Origins of a Granted Word to the Peoples of Siberia

Abstract

The article studies the practice of announcing the Granted Word on behalf of the Moscow sovereign to the peoples of Siberia, implemented in the late 16th – early 17th century. It concludes that in fact such practice arose twice – in 1599 and 1623. For the first time muscovites used the Granted Word as an element of policy intended to strengthen the position of the new ruling dynasty. The reasons behind its revival after the period of oblivion are not clear. An opinion is expressed that the roots of this phenomenon went back to the so-called charter with a golden seal and charters of settlement, which in their turn went back to the granted letters of the period of the Mongolian vassalage. Such documents were well known in the area that once was part of the Golden Horde and used there as consolidating tool of the vassal oath of the nobility originated in Moscow. Thus, the practice of announcing of the Granted Word combined confirmation of the rights to land on behalf of the monarch, known since the Horde times, and conclusion of a kind of collective agreement with the Russian tsar (included the obligation to protect the sovereign from any crimes against him). This example shows that in the late 16th – early 17th century Russian administration system developed a power distribution mechanism intended to delegate tsar’s power to the people of Siberia, which had recently become part of the Russian state. This was especially crucial due to the fact that this territory was located significantly far from the capital. To maintain state unity, it was necessary to create the illusion of the direct involvement of the Moscow sovereign in the administration process of the lands beyond the Urals.