ABSTRACT
The developments leading to the consolidation of autocracy which we outlined at the end of the previous chapter occurred after 1564, and they ran counter to the reforms of the 1550s, which had strengthened the position of the estates. In spite of the dramatic nature of the events which heralded the introduction of the oprichnina, the change in policy was not a sudden one. After Ivan’s illness in 1553 his relationship with Adashev and Sil’vestr deteriorated. He increasingly mistrusted his formerly close advisers, resenting the way they had obliged him to remove the Zakhar’ins from power. At the beginning of the Livonian War the tsar blamed Adashev, in particular, for the diplomatic blunder which led to military setbacks in 1559. The underlying cause of Ivan’s breach with Adashev and Sil’vestr in 1560, however, was the tsar’s growing awareness of the discrepancy between the ideology of autocracy on the one hand, and its reality on the other. Metropolitan Makarii and others had instilled into the young tsar the idea that his power was divinely ordained and unlimited by earthly institutions; in practice, Ivan felt himself constrained by the tutelage of his advisers, by the need to consult his boyars, and by the prospect that the reforms would require him to take account of the interests of the emergent estates in future decision-making. The dismissal of Adashev and Sil’vestr did not resolve the problem: instead, it provoked hostility from the princely aristocracy, and the growth of opposition to Ivan’s policies was countered by repressions which in turn led to further resistance. Finally the tsar attempted to break out of the vicious circle by introducing the oprichnina.
