It just so happens that our Motherland has an unusually rich and varied history, a huge milestone in which we can confidently consider the dynasty of Russian emperors who bore the name Romanov. This rather ancient boyar family actually left a significant mark, because it was the Romanovs who ruled the country for three hundred years, right up to the Great October revolution 1917, after which their line was practically interrupted. The Romanov dynasty, whose family tree we will definitely consider in detail and closely, has become iconic, reflected in the cultural as well as economic aspect of the life of Russians.
The first Romanovs: family tree with years of reign
According to a well-known legend in the Romanov family, their ancestors came to Russia around the beginning of the fourteenth century from Prussia, but these are only rumors. One of the famous historians of the twentieth century, academician and archaeographer Stepan Borisovich Veselovsky, believes that this family traces its roots to Novgorod, but this information is also quite unreliable.
Worth knowing
The first known ancestor of the Romanov dynasty, the family tree with photos is worth considering in detail and thoroughly, was a boyar named Andrei Kobyla, who “went under” the prince of Moscow Simeon the Proud. His son, Fyodor Koshka, gave the family the surname Koshkin, and his grandchildren received a double surname - Zakharyin-Koshkin.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, it happened that the Zakharyin family rose significantly and began to claim its rights to the Russian throne. The fact is that the notorious Ivan the Terrible married Anastasia Zakharyina, and when the Rurik family was finally left without offspring, their children began to be aspired to the throne, and not in vain. However, the Romanov family tree as Russian rulers began a little later, when Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected to the throne, perhaps this is where we need to start our rather lengthy story.
Magnificent Romanovs: the tree of the royal dynasty began with disgrace
The first tsar of the Romanov dynasty was born in 1596 into the family of a noble and rather wealthy boyar Fyodor Nikitich, who later took the rank and began to be called Patriarch Filaret. His wife was born Shestakova, named Ksenia. The boy grew up strong, savvy, grasped everything on the fly, and on top of everything else, he was also practically a direct cousin of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, which made him the first contender for the throne when the Rurik family, due to degeneration, simply died out. This is precisely where the Romanov dynasty begins, whose tree we view through the prism of the past tense.
Sovereign Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus'(ruled from 1613 to 1645) was not elected by chance. The times were troubled, there was talk of an invitation to the nobility, boyars and kingdom of the English king James the First, but the Great Russian Cossacks became enraged, fearing a lack of grain allowance, which is what they received. At the age of sixteen, Michael ascended the throne, but gradually his health deteriorated, he was constantly “mournful on his feet,” and died of natural causes at the age of forty-nine.
Following his father, his heir, the first and eldest son, ascended the throne Alexey Mikhailovich, by nickname The quietest(1645-1676), continuing the Romanov family, whose tree turned out to be branched and impressive. Two years before his father’s death, he was “presented” to the people as an heir, and two years later, when he died, Mikhail took the scepter in his hands. During his reign, a lot happened, but the main achievements are considered to be reunification with Ukraine, the return of Smolensk and Northern Land to the state, as well as the final formation of the institution of serfdom. It is also worth mentioning that it was under Alexei that the famous peasant revolt of Stenka Razin took place.
After Alexey the Quiet, a man by nature of weak health, fell ill and died, his blood brother took his place Fedor III Alekseevich(reigned from 1676 to 1682), who from early childhood showed signs of scurvy, or as they said then, scurvy, either from a lack of vitamins, or from an unhealthy lifestyle. In fact, the country was ruled by various families at that time, and nothing good came of the tsar’s three marriages; he died at the age of twenty, without leaving a will regarding the succession to the throne.
After the death of Fedor, strife began, and the throne was given to the first oldest brother Ivan V(1682-1696), who had just turned fifteen years old. However, he was simply not capable of ruling such a huge power, so many believed that his ten-year-old brother Peter should take the throne. Therefore, both were appointed kings, and for the sake of order, their sister Sophia, who was smarter and more experienced, was assigned to them as regent. By the age of thirty, Ivan died, leaving his brother as the legal heir to the throne.
Thus, the Romanov family tree gave history exactly five kings, after which the anemone Clio took a new turn, and a fresh turn brought a new product, the kings began to be called emperors, and one of the greatest people in world history.
Imperial tree of the Romanovs with years of reign: diagram of the post-Petrine period
He became the first All-Russian Emperor and Autocrat in the history of the state, and in fact, its last tsar. Peter I Alekseevich, who received his great merits and honorable deeds, the Great (years of reign from 1672 until 1725). The boy received a rather weak education, which is why he had great respect for the sciences and learned people, hence the passion for the foreign lifestyle. He ascended the throne at the age of ten, but actually began to rule the country only after the death of his brother, as well as the imprisonment of his sister in the Novodevichy Convent.
Peter’s services to the state and people are countless, and even a cursory review of them would take at least three pages of dense typewritten text, so it’s worth doing it yourself. In terms of our interests, the Romanov family, whose tree with portraits is definitely worth studying in more detail, continued, and the state became an Empire, strengthening all positions on the world stage by two hundred percent, if not more. However, a banal urolithiasis felled the emperor who seemed so indestructible.
After the death of Peter, power was taken by force by his second legal wife, Ekaterina I Alekseevna, whose real name is Marta Skavronskaya, and her years of reign stretched from 1684 to 1727. In fact, the real power at that time was held by the notorious Count Menshikov, as well as the Supreme Privy Council, created by the empress.
Catherine’s wild and unhealthy life bore its terrible fruits, and after her, Peter’s grandson, born in his first marriage, was elevated to the throne. Peter II. He began to reign in the year 27 of the eighteenth century, when he was barely ten, and by the age of fourteen he was struck down by smallpox. The Privy Council continued to rule the country, and after it fell, the boyars Dolgorukovs continued to rule.
After the untimely death of the young king, something had to be decided and she ascended the throne Anna Ivanovna(reign years from 1693 to 1740), disgraced daughter of Ivan V Alekseevich, Duchess of Courland, widowed at the age of seventeen. The huge country was then ruled by her lover E.I. Biron.
Before her death, Anna Ionovna managed to write a will, according to it, the grandson of Ivan the Fifth, an infant, ascended the throne Ivan VI, or simply Ivan Antonovich, who managed to be emperor from 1740 to 1741. At first, the same Biron handled state affairs for him, then his mother Anna Leopoldovna took over the initiative. Deprived of power, he spent his entire life in prison, where he would later be killed on the secret orders of Catherine II.
Then the illegitimate daughter of Peter the Great came to power, Elizaveta Petrovna(reigned 1742-1762), who ascended the throne literally on the shoulders of the brave warriors of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. After her accession, the entire Brunswick family was arrested, and the favorites of the former empress were executed.
The last empress was completely barren, so she left no heirs, and transferred her power to the son of her sister Anna Petrovna. That is, we can say that at that time it again turned out that there were only five emperors, of whom only three had the opportunity to be called Romanovs by blood and origin. After the death of Elizabeth, there were absolutely no male followers left, and the direct male line, one might say, was completely cut off.
The permanent Romanovs: the tree of the dynasty was reborn from the ashes
After Anna Petrovna married Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the Romanov family had to end. However, he was saved by a dynastic treaty, according to which the son from this union Peter III(1762), and the clan itself now became known as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovsky. He managed to sit on the throne for only 186 days and died in completely mysterious and unclear events. today circumstances, and even then without a coronation, and he was crowned after Paul’s death, as they now say, retroactively. It is remarkable that this unfortunate emperor left behind a whole heap of “False Peters”, which appeared here and there, like mushrooms after rain.
After the short reign of the previous sovereign, the real German princess Sophia Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, better known as the Empress, made her way to power through an armed coup. Catherine II, the Great (from 1762 until 1796), the wife of that very unpopular and stupid Peter the Third. During her reign, Russia became much more powerful, her influence on the world community was significantly strengthened, and she did a lot of work within the country, reuniting the lands, and so on. It was during her reign that the peasant war of Emelka Pugachev broke out and was suppressed with noticeable effort.
Emperor Paul I, Catherine’s unloved son from a hated man, ascended the throne after the death of his mother in the cold autumn of 1796, and reigned for exactly five years, minus several months. He carried out many reforms useful for the country and the people, as if in spite of his mother, and also interrupted the series of palace coups, abolishing the female inheritance of the throne, which from now on could be passed exclusively from father to son. He was killed in March 1801 by an officer in his own bedroom, without even having time to really wake up.
After his father's death, his eldest son ascended the throne Alexander I(1801-1825), liberal and lover of the silence and charm of rural life, and also intended to give the people a constitution, so that he could rest on his laurels until the end of his days. At the age of forty-seven years, all he received in life in general was an epitaph from the great Pushkin himself: “I spent my whole life on the road, caught a cold and died in Taganrog.” It is remarkable that the first memorial museum in Russia was created in his honor, which existed for more than a hundred years, after which it was liquidated by the Bolsheviks. After his death, brother Constantine was appointed to the throne, but he immediately refused, not “wanting to take part in this pandemonium of ugliness and murder.”
Thus, Paul's third son ascended the throne - Nicholas I(reign from 1825 to 1855), direct grandson of Catherine, who was born during her lifetime and memory. It was under him that the Decembrist uprising was suppressed, the Code of Laws of the Empire was finalized, new censorship laws were introduced, and many very serious military campaigns were won. According to the official version, it is believed that he died of pneumonia, but it was rumored that the king committed suicide.
A leader of large-scale reforms and a great ascetic Alexander II Nikolaevich, nicknamed the Liberator, came to power in 1855. In March 1881, Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky threw a bomb at the feet of the sovereign. Soon after this, he died from his injuries, which turned out to be incompatible with life.
After the death of his predecessor, his own younger brother was anointed to the throne Alexander III Alexandrovich(from 1845 to 1894). During his time on the throne, the country did not enter into a single war, thanks to a uniquely faithful policy, for which he received the legitimate nickname Tsar-Peacemaker.
The most honest and responsible of the Russian emperors died after the crash of the royal train, when for several hours he held in his hands a roof that threatened to collapse on his family and friends.
An hour and a half after the death of his father, right in the Livadia Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, without waiting for a memorial service, the last emperor of the Russian Empire was anointed on the throne, Nicholas II Alexandrovich(1894-1917).
After the coup in the country, he abdicated the throne, handing it over to his half-brother Mikhail, as his mother had wished, but nothing could be corrected, and both were executed by the Revolution, along with their descendants.
On given time there are quite a lot of descendants of the imperial Romanov dynasty who could lay claim to the throne. It’s clear that there is no longer any smell of the purity of the family there, because the “wonderful new world“Dictates its own rules. However, the fact remains that if necessary, a new tsar can be found quite easily, and the Romanov tree in the scheme today looks quite branched.
Thanks to the marriage of Ivan IV the Terrible with a representative of the Romanov family, Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, the Zakharyin-Romanov family became close to the royal court in the 16th century, and after the suppression of the Moscow branch of the Rurikovichs began to lay claim to the throne.
In 1613, the great-nephew of Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, Mikhail Fedorovich, was elected to the royal throne. And the descendants of Tsar Michael, who were traditionally called House of Romanov, ruled Russia until 1917.
For a long period of time, members of the royal and then imperial family did not bear any surnames at all (for example, “Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich”, “Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich”). Despite this, the names “Romanovs” and “House of Romanov” were commonly used to informally designate the Russian Imperial House, the coat of arms of the Romanov boyars was included in official legislation, and in 1913 the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov was widely celebrated.
After 1917, almost all members of the former reigning house officially began to bear the Romanov surname, and many of their descendants now bear it.
Tsars and emperors of the Romanov dynasty
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus'
Years of life 1596-1645
Reign 1613-1645
Father - boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, who later became Patriarch Filaret.
Mother - Ksenia Ivanovna Shestovaya,
in monasticism Martha.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov born in Moscow on July 12, 1596. He spent his childhood in the village of Domnina, the Kostroma estate of the Romanovs.
Under Tsar Boris Godunov, all the Romanovs were persecuted due to suspicion of conspiracy. Boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov and his wife were forcibly tonsured into monasticism and imprisoned in monasteries. Fyodor Romanov received the name when he was tonsured Filaret, and his wife became the nun Martha.
But even after his tonsure, Filaret led an active political life: he opposed Tsar Shuisky and supported False Dmitry I (thinking that he was the real Tsarevich Dmitry).
After his accession, False Dmitry I brought back the surviving members of the Romanov family from exile. Fyodor Nikitich (in monasticism Filaret) with his wife Ksenia Ivanovna (in monasticism Martha) and son Mikhail were returned.
Marfa Ivanovna and her son Mikhail settled first in the Kostroma estate of the Romanovs, the village of Domnina, and then took refuge from persecution by Polish-Lithuanian troops in the Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma.
Ipatiev Monastery. Vintage image Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was only 16 years old when, on February 21, 1613, the Zemsky Sobor, which included representatives of almost all segments of the Russian population, elected him tsar.
On March 13, 1613, a crowd of boyars and city residents 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 from 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 should they be paid and fed? And how, in such a disastrous situation, can I, as a sovereign, resist my enemies?
“And I cannot 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 captive is in the kingdom, he orders evil to be done to his father, or even even deprives him of his life!
The ambassadors began to explain that Michael was chosen by the will of the whole earth, which means by the will of God. And if Michael refuses, then God himself will punish him for the final ruin of the state.
The persuasion between mother and son continued for six hours. Shedding bitter tears, nun Martha finally agreed with this fate. And since this is God’s will, she will bless her son. After his mother’s blessing, Mikhail no longer resisted and accepted the royal staff brought from Moscow from the ambassadors as a sign of power in Muscovite Rus'.
