The northern portion of Asia consisted of a vast, desolate, thinly-peopled country called Siberia.  It was bounded by the Caucasian and Altai mountains on the south, the Ural mountains on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the Frozen Ocean on the north.  Most of the region was within the limits of the frozen zone, and the most southern sections were cold and inhospitable, enjoying but a gleam of summer sunshine.  This country, embracing over four millions of square miles, being thus larger than the whole of Europe, contained but about two millions of inhabitants.  It was watered by some of the most majestic rivers on the globe, the Oby, Enisei and the Lena.  The population consisted mostly of wandering Mohammedan Tartars, in a very low state of civilization.  At that time there were but two important towns in this region, Tura and Tobolsk.  Some of the barbarians of this region descended to the shores of the Volga, in a desolating, predatory excursion.  A Russian army drove them back, pursued them to their homes, took both of these towns, erected fortresses, and gradually brought the whole of Siberia under Russian sway.  This great conquest was achieved almost without bloodshed.

Boris Gudenow now exercised all the functions of sovereign authority.  His energy had enriched Russia with the accession of Siberia.  He now resolved to lay aside the feeble prince Feodor, who nominally occupied the throne, and to place the crown upon his own brow.  It seemed to him an easy thing to appropriate the emblems of power, since he already enjoyed all the prerogatives of royalty.  Under the pretense of rewarding, with important posts of trust, the most efficient of the nobles, he removed all those whose influence he had most to dread, to distant provinces and foreign embassies.  He then endeavored, by many favors, to win the affections of the populace of Moscow.

The young prince Dmitri had now attained his ninth year, and was residing, under the care of his tutors, at the city of Uglitz, about two hundred miles from Moscow.  Uglitz, with its dependencies, had been assigned to him for his appanage.  Gudenow deemed it essential, to his secure occupancy of the throne, that this young prince should be put out of the way.  He accordingly employed a Russian officer, by the promise of immense rewards, to assassinate the child.  And then, the deed having been performed, to prevent the possibility of his agency in it being divulged, he caused another low-born murderer to track the path of the officer and plunge a dagger into his bosom.  Both murders were successfully accomplished.