A special place in the history of Russia is occupied by the middle of the 16th century. - an important stage in the formation of a centralized state, marked by major successes in foreign policy, the rise of public thought and culture. The work is devoted to the activities of the publicist and closest adviser to Ivan IV - priest Sylvester. Grozny and Kurbsky pointed to his exceptional position as one of the leaders of the government in the 50s. XVI century, which was replaced by oprichny terror. Sylvester is associated with the creation of outstanding monuments of literature and art (Domostroy, Power Book, murals of the Kremlin chambers), which ideologically substantiated the power of the tsarist government. The classical dissertation of I.V. Kurukin (1981) covered all the sources known at that time and introduced new ones into circulation. The author was able to paint a portrait of an outstanding statesman and significantly clarify the course of the historical development of Russia in the middle of the 16th century.