Patriarch Filaret
In the fall of 1617, the Polish army approached Moscow, and negotiations began on November 23. The Russians and Poles concluded a truce for 14.5 years. Poland received the Smolensk region and part of the Seversk land, and Russia received the respite it needed from Polish aggression.
And only a little over a year after the truce, the Poles released Metropolitan Philaret, the father of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, from captivity. The meeting of father and son took place on the Presnya River on June 1, 1619. They bowed at each other's feet, both cried, hugged each other and were silent for a long time, speechless with joy.
In 1619, immediately after returning from captivity, Metropolitan Philaret became Patriarch of All Rus'.
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 his father’s consent.
The Patriarch ruled church court, participated in resolving zemstvo issues, leaving only criminal cases for consideration by national institutions.
Patriarch Filaret “was of average stature and stature, he understood the divine scripture in part; He was temperamental and suspicious, and so powerful that the Tsar himself was afraid of him.”
Patriarch Filaret (F. N. Romanov) Tsar Michael and Patriarch Filaret considered cases together and made decisions on them, together they received foreign ambassadors, issued double diplomas 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 deciding state issues increased. But by 1622 the Zemsky Sobor was convened rarely and irregularly.
After the peace treaties concluded with Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a time of peace came for Russia. Fugitive peasants returned to their farms to cultivate 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 government goods, monitor the work of customs houses 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 at that time, where there was a division of labor by specialty, and steam mechanisms were used.
By decree of Mikhail Fedorovich, it was possible to gather master printers and literate elders to restore the printing business, which practically ceased during the Time of Troubles. During the Time of Troubles, the printing yard was burned along with all the printing machines.
By the end of the reign of Tsar Michael, the Printing House already had more than 10 presses and other equipment, and the printing house contained 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 factories, paints, drying oil, ink and much more.
In large cities, the construction of temples and towers was actively carried out, differing from old buildings in their elegant decoration. The Kremlin walls were repaired, and the Patriarchal Courtyard on the territory of the Kremlin was expanded.
Russia continued to develop Siberia, new cities were founded there: Yeniseisk (1618), Krasnoyarsk (1628), Yakutsk (1632), the Bratsk fort was built (1631),
Towers of the Yakut fort 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 strengthened their influence over Mikhail Fedorovich. But the king did not resist; he was now often ill. The serious illness that struck the king was most likely dropsy. The royal doctors wrote that Tsar Michael’s illness comes “from a lot of sitting, cold drinking and melancholy.”
Mikhail Fedorovich died on July 13, 1645 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Alexey Mikhailovich - Quiet, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Rus'
Years of life 1629-1676
Reign 1645-1676
Father - Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Rus'.
Mother - Princess Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva.
Future king Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov, the eldest son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was born on March 19, 1629. He was baptized at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and named Alexei. Already at the age of 6 he could read well. By order of his grandfather, Patriarch Filaret, an ABC book 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 patriarch’s library. The prince's tutor was a boyar 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 a Lexicon and Grammar published in Lithuania and a serious Cosmography.
Little Alexei was taught to govern the state from early childhood. He often attended receptions of foreign ambassadors and took part in court ceremonies.
In the 14th year of his life, 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 court nobility 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 boyar B.I. Morozov.
The new Russian Tsar, judging by his own letters and reviews from foreigners, had a remarkably gentle, good-natured character and was “much quiet.” The whole atmosphere in which Tsar Alexei lived, his upbringing and reading of church books developed in him great religiosity.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the Quietest On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, during all church fasts, the young king did not drink or eat anything. Alexey Mikhailovich was a very zealous performer of all church rites and had extreme Christian humility and meekness. All pride was disgusting and alien to him. “And to me, a sinner,” he wrote, “the honor here is like dust.”
But his good nature and humility were sometimes replaced by short-term outbursts of anger. One day, the tsar, who was being bled by a German “doctor,” ordered the boyars to try the same remedy, but boyar Streshnev did not agree. Then Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich personally “humbled” the old man, then did not know what gifts to appease him with.
Alexey Mikhailovich knew how to respond to other people’s grief and joy, and by his meek character he was simply a “golden man”, moreover, smart 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 inherited a powerful state recognized abroad to his sons. One of them, Peter I the Great, managed to continue his father’s work, completing the formation of an absolute monarchy and the creation of a huge Russian Empire.
Alexei Mikhailovich married in January 1648 the daughter of a poor nobleman Ilya Miloslavsky - Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, who bore him 13 children. Until the death of his wife, the king was an exemplary family man.
"Salt Riot"
B.I. Morozov, who 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 introduced on salt in order to sharply 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 massive ruin of 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 hand over a petition to the Tsar when he was returning from a pilgrimage on June 1, 1648. But the king was afraid of the people and did not accept the complaint. The petitioners were arrested. The next day, during a religious 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 dissatisfied. The people refused to negotiate with the boyars. Then a frightened Alexey Mikhailovich came out to the people, holding the icon in his hands.
Sagittarius The rebels throughout Moscow destroyed the chambers of the hated boyars - Morozov, Pleshcheev, Trakhaniotov - and demanded that the tsar hand them over. A critical situation had arisen; Alexei Mikhailovich had to make concessions. He was handed over to the crowd of Pleshcheevs, then the Trakhaniots. The life of the Tsar's teacher Boris Morozov was under the threat of popular reprisal. But Alexey Mikhailovich decided to save his teacher at any cost. He tearfully begged the crowd to spare the boyar, promising the people to remove Morozov from business and expel him from the capital. Alexey Mikhailovich kept his promise and sent Morozov to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
After these events, called "Salt riot", Alexey Mikhailovich has changed a lot, and his role in governing the state has become decisive.
At the request of the nobles and merchants, a Zemsky Sobor was convened on June 16, 1648, at which it was decided to prepare a new set 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. The Code developed legislation on land ownership and legal proceedings, and the statute of limitations for searching for runaway peasants was abolished (which finally established serfdom). This set 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, expelling English merchants from the country.
The objects of foreign policy of the tsarist government of Alexei Mikhailovich became Georgia, Central Asia, Kalmykia, India and China - countries with which the Russians tried to establish trade and diplomatic relations.
The Kalmyks asked Moscow to allocate territories for them to settle. In 1655 they swore allegiance to the Russian Tsar, and in 1659 the oath was confirmed. Since then, Kalmyks have always participated in hostilities on the side of Russia, their help was especially noticeable in the fight against the Crimean Khan.
Reunification of Ukraine with Russia
In 1653, the Zemsky Sobor considered the issue of reunifying Left Bank Ukraine with Russia (at the request of the Ukrainians, who were fighting for independence at that moment and hoping 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 fought with Poland from 1654 to 1667. During this time, Rostislavl, Drogobuzh, Polotsk, Mstislav, Orsha, Gomel, Smolensk, Vitebsk, Minsk, Grodno, Vilno, and Kovno were returned to Russia.
From 1656 to 1658, Russia fought 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 Polish troops, decided to enter into peace negotiations, which ended with the signing in 1667 Truce of Andrusovo for a period of 13 years and 6 months.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Under the terms of this truce, Russia renounced all conquests on the territory of Lithuania, but retained Severshchina, Smolensk and the Left Bank part of Ukraine, and also Kiev remained with Moscow for two years. The almost century-long confrontation between Russia and Poland came to an end, and later an eternal peace was concluded (in 1685), 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 keeper of the royal seal and head of the Little Russian and Polish orders.
"Copper Riot"
To ensure 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 appeared on the trade in copper, since from then on it all went to the treasury. But taxes continued to be collected only in silver coins, and copper money began to depreciate.
Many counterfeiters immediately appeared minting copper money. The gap in the value of silver and copper coins grew larger every year. From 1656 to 1663, the value of one silver ruble increased to 15 copper rubles. All trading people begged for the abolition of copper money.
The Russian merchants turned to the Tsar with a statement of dissatisfaction with their position. And soon the so-called "Copper Riot"- a powerful popular uprising on July 25, 1662. The cause for unrest was sheets posted in Moscow accusing 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 had already been plundered.
But then a rumor spread among the people about the escape 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 Alexey Mikhailovich had already called upon the Streltsy regiments for help. A bloody massacre of the rebels began. Many people were drowned in the Moscow River at that time, others were hacked to pieces with sabers or shot. After the suppression of the riot, an inquiry was conducted for a long time. The authorities tried to find out who was the author of the leaflets posted around the capital.
Copper and silver pennies from the time of Alexei Mikhailovich After everything that happened, the king decided to abolish copper money. The royal decree of June 11, 1663 stated this. Now all calculations were again made only with the help of silver coins.
Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the Boyar Duma gradually lost its importance, and the Zemsky Sobor was no longer convened after 1653.
In 1654, the king created the “Order of his Great Sovereign for Secret Affairs.” The Order of Secret Affairs delivered everything to the king necessary information on civil and military affairs and performed the functions of the secret police.
During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the development of Siberian lands continued. In 1648, 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 free settlers founded the Albazin Voivodeship. At the same time, the city of Irkutsk was founded.
Industrial development of mineral deposits and precious stones began in the Urals.
Patriarch Nikon
At that time it became necessary to carry out a reform of the church. Liturgical books have become extremely worn out, and a huge number of inaccuracies and errors have accumulated in the texts copied by hand. Often church services in one church were very different from the same service in another. All this “disorder” was very difficult for the young monarch to see, who was always very concerned about the strengthening and spread of Orthodox faith.
At the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin there was circle of “God lovers”, which included Alexey Mikhailovich. Among the “God-lovers” were several priests, Abbot Nikon of the Novospassky Monastery, Archpriest Avvakum and several secular nobles.
Ukrainian learned monks were invited to help the circle in Moscow, publishing liturgical literature. The Printing 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, Smotritsky’s “Grammar” was published.
But along with the distribution of books, persecution of buffoons and folk customs originating from paganism began. Folk musical instruments were confiscated, playing the balalaika was banned, masquerade masks, fortune telling, and even swings were highly condemned.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich had already matured and no longer needed anyone’s care. But the king’s soft, sociable nature needed an adviser and friend. Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod became such a “sobin’s”, especially beloved friend for the Tsar.
After the death of Patriarch Joseph, the tsar offered to accept the supreme clergy to his friend, Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, whose views Alexei fully shared. In 1652, Nikon became the Patriarch of All Rus' and the sovereign's closest friend and adviser.
Patriarch Nikon For more than one year he carried out church reforms, which were supported by the sovereign. These innovations caused protest among many believers; they considered the corrections in the liturgical books to be a betrayal of the faith of their fathers and grandfathers.
The monks of the Solovetsky Monastery were the first to openly oppose all innovations. Church unrest spread across the country. Archpriest Avvakum became an ardent enemy of innovation. Among the so-called Old Believers who did not accept the changes introduced into the services by Patriarch Nikon, there were two women from the upper class: Princess Evdokia Urusova and noblewoman Feodosia Morozova.
Patriarch Nikon The Council of the Russian Clergy in 1666 nevertheless accepted all the innovations and book corrections prepared by Patriarch Nikon. Everyone Old Believers the church anathematized (cursed) and called them schismatics. Historians believe that in 1666 there was a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church; it was split into two parts.
Patriarch Nikon, seeing the difficulties with which his reforms were proceeding, voluntarily left the patriarchal throne. For this and for the “worldly” punishments of schismatics that were unacceptable for the Orthodox Church, on the orders of Alexei Mikhailovich, Nikon was defrocked by a council of clergy and sent to the Ferapontov Monastery.
In 1681, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich allowed Nikon to return to the New Jerusalem Monastery, but Nikon died on the way. Subsequently, Patriarch Nikon was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Stepan Razin Peasant war led by Stepan Razin
In 1670, the Peasant War began in southern Russia. The uprising was led by the Don Cossack ataman Stepan Razin.
The objects of hatred of the rebels were the boyars and officials, the tsar's 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 Tsar was the embodiment of ideal and justice for the Cossacks. 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 plundered Persian ships.
In May 1670, he and his army went to the Volga and took the cities of Tsaritsyn, Cherny Yar, Astrakhan, Saratov, and Samara. He attracted many nationalities: Chuvash, Mordovians, Tatars, Cheremis.
Near the city of Simbirsk, Stepan Razin’s army 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 on Lobnoye Mesto of Red Square.
The participants in the uprising were also dealt with in the most brutal manner. During the investigation, the most sophisticated tortures and executions were used against the rebels: cutting off arms and legs, quartering, gallows, mass exile, burning the letter “B” on the face, signifying involvement in the riot.
last years of life
By 1669, the wooden Kolomna Palace of fantastic beauty was built; it was the country residence of Alexei Mikhailovich.
In the last years of his life, the king became interested in theater. By his order, a court theater was founded, which presented performances based on biblical subjects.
In 1669, the Tsar’s wife, Maria Ilyinichna, died. Two years after the death of his wife, Alexey Mikhailovich married a young noblewoman for the second time Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, who gave birth to a son - the future Emperor Peter I and two daughters, Natalia and Theodora.
Alexey Mikhailovich outwardly looked like a very healthy person: he was fair-faced and ruddy, fair-haired and blue-eyed, tall and corpulent. He was only 47 years old when he felt signs of a fatal illness.
Tsar's wooden palace in Kolomenskoye 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.
Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov - Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Rus'
Years of life 1661-1682
Reign 1676-1682
Father - Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Rus'.
