Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov years of life and reign. Romanov Dynasty – 17th century
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, like his father, took the throne at the age of sixteen. Throughout his childhood and youth, the future king was prepared for the kingdom. This was mainly done by B. Morozov, the Tsar’s tutor. This man subsequently had enormous influence on Alexei and could actually rule the state.
The reign of Alexei Mikhailovich began in 1645. However, very soon new uprisings began to occur in the country, which could weaken the royal power. It would be fair to note that the reasons for most of the uprisings were given by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov himself. So on June 1, 16448, a “salt riot” broke out in Moscow. Due to lack of money in the treasury, the tsar, through the head of the Zemsky Prikaz, Pleshcheev, introduced a new large tax on salt. The citizens were indignant, the uprising arose so strong that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov was forced to hand Pleshcheev over to the people and expel his teacher, Morozov, from the country. Next was the Copper Riot. The country was in a difficult financial situation due to wars. Then the king decided to mint money not from silver, as was done before, but from copper. As a result, money actually depreciated fifteen times. Merchants refused to sell goods for new money. The army stopped receiving salaries. In July 1662, an uprising arose, which led to the king's house. There they were met by an armed army, which crushed the uprising and severely punished the rebels. Many participants in the uprising had their hands, feet, and tongues cut off. This was the verdict of the court. Despite this, the circulation of copper money was cancelled.
Tsar's reforms
In 1670, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov faced a new danger within the country. A powerful uprising broke out again in the country in the spring of that year, led by Stepan Razin. This uprising was suppressed by the end of 1671. Most of Razin's army was destroyed, and Stepan himself was arrested by tsarist troops near the town of Kagalnitsky.
Foreign policy
At this time, the liberation movement began on the territory of modern Ukraine. Ukrainians, led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky, fought with the Poles for independence. The forces were unequal, and in 1652 Khmelnitsky turned to the Russian Tsar to accept Ukraine into Russia. For more than a year, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov hesitated, realizing that accepting Ukraine would mean war with Poland. Khmelnitsky, seeing Moscow's hesitation, set a condition in 1653 that if Russia did not include Ukraine in the country in the near future, then Khmelnitsky would go to Turkey with the same proposal. The possible Russian-Turkish border in this regard seemed to be the worst possible option. On October 1, 1653, the Zemsky Council decided to annex Ukraine.
Immediately after these events began war with Poland. It lasted 15 years. Both of them achieved success alternately. At the very beginning of the war in Ukraine, Khmelnitsky died. Ivan Vyhovsky was elected as the new hetman, who declared his allegiance to Poland and sent a notification to the Polish king that Ukraine wished to reunite with Poland. Thus, Ukraine, because of which Russia became embroiled in a war with Poland, betrayed Russia. The Ukrainian people did not recognize Polish power. The war depleted Poland's resources. During these same years they fought against the Swedes and Turks. As a result, the Truce of Andrusovo was concluded in 1667. Russia returned Smolensk and the Northern Lands, as well as left-bank Ukraine.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov organized many campaigns aimed at exploring Siberia and the Far East. As a result of these campaigns, as well as campaigns organized by Alexei’s successors, it was possible to expand the borders of the state to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
In 1675, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov died.
Alexey Mikhailovich
(1629-1676)
Reigned 1645-1676
“Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was the kindest man, a glorious Russian soul. I am ready to see in him the best man of Ancient Rus', at least, I don’t know another ancient Russian person who would make a more pleasant impression - but not on the throne.”
V. O. Klyuchevsky. "Course of Russian history".
Alexei Mikhailovich, second Tsar of the House of Romanov, son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and Tsarina Evdokia Streshneva. Tsar Alexei ascended the throne at the age of sixteen. Under him, his teacher, boyar B. I. Morozov, began to play the main role in governing the state. Piously honoring all the precepts of antiquity, Alexey Mikhailovich loved the ancient Russian way of life. He was deeply and sincerely religious. For his kindness and responsiveness to the misfortune and suffering of people, Alexei Mikhailovich received the nickname “the quietest king” during his lifetime.
Ruddy, with piercing blue eyes and a dark brown, slightly reddish beard, a strong physique, thanks to his frequent stay in the fresh air during falconry, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, blooming in health, with his whole appearance made a majestic and at the same time pleasant impression on everyone around him .
Alexey Mikhailovich was married to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. The marriage to her took place on January 16, 1648. From this marriage eight daughters and five sons were born. Only six daughters and two sons (princes Fyodor and Ivan) survived their father.
On March 2, 1669, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna died, and on January 22, 1671, the tsar married Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, who a year later would become the mother of the future Emperor of Russia Peter I. Alexei Mikhailovich reigned for almost 31 years. After his death, difficulties began with the succession to the throne.
QUESTIONNAIRE
- the level of education
primary literacy, foreign language, theology, philosophy, sacred music. Guys-educators: boyar B.I. Morozov, V.N. Streshnev. Teachers: clerk V.S. Prokofiev, clerk G.V. Lvov.
- Foreign language skills
Latin, Polish
- Political Views
ideas of autocracy of the tsar, strict control over the activities of central institutions.
- wars and results
with Poland (1654-1667) Recognition by Poland of the annexation of Ukraine to Russia. With Sweden (1656-1658) for access to the Baltic Sea and the mastery of Livonia. Statement of the boundaries of 1617.
