The beginning of the reign of the new Romanov dynasty. Time of Troubles

Romanovs- an old Russian noble family (which bore such a surname from the middle of the 16th century), and then a dynasty of Russian tsars and emperors.

Why did the historical choice fall on the Romanov family? Where did they come from and what did they look like by the time they came to power?

Genealogical roots of the Romanov family (XII - XIV centuries)

The boyar is considered the ancestor of the Romanovs and a number of other noble families. Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla (†1347), who was in the service of the Grand Prince of Vladimir and Moscow Semyon Ivanovich Proud (the eldest son of Grand Duke Ivan Kalita).

The dark origin of the Mare gave freedom for fantasies of bloodlines. According to the family tradition, the ancestors of the Romanovs "left for Russia from Lithuania" or "from the Prussians" at the beginning of the XIV century. However, many historians believe that the Romanovs came from Novgorod.

They wrote that his father Kambila Divonovich Gland was a prince of Zhmud and fled from Prussia under the onslaught of the German crusaders. It is quite possible that Kambila, converted into a Russian style in Kobyla, having suffered a defeat in his homeland, left for the service of Grand Duke Dmitry Alexandrovich, the son of Alexander Nevsky. According to legend, he was baptized in 1287 under the name Ivan - after all, the Prussians were pagans - and his son received the name Andrei at baptism.

Glanda, through the efforts of genealogists, led his family from a certain ratshi(Radsha, Christian name Stefan) - a native of "Prussian", according to others, a Novgorodian, a servant of Vsevolod Olgovich, and maybe Mstislav the Great; according to another version of Serbian origin.

The name is also known from the genealogical chainAlexa(Christian name Gorislav), in monasticism Varlaam St. Khutynsky, died in 1215 or 1243.

No matter how amusing the legend, the real relationship of the Romanovs is observed only with Andrei Kobyla.

Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla had five sons: Semyon Zherebets, Alexander Yolka, Vasily Ivantai, Gavriil Gavsha and Fedor Koshka, who were the founders of 17 Russian noble houses. The Sheremetevs, Kolychevs, Yakovlevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins and other well-known families in Russian history are traditionally considered to be of the same origin with the Romanovs (from the legendary Kambila).

The eldest son of Andrei Kobyla Semyon, nicknamed Stallion, became the ancestor of the Blue, Lodygin, Konovnitsyn, Oblyazev, Obraztsov and Kokorev.

second son, Alexander Yolka, gave birth to the Kolychevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins, Sterbeevs, Khludnevs and Neplyuevs.

third son, Vasily Ivantey, died childless, and the fourth - Gavriil Gavsha- laid the foundation for only one family - Bobarykin.

Younger son, Fedor Koshka (†1393), was a boyar under Dmitry Donskoy and Vasily I; left six children (including one daughter). From him came the families of the Koshkins, Zakharyins, Yakovlevs, Lyatskys (or Lyatskys), Yuryev-Romanovs, Bezzubtsevs and Sheremetevs.

The eldest son of Fyodor Koshka Ivan Fedorovich Koshkin (†1427) served as governor under Vasily I and Vasily II, and the grandson,Zachary Ivanovich Koshkin (†1461), was a boyar under Vasily II.

The children of Zakhary Ivanovich Koshkin became the Koshkin-Zakharyins, and the grandchildren became simply the Zakharyins. From Yuri Zakharyevich came the Zakharyins-Yuryevs, and from his brother Yakov, the Zakharyins-Yakovlevs.

It should be noted that numerous descendants of Andrei Kobyla married princely and boyar daughters. Their daughters were also in great demand among noble families. As a result, in a couple of centuries they intermarried with almost the entire aristocracy.

Rise of the Romanov family

Tsarina Anastasia - the first wife of Ivan the Terrible

The rise of the Romanov family occurred after the marriage in 1547 of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible to Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva, who bore him a son - the future heir to the throne and the last of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ioannovich. Under Fyodor Ioannovich, the Romanovs occupied a prominent position at court.

Brother of Empress Anastasia Nikita Romanovich (†1586)

Brother of Queen Anastasia Nikita Romanovich Romanov (†1586) is considered the ancestor of the dynasty - his descendants were already called the Romanovs.

Nikita Romanovich himself was an influential Moscow boyar, an active participant in the Livonian War and diplomatic negotiations. Of course, survival at the court of Ivan the Terrible was a pretty terrible thing. And Nikita not only survived, but steadily rose, and after the sudden death of the sovereign (1584), he entered the near Duma of his nephew, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, along with Mstislavsky, Shuisky, Belsky and Godunov. But soon Nikita Romanovich shared his power with Boris Godunov and took the tonsure under the name of Nifont. Peacefully died in 1586. He was buried in the family tomb in the Moscow Novospassky Monastery.

Nikita Romanovich had 6 sons, but only two went down in history: the eldest - Fedor Nikitich(later - Patriarch Filaret and father of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty) and Ivan Nikitich, which was part of the Seven Boyars.

Fedor Nikitich Romanov (Patriarch Filaret)

boyar Fyodor Nikitich (1554-1633) the first of the family began to bear the name "Romanov". Being a cousin of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (son of Ivan IV the Terrible), he was considered a rival of Boris Godunov in the struggle for power after the death of Fyodor Ioannovich in 1598. He married for love a poor girl from an ancient Kostroma family, Ksenia Ivanovna Shestova, and lived soul to soul with her, having given birth to five sons and a daughter.

The years of the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich (1584-1598) were the happiest in the life of the future patriarch. Not burdened with the duties of government and secret intrigues, not consumed by ambition, like Boris Godunov or the despondent envious Vasily Shuisky, he lived for his own pleasure, while at the same time laying the foundation for an even greater exaltation of the Romanov family. Over the years, the rapid rise of Romanov began to concern Godunov more and more. Fyodor Nikitich continued to play the role of a carefree young man who takes his position for granted, but he was too close to the throne, which sooner or later had to be empty.

