Ljudmila E. Morozova Rossija na puti iz Smuty: Izbranie na carstvo Michaila Fedoroviča. [Russland auf dem Weg aus der Smuta. Die Wahl von Michail Fedorovič zum Zaren.] Izdat. Nauka Moskva 2005. 467 S. ISBN: 978-5-02-033508-8.

Lyudmila Evgen’evna Morozova has written several interesting books about Russia’s Time of Troubles. In “Rossiya na puti iz Smuty“ she deals with the serious problem of establishing political legitimacy after the death of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich in 1598. The extinction of the Danilovichi dynasty and the “election” of Tsar Boris Godunov triggered the Time of Troubles, a period of civil war and foreign intervention that nearly destroyed Russia. Why did the Time of Troubles occur? One reason is that early modern Russia’s non-secular political culture was centered around the God-chosen tsar. Russian Orthodox Christians had difficulty accepting the idea of an elected ruler. As a result, establishing legitimacy during the Time of Troubles proved to be extremely difficult. Tsar Boris faced a powerful rebellion in the name of the “true tsar” Dmitriy who claimed to be Ivan the Terrible’s youngest son. The Godunov dynasty was overthrown in 1605, and Dmitriy ruled for about a year as the God-chosen tsar; no one ever suggested that he needed an election. After Tsar Dmitriy’s assassination, the usurper Vasiliy Shuyskiy was “elected” tsar but was never able to control more than half of the country. He was challenged by rebels supporting an impostor claiming to be Tsar Dmitriy, and Russia descended into chaos. Only after invasions by Polish and Swedish armies did competing native factions lay aside their differences to choose a Russian prince as tsar. The election of Mikhail Romanov by an Assembly of the Land in 1613 traditionally marks the end of the Time of Troubles. For many of the new tsar’s supporters, however, establishing and maintaining Mi­khail’s legitimacy in the eyes of the Russian people remained a major concern because there was no guarantee that an elected tsar would be able to put an end to Russia’s Troubles.

After a brief look at the accession, supporting factions, and degree of legitimacy achieved by earlier rulers during the Time of Troubles, Morozova examines in detail who Tsar Mi­khail’s supporters were and how they went about choosing him and establishing his legitimacy. The greatest strength of Morozova’s book is the inclusion of many documents (some published for the first time) associated with the election of Mikhail Romanov. Unfortunately, Morozova does not use these sources to chart a new interpretation of Romanov’s election or the nature of his regime. Instead, she clings to old ideas that have been strongly challenged by recent scholarship. For example, Morozova ignores evidence of significant cossack participation in Romanov’s election. Mikhail was the candidate of cossacks who adored his father, Filaret, for having been Patriarch in the court of the second false Dmitriy. Curiously, Morozova also fails to credit the complex marriage alliances forged with other boyar clans by the Romanovs for helping to promote Mikhail’s candidacy. Instead, she repeats the old theory that Mikhail’s relationship to the extinct ruling dynasty led to his election. Although that became the official explanation in Romanov historiography, the fact that Mikhail was the grandnephew of Anastasiya Romanovna was not nearly as important in 1613 as it was later proclaimed to be. It was the fact of Mikhail’s election by the representatives of the Russian people that conferred legitimacy on him. It is easy to understand why the Romanovs quickly discarded the concept of vox populi, vox dei that brought Tsar Mikhail to power; they wished to rule as God-chosen autocrats. It is not so easy to understand why Morozova chooses to credit Romanov propaganda about Mikhail’s election. Fortunately, scholars such as Isolde Thyrêt, Isaiah Gruber, and the late Aleksandr Stanislavskiy offer more perspicacious interpretations of the end of the Time of Troubles.

Chester Dunning, College Station, TX

Zitierweise: Chester Dunning über: Ljudmila E. Morozova: Rossija na puti iz Smuty: Izbranie na carstvo Michaila Fedoroviča. Izdat. Nauka Moskva 2005. ISBN: 978-5-02-033508-8, in: Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. Neue Folge, 58 (2010) H. 2, S. 287: http://www.dokumente.ios-regensburg.de/JGO/Rez/Dunning_Morozova_Rossija_na_puti.html (Datum des Seitenbesuchs)