- reforms and counter-reforms
the creation of a code of state laws (“Code” of 1649), monetary reform, the organization of a massive search for fugitive peasants, the reorganization of customs duties in the interests of the domestic merchants, the introduction of troops of the new system.
- cultural endeavors
organization of public schools for training clerks at the Zaikonospassky Monastery, palace theaters.
- correspondents (correspondence)
with Patriarch Nikon, Chernigov Archbishop Lazar Baranovich, A. S. Matveev, A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin, N. I. Odoevsky, sisters.
- travel geography
During the war he visited a number of Lithuanian cities. Trips on pilgrimage to distant monasteries.
- leisure, entertainment, habits
hunting, court theater, chess. Strict observance of all religious rites.
- sense of humor
somewhat rude
- appearance
short and stocky. The face is a little puffy, low forehead. His features were soft and pleasant, he wore a small beard and mustache.
- temperament
good-natured, cheerful, quick-tempered, but easy-going.
Literature
Alekseev A. Fierce zealots. Moscow Rus' in the 17th century// Science and life. - 2009. - N 11. - P. 98-104; N 12. - pp. 66-73. : ill.
About the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich.
Alexey Mikhailovich (1645-1676)// Illustrated history of Russia before Peter the Great. - St. Petersburg, 1994. - P. 266-292.
Andreev I. “Reliable Hunter”// Science and life. - 1998. - N 7. - P. 140-147.
About falconry of Russian tsars.
Andreev I. Netihiy Quiet// Homeland. - 1998. - N 9. - P. 39-43.
About the personality of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, how he was perceived in the 17th century.
Andreev I. The Obstinate Patriarch// Science and life. - 2004. - N 6. - P. 112-120.
The article about the confrontation between Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon was written based on materials from the book “Alexei Mikhailovich” by I. L. Andreev.
Andreev I. L. Father and son// Knowledge is power. - 2004. - N 2. - P. 121-123.
Comparative characteristics of the reigns of Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter I.
Bakhrevsky V. A. Quiet: a historical novel. - Moscow: Sov. writer, 1984. - 350 p. : ill.
About Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Bestuzheva-Lada S. The quietest converter// Change. - 2013. - N 1. - P. 4-25. : ill.
About the transformations of Alexei Mikhailovich.
Bobrov R. Lover of hunting pleasures// Hunting and game management. - 2002. - N 2. - P. 12-13.
About the hunter and expert in hunting, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Burlinova A. Quiet// Knowledge is power. - 2004. - N 2. - P. 117-120.
About Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, nicknamed the Quietest.
Bushuev S.V. “The Quietest” Tsar and his reign// History of the Russian State / S. V. Bushuev. - Moscow, 1994. - P. 112-126.
Vilkov V. A. Alexey Mikhailovich// All the rulers of Russia: Grand Dukes, Tsars, Emperors, General Secretaries, Presidents / V. A. Vilkov, Yu. G. Stepanov. - Moscow: Ripol classic, 2008. - P. 273-279. : ill.
Russian foreign policy under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich// Three centuries: Russia from the Time of Troubles to our time: historical collection (in 6 volumes) / ed. V. V. Kallash. - Moscow, 1991. - T. 2. - P. 106 -139.
Gusev A.V. Man in history: Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich// Teaching history at school. - 2003. - N 5. - P. 30-36.
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov as a personality of the late Russian Middle Ages.
Zimin I. Royal hunt// Homeland. - 2010. - N 12. - P. 146-155. : ill., photo.
About Alexei Mikhailovich’s passion for hunting.
Ikonnikova A. Queens and princesses from the house of Romanov: historical essay by A. Ikonnikova. - [Reprint. reproduction ed. 1914]. - Moscow: Nar. book, 1991. - 125, II, p. - (Ser. “The Past”; 1).
Autocracy in the Russian state.
Alexey Mikhailovich// History of the Fatherland in Persons: From ancient times to the end of the 17th century. : Biographical encyclopedia. - Moscow., 1993. - P. 113-174.
What kind of fun is the hour set for?// Around the world. - 2004. - N 2. - P. 54.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich made a clarification in the “Book of the Verb Uryadnik: a new code and arrangement for the order of the falconer’s path” - “do not forget: it’s time for business and time for fun.” The point of his clarification was that in addition to such an important matter as hunting, there are other matters to which time should be devoted. However, later in this expression, which became a proverb, the disjunctive conjunction “a” began to be used, which completely changed its original meaning.
Kosheleva O. “It’s not scary to fall; if you fall terribly, you won’t get up…”// Homeland. - 2006. - N 11. - P. 41-45.
Epistolary works of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Kushaev N. A. Education and upbringing of Russian sovereigns// Art and education. - 2004. - N 1. - P. 60-84.
How Russian tsars, including Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, were educated and brought up.
Lisitsyna E. Cat-loving autocrats// Friend. Magazine for cat lovers. -2008. - N 9. - P. 62-65.
Russian tsars, Russian emperors and empresses treated cats favorably. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich loved cats very much.
Mosunova T. “Window to Europe”: about royal brides and exiled Poles in the forgotten capital // Ural Worker. - 2011. - November 30. - P. 6.: photo, ill.
About the exile of the royal brides in the city of Verkhoturye.
[About Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov]// Science and religion. - 2004. - N 1. - P. 58.
About the life of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, about the fact that they have much in common in solving state problems.
Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich through the eyes of foreigners// Approval of the dynasty. - Moscow, 1997. - P. 407-418.
