Information about the Romanov family. The main secrets of the Romanov dynasty
The first Romanov emperor was Peter the Great. With the death of Peter II, the Romanov dynasty ended in a direct male generation. Mikhail Fedorovich (1596-1645), tsar from 1613. Son of Fyodor (in the monastic Filaret) Nikitich Romanov. Thus, according to the genealogical rules, the imperial family is called Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovsky, which is reflected in the family coat of arms of the Romanovs and the coat of arms of the Russian Empire.
She was succeeded by the great-grandson of Ivan V - John VI Antonovich, son of the Duke of Brunswick, the only representative on the Russian throne of the Mecklenburg-Brunswick-Romanov dynasty.
Thus, during this period, five emperors ruled, of which only three were Romanovs by blood. With the death of Elizabeth, the direct male line of succession ceased. In 1942, two representatives of the Romanov dynasty were offered the Montenegrin throne. There is an association of members of the Romanov family. During the years of the Romanovs, the Russian monarchy experienced an era of prosperity, several periods of painful reforms and a sudden fall. The Muscovite Kingdom, in which Mikhail Romanov was crowned king, annexed vast territories of Eastern Siberia in the 17th century and came to the border with China.
The results of the reign of the Romanovs
In 1917 Nicholas II abdicated and was arrested by the Provisional Government. Today, representatives of two branches of the Romanov dynasty: Kirillovichi and Nikolaevichi - claim the right to be considered the locum tenens of the Russian throne.
Many bloody and bright episodes preceded the ascension to the throne of the great Romanovs. The first known ancestor of the Romanovs was Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla. Until the beginning of the 16th century, the Romanovs were called the Koshkins, then the Zakharyins-Koshkins and the Zakharyins-Yuryevs. From the house of the Romanovs reigned Alexei Mikhailovich, Fedor Alekseevich; during the early years of the tsars Ivan V and Peter I, their sister Sofya Alekseevna was the ruler.
With the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Romanov dynasty ended in a direct female line. However, the surname Romanov was carried by Peter III and his wife Catherine II, their son Paul I and his descendants.
In 1918, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov and members of his family were shot in Yekaterinburg, other Romanovs were killed in 1918-1919, some emigrated
In fact, E.I. Biron was the ruler under her. Ivan VI Antonovich (1740-1764), emperor in 1740-1741. Pavel I Petrovich (1754-1801), Russian emperor since 1796. Son of Peter III and Catherine II. Introduced a military-police regime in the state, Prussian orders in the army; restricted the privileges of the nobility. Alexander I Pavlovich (1777-1825), emperor since 1801. The eldest son of Paul I. At the beginning of his reign, he carried out moderate liberal reforms developed by the Unofficial Committee and M.M. Speransky.
To understand how the first of the Romanovs took control of proud Russia, one must start with Grozny itself.
In the reign of Alexander III, the annexation of Central Asia to Russia (1885) was basically completed, the Russian-French alliance was concluded (1891-1893). The first reliable ancestor of the Romanovs and a number of other noble families is Andrei Kobyla, the boyar of the Moscow prince Simeon the Proud. Due to further intrigues, the line of succession for the children of Peter the Great was frozen, and the imperial throne was given to the daughter of Tsar Ivan V (Peter I's older brother) - Anna Ioannovna.
In the 1920s-1930s, a significant part of the representatives of the dynasty continued to hope for the collapse of Soviet power in Russia and the restoration of the monarchy. Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna in November-December 1920 was the regent of Greece and accepted some of the refugees from Russia into the country.
Moscow nobles, supported by townspeople, proposed to elect 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov as sovereign of all Russia
Everything matched. including genetic mutation. As a result, the final conclusion was made: both burials do contain the remains of the entire royal family shot in 1918. So, for example, Peter I tried to expand the territory of the country and liken Russian cities to European ones, and Catherine II put her whole soul into promoting the ideas of enlightenment.
The monarchy in Russia was abolished. A year and a half later, the last emperor and his entire family were shot by decision of the Soviet government. It would be more correct to separate activities within the framework of domestic and foreign policy. I would like to see more complete information about Alexander II and Catherine the Great - the most prominent representatives of the dynasty. In 1605, his body was buried, and his son Fyodor and his wife assumed the responsibility of governing the country.
During the reign of the Romanov dynasty, Russia became a powerful empire that all countries reckoned with. Ivan V Alekseevich (1666-1696), tsar since 1682. Son of Alexei Mikhailovich from his first marriage with M.I. Miloslavskaya. Each ruler from the Romanov dynasty paid attention to those issues that seemed to him the most relevant and important.
Some sources say that they come from Prussia, others that the roots come from Novgorod. The first known ancestor is the Moscow boyar of the times of Ivan Kalita - Andrey Kobyla. His sons became the founders of many boyar and noble families. Among them are Sheremetevs, Konovnitsyns, Kolychevs, Ladygins, Yakovlevs, Boborykins and many others. The Romanov family descended from the son of the Mare - Fyodor Koshka. His descendants first called themselves Koshkins, then Koshkins-Zakharyins, and then simply Zakharyins.
The first wife of Ivan VI "the Terrible" was Anna Romanova-Zakharyina. Hence the “kinship” with the Rurikovichs and, consequently, the right to the throne can be traced.
This article tells how ordinary boyars, with good luck and good business acumen, became the most significant family for more than three centuries, until the Great October Revolution of 1917.
The family tree of the royal Romanov dynasty in full: with dates of reign and photos
Mikhail Fedorovich (1613 - 1645)
After the death of Ivan the Terrible, not a single blood heir of the Rurik family was left, but a new dynasty, the Romanovs, was born. The cousin-nephew of the wife of John IV, Anastasia Zakharyina, Mikhail demanded his rights to the throne. With the support of the common people of Moscow and the Cossacks, he took the reins of government into his own hands and began a new era in the history of Russia.
Alexei Mikhailovich "The Quietest" (1645 - 1676)
Following Michael, his son Alexei sat on the throne. He had a gentle nature, for which he received his nickname. Boyar Boris Morozov had a strong influence on him. The consequence of this was the Salt Riot, the uprising of Stepan Razin and other major riots.
Fedor III Alekseevich (1676 - 1682)
The eldest son of Tsar Alexei. After the death of his father, he legally took the throne. First of all, he exalted his close associates - the bed-keeper Yazykov and the room attendant Likhachev. They were not from the nobility, but throughout their lives they helped the formation of Fedor III.
Under him, an attempt was made to mitigate punishment for criminal offenses and amputation of limbs was abolished as an execution.
Important in the reign of the king was the decree of 1862 on the destruction of parochialism.
Ivan V (1682 - 1696)
At the time of the death of his elder brother, Fedor III, Ivan V was 15 years old. His associates considered that he did not have the skills inherent in the king and the throne should be inherited by his younger brother, 10-year-old Peter I. As a result, the reign was given to both at once, and their older sister Sophia was made their regent. Ivan V was weak, almost blind and weak-minded. During his reign, he did not make any decisions. Decrees were signed in his name, and he himself was used as an exit ceremonial king. In fact, the country was led by Princess Sophia.
Peter I "The Great" (1682 - 1725)
Like his older brother, Peter took the place of king in 1682, but due to his infancy he could not make any decisions. He devoted a lot of time to the study of military affairs, while his older sister Sophia ruled the country. But in 1689, after the princess decided to single-handedly lead Russia, Peter I brutally cracked down on her supporters, and she herself was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. Within its walls, she spent the rest of her days and died in 1704.
Two tsars remained on the throne - Ivan V and Peter I. But Ivan himself gave his brother all the powers and remained the ruler only formally.
Having received power, Peter carried out a number of reforms: the creation of the Senate, the subordination of the church to the state, and also built a new capital - St. Petersburg. Under him, Russia won the status of a great power and the recognition of the countries of Western Europe. Also, the state was renamed the Russian Empire, and the tsar became the first emperor.
Catherine I (1725 - 1727)
After the death of her husband - Peter I, with the support of the guards, she took the throne. The new ruler did not have the skills to conduct foreign and domestic policy, she herself did not want this, therefore, in fact, her favorite, Count Menshikov, ruled the country.
Peter II (1727 - 1730)
After the death of Catherine I, the rights to the throne were transferred to the grandson of Peter the Great - Peter II. The boy at that time was only 11 years old. And after 3 years, he suddenly died of smallpox.
Peter II paid attention not to the country, but only to hunting and pleasures. All decisions for him were made by the same Menshikov. After the overthrow of the count, the young emperor was under the influence of the Dolgorukov family.
Anna Ioannovna (1730 - 1740)
After the death of Peter II, the Supreme Privy Council invited Ivan V's daughter Anna to the throne. The condition for her ascension to the throne was the adoption of a number of restrictions - "Conditions". They stated that the newly-made empress did not have the right to declare wars, make peace, marry and appoint an heir to the throne, as well as some other instructions.
After gaining power, Anna found support from the nobility, destroyed the prepared rules and dissolved the Supreme Privy Council.
The Empress was not distinguished by either intelligence or success in education. Her favorite Ernst Biron had a huge influence on her and on the country. After her death, it was he who was appointed regent for the infant Ivan VI.
The reign of Anna Ioannovna is a dark page in the history of the Russian Empire. During her reign, political terror and disregard for Russian traditions dominated.
Ivan VI Antonovich (1740 - 1741)
According to the will of Empress Anna, Ivan VI ascended the throne. He was a baby, and therefore the first year of the "reign" passed under the leadership of Ernst Biron. After the power passed to Ivan's mother - Anna Leopoldovna. But in fact, the government was in the hands of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The emperor himself spent his whole life in prison. And at the age of 23 he was killed by prison guards.
Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1761)
As a result of a palace coup, with the support of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, the illegitimate daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine came to power. She continued her father's foreign policy and initiated the Age of Enlightenment, opened State University named after Lomonosov.
Peter III Fedorovich (1761 - 1762)
Elizaveta Petrovna left no direct male heirs. But back in 1742, she made sure that the line of the Romanovs did not end, and appointed her nephew, the son of her sister Anna, Peter III, as her heir.
The newly minted emperor ruled the country for only six months, after which he was killed as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, Catherine.
Catherine II "The Great" (1762 - 1796)
After the death of her husband Peter III, she became the sole ruler of the empire. She did not make a loving wife or mother. She gave all her strength to strengthening the position of the autocracy. Under her, the borders of Russia were expanded. Her reign also influenced the development of science and education. Catherine carried out reforms and divided the territory of the country into provinces. Under her rule, six departments were established in the Senate, and the Russian Empire received the proud title of one of the most developed powers.
Pavel I (1796 - 1801)
The mother's dislike had a strong influence on the new emperor. His whole policy was aimed at crossing out everything that she had done during the years of her reign. He tried to concentrate all power in his own hands and minimize self-government.
An important step in his policy is the decree banning the succession to the throne by women. This order lasted until 1917, when the reign of the Romanov family came to an end.
The policy of Paul I contributed to a slight improvement in the life of the peasants, but the positions of the nobility were greatly reduced. As a result, already in the first years of his reign, a conspiracy began to be prepared against him. Dissatisfaction with the emperor increased in various sectors of society. The result was death in his own room during a coup d'état.
Alexander I (1801 - 1825)
He took the throne after the death of his father, Paul I. It was he who participated in the conspiracy, but knew nothing about the impending murder and suffered from guilt all his life.
During his reign, several important laws saw the light:
- The decree on "free cultivators", according to which the peasants received the right to redeem themselves with land by agreement with the landowner.
- Decree on the reform of education, after which representatives of all classes could be trained.
The emperor promised the people the adoption of the constitution, but the project remained unfinished. Despite the liberal policy, large-scale changes in the life of the country did not happen.
In 1825 Alexander caught a cold and died. There are legends that the emperor faked his own death and became a hermit.
Nicholas I (1825 - 1855)
As a result of the death of Alexander I, the reins of government were to pass into the hands of his younger brother Constantine, but he voluntarily renounced the title of emperor. So the throne was taken by the third son of Paul I, Nicholas I.
The strongest influence on him had an upbringing based on the harsh suppression of personality. He could not count on the throne. The child grew up in oppression, endured physical punishment.
Study trips largely influenced the views of the future emperor - conservative, with a pronounced anti-liberal orientation. After the death of Alexander I, Nicholas showed all his determination and political abilities and, despite the mass of those who disagreed, ascended the throne.
An important stage in the formation of the personality of the ruler was the uprising of the Decembrists. It was brutally suppressed, order was restored, and Russia swore allegiance to the new monarch.
Throughout his life, the emperor considered his goal to suppress the revolutionary movement. The policy of Nicholas I led to the largest foreign policy defeat during the Crimean War of 1853-1856. The failure undermined the emperor's health. In 1955, an accidental cold took his life.
Alexander II (1855 - 1881)
The birth of Alexander II attracted great attention from society. At this time, his father did not even represent him in the place of the ruler, however young Sasha the fate of the heir was already prepared, since none of the elder brothers of Nicholas I had male children.
The young man received a good education. He mastered five languages, perfectly knew history, geography, statistics, mathematics, natural science, logic and philosophy. Special courses were held for him under the guidance of influential figures and ministers.
During his reign, Alexander introduced many reforms:
- university;
- judicial;
- military and others.
But the most important is considered to be the abolition of serfdom. For this move he was nicknamed the king-liberator.
Nevertheless, despite the innovations, the emperor remained faithful to the autocracy. Such a policy did not contribute to the adoption of the constitution. Emperor's unwillingness to choose new way development caused an intensification of revolutionary activity. As a result, a series of assassination attempts led to the death of the sovereign.
Alexander III (1881 - 1894)
Alexander III was the second son of Alexander II. Since initially he was not the heir to the throne, he did not consider it necessary to receive a proper education. Only at a conscious age did the future ruler at an accelerated pace begin to prepare for the reign.
As a result of the tragic death of his father, power passed to the new emperor - tougher, but fair.
A distinctive feature of the reign of Alexander III was the absence of wars. For this, he was nicknamed the "peacemaker king."
He died in 1894. The cause of death was nephritis - inflammation of the kidneys. The cause of the disease is considered to be both the collapse of the imperial train at Borki station and the emperor's addiction to alcohol.
Here is practically the entire family genealogical tree of the Romanov family with years of government and portraits. Special attention should be paid to the last monarch.
Nicholas II (1894 - 1917)
Son of Alexander III. He ascended the throne as a result of the sudden death of his father.
He received a good education aimed at military education, studied under the guidance of the acting tsar, and his teachers were outstanding Russian scientists.
Nicholas II quickly settled on the throne and began to promote an independent policy, which caused dissatisfaction with part of his entourage. He made the assertion of the internal unity of the empire the main goal of his reign.
Opinions about the son of Alexander are very scattered and contradictory. Many consider him too soft and weak-tempered. But his strong attachment to his family is also noted. He did not part with his wife and children until the last seconds of his life.
Nicholas II played a big role in the church life of Russia. Frequent pilgrimages brought him closer to the indigenous population. The number of churches during his reign increased from 774 to 1005. Later, the last emperor and his family were canonized by the Russian Church Abroad (ROCOR).
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, after the October Revolution of 1917, the royal family was shot in the basement of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg. It is believed that the order was given by Sverdlov and Lenin.
On this tragic note, the reign of the royal family ends, which lasted for more than three centuries (from 1613 to 1917). This dynasty left a huge mark on the development of Russia. It is to her that we owe what we have now. Only thanks to the rule of representatives of this family in our country, serfdom was abolished, educational, judicial, military and many other reforms were launched.
The diagram of a complete genealogical tree with the years of the reign of the first and last monarchs from the Romanov family clearly shows how a great family of rulers turned out from an ordinary boyar family, glorifying the royal dynasty. But even now it is possible to follow the formation of the successors of the clan. On the this moment alive and well the descendants of the imperial family, who could claim the throne. There is no "pure blood" left, but the fact remains. If Russia again switches to such a form of government as a monarchy, then the successor of the ancient family may become the new tsar.
It is worth noting that most of the Russian rulers lived for a relatively short time. After fifty, only Peter I, Elizabeth I Petrovna, Nicholas I and Nicholas II died. And the threshold of 60 years was overcome by Catherine II and Alexander II. All the rest died at a fairly early age due to illness or a coup d'état.
