MAIASK. 2015. No. 7

Ya.G. Solodkin (Nizhnevartovsk, Russia)

The so-called Moscovite Chronicle of the second quarter of the 17th century

on the varieties of the Russian-Crimean military confrontation

and diplomatic contacts in the 1570-90s

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Pages: 230-236

A compilation, presumably created in Mikhail Fyodorovich’s late reign and mistaken by its publishers for the Moscovite Chronicle, reflects a number of key developments in the Russian-Crimean relations in the final quarter of the 16th century, such as the Molodinskaya battle, pictured in a lengthy witness-based tale, khan Gazi Giray II assault of Moscow in 1591, and the conclusion of a bilateral agreement in the very early days of Boris Fyodorovich’s reign.

The objective of this paper is to establish the sources and the reliability of the evidence in the work under consideration, which is achieved by means of comparing the so-called Moscovite Chronicle to other narrative works, alongside other official records pertaining to 1572 and 1591 skirmishes near Moscow as well as the 1598 Russian-Crimean talks in Serpukhov.

One of suchlike sources, contributing to tracing the details of the Molodinskaya battle, is most likely to have originated in the Department of Appointments and Ranks (Russian Razryadnyi Prikaz). The tale of Russian troops defeating Gazi Giray II detachments near Moscow appears to have originated from a book of appointments and ranks, annotated by the Yanovs noblemen. The author of the compilation in question owes the evidence on the 1598 Russian-Crimean peace treaty to a tale specifying the circumstances of Boris Godunov’s enthronement.

Key words: The so-called Moscovite Chronicle and its sources, Russia, the Crimean Khanate, the Molodinskaya battle, Gazi Giray II assault of Moscow, the 1598 Russian-Crimean talks in Serpukhov.

Received September 11, 2015
Accepted for publication September 30, 2015

About the author:

Solodkin Yakov Grigoryevich (Nizhnevartovsk, Russia). Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of Research Laboratory of Regional Historical Researches of Nizhnevartovsk State University.

E-mail: hist2@yandex.ru