Prince Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky () was a Russian

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

who led the

Streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...

during the

Moscow Uprising of 1682 The Moscow uprising of 1682, also known as the Streltsy uprising of 1682 (), was an Rebellion, uprising of the Moscow Streltsy regiments that resulted in supreme power devolving on Sophia Alekseyevna, the daughter of the late Tsar Alexis I of Russ ...

, alternatively known as the Khovanshchina. His life was dramatized by

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

in the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

called after the name of the uprising. Khovansky's moniker, Tararui, derives from the old Russian word for "chatterbox". Khovansky came from the

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

Gediminid The House of Gediminas (), or simply the Gediminids, were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. A cadet branch of this family, known as the Jagiellonian dynasty, reigned also in the ...

dynasty, whose ancestors moved from

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

to Moscow in 1408. He started his employment under Mikhail I as a

stolnik Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term wikt:pantler, "pantler". S ...

. In 1650 he was sent to Tula to counter the raids of Crimean Tatars. In 1651–1654 he was governor in

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

, and in 1656 he was governor of

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

. During the Russian-Polish-Swedish war he served as a voivod. In 1657 he blitzed a number of Swedes under Gdov. During the

Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland) and Russia (including the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire, the Tsardom of Russia and the Principality of Moscow) include: : : ...

, he won the

battle of Myadel Battle of Myadel was a battle of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67) which took place on February 8, 1659 near the Belarusian town of Myadzel. The Russian army of Novgorod led by Ivan Khovansky defeated the Polish–Lithuanians led by Mikołaj Ju ...

on 8 February 1659. He was promoted to

on March 27, 1659. In January 1660 he attacked Brest and set it on fire. During the

Copper Riot The Copper Coin Riot, also known as the Moscow Uprising of 1662 () was a major riot in Moscow, which took place on . Background The riot was preceded by a gradual deterioration of Moscow's economy because of the Livonian War with Poland and Sweden ...

in Moscow on 25 July 1662 he dealt with insurgents and then led an investigation committee based in Kolomenskoe. In 1663 he was proclaimed a judge of the Yamskoi

Prikaz A prikaz (; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive bureaucracy , office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom of Russia from the 15th ...

. Between 1669–1678 he governed

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. He was reputed as a dour and masterful manager who did not look kindly on local licentiousness and manners. Upon

Feodor III Feodor or Fyodor III Alekseyevich (; 9 June 1661 – 7 May 1682) was Tsar of all Russia from 1676 until his death in 1682. Despite poor health from childhood, he managed to pass reforms on improving meritocracy within the civil and military stat ...

's death in April 1682, taking advantage of his popularity among the

, Khovansky helped to dismiss the Miloslavsky family from power. He engineered the great Streltsy uprising (May 15 to May 17, 1682), during which their old and unpopular leader, Prince

Mikhail Dolgorukov Michael is a common masculine given name derived from the Hebrew phrase ''mī kāʼēl'', 'Who slike-El', in Aramaic: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ (''Mīkhāʼēl'' ). The theophoric name is often read as a rhetorical question – "Who slike he Hebrew Go ...

, was murdered and Khovansky named his successor. Thus, he became de facto

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Muscovite Russia The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

. Wishing to secure the allegiance of the Streltsy, he announced total forgiveness to those who took part in the uprising. Through the support of the Streltsy he established a dual-reign regime, the joint rule of

Ivan V Ivan V Alekseyevich (; – ) was Tsar of all Russia between 1682 and 1696, jointly ruling with his younger half-brother Peter I. Ivan was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was the ...

and Peter I, under the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of their sister

Sophia Alekseyevna Sophia Alekseyevna ( rus, Со́фья Алексе́евна, p=ˈsofʲjə ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvnə; ) was a Russian princess who ruled as regent of Russia from 1682 to 1689. She allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Pri ...

. As he supported the

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

he organized in 1682 a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

atic demonstration and forced Patriarch Joachim to agree to a public debate with one of the Old Believer leaders,

Nikita Pustosvyat Nikita Pustosvyat (, real name Nikita Konstantinovich Dobrynin (Никита Константинович Добрынин); died June 11, 1683) was one of the leaders of the Russian Old Believers during Raskol. Life The year of his birth is unk ...

. The patriarch refuted Pustosvyat's arguments and the next day Sophia had Pustosvyat executed. Relying on the Streltsy, Khovansky wielded enormous political influence and often interfered in the government affairs. In June 1682 he was appointed to lead the Prikaz of Judges. His uncommon arrogance and vanity alienated Sophia and her Miloslavsky relatives, while inducing jealousy on the part of other boyars. Eventually, the rumours about Khovansky's intention to assassinate the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

's family and to usurp the throne prompted Sophia to evacuate Ivan V and Peter I from Moscow to Kolomenskoe and then to the St Savva monastery in

Zvenigorod Zvenigorod () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Moscow Oblast of western Russia. In 2010 it had a population of about 16,000. History The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a ...

. In September a royal

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz ( ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leadership (e.g., Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' or the Most Holy Synod) that had the force of law. " Edict" and " decree" are adequate trans ...

declared Khovansky the mutineer and the patron of heretics, while the

Boyar Duma A duma () is a History of Russia, 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 for ...

had him sentenced to death. He was captured in Pushkino near Moscow and taken to Vozdvizhenskoe where he was beheaded together with his son. When the news of Khovansky's execution reached the Streltsy stationed in Moscow, they started a riot and seized

the Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

, but the regent soon quelled the mutinous army and appointed

Fyodor Shaklovity Fyodor Leontyevich Shaklovity () (Bryansk - , Moscow) was a Russian diplomat best known as a staunch adherent of the regent Sophia Alekseyevna, who had promoted him from a regular scrivener to a member of the Boyar Duma and okolnichy. Fyodor Shakl ...

as their new leader.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khovansky, Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Andreyevich Russian people of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Andreyevich Executed Russian people People executed by Russia by decapitation 17th-century executions by Russia