The beginning of the reign of the first Romanovs. How the Romanovs became a royal dynasty. At the beginning of glorious days

The huge and winding family tree of the Romanov family with photographs, years of life and dates and periods of government has many branches in almost all large and significant states of that era. Their genealogy is the most interesting material for study by those who wish to learn about the history of their country and honor the memory of the great rulers. Or maybe it will inspire you to create your own family history, which we have no doubt is full of interesting events, personalities and deserves the attention of your descendants.

Controversy continues among historians about the founders of the royal family to this day. Among the family members themselves, there was an opinion that their distant ancestors came from Prussia. However, whether this is actually so is still unknown: no evidence has been found for this version. It is only known for certain that the first ancestor of the family mentioned in the annals is the boyar Andrei Kobyla. His descendants began to bear the surname of Zakharyin-Koshkin. Anastasia Zakharyina became the first of this family to become part of the royal Rurik dynasty. Ivan IV the Terrible took Anastasia as his wife, in marriage they had a son, Fedor.

Rise to power of the Romanov family

The years of government and schemes of the family tree of the predecessors of the Romanovs show that with the death of the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich, the ancient family of Rurikovich was interrupted. The sovereign did not appoint a successor for himself, so representatives of the Zakharyin family decided to take the opportunity to take power into their own hands. Mikhail Fedorovich managed to accomplish this. It was he who was elected to the throne in 1613. We will not fully consider the periods of life and talk about each member of the family, we will only note the reigning persons.

The founder of the ruling dynasty was born in the family of the boyar Fyodor Nikitich. Fedor bore the surname Romanov, in honor of his grandfather Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin. Through the efforts of Boris Godunov, representatives of this family were persecuted and disgraced. All the grandchildren of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin were arrested, exiled to Siberia and tonsured monks. Fedor managed to receive the rank of patriarch, after which he became known as Filaret. His wife, Xenia Ivanovna (in monasticism, nun Martha) in 1596 gave birth to a son, Mikhail, and became the mother of the future sovereign. From him all the schemes and branches of the Romanov family tree originate.

Mikhail Fedorovich had every reason to claim the throne, because he had a blood relationship with the Rurikovichs, namely, he was the cousin of Fyodor Ioannovich. He and his parents were returned from exile in Siberia in 1605 by False Dmitry I. In this way, he tried to prove the existence of family ties with the descendants of the formerly ruling dynasty.

The two main forces that contributed to the ascension of Michael to the throne are the common people of Moscow and the Cossacks. The latter feared that the ruler Yakov I, elected by the boyars and nobles, would take away the grain salary due to the Cossacks. Therefore, they made a choice in favor of 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich, the son of Patriarch Filaret. The elected sovereign hesitated for a long time before making a decision. He was young, inexperienced, did not receive a proper education (historians indicate that the sovereign could barely read by the time of the coronation). In addition, his mother tearfully dissuaded him from taking on such a heavy burden. Archbishop Theodoret of Ryazan came to them with an appeal, after which nun Martha blessed her son to ascend the throne. She also became his regent until 1619. The father of the founder of the Romanov dynasty, Patriarch Filaret, also took part in government. State charters were signed jointly by father and son.

During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, an “eternal” peace was concluded with Sweden and the Commonwealth, trade and economy were restored after the Time of Troubles, and the army was reorganized. Secular painting and the first Russian newspaper appeared - Vestovye Pistachi.

AT family life The sovereign was not lucky at once. At first, he chose Maria Khlopova as his wife, but she was recognized as barren, and therefore unsuitable for the role of the king's wife. Mikhail's first wife, Maria Dolgorukova, died of illness five months after the wedding. After that, the king remained unmarried and childless for a long time. He was brought beauties from different parts of the world, but not one was to his liking. At the thirty-sixth year of his life, he liked the servant Evdokia Streshneva. Their marriage was strong and happy.

Alexey Mikhailovich

The next branch on the scheme of the Romanov family tree is the son of Mikhail and Evdokia Alexei, nicknamed the Quietest. Alexey Mikhailovich was not distinguished by good health, had a soft, good-natured character and was extremely religious. He preferred contemplation to action. It is not surprising that the boyar Boris Morozov took advantage of this. For a long time, he influenced the sovereign, and as a result of Morozov's inept actions (the introduction of a new duty on salt), the Salt Riot broke out. During the reign of Alexei, there were other major unrest: the uprising of Stepan Razin, the Solovetsky Indignation after the church reform of Patriarch Nikon. Alexey is also credited with the final establishment of the institution of serfdom and reunification with Ukraine.

He was married twice, after him three new branches of the reigning family members appeared in the family tree of the Romanov dynasty.Fedor III Alekseevich and Ivan Vshowed no ability in governing the country, unlike the youngest of the brothers -Peter I.

Peter I

He ascended the throne at the age of nine, sharing the reign with Ivan. It was said about the co-ruler of Peter that he was sickly and weak-minded. The administration of the state was concentrated in the hands of the sister - regent Peter and Ivan Sofya Alekseevna. The imperious princess did not want to give up the throne with the coming of age of Peter and attracted archers to her side. However, the uprising was crushed, and the former regent was exiled by Peter to the Novodevichy Convent.

From childhood, the king showed interest in military affairs. The young heir to the throne was entertaining away from the palaces and organized "fun troops" from his playmates. It is not surprising that the period of his reign began with military campaigns against Azov, which opened Russia's access to the southern seas. Thanks to the creation of a fleet on his initiative, the fortress of Azov joined the territory. He led the Russian-Turkish war, as well as the Northern War with Sweden, as a result of which Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea.

Peter actively promoted European traditions in society: a suit, a ban on beards, a calendar. Thanks to his merits, he received the title of Great and the title of emperor. The state became known as the Russian Empire.

The reformer tsar had a fiery temper. Those close to him said that only Catherine, the second wife of the emperor, was able to curb his nature. The young servant Alexei Menshikov charmed the sovereign and Peter took her to the palace, making her his wife in 1712.

After the death of her husband in 1725Catherine Ibecame the reigning empress. During this period, power was concentrated in the hands of Count Menshikov. The empress was not interested in wars, from her husband she adopted only love for the sea. Her reign did not last long.

