The lands inherited by Ivan V.
Tsar Ivan IV of Russia called Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Formidable (Ива́н Гро́зный or Ivan Grozny) died in 13, January 1595 after a series of strokes starting in 1584 that left him paralyzed and weakened his health. He was immediately succeeded as Tsar by his eldest son, Ivan Ivanovich, who was thirty-nine years old at the time. Ivan was married to the Polish Grand Duchess Anna Genrikhievna Valois.
To his other two sons, Feodor and Dmitry, Ivan the Terrible left as appanages the cities of Tver and Uglich, respectively. Dmitry and his mother, the unpopular Maria Nagaya, retired from court to his dominions in 1596, where Dmitry, who had ill health, died in 1597 at the age of fifteen.
Feodor Ivanovich however remained in Moscow as his brother’s heir presumptive. Ivan and Anne Valois had three daughters, but no son: Anastasia (1590), Catherine (1592) and Elizabeth (1593), the latter being named after Queen Elizabeth I of England. Without a tsarevich, it was feared that the incompetent and sickly Feodor would ascend to the throne if his brother were to die. Anna was pregnant at the time of her father-in-law’s death, though, and the longed-for male heir Alexander was born on 02 April 1595.
To celebrate the arrival of his son, Ivan Ivanovich ordered the construction of a new palace in Moscow made in western fashion, reportedly to please his beloved wife. This palace, known in Russia as the Palace of Love, or Дворец Любви Dvorets Lyubvi in Russian, would become the main residence of the Tsarinas in Moscow until its destruction by a fire in 1649.
Tsarina Anna Genrikhievna in a 20th century portrait.
Despite their age difference of over twenty years, Anna and Ivan enjoyed a close relationship, and the Tsar was known to not take any mistresses. Anna was considered clever, with a good grasp of mathematics, but was, more importantly, devotedly religious. After her arrival in Russia and the lonely month that followed the dismissal of her Polish attendants, she had taken much comfort in the Orthodox Church, which helped to improve her Russian and endear her to the people. Ivan considered her to be good and faithful, as seen in a letter to her brother, Sigismund of Poland, where he described her as “Gentle and loving. Your dear sister has given me much strength over the years in the form of her support and our children, who are close to my heart.”
Anna, however, was not popular with the boyars, the highest-ranking members of the Russian nobility, who resented her for her influence on her husband. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the boyars of Moscow had considerable influence. However, starting with the reign of Ivan III, the boyars were starting to lose that influence to the authoritative tsars in Russia. Because of Ivan III's expansionist policies, administrative changes were needed in order to ease the burden of governing Moscow and Russia. Small principalities knew their loyal subjects by name, but after the consolidation of territories under Ivan, familial loyalty and friendship with the boyar's subjects turned those same subjects into administrative lists. The face of provincial rule disappeared.
Statue of Anastasia Romanovna.
The boyars were believed by Ivan IV to have killed his first wife, and Anna’s mother-in-law, Anastasia Romanovna in 1560 by poisoning after she died from a lingering illness. Further examination of her bone remains in the late 20th century by archaeologists and forensics experts have been able to provide evidence that could actually sustain his claim. The high levels of mercury in her hair could be symptomatic of poisoning. While mercury was also used as a cure, leading to some debates around the issue, the found levels of mercury were too high according to the experts and thus the poisoning version remains the most accepted one.
Ivan V believed his father’s claim, however, and, desirous to prevent the same thing from happening to his wife, decided to end the independent power of the Boyars and westernize Russia to a degree. It was thus, in 1596, that the Time of Troubles began.