Death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov - biography. Chronology of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich

The son of Mikhail Fedorovich, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (Quiet) (born March 19, 1629, died January 29, 1676), did not live long. Having received the throne by right of inheritance at the age of 16, he professed faith in the chosenness of the king and his power. Distinguished, like his father, by his gentleness and meekness of character, he could also show temper and anger. Contemporaries depict his appearance: fullness, even corpulence of figure, low forehead and white face, plump and rosy cheeks, light brown hair and a beautiful beard; finally, a soft and shy look (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2

In his palace possessions, the tsar was a zealous owner, strictly making sure that his serfs regularly fulfilled their duties and made all kinds of payments. From his first wife M.I. Miloslavskaya, Alexey Mikhailovich had 13 children; from the second - N.K. Naryshkina - three children. Many of them died early. Three of his sons became tsars (Fedor, Ivan and Peter), his daughter Sophia became regent for the young tsar brothers (Ivan and Peter).

On June 1, 1648, an uprising broke out in Moscow - the Salt Riot. The rebels held the city in their hands for several days and destroyed the houses of the boyars and merchants.

Following Moscow, in the summer of 1648, a struggle between townspeople and small service people unfolded in Kozlov, Kursk, Solvychegorsk, Veliky Ustyug, Voronezh, Narym, Tomsk and other cities of the country.

Almost throughout the entire reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the country was gripped by small and large uprisings of the urban population. It was necessary to strengthen the country's legislative power, and at the beginning of 1649 a new set of laws was adopted - the Council Code.

If the immediate reason for the creation of the Council Code of 1649 was the uprising of 1648 in Moscow and the aggravation of class and estate contradictions, then the underlying reasons lay in the evolution of the social and political system of Russia and the processes of consolidation of the main classes - estates of that time: peasants, serfs, townspeople and nobles - as well as the beginning of the transition from an estate-representative monarchy to absolutism. These processes were accompanied by a noticeable increase in legislative activity, the desire of the legislator to subject to legal regulation the maximum volume of aspects and phenomena of social and state life.

The Council Code consisted of 25 chapters, which included 967 articles. It systematized, at a higher level of legal technology than previous legislation, the legal norms that had been in force previously. In addition, there were new legal norms that appeared mainly under pressure from the nobility and black-tax settlements. For convenience, the chapters are preceded by a detailed table of contents indicating the contents of the chapters and articles.

As a code of law, the Code of 1649 in many respects reflected the trends in the further development of feudal society. In the economic sphere, it consolidated the path of formation of a single form of feudal land ownership based on the merger of its two varieties - estates and estates.

In the social sphere, the Code reflected the process of consolidation of the main classes - estates, which led to a certain stabilization of society and at the same time caused an aggravation of class contradictions and an intensification of class struggle, which, of course, was influenced by the establishment of the state system of serfdom. No wonder since the 17th century. The era of peasant wars opens.

In the Code, “the main attention is paid to the nobility, as the dominant military-service and landowning class: almost half of all articles of the Code directly or indirectly concern its interests and relations. Here, as in its other parts, the Code tries to stay on the basis of reality.” *.

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, Russia's possessions expanded in the east, in Siberia, and in the west. Active diplomatic activity is being carried out. Much has been done in the field of domestic policy. A course was pursued to centralize control and strengthen the autocracy. The backwardness of the country dictated the invitation of foreign specialists in manufacturing, military affairs, first experiments, attempts at transformation (establishing schools, regiments of the new system, etc.).

During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich in 1653, Patriarch Nikon carried out church reforms.

Patriarch Nikon (in the world Nikita Minov) was an outstanding personality. A personal friend and adviser to Alexei Mikhailovich, he was elected patriarch in 1652. He began to strive to ensure that Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church, became the center of world Orthodoxy. Alexey Mikhailovich supported the patriarch, since the government had plans to unite the Orthodox churches of Ukraine and the Balkan countries with the Russian Church.

In addition, a dispute arose about how exactly to correct books and rituals and what, in fact, is correct and what is not. Many Moscow priests did not agree with the opinion of the patriarch.

All this was aggravated by the fact that Patriarch Nikon claimed not only ecclesiastical, but also secular power, believing that state power, headed by the tsar, should be completely subordinate to church power, headed by the patriarch.

He was almost 25 years older than Alexei Mikhailovich; this difference in years made it easier for him to influence the king. This was not the friendship of peers, but the influence of a very smart, active and remarkably eloquent man of venerable years on the soft, impressionable soul of the young tsar... Nikon was a practitioner, Alexei Mikhailovich was an idealist.

Being an extremely ambitious man, Nikon sought to gain more and more power and one day he crossed the line. During the wars of 1654-1658. the tsar was often absent from Moscow and, therefore, was far from Nikon and did not restrain the patriarch’s lust for power with his presence. Returning from his campaigns, he began to feel burdened by his influence. The tsar and the patriarch quarreled, and in 1658 Nikon was removed from the patriarchal throne. Nikon's enemies took advantage of the tsar's cooling towards him and began to treat the patriarch disrespectfully. The proud soul of the archpastor could not bear the insult; On July 10, 1658, he renounced his rank and left for the Resurrection Monastery.

The Emperor, however, did not soon decide to end this matter. Only in 1666, at a spiritual council chaired by the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, Nikon was deprived of his bishopric and imprisoned in the Belozersky Ferapontov Monastery.

The activities of Patriarch Nikon led to a church schism. In 1666, the Great Council took place in Moscow, which approved all of Nikon’s reforms (although it condemned Nikon himself). As a result, all adherents of the old order of things were called heretics (they themselves called themselves Old Believers, since they stood for the old, that is, uncorrected rituals). As a result of this decision, the Russian Church found itself split.

