars, Grozny needed more and more traitors and traitors. And although no documents have been preserved to our time that would explain how the decision about Viskovaty was made, it can be assumed that he was slandered by the new favorites of the tsar: guardsmen Malyuta Skuratov and Vasily Gryaznoy.

Shortly before that, the nobleman was removed from the leadership of the Ambassadorial order. In addition, once Ivan Viskovaty openly tried to stand up for the terrorized boyars. In response to the exhortations of the diplomat, Grozny burst into an angry tirade. Viskovaty was executed on July 25, 1570. He was accused of treacherous ties with the Crimean Khan and the Polish king.

ORDIN-NASCHOKIN AFANASIY LAVRENTIEVICH (1606-1680) - Russian statesman and military leader, diplomat and politician in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, head of the Ambassadorial Department. Born into the family of a poor nobleman. Local deacons taught him literacy and mathematics, Poles - Polish and Latin, later he himself mastered German and Moldavian. Like all young nobles at that time, in 1622 he began "regimental service". In 1642 he was involved in the embassy business at the court of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. During the Russian-Swedish and Russian-Polish wars of the middle of the 17th century. He was both a governor and a diplomat, he showed himself as a capable military leader. In 1656 he signed a treaty of friendship and alliance with Courland. Ordin launched an active struggle against trade privileges for foreign merchants, proposing to oblige them to pay high duties on the goods they imported. Having achieved in 1667 the signing of the Andrusovsky truce with Poland, which was beneficial for Russia, he received the rank of boyar and became the head of the Ambassadorial Order.

One of the first actions of Ordin-Nashchokin as the head of the Posolsky Prikaz was the introduction of the New Trade Charter. The charter of 1667 generalized the provision on customs fees and strengthened the protective nature of taxation. This gave impetus to the formation of the all-Russian market. In the capital building of the Posolsky Prikaz, under Ordin, they began to receive foreigners - everything laid the foundation for the formation of diplomatic etiquette in Russia. With all the diplomatic qualities of Ordin - intelligence, eloquence, vital tenacity - maneuvering in whirlpools political life Russia was given to him in old age more and more difficult. Directness in judgment brought him closer to disgrace. In 1671 he was removed from service in the Posolsky order, returned to his homeland and took the vows as a monk under the name of monk Anthony. But there was no better expert on Polish realities in the country, and in 1679 the tsar sent for Ordin to Moscow. But his advice regarding the Poles was considered obsolete, Ordin himself was removed from the negotiations and returned to Pskov. There he died a year later, in 1680 in the Krypetsky Monastery at the age of 74.
A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin belonged to a cohort of Russian reformers who knew how to combine the interests of patriotism and renewal. He sought to protect domestic production through protectionist measures and a renewed fiscal policy. An important role was also played by his patronage of the development of trade and the fleet, the establishment of trade relations between Russia and many countries. Ordin raised the importance of the embassy service, giving it an economic and political justification. A highly educated man of his time, Ordin-Nashchokin stood out among the courtiers with a lively mind, brilliant rhetorical talent, and erudition. His versatile activity left a deep mark in many areas of Russian life, preparing the country for the reforms of Peter I.