Scott S. Romanov: Biography of the dynasty (1613-1999) / trans. with Swedish - 2nd add. and processed ed.
Moscow: Zakharov, 2000. - 316 p.
Solovyov S. M. History of Russia since ancient times: In 15 books. Book 6: T. 11-12: History of Russia during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. - Moscow: Sotsekgiz, 1961. - 683 p.
Starikova N.V. Alexey Mikhailovich// History of Russia: IX-XXI centuries. : From Rurik to Putin. - Moscow, 2003. - P. 204-221.
Usovich K. Diagnostics of the image of a top manager: Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov // Personnel Management. - 2008. - N 12. - P. 78-83; N 13. - pp. 72-78.
About the images of the rulers of Rus' using the example of the royal dynasty of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov.
Fortunatov V.V. The rebellious age of Alexei Mikhailovich “The Quietest”// Russian history in faces / V. V. Fortunatov. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009. - P. 119 - 122. : ill.
Hosking D. Russia and Russians: In 2 books. / D. Hosking; lane from English - Moscow: AST; Transitbook, 2003. - Book. 1. - pp. 201-216.
About church transformations during the reign of the emperor and the relations between the Don Cossacks and the Moscow kingdom.
Yablochkov M. Reign of Alexei Mikhailovich (1645 -1676)// History of the nobility in Russia / M. Yablochkov. - Smolensk, 2003. - Ch. XII. - P. 243-303.
The list of references was prepared by SBO bibliographer I. G. Taushkanova.
The second tsar from the Romanov dynasty on the Russian throne was the son of Mikhail Fedorovich and his second wife Evdokia Streshneva - Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of one of the largest reformers in the history of Russia, Peter the Great. The more than thirty-year reign of Alexei Mikhailovich was filled with turbulent events: numerous wars and rebellions, reunification with Ukraine and the annexation of Siberia, the uprising of Stepan Razin and a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The second half of the 17th century, which included the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, is of interest to historians, first of all, as the so-called. “pre-Petrine” era, preparatory to major political and economic transformations, socio-cultural innovations borrowed from the West.
This was a time of coexistence of two cultural trends in the life of the Russian state, belonging both to the “old thinkers” - such as the first dissenters, and to the innovators “Westerners” - supporters of enlightenment, foreign borrowing, trade and diplomatic relations with Europe. An entire generation of Peter’s predecessors grew up and lived amid the struggle between old concepts and new trends, and the question of education and borrowing from the West, according to the general belief of historians, was definitely born under the father of Peter I. In this regard, the very personality of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, his psychological portrait and lifestyle has repeatedly become the subject of research by many famous scientists.
The outstanding Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote that Alexey Mikhailovich “grew up with a generation that need for the first time forced them to look carefully and anxiously at the heretical West in the hope of finding there a means to get out of domestic difficulties, without renouncing the concepts, habits and beliefs of pious antiquity.”
Tsarevich Alexei was born on March 19 (29), 1629, and until the age of five he grew up in the mansion of a Moscow palace, surrounded by numerous “mothers.” In the sixth year, he was transferred to the care of the “uncle” - boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, under whose supervision he completed a full course of ancient Russian education: first he studied using an alphabet book specially compiled for him by the patriarchal clerk on the order of his grandfather, Patriarch Philaret; then he moved on to reading the book of hours, the psalter, studied the Acts of the Apostles, at the age of seven he learned to write, and in the ninth year, with the regent of the palace choir, he began to learn the “Octoechos” - a liturgical book of music, from which he moved on to the study of “terrible singing”, i.e. church hymns of Holy Week, especially difficult in their melody.
The Tsarevich was not deprived of amusements: among the toys of the future Tsar there was a horse of “German design”, children’s armor, musical instruments, sleds and sleds, a curious novelty for that time - “German printed sheets”, i.e. pictures engraved in Germany, which were used as visual educational material by Boris Morozov, one of the first Russian boyars to show interest in Western education. Probably, the latter introduced a more daring innovation to the Moscow sovereign palace: he dressed Tsarevich Alexei and his brother Ivan in German dress.
By the age of 12, the prince had already formed his own small library of 13 volumes - mainly gifts from his grandfather, uncles and teachers. For the most part these were books of Holy Scripture and liturgical books, but among them were the Lexicon and Grammar, as well as Cosmography, published in Lithuania. In general, Alexei Mikhailovich’s education was traditional. However, upon completion of his studies, he did not lose interest in books and subsequently, of his own free will, engaged in self-education, read a lot and constantly, so that he soon joined the ranks of the then few Moscow intellectuals.
By the age of ten, the prince could quickly read the Hours in church and, not without success, sing stichera and canons with the sexton in the choir in hook notes; At the same time, he studied the rite of church worship to the smallest detail, in which he could argue with any monastery and even cathedral charter.
In the 14th year of his life, the prince was solemnly “announced” to the people and boyars. The rite of “announcement” meant that the heir to the throne, previously carefully protected from prying eyes and evil intentions, appeared before the courtiers and people as a person who had reached the age of majority and received the right to publicly participate in ceremonies and state affairs; this also served as a guarantee against imposture in any of its manifestations. And at the age of 16, after the death of his father Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich ascended to the Russian throne. As soon as the oath was taken to the young king, which was to be followed by the crowning of the kingdom, a new blow fell on Alexei: having barely outlived her husband, the blessed queen Evdokia Lukyanovna died.