The empress died in 1727, having passed the throne to the young grandson of Peter the Great.Peter IIwas born from the first son of the sovereign, Tsarevich Alexei, whom his own father sentenced to imprisonment and execution. Having studied the photographs and diagrams of the family tree of the Romanov dynasty, one can see that Peter II was the last direct heir of Peter the Great in the male line. He was crowned at the age of 11, and at 14 died suddenly of smallpox. During his reign, the country was ruled by the same Menshikov, and after his overthrow - by representatives of the Dolgorukov family.

After the death of the sovereign, the fourth daughter of the former sovereign Ivan V was invited to reignAnna Ioannovna.

Arriving in the Russian Empire, the Duchess of Courland signed the Conditions, according to which her power was limited. She could not arbitrarily wage wars, carry out reforms and dispose of the state treasury. But in 1730 she established complete autocracy and concentrated control in her hands. The period of her reign was nicknamed "Bironism" by the name of Ernst Biron, the favorite of the Empress, who had great influence at that time. Bironovshchina was characterized by the great dominance of the Germans at court.

Biron continued to rule the country even after the death of the empress, although formally the sovereign was a representative of the Romanov familyIvan VI- the great-grandson of Ivan V. In infancy, the ruler was overthrown and imprisoned for life. Killed at age 23 by prison guards.

Elizaveta Petrovna

The next period of Russian history on the family tree of the Romanov family is marked by a photograph of a portrait of Elizabeth, the illegitimate daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine. She owes her coming to power to the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Dissatisfied with the rule of Biron, they, under the leadership of Elizabeth, carried out a palace coup in 1741. Peter's daughter sentenced to death all the favorites of the former empress, but, having decided to demonstrate tolerance to Europe, she commuted the death sentence to exile in Siberia.

Was a successor foreign policy father in expanding state borders to the east. She laid the foundation for the Age of Enlightenment, giving the country many new educational institutions, including Moscow State University named after Lomonosov.

After her death, there were no direct heirs in the male line. The family tree of the Romanov dynasty could have been interrupted if the son of Anna Petrovna, Elizabeth's sister, had not been found. The name of the future sovereign was the same as his great grandfather - Peter. In fact, from then on, the ruling dynasty began to be called the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs in honor of the father of the new emperor, Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp. Governing body Peter III lasted only 186 days. According to one version, the emperor died because of the conspiracy of his wife Catherine, one of the most active and memorable female figures of the Romanov dynasty.

Catherine II the Great

A native of Prussia, Sophia Augusta Frederick of Anhalt-Zerbst, who adopted the name Catherine during Orthodox baptism, overthrew her unpopular husband Peter III from the throne and came to power in 1762. She pursued a policy of enlightened absolutism. Strengthened the position of autocracy, expanded the borders of the state, contributed to the development of science and education. Carried out a reform of local government, dividing the territory into provinces. Transformed the Senate, dividing it into six departments. Under her rule, Russia finally secured the title of one of the most developed powers in the world.

Being a competent ruler, she did not show herself at all as a mother and wife. She had many favorites and lovers, and treated her son Paul, the heir to the throne, coldly and with contempt. Dislike for his mother was reflected in the state policy of Paul.

Pavel I

The reign of the emperor lasted only five years, but during this time he did everything to demonstrate his disdain for his deceased mother. Paul, contrary to Catherine's policy, weakened the position of the nobility she adored and somewhat improved the position of the peasants. Removed women from the throne, introduced the Prussian order in Russian army. Being suspicious and timid by nature, he increased supervision and censorship. He did not enjoy the support of influential sections of society and was killed in his own bedroom in March 1801.

The eldest son of Paul I. The poet A. S. Pushkin described the first years of his reign with the lines “the days of Alexander a wonderful beginning.” Indeed, immediately after the coronation, he created the impression of an active ruler and even gave the order to prepare a draft constitution, which remained lying in the drawer of his desk. In the second half of his reign, it became clear that politics was beginning to lean towards reaction, and large-scale liberal reforms people couldn't wait. AT last years In his life, he often said that he wanted to renounce power, which gave rise to a legend that it was not Alexander who was buried in his grave, but the emperor himself became a hermit and went to live in the Urals. After his death, his brother was to take the throne.Konstantin, but he voluntarily relinquished power.

Third son of Paul. On the day Nicholas took the oath on December 14, 1825, the nobles called for an uprising. They wanted to proclaim their demands: the abolition of serfdom, the proclamation of democratic freedoms, the establishment of a republic in the state and the creation of a Constitution. The Decembrist uprising on Senate Square was brutally suppressed, the participants were sent into exile, five of them were executed.

The emperor's lifestyle was an example to follow: he did not smoke, did not abuse alcohol, and had a strict daily routine. In everyday life, he was unpretentious, and also had an excellent memory and working capacity. However, for an overly pedantic temperament, the sovereign was known as limited and incapable of decisive action.

A brave and active representative of the family tree of the Romanov dynasty, the winner of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the author of great reforms, the most significant of which was the abolition of serfdom in 1861. For the removal of the shameful stigma of serfdom from the Russian Empire, he was called the Tsar-Liberator by the people.

Perhaps the granting of excessive freedom to the population played a cruel joke on him. More and more protest movements began to appear in Russia, and in March 1881 the Liberator was killed by members of the Narodnaya Volya organization. A bomb was thrown at the sovereign and a few hours after the tragedy he died from his wounds in the Winter Palace.

After the tragic death of his father, the state was headed by Tsar-peacemaker Alexander III. It was named so because during his reign the Russian Empire did not wage a single war. Taught by the bitter experience of his predecessor, he refused further liberalization and pursued a conservative policy.

He was known as an excellent, loving and caring husband and father. He died during a railway accident, holding the roof on his shoulders so that it would not collapse on his family and friends.

The last reigning heir of the Romanov dynasty. During his reign, socio-political contradictions grew in the country, which ultimately resulted in the revolution of 1905-1907, and then in the February Revolution of 1917, after which the sovereign abdicated and, together with all family members, was sent into exile.

Opinions about the figure of Nicholas are still ambiguous. They call him a weak-willed and useless ruler, but at the same time they note his extraordinary affection for his family, his children and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. The wife and children remained inseparable until the last seconds of their lives and were shot by the revolutionaries in July 1918.