Artamon Sergeevich Matveev (1671-1682) A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin's successor as head of the Ambassadorial Department in February 1671 was Artamon Sergeevich Matveev, a duma nobleman and hereditary diplomat. A. S. Matveev enjoyed unlimited confidence Alexei Mikhailovich, for which there were serious reasons. He grew up and was brought up in the palace along with the king. Possessing many talents, Matveev, just like his predecessor, was a member of the "chosen thought" formed around the tsar. Even before he took office as head of the foreign policy department, Matveev did a lot in the diplomatic field. In 1653 he headed the embassy to Ukraine and negotiated with B. Khmelnitsky on the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. As a result of all the negotiations in January 1654, the reunification of the Russian and Ukrainian lands took place. In April 1669, A. S. Matveev headed the Little Russian order. Here he showed himself to be a flexible politician, a skilled diplomat, he managed to smooth out the sharpest corners in the relations between the authorities and the local population. Contemporaries noted his special ability to get along with people, avoid conflicts, his loyalty and devotion to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who highly appreciated the merits of Matveev. In 1672, shortly after his appointment as head of the Ambassadorial Department, Artamon Sergeevich was granted the okolnichi, and in October 1674 he was promoted to the close boyars.
Matveev's diplomatic activities coincided with grueling negotiations, a long and stubborn struggle between Russia and Poland and Lithuania for Little Russia. After successful negotiations with the Poles in 1674, Artamon Sergeevich signed an agreement that secured Kyiv for Russia. Being an ardent supporter of Russia's rapprochement with the Commonwealth, Matveev was convinced that such an alliance was necessary to unite the Slavs against Turkey. Wanting to enlist the support of others European countries in creating an anti-Turkish coalition, he sent Russian diplomats to England, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Austria, Brandenburg and Prussia. However, these plans remained unfulfilled due to the war in Europe itself. Matveev also continued the policy of his predecessors to develop Russia's relations with the countries of the East, India and China.

Under Matveyev, reference books necessary for diplomats were compiled in the Ambassadorial Order for official purposes. The author of one of them, called "Titular", was Matveev. This book is a detailed account of the history of diplomatic relations between the Muscovite state and foreign countries.
After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich in 1676, due to intrigues, Matveev fell into disgrace and was removed from the administration of the Ambassadorial Order. In the struggle between the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys for the succession to the throne, A. S. Matveev, an adherent of Peter, fell victim to the Streltsy rebellion of 1682.

Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn (1643 - 1714) - boyar, diplomat and statesman pre-Petrine Russia. The actual head of the Russian government during the regency of Princess Sophia (1682-89) with the rank of governor. He got great home education and was fluent in Latin, Greek, Polish and German. Possessing a sharp and sober mind, Vasily Vasilyevich came to the conclusion that it was necessary to transform the system of power, realizing what difficulties he would have to face at court in the struggle for the implementation of his ideas.
One of his missions was connected with the task of leading Russia out of a crisis in foreign policy, when the country was under the threat of border raids by the Tatar hordes and the invasion of its former ally, the Commonwealth. The result of Golitsyn's far-sighted policy was the conclusion in 1681 of the Treaty of Bakhchisaray, which established a buffer zone between the Dnieper and the Bug for 20 years.

Under Sophia, V.V. Golitsyn headed the Ambassadorial Order in May 1682. In addition to the institutions that were in charge of Russia's foreign relations, Prince Vasily took control of the combat-ready units of the Russian army into his own hands. By 1683, a difficult situation had developed in Russia: the Ottomans were fortifying along the Dnieper, the raids of the Crimeans intensified, troops were concentrated on the Swedish border, and a Polish invasion was being prepared. Access to the Baltic and related trade with the West seemed to him less promising for Russia compared to the strengthening of its positions in the Black Sea. He considered the development of the southern Russian lands and the liberation of his co-religionists from Ottoman rule in the Caucasus and the Balkans to be vital. At the same time, he successfully used the balance of interests in Europe without harming his partners. So, for example, with the Swedes, without resorting to military demonstrations, he achieved in 1683 the extension of the Treaty of Cardis, having received the opportunity to concentrate forces in the southern direction.
Golitsyn showed true diplomatic skill in negotiations with the Commonwealth, concluding in April 1686 the "Eternal Peace", according to which the reunification of Ukraine with Russia was legally fixed. The treaty put an end to strife between the Slavic states and announced Russia's entry into the war with the Turks as part of the Holy League - Austria, Poland and Venice.

The aggravation of the internal political situation in Russia in connection with the struggle for power led to the fall of the reign of Sophia and the disgrace of V.V. Golitsyn.

The inquisitive mind and comprehensive education of V.V. Golitsyn allowed him to correctly assess what was happening in the world political processes and determine the main directions in Russia's foreign policy. He respected the achievements of European countries in various fields and considered it necessary to establish permanent diplomatic missions of Russia there. He was the first to introduce informal meetings at home into diplomatic practice. with foreigners who saw in him a kindred spirit.