But by this time, different church statutes had been established in Moscow and Constantinople - the order of performing church services. The fact is that at the time of Russia’s adoption of Orthodoxy, two church charters were in force in Byzantium. They were completely equal. Rus' adopted one of them, and Byzantium later settled on the other. In addition, Russian and Byzantine church books contained discrepancies, since Russian church books were copied by hand.

So, Patriarch Nikon sought to ensure that the Russian Church played the role in the Orthodox world that the Constantinople Church played, i.e. became the heiress of Constantinople. But for this it was necessary to switch to the Greek church charter, to bring the texts of liturgical books in accordance with Greek models. Printing provided such an opportunity.

In 1653 Nikon began to carry out reform. The Russian Church began to switch to the Greek church charter, liturgical books began to be brought into line with the Greek ones.

But the reforms caused a sharp protest from part of society - the boyars, the clergy, and the people. Supporters of the old rituals refused to recognize Nikon’s reforms and called for a return to the pre-reform order. Outwardly, the differences boiled down to:

• v according to which models - Greek or Russian - should we unify church books,
• v make the sign of the cross with two or three fingers,
• v how to make a religious procession - along the direction of the sun or against the direction of the sun.

At the same time, famine and pestilence struck the country. The people considered these disasters to be God's punishment for departing from the faith of their ancestors. Thousands of peasants and townspeople fled to the Pomeranian North, the Volga region, the Urals, and Siberia. The split was also supported by representatives of some noble boyar families, in particular, the relatives of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, boyar F.P. Morozova and her sister E.P. Urusova. The noble sisters were shackled, subjected to terrible torture, and then exiled to Borovsk, where they died in an earthen prison. Archpriest Avvakum and his supporters were exiled to the North in the city of Pustozersk. There they spent 14 years in an earthen prison in the permafrost zone. But Habakkuk did not renounce his faith. For this, he and his like-minded people were burned at the stake.

Patriarch Nikon also fell out of favor with the tsar. In 1666, at a church council, he was removed from the post of patriarch and exiled to Vologda. After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, Nikon was allowed to return from exile. In 1681 he died near Yaroslavl.

Since then, the united Russian Church has been split into two - the Russian Orthodox Church (Nikonian) and the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church.

In 1654, a significant event in Russian history took place - Russia returned Left Bank Ukraine.

The reunification of Ukraine with Russia was of great importance for both states:

• v liberated the people of Ukraine from national and religious oppression, saved them from enslavement by Poland and the Ottoman Empire, contributed to the formation of the Ukrainian nation;
• v contributed to the strengthening of Russian statehood. It was possible to return the Smolensk and Chernigov lands. This made it possible to begin the fight for the Baltic coast. In addition, the prospect of expanding Russia's ties with other Slavic peoples and Western states opened up.

Another important event of this era was the uprising led by Stepan Razin.

Stepan was born around 1630. He visited Moscow three times (in 1652, 1658 and 1661), and on the first of these visits he visited the Solovetsky Monastery. The situation on the Don was heating up. In 1667, with the end of the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, new parties of fugitives poured into the Don and other places. Famine reigned on the Don. In search of a way out of a difficult situation in order to get their daily bread, the poor Cossacks at the end of winter - beginning of spring 1667. unite into small bands, move to the Volga and Caspian Sea, and rob merchant ships. They are broken up by government troops. But the gangs gather again and again. Stepan Razin becomes their leader.

In August they appear in Astrakhan, and the local governors, having made them promise to faithfully serve the Tsar, hand over all ships and guns, and release the servicemen, let them go up the Volga to the Don.

In early October, Razin returned to the Don. His daring Cossacks, who acquired not only wealth, but also military experience, settled on an island near the town of Kagalnitsky.

Dual power was established on the Don. Affairs in the Don Army were managed by a Cossack foreman, led by an ataman, who was stationed in Cherkassk. She was supported by homely, wealthy Cossacks. But Razin, who was with Kagalnik, did not take into account the military ataman Yakovlev, his godfather, and all his assistants.

The number of Razin rebel troops forming on the Don is growing rapidly. At the beginning of May 1670 Razin is removed from the camp. Razin captures Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan, Smbirsk. The flames of the uprising cover a vast territory: the Volga region, Trans-Volga region, many southern, southeastern, and central counties. Slobodskaya Ukraine, Don. The main driving force is the masses of serfs. Actively participating in the movement are the lower classes of the city, working people, barge haulers, small serving men (urban archers, soldiers, Cossacks), representatives of the lower clergy, all sorts of “walking” people, “homeless” people. The movement includes Chuvash and Mari, Mordovians and Tatars.

The lovely letters sent out by Razin and other leaders stirred up new layers of the population to revolt. According to a foreign contemporary, up to 200 thousand people took part in the movement at this time. Many nobles fell victim to them, their estates burned down.

Frightened by the scale of the uprising, which was called war in documents of the time, the authorities mobilized new regiments. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself arranges a review of the troops. He appoints the boyar Prince Yu. A. Dolgoruky as commander-in-chief of all forces, an experienced commander who distinguished himself in the war with Poland, a stern and merciless man. He makes Arzamas his bet. The royal regiments are coming here, repelling attacks from rebel troops along the way, giving them battles.

Both sides suffer considerable losses. However, slowly and steadily the resistance of the armed rebels is being overcome. Government troops are also gathering in Kazan and Shatsk.

Stepan Razin was captured on April 14, 1671. in Kagalnik, homely Cossacks led by K. Yakovlev. Soon he was brought to Moscow and, after torture, executed on Red Square, and the fearless leader in his last, death hour “did not reveal weakness of spirit with a single breath.” The uprising he led became the most powerful movement of the “rebellious century.” And one of the events of the era of the reign of the first Romanovs.

