In May-June 1537, the Russian state almost became the scene of a bloody civil strife: the Staritsky appanage Prince Andrey Ivanovich rebelled against the young Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich (the future Ivan the Terrible) and his mother Elena. Contemporaries had to wait with horror for the denouement: the terrible feudal war of the middle of the XV century - the confrontation between Vasily II the Dark and the Galician princes-was too memorable at that time. The historian also follows with interest the complex twists and turns of the struggle between the central government and the appanage prince. But the Staritsky mutiny itself was only a link in a long chain of events. Let's go back a few years. The reason for the troubles was the death of Vasily III on the night of December 3 to 4, 1533. His death was not unexpected either for the Grand Duke or for close relatives and boyars. On September 21, 1533, Vasily III, together with his wife Elena Glinskaya and two sons, Ivan and Yuri, went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery to pray, and from there left for the Lamsky Portage, in the village of Svyatoslav. Ozeretskoe for " fun " (hunting). Back in August, Vasily was going to the Portage, but the sudden news that the troops of the Crimean Khan Saip-Giray were marching to Ryazan distracted him from the trip. On the Drag, the Grand Duke fell ill: a sore appeared on his leg, "there is no pus in it, but the bagrov itself." At first, Vasily III tried not to pay attention to the pain, but gradually the general state of health worsened: he could hardly move, barely reached the bathhouse, and with "great need" took food in the bed mansions .1Soon doctors Nikolai Bulev and Feofil arrived from Moscow. After consulting with the Grand Duchess's uncle, Prince M. L. Glinsky, they began to apply wheat flour with honey and onions baked to the "sore"; the sore became "red", but the pain did not decrease. At times, Vasily felt better, but not for long. From the sore, pus began to come out "littl ... Read more