AT Ancient Russia orders were called the bodies of the central government controlled. They were also called chambers and courtyards, huts and palaces, thirds and quarters. It is assumed that orders as state institutions arose involuntarily, and the first mention of them in this role is found in 1512 in a letter sent to the Vladimir Assumption Monastery by the Grand Duke of All Russia Vasily III.

A certain number of people were ordered to do some specific things - this is how the definition of "order" appeared. The newly established orders acted on behalf of the sovereign and were the highest government places. Complaints about their actions were considered only by the king or the royal duma. Orders are the initial stages of the current ministries.

Origin and purpose

The embassy order arose in 1549 under Ivan IV. It existed until 1720. The Code of Laws of 1550 Ivan the Terrible introduces management, which was designed to provide for state needs. For almost 200 years, the framework of this system was preserved and was replaced only under the Great Reformer Peter I. The duties of the newly created order included relations with other states, ransoms and the exchange of prisoners, and supervision of certain groups of "service people", for example, the Don Cossacks.

Main functions

The embassy order also dealt with the administration of some lands in the south and east of the state. His responsibility included sending Russian missions abroad and receiving foreign missions. Foreign merchants were subordinate to him, during the entire time of their stay on our territory.

The preparation of the texts of international negotiations was also imputed to the duties of the order. He exercised control over the diplomatic missions.

Organ structure

Initially, the Ambassadorial order consisted of a duma clerk, under whose command were his "comrade" (deputy), 15-17 clerks (the lowest administrative rank) and several interpreters (translators). At the head of the newly created institution was the Order Clerk, also known as the Ambassador Clerk. Deacons in those days were called civil servants (in addition to clergymen), in particular, heads of orders or junior ranks in

Structure is gaining weight

The first Ambassadorial order was headed by Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovatov, who before this appointment had served as an ambassador, a duma clerk, and was a custodian state seal. He was at the head of the order until his death in 1570. With the growth of the international weight of Russia, the importance of the Ambassadorial Order also increased, its staff increased significantly - in 1689, 53 clerks instead of 17 and 22 translators plus 17 interpreters (interpreter) served in it.

Already to late XVII centuries, the Ambassadorial Order gained so much strength that it became one of the most important constituent parts the central state apparatus of Russia. In this century, he has gone from the Chancellery for Foreign Relations to a state structure with significant independence and the broadest powers.

Milestones

The entire period of the existence of the Ambassadorial Order can be conditionally decomposed in accordance with three epochal intervals of that time. This is the Time of Troubles, the restoration of the Russian monarchy under Mikhail Romanov, the first Russian tsar from this dynasty, and the heyday of statehood that came under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Outstanding Representatives

From 1621, Ivan Tarasevich Gramotin, then head of the Ambassadorial Department, began to prepare systematic information for the tsar on the state of affairs in other countries. They were drawn from the periodicals of the countries, as well as from the observations and conclusions of the ambassadors. These Vestovye Letters were essentially the first Russian newspaper. It is necessary to say a few words separately about this eighth chapter of the Ambassadorial Order. He began his career as a clerk, and three times under different kings he held the highest post of the Ambassadorial Department. AT Troubled times he was one of the most prominent political figures.

Povytya

The structure of the order was divided into departments in charge of office work on territorial grounds (povytya). There were five in total. The functions of the Ambassadorial Order, according to these five administrative parts, were distributed as follows - the countries Western Europe- England and France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the Papal State. The second povity dealt with relations with Sweden, Poland and Wallachia (the south of modern Romania), Moldova, Turkey and the Crimea, Holland, Hamburg.

Relations with Denmark, Brandenburg and Courland were dealt with by the 3rd branch in the order, which was in charge of the office work of these countries. Persia, Armenia, India and the Kalmyk state were under the jurisdiction of the 4th povyt. The last fifth was in charge of relations with China, Bukhara, Khiva, the Zhungar state and Georgia.