With the coming to power of Boris Godunov, together with other Romanovs, he was disgraced and exiled in 1600 to the Antoniev-Siya Monastery, located 160 km from Arkhangelsk. His brothers, Alexander, Mikhail, Ivan and Vasily were tonsured monks and exiled to Siberia, where most of them died. In 1601, he and his wife Xenia Ivanovna Shestova were forcibly tonsured monks under the names "Filaret" and "Martha", which was supposed to deprive them of their rights to the throne. But, having appeared on the Russian throne, False Dmitry I (who, before accession, was the serf of Grishka Otrepiev among the Romanovs), wanting to prove in practice his kinship with the Romanovs, in 1605 returned Filaret from exile and elevated him to the rank of Metropolitan of Rostov. And False Dmitry II, in whose Tushino headquarters Filaret was, made him a patriarch. True, Filaret presented himself as a "prisoner" of an impostor and did not insist on his patriarchal dignity...

In 1613, the son of Filaret was elected king by the Zemsky Sobor. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. His mother, nun Martha, blessed him with the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, and from that moment the icon became one of the shrines of the Romanov dynasty. And in 1619, the former boyar Fyodor Nikitich, with the light hand of his son, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, became the "official" Patriarch Filaret. But by his nature he was a secular person and had little understanding of church-theological matters proper. Being the parent of the sovereign, until the end of his life he was officially his co-ruler. He used the title "Great Sovereign" and a completely unusual combination of the monastic name "Filaret" with the patronymic "Nikitich"; actually led the Moscow policy.

The subsequent fate of the Romanovs is the history of Russia.

A little background. The first ruling dynasty in Russia was the Rurikovichs. Without going into details of the Norman theory of the ruling elite of Russia, we note that, despite its disgusting form for the Russian spirit, it was confirmed both during the choice after the "distemper" and during the three hundred year rule of the Romanov dynasty. In the 17th century there were purely Russian tsars (the assumption that it was originally a Prussian family is not confirmed by anything, except for the statements of some court historians). In the XVIII century, starting with Peter III and Catherine II, the German "spirit" began to prevail. What can we say about the 19th century, when the heirs to the throne married exclusively German princesses, having an ever-decreasing share of Russian blood. But an interesting and very important point is the influence of the Russian spirit and the whole Russian. Being almost 100% German by blood, they acted like almost 100% Russian. And just like the Russians, they could love Russia, hate it, or be rather indifferent to everything, but they lived and worked for the good of Russia.

The Romanov dynasty and the history of Russia

Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613 as a compromise figure due to his young age and not very distant mind. A common political move for all times and peoples to achieve at least some kind of agreement and a temporary cessation of conflicts in an open form. But the dynasty took place due to the circumstances, as the Russian people strove for peace and order, wisdom and influence of Father Michael I Filaret - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, as well as the efforts of subsequent Romanovs.

The first to name himself Romanov was the father of Mikhail I in honor of the names of his grandfather and father, who respectively bore the name Roman and patronymic Romanovich. But in general they were Zakharyins or Zakharyins-Yurievs. The surnames are also clearly taken from the names of the ancestors, so there was nothing strange or special for that time in Fyodor Nikitich's act. The history of the Romanovs can be reliably traced back to the reign of Ivan Kalita, and he went from the son of the Moscow boyar Andrei Kobyla (Kambila) - Fyodor Koshka.

Line of succession

The direct line of succession was interrupted with the death of Empress Elizabeth I. Starting with Peter III, declared by her heir, this was already the dynasty of the Romanovs of Holstein-Gottorp.

First Romanovs

Consider the history of the first Romanovs. Michael I was a poorly educated man, susceptible to the influence of close relatives, a kind person by nature. Despite poor health, he reigned for 32 years. Under him, the possibility of repeating the “troubled” time had already disappeared, the borders were expanded, the state and army were strengthened, and the so-called “Kukui” was founded, which had a huge influence on the self-education of the future Emperor Peter I.

Consider the story of Alexei Romanov. Aleksey I Mikhailovich, although he was nicknamed the Quietest, annexed Ukraine, and the colonization of Siberia continued. A passionate lover of falconry and dog hunting, a good-natured and gentle person, nevertheless, did not succumb to the demands of Patriarch Nikon on the “sharing” of power and won this confrontation, however, causing a split in society by actions to continue the church reform, which gave rise to such a phenomenon as "schismatics". His monetary reform led to the "Copper" riot. Father of 16 children, three of whom reigned, and Sophia was the ruler. He died in 1676, appointing his son Fyodor as his successor.

Fedor III reigned a little less than six years, left neither an heir, nor a will, nor a noticeable trace in the history of the Romanov family, except for the legal annexation of Left-Bank Ukraine and Kyiv to Russia. Under him, the courtiers began to shave their beards and dress in Polish, which his brother Peter clearly saw.

Two tsars sat on the throne - the elder Ivan V (he was weak in mind, but formally ruled equally with Peter I until his death) and the younger Peter I. They even made the throne double. But their very ambitious and domineering older sister Sophia, the first woman in power in this dynasty, became the regent and the actual sovereign ruler under two kings for 7 years. This is all the more surprising because it was not the “enlightened” 18th century, but the century preceding it, if not “housing”, then at least strict “Moscow” mores and customs. Of her deeds, the most memorable is the “dispute” with the ideologues of the schism, her victory in it and the subsequent repressions against the schismatics. Peter I, having reached the age of majority, took advantage of the circumstances and deposed the regent, sending her to a monastery, where she was subsequently tonsured a nun and accepted the “great schema”.