The history of the royal family ends here, but the schemes of the family tree of the Romanov dynasty are expanding, new photos, faces, figures appear. This means that the connection of the current Romanovs with their ancestors and the memory of these outstanding personalities will be preserved for future generations of the descendants of a great family.

For the final end of the Time of Troubles, it was necessary not only to elect a new monarch to the Russian throne, but also to ensure the safety of the Russian borders from the two most active neighbors - the Commonwealth and Sweden. However, this was impossible until a social consensus was reached in the Moscow kingdom, and a person who would fully suit the majority of the delegates of the Zemsky Sobor of 1612-1613 would not appear on the throne of the descendants of Ivan Kalita. For a variety of reasons, 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov became such a candidate.

CONTRIDENTS TO THE MOSCOW THRONE

With the liberation of Moscow from the interventionists, the zemstvo people got the opportunity to proceed with the election of the head of state. In November 1612, the nobleman Filosofov told the Poles that the Cossacks in Moscow were in favor of electing one of the Russian people to the throne, “and they were trying on Filaret’s son and the thieves’ Kaluga one,” while the older boyars were in favor of electing a foreigner. The Cossacks remembered "Prince Ivan Dmitrievich" in a moment of extreme danger, Sigismund III stood at the port of Moscow, and the surrendered members of the Seven Boyars could at any moment again go over to his side. Behind the back of the Kolomna prince stood the army of Zarutsky. The chieftains hoped that at a critical moment, old comrades-in-arms would come to their aid. But the hopes for the return of Zarutsky did not materialize. In the hour of trials, the ataman was not afraid to unleash a fratricidal war. Together with Marina Mnishek and her young son, he came to the walls of Ryazan and tried to capture the city. Ryazan governor Mikhail Buturlin came forward and put him to flight.

Zarutsky's attempt to get Ryazan for the "Vorenka" failed. The townspeople expressed their negative attitude towards the candidacy of "Ivan Dmitrievich". Agitation in his favor began to subside in Moscow by itself.

Without Boyar Duma the election of the king could not have legal force. With a thought, the election threatened to drag on for many years. Many noble families claimed the crown, and no one wanted to give way to another.

SWEDEN PRINCE

When the Second Militia stood in Yaroslavl, D.M. Pozharsky, with the consent of the clergy, service people, settlements, feeding the militia with funds, entered into negotiations with the people of Novgorod about the candidacy of the Swedish prince for the throne of Moscow. On May 13, 1612, letters were written to Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod, Prince Odoevsky and Delagardie and sent to Novgorod with Stepan Tatishchev. For the sake of the importance of the matter with this ambassador, the Militia went and the elected ones - from each city, one person. It is interesting that Metropolitan Isidore and the voivode Odoevsky were asked how the relations between them and the Novgorodians with the Swedes were? And Delagardie was informed that if the new Swedish king Gustav II Adolf releases his brother to the throne of Moscow and orders him to be baptized in the Orthodox faith, then they are glad to be with the Novgorod land in council.

Chernikova T. V. Europeanization of Russia inXV-XVII centuries. M., 2012

ELECTION TO THE KINGDOM OF MIKHAIL ROMANOV

When quite a lot of authorities and elected officials gathered, a three-day fast was appointed, after which councils began. First of all, they began to talk about whether to choose from foreign royal houses or their natural Russian, and decided “the Lithuanian and Swedish king and their children and other German faiths and none of the states of the foreign-speaking non-Christian faith of the Greek law on Vladimir and Moscow State not to elect, and not to want Marinka and her son to the state, because the Polish and German kings saw in themselves a lie and a crime of the cross and a peaceful violation: the Lithuanian king ruined the Muscovite state, and the Swedish king Veliky Novgorod took by deceit. They began to choose their own: here intrigues, unrest and unrest began; everyone wanted to do according to his own thought, everyone wanted his own, some wanted the throne themselves, bribed and sent; sides formed, but none of them prevailed. Once, says the chronograph, some nobleman from Galich brought a written opinion to the cathedral, which said that Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was the closest in kinship with the former tsars, and he should be elected tsars. Dissatisfied voices were heard: “Who brought such a letter, who, from where?” At that time, the Don ataman comes out and also submits a written opinion: “What did you submit, ataman?” - Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky asked him. “About the natural tsar Mikhail Fedorovich,” answered the ataman. The same opinion, submitted by the nobleman and the Don ataman, decided the matter: Mikhail Fedorovich was proclaimed tsar. But not all of the elected were in Moscow; there were no noble boyars; Prince Mstislavsky and his comrades immediately after their liberation left Moscow: it was embarrassing for them to remain in it near the liberators; now they sent to call them to Moscow for a common cause, they also sent reliable people around the cities and districts to find out the people's thoughts about the new chosen one, and the final decision was postponed for two weeks, from February 8 to February 21, 1613. Finally, Mstislavsky and his comrades arrived, the belated elected representatives also arrived, envoys from the regions returned with the news that the people gladly recognized Michael as king. On February 21, the week of Orthodoxy, that is, on the first Sunday of Great Lent, there was the last council: each rank submitted a written opinion, and all these opinions were found to be similar, all the ranks pointed to one person - Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Then the Archbishop of Ryazan Theodorit, the Trinity cellar Avraamy Palitsyn, the Novospassky archimandrite Joseph and the boyar Vasily Petrovich Morozov went up to the Lobnoye Mesto and asked the people who filled Red Square who they wanted to be king? "Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov" - was the answer.

1613 CATHEDRAL AND MIKHAIL ROMANOV

The first act of the great Zemsky Sobor, which elected the sixteen-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the Russian throne, was to send an embassy to the newly elected tsar. When sending the embassy, ​​the cathedral did not know where Michael was, and therefore the order given to the ambassadors said: “To go to Sovereign Mikhail Fedorovich, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia, to Yaroslavl.” Arriving in Yaroslavl, the embassy here only found out that Mikhail Fedorovich lives with his mother in Kostroma; without delay, it moved there, along with many Yaroslavl citizens who had already joined here.