The volume of work is growing

From the very moment when the Ambassadorial Order was established, he was charged with general management foreign policy countries. Since the second half of the 17th century, the following orders are directly subordinate to him - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Smolensk and Little Russia. The archive of the most important external and internal political documents accumulated over time was also stored here.

Heads of the order

With the growth of the international significance of Russia, the clerk of the Ambassadorial Order is replaced by a representative of the country's highest feudal class - the boyar, and since 1670 the institution itself has been called the "State Order of the Embassy Press".

During the entire existence of the Ambassadorial Order, 19 leaders have been replaced as its head. The last was the earl and the first chancellor Russian Empire, an associate of Peter the Great As a result, the Embassy Office was created, which in 1720 was replaced by

The word diplomacy is of Greek-French origin and literally means "a leaf folded in half." Everyone is free to put their own meaning into it. First, the sheet is folded to hide what is written.

Secondly, to hide that nothing is written on the sheet. Finally, a folded leaf may mean that the goals of diplomatic efforts are half achieved by each side. As you can see, diplomacy is a delicate matter.

While the diplomats are talking, the guns are silent. But often diplomats continue to speak under the roar of cannonade. So the war is a defeat of diplomacy, however, not always deserved. It is no coincidence that the ambassadors are the first to know about the beginning of the war, and they are the first to pack their bags.

The English ambassador Henry Wotton owns the aphorism: "The ambassador is an honest man who is sent abroad to lie for the good of his homeland."

In monuments ancient periods In national history, there is no news of the existence of a special governing body for foreign relations.

In Kievan Rus, the princely squad took part in solving foreign policy affairs, as well as in internal management. AT Northeast Russia- Boyar Duma.

Correspondence was the responsibility of the clerks. But neither among the members of the squad and the Boyar Duma, nor among the clerks in ancient times there was no specialization.

A cohort of outstanding Russian career diplomats and intelligence officers during the reign of Ivan the Terrible was rightfully opened from 1549 by a special embassy clerk, Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty, who was specially in charge of embassy affairs. The origin and date of birth of this duma clerk are unknown to us.

At first, the thin-born Ivan Mikhailovich was not reputed to be the tsar's favorite, but after a few years he had a great influence on him and, thanks to his natural talents, rose to the highest high steps service ladder.

He even made speeches on behalf of Ivan IV. As they say, he wrote, he voiced. True, over time, these two functions were separated, so that what was written by one is attributed to the other.

Viskovatov, or Viskovaty Ivan Mikhailovich, was from the noble house of the Viskovatovs, the branch of the princes Meshchersky, a clerk of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, then a duma clerk and managed the embassy order since 1556 together with Alexei Adashev.

The tsar used him as a skilled diplomat in the most important matters of both domestic and foreign policy. So, on the issue of succession to the throne and on the case of the oath to the son of the Terrible, Dimitri Viskovaty is the confidant of the sovereign, and at the beginning of the Livonian War, he, together with Adashev, negotiates with the Livonian ambassadors.

In 1549, the embassy business was ordered to be transferred to Ivan Viskovaty. Probably, not without reason, Ivan IV entrusted him with the embassy business two years after he was married to the kingdom.

The first head of the Ambassadorial Order since 1549, Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty was the first head of the diplomatic service of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, in addition, he was responsible for leading foreign intelligence.

He led diplomatic preparations for the annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, headed engineering work during the siege of Kazan, diplomatic correspondence for the preparation of the Livonian War and was in charge of Muscovy's foreign relations in the early years of the war.

From 1553 to 1561 - a printer, that is, the keeper of the main state seal, he is a zealous supporter of the Livonian War. For the same Livonian affairs, Viskovaty was at the embassy in Denmark, in 1563-1564, he communicated with the Crimea.

But it's worth seeing Viskovaty real war and assess its consequences, as he immediately becomes her consistent opponent.

The embassy order is a central state institution that led foreign policy in 1549-1720, was in charge of the ransom and exchange of prisoners, ruled a number of territories in the southeast of the country and some categories of service people.