Thanks to the marriage of Ivan IV the Terrible with Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, a representative of the Romanov family, the Zakharyin-Romanov family became close to the royal court in the 16th century, and after the suppression of the Moscow branch of the Rurikovich began to claim the throne.
In 1613, the great-nephew of Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, Mikhail Fedorovich, was elected to the royal throne. And the offspring of Tsar Michael, which was traditionally called House of Romanovs ruled Russia until 1917.
For a long period of time, members of the royal, and then the imperial family did not have any surnames at all (for example, “Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich”, “Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich”). Despite this, the names "Romanovs" and "House of Romanovs" were used to informally designate the Russian Imperial House, the arms of the Romanov boyars were included in official legislation, and in 1913 the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanovs was widely celebrated.
After 1917, the surname of the Romanovs officially began to be borne by almost all members of the former reigning house, and at present many of their descendants bear it.
Tsars and emperors of the Romanov dynasty
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia
Years of life 1596-1645
Reigned 1613-1645
Father - boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, who later became Patriarch Filaret.
Mother - Ksenia Ivanovna Shestovaya,
in monasticism Martha.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was born in Moscow on July 12, 1596. He spent his childhood in the village of Domnino, the Kostroma estate of the Romanovs.
Under Tsar Boris Godunov, all the Romanovs were persecuted because of suspicion of conspiracy. The boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov and his wife were forcibly tonsured monks and imprisoned in monasteries. Fyodor Romanov received a name during tonsure Filaret, and his wife became a nun Martha.
But even after the tonsure, Filaret led an active political life: he opposed Tsar Shuisky and supported False Dmitry I (thinking that he was the real Tsarevich Dmitry).
False Dmitry I, after his accession, returned from exile the surviving members of the Romanov family. Fyodor Nikitich (monastic Filaret) with his wife Xenia Ivanovna (monastic Martha) and son Mikhail were returned.
Marfa Ivanovna and her son Mikhail first settled in the Kostroma patrimony of the Romanovs, the village of Domnino, and then hid from the persecution of the Polish-Lithuanian detachments in the Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma.
Ipatiev Monastery. vintage image Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was only 16 years old when, on February 21, 1613, the Zemsky Sobor, which included representatives of almost all segments of the Russian population, elected him tsar.
On March 13, 1613, a crowd of boyars and residents of the city approached the walls of the Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma. Mikhail Romanov and his mother received the ambassadors from Moscow with respect.
But when the ambassadors presented the nun Martha and her son with a letter of the Zemsky Sobor with an invitation to the kingdom, Mikhail was horrified and refused such a high honor.
“The state has been ruined by the Poles,” he explained his refusal. The royal treasury has been plundered. Service people are poor, how can they be fed? And how, in such a distressful situation, can I, as a sovereign, stand against my enemies?
“And I can’t bless Mishenka for the kingdom,” nun Martha echoed her son with tears in her eyes. “After all, his father, Metropolitan Filaret, was captured by the Poles. And when the Polish king finds out that the son of his prisoner is in the kingdom, he orders to do evil to his father, or even completely deprive him of his life!
The ambassadors began to explain that Michael was chosen at will by the whole earth, which means by the will of God. And if Michael refuses, then God himself will exact from him for the final ruin of the state.
The persuasion of mother and son continued for six hours. Shedding bitter tears, the nun Martha finally accepted this fate. And since it is the will of God, she will bless her son. Michael, after the blessing of his mother, no longer resisted and accepted from the ambassadors the royal staff brought from Moscow as a sign of power in Moscow Russia.
Patriarch Filaret
In the autumn of 1617, the Polish army approached Moscow, and negotiations began on November 23. The Russians and Poles signed a truce for 14.5 years. Poland received the Smolensk region and part of the Seversk land, and Russia needed a respite from the Polish aggression.
And only a little over a year after the armistice was concluded, the Poles released from captivity Metropolitan Filaret, the father of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. The meeting of father and son took place on the Presnya River on June 1, 1619. They bowed at each other's feet, both wept, embraced, and were silent for a long time, numb with joy.
In 1619, immediately after his return from captivity, Metropolitan Filaret became Patriarch of All Russia.
From that time until the end of his life, Patriarch Filaret was the de facto ruler of the country. His son, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, did not make a single decision without the consent of his father.
The patriarch ruled the church court, participated in resolving zemstvo issues, leaving only criminal cases for consideration by state institutions.
Patriarch Filaret “was of average height and fullness, he understood the divine scripture in part; in temperament he was passionate and suspicious, and so possessive that the tsar himself was afraid of him.
Patriarch Filaret (F. N. Romanov) Tsar Michael and Patriarch Filaret considered cases together and made decisions on them, together they received foreign ambassadors, issued double certificates and presented double gifts. In Russia there was dual power, the rule of two sovereigns with the participation of the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobor.
In the first 10 years of Mikhail's reign, the role of the Zemsky Sobor in solving state issues grew. But by 1622, the Zemsky Sobor was rarely and irregularly convened.
After the peace treaties concluded with Sweden and the Commonwealth, a time of rest came for Russia. Fugitive peasants returned to their farms to cultivate the lands abandoned during the Time of Troubles.
During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich there were 254 cities in Russia. Merchants were given special privileges, including permission to travel to other countries, provided they also trade in state-owned goods, monitor the work of customs and taverns to replenish the income of the state treasury.
In the 20-30s of the 17th century, the so-called first manufactories appeared in Russia. These were large plants and factories for those times, where there was a division of labor according to specialties, and steam mechanisms were used.
By decree of Mikhail Fedorovich, it was possible to gather master printers and literate elders in order to restore the printing business, which in Time of Troubles practically stopped. During the Time of Troubles, the Print Yard was burned along with all the printing presses.
By the end of the reign of Tsar Michael, the Printing Yard already had more than 10 machine tools and other equipment, and the printing house had over 10 thousand printed books.
During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, dozens of talented inventions and technical innovations appeared, such as a cannon with a screw thread, a striking clock on the Spasskaya Tower, water engines for manufactories, paints, drying oil, ink and much more.
In large cities, the construction of temples and towers was actively carried out, which differed from the old buildings in elegant decoration. The Kremlin walls were repaired, the Patriarchal Court on the territory of the Kremlin was expanded.
Russia continued to explore Siberia, new cities were founded there: Yeniseisk (1618), Krasnoyarsk (1628), Yakutsk (1632), the Bratsk prison was built (1631),
Towers of the Yakut prison In 1633, the father of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, his assistant and teacher, Patriarch Filaret, died. After the death of the “second sovereign”, the boyars again increased their influence on Mikhail Fedorovich. But the king did not resist, now he was often not healthy. The serious illness that struck the king was most likely dropsy. The royal physicians wrote that Tsar Michael's illness came "from much sitting, cold drinking and melancholy."
Mikhail Fedorovich died on July 13, 1645 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Alexey Mikhailovich - The Quietest, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Russia
Years of life 1629-1676
Reigned 1645-1676
Father - Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Russia.
Mother - Princess Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva.
Future king Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the eldest son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was born on March 19, 1629. He was baptized in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and named Alexei. At the age of 6, he could read well. By order of his grandfather, Patriarch Filaret, a primer was created especially for his grandson. In addition to the primer, the prince read the Psalter, the Acts of the Apostles and other books from the library of the patriarch. The boyar was the tutor of the prince Boris Ivanovich Morozov.
By the age of 11-12, Alexei had his own small library of books that belonged to him personally. This library mentions Lexicon and Grammar published in Lithuania and serious Cosmography.
Little Alexei was taught to govern the state from early childhood. He often attended the receptions of foreign ambassadors and was a participant in court ceremonies.
At the age of 14, the prince was solemnly “announced” to the people, and at the age of 16, when his father, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, died, Alexei Mikhailovich ascended the throne. A month later, his mother also died.
By unanimous decision of all the boyars on July 13, 1645, all the nobility of the court kissed the cross to the new sovereign. The first person in the tsar's entourage, according to the last will of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, was the boyar B. I. Morozov.
The new Russian Tsar, judging by his own letters and the reviews of foreigners, had a remarkably mild, good-natured character and was "much quiet." The whole atmosphere in which Tsar Alexei lived, his upbringing and the reading of church books developed in him great religiosity.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, during all church fasts, the young king did not drink or eat anything. Alexei Mikhailovich was a very zealous performer of all church rites and had extraordinary Christian humility and meekness. Any pride was disgusting and alien to him. “And to me, a sinner,” he wrote, “this honor is like dust.”
But his good nature and humility sometimes gave way to brief outbursts of anger. Once the tsar, who was bled by the German "dokhtur", ordered the boyars to try the same remedy, but the boyar Streshnev did not agree. Then Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich personally "humbled" the old man, then did not know what gifts to appease him.
Alexei Mikhailovich knew how to respond to someone else's grief and joy, and in his meek nature he was simply a "golden man", moreover, intelligent and very educated for his time. He always read a lot and wrote a lot of letters.
Alexei Mikhailovich himself read petitions and other documents, wrote or edited many important decrees, and was the first of the Russian tsars to sign them with his own hand. The autocrat handed over to his sons a powerful state recognized abroad. One of them - Peter I the Great - managed to continue the work of his father, completing the formation of an absolute monarchy and the creation of a huge Russian empire.
Alexei Mikhailovich married in January 1648 the daughter of a poor nobleman Ilya Miloslavsky, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, who bore him 13 children. Until the death of his wife, the king was an exemplary family man.
"Salt Riot"
B. I. Morozov, who, on behalf of Alexei Mikhailovich, began to rule the country, came up with new system taxation, which came into effect by royal decree in February 1646. An increased duty was imposed on salt in order to drastically replenish the treasury. However, this innovation did not justify itself, as they began to buy less salt, and revenues to the treasury decreased.
The boyars abolished the salt tax, but instead they came up with another way to replenish the treasury. The boyars decided to collect taxes, previously abolished, for three years at once. Immediately began the mass ruin of the peasants and even wealthy people. Due to the sudden impoverishment of the population, spontaneous popular unrest began in the country.
A crowd of people tried to give the tsar a petition when, on June 1, 1648, he returned from pilgrimage. But the king was afraid of the people and did not accept the complaint. The petitioners were arrested. The next day, during the procession, people again went to the tsar, then the crowd broke into the territory of the Moscow Kremlin.
The archers refused to fight for the boyars and did not oppose ordinary people, moreover, they were ready to join the disaffected. The people refused to negotiate with the boyars. Then a frightened Alexei Mikhailovich came out to the people, holding the icon in his hands.
archers The rebels throughout Moscow sacked the chambers of the hated boyars - Morozov, Pleshcheev, Trakhaniotov - and demanded that the tsar extradite them. A critical situation arose, Alexei Mikhailovich had to make concessions. Pleshcheev was given to the crowd, then Trakhaniotov. The life of the educator of Tsar Boris Morozov was under the threat of popular reprisals. But Alexey Mikhailovich decided to save his teacher at any cost. He tearfully begged the crowd to spare the boyar, promising people to remove Morozov from business and send him out of the capital. Alexei Mikhailovich kept his promise and sent Morozov to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
After these events, called "Salt Riot", Alexei Mikhailovich changed a lot, and his role in government became decisive.
At the request of the nobles and merchants, on June 16, 1648, the Zemsky Sobor was convened, at which a decision was made to prepare a new code of laws of the Russian state.
The result of the enormous and lengthy work of the Zemsky Sobor was Code of 25 chapters, which was printed in 1200 copies. The code was sent to all local governors in all cities and large villages of the country. In the Code, legislation was developed on land ownership, on legal proceedings, and the statute of limitations for the investigation of fugitive peasants was abolished (thus serfdom was finally approved). This code of laws became the guiding document for the Russian state for almost 200 years.
Due to the abundance of foreign merchants in Russia, Alexei Mikhailovich signed a decree on June 1, 1649 on the expulsion of English merchants from the country.
The objects of foreign policy of the tsarist government of Alexei Mikhailovich were Georgia, Central Asia, Kalmykia, India and China - countries with which the Russians tried to establish trade and diplomatic relations.
The Kalmyks asked Moscow to allocate territories for them to settle. In 1655 they swore allegiance to the Russian Tsar, and in 1659 the oath was confirmed. Since then, the Kalmyks have always participated in hostilities on the side of Russia, especially their help was tangible in the fight against the Crimean Khan.
Reunification of Ukraine with Russia
In 1653, the Zemsky Sobor considered the issue of reuniting Left-Bank Ukraine with Russia (at the request of the Ukrainians, who at that time fought for independence and hoped to receive the protection and support of Russia). But such support could provoke another war with Poland, which, in fact, happened.
On October 1, 1653, the Zemsky Sobor decided to reunite Left-bank Ukraine with Russia. January 8, 1654 Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky solemnly proclaimed reunification of Ukraine with Russia at the Pereyaslav Rada, and already in May 1654 Russia entered the war with Poland.
Russia was at war with Poland from 1654 to 1667. During this time, Rostislavl, Drogobuzh, Polotsk, Mstislav, Orsha, Gomel, Smolensk, Vitebsk, Minsk, Grodno, Vilna, Kovno were returned to Russia.
From 1656 to 1658 Russia was at war with Sweden. During the war, several truces were concluded, but in the end, Russia was never able to regain access to Baltic Sea.
The treasury of the Russian state was melting, and the government, after several years of constant hostilities with the Polish troops, decided to go to peace negotiations, which ended with the signing in 1667 Andrusovo truce for a period of 13 years and 6 months.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Under the terms of this truce, Russia renounced all conquests on the territory of Lithuania, but left the Severshchina, Smolensk and the Left-bank part of Ukraine, and also Kyiv remained behind Moscow for two years. The almost century-long confrontation between Russia and Poland came to an end, and later (in 1685) an eternal peace was concluded, according to which Kyiv remained in Russia.
The end of hostilities was solemnly celebrated in Moscow. For successful negotiations with the Poles, the sovereign elevated the nobleman Ordin-Nashchokin to the rank of boyar, appointed him the keeper of the royal seal and the head of the Little Russian and Polish orders.
"Copper Riot"
In order to provide a constant income to the royal treasury, a monetary reform was carried out in 1654. Copper coins were introduced, which were supposed to circulate on a par with silver ones, and at the same time there was a ban on the trade in copper, since from then on it all went to the treasury. But taxes continued to be collected only in silver coins, and copper money began to depreciate.
Immediately there were many counterfeiters minting copper money. The gap in the value of silver and copper coins grew larger every year. From 1656 to 1663 the cost of one silver ruble increased to 15 copper rubles. All the merchants begged for the abolition of copper money.
The Russian merchants turned to the tsar with a statement of dissatisfaction with their position. And soon there was a so-called "Copper Riot"- a powerful popular uprising on July 25, 1662. The reason for the unrest was the sheets pasted in Moscow with accusations of Miloslavsky, Rtishchev and Shorin of treason. Then a crowd of thousands moved to Kolomenskoye to the royal palace.
Alexei Mikhailovich managed to convince the people to disperse peacefully. He promised that he would consider their petitions. People turned to Moscow. Meanwhile, in the capital, merchants' shops and rich palaces were already looted.
But then a rumor spread among the people about the flight of the spy Shorin to Poland, and the excited crowd rushed to Kolomenskoye, meeting along the way the first rebels who were returning from the tsar to Moscow.
A huge crowd of people again appeared in front of the royal palace. But Aleksei Mikhailovich had already called in the archery regiments for help. Massacre began against the rebels. At that time, many people were drowned in the Moscow River, others were chopped up with sabers or shot dead. After the suppression of the rebellion long time investigation was carried out. The authorities tried to find out who was the author of the leaflets hung around the capital.
Copper and silver kopecks from the time of Alexei Mikhailovich After all that had happened, the king decided to abolish copper money. This was stated by the royal decree of June 11, 1663. Now all calculations were again made only with the help of silver coins.
Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the Boyar Duma gradually lost its significance, and the Zemsky Sobor was no longer convened after 1653.
In 1654, the king created the "Order of his great sovereign of secret affairs." The Order of Secret Affairs delivered to the king all the necessary information about civil and military affairs and performed the functions of a secret police.