Grigory Sedov. The choice of a bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich
At the beginning of his reign, the orphaned young tsar was strongly influenced by his former mentor, boyar Morozov, who, in fact, directed the entire work of the state apparatus. Subsequently, when the king matured and from a boy turned into a man with a definite and even original worldview and established political views, his reign, according to contemporaries and the general opinion of historians, was characterized by even more autocratic rule than that of his father.
However, the awareness of the autocracy of his power was softened by the pious meekness and deep humility of the king. “It is better to repair the fishery with tears, zeal and baseness before God than with force and glory,” he wrote to one of his governors. In a letter to Prince Nikita Odoevsky in 1652, he reported: “And we, the great sovereign, daily ask the Creator and His Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, so that the Lord God grants to us, the great sovereign, and you, the boyars, with us unanimously His Svetov people really manage everything smoothly.”
Alexei Mikhailovich understood his presence on the throne of Russia, first of all, as responsibility for the fate of the kingdom before God; for him, royal service was akin to severe hierarchal service.
The desire to strengthen the kingdom and protect the faith, to assuage “the many sorrows of the righteous,” according to him, was explained not by the search for the unfading glory of an earthly ruler, but by a necessary condition for one’s own salvation, “for by the wide path the soul of sinners is led into the gates of fierce hell, and by the narrow path the soul of the righteous is brought into the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven." “I strive... to be not a great sun, but at least a small luminary, a small star there, and not here,” the king wrote.
Soon after ascending the throne, 17-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich announced his intention to get married. According to custom, the best brides were collected, from whom the tsar chose Evfemia Fedorovna Vsevolozhskaya, the daughter of a Kasimov landowner, an extraordinary beauty, according to contemporaries. However, when she was first dressed in royal clothes, her hair was pulled too tight, and she fainted in front of the king. For “hiding” the illness, the bride and her family were exiled to distant Tyumen. The king was extremely saddened, and, after some time, not forgetting about his first bride, he returned her from exile.
Popular rumor explained what happened as the machinations of boyar Morozov, who allegedly deliberately defamed the bride before the sovereign out of fear that the new royal relatives would push him out of power. In any case, the boyar soon arranged the king’s marriage, at the same time managing to further strengthen his position. His assistant, Ilya Miloslavsky, a man of little birth, but not without agility and ability, had two beautiful daughters. Morozov praised them to the Tsar and arranged it so that Alexei Mikhailovich could see them. On January 16, 1648, the tsar married Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, whom he liked. Morozov himself, an old man according to the standards of that time, since he was 58 years old, took as his wife his younger sister, Anna Miloslavskaya, who was old enough to be his granddaughter, thus becoming the Tsar’s brother-in-law.
The king's marriage, concluded for love, turned out to be happy. During 21 years of marriage, Maria Miloslavskaya gave birth to 13 children to Alexei Mikhailovich: five princes and eight princesses. True, the princes were born weak and soon went to their graves: the first-born Dmitry did not live even a year; Alexey, with whom great hopes were associated, died before reaching the age of 16; Simeon - at 5 years old; Fyodor and Ivan, who became tsars, lived longer - Fyodor until almost 22 years old, Ivan until 29. The latter, Ivan Alekseevich, co-ruler of Peter I, in addition to physical weakness, probably also suffered from mental relaxation.
V.A. Leiben. The Tsar's Bride
Alexei Mikhailovich’s daughters, on the contrary, were distinguished by good health and relative longevity, although none of them married. As for the Morozov couple, according to the caustic remark of the court physician, the Englishman Samuel Collins, who was aware of many palace gossips, instead of children, jealousy was born, which “produced a belt whip as thick as a finger.”
If there is very scant information about Alexei Mikhailovich in his young years, then about the mature tsar and the Moscow court in the later period of his reign, contemporaries left numerous testimonies and verbose descriptions, of which the greatest interest for historians, as a rule, are the reports and memories of foreigners - Austrian ambassador Augustine Meyerberg (“Meyerberg’s Report”, 1663 and “Travel to Muscovy”, 1663), secretary of the German imperial embassy Adolf Liesek (“Report of the Embassy”, 1670), English doctor at the royal court Samuel Collins (“On the current state of Russia, 1671), the Courland traveler Jacob Reitenfels (“Tales of the Most Serene Duke of Tuscany Cosmas the Third about Muscovy,” 1676). Also, extensive material is provided by the essay of Grigory Kotoshikhin, an official of the Russian Ambassadorial Prikaz who defected to Sweden, “On Russia during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich.”
In addition to the memories of eyewitnesses, a significant part of the literary works of Tsar Alexei himself has reached us - he loved to write, he was equally interested in the Polish war, and the illness of a courtier, and the household of the deceased patriarch, and the question of how to sing for many years in church, and gardening, and petty quarrels in his beloved monastery. In addition to a large number of letters of both a business and personal nature, he wrote poetry, drew up a detailed order for his falconers, “The Code of the Falconer’s Way,” tried to write memoirs and, in the words of the historian S. F. Platonov, “even had the habit of manually correcting the text and making additions in official documents, and did not always match the tone of the order’s presentation.”
Contemporaries describe the tsar as a man of very pleasant appearance, bursting with health, good-natured, cheerful disposition and even prone to mischief. The appearance of the sovereign immediately attracted everyone: a rare kindness shone in his blue eyes, the look of these eyes did not frighten anyone, but encouraged and encouraged.