Tsar Peter

Consider the story of Peter Romanov. The Tsar, and from 1921 the All-Russian Emperor, Peter I Alekseevich (reigned 1789-1825) is a very controversial figure. Possessing an unbridled character, an “iron” will and an explosive temperament, he did not even allegorically, but actually went to his goals “over the corpses”, breaking the established orders, morals and destinies of people throughout Russia. Yes, he often scattered over trifles, fell into pettiness, regulated everything and everything, sometimes crossing the line of reason, but he achieved his main goal - to make Russia a great modern power. And he is famous for this. Many of his deeds predetermined the fate of our, and not only our, country for centuries. We feel and honor them even now, in the 21st century. People of such a magnitude as Peter the Great are born once in a century, or even two.

What happened next?

Consider the history of the Russian Romanov dynasty after Peter I. Catherine I, who was crowned during her lifetime, became empress only thanks to the favorite of Peter I, His Serene Highness Prince Menshikov. The “age” of palace coups began, in which the main thing was who the guard would support. As always, during his reign, Peter the Great himself brought confusion, who issued a decree that the ruling emperor indicated the heir, and who himself did not leave a written order, but managed to say only in words: “Give everything ...”. His grandson, the future Emperor Peter II, had every chance, but Menshikov had more guardsmen in this place and at this time. Catherine I ruled for two years under the supervision of the Supreme Privy Council (Verkhovnikovs), which included only one well-born family - the Golitsyns, and the rest were like Menshikov - "chicks" of Petrov's nest.

Also, under the supervision of the leaders, for a little less than two years, the son of the murdered Tsarevich Alexei, Peter II Alekseevich, ruled. His greatest act was the removal from power for "theft" and the exile of the almighty Menshikov, which neither Peter I nor Catherine I could do. However, in practice this only led to a redistribution of power in the Supreme Privy Council in favor of Dolgoruky. Soon the emperor died of smallpox.

John V

What was the life story of the Romanovs from the branch of Tsar John V? Believing in their omnipotence, the leaders decided to introduce a limited monarchy in Russia. For this purpose, the Prince of Holstein (the future Emperor Peter III) and the “daughter of Petrov” Elizabeth, indicated in the will of Catherine I, were not suitable. Not giving a damn about the will of some “port-washer”, they made an offer to become the empress of Ivan V’s daughter Anna, but with the conditions (conditions) that her power would be partially limited by the Supreme Privy Council. She gladly agreed and signed them. But here the well-born and not well-born nobility were indignant, but everything was decided, again, by the guard, who supported not the leaders, but Anna Ioannovna. On March 1, 1730, the empress broke her “conditions” and ruled as an autocrat for ten years. The Supreme Privy Council was disbanded (its place was taken by Biron, beloved of Anna Ioannovna), and the Governing Senate was restored. Biron controlled everything, and she amused herself with shooting, and very well-aimed, outfits and antics of jesters.

Brunswick family

Consider the history of the Romanov family from the Brunswick family. Despite the fact that everything happened during the reign of the Romanovs, as, indeed, in the history of foreign reigning families, the tragic fate of the infant emperor Ivan VI and his family is the most sad and terrible. Anna Ioannovna really wanted to consolidate the "branch" of the Romanovs in power, coming from her father Ivan V. Therefore, in her will, she not only indicated as the heir a two-month-old baby (1940), born to her niece Anna Leopoldovna and Prince Consort Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, but and her children by seniority, if any (regent, of course, beloved Biron). But her hopes were not destined to come true. First, Field Marshal Minich overthrew Biron and himself became the de facto regent (formally, the emperor’s mother was appointed regent), and a year later, in November, according to the old style, Elizabeth I overthrew him. years) - in a solitary cell in the Shlisselburg fortress as an unknown prisoner (like a character in the famous novel by Dumas, only without an iron mask on his face). His suffering can only be imagined, since no evidence of this remains. He was killed according to the instructions of Catherine II, during an attempt to free him by Lieutenant Mirovich and soldiers subordinate to him. The story is very murky and looks like a set-up provocation, where Mirovich was "played out" in the dark.

The fate of close relatives of Ivan VI is no less sad and causes deep compassion. Although only his parents died in custody in Kholmogory, and two brothers and two sisters were allowed, after almost forty years of very strict imprisonment, to leave for their father's homeland in Denmark, the circumstances of their existence in Kholmogory plunge one into horror and at the same time into admiration for the strength of their spirit. . The niece of the empress, the generalissimo of the Russian army, the princes and princesses lived like commoners and prepared their own food (mainly porridge and pickled cabbage, which they themselves fermented), were dressed in very poor patched and patched clothes, they had freedom of movement only inside the former bishop's farmstead very much like a fortress. The children really wanted to pick up and smell the flowers that were sometimes seen in the meadow near their “home”, but they never had to do this. The mother died early after the next birth, and the father supported them in every possible way and raised them as persistent and courageous people. He guessed about the fate of his eldest son and, showing an extreme degree of courage, refused Catherine II, when in 1776 she nevertheless decided to let go, but only him alone - without children.

Elizabeth I and Peter III

We continue to study the history of the Romanovs. The guard brought to power the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth. As a girl, she was married to the Bourbons, but they politely refused, the groom who arrived in Russia died a little before reaching the altar. So the future Empress Elizabeth I Alekseevna will remain unmarried.

Dressed in the uniform of the guards, she entered the Winter Palace at the head of three hundred guardsmen. Little blood was shed, but she gave herself a vow in her reign not to execute anyone and fulfilled it even in relation to her main rival, Emperor Ivan VI.