During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the development of Siberian lands continued. In 1648, the Cossack Semyon Dezhnev discovered North America. In the late 40s - early 50s of the 17th century, explorers V. Poyarkov And E. Khabarov reached the Amur, where the free settlers founded the Albazinsky Voivodeship. At the same time, the city of Irkutsk was founded.
Industrial development of deposits of minerals and precious stones began in the Urals.
Patriarch Nikon
At that time it became necessary to reform the church. The liturgical books were worn out to the limit, in the texts copied by hand accumulated great amount inaccuracies and errors. Often church services in one church were very different from the same service in another. All this "disorganization" was very hard for the young monarch to see, who was always very concerned about strengthening and spreading the Orthodox faith.
At the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin was circle of gods, which included Alexei Mikhailovich. Among the "God-lovers" were several priests, the abbot of the Novospassky Monastery Nikon, Archpriest Avvakum and several secular nobles.
To help the circle, Ukrainian learned monks were invited to Moscow, who were engaged in the publication of liturgical literature. The Print Yard was rebuilt and expanded. The number of published books intended for teaching has increased: "ABC", Psalter, Book of Hours; they have been reprinted many times. In 1648, by order of the tsar, Smotrytsky's Grammar was published.
But along with the distribution of books, the persecution of buffoons and folk customs coming from paganism began. Folk musical instruments were confiscated, playing the balalaika was banned, masquerade masks, divination and even swings were highly condemned.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich had already matured and no longer needed anyone's guardianship. But the soft, sociable nature of the king needed an adviser and friend. Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod became such a "sobin", especially beloved friend for the tsar.
After the death of Patriarch Joseph, the tsar offered to take the supreme priesthood to his friend, Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, whose views Alexei fully shared. In 1652, Nikon became the Patriarch of All Russia and the closest friend and adviser to the sovereign.
Patriarch Nikon not one year carried out church reforms, which were supported by the sovereign. These innovations aroused protest among many believers; they considered corrections in liturgical books to be a betrayal of the faith of their fathers and grandfathers.
The first to openly opposed all innovations were the monks of the Solovetsky Monastery. Church turmoil spread throughout the country. Archpriest Avvakum became an ardent enemy of innovations. Among the so-called Old Believers who did not accept the changes introduced into the services by Patriarch Nikon, there were also two women from the upper class: Princess Evdokia Urusova and noblewoman Feodosia Morozova.
Patriarch Nikon The Council of the Russian Clergy in 1666 nevertheless accepted all the innovations and book corrections prepared by Patriarch Nikon. All Old Believers the church anathematized (cursed) and called them schismatics. Historians believe that in 1666 there was a split in the Russian Orthodox Church, it was split into two parts.
Patriarch Nikon, seeing the difficulties with which his reforms are going, arbitrarily left the patriarchal throne. For this, and for the “worldly” punishments of schismatics, unacceptable for the Orthodox Church, on the orders of Alexei Mikhailovich, Nikon was defrocked by the cathedral of the clergy and sent to the Ferapontov Monastery.
In 1681, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich allowed Nikon to return to the New Jerusalem Monastery, but Nikon died on the way. Subsequently, Patriarch Nikon was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Stepan Razin Peasant war led by Stepan Razin
In 1670, the Peasants' War broke out in southern Russia. The uprising was led by the Don Cossack chieftain Stepan Razin.
The object of hatred of the rebels were the boyars and officials, royal advisers and other dignitaries, not the king, but they were accused by the people of all the troubles and injustices that were happening in the state. The king was for the Cossacks the embodiment of the ideal and justice. The church anathematized Razin. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich urged the people not to join Razin, and then Razin moved to the Yaik River, took the Yaitsky town, then robbed the Persian ships.
In May 1670, he went with his army to the Volga, took the cities of Tsaritsyn, Cherny Yar, Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara. He attracted many nationalities: Chuvash, Mordovians, Tatars, Cheremis.
Under the city of Simbirsk, the army of Stepan Razin was defeated by Prince Yuri Baryatinsky, but Razin himself survived. He managed to escape to the Don, where he was extradited by Ataman Kornil Yakovlev, brought to Moscow and executed there at the Execution Ground on Red Square
The participants in the uprising were also dealt with in the most cruel way. During the interrogation, the most sophisticated tortures and executions were applied to the rebels: cutting off hands and feet, quartering, gallows, mass exile, burning the letter “B” on the face, which meant involvement in the riot.
last years of life
By 1669, the wooden Kolomna Palace of fantastic beauty was built; it was the country residence of Alexei Mikhailovich.
In the last years of his life, the king became interested in theater. By his order, a court theater was founded, which presented performances based on biblical stories.
In 1669, the tsar's wife, Maria Ilyinichna, died. Two years after the death of his wife, Alexei Mikhailovich married a second time to a young noblewoman Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, who gave birth to a son - the future Emperor Peter I and two daughters, Natalia and Theodora.
Alexei Mikhailovich outwardly looked like a very healthy man: he was white-faced and ruddy, fair-haired and blue-eyed, tall and stout. He was only 47 years old when he felt the signs of a terminal illness.
Royal wooden palace in Kolomenskoye The tsar blessed Tsarevich Fedor Alekseevich (a son from his first marriage) to the kingdom, and appointed his grandfather, Kirill Naryshkin, as the guardian of his young son Peter. Then the sovereign ordered the release of prisoners and exiles and forgiveness of all debts to the treasury. Alexei Mikhailovich died on January 29, 1676 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov - Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Russia
Years of life 1661-1682
Reigned 1676-1682
Father - Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Russia.
Mother - Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov was born in Moscow on May 30, 1661. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the question of succession to the throne arose more than once, since Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich died at the age of 16, and the second royal son Fyodor was nine years old at that time.
Still, it was Fedor who inherited the throne. This happened when he was 15 years old. The young tsar was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on June 18, 1676. But Fedor Alekseevich was no different good health, since childhood was weak and painful. He ruled the country for only six years.
Tsar Fedor Alekseevich was well educated. He knew Latin well and spoke fluent Polish, knew a little ancient Greek. The tsar was versed in painting and church music, had "great art in poetry and composed a fair amount of verse", trained in the basics of versification, he made a verse translation of the psalms for the "Psalter" by Simeon of Polotsk. His ideas about royal power were formed under the influence of one of the talented philosophers of that time, Simeon of Polotsk, who was the tutor and spiritual mentor of the prince.
After the accession of the young Fyodor Alekseevich, at first his stepmother, N.K. Naryshkina, who managed to be removed from business by the relatives of Tsar Fyodor, sent her along with her son Peter (the future Peter I) to “voluntary exile” in the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.
Boyar I.F. Miloslavsky, princes Yu.A. Dolgorukov and Ya.N. Odoevskoy were friends and relatives of the young tsar. Golitsyn. They were "educated, capable and conscientious people." It was they, who had influence on the young king, who energetically undertook to create a capable government.
Thanks to their influence, under Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the adoption of important state decisions was transferred to the Boyar Duma, the number of members of which under him increased from 66 to 99. The Tsar was also inclined to personally take part in governance.
Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov In matters of internal government of the country, Fedor Alekseevich left a mark on the history of Russia with two innovations. In 1681, a project was developed for the creation of the subsequently famous, and then the first in Moscow, Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which opened after the death of the king. Many figures of science, culture and politics came out of its walls. It was here that the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov studied in the 18th century.
Moreover, representatives of all classes were supposed to be allowed to study at the academy, and scholarships were awarded to the poor. The tsar was going to transfer the entire palace library to the Academy, and future graduates could apply for high government positions at the court.
Fedor Alekseevich ordered to build special shelters for orphans and train them different sciences and crafts. The sovereign wanted to arrange all the disabled in almshouses, which he built at his own expense.
In 1682, the Boyar Duma once and for all abolished the so-called parochialism. According to the tradition that existed in Russia, state and military people were appointed to various positions not in accordance with their merits, experience or abilities, but in accordance with localism, that is, with the place that the ancestors of the appointed person occupied in the state apparatus.
Simeon Polotsky The son of a man who once occupied a low position could never rise above the son of an official who once occupied a higher position. This state of affairs irritated and hindered many. good governance state.
At the request of Fedor Alekseevich, on January 12, 1682, the Boyar Duma abolished localism; rank books, in which "ranks" were recorded, that is, positions, were burned. Instead, all the old boyar families were rewritten into special genealogies so that their merits would not be forgotten by their descendants.
In 1678-1679, Fedor's government conducted a population census, canceled Alexei Mikhailovich's decree on non-extradition of fugitives who signed up for military service, and introduced household taxation (this immediately replenished the treasury, but strengthened the oppression of serfdom).
In 1679-1680, an attempt was made to mitigate criminal penalties in the European manner, in particular, chopping off hands for theft was abolished. Since then, the perpetrators have been exiled to Siberia with their families.
Thanks to the construction of fortifications in the south of Russia, it became possible to widely allocate nobles, who were striving to increase their land holdings, with estates and estates.
The successful Russo-Turkish War (1676-1681), which ended with the Bakhchisaray Peace Treaty, which secured the unification of the Left-Bank Ukraine with Russia, became a major foreign policy action during the time of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. Russia received Kyiv even earlier under an agreement with Poland in 1678.
During the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich, the entire Kremlin palace complex, including churches, was rebuilt. The buildings were interconnected by galleries and passages, they were decorated in a new way with carved porches.
The Kremlin was equipped with a sewerage system, a flowing pond and many hanging gardens with gazebos. Fyodor Alekseevich had his own garden, for the decoration and arrangement of which he spared no expense.
Dozens of stone buildings were built in Moscow, five-domed churches in Kotelniki and on Presnya. The sovereign issued loans from the treasury to his subjects for the construction of stone houses in Kitay-gorod and forgave many of their debts.
Fedor Alekseevich saw in the construction of beautiful stone buildings the best way to protect the capital from fires. At the same time, the tsar believed that Moscow was the face of the state and admiration for its splendor should cause respect for all of Russia among foreign ambassadors.
Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki, built during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich The personal life of the king was very unhappy. In 1680, Fyodor Mikhailovich married Agafya Semyonovna Grushetskaya, but the tsarina died in childbirth along with her newborn son Ilya.
The new marriage of the tsar was arranged by his closest adviser I. M. Yazykov. On February 14, 1682, Tsar Fyodor was married almost against his will to Marfa Matveevna Apraksina.
Two months after the wedding on April 27, 1682, the tsar, after a short illness, died in Moscow at the age of 21, leaving no heir. Fedor Alekseevich was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Ivan V Alekseevich Romanov - the senior tsar and the great sovereign of all Russia
Years of life 1666-1696
Reigned 1682-1696
Father - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar
and the great sovereign of all Russia.
Mother - Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.
The future Tsar Ivan (John) V Alekseevich was born on August 27, 1666 in Moscow. When in 1682 the elder brother of Ivan V - Tsar Fedor Alekseevich - died without leaving an heir, then 16-year-old Ivan V, as the next in seniority, was to inherit the royal crown.
But Ivan Alekseevich was a sickly person from childhood and completely incapable of governing the country. That is why the boyars and Patriarch Joachim proposed to remove him and elect his half-brother, 10-year-old Peter, the youngest son of Alexei Mikhailovich, as the next king.
Both brothers, one due to ill health, the other due to age, could not participate in the struggle for power. Instead, their relatives fought for the throne: for Ivan - his sister, Princess Sophia, and the Miloslavskys, relatives of his mother, and for Peter - the Naryshkins, relatives of the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. As a result of this struggle there was a bloody archers riot.
Streltsy regiments with their newly elected commanders were heading towards the Kremlin, followed by crowds of citizens. The streltsy, who walked in front, shouted accusations against the boyars, who allegedly poisoned Tsar Fedor and are already making an attempt on the life of Tsarevich Ivan.
The archers made a list in advance of the names of those boyars who were demanded for reprisal. They did not listen to any exhortations, and showing them alive and unharmed Ivan and Peter on the royal porch did not impress the rebels. And in front of the eyes of the princes, the archers threw the bodies of their relatives and boyars, familiar to them from birth, from the windows of the palace onto spears. Sixteen-year-old Ivan after that forever abandoned public affairs, and Peter hated the archers for life.
Then Patriarch Joachim proposed to proclaim both kings at once: Ivan - the senior king, and Peter - the junior king and appoint Princess Sofya Alekseevna, Ivan's sister, as regent (ruler) under them.
June 25, 1682 Ivan V Alekseevich and Peter I Alekseevich were married to the kingdom in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. For them, even a special throne with two seats was built, currently stored in the Armory.
Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich Although Ivan was called the elder tsar, he practically never dealt with state affairs, but only dealt with his family. Ivan V was the sovereign of Russia for 14 years, but his reign was formal. He only attended palace ceremonies and signed documents without understanding their essence. The real rulers under him were first Princess Sophia (from 1682 to 1689), and then power passed to his younger brother, Peter.
Ivan V from childhood grew up as a frail, sickly child with poor eyesight. Sister Sophia chose a bride for him, the beautiful Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova. Marrying her in 1684 had a beneficial effect on Ivan Alekseevich: he became healthier and happier.
Children of Ivan V and Praskovya Fyodorovna Saltykova: Maria, Theodosia (died in infancy), Ekaterina, Anna, Praskovya.
Of the daughters of Ivan V, Anna Ivanovna subsequently became empress (ruled in 1730-1740). His granddaughter became the ruler Anna Leopoldovna. The reigning descendant of Ivan V was also his great-grandson - Ivan VI Antonovich (formally listed as emperor from 1740 to 1741).
According to the memoirs of a contemporary of Ivan V, at the age of 27 he looked like a decrepit old man, saw very poorly and, according to one foreigner, was stricken with paralysis. “Indifferently, like a dead statue on his silver armchair under the images, Tsar Ivan sat in a monomakh hat, pulled down over his very eyes, lowered down and not looking at anyone.”
Ivan V Alekseevich died at the age of 30, on January 29, 1696 in Moscow and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Silver double throne of Tsars Ivan and Peter Alekseevich Princess Sofya Alekseevna - ruler of Russia
Years of life 1657-1704
Reigned 1682-1689
Mother - the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.
Sofia Alekseevna born September 5, 1657. She never married and had no children. Her only passion was the desire to rule.
In the autumn of 1682, Sophia, with the help of the noble militia, suppressed the streltsy movement. The further development of Russia required serious reforms. However, Sophia felt that her power was fragile, and therefore refused to innovate.
During her reign, the search for serfs was somewhat weakened, minor concessions were made to the townspeople, in the interests of the church, Sophia intensified the persecution of the Old Believers.
In 1687, the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was opened in Moscow. In 1686, Russia concluded the "Eternal Peace" with Poland. According to the agreement, Russia received Kyiv with the adjacent region “for all eternity”, but for this Russia was obliged to start a war with the Crimean Khanate, since the Crimean Tatars devastated the Commonwealth (Poland).
In 1687, Prince V.V. Golitsyn led the Russian army on a campaign against the Crimea. The troops reached a tributary of the Dnieper, at which time the Tatars set fire to the steppe, and the Russians were forced to turn back.
In 1689, Golitsyn made a second campaign against the Crimea. Russian troops reached Perekop, but they could not take it and returned ingloriously. These failures hit the prestige of the ruler Sophia hard. Many of the adherents of the princess have lost faith in her.
In August 1689 a revolution took place in Moscow. Peter came to power, and Princess Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent.
Sophia's life in the monastery was at first calm and even happy. With her lived a nurse and maids. Good food and various delicacies were sent to her from the royal kitchen. Visitors were allowed to see Sophia at any time, she could walk around the entire territory of the monastery at will. Only at the gate stood a guard of soldiers loyal to Peter.
Princess Sofia Alekseevna During Peter's stay abroad in 1698, the archers raised another uprising in order to transfer the rule of Russia back to Sophia.
The uprising of the archers ended in failure, they were defeated by troops loyal to Peter, the leaders of the rebellion were executed. Peter returned from abroad. The executions of archers were repeated.
Sophia, after a personal interrogation of Peter, was forcibly tonsured a nun under the name of Susanna. She was placed under strict surveillance. Peter ordered the execution of archers right under the windows of Sophia's cell.