The sovereign's face, full and ruddy, bordered by a light brown beard, was good-natured, friendly and at the same time serious and important, and his plump figure always maintained a dignified posture, which was given to the king by the awareness of the significance and holiness of his rank.
The tsar was distinguished by his piety, zealously observed all religious prohibitions and regulations, was not prone to drinking, and was known as an exemplary family man. He loved hunting and spent the summer almost constantly in the picturesque village of Kolomenskoye. Alexey Mikhailovich appreciated beauty in its old Moscow sense: he constantly built and rebuilt his wooden palace in Kolomenskoye, trying to give it a perfect look, he loved the solemn ritual of royal entrances, dinners, and pilgrimages.
Valdai Monastery. Moscow. Late 17th century
Throughout his life, Tsar Alexei represented a model of piety and piety: he could compete with any monk in the art of praying and fasting. According to S. Collins, during Lent and the Dormition, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the king ate once a day, and his food consisted of cabbage, milk mushrooms and berries - all without butter; on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays during all fasts he did not eat or drink anything.
In the church he sometimes stood “for five or six hours at a time, making a thousand prostrations, and on other days even one and a half thousand.” Even illness could not always disrupt the strict order.
Daily prayer exercises, severe fasting, ardent repentance and tireless spiritual work constituted a significant part of the king’s life. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, “he was a devout ancient Russian pilgrim, harmoniously and completely combining physical labor with the tension of religious feeling in the feat of spiritual salvation.”
Most contemporaries noted the tsar's meekness and mercy, gentleness of character, and respect for human dignity in his subjects. Thus, the Austrian ambassador Augustin Meyerberg wrote with surprise that this king, with his unlimited power over the people, did not encroach on anyone’s property, anyone’s life, or anyone’s honor. Sometimes it is even believed that it was Alexei Mikhailovich’s personal qualities that earned him the nickname “The Quietest,” although in reality “the quietest” (Latin clementissimus) is an honorary title of Latin origin, which was later replaced in diplomacy by the French “most merciful” (French tresgracieux).
But kindness, cheerfulness and lightness of character really distinguished the second representative of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Alexei Mikhailovich was the first to begin to weaken the strictness of the prim etiquette established at the Moscow court, which made court relations so difficult and strained. He condescended to joke with the courtiers, easily went to visit them, invited them to his evening meals, and took an interest in their household affairs. The ability to enter into the position of others, to understand and take to heart their grief and joy was one of the best traits in the king’s character. As an example of this, his consoling letters to Prince N.I. are often cited. Odoevsky on the occasion of the death of his son and to A.L. Ordin-Nashchokin regarding his son’s escape abroad.
The son of Prince Odoevsky, who served as a governor in Kazan, died of fever in 1652 almost in front of the tsar. The king reported this in a letter to his old father, telling in detail about his unexpected death. Along with numerous words of consolation, he wrote: “And you, our boyar, should not grieve too much, but you cannot, so as not to grieve and cry, and you need to cry, only in moderation, so as not to anger God.” The letter ended with a postscript: “Prince Nikita Ivanovich! Don’t worry, but trust in God and be reliable in us.”
In 1660, the son of a prominent diplomat and statesman Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin committed a serious crime - he fled from Russia to Poland, and then to France, taking with him important state documents and money. The fugitive's father was terribly embarrassed and heartbroken; he himself notified the king of his misfortune and asked for his resignation. In such a situation, he could have expected disgrace and even execution, but Alexei Mikhailovich sent him a sympathetic letter, consoling him in the grief that had befallen him: “You are asking to give you your resignation; Why did you get the idea to ask for this? I think from immeasurable sadness. And is it any wonder that your son cheated? I did this out of stupidity. He is a young man, I wanted to look at the world of God and his works; just as a bird flies back and forth and, having swooped, flies to its nest, so your son will remember his nest and his spiritual attachment and will soon return to you.” Oddly enough, the king’s words turned out to be prophetic: the “prodigal son” returned and repented. In 1665, he received a royal letter in Riga, in which Alexei Mikhailovich notified him of permission to return and of forgiveness: “Having accepted your petition graciously, we forgive and hope to be safe and without slander. Your parent, our mercy is in vain, remains near us.” According to a number of researchers, it was these events that inspired Simeon of Polotsk to create one of the monuments of ancient Russian literature - a “school drama” for the nascent theater called “The Comedy of the Parable of the Prodigal Son,” which enjoyed particular success.
For all his responsive character and natural complacency, Alexey Mikhailovich was nevertheless also distinguished by his temper, easily lost his composure, and often gave excessive freedom to his tongue and hands. In all the portraits of the king there is a certain severity: knitted eyebrows, a glance from under his brows. S. Collins, reporting on the exactingness and exactingness of the sovereign, writes that the tsar is sometimes angry and unkind because he is surrounded by informers and boyars, “who direct his good intentions to evil” and prevent him from becoming “along with the kindest sovereigns.”
In his anger, Alexey Mikhailovich was easy to cope with, quickly and sincerely moving from abuse to kindness. Even when the sovereign’s irritation reached its highest limit, it was soon replaced by repentance and a desire for peace and quiet. So, at one of the meetings of the Boyar Duma, having flared up at the tactless trick of his father-in-law, boyar Ivan Miloslavsky, the tsar scolded him, beat him and kicked him out of the room. However, this did not deteriorate the good relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law: both easily forgot what happened.
