Rank Office Records from the RASL Manuscript 16.17.34 as a Source on the History of the Kazan Campaign of 1552

Abstract

The Kazan campaign of 1552 became the one of the most important events of Ivan the Terrible’s foreign policy and has repeatedly attracted the attention of the researchers. The historical tradition of study of this campaign counts more than two hundred years. During that time, a lot of sources about the preparations and the course of the hostilities were introduced into scientific use. There are Russian chronicles, publicistic treatises and novels, documental compilations etc. The majority of these sources has been published. Therefore, a great value lies in the identification and publication of new sources on the history of the Kazan campaign, which would make it possible to clarify the events of 1552. One such source consists of the records of the Razryadny prikaz (Rank office), contained in the RASL manuscript 16.17.34, which have many original details about the Kazan campaign. This text is not just a collection of disparate extracts from documents of the 16th century. The RASL manuscript 16.17.34 presents a coherent and consistent presentation of events related to the capture of Kazan. The article attempts to assess the potential of this monument as a historical source. At the final part of the article we publish the text of the manuscript.