Another five years lasted her imprisonment in the monastery under the vigilant supervision of the guards. Sofya Alekseevna died in 1704 in the Novodevichy Convent.
Peter I - Great Tsar, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia
Years of life 1672-1725
Reigned 1682-1725
Father - Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Russia.
Mother - the second wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.
Peter I the Great- Russian tsar (since 1682), the first Russian emperor (since 1721), an outstanding statesman, commander and diplomat, all of whose activities are connected with radical transformations and reforms in Russia aimed at eliminating the gap between Russia and European countries at the beginning of the 18th century .
Pyotr Alekseevich was born on May 30, 1672 in Moscow, and immediately bells rang joyfully throughout the capital. Different mothers and nannies were assigned to little Peter, special chambers were allocated. The best craftsmen made furniture, clothes, toys for the prince. From an early age, the boy was especially fond of toy weapons: a bow with arrows, sabers, guns.
Alexey Mikhailovich ordered an icon for Peter with the image of the Holy Trinity on one side, and the Apostle Peter on the other. The icon was made in the height of a newborn prince. Subsequently, Peter always carried it with him, believing that this icon protects him from misfortunes and brings good luck.
Peter was educated at home under the supervision of "uncle" Nikita Zotov. He lamented that by the age of 11 the prince did not do well in literacy, history and geography, captured by military "fun" first in the village of Vorobiev, then in the village of Preobrazhensky. In these "amusing" games of the king, specially created "fun" shelves(which later became the guard and the core of the Russian regular army).
Physically strong, mobile, inquisitive, Peter mastered carpentry, weapons, blacksmithing, watchmaking, printing crafts with the participation of palace masters.
The tsar knew German from early childhood, later he studied Dutch, partly English and French.
The inquisitive prince really liked books of historical content, decorated with miniatures. Especially for him, court artists created amusing notebooks with bright drawings depicting ships, weapons, battles, cities - Peter studied history from them.
After the death of the tsar's brother Fyodor Alekseevich in 1682, as a result of a compromise between the Miloslavsky and Naryshkin family clans, Peter was elevated to the Russian throne at the same time as his half-brother Ivan V - under the regency (ruling of the country) of his sister, Princess Sofya Alekseevna.
During the years of her reign, Peter lived in the village of Preobrazhensky near Moscow, where the "amusing" regiments he created were located. There he met the son of the court groom Alexander Menshikov, who became his friend and support for life, and other "young robites of a simple kind." Peter learned to appreciate not nobility and generosity, but the abilities of a person, his ingenuity and dedication.
Peter I the Great Under the guidance of the Dutchman F. Timmerman and the Russian master R. Kartsev, Peter learned shipbuilding, in 1684 he sailed on his small boat along the Yauza.
In 1689, his mother forced Peter to marry the daughter of a well-born nobleman - E. F. Lopukhina (who gave birth to his son Alexei a year later). Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina became the wife of 17-year-old Pyotr Alekseevich on January 27, 1689, but the marriage had almost no effect on him. The king did not change his habits and inclinations. Peter did not love his young wife and spent all his time with friends in the German Quarter. In the same place, in 1691, Peter met Anna Mons, the daughter of a German craftsman, who became his lover and friend.
Foreigners had a great influence on the formation of his interests. F. Ya. Lefort, I. V. Bruce And P. I. Gordon- at first, Peter's teachers in various fields, and later - his closest associates.
At the beginning of glorious days
By the beginning of the 1690s, real battles were already taking place near the village of Preobrazhensky, with the participation of tens of thousands of people. Soon, two regiments, Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky, were formed from the former "amusing" regiment.
At the same time, Peter founded the first shipyard on Lake Pereyaslavl and began building ships. Even then, the young sovereign dreamed of access to the sea, so necessary for Russia. The first Russian warship was launched in 1692.
Peter began public affairs only after the death of his mother in 1694. By this time, he had already built ships at the Arkhangelsk shipyard and sailed on them on the sea. The tsar came up with his own flag, consisting of three stripes - red, blue and white, which adorned Russian ships at the beginning of the Northern War.
In 1689, having removed his sister Sophia from power, Peter I became the de facto tsar. After the untimely death of his mother (who was only 41 years old), and in 1696 - and his co-ruler brother Ivan V, Peter I became autocrat not only in fact, but also legally.
Having barely established himself on the throne, Peter I personally participated in the Azov campaigns against Turkey in 1695-1696, which ended with the capture of Azov and the entry of the Russian army to the shores of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov.
However, trade relations with Europe could only be achieved by gaining access to the Baltic Sea and the return of the Russian lands seized by Sweden during the Time of Troubles.
Transfiguration Soldiers Under the guise of studying shipbuilding and maritime affairs, Peter I secretly traveled as one of the volunteers at the Great Embassy, and in 1697-1698 to Europe. There, under the name of Peter Mikhailov, the tsar took a full course in artillery sciences in Konigsberg and Brandenburg.
For six months he worked as a carpenter at the shipyards of Amsterdam, studying ship architecture, drawing, then he completed a theoretical course in shipbuilding in England. By his order, books, instruments, weapons were purchased for Russia in these countries, foreign craftsmen and scientists were recruited.
The Great Embassy prepared the creation of the Northern Alliance against Sweden, which finally took shape two years later - in 1699.
In the summer of 1697, Peter I negotiated with the Austrian emperor and also planned to visit Venice, but having received news of the impending uprising of the archers in Moscow (whom Princess Sophia promised to increase their salaries in the event of the overthrow of Peter I), he urgently returned to Russia.
On August 26, 1698, Peter I began a personal investigation into the case of the Streltsy rebellion and did not spare any of the rebels - 1182 people were executed. Sophia and her sister Martha were tonsured nuns.
In February 1699, Peter I ordered the disbandment of the archery regiments and the formation of regular ones - soldiers and dragoons, since "until now this state had no infantry."
Soon, Peter I signed decrees, under pain of fines and flogging, ordering men to “cut their beards”, which were considered a symbol of the Orthodox faith. The young king ordered everyone to wear European-style clothes, and for women to open their hair, previously always carefully hidden under scarves and headdresses. So Peter I prepared Russian society for fundamental changes, eliminating by his decrees the patriarchal foundations of the Russian way of life.
Since 1700, Peter I introduced a new calendar with the beginning of the new year - January 1 (instead of September 1) and the chronology from the "Christmas", which he also considered as a step in breaking obsolete customs.
In 1699, Peter I finally broke with his first wife. More than once he persuaded her to take monastic vows, but Evdokia refused. Without the consent of his wife, Peter I took her to Suzdal, to the Pokrovsky maiden monastery, where she was tonsured a nun under the name of Elena. The tsar took the eight-year-old son Alexei to himself.
North War
The first priority of Peter I was the creation of a regular army and the construction of a fleet. On November 19, 1699, the tsar issued a decree on the formation of 30 infantry regiments. But the training of soldiers did not go as fast as the king wanted.
Simultaneously with the formation of the army, all conditions were created for a powerful breakthrough in the development of industry. Approximately 40 plants and factories sprang up within a few years. Peter I aimed Russian craftsmen to adopt all the most valuable things from foreigners and do even better than theirs.
By the beginning of 1700, Russian diplomats managed to make peace with Turkey and sign agreements with Denmark and Poland. Having concluded the Constantinople peace with Turkey, Peter I switched the country's efforts to the fight against Sweden, which at that time was ruled by the 17-year-old Charles XII, who, despite his youth, was considered a talented commander.
North War 1700-1721 for Russia's access to the Baltic began with the battle of Narva. But the 40,000th untrained and ill-prepared Russian army lost this battle to the army of Charles XII. Calling the Swedes "Russian teachers", Peter I ordered reforms to be carried out that were supposed to make the Russian army combat-ready. The Russian army began to transform before our eyes, domestic artillery began to emerge.
A. D. Menshikov Alexander Danilovich Menshikov
On May 7, 1703, Peter I and Alexander Menshikov on boats made a fearless attack on two Swedish ships at the mouth of the Neva and won.
For this battle, Peter I and his favorite Menshikov received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov- the son of a groom, who sold hot pies in his childhood, rose from the royal batman to the generalissimo, received the title of His Serene Highness.
Menshikov was practically the second person in the state after Peter I, his closest associate in all state affairs. Peter I appointed Menshikov governor of all the Baltic lands conquered from the Swedes. Menshikov put a lot of effort and energy into the construction of St. Petersburg, and his merit in this is invaluable. True, for all his merits, Menshikov was also the most famous Russian embezzler.
Founding of St. Petersburg
By the middle of 1703, all the lands from the sources to the mouth of the Neva were in the hands of the Russians.
On May 16, 1703, Peter the Great founded the wooden fortress of St. Petersburg on Vesely Island, with six bastions. A small house for the sovereign was built next to it. Alexander Menshikov was appointed the first governor of the fortress.
The tsar predicted for St. Petersburg not only the role of a trading port, but a year later, in a letter to the governor, he called the city the capital, and to protect it from the sea, he ordered the construction of a sea fortress on the island of Kotlin (Kronstadt).
In the same 1703, 43 ships were built at the Olonets shipyard, and a shipyard called Admiralteyskaya was laid at the mouth of the Neva. On it, the construction of ships began in 1705, and the first ship was launched already in 1706.
The laying of the new future capital coincided with changes in the tsar's personal life: he met the laundress Marta Skavronskaya, who Menshikov inherited as a "war trophy". Marta was captured in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. The tsar soon named her Ekaterina Alekseevna, christening Martha into Orthodoxy. In 1704, she became the civil wife of Peter I, and by the end of 1705, Peter Alekseevich became the father of a son born to Catherine, Pavel.
Children of Peter I
Household affairs were very depressing to the tsar-reformer. His son Alexei showed disagreement with his father's vision of proper government. Peter I tried to influence him with persuasion, then threatened to imprison him in a monastery.
Fleeing from such a fate, in 1716 Alexei fled to Europe. Peter I declared his son a traitor, secured his return and imprisoned him in a fortress. In 1718, the tsar personally conducted his investigation, seeking the abdication of Alexei from the throne and the issuance of the names of his accomplices. The "prince's case" ended with the death sentence for Alexei.
The children of Peter I from marriage with Evdokia Lopukhina - Natalya, Pavel, Alexei, Alexander (all except Alexei died in infancy).
Children from a second marriage with Marta Skavronskaya (Ekaterina Alekseevna) - Ekaterina, Anna, Elizabeth, Natalya, Margarita, Peter, Pavel, Natalya, Peter (except Anna and Elizabeth died in infancy).
Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich Poltava victory
In 1705-1706, a wave of popular uprisings took place in Russia. People were dissatisfied with the violence of the governors, detectives and money-makers. Peter I brutally suppressed all unrest. Simultaneously with the suppression of internal unrest, the king continued to prepare for further battles with the army of the Swedish king. Peter I regularly offered peace to Sweden, which the Swedish king constantly refused.
Charles XII with his army slowly moved east, intending to eventually take Moscow. After the capture of Kyiv, it was supposed to be ruled by the Ukrainian hetman Mazepa, who went over to the side of the Swedes. Everything southern lands, according to Karl's plan, were distributed among the Turks, Crimean Tatars and other supporters of the Swedes. The Russian state, in the event of the victory of the Swedish troops, was waiting for destruction.
On July 3, 1708, near the village of Golovchina in Belarus, the Swedes attacked the Russian corps, led by Repnin. Under the onslaught of the royal army, the Russians retreated, and the Swedes entered Mogilev. The defeat at Golovchin was an excellent lesson for the Russian army. Soon the tsar drew up with his own hand the “Rules of Battle”, which dealt with the stamina, courage and mutual assistance of soldiers in battle.
Peter I followed the actions of the Swedes, studied their maneuvers, trying to lure the enemy into a trap. The Russian army went ahead of the Swedish and, on the orders of the king, ruthlessly destroyed everything in its path. Bridges and mills were destroyed, villages and grain in the fields were burned. Residents fled into the forest and took their cattle with them. The Swedes were walking on scorched, devastated land, the soldiers were starving. The Russian cavalry harassed the enemy with constant attacks.
Poltava battle The cunning Mazepa advised Charles XII to capture Poltava, which was of great strategic importance. On April 1, 1709, the Swedes stood under the walls of this fortress. The three-month siege did not bring Charles XII success. All attempts to storm the fortress were repulsed by the Poltava garrison.
On June 4, Peter I arrived at Poltava. Together with the military leaders, he developed detailed plan actions, providing for all possible changes in the course of the battle.
On June 27, the Swedish royal army was utterly defeated. The Swedish king himself could not be found, he fled with Mazepa towards the Turkish possessions. In this battle, the Swedes lost more than 11 thousand soldiers, of which 8 thousand were killed. The Swedish king, fleeing, abandoned the remnants of his army, which surrendered to the mercy of Menshikov. The army of Charles XII was practically destroyed.
Peter I after Poltava victory generously rewarded the heroes of the battles, distributed ranks, orders and lands. Soon the tsar ordered the generals to hurry up with the liberation of the entire Baltic coast from the Swedes.
Until 1720, hostilities between Sweden and Russia were sluggish, protracted. And only the naval battle at Grengam, which ended in the defeat of the Swedish military squadron, put an end to the history of the Northern War.
The long-awaited peace treaty between Russia and Sweden was signed in Nystadt on August 30, 1721. Sweden got back most of Finland, and Russia got access to the sea.
For the victory in the Northern War, on January 20, 1721, the Senate and the Holy Synod approved the new title of Tsar Peter the Great: “Father of the Fatherland, Peter the Great and Emperor of All Russia».
Having forced the Western world to recognize Russia as one of the great European powers, the emperor set about solving urgent problems in the Caucasus. The Persian campaign of Peter I in 1722-1723 secured the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku for Russia. For the first time in the history of Russia, permanent diplomatic missions and consulates were established there, and the importance of foreign trade increased.
Emperor
Emperor(from the Latin imperator - sovereign) - the title of the monarch, head of state. Initially, in ancient Rome, the word imperator denoted the supreme power: military, judicial, administrative, which was possessed by the highest consuls and dictators. From the time of the Roman emperor Augustus and his successors, the title of emperor acquired a monarchical character.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the title of emperor was preserved in the East - in Byzantium. Subsequently, in the West, it was restored by Emperor Charlemagne, then by the German King Otto I. Later, this title was taken by the monarchs of some other states. In Russia, Peter the Great was proclaimed the first emperor - that's how they began to call him now.
Coronation
With the adoption of the title "Emperor of All Russia" by Peter I, the wedding ceremony for the kingdom was replaced by a coronation, which led to changes both in the church ceremony and in the composition of the regalia.
Coronation - rite of entry into the kingdom.
For the first time, the coronation ceremony was performed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on May 7, 1724, Emperor Peter I crowned his wife Catherine the Empress. The coronation process was drawn up according to the order of the wedding to the kingdom of Fedor Alekseevich, but with some changes: Peter I personally placed the imperial crown on his wife.
The first Russian imperial crown was made of gilded silver in the style of church wedding crowns. The Monomakh's cap was not placed at the coronation, it was carried in front of the solemn procession. During the coronation of Catherine, she was presented with a golden small power - a "globe".
Imperial crown In 1722, Peter issued a decree on succession to the throne, which stated that the reigning sovereign appointed the successor to power.
Peter the Great made a will where he left the throne to his wife Catherine, but he destroyed the will in a fit of rage. (The sovereign was informed about the betrayal of his wife with the chamber junker Mons.) For a long time, Peter I could not forgive the empress for this misconduct, and he did not have time to write a new will.
Fundamental reforms
Peter's decrees of 1715-1718 dealt with all aspects of the life of the state: tanning, workshops uniting craftsmen, the creation of manufactories, the construction of new weapons factories, the development of agriculture, and much more.
Peter the Great radically rebuilt the entire system of state administration. Instead of the Boyar Duma, the Near Office was established, consisting of 8 proxies of the sovereign. Then, on its basis, Peter I established the Senate.
The Senate existed at first as a temporary body of government in the event of the absence of the king. But soon it became permanent. The Senate had judicial, administrative and sometimes legislative power. The composition of the Senate changed according to the decision of the king.
