GODUNÒV, BORÍS FEDOROVIĆ. - Tsar of all the Russias, descended from a Tartar chieftain, b. probably in 1551 and d. on 13 April 1605. He reigned from 1 September 1598. In 1591, amid intrigues and factions, the heir apparent Dimitrij, who was in exile at Uglić with his mother, died. The rumour that the boy had been killed on G.’s orders (who would thus have encountered no obstacle to absolute power) is not historically established.
G. established the patriarchate (1589) and brought order to the administrative apparatus. He pursued a rather peaceful foreign policy; nevertheless, in war with the Swedes, he reconquered the lands lost by Ivan the Terrible. A great famine scourged Russia during his reign. As a result of the disturbances arising from it, the so-called False Demetrius appeared (v.).
The complex figure of G. has interested various Russian artists, foremost among them the poet Puškin. Several aspects of his personality are still controversial.