It was rumored that she was in a secret morganatic marriage with Alexei Razumovsky (Princess Tarakanova is one of the impostors based on these rumors). She chose Peter the Great's grandson Ulrich, a representative of the family of the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, as her heir. In 1742 he arrived in Russia, where he was named Peter Fedorovich. She did not have a soul in him, and Ulrich did not like everything Russian and, adoring the military genius of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, preferred to be his general than the Emperor of All Russia. Easy to communicate to familiarity, cursing obscenely, being angry, Elizabeth I was usually kind and hospitable. She did not skimp on state affairs and delved into everything quite deeply. In 1744, she invited Princess Anhalt Zerbskaya Fike to Russia as a bride for Peter, who was named Ekaterina Alekseevna. She, unlike her husband, really wanted to become an empress and did everything for this. Russia, under the leadership of Mother Elizabeth, had already practically won the Seven Years' War against Prussia when the Empress passed away. Peter III, who ascended the throne in December 1761, immediately made peace and gave away everything that the Russians had won earlier, which negatively set the Russian military and especially the guard against himself. It was the age of palace coups. It was enough for Catherine to make acquaintances in the guard, dress in her uniform, give a signal and lead the coup. The deposed emperor, who ruled for less than a year, was “accidentally” killed in Ropsha by the favorites of Empress Catherine II.

Catherine II and Paul I

Like Peter I, Catherine deservedly received her title of "Great". Purposefully, with German perseverance and hard work, she, seeking her enthronement, also personally worked for the good and greatness of the Russian state until the last years of her life, forcing everyone to do it, to the best of their ability, of course. She put her ill-wishers in the highest positions if they could do their job better than anyone else, meticulously delved into state affairs and always listened to different opinions, even those that were personally unpleasant to her. Not everything and not always worked out, as it seemed to her rational and pedantic mind (after all, this is Russia, not Germany), but she persistently pursued her goals, attracting all possible forces and means in her position. Under her, the problem of the Wild Field and the Crimea was finally resolved. The subjugation and division of the territory of the primordial enemy of Russia - Poland was repeatedly made. She was a great educator, she did a lot for the internal arrangement of Russia. Having given a charter to the nobility, she still did not dare to free the peasants. The Damocles sword of illegitimacy hung over her all the time, and she was afraid of losing power as a result of the discontent of the nobles and the guard. At first, let him be in solitary confinement, but Ioann Antonovich is alive. The Pugachev uprising only reinforced these fears. Nearby was a son who had rights to the throne, but she did not. It's good that he didn't like the guards. Even the sun has spots. And she had flaws, like all people, regardless of positions and titles. One of them are favorites, especially at the end of her life. But in Russia, in the history of the Romanovs, Catherine II remained in the memory as Mother Empress, taking care of all her subjects.

Pavel I Poor

What was the story of the Romanov Tsar Paul I Poor? He was not loved by his mother, who was not entitled to the throne, while he was. Of the 46 years he lived as emperor, he happened to be less than 5. He was a romantic and an idealist who believed that life can be changed by decrees. A little eccentric (although he was far from Peter I), he quickly made decisions and just as quickly canceled them. Paul I quickly set the guard against himself, not attaching importance to the lessons that life gave, including the example of his father. And when he left the zone of influence of British politics, realizing that they would not help him with Malta and the Order of Malta, to which he swore to help, he stopped the war with France and was about to send an expeditionary force to India (through Central Asia and Afghanistan), to live he didn't have long to go. The conspiracy was led by the head of the secret police, and the last favorites of Catherine II, the Zubov brothers (their sister was the mistress of the English ambassador), commanders and officers of the guards regiments, participated. He knew about the conspiracy, did not participate, but Pavel's eldest son Alexander did not interfere with it either. On a March night in 1801, the conspirators, either with a blow to the temple with something heavy, or with a scarf, killed Emperor Paul I. In the coming century, there will be no more successful coups.

The Romanovs: the history of the Russian dynasty in the 19th century

Emperor Alexander I Pavlovich the Blessed, an aristocrat, a liberal and a very indecisive person who “discovered” the 19th century, was tormented by pangs of conscience throughout his reign for his tacit participation in the murder of his father, left no heir. By this, after his death in 1925, he provoked the uprising of the "Decembrists" about whose activities he knew, but, again, he did nothing but encourage espionage and denunciation of the conspirators. Proclaiming the need for reforms, he found thousands of excuses not to engage in them. Having accomplished his greatest deed - the defeat of Napoleon's Great Army, he did not heed the advice of the old and wise commander Kutuzov (do not go to Europe and leave the enemy a little alive to intimidate England) and continued to drag chestnuts out of the fire for England, Austria-Hungary and even Prussia. His innate talent to please everyone crystallized into the idea of ​​a sacred union of the monarchs of Europe. While the Russian emperor, hovering in the clouds, was giving balls in Vienna and talking about serving the highest interests, his more practical "colleagues" were pulling Europe to pieces. In his last years on the throne, he fell into mysticism and his death (or departure from the duties of the emperor) is shrouded in mystery.

Having come to power after the refusal of his brother Konstantin and the execution of the rebellious parts of the "Decembrists", Nicholas I Pavlovich Unforgettable ruled for almost thirty years. The owner of a name unprecedented in the royal house, popularly nicknamed Palkin, was a pedant and a pedant. Taking his brother’s idea of ​​a sacred union of monarchs literally, passionately loving Russia and imagining himself as the arbiter of European affairs, he participated in the suppression of a number of revolutions and so got everyone in Europe that he received the intervention of 4 countries and lost the Crimean War, including due to the huge technical lagging behind Russia. The state based on the containment of reforms, which, according to his understanding, should have been replaced by discipline, order and proper execution of instructions by the military and officials, was cracking at the seams and falling apart. Nicholas I did not live to see the end of the war, he was depressed by what had happened, and a cold only gave him the opportunity to leave, since he could no longer change, but it was still impossible to rule.