According to historians, the king loved this "excellent husband, outstanding in mind and many virtues of the chancellor, like himself." He, like no one else at court, knew how to delve into the texts of messages to Ivan the Terrible from foreign sovereigns and rulers, find the true meaning in them between the lines, interpret the content to the benefit of the tsar and the state.

For the first time the name of Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty was mentioned in the diplomatic affairs of 1542. It follows from them that he was a clerk and wrote a truce with Poland.

Ivan Mikhailovich was promoted due to his abilities and diligence. In addition, he had patrons: most likely, he was favored by the relatives of the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV Anastasia - Zakharyina.

Since January 1549, in the embassy books, there is more and more an indication that the tsar orders the letters brought by the ambassadors to accept Viskovaty. Probably, Ivan IV had reason when he ordered him to be in charge of the embassy business.

On January 2, 1549, he left for the Nogai ambassadors. January 17 - to the former Astrakhan Khan Derbysh. January 22 - with a response to the Lithuanian ambassadors. Then, in the presence of foreign ambassadors, the tsar ordered that the clerk Viskovaty be called a clerk. The official promotion took place a few months later and was associated with the appointment of Viskovaty as head of the Ambassadorial Department.

From 1549 to 1559, 32 embassies from different countries came to Moscow. Viskovaty participated in all negotiations. Ivan Mikhailovich, as the head of the Ambassadorial Department, was in charge of the correspondence of the tsar and the Boyar Duma with foreign ambassadors, participated in preliminary negotiations, resolved issues related to the arrival and stay of foreign diplomats in Moscow, prepared Russian embassies for sending to different countries.

As a close sovereign, the clerk Viskovaty made notes, which were then used as blanks for the official chronicle. In addition, having become the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Ivan Mikhailovich received the Tsar's archive, which contained a huge number of handwritten books and various state acts of the Moscow grand and specific princes, their genealogies, government records management, all foreign policy documentation, as well as various investigative materials.

At the end of the 15th - the first half of the 16th century, the Tsar's archive was under the jurisdiction of the grand ducal clerks, each of whom had a casket for current documentation. In the second half of the 16th century, the Royal Archives finally took shape as an independent institution headed by embassy clerks. The first of them was Viskovaty.

Solving diplomatic problems, Ivan Mikhailovich and his subordinates had to take into account the entire history of relations with other countries. Otherwise, it was impossible to make inquiries, make extracts, references to earlier negotiations and letters. Viskovatyy systematized documents state archive and organized his current office work.

A prominent figure among such people is Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty, the first head of the Ambassadorial Department, about whom foreigners said that he "had no equal at that time in Moscow."

During his stay with an important diplomatic mission in July-August 1562 in Denmark, where it was necessary to persuade her to an alliance with Russia, during the Livonian War of 1558-1583, Viskovatov had to achieve his goal by acquiring agents of influence.

In other words, Viskovaty resorted to direct bribery the right people- the work is very delicate, since it was necessary to offer money to dignitaries, who were bound to take bribe gifts.

It would be very unpleasant if the dignitary refused and told where to go. Therefore, initially it was necessary to carry out a lot of preparatory work, finding out the tastes, requests, weaknesses of the proposed object in order to make it work for itself.

Similar tricks - bribing influential dignitaries - will be used by Russian intelligence diplomats for a very long period of time.

In addition, Viskovaty was engaged in the analysis of important state reports, including working with messages to the tsar from abroad, preparing draft answers, planning further actions, using his own talents and wide erudition.

To obtain secret information, Ivan IV, with the help of Viskovaty, resorted to the help of defectors. “We have in Lithuania big number Moscow defectors who, having found out our affairs, means and customs, freely return to theirs while they are with us, secretly convey our plans to theirs.

Between the Moscow defectors, who in dark nights they killed people in Vilna-Vilnius and freed their captive countrymen from dungeons, there was one priest who sent copies to his prince from contracts, decrees and other papers secretly obtained in the royal office.

Ivan IV appointed a reward for returning defectors, even empty and useless ones: "to a slave - freedom, to a commoner - nobility, to a debtor - forgiveness of debts, to a villain - absolution of guilt."

