States.
Fyodor Kolychev is even further away,
he is praying in the Solovyets monastery.
I have only you.
It's from Ryazan!
It's from Basmanov!
Again the boyars!
They have disobeyed my orders again!
They betray Russia.
They are preventing Basmanov
and the people from defending Ryazan.
They are ready to surrender the city
to the Khan of the Crimea.
Be firm!
I will be.
So much the worse for the boyars!
I shall confiscate all their estates.
The only concessions I will make
will be for services to the State.
But those who dishonor themselves
on the battlefield
will lose everything!
You go too far, Tsar Ivan!
Bad news.
The Russian troops at Revel
have been beaten.
Kurbsky is beaten.
Kurbsky?
Could he have betrayed us?
God be my salvation
for the waters are come in
unto my soul.
I sink beneath the deep waters,
where nothing can save me.
I am in the depths of the flood
and its current bears me away.
I no longer have the strength to groan.
My tongue is dry,
my eyes no longer see.
Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Shuisky
has fled to Livonia.
Prince Ivan Vasilievich Sheremetyev
was captured in flight.
Boyar Tugoi Luk-Suzdalsky has fled
to Livonia.
Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs on my head.
Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky has fled.
Prince Ivan Ivanovich Turuntai-Pronsky
has been recaptured,
arrested and brought to Moscow.
Have I done wrong?
Is it God's punishment?
I have become a stranger unto my brethren
and without significance
to the sons of my own mother.
Am I right in my heavy struggle?
Great Sovereign, Kurbsky has fled
to King Sigismund.
What? My friend, Kurbsky?
What have I done to him?
What more could he have wanted?
Or could it be...
that he coveted my crown?
Taking advantage of the defeat
in the Baltic States,
the boyars are rousing the people
against you.
Shame has eaten into my heart
and I am full of weariness.
I have looked for mercy...
but it has not been granted me.
I have sought consolation
but without finding it.
You lie!
The Tsar of Moscow has not yet
been brought to heel!
You are few!
Send for my last
and only remaining faithful friend,
Fyodor Kolychev.
He is praying for us
in the far-off Solovyets monastery.
Tsar, do not trust Boyar Kolychev.
Surround yourself with new men,
who have sprung from the people
and who owe you everything.
With them,
forge around you an iron ring,
a circle of spears
pointing towards the enemy.
Choose men who will renounce everything,
who will deny father and mother
to serve only the Tsar
and the dictates of his will.
The first link of the iron ring
will be my son.
To these noble ends I donate my only son!
With these men alone
you will be able to retain power,
break the boyars.
You are right, Alyoshka!
I shall bind myself around with iron.
We will form a brotherhood of iron.
Outside the brotherhood
we will trust no one.
I shall be an iron leader.
I shall leave Moscow and withdraw
to the hamlet of Alexandrov!
You will take Moscow by assault!
You will return to Moscow as a conqueror.
No, it is not as a soldier I will return,
not as a soldier,
but summoned by the entire populace.
Don't rely on the people.
Don't listen to beggars,
don't trust vagabonds.
You are getting above yourself, cur!
You presume to instruct the Tsar!
By the people's summons,
I shall gain limitless power.
It will be like a new coronation,
enabling me relentlessly
to consummate my great task!
What do you say?
You are right!
The call of the people
will express God's will.
I shall accept the sword of vengeance
from God's hand.
I shall accomplish great things.
Two Romes have fallen.
Moscow is the third.
She will stand firm,
for there will never be a fourth!
'These princes and boyars
have amassed great wealth,
'but not a thought do they spare
for the Tsar or the State,
'and they are even indifferent to religion,
'since they refuse to defend themselves
against our enemies