The Cross-kissing Pledge of Vasilii Shuiskii of 1606: the Text and the Political Act

This master dissertation is devoted to the study of legitimation and representation of the tsar’s power in the cross-kissing pledge of Vasilii Shuiskii also in related texts and in the ritual of cross-kissing. Traditionally, historians studied the text the cross-kissing pledge of Vasilii Shuiskii in isolation from other acts of Vasilii Shuiskii. In this dissertation, we consider this cross-kissing pledge in the context of the historical situation of its creation and in common in the early seventeenth century ideas about the meaning and significance of the ceremony of the kissing of the cross. For this purpose, we study the complex political, legal, and literary monuments of XVI – first half XVII century. In this work it is shown, that the difficult situation of the reign of Shuiskii has determined the declared and actual purpose of the document. The first goal was to stop the rebellion and the second one involves the self-presentation of the tsar – the defender of Orthodoxy, which reinforces by the power of the cross and opposes themselves to the demonic image of the Impostor. The obligations brought by Vasilii Shuiskii, was consistent with prevailing legal standards of the time. The main condition of the cross-kissing pledge represented the components of the image of the good ortodox ruler at that time. Among these components: the ruler – defender of christianity, the merciful fair judge. Shuiskii used the concept of the cross power that stood for the ritual of the cross-kissing to strengthen of his power. The thesis is equipped with teaching materials for school history lessons.