All of Russia was divided into 8 provinces: Siberian, Azov, Kazan, Smolensk, Kiev, Arkhangelsk, Moscow and Ingermanland (Petersburg). 10 years after the formation of the provinces, the sovereign decided to break up the provinces and divided the country into 50 provinces headed by governors. provinces survived, but there are already 11 of them.
Over the course of more than 35 years of his reign, Peter the Great managed to carry out a huge number of reforms in the field of culture and education. Their main result was the emergence of secular schools in Russia and the elimination of the monopoly of the clergy on education. Peter the Great founded and opened: the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (1701), the Medical and Surgical School (1707) - the future Military Medical Academy, the Naval Academy (1715), the Engineering and Artillery Schools (1719).
In 1719, the first museum in Russian history began to operate - Kunstkamera with the public library. Primers, educational maps were published, and in general, a systematic study of the country's geography and cartography was laid.
The spread of literacy was facilitated by the reform of the alphabet (replacement of cursive writing with civil type in 1708), the release of the first Russian printed newspapers "Vedomosti"(since 1703).
Holy Synod- This is also an innovation of Peter, created as a result of his church reform. The emperor decided to deprive the church of its own funds. By his decree of December 16, 1700, the Patriarchal order was dissolved. The church no longer had the right to dispose of its property, all funds now went to the state treasury. In 1721, Peter I abolished the dignity of the Russian patriarch, replacing it with the Holy Synod, which included representatives of the highest clergy of Russia.
In the era of Peter the Great, many buildings were erected for state and cultural institutions, an architectural ensemble Peterhof(Petrodvorets). Fortresses were built Kronstadt, Peter-Pavel's Fortress, the planned development of the Northern capital - St. Petersburg, began, which marked the beginning of urban planning and the construction of residential buildings according to standard projects.
Peter I - dentist
Tsar Peter I the Great "on the throne was an eternal worker." He knew well 14 crafts or, as they said then, "needlework", but medicine (more precisely, surgery and dentistry) was one of his main hobbies.
During his trips to Western Europe, being in Amsterdam in 1698 and 1717, Tsar Peter I visited the anatomical museum of Professor Frederick Ruysch and diligently took lessons from him in anatomy and medicine. Returning to Russia, Peter Alekseevich established in Moscow in 1699 a course of lectures on anatomy for the boyars, with a visual demonstration on corpses.
The author of The History of the Acts of Peter the Great, I. I. Golikov, wrote about this royal hobby: “He ordered himself to be notified if in the hospital ... it was necessary to dissect the body or do some kind of surgical operation, and ... rarely missed such an opportunity , so as not to be present at it, and often even helped operations. Over time, he acquired so much skill in that that he was very skillfully able to dissect the body, bleed, pull out teeth and do it with great willingness ... ".
Peter I everywhere and always carried with him two sets of instruments: measuring and surgical. Considering himself an experienced surgeon, the king was always happy to help, as soon as he noticed some kind of illness in his entourage. And by the end of his life, Peter had a weighty bag in which 72 teeth he personally pulled out were stored.
I must say that the king's passion for pulling out other people's teeth was very unpleasant for his entourage. Because it happened that he tore not only sick, but also healthy teeth.
One of the associates of Peter I wrote in his diary in 1724 that Peter's niece "is in great fear that the emperor will soon take up her sore leg: it is known that he considers himself a great surgeon and willingly undertakes all kinds of operations on the sick" .
Today we cannot judge the degree of surgical skill of Peter I, it could only be assessed by the patient himself, and even then not always. After all, it happened that the operation that Peter did ended in the death of the patient. Then the king, with no less enthusiasm and knowledge of the matter, began to dissect (cut) the corpse.
We must give him his due: Peter was a good connoisseur of anatomy, in his free time from state affairs he liked to carve anatomical models of the human eye and ear from ivory.
Today, the teeth pulled out by Peter I and the instruments with which he performed surgical operations (without anesthetics) can be seen in the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera.
Last year of life
The turbulent and difficult life of the great reformer could not but affect the health of the emperor, who by the age of 50 had earned many illnesses. Most of all, he was plagued by kidney disease.
In the last year of his life, Peter I went to mineral waters for treatment, but during the treatment he still did hard physical work. In June 1724, at the Ugodsky factories, he personally forged several strips of iron, in August he was present at the descent of the frigate, then went on a long journey along the route: Shlisselburg - Olonetsk - Novgorod - Staraya Russa - Ladoga Canal.
Returning home, Peter I learned terrible news for him: his wife Catherine cheated on him with 30-year-old Willy Mons, the brother of the former favorite of the emperor, Anna Mons.
It was difficult to prove his wife's infidelity, so Willy Mons was accused of bribery and embezzlement. According to the verdict of the court, he was beheaded. Catherine only hinted to Peter I about pardon, when, in great anger, the emperor broke a finely crafted mirror in an expensive frame and said: “This is the most beautiful decoration of my palace. I want it and I will destroy it!” Then Peter I subjected his wife to a severe test - he took her to see the severed head of Mons.
Soon his kidney disease worsened. Most recent months Peter I spent his life in bed in terrible agony. At times, the disease receded, then he got up and left the bedroom. At the end of October 1724, Peter I even took part in extinguishing a fire on Vasilyevsky Island, and on November 5 he looked at the wedding of a German baker, where he spent several hours watching a foreign wedding ceremony and German dances. In the same November, the tsar participated in the betrothal of his daughter Anna and the Duke of Holstein.
Overcoming the pain, the emperor drafted and edited decrees and instructions. Three weeks before his death, Peter I was busy compiling instructions to the leader of the Kamchatka expedition, Vitus Bering.
Peter-Pavel's Fortress In mid-January 1725, attacks of renal colic became more frequent. According to contemporaries, for several days Peter I shouted so loudly that it was heard far around. Then the pain became so intense that the king only moaned muffledly, biting the pillow. Peter I died on January 28, 1725 in terrible agony. His body remained unburied for forty days. All the while, his wife Catherine (soon to be proclaimed empress) wept twice a day over the body of her beloved husband.
Peter the Great is buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, founded by him.
Romanovs - boyar family,
since 1613 - royal,
since 1721 - the imperial dynasty in Russia, which ruled until March 1917
The ancestor of the Romanovs is Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla.
ANDREY IVANOVICH KOBYLA
FEDOR CAT
IVAN FYODOROVICH KOSHKIN
ZAHARY IVANOVICH KOSHKIN
YURI ZAKHARIEVICH KOSHKIN-ZAKHARIEV
ROMAN YURIEVICH ZAKHARYIN-YURYEV
FYODOR NIKITICH ROMANOV
MICHAEL III FYODOROVICH
ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH
FYODOR ALEKSEEVICH
JOHN V ALEKSEEVICH
PETER I ALEKSEEVICH
EKATERINA I ALEKSEEVNA
PETER II ALEKSEEVICH
ANNA IOANNOVNA
JOHN VI ANTONOVICH
ELIZAVETA PETROVNA
PETER III FEDOROVICH
EKATERINA II ALEKSEEVNA
PAVEL I PETROVICH
ALEXANDER I PAVLOVICH
NICHOLAS I PAVLOVICH
ALEXANDER II NIKOLAEVICH
ALEXANDER III ALEKSANDROVICH
NICHOLAS II ALEKSANDROVICH
NICHOLAS III ALEKSEEVICH
ANDREY IVANOVICH KOBYLA
Boyar of the Grand Duke of Moscow John I Kalita and his son Simeon the Proud. It is mentioned only once in the annals: in 1347 he was sent with the boyar Alexei Rozolov to Tver for a bride for the Grand Duke of Moscow Simeon the Proud Princess Mary. According to the pedigree lists, he had five sons. According to Copenhausen, he was the only son of Glanda-Kambila Divonovich, Prince of Prussia, who went with him to Russia in the last quarter of the 13th century. and received St. baptism with the name Ivan in 1287
FEDOR CAT
The direct ancestor of the Romanovs and the noble families of the Sheremetevs (later counts). He was a boyar of the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy and his heir. During Dmitry Donskoy's campaign against Mamai (1380), Moscow and the sovereign's family were left in his care. He was governor of Novgorod (1393).
In the first generation, Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla and his sons were called Kobylins. Fyodor Andreevich Koshka, his son Ivan and the son of the latter Zakhary - Koshkins.
The descendants of Zakharia were called the Koshkins-Zakharyins, and then they dropped the nickname Koshkins and became known as the Zakharyins-Yuryevs. The children of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Yuryev began to be called the Zakharyins-Romanovs, and the descendants of Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Romanov became simply the Romanovs.
IVAN FYODOROVICH KOSHKIN (died after 1425)
Moscow boyar, eldest son of Fyodor Koshka. He was close to Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy and especially to his son, Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich (1389-1425).
ZAKHARI IVANOVICH KOSHKIN (died c. 1461)
Moscow boyar, eldest son of Ivan Koshka, fourth son of the previous one. Mentioned in 1433, when he was at the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark. Member of the war with the Lithuanians (1445)
YURI ZAKHARIEVICH KOSHKIN-ZAKHARIEV (died 1504)
Moscow boyar, second son of Zakhary Koshkin, grandfather of Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Romanov and the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible, Tsarina Anastasia. In 1485 and 1499 participated in campaigns against Kazan. In 1488 he was governor in Novgorod. In 1500 he commanded the Moscow army sent against Lithuania and took Dorogobuzh.
ROMAN YURIEVICH ZAKHARYIN-YURYEV (died 1543)
Okolnichiy, was governor in the campaign of 1531. He had several sons and a daughter, Anastasia, who in 1547 became the wife of Tsar John IV Vasilyevich the Terrible. From that time on, the rise of the Zakharyin family began. Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Romanov (d. 1587) - grandfather of the first tsar from the Romanov family, Mikhail Fedorovich, boyar (1562), participant in the Swedish campaign of 1551, active participant Livonian War. After the death of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, as the closest relative - the uncle of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, he headed the regency council (until the end of 1584). He accepted monasticism with the estate of Nifont.
FYODOR NIKITICH ROMANOV (1553-1633)
In monasticism Filaret, Russian politician, patriarch (1619), father of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty.
MICHAEL III FYODOROVICH (07/12/1596 - 02/13/1645)
Tsar, Grand Duke of All Russia. The son of the boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, Patriarch Filaret, from marriage with Xenia Ivanovna Shestova (monastic Martha). He was elected to the kingdom on February 21, took the throne on March 14 and was married to the kingdom on July 11, 1613.
Mikhail Fedorovich, together with his parents, fell into disgrace under Boris Godunov and in June 1601 was exiled with his aunts to Beloozero, where he lived until the end of 1602. In 1603 he was transferred to the city of Klin, Kostroma province. Under False Dmitry I, he lived with his mother in Rostov, from 1608 with the rank of steward. He was a prisoner of the Poles in the Kremlin besieged by the Russians.
Weak as a person and in poor health, Mikhail Fedorovich could not independently manage the state; initially it was led by the mother - nun Marfa - and her relatives Saltykov, then from 1619 to 1633 by the father - Patriarch Filaret.
In February 1617, a peace treaty between Russia and Sweden was concluded. In 1618, the Deulino truce was concluded with Poland. In 1621, Mikhail Fedorovich issued the Charter of Military Affairs; in 1628 he organized the first Nitsinsky in Russia (Turin district of the Tobolsk province). In 1629, an employment contract was concluded with France. In 1632, Mikhail Fedorovich resumed the war with Poland and was successful; in 1632 he formed the order of the Gathering of military and sufficient people. In 1634 the war with Poland ended. In 1637, he indicated that criminals should be branded and that pregnant criminals should not be executed until six weeks after giving birth. A 10-year term was set for the investigation of fugitive peasants. The number of orders was increased, the number of clerks and their importance increased. Intensive construction of serif lines against the Crimean Tatars was carried out. There was a further development of Siberia.
Tsar Michael was married twice: 1) to Princess Maria Vladimirovna Dolgoruky; 2) on Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva. From the first marriage there were no children, and from the second there were 3 sons, including the future Tsar Alexei and seven daughters.
ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH (03/19/1629 - 01/29/1676)
Tsar since July 13, 1645, son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva. He ascended the throne after the death of his father. He was crowned 28 September 1646.
Frightened by the Moscow turmoil on May 25, 1648, he ordered to collect a new Code on the indefinite search for fugitive peasants, etc., which he promulgated on January 29, 1649. On July 25, 1652, he elevated the famous Nikon to patriarch. On January 8, 1654, he took the oath of allegiance to Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky (reunification of Ukraine with Russia), which was involved in the war with Poland, which he brilliantly completed in 1655, receiving the titles of sovereign of Polotsk and Mstislav, Grand Duke of Lithuania, White Russia, Volyn and Podsky. Not so happy ended the campaign against the Swedes in Livonia in 1656. In 1658, Alexei Mikhailovich broke up with Patriarch Nikon, on December 12, 1667, the cathedral in Moscow deposed him.
Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the development of Siberia continued, where new cities were founded: Nerchinsk (1658), Irkutsk (1659), Selenginsk (1666).
Alexei Mikhailovich persistently developed and put into practice the idea of unlimited royal power. The convocations of Zemsky Sobors are gradually being discontinued.
Alexei Mikhailovich died in Moscow on January 29, 1676. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was married twice: 1) to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. From this marriage, Alexei Mikhailovich had 13 children, including the future tsars Fedor and John V and the ruler Sophia. 2) on Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. In this marriage, three children were born, including the future tsar, and then Emperor Peter I the Great.
FYODOR ALEKSEEVICH (30.05.1661-27.04.1682)
Tsar from January 30, 1676, son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his first wife, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Crowned 18 June 1676
Fedor Alekseevich was a well-educated person, knew Polish and latin languages. He became one of the founders of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, was fond of music.
Weak and sickly by nature, Fedor Alekseevich easily succumbed to influences.
The government of Fyodor Alekseevich carried out a number of reforms: in 1678 a general census was carried out; in 1679, household taxation was introduced, which increased the tax burden; in 1682 localism was destroyed and in connection with this, category books were burned. Thus, an end was put to the dangerous custom of the boyars and nobles, to be considered the merits of their ancestors when occupying a position. Genealogical books were introduced.
In foreign policy the first place was occupied by the issue of Ukraine, namely the struggle between Doroshenko and Samoylovich, which caused the so-called Chigirinsky campaigns.
In 1681, between Moscow, Turkey and the Crimea, the entire Zadneprovie, which was devastated at that time, was concluded.
On July 14, 1681, the wife of Fyodor Alekseevich, Tsarina Agafya, died along with the newborn Tsarevich Ilya. On February 14, 1682, the tsar married a second time to Maria Matveevna Apraksina. On April 27, Fedor Alekseevich died without leaving children.
JOHN V ALEKSEEVICH (08/27/1666 - 01/29/1696)
The son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.
After the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1682), the party of the Naryshkins, relatives of the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, achieved the proclamation of the younger brother of John, Peter, as king, which was a violation of the right of succession to the throne by seniority, adopted in the Muscovite state.
However, the archers, influenced by rumors that the Naryshkins had strangled Ivan Alekseevich, raised an uprising on May 23. Despite the fact that Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna brought Tsar Peter I and Tsarevich John to the Red Porch to show the people, the archers, incited by the Miloslavskys, defeated the Naryshkin party and demanded the proclamation of John Alekseevich on the throne. The council of the clergy and higher ranks decided to allow dual power, and John Alekseevich was also proclaimed king. On May 26, the Duma declared John Alekseevich the first, and Peter the second king, and in connection with the infancy of the kings, their elder sister Sophia was proclaimed ruler.
On June 25, 1682, the wedding of Tsars John V and Peter I Alekseevich took place. After 1689 (the imprisonment of the ruler Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent) and until his death, John Alekseevich was considered an equal tsar. However, in fact, John V did not participate in the affairs of government and remained "in unceasing prayer and firm fasting."
In 1684, John Alekseevich married Praskovya Fyodorovna Saltykova. Four daughters were born from this marriage, including Empress Anna Ioannovna and Ekaterina Ioannovna, whose grandson ascended the throne in 1740 under the name of John Antonovich.
At the age of 27, Ioann Alekseevich was paralyzed and could not see well. On January 29, 1696, he died suddenly. After his death, Peter Alekseevich remained the sole tsar. There was no more case in Russia of the simultaneous reign of two tsars.