The embassy arrived in Kostroma on March 14; On the 19th, having convinced Mikhail to accept the royal crown, they left Kostroma with him, and on the 21st they all arrived in Yaroslavl. Here, all Yaroslavl residents and the nobles who had gathered from everywhere, boyar children, guests, merchants with their wives and children met the new tsar with a procession, brought him images, bread and salt, and rich gifts. Mikhail Fedorovich chose the ancient Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery as the place of his stay here. Here, in the cells of the archimandrite, he lived with his mother, nun Marfa, and the temporary State Council, which was composed of Prince Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky with other nobles and the clerk Ivan Bolotnikov with stewards and solicitors. From here, on March 23, the first letter from the tsar was sent to Moscow, informing the Zemsky Sobor of consent to accepting the royal crown.

The Romanov dynasty was in power for a little over 300 years, and during this time the face of the country changed completely. From a lagging state, constantly suffering from fragmentation and internal dynastic crises, Russia has become the abode of an enlightened intelligentsia. Each ruler from the Romanov dynasty paid attention to those issues that seemed to him the most relevant and important. So, for example, Peter I tried to expand the territory of the country and liken Russian cities to European ones, and Catherine II put her whole soul into promoting the ideas of enlightenment. Gradually, the authority of the ruling dynasty fell, which led to a tragic ending. The royal family was killed, and power passed to the communists for several decades.

	Years of government	Main events
Mikhail Fedorovich		Peace of Stolbo with Sweden (1617) and Truce of Deulino with Poland (1618). Smolensk war (1632-1634), Azov seat of the Cossacks (1637-1641)
Alexey Mikhailovich		Cathedral code (1649), Nikon's church reform (1652-1658), Pereyaslav Rada - annexation of Ukraine (1654), war with Poland (1654-1667), Stepan Razin's uprising (1667-1671)
Fedor Alekseevich		Peace of Bakhchisarai with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate (1681), abolition of parochialism
(son of Alexei Mikhailovich)	1682-1725 (until 1689 - Sophia's regency, until 1696 - formal co-rule with Ivan V, from 1721 - emperor)	Streltsy rebellion (1682), Golitsyn's Crimean campaigns (1687 and 1689), Peter I's Azov campaigns (1695 and 1696), "The Great Embassy" (1697-1698), North War(1700-1721), foundation of St. Petersburg (1703), establishment of the Senate (1711), Prut campaign of Peter I (1711), establishment of colleges (1718), introduction of the “Table of Ranks” (1722), Caspian campaign of Peter I (1722-1723)
Catherine I (wife of Peter I)		Establishment of a supreme privy council (1726), conclusion of an alliance with Austria (1726)
(grandson of Peter I, son of Tsarevich Alexei)		Fall of Menshikov (1727), return of the capital to Moscow (1728)
Anna Ioannovna (daughter of Ivan V, granddaughter of Alexei Mikhailovich)		Creation of a cabinet of ministers instead of a supreme privy council (1730) return of the capital to St. Petersburg (1732), Russian-Turkish war(1735-1739)
Ivan VI Antonovich		Regency and overthrow of Biron (1740), resignation of Minich (1741)
Elizaveta Petrovna (daughter of Peter I)		Opening of a university in Moscow (1755), Seven Years' War (1756-1762)
(nephew of Elizabeth Petrovna, grandson of Peter I)		Manifesto "On the freedom of the nobility", the union of Prussia and Russia, the decree on freedom of religion (all -1762)
Catherine II (wife of Peter III)		Legislative commission (1767-1768), Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791), partitions of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795), Yemelyan Pugachev uprising (1773-1774), provincial reform (1775), letters of commendation to the nobility and cities (1785)
(son of Catherine II and Peter III)		Decree on a three-day corvee, prohibition to sell serfs without land (1797), Decree on succession to the throne (1797), war with France (1798-1799), Suvorov's Italian and Swiss campaigns (1799)
Alexander I (son of Paul I)		Establishment of ministries instead of collegiums (1802), decree "On free cultivators" (1803), liberal censorship regulations and the introduction of university autonomy (1804), participation in the Napoleonic Wars (1805-1814), establishment of the State Council (1810), the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), the granting of a constitution to Poland (1815), the creation of a system of military settlements, the emergence of Decembrist organizations
Nicholas I (son of Paul 1)		The uprising of the Decembrists (1825), the creation of the Code of Laws Russian Empire» (1833), monetary reform, reform in the state village, Crimean War(1853-1856)
Alexander II (son of Nicholas I)		The end of the Crimean War - the Treaty of Paris (1856), the abolition of serfdom (1861), the Zemstvo and judicial reforms (both - 1864), the sale of Alaska to the United States (1867), reforms in finance, education and press, reform of city self-government, military reforms: the abolition of the limited articles of the Peace of Paris (1870), the alliance of the three emperors (1873), the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878), the terror of the Narodnaya Volya (1879-1881)
Alexander III (son of Alexander II)		Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy, Regulations on the strengthening of emergency protection (both - 1881), counter-reforms, the creation of the Noble Land and Peasant Banks, patronage policy towards workers, the creation of the Franco-Russian Union (1891-1893)
Nicholas II (son of Alexander III)		General population census (1897), Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), 1st Russian revolution (1905-1907), Stolypin reform (1906-1911), I World War(1914-1918), February Revolution(February 1917)

The results of the reign of the Romanovs

During the years of the Romanovs' rule, the Russian monarchy experienced an era of prosperity, several periods of painful reforms, and a sudden fall. The Muscovite Kingdom, in which Mikhail Romanov was crowned king, in the 17th century annexed huge territories Eastern Siberia and went to the border with China. At the beginning of the 18th century, Russia became an empire and became one of the most influential states in Europe. The decisive role of Russia in the victories over France and Turkey further strengthened its position. But at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Russian Empire, like other empires, collapsed under the influence of the events of the First World War.

In 1917 Nicholas II abdicated and was arrested by the Provisional Government. The monarchy in Russia was abolished. Another year and a half later the last Emperor and his whole family were shot by decision Soviet government. The surviving distant relatives of Nicholas settled in different countries Europe. Today, representatives of two branches of the Romanov dynasty: Kirillovichi and Nikolaevichi - claim the right to be considered the locum tenens of the Russian throne.

Romanovs - boyar family,

since 1613 - royal,

since 1721 - the imperial dynasty in Russia, which ruled until March 1917

The ancestor of the Romanovs is Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla.