Mother - Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov born in Moscow on May 30, 1661. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the question of inheriting the throne arose more than once, since Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich died at the age of 16, and the second tsar’s son Fedor was nine years old at that time.
After all, 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 Fyodor Alekseevich was no different good health, was weak and sickly from childhood. He ruled the country for only six years.
Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich was well educated. He knew Latin well and spoke fluent Polish, and knew a little ancient Greek. The tsar was versed in painting and church music, had “great art in poetry and composed considerable verses,” trained in the basics of versification, he made a poetic translation of psalms for the “Psalter” of 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 prince’s educator and spiritual mentor.
After the accession of young Fyodor Alekseevich, at first his stepmother, N.K. Naryshkina, tried to lead the country, but Tsar Fyodor’s relatives managed to remove her from business by sending her and her son Peter (the future Peter I) into “voluntary exile” to the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.
The friends and relatives of the young tsar were boyar I. F. Miloslavsky, princes Yu. Golitsyn. These were “educated, capable and conscientious people.” It was they, who had influence on the young king, who energetically began to create a capable government.
Thanks to their influence, under Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, important government decisions were transferred to the Boyar Duma, the number of members of which increased from 66 to 99 under him. The Tsar was also inclined to personally take part in government.
Tsar Fedor Alekseevich Romanov In business internal management country, Fyodor Alekseevich left a mark on the history of Russia with two innovations. In 1681, a project was developed to create the subsequently famous, and then 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 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.
Fyodor Alekseevich ordered the construction of special shelters for orphans and teaching them various sciences and crafts. The Emperor wanted to place 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 localism. According to the tradition that existed in Russia, government 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 appointee occupied in the state apparatus.
Simeon of Polotsk The son of a man who once occupied a low position could never become superior to the son of an official who at one time occupied a higher position. This state of affairs irritated and disturbed many effective management by the state.
At the request of Fyodor 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 had signed up for military service, and introduced household taxation (this immediately replenished the treasury, but increased serfdom).
In 1679-1680, an attempt was made to soften criminal penalties in the European style; in particular, cutting off hands for theft was abolished. Since then, the perpetrators have been exiled to Siberia with their families.
Thanks to the construction of defensive structures in the south of Russia, it became possible to widely allocate estates and estates to nobles who sought to increase their land holdings.
A major foreign policy action during the time of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich was the successful Russian-Turkish War (1676-1681), which ended with the Bakhchisarai Peace Treaty, which secured the unification of Left Bank Ukraine with Russia. Russia received Kyiv even earlier under a treaty with Poland in 1678.
During the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich, the entire Kremlin palace complex, including the churches, was rebuilt. The buildings were connected by galleries and passages; they were newly decorated with carved porches.
The Kremlin hosted sewer system, a flowing pond and many hanging gardens with gazebos. Fyodor Alekseevich had his own garden, on the decoration and arrangement of which he spared no expense.
Dozens of stone buildings, five-domed churches in Kotelniki and Presnya were built in Moscow. The sovereign issued loans from the treasury to his subjects for the construction of stone houses in Kitai-Gorod and forgave many of their debts.
Fyodor Alekseevich saw the construction of beautiful stone buildings as the best way to protect the capital from fires. At the same time, the tsar believed that Moscow is the face of the state and admiration for its splendor should inspire respect among foreign ambassadors for all of Russia.
St. Nicholas Church in Khamovniki, built during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich The king's personal life was very unhappy. In 1680, Fyodor Mikhailovich married Agafya Semyonovna Grushetskaya, but the queen died in childbirth along with her newborn son Ilya.
The tsar's new marriage was arranged by his closest adviser I.M. Yazykov. On February 14, 1682, Tsar Fedor, almost against his will, was married 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. Fyodor Alekseevich was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Ivan V Alekseevich Romanov - senior tsar and great sovereign of all Rus'
Years of life 1666-1696
Reign 1682-1696
Father - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar
and the great sovereign of all Rus'.
Mother - Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.
The future Tsar Ivan (John) V Alekseevich was born on August 27, 1666 in Moscow. When in 1682 Ivan V's elder brother, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, died without leaving an heir, 16-year-old Ivan V, as the next eldest, 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 choose 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 of them, 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 Streltsy riot.
The Streltsy regiments with their new chosen commanders headed towards the Kremlin, followed by crowds of townspeople. The archers walking ahead shouted accusations against the boyars, who allegedly poisoned Tsar Fedor and were already making an attempt on the life of Tsarevich Ivan.
The archers made a list in advance of the names of those boyars whom they demanded for reprisals. They did not listen to any admonitions, and showing them Ivan and Peter alive and unharmed on the royal porch did not impress the rebels. And in front of the princes’ eyes, the archers threw the bodies of their relatives and boyars, known to them from birth, onto spears from the windows of the palace. Sixteen-year-old Ivan after this forever abandoned government affairs, and Peter hated the Streltsy for the rest of his life.
Then Patriarch Joachim proposed to proclaim both kings at once: Ivan as the senior king, and Peter as the junior king, and to appoint Princess Sofya Alekseevna, Ivan’s sister, as their regent (ruler).
June 25, 1682 Ivan V Alekseevich and Peter I Alekseevich were married to the throne in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Even a special throne with two seats was built for them, currently kept in the Armory.
Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich Although Ivan was called the senior tsar, he almost never dealt with state affairs, but was only concerned with his family. Ivan V was Russian sovereign for 14 years, but his rule was formal. He only attended palace ceremonies and signed documents without understanding their essence. The actual rulers under him were first Princess Sophia (from 1682 to 1689), and then power passed to his younger brother, Peter.
From childhood, Ivan V 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 Fedorovna Saltykova: Maria, Feodosia (died in infancy), Ekaterina, Anna, Praskovya.
Of the daughters of Ivan V, Anna Ivanovna later became empress (ruled in 1730-1740). His granddaughter became 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, had very poor vision and, according to the testimony of one foreigner, was struck by paralysis. “Indifferently, like a deathly statue, Tsar Ivan sat on his silver chair under the icons, wearing a monomache hat pulled down over his very eyes, lowered down and not looking at anyone.”
Ivan V Alekseevich died in the 30th year of his life, on January 29, 1696 in Moscow and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Silver double throne of Tsars Ivan and Peter Alekseevich Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna - ruler of Russia
Years of life 1657-1704
Reign 1682-1689
Mother is the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.
Sofya Alekseevna born September 5, 1657. She never married and had no children. Her only passion was the desire to rule.
In the fall of 1682, Sophia, with the help 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 innovations.
During her reign, the search for serfs was somewhat weakened, minor concessions were made to the townspeople, and in the interests of the church, Sophia intensified the persecution of 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 “for eternity” Kyiv with the adjacent region, but for this Russia was obliged to start a war with the Crimean Khanate, since the Crimean Tatars devastated the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Poland).
In 1687, Prince V.V. Golitsyn led the Russian army on a campaign against Crimea. The troops reached the 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 trip to Crimea. Russian troops reached Perekop, but were unable to take it and returned ingloriously. These failures greatly affected the prestige of ruler Sophia. Many of the princess's followers lost faith in her.
In August 1689, a coup 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. A nurse and maids lived with her. Good food and various delicacies were sent to her from the royal kitchen. Visitors were allowed to Sophia at any time; she could, if she wished, walk throughout the entire territory of the monastery. Only at the gate stood a guard of soldiers loyal to Peter.
Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna During Peter's stay abroad in 1698, the archers raised another uprising with the aim of transferring the rule of Russia again to Sophia.
The Streltsy uprising ended in failure; they were defeated by troops loyal to Peter, and the leaders of the rebellion were executed. Peter returned from abroad. The executions of the archers were repeated.
After personal interrogation by Peter, Sophia was forcibly tonsured a nun under the name of Susanna. Strict supervision was established over her. Peter ordered the execution of the archers right under the windows of Sophia’s cell.
Her imprisonment in the monastery lasted for another five years under the vigilant supervision of guards. Sofya Alekseevna died in 1704 in the Novodevichy Convent.
Peter I – Great Tsar, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia
Years of life 1672-1725
Reigned 1682-1725
Father - Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar and Great Sovereign of All Rus'.
Mother is 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 Russia’s lag behind 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. Various mothers and nannies were assigned to little Peter, and special rooms were allocated. The best masters They made furniture, clothes, and toys for the prince. From an early age, the boy especially loved toy weapons: bows and arrows, sabres, guns.
Alexei 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 to the size of a newborn prince. Peter subsequently always took it with him, believing that this icon protected him from misfortunes and brought good luck.
Peter was educated at home under the supervision of his “uncle” Nikita Zotov. He complained that by the age of 11 the prince was not very successful in literacy, history and geography, captured by military “fun” first in the village of Vorobyovo, then in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. These “amusing” games of the king were attended by specially created "funny" shelves(which later became the guard and the core of the Russian regular army).
Physically strong, agile, inquisitive, Peter, with the participation of palace craftsmen, mastered carpentry, weapons, blacksmithing, watchmaking, and printing.
The Tsar knew German from early childhood, later learned Dutch, partly English and French languages.
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 - from them Peter studied history.
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 (government of the country) of his sister, Princess Sofia Alekseevna.
During her reign, Peter lived in the village of Preobrazhenskoye 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 the rest of his life, and other “young guys of a simple kind.” Peter learned to value not nobility and birth, but a person’s abilities, his ingenuity and dedication to his work.
Peter I the Great Under the guidance of the Dutchman F. Timmerman and the Russian master R. Kartsev, Peter learned shipbuilding, and in 1684 he sailed on his boat along the Yauza.
In 1689, Peter’s 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 settlement. There, in 1691, Peter met the daughter of a German artisan, Anna Mons, who became his lover and friend.
Foreigners had a great influence on the formation of his interests F. Ya. Lefort, Y. V. Bruce And P. I. Gordon- first Peter’s teachers in various fields, and later his closest associates.
At the beginning of glory days
By the early 1690s, real battles involving tens of thousands of people were already taking place near the village of Preobrazhenskoye. 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, which was so necessary for Russia. The first Russian warship was launched in 1692.
Peter began government affairs only after the death of his mother in 1694. By this time, he had already built ships at the Arkhangelsk shipyard and sailed them on the sea. The Tsar came up with his own flag, consisting of three stripes - red, blue and white, which decorated 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 of his brother-co-ruler Ivan V, Peter I became an 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 Azov.
However, trade relations with Europe could only be achieved by gaining access to the Baltic Sea and the return of Russian lands captured by Sweden during the Time of Troubles.
Transfiguration Soldiers Under the guise of studying shipbuilding and maritime affairs, Peter I secretly traveled as one of the volunteers at the Great Embassy, and in 1697-1698 to Europe. There, under the name of Pyotr Mikhailov, the tsar completed a full course in artillery science in Konigsberg and Brandenburg.
He worked as a carpenter in the shipyards of Amsterdam for six months, studying naval architecture and drafting, then completed a theoretical course in shipbuilding in England. On his orders, books, instruments, and weapons were purchased for Russia in these countries, and foreign craftsmen and scientists were recruited.
The Grand 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 held negotiations with the Austrian emperor and intended to also visit Venice, but upon receiving news of the impending uprising of the Streltsy in Moscow (whom Princess Sophia promised to increase their salary 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 revolt and did not spare any of the rebels - 1,182 people were executed. Sophia and her sister Martha were tonsured as nuns.
In February 1699, Peter I ordered the disbandment of the Streltsy regiments and the formation of regular ones - soldiers and dragoons, since “until now this state did not have any infantry.”
Soon, Peter I signed decrees that, under pain of fines and flogging, ordered men to “cut their beards,” which were considered a symbol of the Orthodox faith. The young king ordered everyone to wear European-style clothing, and for women to reveal their hair, which had previously always been carefully hidden under scarves and hats. This is how Peter I prepared Russian society to radical changes, eliminating with his decrees the patriarchal foundations of the Russian way of life.
Since 1700, Peter I introduced new calendar with the beginning of the new year - January 1 (instead of September 1) and the calendar from the “Nativity of Christ”, which he also considered as a step in breaking down outdated morals.
In 1699, Peter I finally broke up 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 nunnery, where she was tonsured as a nun under the name of Elena. The Tsar took his eight-year-old son Alexei to his home.
North War
The first priority of Peter I was the creation of a regular army and the construction of a fleet. On November 19, 1699, the king issued a decree on the formation of 30 infantry regiments. But the training of the soldiers did not proceed as quickly 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 them even better than theirs.
By the beginning of 1700, Russian diplomats managed to make peace with Turkey and sign treaties with Denmark and Poland. Having concluded the Peace of Constantinople with Turkey, Peter I switched the country's efforts to fight Sweden, which at that time was ruled by 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 40,000-strong untrained and poorly prepared Russian army lost this battle to the army of Charles XII. Calling the Swedes “Russian teachers,” Peter I ordered reforms that were supposed to make the Russian army combat-ready. The Russian army began to transform before our eyes, and domestic artillery began to emerge.
A. D. Menshikov Alexander Danilovich Menshikov
On May 7, 1703, Peter I and Alexander Menshikov made a fearless attack on two Swedish ships at the mouth of the Neva in boats 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 as a child, rose from the royal orderly to generalissimo and received the title of His Serene Highness.
Menshikov was practically the second person in the state after Peter I, his closest ally in all state affairs. Peter I appointed Menshikov governor of all the Baltic lands conquered from the Swedes. Menshikov invested a lot of strength and energy in the construction of St. Petersburg, and his merit in this is invaluable. True, for all his merits, Menshikov was also the most famous Russian embezzler.