PETER I ALEKSEEVICH (30.05.1672-28.01.1725)
Tsar (April 27, 1682), emperor (since October 22, 1721), statesman, commander and diplomat. The son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.
After the death of his childless brother, Tsar Fyodor III, Peter I was elected tsar through the efforts of Patriarch Joachim on April 27, 1682, bypassing his elder brother John. "younger" king under the ruler Sophia.
Until 1689, Pyotr Alekseevich lived with his mother in the village of Preobrazhensky near Moscow, where in 1683 he started “amusing” regiments (the future Preobrazhensky and Semenov regiments). In 1688, Peter I began to study mathematics and fortification with the Dutchman Franz Timmermann. In August 1689, having received news that Sophia was preparing a palace coup, Peter Alekseevich, together with his loyal troops, surrounded Moscow. Sophia was removed from power and imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. After the death of Ivan Alekseevich, Peter I became the sovereign tsar.
Peter I created a clear state structure: the peasantry serves the nobility, being in a state of its full ownership. The nobility, financially provided by the state, serves the monarch. The monarch, relying on the nobility, serves public interest generally. And the peasant presented his service to the nobleman - the landowner as an indirect service to the state.
The reforming activity of Peter I proceeded in a sharp struggle with the reactionary opposition. In 1698, the rebellion of the Moscow archers in favor of Sophia was brutally suppressed (1182 people were executed), and in February 1699 the Moscow archery regiments were disbanded. Sophia was tonsured a nun. In a disguised form, resistance to the opposition continued until 1718 (the conspiracy of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich).
The transformations of Peter I affected all spheres of public life, contributed to the growth of the trading and manufacturing bourgeoisie. The Decree on Uniform Succession of 1714 equalized estates and estates, giving their owners the right to transfer real estate to one of their sons.
The “Table of Ranks” of 1722 established the order of rank production in the military and civil service not by nobility, but by personal abilities and merit.
Under Peter I arose a large number of manufactories and mining enterprises, the development of new iron ore deposits and the extraction of non-ferrous metals began.
The reforms of the state apparatus under Peter I were an important step towards the transformation of the Russian autocracy in the 17th century. into the bureaucratic-noble monarchy of the 18th century. The place of the Boyar Duma was taken by the Senate (1711), collegiums were established instead of orders (1718), the control apparatus began to be represented by prosecutors headed by the prosecutor general. Instead of the patriarchate, the Spiritual College, or Holy Synod, was established. The Secret Chancellery was in charge of political investigation.
In 1708-1709. provinces were established instead of counties and voivodeships. In 1703, Peter I founded a new city, calling it St. Petersburg, which in 1712 became the capital of the state. In 1721, Russia was proclaimed an Empire, and Peter became emperor.
In 1695, Peter's campaign against Azov ended in failure, but on July 18, 1696, Azov was taken. On March 10, 1699, Peter Alekseevich established the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. On November 19, 1700, the troops of Peter I were defeated near Narva by the Swedish king Charles XII. In 1702, Pyotr Alekseevich began to beat the Swedes and on October 11 took Noteburg by storm. In 1704, Peter I captured Derpt, Narva and Ivan-gorod. On June 27, 1709, Charles XII was defeated near Poltava. Peter I beat the Swedes in Schlesving and began the conquest of Finland in 1713, on July 27, 1714 he won a brilliant naval victory over the Swedes at Cape Gangud. The Persian campaign undertaken by Peter I in 1722-1723. secured for Russia the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku.
Peter founded the Pushkar School (1699), the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (1701), the School of Medicine and Surgery, the Naval Academy (1715), the Engineering and Artillery Schools (1719), and the first Russian museum, the Kunstkamera, was opened (1719). Since 1703, the first Russian printed newspaper, Vedomosti, has been published. In 1724 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was founded. Expeditions were carried out to Central Asia, the Far East, Siberia. In the era of Peter the Great, fortresses were built (Kronstadt, Petropavlovskaya). It was the beginning of the planning of cities.
Peter I knew German from a young age, and then independently studied Dutch, English and French. In 1688-1693. Pyotr Alekseevich learned to build ships. In 1697-1698. in Koenigsberg, he completed a full course in artillery sciences, worked for six months as a carpenter at the shipyards of Amsterdam. Peter knew fourteen crafts, was fond of surgery.
In 1724, Peter I was very ill, but continued to lead an active lifestyle, which hastened his death. Pyotr Alekseevich died on January 28, 1725.
Peter I was married twice: first marriage - to Evdokia Feodorovna Lopukhina, from whom he had 3 sons, including Tsarevich Alexei, who was executed in 1718, two others died in infancy; second marriage - to Marta Skavronskaya (in baptism Ekaterina Alekseevna - the future Empress Catherine I), from whom he had 9 children. Most of them, with the exception of Anna and Elizabeth (later Empress) died young.
EKATERINA I ALEKSEEVNA (04/05/1684 - 05/06/1727)
Empress since January 28, 1725. She ascended the throne after the death of her husband, Emperor Peter I. She was declared queen on March 6, 1721, crowned on May 7, 1724.
Ekaterina Alekseevna was born in the family of a Lithuanian peasant Samuil Skavronsky, before the adoption of Orthodoxy she bore the name Marta. She lived in Marienburg in the service of superintendent Gmok, was captured by the Russians during the capture of Marienburg by Field Marshal Sheremetyev on August 25, 1702. A.D. took her away from Sheremetyev. Menshikov. In 1703, Peter I saw her and took her away from Menshikov. Since then, Peter I did not part with Martha (Catherine) until the end of his life.
Peter and Catherine had 3 sons and 6 daughters, almost all of them died in early childhood. Only two daughters survived - Anna (born 1708) and Elizabeth (born 1709). The church marriage of Peter I with Catherine was registered only on February 19, 1712, thus, both daughters were considered illegitimate.
In 1716 - 1718. Ekaterina Alekseevna accompanied her husband on a trip abroad; followed with him to Astrakhan in the Persian campaign of 1722. Having entered, after the death of Emperor Peter I, she established the Order of St. on May 21, 1725. Alexander Nevsky. On October 12, 1725, she sent the embassy of Count Vladislavich to China.
During the reign of Catherine I, according to the plans of Peter I the Great, the following was done:
A sea expedition of Captain-Commander Vitus Bering was sent to resolve the issue of whether Asia is connected to North America by an isthmus;
The Academy of Sciences was opened, the plan of which was promulgated by Peter I as early as 1724;
By virtue of direct instructions found in the papers of Peter I, it was decided to continue compiling the Code;
A detailed explanation of the real estate inheritance law has been published;
It is forbidden to take monastic vows without a synodal decree;
A few days before her death, Catherine I signed a will on the transfer of the throne to the grandson of Peter I - Peter II.
Catherine I died in St. Petersburg on May 6, 1727. She was buried with the body of Peter I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on May 21, 1731.
PETER II ALEKSEEVICH (10/12/1715 - 01/18/1730)
Emperor since May 7, 1727, crowned on February 25, 1728. Son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Princess Charlotte-Christine-Sophia of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel: grandson of Peter I and Evdokia Lopukhina. He ascended the throne after the death of Empress Catherine I according to her will.
Little Peter lost his mother at the age of 10 days. Peter I paid little attention to the upbringing of his grandson, making it clear that he did not want this child to ever ascend the throne and issue a Decree by which the emperor could choose his own successor. As you know, the emperor could not use this right, and his wife, Catherine I, ascended the throne, and she, in turn, signed a will on the transfer of the throne to the grandson of Peter I.
On May 25, 1727, Peter II became engaged to the daughter of Prince Menshikov. Immediately after the death of Catherine I, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov moved the young emperor to his palace, and on May 25, 1727, Peter II was betrothed to the prince's daughter, Maria Menshikova. But the communication of the young emperor with the princes Dolgoruky, who managed to attract Peter II to their side with the temptations of balls, hunts and other pleasures, which was forbidden by Menshikov, greatly weakened the influence of Alexander Danilovich. And already on September 9, 1727, Prince Menshikov, deprived of his ranks, was exiled with his whole family to Ranienburg (Ryazan province). On April 16, 1728, Peter II signed a decree on the exile of Menshikov with his entire family to Berezov (Tobolsk province). On November 30, 1729, Peter II became engaged to the beautiful Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, the sister of his favorite, Prince Ivan Dolgoruky. The wedding was scheduled for January 19, 1730, but on January 6 he caught a bad cold, the next day smallpox opened and on January 19, 1730, Peter II died.
It is impossible to talk about the independent activity of Peter II, who died at the age of 16; he was constantly under some influence or another. After Menshikov's exile, Peter II, under the influence of the old boyar aristocracy, headed by Dolgoruky, declared himself an opponent of the transformations of Peter I. The institutions created by his grandfather were destroyed.
With the death of Peter II, the Romanov family came to an end in the male line.
ANNA IOANNOVNA (01/28/1693 - 10/17/1740)
Empress from January 19, 1730, daughter of Tsar John V Alekseevich and Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova. She declared herself autocratic empress on February 25, and was crowned on April 28, 1730.
Princess Anna did not receive the necessary education and upbringing, she forever remained illiterate. Peter I married her to the Duke of Courland Friedrich-Wilhelm on October 31, 1710, but on January 9, 1711, Anna became a widow. During her stay in Courland (1711-1730), Anna Ioannovna lived mainly in Mittava. In 1727, she became close to E.I. Biron, with whom she did not part until the end of her life.
Immediately after the death of Peter II, the members of the Supreme Privy Council, when deciding on the transfer of the Russian throne, opted for the widowed Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, subject to the restriction of autocratic power. Anna Ioannovna accepted these proposals (“conditions”), but already on March 4, 1730, she broke the “conditions” and destroyed the Supreme Privy Council.
In 1730, Anna Ioannovna established the regiments of the Life Guards: Izmailovsky - on September 22 and Horse - on December 30. Under her military service was limited to 25 years. By a decree of March 17, 1731, the law on single inheritance (mayorats) was abolished. On April 6, 1731, Anna Ioannovna renewed the terrible order of the Transfiguration (“word and deed”).
During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the Russian army fought in Poland, waged war with Turkey, devastating the Crimea during 1736-1739.
Extraordinary luxury of the court, huge expenses for the army and navy, gifts for the relatives of the empress, etc. placed a heavy burden on the country's economy.
The internal situation of the state in the last years of the reign of Anna Ioannovna was difficult. The exhausting campaigns of 1733-1739, the cruel rule and abuses of the favorite of the Empress Ernest Biron had a harmful effect on the national economy, and cases of peasant uprisings became more frequent.
Anna Ioannovna died on October 17, 1740, appointing as her successor the young John Antonovich, the son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna, and Biron, Duke of Courland, as regent until he came of age.
JOHN VI ANTONOVICH (08/12/1740 - 07/04/1764)
Emperor from October 17, 1740 to November 25, 1741, son of Empress Anna Ioannovna's niece, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg and Prince Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Luxembourg. He was elevated to the throne after the death of his great-aunt, Empress Anna Ioannovna.
By the manifesto of Anna Ioannovna of October 5, 1740, he was declared heir to the throne. Shortly before her death, Anna Ioannovna signed a manifesto, by which, until John came of age, her favorite Duke Biron was appointed regent under him.
After the death of Anna Ioannovna, her niece Anna Leopoldovna, on the night of November 8-9, 1740, made a palace coup and proclaimed herself the ruler of the state. Biron was sent into exile.
A year later, also on the night of November 24-25, 1741, Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna (daughter of Peter I), together with part of the officers and soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment devoted to her, arrested the ruler in the palace with her husband and children, including Emperor John VI. For 3 years, the deposed emperor, along with his family, was transported from fortress to fortress. In 1744, the whole family was transferred to Kholmogory, but the deposed emperor was kept separately. Here John stayed all alone for about 12 years under the supervision of Major Miller. Fearing a conspiracy, in 1756 Elizabeth ordered John to be secretly transported to Shlisselburg. In the Shlisselburg fortress, John was kept in complete solitude. Only three security officers knew who he was.
In July 1764 (during the reign of Catherine II), Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, a lieutenant of the Smolensk Infantry Regiment, attempted to release the tsar's prisoner in order to carry out a coup. During this attempt, John Antonovich was killed. On September 15, 1764, Lieutenant Mirovich was beheaded.
ELIZAVETA PETROVNA (12/18/1709 - 12/25/1761)
Empress from November 25, 1741, daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. She ascended the throne, overthrowing the infant emperor John VI Antonovich. Crowned 25 April 1742
Elizabeth Petrovna was intended as a bride for Louis XV, King of France as early as 1719, but the engagement did not take place. Then she was engaged to Prince Karl-August of Holstein, but he died on May 7, 1727. Shortly after accession to the throne, she declared her nephew (the son of her sister Anna) Karl-Peter-Ulrich, Duke of Holstein, who adopted the name Peter in Orthodoxy (the future Peter III Fedorovich).
During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1743, the war with the Swedes ended, which had lasted for many years. On January 12, 1755, a university was founded in Moscow. In 1756-1763. Russia took a successful part in the Seven Years' War, caused by the clash of aggressive Prussia with the interests of Austria, France and Russia. During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, not a single death penalty was committed in Russia. Elizaveta Petrovna signed the decree on the abolition of the death penalty on May 7, 1744.
PETER III FEDOROVICH (02/10/1728 - 07/06/1762)
From December 25, 1761, until the adoption of Orthodoxy, the emperor was named Karl-Peter-Ulrich, son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl-Friedrich and Princess Anna, daughter of Peter I.
Pyotr Fedorovich lost his mother at the age of 3 months, his father - at 11 years old. In December 1741 he was invited by his aunt Elizaveta Petrovna to Russia, on November 15, 1742 he was declared heir to the Russian throne. On August 21, 1745, he married Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Empress Catherine II.
Peter III, while still heir to the throne, repeatedly declared himself an enthusiastic admirer of the Prussian King Frederick II. Despite the adopted Orthodoxy, Pyotr Fedorovich remained a Lutheran in his soul and treated the Orthodox clergy with disdain, closed home churches, addressed insulting decrees to the Synod. In addition, he began to remake the Russian army in the Prussian way. By these actions, he stirred up against himself the clergy, the army and the guard.
In the last years of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, Russia successfully participated in the Seven Years' War against Frederick II. The Prussian army was already on the eve of capitulation, but immediately after taking the throne, Peter III refused to participate in the Seven Years' War, as well as from all Russian conquests in Prussia, and thereby saved the king. Frederick II promoted Peter Fedorovich to the generals of his army. Peter III accepted this rank, which caused general indignation of the nobility and the army.
All this contributed to the creation of opposition in the guard, which was headed by Catherine. She made a palace coup in St. Petersburg, taking advantage of the fact that Peter III was in Oranienbaum. Ekaterina Alekseevna, who had a mind and a strong character, with the support of the guards, got her cowardly, inconsistent and mediocre husband to sign the abdication of the Russian throne. After that, on June 28, 1762, he was taken to Ropsha, where he was kept under arrest and where he was killed (strangled) on July 6, 1762 by Count Alexei Orlov and Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky.
His body, originally buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, was reburied 34 years later at the behest of Paul I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
During the six months of the reign of Peter III, one of the few useful things for Russia was the destruction of the terrible secret office in February 1762.
Peter III from his marriage with Ekaterina Alekseevna had two children: a son, later Emperor Paul I, and a daughter, Anna, who died in infancy.
EKATERINA II ALEXEEVNA (04/21/1729 - 11/06/1796)
Since June 28, 1762, the Empress ascended the throne, overthrowing her husband, Emperor Peter III Fedorovich. Crowned 22 September 1762
Ekaterina Alekseevna (before the adoption of Orthodoxy, she bore the name Sophia-Frederick-August) was born in Stettin from the marriage of Christian-August, Duke of Anhalt-Zerbst-Benburg and Johanna Elisabeth, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp. She was invited to Russia by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna as a bride for the heir to Peter Fedorovich in 1744. On August 21, 1745 she married him, on September 20, 1754 she gave birth to the heir Pavel, and in December 1757 she gave birth to a daughter, Anna, who died in infancy.