Another time, the tsar flared up when one of the courtiers, Rodion Streshnev, refused due to his old age to “open” his own blood with the tsar (the sovereign, feeling relief from the bloodletting, invited the courtiers to follow his example). The refusal seemed to Alexei Mikhailovich a manifestation of arrogance and pride, for which he flared up and hit the old man: “Is your blood more valuable than mine? or do you consider yourself better than everyone else? Afterwards, he did not know how to appease and console the venerable courtier, he asked for peace and sent him rich gifts.
The court under Alexei Mikhailovich acquired unprecedented grandeur. The life of the king was subordinated to the performance of carefully thought out, deeply symbolic rituals.
He got up early - at four o'clock in the morning, prayed, with special care venerating the icon of the saint whose memory was celebrated that day. Then he went to a ceremonial meeting with the queen. After Matins he was engaged in state affairs: he “sat” with the boyars. At a certain hour he walked with them to mass.
If a church holiday fell on this day, the royal clothes changed - Alexei Mikhailovich put on a gold dress instead of a velvet one. After mass, the tsar listened to the reports of the boyars and officials. In the afternoon, business was abandoned and the royal dinner began, usually quite lengthy. After dinner, the Tsar, like every Russian person, had to sleep until Vespers. After dinner, he spent time with family and friends, playing chess or listening to the stories of experienced people about antiquity and unknown countries. Foreigners also report the king’s tendency to work at night: “The king examines the protocols of his clerks at night. He checks which decisions have been made and which petitions have not been answered.”
Going on a pilgrimage
Alexey Mikhailovich was in constant motion. Many weeks of his life were filled with countless movements, journeys, trips - most often, not particularly distant ones, to the palace villages and hunting grounds of Kolomenskoye, Khoroshevo, Ostrov, Chertanovo, Vorobyovo, Preobrazhenskoye, Pokrovskoye, Izmailovo near Moscow; less often - more distant pilgrimage trips to monasteries, where it took several days to get there. The Tsar’s trips were arranged with extraordinary solemnity: even if the Tsar left the Kremlin for several hours to watch fist fights on the Moscow River, a special decree was drawn up about who would “be in charge of the state” during his absence.
The reign of Alexei Mikhailovich became the heyday of the court and church ceremonial of the Moscow kingdom, which acquired a special monumentality and significance. According to one of the biographers, Alexei Mikhailovich, being a man of duty and living faith, looked at his participation in church and court ceremonies as something destined for him from above, as direct royal service, no less important than protecting borders or a fair trial. An indispensable participant in the most important secular and church ceremonies and holidays, the tsar gave them a special splendor and solemnity, intervened in their course, composed speeches, distributed roles and even took care of their “design”. Alexei Mikhailovich most often made “ordinary” royal outings to mass and pilgrimage on holidays on foot. Sometimes, in bad weather or in winter, he was given a carriage or sleigh on which he could return to the palace at the end of the ceremony or get to the place of the holiday if it took place far from the palace. The very vestments of the king and the number of dress changes testified to the “rank of the event.” In most cases, it is from the description of secular celebrations and church services with the participation of Alexei Mikhailovich that historians can recreate the ceremony of the Moscow court and imagine what it was like in early times.
On major church holidays, on the eve of the royal name days and on memorial days, there were royal exits “with the sovereign’s salary” to the poor, to almshouses and prisons. Alexey Mikhailovich personally distributed money to prisoners and convicts, and immediately released some of them.
The distribution usually began very early: the king got up two or three hours before dawn and, accompanied by several people, set off with alms. The amount of money spent and the number of people “granted by grace” reached very impressive figures. The distributions were especially large during Great Lent, primarily during Holy Week, and also on Easter, when the doors of stockades and prisons were opened and the inmates were told: “Christ has risen for you too.” On behalf of the king, everyone was presented with Easter eggs, clothes and alms for breaking the fast.
In general, for Alexei Mikhailovich, as for every inhabitant of medieval Rus', the Resurrection of Christ was the brightest holiday. On the eve of the Bright Feast of the Tsar, according to the recollections of his contemporaries, his high spirits did not leave him; he was bright, kind and cheerful. According to tradition, Alexey Mikhailovich went to listen to the Midnight Office in the Throne Room of the Terem Palace. The festive Easter matins ended with the celebration of Christ; the Tsar was the first to approach the Patriarch to congratulate and celebrate Christ. Then Alexei Mikhailovich made Christ with the bishops and offered the hands of lower-ranking clergy, while presenting each with Easter eggs. Then the courtiers strictly approached the king.
The ceremony was opened by nearby boyars and ended by Moscow nobles, all dressed in golden caftans. Alexey Mikhailovich, in accordance with nobility, rank and personal attitude towards each person, gave chicken, goose or even turned wooden eggs in different quantities. At the end of the ceremony, the Tsar went to the Archangel Cathedral and “Christed with his parents,” i.e. bowed to the tombs of his ancestors and laid Easter eggs on the tombs. Then he went around the Kremlin cathedrals and monasteries, kissed icons and other shrines, giving eggs to the local clergy. Upon returning to the palace, Alexei Mikhailovich said Christ with his family.