Founding of St. Petersburg
By mid-1703, all the lands from the source to the mouth of the Neva were in the hands of the Russians.
On May 16, 1703, Peter I founded the St. Petersburg fortress on Vesyoly Island - a wooden fortress with six bastions. A small house was built next to it for the sovereign. Alexander Menshikov was appointed the first governor of the fortress.
The Tsar predicted for St. Petersburg not only the role of a commercial 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 foundation 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 founded at the mouth of the Neva. The construction of ships there began in 1705, and the first ship was launched already in 1706.
The foundation of the new future capital coincided with changes in the tsar’s personal life: he met the laundress Marta Skavronskaya, who was given to Menshikov as a “trophy of war.” Marta was captured in one of the battles of the Northern War. The Tsar soon named her Ekaterina Alekseevna, baptizing Martha into Orthodoxy. In 1704, she became the common-law wife of Peter I, and by the end of 1705, Peter Alekseevich became the father of Catherine’s son, Paul.
Children of Peter I
Household affairs greatly depressed the reformer Tsar. 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 Alexey fled to Europe. Peter I declared his son a traitor, achieved his return and imprisoned him in a fortress. In 1718, the Tsar personally conducted his investigation, seeking Alexei's abdication of the throne and the release of the names of his accomplices. The “Tsarevich’s Case” ended with the death sentence imposed on Alexei.
Children of Peter I from his marriage to Evdokia Lopukhina - Natalya, Pavel, Alexey, Alexander (all except Alexey died in infancy).
Children from his second marriage with Marta Skavronskaya (Ekaterina Alekseevna) - Ekaterina, Anna, Elizaveta, Natalya, Margarita, Peter, Pavel, Natalya, Peter (except Anna and Elizaveta died in infancy).
Tsarevich Alexey Petrovich Poltava victory
In 1705-1706, a wave of popular uprisings took place across Russia. People were unhappy with the violence of the governors, detectives and profit-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 and his army slowly moved east, intending to eventually take Moscow. After the capture of Kyiv, it was to be ruled by the Ukrainian hetman Mazepa, who went over to the side of the Swedes. All southern lands, according to Charles's plan, were distributed among the Turks, Crimean Tatars and other supporters of the Swedes. Russian state In the event of a victory, the Swedish troops would face destruction.
On July 3, 1708, the Swedes near the village of Golovchina in Belarus attacked the Russian corps led by Repnin. Under pressure from the royal army, the Russians retreated, and the Swedes entered Mogilev. The defeat at Golovchin became an excellent lesson for the Russian army. Soon the king, in his own hand, compiled the “Rules of Battle,” which dealt with the perseverance, courage and mutual assistance of soldiers in battle.
Peter I monitored the actions of the Swedes, studied their maneuvers, trying to lure the enemy into a trap. The Russian army walked ahead of the Swedish one and, on the orders of the tsar, mercilessly 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 walked through scorched, devastated land, the soldiers were starving. The Russian cavalry harassed the enemy with constant attacks.
Poltava battle The cunning Mazepa advised Charles XII to capture Poltava, which was of great strategic importance. On April 1, 1709, the Swedes stood under the walls of this fortress. The three-month siege did not bring success to Charles XII. All attempts to storm the fortress were repulsed by the Poltava garrison.
On June 4, Peter I arrived in Poltava. Together with the military leaders, he developed detailed plan actions, providing for all possible changes during the battle.
On June 27, the Swedish royal army was completely defeated. They could not find the Swedish king himself; he fled with Mazepa towards 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 battles, distributed ranks, orders and lands. Soon the tsar ordered the generals to hurry up and liberate the entire Baltic coast from the Swedes.
Until 1720, hostilities between Sweden and Russia were sluggish and protracted. But only naval battle at Grenham, 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, the Senate and the Holy Synod on January 20, 1721 approved a new title for Sovereign 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 began to solve 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. There, for the first time in Russian history, permanent diplomatic missions and consulates were established, and the importance of foreign trade increased.
Emperor
Emperor(from the Latin imperator - ruler) - the title of a monarch, head of state. Initially, in Ancient Rome, the word imperator meant supreme power: military, judicial, administrative, which was possessed by the highest consuls and dictators. Since 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 retained 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 adopted by the monarchs of several other states. In Russia, Peter the Great was proclaimed the first emperor - that is how he was now called.
Coronation
With the adoption of the title “All-Russian Emperor” by Peter I, the rite of coronation was replaced by coronation, which led to changes both in the church ceremony and in the composition of the regalia.
Coronation – rite of entry into kingship.
For the first time, the coronation ceremony took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on May 7, 1724, Emperor Peter I crowned his wife Catherine as empress. The coronation process was drawn up according to the rite of the crowning of Fyodor 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, similar to church crowns for weddings. The Monomakh cap was not placed at the coronation; it was carried ahead of the solemn procession. During the coronation of Catherine, she was awarded a golden small power - the “globe”.
Imperial crown In 1722, Peter issued a decree on succession to the throne, which stated that the successor to power was appointed by the reigning sovereign.
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 Tsar was informed of his wife’s betrayal with the chamberlain Mons.) For a long time, Peter I could not forgive the Empress for this offense, and he never had time to write a new will.
Fundamental reforms
Peter's decrees of 1715-1718 concerned all aspects of the life of the state: tanning, workshops uniting master 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 government controlled. Instead of the Boyar Duma, the Near Chancellery 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 governing body in the event of the Tsar's absence. But soon it became permanent. The Senate had judicial, administrative and sometimes legislative powers. The composition of the Senate changed according to the decision of the Tsar.
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 disaggregate the provinces and divided the country into 50 provinces headed by governors. Provinces have been preserved, but there are already 11 of them.
Over the course of more than 35 years of rule, 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 clergy’s monopoly on education. Peter the Great founded and opened: the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (1701), the Medical-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 a public library. Primers, educational maps were published, and in general a beginning was laid for the systematic study of the country's geography and cartography.
The spread of literacy was facilitated by the reform of the alphabet (replacing cursive with a civil font in 1708), the publication of the first Russian printed Vedomosti newspapers(since 1703).
Holy Synod- This is also Peter’s innovation, 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 Prikaz 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 rank of Russian patriarch, replacing it with the Holy Synod, which included representatives of the highest clergy of Russia.
During 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, planned development has begun Northern capital– St. Petersburg, which marked the beginning of urban planning and construction of residential buildings according to standard projects.
Peter I – dentist
Tsar Peter I the Great “was a worker on the eternal throne.” He knew well 14 crafts or, as they said then, “handicrafts,” but medicine (more precisely, surgery and dentistry) was one of his main hobbies.
During his trips to Western Europe, while in Amsterdam in 1698 and 1717, Tsar Peter I visited the anatomical museum of Professor Frederik Ruysch and diligently took lessons in anatomy and medicine from him. Returning to Russia, Pyotr 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 a body or perform some kind of surgical operation, and ... rarely missed such an opportunity , so as not to be present at it, and often even helped in operations. Over time, he acquired so much skill that he very skillfully knew how to dissect a body, bleed, pull out teeth and do this with great desire...”
Peter I always and everywhere carried with him two sets of instruments: measuring and surgical. Considering himself an experienced surgeon, the king was always happy to come to the rescue as soon as he noticed any ailment in his entourage. And by the end of his life, Peter had a heavy bag in which 72 teeth he personally pulled out were stored.
It must be said that the king’s passion for tearing out other people’s teeth was very unpleasant for his entourage. Because it happened that he tore not only diseased teeth, but also healthy ones.
One of Peter I’s close associates wrote in his diary in 1724 that Peter’s niece “is in great fear that the emperor will soon take care of 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 Peter I’s surgical skill; it could only be assessed by the patient himself, and even then not always. After all, it happened that the operation that Peter performed 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 expert in anatomy; in his free time from government affairs, he loved 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 painkillers) can be seen in the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera.
In the last year of life
The stormy and difficult life of the great reformer could not but affect the health of the emperor, who by the age of 50 had developed 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 even during treatment he still did hard physical work. In June 1724, at the Ugodsky factories, he forged several strips of iron with his own hands, in August he was present at the launching 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 Willie Mons, the brother of the emperor’s former favorite, Anna Mons.
It was difficult to prove his wife’s infidelity, so Willie Mons was accused of bribery and embezzlement. According to the court verdict, his head was cut off. Catherine had only hinted at a pardon to Peter I 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 difficult test - he took her to see the severed head of Mons.
Soon his kidney disease worsened. Peter I spent most of the last months of his life in bed in terrible torment. At times the illness subsided, then he got up and left the bedroom. At the end of October 1724, Peter I even participated in putting out a fire on Vasilievsky Island, and on November 5 he stopped by the wedding of a German baker, where he spent several hours watching a foreign wedding ceremony and German dances. That same November, the Tsar participated in the betrothal of his daughter Anna and the Duke of Holstein.
Overcoming the pain, the emperor compiled and edited decrees and instructions. Three weeks before his death, Peter I was drafting instructions for the leader of the Kamchatka expedition, Vitus Bering.
Peter-Pavel's Fortress In mid-January 1725, attacks of renal colic became more frequent. According to contemporaries, for several days Peter I shouted so loudly that it could be heard far around. Then the pain became so strong that the king only groaned dully, biting the pillow. Peter I died on January 28, 1725 in terrible agony. His body remained unburied for forty days. All this time, his wife Catherine (soon proclaimed empress) cried 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, which he founded.
The Romanovs, whose dynasty dates back to the sixteenth century, were simply an old noble family. But after the marriage concluded between Ivan the Terrible and a representative of the Romanov family, Anastasia Zakharyina, they became close to the royal court. And after establishing kinship with the Moscow Rurikovichs, the Romanovs themselves began to lay claim to the royal throne.
The history of the Russian dynasty of emperors began after the chosen grandnephew of Ivan the Terrible’s wife, Mikhail Fedorovich, began to rule the country. His descendants stood at the head of Russia until October 1917.
Background
The ancestor of some noble families, including the Romanovs, is called Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, whose father, as records show, Divonovich Glanda-Kambila, who received the baptismal name Ivan, appeared in Russia in the last decade of the fourteenth century. He came from Lithuania.
Despite this, a certain category of historians suggests that the beginning of the Romanov dynasty (in short - the House of Romanov) comes from Novgorod. Andrei Ivanovich had five sons. Their names were Semyon Stallion and Alexander Elka, Vasily Ivantai and Gavriil Gavsha, as well as Fyodor Koshka. They were the founders of as many as seventeen noble houses in Rus'. In the first generation, Andrei Ivanovich and his first four sons were called Kobylins, Fyodor Andreevich and his son Ivan were called Koshkins, and the latter’s son, Zakhary, was called Koshkin-Zakharyin.
The origin of the surname
Descendants soon discarded the first part - the Koshkins. And for some time now they began to be written only under the name of Zakharyina. From the sixth generation, the second half was added to it - the Yuryevs.
Accordingly, the offspring of Peter and Vasily Yakovlevich were called the Yakovlevs, Roman - the okolnichy and the governor - Zakharyin-Romanov. It is with the children of the latter that the famous Romanov dynasty began. The reign of this family began in 1613.
Kings
The Romanov dynasty managed to install five of its representatives on the royal throne. The first of them was the great-nephew of Anastasia, the wife of Ivan the Terrible. Mikhail Fedorovich is the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, he was raised to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor. But, since he was young and inexperienced, the country was actually ruled by Elder Martha and her relatives. After him, the kings of the Romanov dynasty were few in number. These are his son Alexei and three grandsons - Fyodor and Peter I. It was the latter in 1721 that the Romanov royal dynasty ended.
Emperors
When Peter Alekseevich ascended the throne, a completely different era began for the family. The Romanovs, whose dynasty's history as emperors began in 1721, gave Russia thirteen rulers. Of these, only three were representatives by blood.
After the first emperor of the House of Romanov, the throne was inherited as an autocratic empress by his legal wife Catherine I, whose origins are still hotly debated by historians. After her death, power passed to Peter Alekseevich’s grandson from his first marriage, Peter the Second.
Due to infighting and intrigue, his grandfather's line of succession to the throne was frozen. And after him, imperial power and regalia were transferred to the daughter of Emperor Peter the Great’s elder brother, Ivan V, while after Anna Ioannovna, her son from the Duke of Brunswick ascended to the Russian throne. His name was Ivan VI Antonovich. He became the only representative of the Mecklenburg-Romanov dynasty to occupy the throne. He was overthrown by his own aunt, “Petrov’s daughter,” Empress Elizabeth. She was unmarried and childless. That is why the Romanov dynasty, whose reign table is very impressive, in the direct male line ended precisely there.
Introduction to history
The accession of this family to the throne occurred under strange circumstances, surrounded by numerous strange deaths. The Romanov dynasty, photos of whose representatives are in any history textbook, is directly related to the Russian chronicle. She stands out for her unfailing patriotism. Together with the people, they went through difficult times, slowly lifting the country out of poverty and misery - the results of constant wars, namely the Romanovs.
The history of the Russian dynasty is literally saturated with bloody events and secrets. Each of its representatives, although they respected the interests of their subjects, was at the same time distinguished by cruelty.
First ruler
The year the Romanov dynasty began was very turbulent. The state did not have a legal ruler. Mainly due to the excellent reputation of Anastasia Zakharyina and her brother Nikita, the Romanov family was respected by everyone.