The great reformer Alexander II Nikolaevich the Liberator drew conclusions from his father's dying instructions and "attempts" to reform his uncle. He had a completely different character than Peter I, and the time was different, but his reforms, like those of Peter the Great, were designed for action over many decades. He carried out reforms in almost all areas of life, but the most fundamental and effective were reforms in the military field, zemstvo and judicial reforms and, of course, the abolition of serfdom and a set of reforms regarding land use. And the prepared constitutional reform could not be carried out because of his assassination by the Narodnaya Volya.

Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich the Peacemaker, who began to rule after the assassination of his father in 1881, reigned for thirteen years and during all this time did not wage a single war. A little strange for a politician who proclaimed the official course of curtailing his father's reforms, openly "conserving" society and proclaiming that Russia has only two allies - its army and navy, which, by the way, through his own efforts, took 3rd place in the world . In foreign policy, he made a sharp turn from the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, to an alliance with republican France.

No less controversial than Peter I is the figure of the last Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II Alexandrovich. True, the scale of their personalities is incomparable. And the result of their activities is the opposite: the birth of Russia as an empire for one and the collapse of the Russian Empire for the other. In general, the Russian people are sharp on the tongue and labels in nicknames. Nicholas II the Bloody is the nickname of the last emperor. "Khodynka", "Bloody Sunday", the suppression of the first Russian revolution of 1905 and the rivers of blood in the First World War. Our natural allies, the German and Japanese empires, became forever our enemies, and the centuries-old enemy and rival, the British Empire, became our ally. True, we must pay tribute, not only Nicholas II is to blame for this. A wonderful family man, skillfully splitting logs for firewood, he turned out to be no “owner” of the Russian land.

20th century

In short, the history of the Romanovs in the 20th century was as follows: under the strongest pressure from the military elite and Duma members, the Emperor of All Russia on March 2 (according to the old style), 1917, decided to abdicate the throne for himself and his son (which he did not in law) in favor of brother Michael. He abdicated and called to submit to the Provisional Government of Russia only the next day, thereby formally becoming Emperor Michael II for one day.

Innocently murdered by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg, the last de facto emperor and his entire family are canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) as martyrs. A month earlier, near Perm, the Chekists also killed Michael II (canonized in the host of the Russian New Martyrs).

What does the book by Grebelsky and Mirvis "The House of the Romanovs" say about the history of the Romanovs? After the February Revolution, 48 members of the Russian Imperial House emigrated to the West - this does not include those who entered into morganatic marriages. In our century, this house is headed by the Grand Duchess Maria I Vladimirovna, and the heir is the Tsarevich and Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich (Kirillovich branch). Their supremacy is disputed by the prince of the imperial blood, Andrei Andreyevich Romanov, who is supported by all branches of the Romanov family, except for the “Kirillovichs”. This is what the history of the Romanovs was like in the 20th century.

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.

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 being tonsured, 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.

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.

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 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, mute 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 ecclesiastical court, participated in resolving zemstvo issues, leaving only criminal cases for consideration by national 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.

Tsar Michael and Patriarch Filaret considered cases together and made decisions on them, together they received foreign ambassadors, issued double letters of commendation 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 engines 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 practically ceased during the Time of Troubles. During the Time of Troubles, the Print Yard was burned along with all the printing presses.

By the end of the reign of Tsar Mikhail, 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),

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.

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 gentle, 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.

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.

B. I. Morozov, who began to rule the country on behalf of Alexei Mikhailovich, came up with a new taxation system, 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.

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 canceled (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.

Georgia, Central Asia, Kalmykia, India and China became the objects of foreign policy of the tsarist government of Alexei Mikhailovich - 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.

In 1653, the Zemsky Sobor considered the issue of reuniting the 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 the 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.

Under the terms of this truce, Russia renounced all conquests on the territory of Lithuania, but left Severshchina, Smolensk and the Left-Bank part of Ukraine behind it, 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.

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 a ban on the trade in copper appeared, 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, an inquiry was conducted for a long time. The authorities tried to find out who was the author of the leaflets hung around the capital.

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.

At that time it became necessary to reform the church. Liturgical books were worn out to the limit, in the texts copied by hand, a huge number of inaccuracies and errors have accumulated. 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 divine services by Patriarch Nikon, there were also two women from the upper class: Princess Evdokia Urusova and noblewoman Feodosia Morozova.

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.

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, tsarist advisers and other dignitaries, not the tsar, but the people blamed them for 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.

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.

The tsar blessed Tsarevich Fyodor Alekseevich (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.

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 not in good health, from childhood he was weak and sickly. 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.

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 court.

Fedor Alekseevich ordered to build special shelters for orphans and teach them various 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.

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 annoyed many and hindered the effective administration of the 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 the non-extradition of fugitives who signed up for military service, 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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 reckoning 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.

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 poorly trained 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.

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.

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 washerwoman 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.

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).

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. All southern lands, according to the plan of Charles, 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, the Swedes near the village of Golovchina in Belarus 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 king with his own hand compiled 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.

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 a detailed action plan that provided 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.

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".

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.

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, Kyiv, 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.

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.

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 of the last months of his life, Peter I spent 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.

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.

More and more people are talking about the Romanov dynasty today. Her story can be read like a detective story. And its origin, and the history of the coat of arms, and the circumstances of accession to the throne: all this still causes ambiguous interpretations.

Prussian origin of the dynasty

The ancestor of the Romanov dynasty is considered to be the boyar Andrei Kobyla at the court of Ivan Kalita and his son Simeon the Proud. We know almost nothing about his life and origins. Chronicles mention him only once: in 1347 he was sent to Tver for the bride of Grand Duke Simeon the Proud, daughter of Alexander Mikhailovich, Prince of Tver.

