Curtis Petersen, age 17, of Haggerstown, Md., for his question:
WHO WAS BORIS GODUNUV?
Boris Godunov was a famous czar of Russia. He increased the power of the Russian monarchy and church and also imposed serfdom on the peasants. He ruled from 1598 until 1605.
The story of Boris Godunov became the basis of the tragedy "Boris Godunov" written by the poet Aleksandr Pushkin. It was later made into an opera of the same title by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky.
Boris was a descendant on an old Tatar family. He became a favorite of the Czar Ivan IV, who was known as Ivan the Terrible. Boris' influence on the imperial court was further strengthened by his sister's marriage to Fyodor Ivanovich, the mentally weak son of Ivan.
On his deathbed in 1594, Ivan appointed Boris and Nikita Romanovich Yuniev joint guardians and regents for Fyodor, who became the nominal Czar Fyodor Ivanovich. When Nikita died, Boris became sole regent. He was the most powerful man in Russia, recognized as the true head of state.
Boris recolonized Siberia and gave the Russian Orthodox Church status equal to the other Eastern churches by making Moscow a patriarchate. He was the first Russian leader to use Siberia as a place of banishment for political exiles.
Boris also legalized serfdom in its grimmest form by an edict in 1597 that forbade the transfer of serfs from one landowner to another and thus bound them to the land.
In addition, Boris may have brought about the death of Dmitri, Ivan's youngest son, in whose name many nobles had unsuccessfully revolted in 1584.
On Czar Fyodor's death in 1598, the Zemsky Sobor (national assembly) elected Boris his successor. But despite his power, Boris was exceedingly suspicious and was extremely insecure in his position.
A the new czar, Boris banished the Romanovs, his chief rivals, and proceeded to further policies he has already begun, such as strengthening Russian commerce, and introducing various aspects of Western civilization and struggling against the privileged nobility.
Informers kept Boris constantly advised of all political activities, and soon, increasing numbers of Russians were victimized by his persecutions.
In 1604, a pretender to the throne who claimed to be the supposedly murdered Dmitri appeared in Poland. The pretender gained thousands of supporters and led a revolt against Boris.
Czar Boris died suddenly on April 23, 1605, in the midst of the civil war. Prince Basil Shuisky then became czar. In 1610, Polish invaders occupied Moscow and they ruled through a powerless council of boyars (nobles) until 1612.
The Russians united to drive out the Polish invaders. As there was no one of royal birth to take the throne, the Zemsky Sobor elected Michael Romanov czar in 1613 and the Romanovs ruled Russia for the next 300 years.