Russia was tormented by wars with Sweden and practically never-ending internecine strife. At the beginning of February 1613, in Velikiy, abandoned by foreign invaders along with a pile of dirt and garbage, the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, the young and inexperienced prince Mikhail Fedorovich, was proclaimed. And it was this sixteen-year-old son who marked the beginning of the reign of the Romanov dynasty. He secured his reign for a full thirty-two years.
It is with him that the Romanov dynasty begins, the genealogy table of which is studied at school. In 1645, Mikhail was replaced by his son Alexei. The latter also ruled for quite a long time - more than three decades. After him, the succession to the throne was associated with some difficulties.
From 1676, Russia was ruled for six years by Mikhail's grandson, Fedor, named after his great-grandfather. After his death, the reign of the Romanov dynasty was worthily continued by Peter I and Ivan V, his brothers. For almost fifteen years they exercised dual power, although virtually the entire government of the country was taken into their own hands by their sister Sophia, who was known as a very power-hungry woman. Historians say that to hide this circumstance, a special double throne with a hole was ordered. And it was through him that Sophia gave instructions to her brothers in a whisper.
Peter the Great
And although the beginning of the reign of the Romanov dynasty is associated with Fedorovich, nevertheless, almost everyone knows one of its representatives. This is a man of whom both the entire Russian people and the Romanovs themselves can be proud. The history of the Russian dynasty of emperors, the history of the Russian people, the history of Russia are inextricably linked with the name of Peter the Great - the commander and founder of the regular army and navy, and in general - a man with very progressive views on life.
Possessing purposefulness, strong will and great capacity for work, Peter I, like, indeed, the entire Romanov dynasty, with a few exceptions, photos of whose representatives are in all history textbooks, studied a lot throughout his life. But he paid special attention to military and naval affairs. During his first trip abroad in 1697-1698, Peter took a course in artillery science in the city of Konigsberg, then worked for six months at the Amsterdam shipyards as a simple carpenter, and studied the theory of shipbuilding in England.
This was not only the most remarkable personality of his era, the Romanovs could be proud of him: the history of the Russian dynasty did not know a more intelligent and inquisitive person. His whole appearance, according to his contemporaries, testified to this.
Peter the Great was invariably interested in everything that somehow affected his plans: both in terms of government or commerce, and in education. His curiosity extended to almost everything. He did not neglect even the smallest details, if they could later be useful in some way.
The life's work of Pyotr Romanov was the rise of his state and the strengthening of its military strength. It was he who became the founder of the regular fleet and army, continuing the reforms of his father, Alexei Mikhailovich.
The state transformations of Peter the Great's rule turned Russia into a strong state that acquired seaports, developed foreign trade and a well-established administrative management system.
And although the reign of the Romanov dynasty began almost six decades earlier, not a single representative of it managed to achieve what Peter the Great achieved. He not only established himself as an excellent diplomat, but also created the anti-Swedish Northern Alliance. In history, the name of the first emperor is associated with the main stage in the development of Russia and its emergence as a great power.
At the same time, Peter was a very tough person. When he seized power at the age of seventeen, he did not fail to hide his sister Sophia in a distant monastery. One of the most famous representatives of the Romanov dynasty, Peter, better known as the Great, was considered a rather heartless emperor, who set himself the goal of reorganizing his little-civilized country in a Western manner.
However, despite such advanced ideas, he was considered a capricious tyrant, quite comparable to his cruel predecessor - Ivan the Terrible, the husband of his great-grandmother Anastasia Romanova.
Some researchers reject the great significance of Peter's perestroikas and, in general, the policies of the emperor during his reign. Peter, they believe, was in a hurry to achieve his goals, so he took the shortest route, sometimes even using obviously clumsy methods. And this was precisely the reason that after his untimely death, the Russian empire quickly returned to the state from which the reformer Peter Romanov tried to bring it out.
It is impossible to radically change your people in one fell swoop, even by building a new capital for them, shaving the boyars’ beards and ordering them to gather for political rallies.
Nevertheless, the policies of the Romanovs, and in particular the administrative reforms that Peter introduced, meant quite a lot for the country.
New branch
After the marriage of Anna (the second daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine) with the nephew of the Swedish king, the beginning of the Romanov dynasty was laid, which actually passed into the Holstein-Gottorp family. At the same time, according to the agreement, the son born from this marriage, and he became Peter III, still remained a member of this royal House.
Thus, according to genealogical rules, the imperial family began to be called Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovsky, which was reflected not only on their family coat of arms, but also on the coat of arms of Russia. From this time on, the throne was passed on in a straight line, without any intricacies. This happened thanks to a decree issued by Paul. It spoke of succession to the throne through the direct male line.
After Paul, the country was ruled by Alexander I, his eldest son, who was childless. His second descendant, Prince Konstantin Pavlovich, renounced the throne, which, in fact, became one of the reasons for the Decembrist uprising. The next emperor was his third son, Nicholas I. In general, since the time of Catherine the Great, all heirs to the throne began to bear the title of crown prince.
After Nicholas I, the throne passed to his eldest son, Alexander II. At the age of twenty-one, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich died of tuberculosis. Therefore, the next was the second son - Emperor Alexander III, who was succeeded by his eldest son and the last Russian ruler - Nicholas II. Thus, since the beginning of the Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp dynasty, eight emperors have come from this branch, including Catherine the Great.
Nineteenth century
In the 19th century, the imperial family expanded and expanded greatly. Special laws were even adopted that regulated the rights and obligations of each family member. The material aspects of their existence were also discussed. A new title was even introduced - Prince of the Imperial Blood. He assumed too distant a descendant of the ruler.
From the time when the Romanov dynasty began until the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Imperial House began to include four branches in the female line:
- Holstein-Gottorp;
- Leuchtenberg - descended from the daughter of Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, and the Duke of Leuchtenberg;
- Oldenburg - from the marriage of the daughter of Emperor Paul with the Duke of Oldenburg;
- Mecklenburg - originating from the marriage of Princess Catherine Mikhailovna and the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Revolution and the Imperial House
From the moment the Romanov dynasty began, the history of this family is full of death and bloodshed. No wonder the last of the family - Nicholas II - was nicknamed the Bloody. It must be said that the emperor himself was not at all distinguished by a cruel disposition.
The reign of the last Russian monarch was marked by rapid economic growth of the country. At the same time, there was an increase in social and political contradictions within Russia. All this led to the beginning of the revolutionary movement and ultimately to the uprising of 1905-1907, and then to the February Revolution.
The Emperor of All Russia and the Tsar of Poland, as well as the Grand Duke of Finland - the last Russian emperor from the Romanov dynasty - ascended the throne in 1894. Nicholas II is described by his contemporaries as a gentle and highly educated, sincerely devoted to the country, but at the same time a very stubborn person.
Apparently, this was the reason for the persistent rejection of the advice of experienced dignitaries in matters of government, which, in fact, led to fatal mistakes in the Romanovs’ policies. The sovereign’s amazingly devoted love for his own wife, who in some historical documents is even called a mentally unstable person, became the reason for discrediting the royal family. Her power was called into question as the only true one.
This was explained by the fact that the wife of the last Russian emperor had a fairly strong say in many aspects of government. At the same time, she did not miss a single opportunity to take advantage of this, while many high-ranking persons were in no way satisfied with this. Most of them considered the last reigning Romanov a fatalist, while others were of the opinion that he was simply completely indifferent to the suffering of his people.
End of reign
The bloody year of 1917 was the final year for the shaky power of this autocrat. It all started with the First World War and the ineffectiveness of the policies of Nicholas II during this difficult period for Russia.
Antagonists of the Romanov family argue that during this period the last autocrat simply was unable or failed to implement the necessary political or social reforms in time. The February Revolution forced the last emperor to abdicate the throne. As a result, Nicholas II and his family were placed under house arrest in his palace in Tsarskoye Selo.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Romanovs ruled more than a sixth of the planet. It was a self-sufficient, independent state that concentrated the greatest wealth in Europe. It was a huge era that ended with the execution of the royal family, the last of the Romanovs: Nicholas II with Alexandra and their five children. It happened in a basement in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 17, 1918.
The Romanovs today
By the beginning of 1917, the Russian Imperial House numbered sixty-five representatives, of which thirty-two belonged to its male half. Eighteen people were shot by the Bolsheviks between 1918 and 1919. This happened in St. Petersburg, Alapaevsk and, of course, in Yekaterinburg. The remaining forty-seven people escaped. As a result, they found themselves in exile, mainly in the United States and France.
Despite this, a significant part of the dynasty hoped for the collapse of Soviet power and the restoration of the Russian monarchy for more than ten years. When Olga Konstantinovna - the Grand Duchess - became regent of Greece in December 1920, she began to accept many refugees from Russia in this country who were simply going to wait it out and return home. However, this did not happen.
Nevertheless, the House of Romanov still had weight for a long time. Moreover, in 1942, two representatives of the House were even offered the throne of Montenegro. An Association was even created, which included all living members of the dynasty.
The family belongs to the ancient families of the Moscow boyars. The first ancestor of this family known to us from the chronicles is Andrei Ivanovich, who had the nickname Mare, in 1347 he was in the service of the Great Prince of Vladimir and Moscow, Semyon Ivanovich Proud.
Semyon Proud was the eldest son and heir and continued the policies of his father. While Muscovy strengthened significantly, and Moscow began to claim leadership among other lands of North-Eastern Rus'. The Moscow princes not only established good relations with the Golden Horde, but also began to play a more important role in all-Russian affairs. Among the Russian princes, Semyon was considered the eldest, and few of them dared to contradict him. His character was clearly evident in his family life. After the death of his first wife, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas, Semyon remarried.
His chosen one was the Smolensk princess Eupraxia, but a year after the wedding the Moscow prince for some reason sent her back to her father, Prince Fyodor Svyatoslavich. Then Semyon decided on a third marriage, this time turning to Moscow's old rivals - the Tver princes. In 1347, an embassy went to Tver to woo Princess Maria, the daughter of Tver Prince Alexander Mikhailovich.
At one time, Alexander Mikhailovich died tragically in the Horde, falling victim to the intrigues of Ivan Kalita, Semyon’s father. And now the children of irreconcilable enemies were united by marriage. The embassy to Tver was headed by two Moscow boyars - Andrei Kobyla and Alexey Bosovolkov. This is how the ancestor of Tsar Mikhail Romanov appeared on the historical stage for the first time.
The embassy was successful. But Metropolitan Theognost unexpectedly intervened and refused to bless this marriage. Moreover, he ordered the closure of Moscow churches to prevent weddings. This position was apparently caused by Semyon’s previous divorce. But the prince sent generous gifts to the Patriarch of Constantinople, to whom the Moscow Metropolitan was subordinate, and received permission for the marriage. In 1353, Semyon the Proud died from the plague that raged in Rus'. Nothing more is known about Andrei Kobyl, but his descendants continued to serve the Moscow princes.
According to genealogists, the offspring of Andrei Kobyla was extensive. He left five sons, who became the founders of many famous noble families. The sons' names were: Semyon Stallion (didn't he get his name in honor of Semyon the Proud?), Alexander Yolka, Vasily Ivantey (or Vantey), Gavrila Gavsha (Gavsha is the same as Gabriel, only in a diminutive form; such endings of names in “-sha” were common in Novgorod land) and Fedor Koshka. In addition, Andrei had a younger brother Fyodor Shevlyaga, from whom came the noble families of Motovilovs, Trusovs, Vorobins and Grabezhevs. The nicknames Mare, Stallion and Shevlyaga (“nag”) are close in meaning to each other, which is not surprising, since several noble families have a similar tradition - representatives of the same family could bear nicknames from the same semantic circle. However, what was the origin of the brothers Andrei and Fyodor Ivanovich themselves?
The genealogies of the 16th – early 17th centuries do not report anything about this. But already in the first half of the 17th century, when they gained a foothold on the Russian throne, a legend about their ancestors appeared. Many noble families traced themselves to people from other countries and lands. This became a kind of tradition of the ancient Russian nobility, which, thus, almost entirely had “foreign” origin. Moreover, the most popular were the two “directions” from which the noble ancestors supposedly “exited”: either “from the Germans” or “from the Horde”. “Germans” meant not only the inhabitants of Germany, but all Europeans in general. Therefore, in the legends about the “excursions” of the founders of the clans, one can find the following clarifications: “From German, from Prus” or “From German, from Svei (i.e., Swedish) land.”
All these legends were similar to each other. Usually, a certain “honest man” with a strange name, unusual for Russian ears, came, often with a retinue, to serve one of the Grand Dukes. Here he was baptized, and his descendants became part of the Russian elite. Then noble families arose from their nicknames, and since many families traced themselves back to the same ancestor, it is understandable that different versions of the same legends appeared. The reasons for creating these stories are quite clear. By inventing foreign ancestors for themselves, Russian aristocrats “justified” their leadership position in society.
They made their families more ancient, constructed a high origin, because many of the ancestors were considered descendants of foreign princes and rulers, thereby emphasizing their exclusivity. Of course, this does not mean that absolutely all the legends were fictitious; probably, the most ancient of them could have had a real basis (for example, the ancestor of the Pushkins, Radsha, judging by the end of the name, was related to Novgorod and lived in the 12th century, according to some researchers, could actually be of foreign origin). But it is quite difficult to isolate these historical facts behind the layers of conjectures and conjectures. And besides, it can be difficult to unambiguously confirm or refute such a story due to the lack of sources. By the end of the 17th century, and especially in the 18th century, such legends acquired an increasingly fabulous character, turning into pure fantasies of authors poorly familiar with history. The Romanovs did not escape this either.