The son of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, from his marriage to Evdokia Streshneva, was born on March 29 (19, according to other sources, 10 according to the old style) March 1629.

He was brought up under the supervision of the "uncle" boyar Boris Morozov. At the age of 11-12, the prince had his own children's library, among its books was a lexicon (a kind of encyclopedic dictionary), grammar, and cosmography. Alexei was distinguished by Orthodox piety: he strictly observed fasts and attended church services.

Alexei Mikhailovich began his reign at the age of 14, after being elected by the Zemsky Sobor.

In 1645, at the age of 16, having first lost his father, and soon his mother, Alexei Mikhailovich ascended the throne.

By nature, Alexey Mikhailovich was calm, reasonable, kind and compliant. In history, he retained the nickname “The Quietest.”

The first years of Alexei Mikhailovich's reign were marked by the convening of the Boyar Duma. The financial policy of the government of Alexei Mikhailovich was focused on increasing taxes and replenishing the treasury at their expense. The establishment of a high duty on salt in 1645 led to popular unrest - a salt riot in Moscow in 1648. The rebellious people demanded the “extradition” of boyar Boris Morozov. Alexei Mikhailovich managed to save his “uncle” and relative (Morozov was married to the queen’s sister) by sending him to the Kirillov Monastery. The duty on salt was abolished. The boyar Nikita Odoevsky was placed at the head of the government, who ordered an increase in the salaries of the troops (streltsy) who suppressed the uprising.

Under the leadership of princes Odoevsky, Fyodor Volkonsky and Semyon Prozorovsky, Alexei Mikhailovich signed the text of the Council Code at the beginning of 1649 - the new foundations of Russian legislation. The document affirmed the principle of a centralized state with the authoritarian power of the king.

The abolition of “lesson years” for searching for runaway peasants, enshrined in the Council Code, strengthened the position of the nobles. The position of the lower classes of the townspeople also changed significantly: all urban settlements were now “turned into taxes,” that is, they had to bear the full tax burden.

The response to these changes in the taxation system was the uprisings of 1650 in Pskov and Novgorod. Their suppression was led by the Novgorod Metropolitan Nikon, who had previously earned the tsar’s trust. Back in 1646, being the abbot of the Kozheezersky monastery, having come to Moscow to collect alms, he amazed Alexei Mikhailovich with his spirituality and extensive knowledge. The young tsar appointed him first as archimandrite of the Novo Spassky Monastery in Moscow, where the Romanov family burial vault was located, and then as metropolitan of Novgorod. In 1652 Nikon was ordained patriarch. In the 1650s x 1660s, church reform was carried out, which at first was led by Patriarch Nikon, which led to a split in the Russian Orthodox Church and the excommunication of the Old Believers. In 1658, as a result of a conflict with the Tsar, Nikon left the patriarchate. In 1666, on the initiative of Alexei Mikhailovich, a church council was convened, at which Nikon was deposed and sent into exile.

By order of Alexei Mikhailovich, state reform was carried out - new central orders (central government bodies) were established: Secret Affairs (1648), Monastyrsky (1648), Little Russian (1649), Reitarsky (1651), Accounting (1657), Lithuanian (1656) and Bread (1663). Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the first reform of the Russian army in the 17th century began - the introduction of hired “regiments of the new system.”

Alexey Mikhailovich paid special attention to the foreign policy of the state. A major achievement of Russian diplomacy during his reign was the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. On January 8, 1654, the Pereyaslav Rada approved.

In 1667, the 13-year war with Poland ended victoriously, and Smolensk, Kyiv and the entire left-bank Ukraine were returned to Russia. At the same time, Alexey Mikhailovich personally participated in many of the military campaigns, led diplomatic negotiations, and supervised the activities of Russian ambassadors.

In the east of the country, through the efforts of Russian pioneers Semyon Dezhnev and Vasily Poyarkov, the lands of Siberia were annexed to Russia. The cities of Nerchinsk (1656), Irkutsk (1659), Selenginsk (1666) were founded. Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the struggle for the security of the southern borders of Russia with the Turks and Tatars was successfully waged.

In economic policy, the government of Alexei Mikhailovich encouraged industrial activity and patronized domestic trade, protecting it from competition from foreign goods. These goals were served by the Customs (1663) and New Trade (1667) charters, which promoted the growth of foreign trade.

Miscalculations in financial policy - the issuance of copper money equal to silver, which devalued the ruble - caused discontent among the population, which grew into the Copper Riot in 1662. The revolt was suppressed by the Streltsy, and copper money was abolished. Soon after the Copper Riot, an uprising of those dissatisfied with church reforms broke out in the Solovetsky Monastery (1666). In the south of Russia, popular unrest arose under the leadership of the Don Cossack Stepan Razin (1670-1671).

Until her death, the tsar was an exemplary family man; they had 13 children, including the future tsars Fyodor and Ivan, as well as the princess ruler Sophia. After the death of Maria Miloslavskaya, Alexey Mikhailovich in 1671 married Natalya Naryshkina, a relative of the nobleman Artamon Matveev, who began to exert great influence on the monarch. The young wife bore the Tsar three children and, in particular, the future Emperor Peter I.

Alexei Mikhailovich died on February 8 (January 29, old style) 1676 at the age of 46 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. According to testamentary documents of 1674, his eldest son from his marriage to Maria Miloslavskaya, Fyodor, was appointed heir to the throne.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources V

On the pages of historical works the era “the quietest king” Alexei Mikhailovich and his very personality appears full of contradictions. On the one hand, it was during this period that the real overcoming of the humiliation in which the Russian state found itself during the Time of Troubles began. On the other hand, many opportunities were not fully exploited, and Moscow achieved much less than it could have achieved with a more reasonable and firm course. .

Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov, first years on the throne, Morozov's regency

Alexey Mikhailovich was born in 1629 and was brought up completely in the spirit of Old Russian traditions. Until he was five years old, he was nurtured by his “mothers,” and then by his “uncle,” boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov. Morozov managed to bind his pupil to himself with the strongest ties, becoming necessary for him after the death of his parents (Alexey Mikhailovich was orphaned at the age of 16), and later “orchestrating” his marriage to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya - in order to marry her sister himself.

Using significant influence on the young tsar, Morozov did not always use it for the good of the country. He tried to keep Alexei Mikhailovich at a distance from serious government affairs, allowing him to participate in the palace and church ceremonies so beloved by him and to have fun with falconry. But the results achieved by Morozov in governing the state were very bad. In 1648, the Salt Riot broke out. The mob demanded that the tsar hand over Morozov to her, but he sent his favorite away from harm's way. After a few months, however, he returned, but during this time Alexei Mikhailovich got used to doing without him, and Morozov did not regain his former influence (although the tsar’s love for him did not waver).

Alexey Mikhailovich - a true autocrat and Patriarch Nikon

Gradually, Alexei Mikhailovich began to imagine himself as a true autocrat, a formidable sole ruler. “My word became fearful in the palace,” he wrote in 1651. And he wrote to Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, his new adviser and “my brother’s friend.” So the tsar was not left without a guardian, and in 1652 he elevated the bishop even more, facilitating his installation to the Patriarchate.

The relationship between Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon is a separate (and painful) topic. Nikon took more and more power until he finally came across the limit that the “quiet king” did not allow him to cross. As usual, he did not make hasty decisions and did not cut from the shoulder. I simply stopped attending Patriarchal services and hosting Nikon. And he, without considering the limits of his influence on Alexei Mikhailovich, instead of reconciling himself and being content with the position of “merely” Primate of the Church, made the wrong move - he retired to his “patrimony”, expecting complete and unconditional reconciliation with the tsar (on the latter’s initiative) and triumphant return not only to Moscow, but also to his heart.

But what was hoped for did not happen. Until the Council of 1666, which removed him from the Patriarchate, Nikon lived in New Jerusalem as a voluntary recluse, not being honored by the royal attention. At the Council, the Patriarch accepted the insult from the Tsar as a personal one and deeply grieved, it seems, not so much about the exile to a distant place as about the loss of former friendship.

The “quiet tsar” Alexei Mikhailovich himself also deeply felt what had happened and tried to soften the heart of his “own friend” with affectionate, but non-binding gestures - he sent him fur coats, church utensils, etc. into exile. At the same time, of course, there was no talk of returning only to Moscow, but even to New Jerusalem there was no talk. And Nikon understood this, although not immediately. I understood and submitted. In 1667, he sent the Tsar a “pacifying letter”, the only note of protest of which was the signature: “Humble Nikon, Patriarch by the grace of God.” The king turned a blind eye to this “humble protest.”

War of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden

In the meantime, in the 1650s, Alexei Mikhailovich was busy mainly with the war, and Nikon replaced him in Moscow, enjoying great freedom of orders.

Another war with Poland had been brewing for a long time. Russia's external position after the Time of Troubles remained precarious; it still has not returned the lands lost at the beginning of the 17th century (not to mention earlier losses).

V. O. Klyuchevsky writes about this time:

“The new dynasty had to strain the people’s forces even more than the previous one in order to return what was lost: this was its national duty and the condition for its strength on the throne. Since her first reign, she has been waging a series of wars with the goal of defending what she owned or regaining what was lost. Popular tension was further intensified by the fact that these wars, defensive in origin, spontaneously, imperceptibly, against the will of Moscow politicians, turned into offensive ones, into a direct continuation of the unification policy of the previous dynasty, into a struggle for such parts of the Russian land that the Moscow state had not yet owned until then. International relations in Eastern Europe at that time were developing in such a way that they did not allow Moscow to take a breath after its first unsuccessful efforts and prepare for further ones. In 1654, Little Russia, which rebelled against Poland, surrendered to the protection of the Moscow sovereign. This involved the state in a new struggle with Poland. Thus a new question arose - a Little Russian one, which further complicated the old complicated Smolensk and Seversk scores between Moscow and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...”

Although Moscow delayed for a long time in accepting Bogdan Khmelnytsky “and the Zaporozhian Army with their cities and lands” under its authority, it was impossible to endlessly postpone the resolution of this issue, and in the fall of 1653 the Zemsky Sobor drew up a corresponding “resolution”, tantamount to a declaration of war on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The formal announcement followed less than a month later. The king got ready to go on a campaign.

At first our military efforts were met with extraordinary success. We returned Dorogobuzh, Roslavl, Smolensk, Nevel;

“all Lithuania submitted to the king; Alexei Mikhailovich was titled Grand Duke of Lithuania; an uninvited ally, the Swedish king Carl Gustav, conquered all crown Polish lands. The centuries-old dispute between Rus' and Poland was then resolved.”

But then Russia went to war with Sweden, which forced it to conclude a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1658-1659 there was a jam in the Zaporozhian Army, the new hetman of which Ivan Vyhovsky went over to the side of Poland. And in 1660, the latter made peace with Sweden, and from that moment on, events in the theater of military operations developed extremely unsuccessfully for us.

The return of the original Russian lands and the last years of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the “Silent Tsar” of Russia

In 1667, in the village of Andrusovo near Smolensk, Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth signed a truce, according to which Smolensk and other Russian lands that had gone to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were returned to Russia, Left Bank Little Russia was assigned to it, and the Zaporozhye Sich remained under the joint administration of Moscow and Poland. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth abandoned the protectorate over the Sich only in 1686.

