Zemsky Sobor in the context of "Ivan the Terrible"

Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Russian: Иван IV Васильевич; 25 August [O.S. 15 August] 1530 – 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to a fledgling empire, but at an immense cost to its people and long-term economy.

Ivan IV was the eldest son of Vasili III by his second wife Elena Glinskaya, and a grandson of Ivan III. He succeeded his father after his death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers united around the young Ivan, crowning him as tsar in 1547 at the age of 16. In the early years of his reign, Ivan ruled with the group of reformers known as the Chosen Council and established the Zemsky Sobor, a new assembly convened by the tsar. He also revised the legal code and introduced reforms, including elements of local self-government, as well as establishing the first Russian standing army, the streltsy. Ivan conquered the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan, bringing the entire length of the Volga river under Russian control.

The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff. Russian: Романовы, romanized: Romanovy, IPA: [rɐˈmanəvɨ]) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russia. Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, and his immediate family were executed in 1918, but there are still living descendants of other members of the imperial house.

The house consisted of boyars in Russia (the highest rank in the Russian nobility at the time) under the reigning Rurik dynasty, which became extinct upon the death of Feodor I in 1598. The Time of Troubles, caused by the resulting succession crisis, saw several pretenders and imposters lay claim to the Russian throne during the Polish-Lithuanian occupation. On 21 February 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Michael Romanov as tsar, establishing the Romanovs as Russia's second reigning dynasty.

The Sudebnik of 1550 (Russian: Судебник 1550 года), also known as the Sudebnik of Ivan IV (Russian: Судебник Ивана IV), was an expansion and revision of the Sudebnik of 1497 by Ivan IV of Russia, a code of laws originally instituted by Ivan III, his grandfather. It is considered the result of the first Russian parliament of feudal estates (Zemsky Sobor).

The Sudebnik of 1550 liquidated the aristocracy's judicial privileges and strengthened the role of state judicial bodies.

The Sobornoye Ulozheniye (Russian: Соборное уложение, lit. 'Council Code', IPA: [sɐˈbornəjə ʊlɐˈʐɛnʲɪjə]) was a legal code promulgated in 1649 by the Zemsky Sobor under Alexis of Russia as a replacement for the Sudebnik of 1550 introduced by Ivan IV of Russia. The code survived well into the 19th century (up to 1832), when its articles were revised under the direction of Mikhail Speransky.

The code consolidated Russia's slaves and free peasants into a new serf class and pronounced class hereditary as unchangeable (see Russian serfdom). The new code prohibited travel between towns without an internal passport. The Russian nobility agreed to serve in the army, but were granted the exclusive privilege of owning serfs.