ANDREY IVANOVICH KOBYLA

FEDOR CAT

IVAN FYODOROVICH KOSHKIN

ZAHARY IVANOVICH KOSHKIN

YURI ZAKHARIEVICH KOSHKIN-ZAKHARIEV

ROMAN YURIEVICH ZAKHARYIN-YURYEV

FYODOR NIKITICH ROMANOV

MICHAEL III FYODOROVICH

ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH

FYODOR ALEKSEEVICH

JOHN V ALEKSEEVICH

PETER I ALEKSEEVICH

EKATERINA I ALEKSEEVNA

PETER II ALEKSEEVICH

ANNA IOANNOVNA

JOHN VI ANTONOVICH

ELIZAVETA PETROVNA

PETER III FEDOROVICH

EKATERINA II ALEKSEEVNA

PAVEL I PETROVICH

ALEXANDER I PAVLOVICH

NICHOLAS I PAVLOVICH

ALEXANDER II NIKOLAEVICH

ALEXANDER III ALEKSANDROVICH

NICHOLAS II ALEKSANDROVICH

NICHOLAS III ALEKSEEVICH

ANDREY IVANOVICH KOBYLA

Boyar of the Grand Duke of Moscow John I Kalita and his son Simeon the Proud. In the annals it is mentioned only once: in 1347 he was sent with the boyar Alexei Rozolov to Tver for a bride for the Grand Duke of Moscow Simeon the Proud Princess Mary. According to the pedigree lists, he had five sons. According to Copenhausen, he was the only son of Glanda-Kambila Divonovich, Prince of Prussia, who went with him to Russia in the last quarter of the 13th century. and received St. baptism with the name Ivan in 1287

FEDOR CAT

Direct ancestor of the Romanovs and noble families Sheremetevs (later counts). He was a boyar of the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy and his heir. During Dmitry Donskoy's campaign against Mamai (1380), Moscow and the sovereign's family were left in his care. He was governor of Novgorod (1393).

In the first generation, Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla and his sons were called Kobylins. Fyodor Andreevich Koshka, his son Ivan and the son of the latter Zakhary - Koshkins.

The descendants of Zakharia were called the Koshkins-Zakharyins, and then they dropped the nickname Koshkins and became known as the Zakharyins-Yuryevs. The children of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Yuryev began to be called the Zakharyins-Romanovs, and the descendants of Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Romanov became simply the Romanovs.

IVAN FYODOROVICH KOSHKIN (died after 1425)

Moscow boyar, eldest son of Fyodor Koshka. He was close to Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy and especially to his son, Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich (1389-1425).

ZAKHARI IVANOVICH KOSHKIN (died c. 1461)

Moscow boyar, eldest son of Ivan Koshka, fourth son of the previous one. Mentioned in 1433, when he was at the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark. Member of the war with the Lithuanians (1445)

YURI ZAKHARIEVICH KOSHKIN-ZAKHARIEV (died 1504)

Moscow boyar, second son of Zakhary Koshkin, grandfather of Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Romanov and the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible, Tsarina Anastasia. In 1485 and 1499 participated in campaigns against Kazan. In 1488 he was governor in Novgorod. In 1500 he commanded the Moscow army sent against Lithuania and took Dorogobuzh.

ROMAN YURIEVICH ZAKHARYIN-YURYEV (died 1543)

Okolnichiy, was governor in the campaign of 1531. He had several sons and a daughter, Anastasia, who in 1547 became the wife of Tsar John IV Vasilyevich the Terrible. From that time on, the rise of the Zakharyin family began. Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Romanov (d. 1587) - grandfather of the first tsar from the Romanov family, Mikhail Fedorovich, boyar (1562), participant in the Swedish campaign of 1551, active participant Livonian War. After the death of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, as the closest relative - the uncle of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, he headed the regency council (until the end of 1584). He accepted monasticism with the estate of Nifont.

FYODOR NIKITICH ROMANOV (1553-1633)

In monasticism Filaret, Russian political figure, patriarch (1619), father of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty.

MICHAEL III FYODOROVICH (07/12/1596 - 02/13/1645)

Tsar, Grand Duke of All Russia. The son of the boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, Patriarch Filaret, from marriage with Xenia Ivanovna Shestova (monastic Martha). He was elected to the kingdom on February 21, took the throne on March 14 and was married to the kingdom on July 11, 1613.

Mikhail Fedorovich, together with his parents, fell into disgrace under Boris Godunov and in June 1601 was exiled with his aunts to Beloozero, where he lived until the end of 1602. In 1603 he was transferred to the city of Klin, Kostroma province. Under False Dmitry I, he lived with his mother in Rostov, from 1608 with the rank of steward. He was a prisoner of the Poles in the Kremlin besieged by the Russians.

Weak as a person and in poor health, Mikhail Fedorovich could not independently manage the state; initially it was led by the mother - nun Martha - and her relatives Saltykovs, then from 1619 to 1633 by the father - Patriarch Filaret.

In February 1617, a peace treaty between Russia and Sweden was concluded. In 1618, the Deulino truce was concluded with Poland. In 1621, Mikhail Fedorovich issued the Charter of Military Affairs; in 1628 he organized the first Nitsinsky in Russia (Turin district of the Tobolsk province). In 1629, an employment contract was concluded with France. In 1632, Mikhail Fedorovich resumed the war with Poland and was successful; in 1632 he formed the order of the Gathering of military and sufficient people. In 1634 the war with Poland ended. In 1637, he indicated that criminals should be branded and that pregnant criminals should not be executed until six weeks after giving birth. A 10-year term was set for the investigation of fugitive peasants. The number of orders was increased, the number of clerks and their importance increased. Intensive construction of serif lines against Crimean Tatars. There was a further development of Siberia.

Tsar Michael was married twice: 1) to Princess Maria Vladimirovna Dolgoruky; 2) on Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva. From the first marriage there were no children, and from the second there were 3 sons, including the future Tsar Alexei and seven daughters.

ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH (03/19/1629 - 01/29/1676)

Tsar since July 13, 1645, son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva. He ascended the throne after the death of his father. He was crowned 28 September 1646.