Thus, certain positive results have been achieved. But the final solution to the Polish-Lithuanian-Little Russian question was postponed, although with some persistence Russia could, already under Alexei Mikhailovich, consolidate its influence in White and Little Rus' and firmly stand on the shores of the Baltic Sea. But the manifestation of this persistence was hampered by internal troubles: church reform was not taking root well in the country, and in 1662 Moscow was shocked by the Copper Riot.

In 1676, Alexey Mikhailovich died. His heir, Tsarevich Fyodor, was fifteen years old. And the one who will later go down in history as the first Russian Emperor Peter the Great is four years old.

The “quiet” Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was married twice, which gave rise to considerable unrest at the end of the 17th century (rivalry between the Miloslavskys and Naryshkins at court, the “plot” of the regent, Streltsy riots, etc.).

By the time of his death in early 1676, he had two living sons (the elder Fyodor and the younger Ivan) from his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, and one (Peter) from his second, Natalya Naryshkina. The throne was taken, of course, by the eldest, officially declared successor back in 1674 - he was fifteen years old at that time, and his health left much to be desired. The latter gave the Naryshkins reason to harbor hopes for revenge, that is, for Peter’s quick accession to the throne, since the other brother, Ivan Alekseevich, did not shine with mental abilities from a young age.

ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH ROMANOV

(1629 - 1676)

Tsar in 1645-1676

Son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

He considered royal power to be divinely established, and the monarch to be the only source of law and “mercy.”

Under him, the gradual formation of absolutism began.

He was nicknamed "The Quietest" - an honorary title of Latin origin,

meaning “silence” (tranquility, prosperity) in the country during the reign of the sovereign.

It has nothing to do with the character qualities of Alexei Mikhailovich.

Until the age of five, the young Tsarevich Alexei remained in the care of the royal “mothers.” From the age of five, under the supervision of B.I. Morozov, he began to learn to read and write using the ABC book, then began reading the Book of Hours, the Psalter and the Acts of the Holy Apostles, at the age of seven he began to learn writing, and at the age of nine, church singing. Over time, the child (11-12 years old) built up a small library; Among the books that belonged to him, mention is made, among other things, of the Lexicon and Grammar, published in Lithuania, as well as Cosmography. Among the items of “children’s fun” of the future king are: a horse and children’s armor of “German business,” musical instruments, German maps and “printed sheets” (pictures). Thus, along with the previous educational means, innovations are also noticeable, which were made not without the direct influence of B.I. Morozov. The latter, as is known, dressed the young Tsar with his brother and other children in German dress for the first time. At the age of 14, the prince was solemnly “announced” to the people, and at the age of 16, having lost his father and mother, he ascended the throne of Moscow.

Character and hobbies

With his accession to the throne, Tsar Alexei came face to face with a number of issues that worried Russian life. Little prepared to resolve this kind of issues, he initially listened to the influence of his former uncle B.I. Morozov, but soon he himself began to take an independent part in affairs. In this activity, the main features of his character were finally formed. The autocratic Russian Tsar, judging by his own letters, foreigners (Meyerberg, Collins, Reitenfels, Lisek) and his relations with those around him, had a remarkably gentle, good-natured character. The spiritual atmosphere in which Tsar Alexei lived, his upbringing, character and reading of church books developed religiosity in him. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the king did not drink or eat anything during all fasts and was generally a zealous performer of church rituals. The veneration of external ritual was also accompanied by an internal religious feeling, which developed Christian humility in Tsar Alexei. “And to me, a sinner,- he writes, - "The honor here is like dust". The royal good nature and humility were sometimes, however, 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. Rodion Streshnev did not agree. Tsar Alexei personally “humbled” the old man, but then did not know what gifts to appease him with.

Samuel Collins, an English doctor at the royal court, reports that “His amusement consists of falconry and hound hunting. It maintains more than three hundred falcon keepers and has the best gyrfalcons in the world, which are brought from Siberia and kill ducks and other game. He hunts bears, wolves, tigers, foxes, or, better said, poisons them with dogs. When he leaves, the East Gate and the inner city wall are locked until he returns. He rarely visits his subjects... When the Tsar goes out of town or into a field of entertainment, he strictly orders that no one bother him with requests.”

Falcons of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

“Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with the boyars on falconry near Moscow.” Sverchkov Nikolai Egorovich. (1817 - 1898)

Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye

It is known that Alexey Mikhailovich was personally involved in the organization of the army. It has been preserved, executed by the sovereign himself. The secretary of the Danish embassy, ​​Andrei Rode, testifies that the sovereign was also involved in artillery. Alexey Mikhailovich was very interested in the European press, which he became acquainted with through translations carried out in the Ambassadorial Prikaz. The tsar personally read one of the articles (that the English who overthrew and executed their king greatly regretted this) to the boyars at a meeting of the Duma. Since 1659, Alexei Mikhailovich tried to establish regular delivery of foreign newspapers to Russia. In 1665, for this purpose, the first regular postal line was organized, connecting Moscow with Riga, and through it with the pan-European postal system. The king showed great interest in various secret writing systems. The newly developed ciphers were used in diplomatic practice.

Letter from Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to his cousin, steward Afanasy Matyushkin, written in secret script

The Secret Affairs Order contained drawings of Egyptian hieroglyphs based on the book by Egyptologist A. Kircher. The king's interests included astrology. Following the advice of his doctor Samuel Collins, he allowed himself to bleed based on the recommendations of medical astrology. Alexey Mikhailovich was so fascinated by the starry sky that in the early 1670s. he, through A.S. Matveev, who headed the Ambassadorial Prikaz, asked the Danish resident to get him a telescope. In the last years of his life, the tsar became interested in European music. On October 21, 1674, Alexey Mikhailovich arranged a feast for himself and his loved ones, which was accompanied by very unusual fun: “The Nemchins played argans, and they played surna, and they blew trumpets, and they played surkas, and they beat on krams and kettledrums. in everything."