Having found himself at the time of the unification of the Russian state with a new center in Moscow in the service of the Moscow branch of the princely dynasty, he thus chose the “golden ticket” for himself and his family. Genealogists mention his numerous descendants, who became the ancestors of many noble Russian families: Semyon Zherebets (Lodygins, Konovnitsyns), Alexander Elka (Kolychevs), Gavriil Gavsha (Bobrykins), Childless Vasily Vantei and Fyodor Koshka - the ancestor of the Romanovs, Sheremetevs, Yakovlevs, Goltyaevs and Bezzubtsev. But the origin of the Mare itself remains a mystery. According to the Romanov family legend, he traced his lineage to the Prussian kings.

When a gap is formed in the genealogies, it provides an opportunity for their falsification. In the case of noble families, this is usually done with the aim of either legitimizing their power or gaining extra privileges. As in this case. The blank spot in the genealogies of the Romanovs was filled in the 17th century under Peter I by the first Russian King of Arms, Stepan Andreyevich Kolychev. The new history corresponded to the “Prussian legend” fashionable even under the Rurikovichs, which was aimed at confirming the position of Moscow as the successor of Byzantium. Since the Varangian origin of Rurik did not fit into this ideology, the founder of the princely dynasty became the 14th descendant of a certain Prus, the ruler of ancient Prussia, a relative of Emperor Augustus himself. Following them, the Romanovs "rewrote" their history.

A family tradition, later recorded in the “General Armorial of the Noble Families of the All-Russian Empire,” says that in the year 305 from the birth of Christ, the Prussian king Pruteno gave the kingdom to his brother Veydevut, and he himself became the high priest of his pagan tribe in the city of Romanov, where an evergreen sacred oak grew.

Before his death, Veidewut divided his kingdom among his twelve sons. One of them was Nedron, whose clan owned a part of modern Lithuania (Samogit lands). His descendants were the brothers Russingen and Glanda Kambila, who were baptized in 1280, and in 1283 Kambila came to Russia to serve the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich. After baptism, he began to be called Mare.

Who fed False Dmitry?

The personality of False Dmitry is one of the biggest mysteries of Russian history. Apart from the unresolvable question of the identity of the impostor, his "shadow" accomplices remain a problem. According to one version, the Romanovs, who fell into disgrace under Godunov, had a hand in the plot of False Dmitry, and the eldest descendant of the Romanovs, Fedor, the pretender to the throne, was tonsured a monk.

Adherents of this version believe that the Romanovs, Shuiskys and Golitsins, dreaming of the "Monomakh's hat", organized a conspiracy against Godunov, using the mysterious death of the young Tsarevich Dmitry. They prepared their pretender to the royal throne, known to us as False Dmitry, and led the coup on June 10, 1605. After, having dealt with their main rival, they themselves joined the struggle for the throne. Subsequently, after the accession of the Romanovs, their historians did everything to connect the massacre of the Godunov family exclusively with the personality of False Dmitry, and leave the hands of the Romanovs clean.

The Secret of the Zemsky Sobor 1613

The election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom was simply doomed to be covered with a thick layer of myths. How did it happen that in a country torn by turmoil, a young, inexperienced youth was elected to the kingdom, who at the age of 16 was not distinguished by either military talent or a sharp political mind? Of course, the future tsar had an influential father, Patriarch Filaret, who himself once aimed for the tsar's throne. But during the Zemsky Sobor, he was a prisoner of the Poles and could hardly have somehow influenced the process. According to the generally accepted version, the decisive role was played by the Cossacks, who at that time represented a powerful force to be reckoned with. Firstly, under False Dmitry II, they and the Romanovs ended up in “the same camp”, and secondly, they were certainly satisfied with the young and inexperienced prince, who did not pose a danger to their liberties, which they inherited during times of unrest.

The bellicose cries of the Cossacks forced Pozharsky's adherents to propose a two-week break. During this time, a wide agitation in favor of Mikhail unfolded. For many boyars, he also represented an ideal candidate, which would allow them to keep power in their hands. The main argument put forward was that the allegedly deceased Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, before his death, wanted to transfer the throne to his relative Fyodor Romanov (Patriarch Filaret). And since he languished in Polish captivity, the crown passed to his only son, Michael. As the historian Klyuchevsky later wrote, "they wanted to choose not the most capable, but the most convenient."

Defunct coat of arms

In the history of the dynastic coat of arms of the Romanovs, there are no less white spots than in the history of the dynasty itself. For some reason, for a long time, the Romanovs did not have their own coat of arms at all, they used the state emblem, with the image of a double-headed eagle, as a personal one. Their own family coat of arms was created only under Alexander II. By that time, the heraldry of the Russian nobility had practically taken shape, and only the ruling dynasty did not have its own coat of arms. It would be inappropriate to say that the dynasty did not have much interest in heraldry: even under Alexei Mikhailovich, the “Tsar's Titular” was published - a manuscript containing portraits of Russian monarchs with the emblems of the Russian lands.

Perhaps such loyalty to the double-headed eagle is due to the need for the Romanovs to show the legitimate succession from the Rurikids and, most importantly, from the Byzantine emperors. As you know, starting with Ivan III, they begin to talk about Russia as the successor of Byzantium. Moreover, the king married Sophia Paleolog, the granddaughter of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine. They adopted the symbol of the Byzantine double-headed eagle as their family crest.

In any case, this is just one of many versions. It is not known for certain why the ruling branch of the vast empire, which was related to the noblest houses of Europe, so stubbornly ignored the heraldic orders that had been developing over the centuries.