Frightened by the Moscow turmoil on May 25, 1648, he ordered to collect a new Code on the indefinite search for fugitive peasants, etc., which he promulgated on January 29, 1649. On July 25, 1652, he elevated the famous Nikon to patriarch. On January 8, 1654, he took the oath of allegiance to Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky (reunification of Ukraine with Russia), which was involved in the war with Poland, which he brilliantly completed in 1655, having received the titles of sovereign of Polotsk and Mstislav, Grand Duke of Lithuania, White Russia, Volyn and Podsky. Not so happy ended the campaign against the Swedes in Livonia in 1656. In 1658, Alexei Mikhailovich broke up with Patriarch Nikon, on December 12, 1667, the cathedral in Moscow deposed him.

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the development of Siberia continued, where new cities were founded: Nerchinsk (1658), Irkutsk (1659), Selenginsk (1666).

Alexei Mikhailovich persistently developed and put into practice the idea of ​​unlimited royal power. The convocations of Zemsky Sobors are gradually being discontinued.

Alexei Mikhailovich died in Moscow on January 29, 1676. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was married twice: 1) to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. From this marriage, Alexei Mikhailovich had 13 children, including the future tsars Fedor and John V and the ruler Sophia. 2) on Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. In this marriage, three children were born, including the future tsar, and then Emperor Peter I the Great.

FYODOR ALEKSEEVICH (30.05.1661-27.04.1682)

Tsar from January 30, 1676, son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his first wife, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Crowned 18 June 1676

Fedor Alekseevich was widely an educated person knew Polish and latin languages. He became one of the founders of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, was fond of music.

Weak and sickly by nature, Fedor Alekseevich easily succumbed to influences.

The government of Fyodor Alekseevich carried out a number of reforms: in 1678 a general census was carried out; in 1679, household taxation was introduced, which increased the tax burden; in 1682 localism was destroyed and in connection with this, category books were burned. Thus, an end was put to the dangerous custom of the boyars and nobles, to be considered the merits of their ancestors when occupying a position. Genealogical books were introduced.

In foreign policy, the first place was occupied by the issue of Ukraine, namely the struggle between Doroshenko and Samoylovich, which caused the so-called Chigirinsky campaigns.

In 1681, between Moscow, Turkey and the Crimea, the entire Zadneprovie, which was devastated at that time, was concluded.

On July 14, 1681, the wife of Fyodor Alekseevich, Tsarina Agafya, died along with the newborn Tsarevich Ilya. On February 14, 1682, the tsar married a second time to Maria Matveevna Apraksina. On April 27, Fedor Alekseevich died without leaving children.

JOHN V ALEKSEEVICH (08/27/1666 - 01/29/1696)

The son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

After the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1682), the party of the Naryshkins, relatives of the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, achieved the proclamation of the king younger brother John - Peter, which was a violation of the right of succession to the throne by seniority, adopted in the Muscovite state.

However, the archers, influenced by rumors that the Naryshkins had strangled Ivan Alekseevich, raised an uprising on May 23. Despite the fact that Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna brought Tsar Peter I and Tsarevich John to the Red Porch to show the people, the archers, incited by the Miloslavskys, defeated the Naryshkin party and demanded the proclamation of John Alekseevich on the throne. The council of the clergy and higher ranks decided to allow dual power, and John Alekseevich was also proclaimed king. On May 26, the Duma declared John Alekseevich the first, and Peter the second king, moreover, due to the infancy of their kings older sister Sophia was proclaimed ruler.

On June 25, 1682, the wedding of the Tsars John V and Peter I Alekseevich took place. After 1689 (the imprisonment of the ruler Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent) and until his death, John Alekseevich was considered an equal tsar. However, in fact, John V did not participate in the affairs of government and remained “in unceasing prayer and firm fasting.”

In 1684, John Alekseevich married Praskovya Fyodorovna Saltykova. Four daughters were born from this marriage, including Empress Anna Ioannovna and Ekaterina Ioannovna, whose grandson ascended the throne in 1740 under the name of John Antonovich.

At the age of 27, Ioann Alekseevich was paralyzed and could not see well. On January 29, 1696, he died suddenly. After his death, Peter Alekseevich remained the sole tsar. There was no more case in Russia of the simultaneous reign of two tsars.

PETER I ALEKSEEVICH (30.05.1672-28.01.1725)

Tsar (April 27, 1682), emperor (since October 22, 1721), statesman, commander and diplomat. The son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.

Peter I after the death of a childless brother, the king Fedor III, through the efforts of Patriarch Joachim, he was elected tsar bypassing his elder brother John on April 27, 1682. In May 1682, after the rebellion of the archers, the sickly John V Alekseevich was declared the “senior” tsar, and Peter I was declared the “junior” tsar under the ruler Sophia.

Until 1689, Pyotr Alekseevich lived with his mother in the village of Preobrazhensky near Moscow, where in 1683 he started “amusing” regiments (the future Preobrazhensky and Semenov regiments). In 1688, Peter I began to study mathematics and fortification with the Dutchman Franz Timmermann. In August 1689, having received news that Sophia was preparing a palace coup, Peter Alekseevich, together with his loyal troops, surrounded Moscow. Sophia was removed from power and imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. After the death of Ivan Alekseevich, Peter I became the sovereign tsar.

Peter I created a clear state structure: the peasantry serves the nobility, being in a state of its full ownership. The nobility, financially provided by the state, serves the monarch. The monarch, relying on the nobility, serves the interests of the state as a whole. And the peasant presented his service to the nobleman - the landowner as an indirect service to the state.

The reforming activity of Peter I proceeded in a sharp struggle with the reactionary opposition. In 1698, the rebellion of the Moscow archers in favor of Sophia was brutally suppressed (1182 people were executed), and in February 1699 the Moscow archery regiments were disbanded. Sophia was tonsured a nun. In a disguised form, resistance to the opposition continued until 1718 (the conspiracy of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich).

The transformations of Peter I affected all spheres of public life, contributed to the growth of the trading and manufacturing bourgeoisie. The Decree of Uniform Succession of 1714 equalized estates and estates, giving their owners the right to transfer real estate to one of their sons.

The “Table of Ranks” of 1722 established the order of rank in the military and civil service, not according to nobility, but according to personal abilities and merit.

Under Peter I, a large number of manufactories and mining enterprises arose, the development of new iron ore deposits and the extraction of non-ferrous metals began.