PATRIARCH NIKON

The king's gentle, sociable nature needed an adviser and friend. Nikon became such a “special”, especially beloved friend. Being at that time a metropolitan in Novgorod, where with his characteristic energy he pacified the rebels in March 1650, Nikon gained the royal trust, was ordained patriarch on July 25, 1652, and began to exert direct influence on state affairs. Among the latter, the government attracted particular attention to foreign relations. Patriarch Nikon was entrusted with carrying out church reform. The reform took place in 1653-1655. and concerned mainly church rituals and books. Baptism with three fingers was introduced, bows from the waist instead of bows to the ground, icons and church books were corrected according to Greek models. The Church Council convened in 1654 approved the reform, but proposed to bring the existing rituals into conformity not only with the Greek, but also with the Russian tradition.

The new patriarch was a capricious, strong-willed man, and in many ways fanatical. Having received immense power over the believers, he soon came up with the idea of ​​​​the primacy of church power and invited Alexei Mikhailovich to share power with him. However, the king did not want to tolerate the patriarch for long. He stopped going to patriarchal services in the Assumption Cathedral and inviting Nikon to state receptions. This was a serious blow to the patriarch’s pride. During one of the sermons in the Assumption Cathedral, he announced his resignation from patriarchal duties (while retaining his rank) and retired to the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery. There Nikon waited for the king to repent and ask him to return to Moscow. However, the king acted completely differently. He began to prepare a church trial of Nikon, for which he invited Orthodox patriarchs from other countries to Moscow.

For the trial of Nikon in 1666, a Church Council was convened, to which the patriarch was brought under guard. The tsar stated that Nikon left the church without the tsar’s permission and renounced the patriarchate, thereby making it clear who held the real power in the country. The church hierarchs present supported the tsar and condemned Nikon, blessing his deprivation of the rank of patriarch and eternal imprisonment in a monastery. At the same time, the Council of 1666-1667 supported church reform and cursed all its opponents, who began to be called Old Believers. The participants of the Council decided to hand over the leaders of the Old Believers to the authorities. According to the Council Code of 1649, they were threatened with burning at the stake. Thus, Nikon’s reforms and the Council of 1666-1667. marked the beginning of a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church.

MILITARY REFORM

In 1648, using the experience of creating regiments of a foreign system during the reign of his father, Alexei Mikhailovich began reforming the army.

During the reform of 1648 - 1654, the best parts of the “old system” were strengthened and enlarged: the elite Moscow local cavalry of the Sovereign Regiment, the Moscow archers and gunners. The main direction of the reform was the massive creation of regiments of the new system: reitar, soldiers, dragoons and hussars. These regiments formed the backbone of the new army of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. To fulfill the goals of the reform, a large number of European military specialists were hired. This became possible due to the end of the Thirty Years' War, which created in Europe a colossal market for military professionals for those times.

AFFAIRS IN UKRAINE. POLISH WAR

At the end of 1647, the Cossack centurion Zinovy ​​Bogdan Khmelnitsky fled from Ukraine to Zaporozhye, and from there to Crimea. Returning with the Tatar army and elected hetman of the Cossack Rada, he raised the whole of Ukraine, defeated Polish troops at Zhovti Vody, Korsun, Pilyava, besieged Zamosc and concluded a profitable peace near Zborov; having failed at Berestechko, he agreed at Bila Tserkva to a peace much less profitable than Zborovsky. During all this time, Alexei Mikhailovich adopted a wait-and-see policy: he did not help either Khmelnitsky or the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, the tsarist troops took part in undermining the Cossack-Crimean alliance aimed at expelling the Poles from Ukraine: on the eve of the Battle of Pilyavtsy, the Don Cossacks, on the orders of the tsar, attacked Crimea and the horde was unable to come to the aid of the Cossack army.

The Belotserkov peace aroused popular displeasure; The hetman was forced to violate all the conditions and, in cramped circumstances, turned to the “king of the east” for help. At a council convened on this occasion in Moscow, on October 1, 1653, it was decided to accept the Cossacks as citizenship and war was declared on Poland. On May 18, 1654, the Tsar himself set out on a campaign, going to the Trinity and the Savvin Monastery to pray. The army headed towards Smolensk. After the surrender of Smolensk on September 23, the tsar returned to Vyazma.

In the spring of 1655, a new campaign was undertaken. On July 30, the tsar made a ceremonial entry into Vilna, then Kovno and Grodno were taken. In November the Tsar returned to Moscow. At this time, the successes of Charles X, King of Sweden, who took possession of Poznan, Warsaw and Krakow, changed the course of hostilities. Moscow began to fear the strengthening of Sweden at the expense of Poland. In order to borrow money to wage war with Poland and Sweden, Alexei Mikhailovich sent diplomat Ivan Chemodanov to Venice in 1656, but his embassy did not fulfill its task. In the fall of 1656, the Vilna Truce was concluded with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

On July 15, 1656, the king set out on a campaign in Livonia and, after capturing Dinaburg and Kokenhusen, besieged Riga. The siege was lifted due to rumors that Charles X was going to Livonia. Dorpat was occupied by Moscow troops. The Tsar retreated to Polotsk and here he waited for the truce concluded on October 24, 1656. In 1657 - 1658, military operations continued with varying success. On December 20, 1658, the Valiesar Truce was concluded with the Swedes for a period of three years, according to which Russia retained part of the conquered Livonia (with Dorpat and Marienburg). The final peace was concluded in Kardis in 1661; in this world, Russia gave up all the conquered places. The unfavorable conditions of the Kardis Peace were caused by unrest in Little Russia and a new war with Poland.