Catherine was naturally gifted with a great mind, strong character and purposefulness - the complete opposite of her husband, a man of weak character. The marriage was not concluded for love, and therefore the relationship of the spouses did not develop.
With the accession to the throne of Peter III, Catherine's position became more complicated (Peter Fedorovich wanted to send her to a monastery), and she, taking advantage of her husband's unpopularity among the developed nobility, relying on the guards, overthrew him from the throne. Having skillfully deceived the active participants in the conspiracy - Count Panin and Princess Dashkova, who wanted to transfer the throne to Paul and appoint Catherine as regent, she declared herself the ruling empress.
The main objects of Russian foreign policy were the Black Sea steppe with the Crimea and the northern Caucasus - the areas of Turkish domination and the dominance of the Commonwealth (Poland), which included Western Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian lands. Catherine II, who showed great diplomatic skill, fought two wars with Turkey, marked by major victories for Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Potemkin and Kutuzov and the assertion of Russia in the Black Sea.
The development of regions in the south of Russia was reinforced by an active resettlement policy. Interference in the affairs of Poland ended with three sections of the Commonwealth (1772, 1793, 1795), accompanied by the transfer to Russia of part of the Western Ukrainian lands, most of Belarus and Lithuania. Heraclius II, king of Georgia, recognized the protectorate of Russia. Count Valerian Zubov, appointed commander-in-chief in the campaign against Persia, conquered Derbent and Baku.
Russia owes Catherine the introduction of smallpox vaccination. On October 26, 1768, Catherine II, the first in the empire, vaccinated herself against smallpox, and a week later her son as well.
Favoritism flourished during the reign of Catherine II. If the predecessors of Catherine - Anna Ioannovna (there was one favorite - Biron) and Elizabeth (2 official favorites - Razumovsky and Shuvalov) favoritism was more of a whim, then Catherine had dozens of favorites and with her favoritism becomes something like public institution, and it cost the treasury very dearly.
The strengthening of feudal oppression and prolonged wars laid a heavy burden on the masses, and the growing peasant movement grew into a peasant war under the leadership of E.I. Pugachev (1773-1775)
In 1775, the existence of the Zaporozhian Sich was terminated, serfdom was approved in Ukraine. "Human" principles did not prevent Catherine II from exiling A.N. Radishchev for the book Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
Catherine II died on November 6, 1796. Her body was buried on December 5 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
PAVEL I PETROVICH (09/20/1754 - 03/12/1801)
Emperor since November 6, 1796. Son of Emperor Peter III and Empress Catherine II. He ascended the throne after the death of his mother. Crowned 5 April 1797
His childhood passed in unusual conditions. The palace coup, the forced abdication and the ensuing murder of his father, Peter III, as well as the seizure of power by Catherine II, bypassing the rights to the throne of Paul, left an indelible imprint on the heir's already difficult character. Paul I cooled off to others just as quickly as he became attached, began to reveal extreme pride, contempt for people and extreme irritability early, was very nervous, impressionable, suspicious and excessively quick-tempered.
On September 29, 1773, Paul married Princess Wilhelmine-Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Orthodoxy Natalya Alekseevna. She died from childbirth in April 1776. On September 26, 1776, Pavel married a second time to Princess Sophia-Dorotea-August-Louise of Württemberg, who in Orthodoxy became Maria Feodorovna. From this marriage he had 4 sons, including the future emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, and 6 daughters.
After accession to the throne on December 5, 1796, Paul I reburied the remains of his father in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, next to the body of his mother. On April 5, 1797, the coronation of Paul took place. On the same day, the Decree on the succession to the throne was promulgated, which established order in the succession to the throne - from father to eldest son.
Frightened by the great French Revolution and the incessant peasant uprisings in Russia, Paul I pursued a policy of extreme reaction. The strictest censorship was introduced, private printing houses were closed (1797), the import of foreign books was prohibited (1800), and emergency police measures were introduced to persecute advanced social thought.
In his activities, Paul I relied on favorite temporary workers Arakcheev and Kutaisov.
Paul I took part in coalition wars against France. However, the strife between the emperor and his allies, the hope of Paul I that the gains of the French revolution would be nullified by Napoleon himself, led to a rapprochement with France.
The petty captiousness of Paul I, the imbalance of character caused discontent among the courtiers. It intensified in connection with a change in the foreign policy course, which violated the established trade relations with England.
By 1801, Paul I's constant distrust and suspicion reached a particularly strong degree. He was even going to imprison his sons Alexander and Constantine in the fortress. As a result of all these reasons, a conspiracy arose against the emperor. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, Paul I fell victim to this conspiracy in the Mikhailovsky Palace.
ALEXANDER I PAVLOVICH (12/12/1777 - 11/19/1825)
Emperor since March 12, 1801 Eldest son of Emperor Paul I and his second wife Maria Feodorovna. Crowned 15 September 1801
Alexander I ascended the throne after the assassination of his father as a result of a palace conspiracy, the existence of which he knew and agreed to the removal of Paul I from the throne.
The first half of the reign of Alexander I passed under the sign of moderate liberal reforms: granting merchants, burghers and state settlers the right to receive uninhabited lands, issuing a Decree on free cultivators, establishing ministries, State Council, the opening of St. Petersburg, Kharkov and Kazan universities, the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, etc.
Alexander I repealed a number of laws introduced by his father: he announced a broad amnesty for exiles, freed prisoners, returned their positions and rights to the disgraced, restored the election of leaders of the nobility, freed priests from corporal punishment, and abolished the restrictions on civilian clothing introduced by Paul I.
In 1801, Alexander I concluded peace treaties with England and France. In 1805-1807. he participated in the 3rd and 4th coalition against Napoleonic France. The defeat at Austerlitz (1805) and Friedland (1807), England's refusal to subsidize the military expenses of the coalition led to the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 with France, which, however, did not prevent a new Russian-French clash. The successfully completed wars with Turkey (1806-1812) and Sweden (1808-1809) strengthened Russia's international position. In the reign of Alexander I, Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812) and Azerbaijan (1813) were annexed to Russia.
At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, under pressure from public opinion, the tsar appointed M.I. Kutuzov. In 1813 - 1814. the emperor led the anti-French coalition of European powers. On March 31, 1814, he entered Paris at the head of the allied armies. Alexander I was one of the organizers and leaders of the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and the Holy Alliance (1815), and a constant participant in all its congresses.
In 1821, Alexander I became aware of the existence of a secret society, the Union of Welfare. The king did not react to this. He said: "It is not for me to punish them."
Alexander I died suddenly in Taganrog on November 19, 1825. His body was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on March 13, 1826. Alexander I was married to Princess Louise-Maria-Augusta of Baden-Baden (in Orthodoxy, Elizaveta Alekseevna), from whose marriage he had two daughters who died in infancy.
NICHOLAS I PAVLOVICH (06/25/1796 - 02/18/1855)
Emperor since December 14, 1825. The third son of Emperor Paul I and his second wife Maria Feodorovna. He was crowned in Moscow on August 22, 1826 and in Warsaw on May 12, 1829.
Nicholas I came to the throne after the death of his elder brother Alexander I and in connection with the renunciation of the throne by the second brother of the Tsarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin. He brutally suppressed the uprising on December 14, 1825, and the first action of the new emperor was the massacre of the rebels. Nicholas I executed 5 people, sent 120 people to hard labor and exile, and punished soldiers and sailors with gauntlets, then sent them to remote garrisons.
The reign of Nicholas I is the period of the highest flowering of absolute monarchy.
In an effort to strengthen the existing political system and distrusting the bureaucracy, Nicholas I significantly expanded the functions of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery, which controlled all the main branches of government and replaced the highest state bodies. Of greatest importance was the "Third Department" of this office - the department of the secret police. During the years of his reign, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was compiled - a code of all legislative acts that existed by 1835.
The revolutionary organizations of the Petrashevites, the Cyril and Methodius Society, and others were crushed.
Russia was entering a new stage of economic development: manufacturing and commercial councils were created, industrial exhibitions were organized, higher educational institutions, including technical ones, were opened.
In the field of foreign policy, the Eastern Question was the main one. Its essence was to ensure a favorable regime for Russia in the Black Sea waters, which was important both for the security of the southern borders and for the economic development of the state. However, with the exception of the Unkar-Iskelesi Treaty of 1833, this was decided by military action, by dividing the Ottoman Empire. This policy resulted in the Crimean War of 1853-1856.
An important aspect of the policy of Nicholas I was the return to the principles of the Holy Alliance, proclaimed in 1833 after he entered into an alliance with the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia to fight the revolution in Europe. Implementing the principles of this Union, in 1848 Nicholas I severed diplomatic relations with France, launched an invasion of the Danubian principalities, and suppressed the revolution of 1848-1849. in Hungary. He pursued a policy of vigorous expansion in Central Asia and Kazakhstan.
Nikolai Pavlovich married the daughter of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III, Princess Frederick Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina, who adopted the name Alexandra Feodorovna during the transition to Orthodoxy. They had seven children, including the future Emperor Alexander II.
ALEXANDER II NIKOLAEVICH (04/17/1818-03/01/1881)
Emperor since February 18, 1855. The eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. He ascended the throne after the death of his father. Crowned 26 August 1856
While still a Tsarevich, Alexander Nikolayevich was the first of the Romanovs to visit Siberia (1837), which resulted in a mitigation of the fate of the exiled Decembrists. In the last years of the reign of Nicholas II and during his travels, the crown prince repeatedly replaced the emperor. In 1848, during his stay at the Vienna, Berlin and other courts, he performed various important diplomatic missions.
Alexander II were carried out in 1860-1870. a number of important reforms: the abolition of serfdom, zemstvo, judicial, urban, military, etc. The most significant of these reforms was the abolition of serfdom (1861). But these reforms did not give all the results that were expected from them. An economic recession began, reaching its peak in 1880.
In the field of foreign policy, a significant place was occupied by the struggle for the abolition of the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1856 (after the defeat of Russia in the Crimea). In 1877, Alexander II, striving to strengthen Russian influence in the Balkans, began a struggle with Turkey. Assistance to the Bulgarians in liberation from the Turkish yoke brought additional territorial acquisitions of Russia - the border in Bessarabia was advanced to the confluence of the Prut with the Danube and to the Kiliya mouth of the latter. At the same time, Batum and Kars were occupied in Asia Minor.
Under Alexander II, the Caucasus was finally annexed to Russia. Under the Aigun Treaty with China, Russia withdrew Amur region(1858), and according to Peking - Ussuri (1860). In 1867 Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were sold to the USA. In the steppes of Central Asia in 1850-1860. there were constant military clashes.
In domestic politics, the decline of the revolutionary wave after the suppression Polish uprising 1863-1864 facilitated the government's transition to a reactionary course.
With his shot in the Summer Garden on April 4, 1866, Dmitry Karakozov opened an account of assassination attempts on Alexander II. Then there were several more attempts: A. Berezovsky in 1867 in Paris; A. Solovyov in April 1879; Narodnaya Volya in November 1879; S. Khalturin in February 1880 At the end of the 1870s. repressions against the revolutionaries intensified, but this did not save the emperor from martyrdom. March 1, 1881 Alexander II was killed by a bomb thrown under his feet by I. Grinevitsky.
Alexander II married in 1841 the daughter of the Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse-Darmstadt, Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Sophia-Maria (1824-1880), who in Orthodoxy took the name Maria Alexandrovna. From this marriage there were 8 children, including the future Emperor Alexander III.
After the death of his wife in 1880, Alexander II almost immediately entered into a morganatic marriage with Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, from whom he had three children during the life of the Empress. After the consecration of the marriage, his wife received the title of the Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya. Their son George and daughters Olga and Ekaterina inherited their mother's surname.
ALEXANDER III ALEKSANDROVICH (26.02.1845-20.10.1894)
Emperor since March 2, 1881 The second son of Emperor Alexander II and his wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. He ascended the throne after the murder of his father Alexander II by the Narodnaya Volya. Crowned 15 May 1883
The elder brother of Alexander III, Nicholas, died in 1865, and only after his death Alexander Alexandrovich was declared Tsarevich.
In the first months of the reign of Alexander III, the policy of his cabinet was determined by the struggle of groups within the government camp (M.T. Loris-Melikov, A.A. Abaza, D.A. Milyutin - on the one hand, K.P. Pobedonostsev - on the other). On April 29, 1881, when the weakness of the revolutionary forces was revealed, Alexander III issued a manifesto on the establishment of autocracy, which meant a transition to a reactionary course in domestic politics. However, in the first half of the 1880s. under the influence of economic development and the prevailing political situation, the government of Alexander III carried out a number of reforms (the abolition of the poll tax, the introduction of mandatory redemption, lowering redemption payments). With the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs N.I. Ignatiev (1882) and the appointment of Count D.A. Tolstoy to this post, a period of open reaction began. In the late 80s - early 90s. 19th century the so-called counter-reforms were carried out (the introduction of the institution of zemstvo chiefs, the revision of zemstvo and city regulations, etc.). During the reign of Alexander III, administrative arbitrariness increased significantly. Since the 1880s there was a gradual deterioration of Russian-German relations and rapprochement with France, which ended with the conclusion of the French-Russian alliance (1891-1893).
Alexander III died relatively young (49 years old). He suffered from nephritis for many years. The disease was aggravated by bruises received during a railway accident near Kharkov.
After the death in 1865 of his older brother, the heir to Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich received, along with the title of heir to the Tsarevich, the hand of his bride, Princess Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmara (in Orthodoxy Maria Feodorovna), daughter of the Danish King Christian IX and his wife Queen Louise. Their wedding took place in 1866. Six children were born from this marriage, including Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich.
NICHOLAS II ALEKSANDROVICH (03/06/1868 - ?)
The last Russian emperor from October 21, 1894 to March 2, 1917, the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich. Crowned 14 May 1895
The beginning of the reign of Nicholas II coincided with the beginning of the rapid growth of capitalism in Russia. In order to preserve and strengthen the power of the nobility, whose interests he remained the spokesman, the tsar pursued a policy of adaptation to the bourgeois development of the country, which manifested itself in the desire to seek ways of rapprochement with the big bourgeoisie, in an attempt to create support in the wealthy peasantry (“Stolypin agrarian reform”) and the establishment State Duma (1906).
In January 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began, which soon ended in the defeat of Russia. The war cost our state 400 thousand people killed, wounded and taken prisoner and 2.5 billion rubles in gold.
Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the Revolution of 1905-1907 sharply weakened Russia's influence on international arena. In 1914, as part of the Entente, Russia entered the First World War.
Failures at the front, huge losses in people and equipment, devastation and decay in the rear, rasputinism, ministerial leapfrog, etc. caused sharp dissatisfaction with the autocracy in all circles of Russian society. The number of strikers in Petrograd reached 200,000. The situation in the country is out of control. On March 2 (15), 1917, at 11:30 p.m., Nicholas II signed the Manifesto on the abdication and transfer of the throne to his brother Mikhail.
In June 1918, a meeting was held at which Trotsky proposed an open trial of the former Russian emperor. Lenin, on the other hand, considered that in the atmosphere of chaos that reigned at that time, this step was clearly inappropriate. Therefore, commander J. Berzin was ordered to take the imperial family under strict supervision. And the royal family survived.
This is confirmed by the fact that the heads of the diplomatic departments of Soviet Russia G. Chicherin, M. Litvinov and K. Radek during 1918-22. repeatedly offered to extradite certain members of the royal family. First, they wanted to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in this way, then on September 10, 1918 (two months after the events in the Ipatiev House), the Soviet ambassador in Berlin, Joffe, officially turned to the German Foreign Ministry with a proposal to exchange the “former queen” for K. Liebknecht, etc. .
And if the revolutionary authorities really wanted to destroy any possibility of restoring the monarchy in Russia, they would have presented the corpses to the whole world. Here, they say, make sure that there is no more king or heir, and there is no need to break spears. However, there was nothing to show. Because a performance was staged in Yekaterinburg.
And the investigation appointed in hot pursuit on the fact of the execution of the royal family came to precisely this conclusion: “an imitation of the execution of the royal family was carried out in the Ipatiev house.” However, the investigator Nametkin was immediately dismissed and killed a week later. The new investigator Sergeev came to exactly the same conclusion and was also removed. Subsequently, the third investigator, Sokolov, also died in Paris, who first gave the conclusion required of him, but then tried to publish the true results of the investigation. In addition, as you know, very soon not a single person was left alive even from those who took part in the "execution of the royal family." The house was destroyed.