The main direction of foreign policy in the middle of the 16th century was the east. In 1552, the Kazan Khanate was conquered, in 1556 - Astrakhan. Viskovaty, although he accompanied the tsar in the Kazan campaign, but, according to the denunciation of the German oprichnik Heinrich Staden, who was in the service in Russia, "was not averse to the Crimean tsar taking the Russian land, was disposed to all the Tatars and helped them." The tsar himself accused Viskovaty of "referring to the Crimea and inducing busurmanism in Russia."

The head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz paid special attention to Russia's relations with Western Europe. In the second half of the 16th century, Russia, which did not have access to the Baltic Sea, maintained contact with Europe through the White Sea.

In 1553 Ivan IV invited the British to Moscow. After a magnificent reception, the English envoy Richard Chancellor received a friendly letter for King Edward VI.

Two years later, Chancellor came to Russia again with two agents of a trading company. After the official reception, Viskovaty negotiated with them together with the best Moscow merchants.

Ivan Mikhailovich understood the importance of trade relations between Russia and England. As a result of his efforts, the British received a preferential charter with many privileges.

In gratitude for this, King Philip, who succeeded Edward VI on the throne, allowed Russian subjects to trade in England just as freely and duty-free, and took them under his protection.

Free entry into Russia was allowed for artists, artisans, various craftsmen, physicians, and miners. Friendly diplomatic relations between Russia and England, profitable trade, military and economic assistance continued until the second half of the 17th century. The basis of such a strong alliance was laid by Viskovaty.

To establish broad economic ties with the advanced countries of Western Europe, access to the Baltic Sea was needed. Poland, Lithuania and Livonian order.

Dominance in the Baltic Sea was also sought by Sweden and Denmark. Moscow was especially annoyed by Livonia. Livonian merchants sought to control the entire trade movement, did not let Russian people go to the sea, and foreigners into Russia.

In 1558, Russian troops entered Livonia, and a war began that dragged on for 25 years. From the very first days of the war, two parties were formed in the government.

The tsar's favorite Adashev and his entourage considered it necessary to continue military operations in the south from Crimean Tatars and Turkey. The Moscow nobility, together with the head of the Ambassadorial Department, Viskovaty, stood up for the continuation of the Livonian War.

The nobility counted on new land distributions and the expansion of trade with the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. The victorious end of the war in Livonia was very close, but Adashev, who led the troops, did not take advantage of the favorable moment, and soon the offensive stopped.

The successes of the Russian troops in the Baltics alarmed Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, which also claimed the Livonian inheritance. They tried diplomatically to end the outbreak of war.

The main role in the conclusion of the truce of 1559 was played by the mediation of the Danish king, who sent an embassy to Moscow for negotiations.

During the negotiations, Viskovatyy resolutely stated that Denmark should not have accepted the complaints of the Livonians, subjects of the Moscow sovereign. According to the clerk, having turned to foreign states, the Livonians became like unfaithful servants who, having stolen the property of their master, sell his property to another.

He said that the Moscow sovereigns were not accustomed to cede to anyone the lands they had conquered; they are ready for an alliance, but only not in order to sacrifice their acquisitions.

Viskovatyi hoped that his decisiveness would help Moscow defend its interests in the Baltics and force the European powers to recognize the Russian conquests made in the early years of the Livonian War. However, diplomatic success was not successful; the situation was unfavorable for the Muscovite state.

In 1562 Russian command launched major military operations against Lithuania. Ivan IV also took part in the campaign. Under the tsar there was an embassy field office, which instead of Viskovaty was headed by the clerk Andrey Vasiliev.

Remaining in Moscow, Viskovaty received the Danish embassy. As a result, a draft treaty was adopted, according to which Denmark refused to take part in hostilities against Russia.

In order to turn all his forces against Lithuania, Viskovaty took a step quite unexpected for a man of his rank and rank at that time.

On August 12, 1562, he left for Denmark himself to confirm the contractual record. Thanks to successful negotiations, an alliance treaty with Denmark and a 20-year truce with Sweden were concluded. The Livonian war continued with varying success.