After the death of Bogdan Khmelnitsky in July 1657 at the Chihyryn Rada, the Cossack elders assigned hetman duties to Ivan Vygovsky, but only until Yuri Khmelnitsky reached his full age.

At the Korsun Rada on October 21, 1657, in an atmosphere of acute contradictions, Ivan Vygovsky was elected hetman of Ukraine. The bright but contradictory personality of the new hetman could only intensify the turmoil in Ukraine. On the one hand, in conditions when Ukraine was still waging a war for national revival, a self-interested clerk, not a “natural Cossack”, but a “Polyakh” bought from the Tatars for a horse, and, in addition, married to the daughter of a Polish magnate, could not become a recognized leader by all. . But on the other hand, from 1648 he served as a general clerk and, being the closest confidant to B. Khmelnitsky, was the only person in Ukraine dedicated to all internal and external political problems. Thus, the very election of I. Vygovsky as hetman caused many contradictions and could not create unity in Ukraine. Already in October 1657, the hetman faced powerful opposition. The hetman, wholly supported by Moscow, initially managed to defeat the oppositionists, led by Poltava Colonel Martyn Pushkar and Koshevoy Ataman Yakov Barabash, but the contradictions within the Cossack society continued to heat up. Seeing the worsening of the civil war, Moscow increasingly persistently offers the hetman its help in pacifying the unrest and “rebellion,” and persuades the opposition to submit to the hetman.

After Vygovsky’s betrayal and defection to the side of Poland, in the civil war that began in Ukraine, in which Vygovsky was supported by the Polish crown, and behind Yuri Khmelnitsky stood his father’s experienced colonels Ivan Bogun, Ivan Sirko, Yakim Somko, actively supported by Alexei Mikhailovich, the supporters won alliance with Moscow, and Vygovsky was forced to lay down the hetman’s mace in favor of the politically inactive Yuri Khmelnitsky, who subsequently became a monk and entered a monastery.

Taking advantage of the hetman's betrayal and the unrest in Little Russia, Poland refused to recognize Alexei Mikhailovich as heir to the Polish throne and did not concede its conquests to Moscow. The consequence of this was the second Polish war. In June 1660, Prince Khovansky was defeated at Polonka, and in September, Sheremetev was defeated at Chudnov. Things took an even more dangerous turn thanks to the ongoing unrest in Little Russia. Teterya swore allegiance to the king, who appeared on the left side of the Dnieper, but after the unsuccessful siege of Glukhov at the beginning of 1664 and the successful actions of his opponents - Bryukhovetsky, elected hetman on the left side of the Dnieper, and Prince Romodanovsky - went beyond the Desna. A. Ordin-Nashchokin advised the tsar to abandon Little Russia and turn to Sweden. Alexey Mikhailovich rejected this offer; he did not lose hope. The favorable outcome of the struggle was facilitated by internal unrest in Poland and the transfer of Hetman Doroshenko, Teteri's successor, to the citizenship of the Turkish Sultan. On January 13, 1667, peace was concluded in the village of Andrusov. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich acquired Smolensk, Seversk land, the left side of the Dnieper and, in addition, Kyiv for two years.

Banner of the Great Regiment of the Great Sovereign Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich 1654

During the wars of 1654-1658, the tsar was often absent from Moscow and, therefore, was far from Nikon and did not restrain the patriarch’s lust for power with his presence. Returning from his campaigns, he began to feel burdened by his influence. Nikon's enemies took advantage of the tsar's cooling towards him and began to treat the patriarch disrespectfully. The proud soul of the archpastor could not bear the insult; On July 10, 1658, he renounced his rank and left for the Resurrection Monastery. The Emperor, however, did not soon decide to end this matter. Only in 1666, at a spiritual council chaired by the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, Nikon was deprived of his bishopric and imprisoned in the Belozersky Ferapontov Monastery. During the same period of wars (1654-1667), Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich personally visited Vitebsk, Polotsk, Mogilev, Kovno, Grodno, especially Vilno, and here he became acquainted with a new way of life; Upon returning to Moscow, he made changes in the court environment. Wallpaper (gold leather) and furniture based on German and Polish designs appeared inside the palace. On the outside, the carving became figured, in the Rococo style, and not just on the surface of the wood, according to Russian custom.

INTERNAL DISTURBANCE

As soon as the war with Poland had subsided, the government had to pay attention to new internal unrest, to the Solovetsky indignation and Razin’s rebellion. With the fall of Nikon, his main innovation was not destroyed: the correction of church books. Many priests and monasteries did not agree to accept these innovations. The Solovetsky Monastery offered especially stubborn resistance; besieged since 1668, it was taken by governor Meshcherinov on January 22, 1676; the rebels were hanged. At the same time, in the south, the Don Cossack Stepan Razin rebelled. Having robbed the caravan of Shorin's guest in 1667, Razin moved to Yaik, took the Yaitsky town, robbed Persian ships, but confessed to Astrakhan. In May 1670, he again went to the Volga, took Tsaritsyn, Black Yar, Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara and raised the Cheremis, Chuvash, Mordovians, Tatars, but near Simbirsk he was defeated by Prince Yu. Baryatinsky, fled to the Don and, given out by Ataman Kornil Yakovlev , executed in Moscow on June 6, 1671.
Soon after Razin's execution, a war began with Turkey over Little Russia. Bryukhovetsky betrayed Moscow, but he himself was killed by Doroshenko’s followers. The latter became the hetman of both sides of the Dnieper, although he entrusted control of the left side to the assigned hetman Mnogohrishny. Mnogohrishny was elected hetman at the Glukhov Rada (in March 1669), again went over to the side of Moscow, but was overthrown by the elders and exiled to Siberia. In June 1672, Ivan Samoilovich was elected to his place. Meanwhile, the Turkish Sultan Mohammed IV, to whom Doroshenko succumbed, did not want to give up the left bank of Ukraine. A war began, in which the Polish king Jan Sobieski, who was the crown hetman, became famous. The war ended with a 20-year peace only in 1681.

