The Concept of Power and Political Thought of the 16th-Century Tsardom of Russia. A Study of the Political Thought of Ivan Peresvietov, Fyodor Karpov and Andrey Kurbsky

Abstract

This article analyses the main assumptions of Russian political thinkers of the XVI century. The large body of scholarship that explores themes related to political philosophy, history of ideas, and history of the Tsardom of Russia (in context of political and social change across the sixteen century Russian state) demonstrates the importance of the historical evaluation of changes in political conceptions. There is, however, minimal science investigating the relationship between dominant social values and tsarist autocracy from the basis of then political philosophy. For this reason, the main focus of the text was to highlight the perception by the thinkers of the ideal ruler and his relationship with subjects. This article illuminates previously unexplored connections between conceptions of the ‘Law and Truth’, ‘State and Tsar’ in 16th century Russia. The main subject of research is the works of Andrey Kurbsky, Fedor Karpov and Ivan Peresvetov. Based on the study of written historical sources and historical criticism of sources, a model of their perception of the ideal state was created.