The reforms of the state apparatus under Peter I were an important step towards the transformation of the Russian autocracy in the 17th century. into the bureaucratic-noble monarchy of the 18th century. The place of the Boyar Duma was taken by the Senate (1711), collegiums were established instead of orders (1718), the control apparatus began to be represented by prosecutors headed by the prosecutor general. Instead of the patriarchate, the Spiritual College, or Holy Synod, was established. The Secret Chancellery was in charge of political investigation.

In 1708-1709. provinces were established instead of counties and voivodeships. In 1703, Peter I founded a new city, calling it St. Petersburg, which in 1712 became the capital of the state. In 1721, Russia was proclaimed an Empire, and Peter became emperor.

In 1695, Peter's campaign against Azov ended in failure, but on July 18, 1696, Azov was taken. On March 10, 1699, Peter Alekseevich established the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. On November 19, 1700, the troops of Peter I were defeated near Narva by the Swedish king Charles XII. In 1702, Pyotr Alekseevich began to beat the Swedes and on October 11 took Noteburg by storm. In 1704, Peter I captured Derpt, Narva and Ivan-gorod. On June 27, 1709, Charles XII was defeated near Poltava. Peter I beat the Swedes in Schlesving and began the conquest of Finland in 1713, on July 27, 1714 he won a brilliant naval victory over the Swedes at Cape Gangud. The Persian campaign undertaken by Peter I in 1722-1723. secured for Russia the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku.

Peter founded the Pushkar School (1699), the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (1701), the School of Medicine and Surgery, the Naval Academy (1715), the Engineering and Artillery Schools (1719), and the first Russian museum, the Kunstkamera, was opened (1719). Since 1703, the first Russian printed newspaper, Vedomosti, has been published. In 1724 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was founded. Expeditions were made to Central Asia, Far East, to Siberia. In the era of Peter the Great, fortresses were built (Kronstadt, Petropavlovskaya). It was the beginning of the planning of cities.

Peter I knew from a young age German and then self-taught Dutch, English and French. In 1688-1693. Pyotr Alekseevich learned to build ships. In 1697-1698. in Koenigsberg he passed full course artillery sciences, worked as a carpenter at the shipyards of Amsterdam for half a year. Peter knew fourteen crafts, was fond of surgery.

In 1724, Peter I was very ill, but continued to lead an active lifestyle, which hastened his death. Pyotr Alekseevich died on January 28, 1725.

Peter I was married twice: first marriage - to Evdokia Feodorovna Lopukhina, from whom he had 3 sons, including Tsarevich Alexei, who was executed in 1718, two others died in infancy; second marriage - to Marta Skavronskaya (in baptism Ekaterina Alekseevna - the future Empress Catherine I), from whom he had 9 children. Most of them, with the exception of Anna and Elizabeth (later Empress) died young.

EKATERINA I ALEKSEEVNA (04/05/1684 - 05/06/1727)

Empress from January 28, 1725. She ascended the throne after the death of her husband, Emperor Peter I. She was declared queen on March 6, 1721, crowned on May 7, 1724.

Ekaterina Alekseevna was born in the family of a Lithuanian peasant Samuil Skavronsky, before the adoption of Orthodoxy she bore the name Marta. She lived in Marienburg in the service of Superintendent Gmok, was captured by the Russians during the capture of Marienburg by Field Marshal Sheremetyev on August 25, 1702. A.D. took her away from Sheremetyev. Menshikov. In 1703, Peter I saw her and took her away from Menshikov. Since then, Peter I did not part with Martha (Catherine) until the end of his life.

Peter and Catherine had 3 sons and 6 daughters, almost all of them died in early childhood. Only two daughters survived - Anna (born 1708) and Elizabeth (born 1709). The church marriage of Peter I with Catherine was registered only on February 19, 1712, thus, both daughters were considered illegitimate.

In 1716 - 1718. Ekaterina Alekseevna accompanied her husband on a trip abroad; followed him to Astrakhan in Persian campaign 1722 Having entered, after the death of Emperor Peter I, she established the Order of St. Peter on the throne on May 21, 1725. Alexander Nevsky. On October 12, 1725, she sent the embassy of Count Vladislavich to China.

During the reign of Catherine I, according to the plans of Peter I the Great, the following was done:

A sea expedition was sent by Captain-Commander Vitus Bering to resolve the issue of whether Asia is connected to North America by an isthmus;

The Academy of Sciences was opened, the plan of which was promulgated by Peter I as early as 1724;

By virtue of direct instructions found in the papers of Peter I, it was decided to continue compiling the Code;

A detailed explanation of the real estate inheritance law has been published;

It is forbidden to take monastic vows without a synodal decree;

A few days before her death, Catherine I signed a will on the transfer of the throne to the grandson of Peter I - Peter II.

Catherine I died in St. Petersburg on May 6, 1727. She was buried with the body of Peter I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on May 21, 1731.

PETER II ALEKSEEVICH (10/12/1715 - 01/18/1730)

Emperor since May 7, 1727, crowned on February 25, 1728. Son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Princess Charlotte-Christine-Sophia of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel: grandson of Peter I and Evdokia Lopukhina. He ascended the throne after the death of Empress Catherine I according to her will.

Little Peter lost his mother at the age of 10 days. Peter I paid little attention to the upbringing of his grandson, making it clear that he did not want this child to ever ascend the throne and issue a Decree by which the emperor could choose his own successor. As you know, the emperor could not use this right, and his wife, Catherine I, ascended the throne, and she, in turn, signed a will on the transfer of the throne to the grandson of Peter I.

On May 25, 1727, Peter II became engaged to the daughter of Prince Menshikov. Immediately after the death of Catherine I, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov moved the young emperor to his palace, and on May 25, 1727, Peter II was betrothed to the prince's daughter, Maria Menshikova. But the communication of the young emperor with the princes Dolgoruky, who managed to attract Peter II to their side with the temptations of balls, hunts and other pleasures, which was forbidden by Menshikov, greatly weakened the influence of Alexander Danilovich. And already on September 9, 1727, Prince Menshikov, deprived of his ranks, was exiled with his whole family to Ranienburg (Ryazan province). On April 16, 1728, Peter II signed a decree on the exile of Menshikov with his entire family to Berezov (Tobolsk province). On November 30, 1729, Peter II became engaged to the beautiful Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, the sister of his favorite, Prince Ivan Dolgoruky. The wedding was scheduled for January 19, 1730, but on January 6 he caught a bad cold, the next day smallpox opened and on January 19, 1730, Peter II died.