The long-awaited appearance of the Romanovs' own coat of arms under Alexander II only added to the questions. The then King of Arms Baron B.V. took up the development of the imperial order. Ken. The ensign of the governor Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, who at one time was the main oppositionist Alexei Mikhailovich, was taken as the basis. More precisely, its description, since the banner itself had already been lost by that time. It depicted a golden griffin on a silver background with a small black eagle with raised wings and lion heads on its tail. Perhaps Nikita Romanov borrowed it in Livonia during the Livonian War.

The new coat of arms of the Romanovs was a red griffin on a silver background, holding a golden sword and a tarch topped with a small eagle; on a black border are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver. First, the changed color of the griffin is striking. Historians of heraldry believe that Quesnay decided not to go against the rules established at that time, which forbade placing a golden figure on a silver background, with the exception of the coats of arms of such highest persons as the Pope. Thus, by changing the color of the griffin, he lowered the status of the family coat of arms. Or the “Livonian version” played a role, according to which Kene emphasized the Livonian origin of the coat of arms, since in Livonia from the 16th century there was a reverse combination of coat of arms colors: a silver griffin on a red background.

There is still a lot of controversy about the symbolism of the Romanov coat of arms. Why is so much attention paid to lion heads, and not to the figure of an eagle, which, according to historical logic, should be in the center of the composition? Why is it with lowered wings, and what, in the end, is the historical background of the Romanov coat of arms?

Peter III - the last Romanov?

As you know, the Romanov family was interrupted by the family of Nicholas II. However, some believe that the last ruler of the Romanov dynasty was Peter III. The young infantile emperor did not have a relationship with his wife at all. Catherine told in her diaries how anxiously she waited for her husband on their wedding night, and he came and fell asleep. This continued further - Peter III did not have any feelings for his wife, preferring her to his favorite. But the son, Pavel, was still born, many years after the marriage.

Rumors about illegitimate heirs are not uncommon in the history of world dynasties, especially in times of trouble for the country. So here the question arose: is Paul really the son of Peter III? Or the first favorite of Catherine, Sergei Saltykov, took part in this.

A significant argument in favor of these rumors was that the imperial couple had not had children for many years. Therefore, many believed that this union was completely fruitless, which the empress herself hinted at, mentioning in her memoirs that her husband suffered from phimosis.

Information that Sergei Saltykov could be Pavel's father is also present in Catherine's diaries: I could not compare with him at court ... He was 25 years old, in general and by birth, and in many other qualities he was an outstanding gentleman ... I did not give in all spring and part of the summer. The result was not long in coming. September 20, 1754 Catherine gave birth to a son. Only from whom: from her husband Romanov, or from Saltykov?

The choice of the name of the members of the ruling dynasty has always played an important role in the political life of the country. Firstly, with the help of names, intra-dynastic relations were often emphasized. So, for example, the names of the children of Alexei Mikhailovich were supposed to emphasize the connection of the Romanovs with the Rurik dynasty. Under Peter and his daughters, they showed a close relationship within the ruling branch (despite the fact that this did not correspond at all to the real situation in the imperial family). But under Catherine the Great, a completely new order of names was introduced. The former tribal affiliation gave way to another factor, among which political played a significant role. Her choice was based on the semantics of the names, going back to the Greek words: “people” and “victory”.

Let's start with Alexander. The name of the eldest son of Paul was given in honor of Alexander Nevsky, although another invincible commander, Alexander the Great, was also implied. About her choice, she wrote the following: “You say: Catherine wrote to Baron F. M. Grimm, that he will have to choose who to imitate: a hero (Alexander the Great) or a saint (Alexander Nevsky). You don't seem to know that our saint was a hero. He was a courageous warrior, a firm ruler and a clever politician and surpassed all other specific princes, his contemporaries ... So, I agree that Mr. Alexander has only one choice, and it depends on his personal talents which path he will take - holiness or heroism ".

The reasons for choosing the name Konstantin, unusual for Russian tsars, are even more interesting. They are connected with the idea of ​​Catherine's "Greek project", which meant the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the restoration of the Byzantine state, headed by her second grandson.

It is not clear, however, why the third son of Paul received the name Nicholas. Obviously, he was named after the most revered saint in Russia - Nicholas the Wonderworker. But this is just a version, since there is no explanation for this choice in the sources.

Catherine had nothing to do only with the choice of a name for the youngest son of Paul - Michael, who was born after her death. Here the father's long-standing passion for chivalry has already played a role. Mikhail Pavlovich was named in honor of the Archangel Michael, the leader of the heavenly host, the patron of the emperor-knight.

Four names: Alexander, Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail - formed the basis of the new imperial names of the Romanovs.

The Romanov dynasty is a Russian boyar family that bore the surname Romanov from the end of the 16th century. 1613 - the dynasty of Russian tsars, which ruled for more than three hundred years. 1917, March - abdicated.
background
Ivan IV the Terrible, by the murder of his eldest son, John, interrupted the male line of the Rurik dynasty. Fedor, his middle son, was handicapped. The mysterious death in Uglich of the youngest son Demetrius (he was found stabbed to death in the courtyard of the tower), and then the death of the last of the Rurikovichs, Theodore Ioannovich, interrupted their dynasty. Boris Fyodorovich Godunov, the brother of Theodore's wife, came to the kingdom as a member of the Regency Council of 5 boyars. At the Zemsky Sobor in 1598, Boris Godunov was elected tsar.
1604 - the Polish army under the command of False Dmitry 1 (Grigory Otrepyev), set out from Lvov to the Russian borders.
1605 - Boris Godunov dies, and the Throne is transferred to his son Theodore and the queen-widow. An uprising breaks out in Moscow, as a result of which Theodore and his mother were strangled. The new tsar, False Dmitry 1, enters the capital accompanied by the Polish army. However, his reign was short-lived: 1606 - Moscow rebelled, and False Dmitry was killed. Vasily Shuisky becomes king.
The impending crisis brought the state closer to a state of anarchy. After the Bolotnikov uprising and a 2-month siege of Moscow against Russia, the troops of False Dmitry 2 moved from Poland. 1610 - Shuisky's troops were defeated, the tsar was overthrown and tonsured a monk.
The government of the state passed into the hands of the Boyar Duma: the period of the “Seven Boyars” began. After the Duma signed an agreement with Poland, the Polish army was secretly brought into Moscow. The son of King Sigismund III of Poland, Vladislav, became the Russian Tsar. And only in 1612 the militia of Minin and Pozharsky managed to liberate the capital.
And just at that time, Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov entered the arena of History. In addition to him, the Polish prince Vladislav, the Swedish prince Karl-Philip and the son of Marina Mniszek and False Dmitry 2 Ivan, representatives of boyar families - Trubetskoy and Romanovs claimed the Throne. However, Mikhail Romanov was still elected. Why?

