Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky

Russian aristocrat and official of the Circassian boyar origin, Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky was considered the richest man in Moscow of his time. Cherkassky used his wealth to exert influence on the government supporting the rise of the Romanov Dynasty.

He was born into a wealthy and politically engaged boyar family of Circassian origin. His father was a Circassian prince converted to Christianity and in service of the czar. At that time the Circassian boyars were one of the most powerful groups in the Russian court, closely connected to the rising Romanovs. Sometime between 1600 and 1610 he was appointed a “kravchy”, an honorary position at court, but it did not last long and he was removed.

Thanks to his wealth, which derived primarily from land, Cherkassky was able to survive the period of political turmoil between 1598 and 1613 that accompanied the end of the Rurik Dynasty and establishment of the Romanov Dynasty. His rise to prominence and power started with the Romanovs and important public offices that he acquired. Already in 1613 he became a boyar, and then the head of the Musketeers Chancellery (1623-1642), the Apothecary Chancellery (1624-1642), the Foreign Mercenary Chancellery (1622-1642), and the Great Treasury (1622-1642).

Within a decade, by 1624, he became one of the most powerful and influential men at court, known for skillful management of government and personal affairs. By 1635, he was dominant personage in the work of the chancelleries and the Boyar Duma, the council of nobles that had advisory function. He died in 1642, leaving his estate to his cousin.