Fyodor I

Fyodor I was crowned Tsar of Russia after the death of his father Ivan IV. Due to his physical and mental frailty, actual governance was handled by a regency council led by Boris Godunov.

Under Fyodor's reign, Boris Godunov secured the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The Russian Orthodox Church became autocephalous, with Metropolitan Job becoming the first Patriarch.

Fyodor's younger half-brother Dmitry Ivanovich died under mysterious circumstances in Uglich. An official inquiry ruled it an accident, but rumors of murder by Boris Godunov's agents persisted, fueling later impostor claims.

Fyodor I died without children, ending the Rurikid dynasty that had ruled Russia since the 9th century. His death triggered the Time of Troubles, a period of civil war, famine, and foreign intervention.