On Bright Week, most often on Wednesday, Alexey Mikhailovich received the Patriarch and the authorities in the Golden Chamber, who came to him with an offering. The Patriarch blessed the Tsar with an icon and a golden cross, and offered cups, expensive materials, and sable furs. All members of the royal family also received gifts. Those church hierarchs who could not participate in the ceremony, and all large monasteries, necessarily sent gifts from their regions - images of saints, Easter eggs, etc. bringing - “Velikodensky honey fur” (fur is a vessel, like a leather bag. In the old days, various liquid products were stored in furs - author’s note) and gold. During these days, the Moscow white clergy and monastic authorities came to the Tsar in a religious procession with a offering of bread and kvass. With a symbolic tribute to the tsar in gold coins, Alexei Mikhailovich also had guests and merchants. In general, during the Easter days, the sovereign was visited by hundreds of people from different classes and ranks. In most cases, they hastily bowed, touched their hand and received an Easter gift. According to researchers, at Easter, up to 37 thousand of colored eggs alone were needed for distribution to the king.
An important holiday for Russian subjects was the Tsar's name day. On this day, all work was prohibited, shopping arcades were closed, and there were no weddings or funeral services for the dead in churches.
Contemporaries left several descriptions of the name day of Alexei Mikhailovich. On the day of the royal name day the feast of St. right Alexy, so the tsar’s morning began with a trip to the Alekseevsky nunnery, where he, with the courtiers and high clergy, attended the festive Liturgy. The outing was distinguished by the richness of outfits and the large number of participants. Alexey Mikhailovich rode in a tall black fox hat and a caftan decorated with precious stones.
Petitioners in great numbers handed over petitions to the king, which, “if he orders,” were accepted by the courtiers. Upon returning to the palace, the king treated his loved ones to a birthday cake. Since these were the days of Lent, the birthday table was held quite rarely. As a sign of special respect, Alexei Mikhailovich sometimes went with a birthday cake to the Patriarch. Boyars, courtiers and foreign guests were given birthday cakes in the dining room or in the entrance hall of the Terem Palace.
Part of the court ceremony included the king's hunting trips - a colorful and fascinating event. Alexey Mikhailovich was an avid hunter, especially loved falconry, which he was ready to go on at any time. The tsar mastered the hunting craft to its subtleties, could guess the quality of a bird at a glance, and knew his merlin-keepers, falconers and hawk-keepers well. The Tsar's falcon yard in the village of Semenovskoye impressed even foreigners: the falconers alone numbered about a hundred people, the number of birds exceeded three thousand. There were falcons, gyrfalcons, cheligs, coccyxes, hawks and, apparently, even eagles. There were exotic red and white hawks in the krechatna. In addition to birds of prey, swans, geese, cranes, and herons lived in the yard. In Semenovsky, Alexey Mikhailovich located the largest of his menageries. There were many bears here, both tamed and wild, who were kept for fighting, baiting and other entertainment.
Another strong hobby of the king was farming. The place for his economic experiments was a property near Moscow in the village of Izmailovo, where Alexey Mikhailovich started exemplary fields and gardens and grew grapes, watermelons and even mulberry trees. In addition to field cultivation and gardening, the tsar established extensive gardening, livestock, poultry, and apiary yards in Izmailovo. The economic complex included various buildings, stone barns for storing crops, and seven flour mills. For constant water pressure, a system of 37 ponds was created. To top it all off, flax and glass factories operated, and the products of the latter were even sold.
Alexey Mikhailovich's hobbies were not limited to hunting and interest in farming. The tsar equally enjoyed reading, chess, and even rough and uncomplicated court fun. He loved to listen to church chants and wrote the texts of the chants himself. The total number of the royal choir, which was extremely difficult to get into, reached 180 people. There was also an organ at court.
In 1671, the widowed Alexei Mikhailovich married for the second time - to 19-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, who was brought up in the house of the tsar's close boyar Artamon Matveev, where, it is believed, the tsar saw her. From this marriage two daughters and a son were born, two survived: the future Tsar Peter I and daughter Natalya. Under the influence of his second wife and boyar Matveev, the tsar allowed the establishment of a new product at court - the “comedy house”. This is how the Russian theater was born. The built theater stage was a semicircle with scenery, a curtain and an orchestra consisting of an organ, pipes, drums, flutes, violins and timpani. The performance usually lasted for several hours. The king sat on a dais, his seat was upholstered with red cloth. In the spirit of Asian customs, the young Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna watched the performance through the bars of the gallery, closed from prying eyes.
Thus, despite the dominance in the life of the second tsar from the House of Romanov of old Russian traditions and centuries-old ceremonial, he still lived at a time when Russian society was steadily moving closer to European culture. The question of what, how and to what extent should be borrowed from the West, and whether it should be borrowed at all, acquired the character of a national problem.
Under such circumstances, Alexei Mikhailovich’s reluctance to make a clear choice between antiquity and innovation, to make a sharp break with the former or categorically abandon the latter, was blamed on him by subsequent generations of historians and gave rise to accusations of passivity of character, lack of talent as a statesman, and inability to stand at the head of the reform movement.
On the other hand, the undeniable fact is that Tsar Alexei significantly contributed to the success of the reform movement, giving the first reformers the opportunity to feel free, to demonstrate their strength, and opened a wide path for their activities.
In the words of V. O. Klyuchevsky, Alexey Mikhailovich, with his often chaotic and inconsistent impulses towards something new and his ability to smooth out and settle everything, “tamed the timid Russian thought to influences coming from someone else’s side” and created a transformative mood.