In 1566, the great Polish embassy arrived in Moscow to negotiate a peace. Polish diplomats did not want to concede to Russia sea ​​port Riga, and the Russians in Poland - Polotsk and Smolensk.

The negotiations were in jeopardy. At a special Zemsky Sobor, Viskovaty recommended a truce without requiring Poland to cede the disputed Livonian cities, subject to the withdrawal of Polish troops from there and Poland's neutrality in the Livonian War.

But the participants of the Zemsky Sobor spoke out against this and assured the government that for the sake of the complete conquest of Livonia, they are ready for any sacrifice.

In the future, Viskovaty's diplomatic sagacity paid off. Unsuccessful negotiations in 1566 contributed to the unification in 1569 at the Polish-Lithuanian Sejm in Lublin of Poland and Lithuania into a single large state - the Commonwealth.

Viskovaty was known as one of the most educated people in Russia. Under the Ambassadorial order, he created a library, which he himself constantly used.

Among the books collected there were works on geography, Russian chronicles, Polish and Lithuanian chronicles, works by Damascus and Chrysostom, the Koran, and so on.

He was so fluent in the style of church literature that at one time he even wrote letters on behalf of Metropolitan Macarius. Therefore, it is no coincidence that he was at the center of events related to the heresy case of Matvey Bashkin.

In late June - early July 1553, one of the radical religious thinkers of the 16th century, Matvey Bashkin, and his associates were condemned at a church council in Moscow.

Viskovaty also spoke at this council. In the presence of the tsar and the boyars, he accused the confessor of Tsar Sylvester and Archpriest Simeon of the Annunciation Cathedral of complicity with heretics. He also spoke out against innovations that, in his opinion, did not correspond to church canons of icon painting and were borrowed from the West.

But unexpectedly for himself, Viskovaty turned from an accuser into an accused. This is evidenced by the definition of the church council, given to "deacon Ivan Mikhailov for his spiritual correction" for the fact that for three years he "had doubts about his opinion about those holy honest icons, and yelled and revolted the people to the temptation and reproach of many."

On January 14, 1554, Viskovaty was excommunicated for three years. In the first year, he had to stand near the temple, repent and ask those entering the temple to pray for him; in the second - to enter the church only to listen to the divine scripture; in the third - to be in the church, but without the right to communicate. Rather rudely, he was instructed to "know his rank" and not imagine himself a "head", being a "leg".

The official position of Viskovaty did not change due to excommunication: he remained the head of the Ambassadorial Order. It is possible that the tsar himself patronized Ivan Mikhailovich.

On February 9, 1561, Ivan IV grants Viskovaty the title of printer - keeper of the state seal, calls him "his neighbor and faithful Duma member."

Since that time, Viskovaty in diplomatic documents is simultaneously referred to as a printer and a deacon. The German oprichnik Heinrich Staden testified: “Whoever received his signed letter should go to Ivan Viskovaty, who kept the seal. He is a proud man, and one who received a letter from him within a month could consider himself happy.

Viskovaty repeatedly made speeches on behalf of Ivan IV. So, in 1561, when the Swedes asked for a partial change in the practice of exchanging embassies between Moscow and Stockholm, he said: “That matter is more painful than anything, that the old man should destroy his ancestors.”

In diplomatic practice, excerpts from the documents of the Tsar's archives, references to examples of the past were often used. The ambassadors embellished their speech with quotations from biblical texts, proverbs and aphorisms.

After returning from Denmark in November 1563, Viskovaty was constantly appointed by the tsar to the boyar commissions for negotiations with foreign ambassadors, but practically did not deal with the clerical work of the Ambassadorial Order.

During Viskovaty's stay in Denmark, clerk Andrey Vasiliev began to be called "The Tsar's Majesty the Duma clerk" and retained this title in the future. Thus, in the summer of 1562, the business of the embassy clerk actually passed to Vasiliev. Viskovaty, as the head of the Ambassadorial Department, continued to be an adviser.

Documentary evidence of his activities upon his return from Denmark is scarce. Viskovaty, Vasiliev, and the protege of the Zakharyins, Nikita Funikov, who headed the Treasury Department, were holding important documents in their hands.