The creation of the family legend was “took upon themselves” by representatives of those families who had common ancestors with the Romanovs: the Sheremetevs, the already mentioned Trusovs, the Kolychevs. When the official genealogical book of the Muscovite kingdom was created in the 1680s, which later received the name “Velvet” because of its binding, noble families submitted their genealogies to the Rank Order, which was in charge of this matter. The Sheremetevs also presented the painting of their ancestors, and it turned out that, according to their information, the Russian boyar Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla was in fact a prince who came from Prussia.
The “Prussian” origin of the ancestor was very common at that time among ancient families. It has been suggested that this happened because of the “Prussian Street” at one end of ancient Novgorod. Along this street there was a road to Pskov, the so-called. "The Prussian Way". After the annexation of Novgorod to the Moscow state, many noble families of this city were resettled to the Moscow volosts, and vice versa. Thus, thanks to a misunderstood name, “Prussian” immigrants joined the Moscow nobility. But in the case of Andrei Kobyla, one can rather see the influence of another legend, very famous at that time.
At the turn of the 15th–16th centuries, when a unified Moscow state was formed and the Moscow princes began to lay claim to the royal (cesar, i.e., imperial) title, the well-known idea “Moscow is the Third Rome” appeared. Moscow became the heir to the great Orthodox tradition of the Second Rome - Constantinople, and through it the imperial power of the First Rome - the Rome of the emperors Augustus and Constantine the Great. The continuity of power was ensured by the marriage of Ivan III with Sophia Palaeologus, and the legend “about the gifts of Monomakh” - the Byzantine emperor, who transferred the royal crown and other regalia of royal power to his grandson Vladimir Monomakh in Rus', and the adoption of the imperial double-headed eagle as a state symbol. Visible proof of the greatness of the new kingdom was the magnificent ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin built under Ivan III and Vasily III. This idea was also maintained at the genealogical level. It was at this time that the legend about the origin of the then ruling Rurik dynasty arose. Rurik’s foreign, Varangian origin could not fit into the new ideology, and the founder of the princely dynasty became a 14th-generation descendant of a certain Prus, a relative of Emperor Augustus himself. Prus was supposedly the ruler of ancient Prussia, once inhabited by Slavs, and his descendants became the rulers of Rus'. And just as the Rurikovichs turned out to be the successors of the Prussian kings, and through them the Roman emperors, so the descendants of Andrei Kobyla created a “Prussian” legend for themselves.
Subsequently, the legend acquired new details. In a more complete form, it was drawn up by the steward Stepan Andreevich Kolychev, who under Peter I became the first Russian king of arms. In 1722, he headed the Heraldry Office under the Senate, a special institution that dealt with state heraldry and was in charge of accounting and class affairs of the nobility. Now the origins of Andrei Kobyla have “acquired” new features.
In 373 (or even 305) AD (at that time the Roman Empire still existed), the Prussian king Pruteno gave the kingdom to his brother Weidewut, and he himself became the high priest of his pagan tribe in the city of Romanov. This city seemed to be located on the banks of the Dubissa and Nevyazha rivers, at the confluence of which grew a sacred, evergreen oak tree of extraordinary height and thickness. Before his death, Veidevuth divided his kingdom among his twelve sons. The fourth son was Nedron, whose descendants owned the Samogit lands (part of Lithuania). In the ninth generation, a descendant of Nedron was Divon. He lived already in the 13th century and constantly defended his lands from the knights of the sword. Finally, in 1280, his sons, Russingen and Glanda Kambila, were baptized, and in 1283 Glanda (Glandal or Glandus) Kambila came to Rus' to serve the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich. Here he was baptized and began to be called Mare. According to other versions, Glanda was baptized with the name Ivan in 1287, and Andrei Kobyla was his son.
The artificiality of this story is obvious. Everything about it is fantastic, and no matter how hard some historians tried to verify its authenticity, their attempts were unsuccessful. Two characteristic motifs are striking. Firstly, the 12 sons of Veydevut are very reminiscent of the 12 sons of Prince Vladimir, the baptist of Rus', and the fourth son Nedron is the fourth son of Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise. Secondly, the author’s desire to connect the beginning of the Romanov family in Rus' with the first Moscow princes is obvious. After all, Daniil Alexandrovich was not only the founder of the Moscow principality, but also the founder of the Moscow dynasty, whose successors were the Romanovs.
Nevertheless, the “Prussian” legend became very popular and was officially recorded in the “General Arms Book of the Noble Families of the All-Russian Empire,” created on the initiative of Paul I, who decided to streamline all Russian noble heraldry. The noble family coats of arms were entered into the armorial book, which were approved by the emperor, and along with the image and description of the coat of arms, a certificate of the origin of the family was also given. The descendants of Kobyla - the Sheremetevs, Konovnitsyns, Neplyuevs, Yakovlevs and others, noting their “Prussian” origin, introduced the image of a “sacred” oak as one of the figures in their family coats of arms, and borrowed the central image itself (two crosses above which a crown is placed) from the heraldry of the city of Danzig (Gdansk).
Of course, as historical science developed, researchers not only were critical of the legend about the origin of the Mare, but also tried to discover any real historical basis in it. The most extensive study of the “Prussian” roots of the Romanovs was undertaken by the outstanding pre-revolutionary historian V.K. Trutovsky, who saw some correspondence between the information in the legend about Glanda Kambila and the real situation in the Prussian lands of the 13th century. Historians did not abandon such attempts in the future. But if the legend about Glanda Kambile could convey to us some grains of historical data, then its “external” design practically reduces this significance to nothing. It may be of interest from the point of view of the social consciousness of the Russian nobility of the 17th–18th centuries, but not in the matter of clarifying the true origin of the reigning family. Such a brilliant expert on Russian genealogy as A.A. Zimin wrote that Andrei Kobyla “probably came from native Moscow (and Pereslavl) landowners.” In any case, be that as it may, it is Andrei Ivanovich who remains the first reliable ancestor of the Romanov dynasty.
Let's return to the real pedigree of his descendants. The eldest son of Mare, Semyon Stallion, became the founder of the nobles Lodygins, Konovnitsyns, Kokorevs, Obraztsovs, Gorbunovs. Of these, the Lodygins and Konovnitsyns left the greatest mark on Russian history. The Lodygins come from the son of Semyon Stallion - Grigory Lodyga (“lodyga” is an ancient Russian word meaning foot, stand, ankle). The famous engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin (1847–1923), who in 1872 invented the incandescent electric lamp in Russia, belonged to this family.
The Konovnitsyns descend from the grandson of Grigory Lodyga - Ivan Semyonovich Konovnitsa. Among them, General Pyotr Petrovich Konovnitsyn (1764–1822), the hero of many wars waged by Russia at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, including the Patriotic War of 1812, became famous. He distinguished himself in the battles for Smolensk, Maloyaroslavets, in the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig, and in the Battle of Borodino he commanded the Second Army after Prince P.I. was wounded. Bagration. In 1815–1819, Konovnitsyn was Minister of War, and in 1819, together with his descendants, he was elevated to the dignity of count of the Russian Empire.
From the second son of Andrei Kobyla, Alexander Yolka, came the families of the Kolychevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins, Sterbeevs, Khludenevs, Neplyuevs. Alexander's eldest son Fyodor Kolych (from the word "kolcha", i.e. lame) became the founder of the Kolychevs. Of the representatives of this genus, the most famous is St. Philip (in the world Fyodor Stepanovich Kolychev, 1507–1569). In 1566 he became Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus'. Angrily denouncing the atrocities of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Philip was deposed in 1568 and then strangled by one of the leaders of the guardsmen, Malyuta Skuratov.
The Sukhovo-Kobylins descend from another son of Alexander Yolka, Ivan Sukhoi (i.e., “thin”). The most prominent representative of this family was the playwright Alexander Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin (1817–1903), author of the trilogy “Krechinsky’s Wedding”, “The Affair” and “The Death of Tarelkin”. In 1902, he was elected an honorary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in the category of fine literature. His sister, Sofya Vasilievna (1825–1867), an artist who received a large gold medal from the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1854 for a landscape from life (which she depicted in the painting of the same name from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery), also painted portraits and genre compositions. Another sister, Elizaveta Vasilievna (1815–1892), married Countess Salias de Tournemire, gained fame as a writer under the pseudonym Evgenia Tour. Her son, Count Evgeniy Andreevich Salias de Tournemire (1840–1908), was also a famous writer and historical novelist in his time (he was called the Russian Alexandre Dumas). His sister, Maria Andreevna (1841–1906), was the wife of Field Marshal Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko (1828–1901), and his granddaughter, Princess Evdokia (Eda) Yuryevna Urusova (1908–1996), was an outstanding theater and film actress of the Soviet era.
The youngest son of Alexander Yolka, Fyodor Dyutka (Dyudka, Dudka or even Detko), became the founder of the Neplyuev family. Among the Neplyuevs, Ivan Ivanovich Neplyuev (1693–1773), a diplomat who was a Russian resident in Turkey (1721–1734), and then the governor of the Orenburg region, and from 1760 a senator and conference minister, stands out.
Vasily Ivantey's descendants ended with his son Gregory, who died childless.
From the fourth son of Kobyla, Gavrila Gavsha, came the Boborykins. This family produced the talented writer Pyotr Dmitrievich Boborykin (1836–1921), author of the novels “Businessmen”, “China Town” and, among others, by the way, “Vasily Terkin” (except for the name, this literary character has nothing in common with the hero A. T. Tvardovsky).
Finally, Andrei Kobyla's fifth son, Fyodor Koshka, was the direct ancestor of the Romanovs. He served Dmitry Donskoy and is repeatedly mentioned in chronicles among his entourage. Perhaps it was he who was entrusted by the prince to defend Moscow during the famous war with Mamai, which ended in the victory of the Russians on the Kulikovo Field. Before his death, the Cat took monastic vows and was named Theodoret. His family became related to the Moscow and Tver princely dynasties - branches of the Rurikovich family. Thus, Fyodor’s daughter Anna was married to the Mikulin prince Fyodor Mikhailovich in 1391. The Mikulin inheritance was part of the Tver land, and Fyodor Mikhailovich himself was the youngest son of the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich. Mikhail Alexandrovich was at enmity with Dmitry Donskoy for a long time. Three times he received a label from the Horde for the Great Reign of Vladimir, but each time, due to Dmitry’s opposition, he could not become the main Russian prince. However, gradually the strife between the Moscow and Tver princes faded away. Back in 1375, at the head of an entire coalition of princes, Dmitry made a successful campaign against Tver, and since then Mikhail Alexandrovich abandoned attempts to seize leadership from the Moscow prince, although relations between them remained tense. The marriage with the Koshkins was probably supposed to help establish friendly relations between the eternal enemies.
But not only Tver was embraced by the descendants of Fyodor Koshka with their matrimonial politics. Soon the Moscow princes themselves fell into their orbit. Among the sons of Koshka was Fyodor Goltai, whose daughter, Maria, was married in the winter of 1407 by one of the sons of the Serpukhov and Borovsk prince Vladimir Andreevich, Yaroslav.
Vladimir Andreevich, the founder of Serpukhov, was Dmitry Donskoy’s cousin. There were always the kindest friendly relations between them. The brothers took many important steps in the life of the Moscow state together. So, together they supervised the construction of the white-stone Moscow Kremlin, together they fought on the Kulikovo Field. Moreover, it was Vladimir Andreevich with the governor D.M. Bobrok-Volynsky commanded an ambush regiment, which at a critical moment decided the outcome of the entire battle. Therefore, he entered with the nickname not only Brave, but also Donskoy.
Yaroslav Vladimirovich, and in his honor the city of Maloyaroslavets was founded, where he reigned, he also bore the name Afanasy at baptism. This was one of the last cases when, according to a long tradition, the Rurikovichs gave their children double names: worldly and baptismal. The prince died of a pestilence in 1426 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, where his grave exists to this day. From his marriage to the granddaughter of Fyodor Koshka, Yaroslav had a son, Vasily, who inherited the entire Borovsk-Serpukhov inheritance, and two daughters, Maria and Elena. In 1433, Maria was married to the young Moscow prince Vasily II Vasilyevich, grandson of Dmitry Donskoy.
At this time, a brutal strife began on Moscow soil between Vasily and his mother Sofia Vitovtovna, on the one hand, and the family of his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich, Prince of Zvenigorod, on the other. Yuri and his sons - Vasily (in the future, blinded in one eye and became Kosym) and Dmitry Shemyaka (the nickname comes from the Tatar “chimek” - “outfit”) - laid claim to the Moscow reign. Both Yuryevichs attended Vasily’s wedding in Moscow. And it was here that the famous historical episode took place, fueling this irreconcilable struggle. Seeing Vasily Yuryevich wearing a gold belt that once belonged to Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna tore it off, deciding that it did not rightfully belong to the Zvenigorod prince. One of the initiators of this scandal was Fyodor Koshka’s grandson Zakhary Ivanovich. The offended Yuryevichs left the wedding feast, and war soon broke out. During it, Vasily II was blinded by Shemyaka and became Dark, but ultimately victory remained on his side. With the death of Shemyaka, poisoned in Novgorod, Vasily could no longer worry about the future of his reign. During the war, Vasily Yaroslavich, who became the brother-in-law of the Moscow prince, supported him in everything. But in 1456, Vasily II ordered the arrest of a relative and sent him to prison in the city of Uglich. There the unfortunate son of Maria Goltyaeva spent 27 years until he died in 1483. His grave can be seen on the left side of the iconostasis of the Moscow Archangel Cathedral. There is also a portrait image of this prince. The children of Vasily Yaroslavich died in captivity, and his second wife and her son from her first marriage, Ivan, managed to flee to Lithuania. The family of Borovsk princes continued there for a short time.