But if royal family were not shot until 1922, then there was no need at all for their physical destruction. Moreover, the heir to Alexei Nikolaevich was even especially patronized. He was taken to Tibet to be treated for hemophilia, as a result of which, by the way, it turned out that his illness existed only thanks to the suspicious confidence of his mother, who had a strong psychological influence on the boy. Otherwise, of course, he would not have been able to live so long. So, we can state with complete clarity that the son of Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei, not only was not shot in 1918, but also survived until 1965 under the special patronage of the Soviet authorities. Moreover, his son Nikolai Alekseevich, who was born in 1942, was able to become a rear admiral without joining the CPSU. And then, in 1996, in compliance with the full ceremonial that is due in such cases, he was declared the Legitimate Sovereign of Russia. God protects Russia, which means that he also protects his anointed one. And if you don't believe in that yet, then you don't believe in God either.
400 years ago, Russia chose a tsar for itself. On February 21 (March 3, according to a new style), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to reign - the first representative of the dynasty that ruled Russia for more than three centuries. This event put an end to the horrors of the Time of Troubles. But what did the era of the Romanovs turn out to be for our country? ...
The roots of the genus
The Romanov clan is of ancient origin and descended from the Moscow boyar of the time of Ivan Kalita, Andrei Kobyla. The sons of Andrei Kobyla became the founders of many boyar and noble families, including the Sheremetevs, Konovnitsyns, Kolychevs, Ladygins, Yakovlevs, Boborykins, and others.
The Romanovs came from the son of Kobyla Fyodor Koshka. His descendants were first called Koshkins, then Koshkins-Zakharyins, and then Zakharyins.
Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina was the first wife of Ivan IV the Terrible. She alone knew how to pacify the temper of Ivan the Terrible, and after she was poisoned and she died at the age of 30, Grozny compared each of his next wives with Anastasia.
Anastasia's brother, boyar Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin, began to be called Romanov after his father Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Koshkin.
So, the first Russian tsar from the Romanov family, Mikhail Romanov, was the son of the boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov and the boyar Xenia Ivanovna Romanova.
Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1596-1645) - the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty.
Accession of the Romanovs: versions
Since the Romanovs, thanks to the marriage of Anastasia, were related to the Rurik dynasty, they fell into disgrace during the reign of Boris Godunov. Mikhail's father and mother were forcibly tonsured monks. He himself and all his relatives were exiled to Siberia, but were subsequently returned.
After the end of the Time of Troubles in 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich as the new sovereign. Then he was only 16 years old. In addition to him, the Polish prince Vladislav (future Vladislav IV), the Swedish prince Carl Philip, as well as representatives of many noble boyar families, claimed the throne.
At the same time, the Mstislavskys and Kurakins collaborated with the Poles during the Time of Troubles, the Godunovs and Shuiskys were relatives of the recently overthrown rulers. According to the official version, the representative of the Vorotynsky family, a member of the Seven Boyars, Ivan Vorotynsky, recused himself.
According to one version, the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov was considered a compromise, in addition, the Romanov family did not stain itself in the Time of Troubles like other noble families. However, not all historians adhere to this version - they believe that the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov was imposed on the Zemsky Sobor, and the cathedral did not represent all Russian lands at that time, and the Cossack troops had a great influence on the course of the meetings.
Nevertheless, Mikhail Romanov was elected to the kingdom and became Mikhail I Fedorovich. He lived for 49 years, during the years of his reign (1613 - 1645) the king managed to overcome the consequences of the Time of Troubles, restore centralized power in the country. New territories were annexed in the east, and peace was concluded with Poland, as a result of which the Polish king ceased to claim the Russian throne.
Figures and facts
Most of the Russian tsars and emperors from the Romanov dynasty lived a fairly short life. Only Peter I, Elizabeth I Petrovna, Nicholas I and Nicholas II lived for more than 50 years, and Catherine II and Alexander II lived for more than 60 years. Nobody lived to 70
Peter I the Great.
Catherine II lived the longest life and died at the age of 67. At the same time, she did not belong to the Romanov dynasty by birth, but was German. Peter II lived the least - he died at the age of 14.
The direct line of succession to the throne of the Romanovs stopped in the 18th century, all Russian emperors, starting with Peter III, belonged to the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty. The Holstein-Gottorps were a German ducal dynasty and at some point in history became related to the Romanovs.
Catherine II ruled the country the longest (34 years) for 34 years. Least of all the rules of Peter III - 6 months.
Ivan VI (John Antonovich) was a baby on the throne. He became emperor when he was only 2 months and 5 days old, his regents ruled in his stead.
Most of the impostors pretended to be Peter III. After he was overthrown, he died under unclear circumstances. The most famous impostor is Emelyan Pugachev, who led the peasant war in 1773-1775.
Of all the rulers, Alexander II carried out the most liberal reforms, and at the same time, he was the most assassinated. After a series of unsuccessful assassination attempts, the terrorists still managed to kill the tsar - he died from a bomb explosion, which the People's Will threw at his feet on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg.
The last Emperor Nicholas II, who was shot by the Bolsheviks, as well as his wife and children, were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as martyrs.
The Romanov dynasty in faces
Mikhail I Fedorovich
The first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty
Years of life: 1596 - 1645 (49 years old)
Years of government: 1613 - 1645
overcoming the consequences of the Time of Troubles; restoration of centralized
authorities in the country; annexation of new territories in the east; peace with Poland
as a result of which the Polish king ceased to claim the Russian throne.
Alexei I Mikhailovich
Son of Fyodor Mikhailovich. For the absence of major upheavals in the country during the years of his
board was named the Quietest
Years of life: 1629 - 1676 (46 years)
Years of government: 1645 - 1676
Achievements and government initiatives:
military reform; new set of laws Cathedral code 1649; church
the reform of Patriarch Nikon, which caused a split in the church.
Fedor III Alekseevich
Son of Alexei Mikhailovich. He had poor health, which is why he died early
Years of life: 1661 - 1682 (20 years)
Years of government: 1676 - 1682
Achievements and government initiatives:
census of the population of the country in 1678; abolition of parochialism - distributions
official places, taking into account the origin and official position of the ancestors; introduction
house-to-house imposition of direct taxes; fight against schismatics.
Sofia Alekseevna
Regent over Ivan V and Peter I, both of whom were recognized as tsars. After
bias cut hair in a nun
Years of life: 1657 - 1704 (46 years old)
Years of government: 1682 - 1689
Achievements and government initiatives:
the signing of the "Eternal Peace" with Poland, according to which Kyiv was recognized as part of
Russian kingdom; - fight against schismatics.
Ivan V
The son of Alexei Mikhailovich and the elder brother of Peter I. He had poor health and did not
interested in government affairs
Years of life: 1666 - 1696 (29 years old)
Years of reign: 1682 - 1696 (co-ruler Peter I)
Peter I
The last Russian tsar and the first emperor of the Russian Empire (since 1721).
One of the most famous rulers of Russia, who radically changed
the historical fate of the country
Years of life: 1672 - 1725 (52 years old)
Years of government: 1682 - 1725
Achievements and government initiatives:
large-scale reforms to radically reorganize the state and public
way of life; creation of the Russian Empire; creation of the Senate - the highest body
state power, subordinate to the emperor; victory in the Northern War
Sweden; the creation of a navy and a regular army; construction
Petersburg and the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg from Moscow; Spread
education, the creation of secular schools; publication of the first newspaper in Russia;
accession to Russia of new territories.
Catherine I
The wife of Peter I. Took little part in public affairs
Years of life: 1684 - 1727 (43 years)
Years of government: 1725 - 1727
Achievements and government initiatives:
creation of the Supreme Privy Council, with the help of which close
empresses actually ruled the state; opening of the Academy of Sciences, creation
which was conceived under Peter I.
Peter II
Grandson of Peter I, the last direct descendant of the Romanov dynasty in the male line. IN
did not take part in public affairs due to his young age and indulged
entertainment, his entourage ruled instead
Years of life: 1715 - 1730 (14 years old)
Years of government: 1727 - 1730
Anna Ivanovna
Daughter of Ivan V. Favoritism flourished during her reign.
Years of life: 1693 - 1740 (47 years old)
Years of government: 1730 - 1740
Achievements and government initiatives:
the dissolution of the Supreme Privy Council and the creation of a cabinet of ministers; institution
Secret Investigation Offices; conversions in the army: service restriction for
nobles for 25 years, the creation of new guards regiments, the establishment of the gentry cadet corps.
Ivan VI (John Antonovich)
Great-grandson of Ivan V. Was emperor in infancy under the regency of Anna's favorite
Ioannovna Ernst Biron and his mother Anna Leopoldovna, was overthrown, his
childhood and the rest of his life spent in prisons
Years of life: 1740 - 1764 (23 years old)
Years of government: 1740 - 1741
Elizabeth I Petrovna
Daughter of Peter I, the last heir to the throne from the Romanov dynasty
straight female line.
Years of life: 1709 - 1761 (52 years old)
Years of government: 1741 - 1761
Achievements and government initiatives:
the abolition of the cabinet of ministers and the restoration of the role of the Senate; reform
taxation, the destruction of internal customs duties and fees; expansion of the rights of the nobility; creation of the first Russian banks; accession of new territories in Central Asia to Russia.
Peter III
Grandson of Peter I and son of his eldest daughter Anna Petrovna. Due to unpopular measures
in foreign policy and in the army lost the support of the ruling circles and soon after
accession to the throne was overthrown by his own wife Catherine, who also
was his second cousin
Years of life: 1728 - 1762 (34 years old)
Years of government: 1761 - 1762
Achievements and government initiatives:
the abolition of the Secret Chancellery; the beginning of the secularization of church lands; the publication of the Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility, which expanded the privileges of this class; an end to the persecution of the Old Believers.
Catherine II
Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst, daughter
Prussian general field marshal and wife of Peter III. Toppled her husband after 6
months after he ascended the throne
Years of life: 1729 - 1796 (67 years)
Years of government: 1762 - 1796
Achievements and government initiatives:
provincial reform, which determined the territorial structure of the country to
revolutions of 1917; the maximum enslavement of the peasantry and the deterioration of its
provisions; further expansion of the privileges of the nobles ("Charter of
nobility"); accession to Russia of new lands - the Crimea, the Black Sea,
parts of the Commonwealth; introduction paper money- banknotes; development
education and science, including the creation Russian Academy; renewal
persecution of the Old Believers; secularization of church lands.
Pavel I
Son of Peter III and Catherine II. He was killed by officers as a result of a conspiracy, about which
was not known to the general public until the beginning of the 20th century.
Years of life: 1754 - 1801 (46 years old)
Years of government: 1796 - 1801
Achievements and government initiatives:
improving the position of the peasantry; creation of the State Treasury;
the abolition of part of the privileges of the nobility granted by Catherine II of the military
reform.
Alexander I
Son of Paul I and beloved grandson of Catherine II. It was during his reign that Russia
won in Patriotic War 1812 with Napoleon
Years of life: 1777 - 1825 (47 years)
Years of government: 1801 - 1825
Achievements and government initiatives:
restoration of the "Charter to the nobility"; institution
ministries instead of colleges; "Decree on free cultivators", thanks to which
the landlords received the right to free the peasants; establishment of military settlements for
recruiting the army; annexation of new territories, including Georgia,
Finland, Poland, etc.
Nicholas I
Brother of Alexander I. Ascended the throne after the abdication of his second elder
brother Konstantin, at the same time there was an uprising of the Decembrists
Years of life: 1796 - 1855 (58 years old)
Years of government: 1825 - 1855
Achievements and government initiatives:
suppression of the Decembrist uprising; increased censorship; creation of the Third
departments of the office for political investigation; war in the Caucasus; improvement
the situation of the peasants - it was forbidden to exile them to hard labor and sell them one by one
and without land; annexation to Russia of the mouth of the Danube, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus
and Transcaucasia; unsuccessful Crimean War.
Alexander II
Son of Nicholas I, actively pursued political reforms and was killed as a result
Narodnaya Volya terrorist attack
Years of life: 1818 - 1881 (62 years)
Years of government: 1855 - 1881
Achievements and government initiatives:
the abolition of serfdom in 1861; zemstvo reform - management issues
local zemstvos began to deal; creation unified system courts; creation
city councils in cities; military reform and the emergence of new types of weapons; joining the empire of Central Asia, North Caucasus, Far East; sale of Alaska to the USA.
Alexander III
Son of Alexander II. After the murder of his father, brought to naught many of his
liberal reforms
Years of life: 1845 - 1894 (49 years old)
Years of government: 1881 - 1894
Achievements and government initiatives:
curtailment of many reforms in the field of local self-government, judicial
systems, education; increased supervision of the peasants; explosive growth
industry; restriction of factory work of minors and night work
teenagers and women.
Nicholas II
The last Russian emperor, son of Alexander III. During his reign
all three Russian revolutions occurred, after the revolution of 1917 he renounced
throne and was killed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg along with his family
Years of life: 1868 - 1918 (50 years)
Years of government: 1894 - 1917
Achievements and government initiatives:
the 1897 general census; monetary reform that established gold
ruble standard; the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War; limitation of working hours
enterprises; publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, granting the entire population
the country's basic civil rights and freedoms; creation of the State Duma;
entry into the First World War.
Facts and myths
The most terrible secret of the Romanovs was the "Russian iron mask" - the failed Russian emperor Ivan Antonovich. According to the will of the childless Anna Ioannovna (died in 1740), her niece's son was to become her heir. At the age of one, the boy was overthrown from the throne by the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth. Ivan spent his whole life in captivity and was killed by guards in 1764 while trying to be freed by conspirators.
Princess Tarakanova - an impostor who pretended to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. While in Europe, she declared claims to the throne in 1774. She was kidnapped by order of Catherine II and brought to Russia. During the investigation, she pleaded not guilty and did not disclose her origin. She died in custody in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Strictly speaking, the direct branch of the Romanov family was cut short after the death of Elizaveta Petrovna in 1761. Since then, it is more correct to call the dynasty Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovskaya. There was practically no Slavic blood in its representatives, which did not prevent some of them from being deeply Russian people.
The most counterfeited "brand" in the history of the Romanovs is Emperor Peter III, who was overthrown in 1762. More than 40 impostors are known to hide behind his name. The most famous false Peter is Emelyan Pugachev.
According to legend, Alexander I did not die in Taganrog in 1825, but staged his own death and lived in Siberia for another half a century under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich. Whether this is true or not is unknown.
By the way…
After the revolution of 1917, the Russian Imperial House lost its political power, but retained the role of a historical institution.
“The status of the current Russian Imperial House is recognized by all modern royal houses. Its head is the Empress Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (b. 1953), great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II.
Her grandfather Cyril was a cousin of Nicholas II and led the dynasty after the death of the tsar, his son Alexei and sibling Michael, - said Kirill Nemirovich-Danchenko, adviser to the Office of H.I.V. on interaction with public organizations and state authorities of the Russian Federation. - The second member of the House is the heir Tsarevich and Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich (b. 1981), her son.
All other descendants of members of the dynasty, in accordance with dynastic laws, do not have rights to the throne and do not belong to the Imperial House (the supremacy of Maria Vladimirovna is disputed by Nikolai Romanov, the son of Prince Roman Petrovich of imperial blood. He is the president of the organization "Association of the Romanov Family." - Ed.) . The total number of people in whose veins the blood of the Romanovs flows is more than 100 all over the world. Those who rightfully bear this surname are about 15.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich
Maria Vladimirovna lives in Spain. Since 2003, the dynasty has been represented in the homeland by the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House, the purpose of which is to promote the integration of the House into public life Russia. Maria Vladimirovna has repeatedly visited Russia, since 1992 she has known Vladimir Putin personally. After his election to the presidency, brief meetings took place, but no detailed conversation has yet taken place.
The Grand Duchess and her son are citizens Russian Federation, declare their complete loyalty to the Constitution and the existing government, firmly oppose restitution and believe that the development of cooperation between the Imperial House and modern state has perspective.
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