What's going on in this painting by Konstantin Makovsky?

Artist Konstantin Makovsky was a master of historical subjects. His interest in them developed while studying at the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1862, he submitted his painting ‘Agents of the False Dmitry Killing the Son of Boris Godunov’ to a competition.

Makovsky chose one of the most dramatic subjects in Russian history, which marked the beginning of the ‘Time of Troubles’ – a time of interregnum and civil war. In 1598, Tsar Feodor Ivanovich, the last of the Moscow Rurikids, died. He left no direct heirs, so Boris Godunov ascended the throne after him. However, a few years later, rumors surfaced that Tsarevich Dmitry, Ivan the Terrible’s son, had not died. This meant that Godunov was occupying the throne illegally. A standoff broke out between the supporters of False Dmitry I, who was also backed by the Poles, and the Russian tsar. In Spring 1605, Boris died and his son Feodor Godunov was destined to ascend the throne.

Contemporaries described him as an educated young man whom his father had prepared for royal duties from an early age. Feodor, despite his young age, sat in the Boyar Duma and personally received foreign envoys. Voivode (Governor) Pyotr Basmanov, who was supposed to administer the oath of allegiance to the tsar to the troops fighting against False Dmitry, instead defected to the impostor’s side. Soon, the usurper's supporters, along with the traitors, entered Moscow.

Events unfolded rapidly. The young tsar, who had reigned for only 49 days and had not even had time to undergo the coronation ceremony, was captured and arrested, while the impostor was proclaimed the new monarch. Ten days later, conspirators arrived to assassinate Feodor, his sister Ksenia and his mother Maria. Godunov fought desperately against the four attackers. But, the forces were unequal. Only Princess Ksenia survived, whom False Dmitry kept as his concubine and then forcibly tonsured as a nun.

The bodies of the murdered were put on public display, with the claim that the Godunovs had committed suicide. However, the marks of the ropes around their necks were enough to reveal that their deaths had been violent. They were buried in the Varsonofievsky Monastery, where the bodies of suicides were taken.

In the painting, the murder of the Godunovs takes place in front of the faces of saints – Makovsky thus demonstrates the double sacrilege being committed. The conspirators commit the mortal sin of murder in a church, encroaching on the legitimate monarch, whose power is sacred.

For it, the artist was awarded a minor gold medal and was given the opportunity to compete for the grand gold medal. However, he did not take advantage of this opportunity. In 1863, Makovsky, along with other protesters against the Academy's outdated educational system, left its walls.