From Maria Yaroslavna, Vasily II had several sons, including Ivan III. Thus, all representatives of the Moscow princely dynasty, starting with Vasily II and up to the sons and granddaughter of Ivan the Terrible, were descendants of the Koshkins on the female line.
Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna tearing off the belt from Vasily Kosoy at the wedding of Vasily the Dark. From a painting by P.P. Chistyakova. 1861
The descendants of Fyodor Koshka successively bore the family names Koshkins, Zakharyins, Yuryevs and, finally, Romanovs. In addition to his daughter Anna and son Fyodor Goltai, mentioned above, Fyodor Koshka had sons Ivan, Alexander Bezzubets, Nikifor and Mikhail Durny. Alexander's descendants were called the Bezzubtsevs, and then the Sheremetevs and Epanchins. The Sheremetevs descend from Alexander’s grandson, Andrei Konstantinovich Sheremet, and the Epanchins from another grandson, Semyon Konstantinovich Epancha (ancient clothing in the form of a cloak was called an epancha).
The Sheremetevs are one of the most famous Russian noble families. Probably the most famous of the Sheremetevs is Boris Petrovich (1652–1719). An associate of Peter the Great, one of the first Russian field marshals (the first Russian by origin), he participated in the Crimean and Azov campaigns, became famous for his victories in the Northern War, and commanded the Russian army in the Battle of Poltava. He was one of the first to be elevated by Peter to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire (obviously, this happened in 1710). Among the descendants of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, Russian historians especially revere Count Sergei Dmitrievich (1844–1918), a prominent researcher of Russian antiquity, chairman of the Archaeographic Commission under the Ministry of Public Education, who did a lot for the publication and study of documents of the Russian Middle Ages. His wife was the granddaughter of Prince Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky, and his son Pavel Sergeevich (1871–1943) also became a famous historian and genealogist. This branch of the family owned the famous Ostafyevo near Moscow (inherited from the Vyazemskys), preserved through the efforts of Pavel Sergeevich after the revolutionary events of 1917. The descendants of Sergei Dmitrievich, who found themselves in exile, became related there with the Romanovs. This family still exists today, in particular, the descendant of Sergei Dmitrievich, Count Pyotr Petrovich, who now lives in Paris, heads the Russian Conservatory named after S.V. Rachmaninov. The Sheremetevs owned two architectural pearls near Moscow: Ostankino and Kuskovo. How can one not recall here the serf actress Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova, who became Countess Sheremeteva, and her wife Count Nikolai Petrovich (1751–1809), the founder of the famous Moscow Hospice House (now the N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Emergency Medicine is located in its building). Sergei Dmitrievich was the grandson of N.P. Sheremetev and the serf actress.
The Epanchins are less noticeable in Russian history, but they also left their mark on it. In the 19th century, representatives of this family served in the navy, and two of them, Nikolai and Ivan Petrovich, heroes of the Battle of Navarino in 1827, became Russian admirals. Their great-nephew, General Nikolai Alekseevich Epanchin (1857–1941), a famous military historian, served as director of the Corps of Pages in 1900–1907. Already in exile, he wrote interesting memoirs “In the Service of Three Emperors,” published in Russia in 1996.
Actually, the Romanov family descends from the eldest son of Fyodor Koshka, Ivan, who was a boyar of Vasily I. It was Ivan Koshka’s son Zakhary Ivanovich who identified the notorious belt in 1433 at the wedding of Vasily the Dark. Zachary had three sons, so the Koshkins were divided into three more branches. The younger ones - the Lyatskys (Lyatskys) - left to serve in Lithuania, and their traces were lost there. The eldest son of Zakhary, Yakov Zakharyevich (died in 1510), a boyar and governor under Ivan III and Vasily III, served as viceroy in Novgorod and Kolomna for some time, took part in the war with Lithuania and, in particular, took the cities of Bryansk and Putivl, which then seceded to the Russian state. The descendants of Yakov formed the noble family of the Yakovlevs. He is known for his two “illegal” representatives: in 1812, the wealthy landowner Ivan Alekseevich Yakovlev (1767–1846) and the daughter of a German official Louise Ivanovna Haag (1795–1851), who were not legally married, had a son, Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (d. . in 1870) (grandson of A.I. Herzen - Pyotr Aleksandrovich Herzen (1871–1947) - one of the largest domestic surgeons, a specialist in the field of clinical oncology). And in 1819, his brother Lev Alekseevich Yakovlev had an illegitimate son, Sergei Lvovich Levitsky (died in 1898), one of the most famous Russian photographers (who was thus A.I. Herzen’s cousin).
Zakhary's middle son, Yuri Zakharyevich (died in 1505 [?]), a boyar and governor under Ivan III, like his older brother, fought with the Lithuanians in the famous battle near the Vedrosha River in 1500. His wife was Irina Ivanovna Tuchkova, a representative of a famous noble family. The surname Romanov came from one of the sons of Yuri and Irina, the okolnichy Roman Yuryevich (died in 1543). It was his family that became related to the royal dynasty.
On February 3, 1547, the sixteen-year-old Tsar, who had been crowned king half a month earlier in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, married the daughter of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin, Anastasia. Family life Ivana and Anastasia were happy. The young wife gave her husband three sons and three daughters. Unfortunately, the daughters died in childhood. The fate of the sons was different. The eldest son Dmitry died at the age of nine months. When the royal family made a pilgrimage to the Kirillov Monastery on Beloozero, they took the little prince with them.
There was a strict ceremony at court: the baby was carried in the arms of a nanny, and she was supported by two boyars, relatives of Queen Anastasia. The journey took place along rivers and on plows. One day, the nanny with the prince and the boyars stepped onto the shaky gangplank of the plow, and, unable to resist, they all fell into the water. Dmitry choked. Then Ivan named his youngest son from his last marriage with Maria Naga by this name. However, the fate of this boy turned out to be tragic: at the age of nine he... The name Dmitry turned out to be unlucky for the Grozny family.
The tsar’s second son, Ivan Ivanovich, had a difficult character. Cruel and domineering, he could become a complete image of his father. But in 1581, the 27-year-old prince was mortally wounded by Grozny during a quarrel. The reason for the unbridled outburst of anger was allegedly the third wife of Tsarevich Ivan (he sent the first two to the monastery) - Elena Ivanovna Sheremeteva, a distant relative of the Romanovs. Being pregnant, she appeared to her father-in-law in a light shirt, “in an indecent appearance.” The king beat his daughter-in-law, who later had a miscarriage. Ivan stood up for his wife and immediately received a blow to the temple with an iron staff. A few days later he died, and Elena was tonsured with the name Leonidas in one of the monasteries.
After the death of the heir, Ivan the Terrible was succeeded by his third son from Anastasia, Fedor. In 1584 he became the Tsar of Moscow. Fyodor Ivanovich was distinguished by a quiet and meek disposition. He was disgusted by the cruel tyranny of his father, and he spent a significant part of his reign in prayers and fasts, atonement for the sins of his ancestors. Such a high spiritual attitude of the tsar seemed strange to his subjects, which is why the popular legend about Fedor’s dementia appeared. In 1598, he serenely fell asleep forever, and his brother-in-law Boris Godunov took over the throne. Fyodor's only daughter Theodosia died before reaching the age of two. Thus ended the offspring of Anastasia Romanovna.
With her kind, gentle character, Anastasia restrained the king’s cruel temper. But in August 1560 the queen died. An analysis of her remains, now located in the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral, already carried out in our time, showed a high probability that Anastasia was poisoned. After her death it began new stage in the life of Ivan the Terrible: the era of Oprichnina and lawlessness.
Ivan's marriage to Anastasia brought her relatives to the forefront of Moscow politics. The queen’s brother, Nikita Romanovich (died in 1586), was especially popular. He became famous as a talented commander and brave warrior during the Livonian War, rose to the rank of boyar and was one of the close associates of Ivan the Terrible. He was part of the inner circle of Tsar Fedor. Shortly before his death, Nikita took monastic vows with the name Nifont. Was married twice. His first wife, Varvara Ivanovna Khovrina, came from the Khovrin-Golovin family, which later produced several famous figures in Russian history, including Peter I’s associate, Admiral Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin. Nikita Romanovich’s second wife, Princess Evdokia Alexandrovna Gorbataya-Shuyskaya, belonged to the descendants of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Rurikovichs. Nikita Romanovich lived in his chambers on Varvarka Street in Moscow, where in the middle of the 19th century. a museum was opened.
Seven sons and five daughters of Nikita Romanovich continued this boyar family. For a long time, researchers doubted from which marriage of Nikita Romanovich his eldest son Fyodor Nikitich, the future Patriarch Filaret, the father of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty, was born. After all, if his mother was Princess Gorbataya-Shuiskaya, then the Romanovs are thus descendants of the Rurikovichs through the female line. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, historians assumed that Fyodor Nikitich was most likely born from his father’s first marriage. And only in recent years has this issue apparently been finally resolved. During the study of the Romanov necropolis in the Moscow Novospassky Monastery, the tombstone of Varvara Ivanovna Khovrina was discovered. In the tombstone epitaph, the year of her death should perhaps be read as 7063, i.e. 1555 (she died on June 29), and not 7060 (1552), as previously believed. This dating removes the question of the origin of Fyodor Nikitich, who died in 1633, being “more than 80 years old.” The ancestors of Varvara Ivanovna and, therefore, the ancestors of the entire royal House of Romanov, the Khovrins, came from the trading people of the Crimean Sudak and had Greek roots.
Fyodor Nikitich Romanov served as a regimental commander, took part in campaigns against the cities of Koporye, Yam and Ivangorod during the successful Russian-Swedish war of 1590–1595, and defended the southern borders of Russia from Crimean raids. A prominent position at court made it possible for the Romanovs to become related to other then-known families: the princes of Sitsky, Cherkasy, as well as the Godunovs (Boris Fedorovich’s nephew married Nikita Romanovich’s daughter, Irina). But these family ties did not save the Romanovs from disgrace after the death of their benefactor Tsar Fedor.
With his accession to the throne, everything changed. Hating the entire Romanov family and fearing them as potential rivals in the struggle for power, the new tsar began to eliminate his opponents one by one. In 1600–1601, repression fell on the Romanovs. Fyodor Nikitich was forcibly tonsured a monk (under the name Filaret) and sent to the distant Anthony Siysky Monastery in Arkhangelsk district. The same fate befell his wife Ksenia Ivanovna Shestova. Tonsured under the name of Martha, she was exiled to the Tolvuisky churchyard in Zaonezhye, and then lived with her children in the village of Klin, Yuryevsky district. Her young daughter Tatyana and son Mikhail (the future Tsar) were taken to prison on Beloozero along with her aunt Anastasia Nikitichna, who later became the wife of a prominent figure in the Time of Troubles, Prince Boris Mikhailovich Lykov-Obolensky. Fyodor Nikitich's brother, boyar Alexander, was exiled on a false denunciation to one of the villages of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, where he was killed. Another brother, the okolnichy Mikhail, also died in disgrace, transported from Moscow to the remote Perm village of Nyrob. There he died in prison and in chains from hunger. Another son of Nikita, steward Vasily, died in the city of Pelym, where he and his brother Ivan were kept chained to the wall. And their sisters Efimiya (monastically Evdokia) and Martha went into exile together with their husbands, the princes of Sitsky and Cherkassy. Only Martha survived imprisonment. Thus, almost the entire Romanov family was destroyed. Miraculously, only Ivan Nikitich, nicknamed Kasha, survived, returned after a short exile.
But the Godunov dynasty was not allowed to rule in Rus'. The fire of the Great Troubles was already flaring up, and in this seething cauldron the Romanovs emerged from oblivion. The active and energetic Fyodor Nikitich (Filaret) returned to “big” politics at the first opportunity - False Dmitry I made his benefactor Metropolitan of Rostov and Yaroslavl. The fact is that Grigory Otrepiev was once his servant. There is even a version that the Romanovs specially prepared the ambitious adventurer for the role of the “legitimate” heir to the Moscow throne. Be that as it may, Filaret took a prominent place in the church hierarchy.
He made a new career “leap” with the help of another impostor - False Dmitry II, the “Tushinsky Thief”. In 1608, during the capture of Rostov, the Tushins captured Filaret and brought the impostor to the camp. False Dmitry invited him to become patriarch, and Filaret agreed. In Tushino, in general, a kind of second capital was formed: it had its own king, it had its own boyars, its own orders, and now also its own patriarch (in Moscow, the patriarchal throne was occupied by Hermogenes). When the Tushino camp collapsed, Filaret managed to return to Moscow, where he participated in the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky. The Seven Boyars that formed after this included the younger brother of the “patriarch” Ivan Nikitich Romanov, who received the boyars on the day of Otrepiev’s crowning. As is known, the new government decided to invite the son of the Polish king, Vladislav, to the Russian throne and concluded a corresponding agreement with Hetman Stanislav Zolkiewski, and in order to settle all the formalities, a “great embassy” was sent from Moscow to Smolensk, where the king was located, headed by Filaret. However, negotiations with King Sigismund reached a dead end, the ambassadors were arrested and sent to Poland. There, in captivity, Filaret remained until 1619 and only after the conclusion of the Deulin truce and the end of the many years of war did he return to Moscow. His son Mikhail was already the Russian Tsar.