THE KING'S MARRIAGE

Having decided to get married, the tsar in 1647 chose Euphemia, the daughter of Raf Vsevolozhsky, as his wife at a brides' show, but abandoned his choice due to intrigues in which B.I. Morozov himself was probably involved. In 1648, January 16 (26 according to the new style), the tsar married Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

Alexey Mikhailovich was the father of 16 children from two marriages. Three of his sons subsequently reigned.

None of Alexei Mikhailovich's daughters married.

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (13 children) :

Dmitry Alekseevich (1649 - October 6, 1649)
Evdokia (February 1650 - March 1712)
Marfa (August 1652 - July 1707)
Alexey (February 1654 - January 1670)
Anna (January 1655 - May 1659)
Sophia (September 1657 - July 1704)
Catherine (November 1658 - May 1718)
Maria (January 1660 - March 1723)
Fedor (May 1661 - April 1682)
Feodosia (May 1662 - December 1713)
Simeon (April 1665 - June 1669)
Ivan (August 1666 - January 1696)
Evdokia (February 1669 - February 1669)

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (3 children):

Peter (May 30, 1672 - January 28, 1725)
Natalia (August 1673 - June 1716)
Theodora (September 1674 - November 1678)

Makovsky K.E. The choice of a bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

Sedov Grigory (1836-1886). Bride's choice king Alexey Mikhailovich

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (1626-1669), first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich

Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina. Portrait. Unknown artist

Achievements of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov

From internal orders under the king Alexei The following can be highlighted: a ban on Belomest residents (monasteries and persons in state, military or civil service) to own black, taxable lands and industrial and commercial establishments (shops, etc.).
IN financially several transformations were made: in 1646 and the following years, a census of tax households was completed with their adult and minor male population, an unsuccessful attempt was made above to introduce a new salt duty; by decree of April 30, 1653, it was forbidden to collect small customs duties (myt, travel duties and anniversary) or farm them out and was ordered to be included in the ruble duties collected at customs; At the beginning of 1656 (no later than March 3), due to a lack of funds, copper money was issued. Soon (from 1658) the copper ruble began to be valued at 10, 12, and in the 1660s even 20 and 25 times cheaper than the silver one; the resulting terrible high cost caused a popular rebellion ( Copper Riot ) July 25, 1662. The rebellion was pacified by the king's promise to punish the perpetrators and the expulsion of the Streltsy army against the rebels. By decree of June 19, 1667. It was ordered to begin building ships in the village of Dedinovo on the Oka. The built ship burned down in Astrakhan. In the field of legislation : the Council Code was compiled and published and supplementing it in some respects: New Trade Charter of 1667, New Decree Articles on Robbery and Murder Cases of 1669, New Decree Articles on Estates of 1676, Military Regulations in 1649. Russia also united with Ukraine in 1654. Under Tsar Alexei, the colonization movement into Siberia continued. Nerchinsk (1658), Irkutsk (1659), Penza (1663), Selenginsk (1666) were founded.

1st September 1674 The king "announced" his son Fedora people as heir to the throne,

Material taken from open sources

Key dates in the life and work of Alexei Mikhailovich

1629, March 19- the birth of Tsarevich Alexei Mikhailovich, the eldest son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

1644–1645 - the case of “Prince Valdemar”.

1645, July 13- death of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Accession of Alexei Mikhailovich to the Russian throne.

1646–1648 - government of boyar B.I. Morozov.

1646 - compilation of census books.

The appearance of the future Patriarch Nikon in Moscow. His acquaintance with Alexei Mikhailovich and appointment as archimandrite of the Novospassky Monastery.

June- uprising in Moscow, the fall of the government of B.I. Morozov.

1648, September - 1649, January- drawing up a new Code by the Zemsky Sobor and the Statutory Commission of N.I. Odoevsky. Participation of Alexei Mikhailovich in the work of the cathedral. Adoption of the Council Code of 1649

1649, January- clash between Archpriest Stefan Vonifatiev and Patriarch Joseph on the issue of unanimity at the church council. The king's support for the archpriest. Election of Nikon as Metropolitan of Novgorod.

1650 - uprising in Pskov and Novgorod.

July- election of Nikon as Patriarch.

1653, spring- the beginning of church reforms by Patriarch Nikon.

Around 1654- the emergence of the order of Secret Affairs.

1654–1667 - Russian-Polish war.

1654, January- Pereyaslavskaya Rada, which decided on Ukraine’s entry into the Moscow state.

1654 - Alexei Mikhailovich’s first campaign against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Participation in the siege and capture of Smolensk.

1654, summer - winter- plague in Moscow.

1655 - the second campaign of Alexei Mikhailovich against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

1656–1658 - Russian-Swedish war.

1656 - participation of Alexei Mikhailovich in the siege of Riga.

November- truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

1658 - breakup between Alexei Mikhailovich and Nikon. Removal of Nikon to the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery.

October- resumption of the Russian-Polish war.

December- Valiesar truce with Sweden.

August- defeat of Hetman Vygovsky and his overthrow.

1661 - Kardis peace with Sweden.

1666–1667 - participation of Alexey Mikhailovich in the work of the church council. Trial and deposition of Nikon. Conciliar condemnation of the Old Believers. The beginning of the split.

1670–1671 - the uprising of Stepan Razin.

1671, January 22- Alexei Mikhailovich’s marriage to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.

1673–1681 - Russian-Turkish war.