Ivan Tarasyevich Gramotin () (died 1638) was a Russian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

and head of the '' Posolsky Prikaz'' ( foreign ministry). Ivan Gramotin was known to have been a very smart, well-read and eloquent person. He was one of the prominent figures during the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

in Russia. Gramotin was appointed head of the ''Posolsky Prikaz'' in August 1605 during the reign of the False Dmitry I. In 1606, he conducted negotiations with the Polish envoys. Two years later, he betrayed the False Dmitry and tried to become close to Vasily IV of Russia, but eventually failed. In 1608, Ivan Gramotin joined the ranks of the

False Dmitry II False Dmitry II ( rus, Лжедмитрий II, Lzhedmitrii II; died ), historically known as Pseudo-Demetrius II and also called "тушинский вор" ("rebel/criminal of Tushino"), was the second of three pretenders to the Russian throne w ...

and became a close associate of

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

in 1610. After Vasily IV had been admitted to monastic vows, the Polish king appointed Gramotin head of the ''Posolsky Prikaz'' in the rank of stamp bearer. He also held a position in the ''

Pomestny Prikaz A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 1 ...

'' and the

Boyar Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were fo ...

. In 1612, Gramotin was sent to Poland by the

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...

s to negotiate the accession of Wladislaus to the Russian throne. It appears that during his stay in Poland between 1612 and 1617 Gramotin became good friends with the future Russian patriarch Filaret, who had been a prisoner in the hands of the Polish king. In 1618, Gramotin returned to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and kept his previous titles thanks to this friendship. Upon his return to Moscow in 1619, Philaret entrusted Gramotin with important missions, such as negotiations with the Turkish and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

s in 1621-1622 and the case with the Robe of Jesus sent by

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Abbas I of Safavid Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third so ...

. In 1626, however, Gramotin was sent into

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

to Alatyr at the insistence of Filaret for his intrigues. He was able to return to Moscow only after Filaret's death in 1634 and once again assumed his diplomatic duties. Ivan Gramotin died as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

under the name of Joel at

Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...

in 1638.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gramotin, Ivan Diplomats of the Russian Empire Tsardom of Russia people Year of birth unknown 1638 deaths Russian Orthodox monks