Filaret had now become the “legitimate” Moscow Patriarch and had a very significant influence on the policies of the young tsar. He showed himself to be a very powerful and at times even tough person. His courtyard was built on the model of the royal one, and several special, patriarchal orders were formed to manage land holdings. Filaret also cared about education, resuming the printing of liturgical books in Moscow after the ruin. He paid great attention to foreign policy issues and even created one of the diplomatic ciphers of that time.
Fyodor-Filaret's wife Ksenia Ivanovna came from the ancient Shestov family. Their ancestor was considered to be Mikhail Prushanin, or, as he was also called, Misha, an associate of Alexander Nevsky. He was also the founder of such famous families as the Morozovs, Saltykovs, Sheins, Tuchkovs, Cheglokovs, Scriabins. Misha's descendants became related to the Romanovs back in the 15th century, since the mother of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin was one of the Tuchkovs. By the way, the Shestovs’ ancestral estates included the Kostroma village of Domnino, where Ksenia and her son Mikhail lived for some time after the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The headman of this village, Ivan Susanin, became famous for saving the young king from death at the cost of his life. After her son’s accession to the throne, the “great old lady” Martha helped him in governing the country until his father, Filaret, returned from captivity.
Ksenia-Marfa had a kind character. So, remembering the widows of previous tsars who lived in monasteries - Ivan the Terrible, Vasily Shuisky, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich - she repeatedly sent them gifts. She often went on pilgrimages, was strict in matters of religion, but did not shy away from the joys of life: in the Ascension Kremlin Monastery she organized a gold-embroidery workshop, which produced beautiful fabrics and clothes for the royal court.
Mikhail Fedorovich's uncle Ivan Nikitich (died in 1640) also occupied a prominent place at his nephew's court. With the death of his son, boyar and butler Nikita Ivanovich in 1654, all other branches of the Romanovs, except for the royal offspring of Mikhail Fedorovich, were cut short. The ancestral tomb of the Romanovs was the Moscow Novospassky Monastery, where in recent years much work has been carried out to study and restore this ancient necropolis. As a result, many burials of the ancestors of the royal dynasty were identified, and from some remains, experts even recreated portrait images, including that of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin, the great-grandfather of Tsar Mikhail.
The Romanov family coat of arms dates back to Livonian heraldry and was created in the mid-19th century. the outstanding Russian heraldist Baron B.V. Köne based on emblematic images found on objects that belonged to the Romanovs in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries. The description of the coat of arms is as follows:
“In a silver field is a scarlet vulture holding a golden sword and tarch, crowned with a small eagle; on the black border are eight severed lion heads: four gold and four silver.”
Evgeny Vladimirovich Pchelov
Romanovs. History of a great dynasty
For more than 300 years, the Romanov dynasty was in power in Russia. There are several versions of the origin of the Romanov family. According to one of them, the Romanovs came from Novgorod. The family tradition says that the origins of the family should be sought in Prussia, from where the ancestors of the Romanovs moved to Russia at the beginning of the 14th century. The first reliably established ancestor of the family is the Moscow boyar Ivan Kobyla.
The beginning of the ruling Romanov dynasty was laid by the great-nephew of Ivan the Terrible’s wife, Mikhail Fedorovich. He was elected to reign by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, after the suppression of the Moscow branch of the Rurikovichs.
Since the 18th century, the Romanovs stopped calling themselves tsars. On November 2, 1721, Peter I was declared Emperor of All Russia. He became the first emperor in the dynasty.
The reign of the dynasty ended in 1917, when Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne as a result of the February Revolution. In July 1918, he was shot by the Bolsheviks along with his family (including five children) and associates in Tobolsk.
Numerous descendants of the Romanovs now live abroad. However, none of them, from the point of view of the Russian law on succession to the throne, has the right to the Russian throne.
Below is a chronology of the reign of the Romanov family with the dating of the reign.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Reign: 1613-1645
He laid the foundation for a new dynasty, being elected at the age of 16 to reign by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. He belonged to an ancient boyar family. He restored the functioning of the economy and trade in the country, which he had inherited in a deplorable state after the Time of Troubles. Concluded “perpetual peace” with Sweden (1617). At the same time, he lost access to the Baltic Sea, but returned vast Russian territories previously conquered by Sweden. Concluded an “eternal peace” with Poland (1618), while losing Smolensk and the Seversk land. Annexed the lands along the Yaik, Baikal region, Yakutia, access to the Pacific Ocean.
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov (Quiet). Reign: 1645-1676
He ascended the throne at the age of 16. He was a gentle, good-natured and very religious person. He continued the army reform begun by his father. At the same time, he attracted a large number of foreign military specialists who were left idle after the end of the Thirty Years' War. Under him, Nikon's church reform was carried out, affecting the main church rituals and books. He returned Smolensk and Seversk land. Annexed Ukraine to Russia (1654). Suppressed the uprising of Stepan Razin (1667-1671)
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov. Reign: 1676-1682
The short reign of the extremely painful tsar was marked by a war with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate and the further conclusion of the Bakhchisarai Peace Treaty (1681), according to which Turkey recognized Left Bank Ukraine and Kyiv as Russia. A general census of the population was carried out (1678). The fight against the Old Believers took a new turn - Archpriest Avvakum was burned. He died at the age of twenty.
Peter I Alekseevich Romanov (the Great). Reigned: 1682-1725 (ruled independently from 1689)
The previous tsar (Fyodor Alekseevich) died without making orders regarding the succession to the throne. As a result, two tsars were crowned on the throne at the same time - Fyodor Alekseevich’s young brothers Ivan and Peter under the regency of their older sister Sophia Alekseevna (until 1689 - Sophia’s regency, until 1696 - formal co-rule with Ivan V). Since 1721, the first All-Russian Emperor.
He was an ardent supporter of the Western way of life. For all its ambiguity, it is recognized by both adherents and critics as “The Great Sovereign”.
His bright reign was marked by the Azov campaigns (1695 and 1696) against the Turks, which resulted in the capture of the Azov fortress. The result of the campaigns was, among other things, the tsar’s awareness of the need for army reform. The old army was disbanded - the army began to be created according to a new model. From 1700 to 1721 - participation in the most difficult conflict with Sweden, the result of which was the defeat of the hitherto invincible Charles XII and Russia’s access to the Baltic Sea.
In 1722-1724, the largest foreign policy event of Peter the Great after the Northern War was the Caspian (Persian) campaign, which ended with the capture of Derbent, Baku and other cities by Russia.
During his reign, Peter founded St. Petersburg (1703), established the Senate (1711) and the Collegium (1718), and introduced the “Table of Ranks” (1722).
Catherine I. Years of reign: 1725-1727
Second wife of Peter I. A former servant named Martha Kruse, captured during the Northern War. Nationality is unknown. She was the mistress of Field Marshal Sheremetev. Later, Prince Menshikov took her to his place. In 1703, she fell in love with Peter, who made her his mistress, and later his wife. She was baptized into Orthodoxy, changing her name to Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova.
Under her, the Supreme Privy Council was created (1726) and an alliance was concluded with Austria (1726).
Peter II Alekseevich Romanov. Reign: 1727-1730
Grandson of Peter I, son of Tsarevich Alexei. The last representative of the Romanov family in the direct male line. He ascended the throne at the age of 11. He died at the age of 14 from smallpox. In fact, the government of the state was carried out by the Supreme Privy Council. According to the recollections of contemporaries, the young emperor was distinguished by his willfulness and adored entertainment. It was entertainment, fun and hunting that the young emperor devoted all his time to. Under him, Menshikov was overthrown (1727), and the capital was returned to Moscow (1728).
Anna Ioannovna Romanova. Reign: 1730-1740
Daughter of Ivan V, granddaughter of Alexei Mikhailovich. She was invited to the Russian throne in 1730 by the Supreme Privy Council, which she subsequently successfully dissolved. Instead of the Supreme Council, a cabinet of ministers was created (1730). The capital was returned to St. Petersburg (1732). 1735-1739 were marked by the Russian-Turkish war, which ended with a peace treaty in Belgrade. Under the terms of the Russian treaty, Azov was ceded to Russia, but it was forbidden to have a fleet in the Black Sea. The years of her reign are characterized in literature as “the era of German dominance at court,” or as “Bironovism” (after the name of her favorite).
Ivan VI Antonovich Romanov. Reign: 1740-1741
Great-grandson of Ivan V. Was proclaimed emperor at the age of two months. The baby was proclaimed emperor during the regency of Duke Biron of Courland, but two weeks later the guards removed the duke from power. The emperor's mother, Anna Leopoldovna, became the new regent. At the age of two he was overthrown. His short reign was subject to a law condemning the name - all his portraits were removed from circulation, all his portraits were confiscated (or destroyed) and all documents containing the name of the emperor were confiscated (or destroyed). He spent until he was 23 years old in solitary confinement, where (already half-insane) he was stabbed to death by guards.
Elizaveta I Petrovna Romanova. Reign: 1741-1761
Daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. Under her, the death penalty was abolished for the first time in Russia. A university was opened in Moscow (1755). In 1756-1762 Russia took part in the largest military conflict of the 18th century - seven years war. As a result of the fighting, Russian troops captured all of East Prussia and even briefly took Berlin. However, the fleeting death of the empress and the rise to power of the pro-Prussian Peter III nullified all military achievements - the conquered lands were returned to Prussia, and peace was concluded.
Peter III Fedorovich Romanov. Reign: 1761-1762
Nephew of Elizaveta Petrovna, grandson of Peter I - son of his daughter Anna. Reigned for 186 days. A lover of everything Prussian, he stopped the war with Sweden immediately after coming to power on conditions that were extremely unfavorable for Russia. I had difficulty speaking Russian. During his reign, the manifesto “On the Freedom of the Nobility”, the union of Prussia and Russia, and a decree on freedom of religion were issued (all in 1762). Stopped the persecution of Old Believers. He was overthrown by his wife and died a week later (according to the official version - from fever).
Already during the reign of Catherine II, the head peasant war Emelyan Pugachev in 1773 pretended to be the “miracle survivor” of Peter III.
Catherine II Alekseevna Romanova (Great). Reign: 1762-1796
Wife of Peter III. It enslaved the peasants as much as possible, expanding the powers of the nobility. Significantly expanded the territory of the Empire during the Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791) and the partition of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795). The reign was marked by the largest peasant uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, posing as Peter III (1773-1775). A provincial reform was carried out (1775).
Pavel I Petrovich Romanov: 1796-1801
Son of Catherine II and Peter III, 72nd Grand Master of the Order of Malta. He ascended the throne at the age of 42. Introduced compulsory succession to the throne only through the male line (1797). Significantly eased the situation of the peasants (decree on three-day corvee, ban on selling serfs without land (1797)). From foreign policy, the war with France (1798-1799) and the Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov (1799) are worthy of mention. Killed by guards (not without the knowledge of his son Alexander) in his own bedroom (strangled). The official version is a stroke.
Alexander I Pavlovich Romanov. Reign: 1801-1825
Son of Paul I. During the reign of Paul I, Russia defeated French troops during Patriotic War 1812. The result of the war was a new European order, consolidated by the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. During numerous wars, he significantly expanded the territory of Russia - he annexed Eastern and Western Georgia, Mingrelia, Imereti, Guria, Finland, Bessarabia, and most of Poland. He died suddenly in 1825 in Taganrog from fever. For a long time, there was a legend among the people that the emperor, tormented by conscience for the death of his father, did not die, but continued to live under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich.
Nicholas I Pavlovich Romanov. Reign: 1825-1855
The third son of Paul I. The beginning of his reign was marked by the Decembrist uprising of 1825. The Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was created (1833), monetary reform was carried out, and reform was carried out in the state village. The Crimean War (1853-1856) began, the emperor did not live to see its devastating end. In addition, Russia participated in Caucasian War(1817-1864), Russian-Persian War (1826-1828), Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829), Crimean War (1853-1856).
Alexander II Nikolaevich Romanov (Liberator). Reign: 1855-1881
Son of Nicholas I. During his reign, the Crimean War was ended by the Paris Peace Treaty (1856), humiliating for Russia. In 1861, serfdom was abolished. In 1864, zemstvo and judicial reforms were carried out. Alaska was sold to the United States (1867). Subjected to reform financial system, education, city government, army. In 1870, the restrictive articles of the Peace of Paris were repealed. As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878. returned Bessarabia, lost during the Crimean War. Died as a result of a terrorist act committed by Narodnaya Volya.
Alexander III Alexandrovich Romanov (Tsar the Peacemaker). Reign: 1881-1894
Son of Alexander II. During his reign, Russia did not wage a single war. His reign is characterized as conservative and counter-reformist. A manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy, the Regulations on Strengthening Emergency Security (1881), was adopted. He pursued an active policy of Russification of the outskirts of the empire. A military-political Franco-Russian alliance was concluded with France, which laid the foundation for the foreign policy of the two states until 1917. This alliance preceded the creation of the Triple Entente.
Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov. Reign: 1894-1917
Son of Alexander III. The Last Emperor of All Russia. A difficult and controversial period for Russia, accompanied by serious upheavals for the empire. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) resulted in a severe defeat for the country and the almost complete destruction of the Russian fleet. The defeat in the war was followed by the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907. In 1914, Russia joined the First world war(1914-1918). The emperor was not destined to live to see the end of the war - in 1917 he abdicated the throne as a result, and in 1918 he was shot with his entire family by the Bolsheviks.