What suited Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom
Mikhail Romanov was 16 years old, he was the grandchild of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia Romanova, and the son of Metropolitan Filaret. Mikhail's candidacy suited representatives of all classes and political forces: the aristocracy was pleased that the new tsar would be a representative of the ancient Romanov family.
Supporters of the legitimate monarchy were pleased that Mikhail Romanov had a relationship with Ivan IV, and those who suffered from terror and chaos of the "distemper" were pleased that Romanov was not involved in the oprichnina, while the Cossacks were pleased that the father of the new tsar was Metropolitan Philaret.
The age of the young Romanov also played into his hands. People in the 17th century did not live long, dying from diseases. The young age of the king could give certain guarantees of stability for a long time. In addition, the boyar groups, despite the age of the sovereign, were determined to make him a puppet in their hands, thinking - "Mikhail Romanov is young, he hasn't reached his mind and he will be familiar with us."
V. Kobrin writes about this as follows: “The Romanovs suited everyone. That's the quality of mediocrity." In fact, for the consolidation of the state, the restoration of public order, not bright personalities were needed, but people who were able to calmly and persistently pursue a conservative policy. “... It was necessary to restore everything, almost rebuild the state - before that its mechanism was broken,” wrote V. Klyuchevsky.
That was Mikhail Romanov. His reign was a time of lively legislative activity of the government, which concerned the most diverse aspects of Russian public life.

The reign of the first of the Romanov dynasty
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was married to the kingdom on July 11, 1613. Accepting the wedding, he promised not to make decisions without the consent of the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobor.
So it was at the initial stage of government: on every important issue, Romanov turned to the Zemsky Sobors. But, gradually, the sole power of the tsar began to strengthen: local governors subordinate to the center began to rule. For example, in 1642, when the assembly voted with an overwhelming majority for the final annexation of Azov, which the Cossacks had conquered from the Tatars, the tsar made the opposite decision.
The most important task during this period was the restoration of the state unity of the Russian lands, some of which, after the "... Time of Troubles ..." remained under the control of Poland and Sweden. 1632 - after King Sigismund III died in Poland, Russia began a war with Poland, as a result - the new king Vladislav renounced his claims to the Moscow throne and recognized Mikhail Fedorovich as the Moscow tsar.

Foreign and domestic policy
The most important innovation in the industry of that era was the emergence of manufactories. The further development of handicrafts, an increase in the production of agriculture and crafts, and a deepening of the social division of labor led to the beginning of the formation of an all-Russian market. In addition, diplomatic and trade relations between Russia and the West were established. The major centers of Russian trade were: Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Bryansk. With Europe, maritime trade passed through the only port of Arkhangelsk; most of the goods went by dry route. Thus, actively trading with Western European states, Russia was able to achieve an independent foreign policy.
Agriculture also began to rise. Agriculture began to develop on fertile lands south of the Oka, as well as in Siberia. This was facilitated by the fact that the rural population of Russia was divided into two categories: landowning and black-mossed peasants. The latter accounted for 89.6% of the rural population. According to the law, they, sitting on state land, had the right to alienate it: sale, mortgage, inheritance.
As a result of a reasonable domestic policy, the life of ordinary people has improved dramatically. So, if during the period of "troubles" the population in the capital itself decreased by more than 3 times - the townspeople fled from their destroyed homes, then after the "restoration" of the economy, according to K. Valishevsky, "... a chicken in Russia cost two kopecks, a dozen eggs - a penny. Arriving in Moscow for Easter, he was an eyewitness to the pious and merciful deeds of the tsar, who visited prisons before matins and distributed colored eggs and sheepskin coats to prisoners.

“Progress has also been made in the field of culture. According to S. Solovyov, "... Moscow amazed with its magnificence, beauty, especially in summer, when the greenery of numerous gardens and kitchen gardens joined the beautiful variety of churches." The first Greek-Latin school in Russia was opened in the Chudov Monastery. The only Moscow printing house, destroyed during the Polish occupation, was restored.
Unfortunately, the development of the culture of that era was affected by the fact that Mikhail Fedorovich himself was an exceptionally religious person. Therefore, correctors and compilers of sacred books were considered the greatest scientists of that time, which, of course, greatly hampered progress.
Results
The main reason that Mikhail Fedorovich managed to create a "viable" dynasty of the Romanovs was his carefully weighed, with a large "margin of safety", domestic and foreign policy, as a result of which Russia - albeit not completely - was able to solve the problem of the reunification of Russian lands, were resolved internal contradictions, industry and agriculture developed, the sole power of the sovereign was strengthened, ties with Europe were established, etc.
Meanwhile, indeed, the reign of the first Romanov cannot be counted among the brilliant epochs in the history of the Russian nation, and his personality does not appear in it with special brilliance. And yet, this reign marks a period of rebirth.