Literature
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The Russian Tsar was called “the quietest” back in the 16th century. “The quietest” (later replaced by “the most merciful”) is an honorary title used to call the ruler of the Kremlin during prayers and greetings in his honor. However, in history, the quietest of all Russian monarchs remained only Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the second representative of the House of Romanov on the Russian throne.
He was loved by the people, religious, kind, reasonable and well educated for his time. It would seem that the reign of the “quiet” sovereign should have been characterized by calm, regularity and prosperity. However, during the years of his reign (1645 - 1676), there were many popular unrest within the country and military conflicts with neighboring states.
The life story of the Russian monarch according to Mikhailovich Romanov is a biography of a significant personality who made a significant contribution to the history and culture of the Russian state.
At the behest of the Quiet Tsar, who ruled in the “rebellious” age, reforms were carried out in the army and monetary reform. During his reign, the first military ship was built, “comedy acts” (theatrical performances) were performed, European culture penetrated into various spheres of life, and secular literature and secular painting appeared in traditional Russian culture.
Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov died on January 29, 1676, blessing his son Fedor to the kingdom.
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Brief biographical information
ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH, Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty. Took the throne in 1645 after the death of his father, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Known as the “quietest” tsar in the “rebellious” century, Alexei Mikhailovich, according to historiographical tradition, was not an active sovereign; the degree of his participation in making the most important political decisions is not reliably known to historians, although during his reign events occurred in Russia that had a long-term impact on Russian history.
Beginning of the reign. Cathedral Code
In the first years of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the power was actually controlled by the boyar B.I. Morozov (“the guy”, the tsar’s educator). In 1646, duties on salt were introduced, as a result of which the products rose in price, became unavailable to the population, and merchants' stale goods rotted. In 1647, the tax was abolished, but in order to compensate for losses, they decided to reduce the salaries of service people. This caused the Salt Riot of 1648, during which the Tsar’s relatives L.S. Pleshcheev and P.T. Trakhaniotov died, and Morozov miraculously survived. The government was forced to make concessions, and the collection of arrears was stopped. In pursuance of the wishes of the nobility and merchants, in September 1649 the Zemsky Sobor approved a set of laws - the Code, prepared by the commission of Prince N.I. Odoevsky, believed to be with the participation of Alexei Mikhailovich.
The Code, which represented a new level of legislative practice for Russia, included special articles that regulated the legal status of certain social groups of the population. The local salary of service people was increased, and additional allotments were introduced for impoverished landowners. According to the Code, the serfdom of peasants was established as hereditary, and the period for searching for runaway peasants was indefinite. Thus, the process of legislative registration of serfdom was completed. The forced conversion of peasants into slaves was prohibited. The demands of the townspeople, dissatisfied with the existence of the “white” settlements, were also satisfied, since they were included in the tax, which made life easier for the towns as a whole. The Code established the concept of a crime against the state, which included treason, conspiracy against the sovereign and criminal intent to harm the “state’s health.” Certain legal norms of the Council Code of 1649 continued to be in force until the beginning of the 19th century.
Strengthening autocracy
Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the strengthening of the autocratic, unlimited power of the tsar continued in the second half of the 17th century. Zemstvo councils were not convened, but the order system of administration reached its peak, and the process of its bureaucratization was intensively underway. A special role was played by the Secret Order established in 1654, subordinate directly to Alexei Mikhailovich and allowing him to manage other central and local institutions. Important changes took place in the social sphere: there was a process of rapprochement between the estate and the estate, and the decomposition of the “service town” system began. The government of Alexei Mikhailovich supported the interests of the Russian merchants, the Customs (1653) and New Trade (1667) Charters protected merchants from foreign competitors. A reflection of new trends in Russian life was the invitation to serve in Russia of foreign specialists and the creation of regiments of a “foreign system.”
Reforms of Alexey Mikhailovich
In the second half of the 17th century. The transformation of the entire system of Russian traditional culture begins, secular literature emerges, including poetry, secular painting is born, and the first “comedy performances” are organized at court. The crisis of traditionalism also covers the sphere of ideology. Alexey Mikhailovich is one of the initiators of the church reform carried out since 1652 by Patriarch Nikon. In 1666-67. The church council cursed the “Old Belief” and ordered the “city authorities” to burn anyone who “blasphemes the Lord God.” Despite his personal sympathies for Archpriest Avvakum, Alexey Mikhailovich took an uncompromising position in the fight against the Old Believers: in 1676, the Old Believer citadel, the Solovetsky Monastery, was destroyed. The exorbitant ambition of Patriarch Nikon and his outright claims to secular power led to a conflict with the tsar, which ended in the deposition of Nikon. Manifestations of the crisis in the social sphere were the riot in Moscow in 1662, brutally suppressed by Alexei Mikhailovich, and the Cossack uprising led by S. T. Razin, which was hardly suppressed by the government.
Alexey Mikhailovich himself participated in foreign policy negotiations and military campaigns (1654-1656). In 1654, Ukraine was united with Russia, and the war that began after that with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1654-1667) ended with the signing of the Truce of Andrusovo and the consolidation of Russia in Left-Bank Ukraine. But attempts to reach the shores of the Baltic Sea (Russian-Swedish war of 1656-58) did not lead to success.
A man of a transitional time, Alexei Mikhailovich was sufficiently educated, the first of the Russian tsars broke tradition and began to sign documents with his own hand. A number of literary works are also attributed to him, such as “Message to Solovki”, “The Tale of the Death of Patriarch Joseph”, “The Officer of the Falconer’s Path”, etc.