On May 7, 1570, Ivan IV received Lithuanian ambassadors in Moscow, and “they had two meetings: the first meeting, the printer Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty came out of the canteen on the locker, and the clerk Andrey Shchelkalov.” In June 1570, Viskovaty participated in the negotiations of the boyar commission with the Polish ambassadors in Moscow, and on June 22 he presented the diploma to the ambassadors.

In addition, he prepared draft answers, assessed the situation on a particular issue, and planned further actions. His professionalism and erudition greatly contributed, in particular, to the development of Russian-British relations and the establishment of free trade.

He actively studied the situation in the Baltic states, personally negotiated in 1562 in Denmark in order to weaken the union of the states opposing Russia - Poland, Sweden, Livonia, Denmark. He concluded an alliance treaty with her and a twenty-year truce with Sweden.

Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty managed to do a lot, until Ivan the Terrible put an end to his career. The situation in the country became more and more tense. The sick tsar saw treachery and conspiracies everywhere. The Oprichnaya Duma decided to march into the western regions. In January 1570, a punitive expedition staged a brutal pogrom in Novgorod.

Immediately after the return of the tsar from Novgorod, the so-called Moscow case of the highest order officials was started, according to which, among others, Viskovaty's brother, Tretyak, was arrested and executed.

Ivan Mikhailovich explained himself to the tsar, urging him to stop the bloodshed. Painfully suspicious, Ivan IV decided that opposition had formed against him.

Viskovaty persistently advised the tsar that he “in particular should not exterminate his boyars, and asked him to think about who he would continue to not only fight, but also live with, if he executed so many brave people».

In response to the words of Viskovaty, the tsar burst into threats: "I have not yet exterminated you, but I have just begun, but I will try to eradicate all of you so that your memory will not remain."

He was indiscriminately accused of participating in a boyar conspiracy, relations with Poland, Turkey and the Crimea, falsely accused of treason and sentenced to death.

Soon more than 300 people were charged, including almost all the chief clerks of the Moscow orders. On the square in Kitay-gorod, in the presence of the tsar himself, Viskovaty was the first to read the accusatory points: that he was conspiring to surrender Novgorod and Pskov to the Polish king Sigismund, wanted to put Staritsky on the throne, treacherously communicated with Turkish sultan, who offered to take Kazan and Astrakhan, and called the Crimean Khan to devastate Russia.

On July 25, 1570, the great diplomat was executed in the market square. At first, the guardsmen tried to force him to publicly confess his crimes and ask the king for mercy.

Viskovaty began a speech to the people, in which he called these accusations impudent slanders, but he was not allowed to speak. But him last words were: "Damn you bloodsuckers, along with your king."

After a proud refusal, Ivan Mikhailovich was crucified on a log cross and dismembered alive in front of the tsar and the crowd. Following Viskovaty, more than 100 people were executed, including his former assistant, the head of the Ambassadorial Department Vasiliev and the state treasurer Funikov, who was boiled and poured with boiling water.

The wife of Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty was deprived of her entire fortune, exiled to a monastery and forcibly tonsured a nun. So tragically ended the life of Viskovaty, about whom the compiler of the Livonian Chronicle Russov wrote: “Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty is an excellent person, the like of which was not in Moscow at that time: foreign ambassadors were very surprised at his mind and art as a Muscovite who had not studied anything.”

Describing the execution of Viskovaty, the Polish chronicler Alexander Gvagnini concluded: “Such is the end of an excellent husband, outstanding in mind and many virtues, the chancellor of the Grand Duke, who will no longer be equal in the Muscovite state.”

Since 1583, by decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, “commemoration of the disgraced” began to be regularly held in all the monasteries of Russia. One of the first in the tragic memorial list was Ivan Mikhailovich Viskovaty.

This was the beginning of a mass purge of personnel, which, in less extreme forms, stretches through the centuries. So no diplomacy saves from the highest wrath. Later, the Ambassadorial Order was replaced by Peter I with the Collegium of Foreign Affairs.