Talk about independent activity Peter II, who died in the 16th year of his life, is impossible; he was constantly under some influence or another. After Menshikov's exile, Peter II, under the influence of the old boyar aristocracy, headed by Dolgoruky, declared himself an opponent of the transformations of Peter I. The institutions created by his grandfather were destroyed.

With the death of Peter II, the Romanov family came to an end in the male line.

ANNA IOANNOVNA (01/28/1693 - 10/17/1740)

Empress from January 19, 1730, daughter of Tsar John V Alekseevich and Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova. She declared herself autocratic empress on February 25, and was crowned on April 28, 1730.

Princess Anna did not receive the necessary education and upbringing, she forever remained illiterate. Peter I married her to the Duke of Courland Friedrich-Wilhelm on October 31, 1710, but on January 9, 1711, Anna became a widow. During her stay in Courland (1711-1730), Anna Ioannovna lived mainly in Mittava. In 1727, she became close to E.I. Biron, with whom she did not part until the end of her life.

Immediately after the death of Peter II, the members of the Supreme Privy Council, when deciding on the transfer of the Russian throne, opted for the widowed Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, subject to the restriction of autocratic power. Anna Ioannovna accepted these proposals (“conditions”), but already on March 4, 1730, she broke the “conditions” and destroyed the Supreme Privy Council.

In 1730, Anna Ioannovna established the regiments of the Life Guards: Izmailovsky - on September 22 and Horse - on December 30. With her military service was limited to 25 years. By a decree of March 17, 1731, the law on single inheritance (mayorats) was abolished. On April 6, 1731, Anna Ioannovna renewed the terrible order of the Transfiguration (“word and deed”).

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the Russian army fought in Poland, waged war with Turkey, devastating the Crimea during 1736-1739.

Extraordinary luxury of the court, huge expenses for the army and navy, gifts for the relatives of the empress, etc. placed a heavy burden on the country's economy.

The internal situation of the state in the last years of the reign of Anna Ioannovna was difficult. The exhausting campaigns of 1733-1739, the cruel rule and abuses of the favorite of the Empress Ernest Biron had a harmful effect on the national economy, and cases of peasant uprisings became more frequent.

Anna Ioannovna died on October 17, 1740, appointing as her successor the young John Antonovich, the son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna, and Biron, Duke of Courland, as regent until he came of age.

JOHN VI ANTONOVICH (08/12/1740 - 07/04/1764)

Emperor from October 17, 1740 to November 25, 1741, son of Empress Anna Ioannovna's niece, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg and Prince Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Luxembourg. He was elevated to the throne after the death of his great-aunt, Empress Anna Ioannovna.

By the manifesto of Anna Ioannovna of October 5, 1740, he was declared heir to the throne. Shortly before her death, Anna Ioannovna signed a manifesto, by which, until John came of age, her favorite Duke Biron was appointed regent under him.

After the death of Anna Ioannovna, her niece Anna Leopoldovna, on the night of November 8-9, 1740, made a palace coup and proclaimed herself the ruler of the state. Biron was sent into exile.

A year later, also on the night of November 24-25, 1741, Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna (daughter of Peter I), together with some of the officers and soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment devoted to her, arrested the ruler in the palace with her husband and children, including Emperor John VI. For 3 years, the deposed emperor, along with his family, was transported from fortress to fortress. In 1744, the whole family was transferred to Kholmogory, but the deposed emperor was kept separately. Here John stayed all alone for about 12 years under the supervision of Major Miller. Fearing a conspiracy, in 1756 Elizabeth ordered John to be secretly transported to Shlisselburg. In the Shlisselburg fortress, John was kept in complete solitude. Only three security officers knew who he was.

In July 1764 (during the reign of Catherine II), Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, a lieutenant of the Smolensk Infantry Regiment, attempted to release the tsar's prisoner in order to carry out a coup. During this attempt, John Antonovich was killed. On September 15, 1764, Lieutenant Mirovich was beheaded.

ELIZAVETA PETROVNA (12/18/1709 - 12/25/1761)

Empress from November 25, 1741, daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. She ascended the throne, overthrowing the infant emperor John VI Antonovich. Crowned 25 April 1742

Elizabeth Petrovna was intended as a bride for Louis XV, King of France as early as 1719, but the engagement did not take place. Then she was engaged to Prince Karl-August of Holstein, but he died on May 7, 1727. Shortly after accession to the throne, she declared her nephew (the son of her sister Anna) Karl-Peter-Ulrich, Duke of Holstein, who adopted the name Peter in Orthodoxy (the future Peter III Fedorovich).

During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1743, the war with the Swedes ended, which had lasted for many years. On January 12, 1755, a university was founded in Moscow. In 1756-1763. Russia took a successful part in the Seven Years' War, caused by the clash of aggressive Prussia with the interests of Austria, France and Russia. During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, not a single death penalty was committed in Russia. Elizaveta Petrovna signed the decree on the abolition of the death penalty on May 7, 1744.

PETER III FEDOROVICH (02/10/1728 - 07/06/1762)

From December 25, 1761, until the adoption of Orthodoxy, the emperor bore the name Karl-Peter-Ulrich, son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl-Friedrich and Princess Anna, daughter of Peter I.

Pyotr Fedorovich lost his mother at the age of 3 months, his father - at 11 years old. In December 1741 he was invited by his aunt Elizaveta Petrovna to Russia, on November 15, 1742 he was declared heir to the Russian throne. On August 21, 1745, he married Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Empress Catherine II.

Peter III, while still heir to the throne, repeatedly declared himself an enthusiastic admirer of the Prussian King Frederick II. Despite the adopted Orthodoxy, Pyotr Fedorovich remained a Lutheran in his soul and treated the Orthodox clergy with disdain, closed home churches, addressed insulting decrees to the Synod. In addition, he began to remake the Russian army in the Prussian way. By these actions, he stirred up against himself the clergy, the army and the guard.

In the last years of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, Russia successfully participated in the Seven Years' War against Frederick II. The Prussian army was already on the eve of capitulation, but immediately after taking the throne, Peter III refused to participate in the Seven Years' War, as well as from all Russian conquests in Prussia, and thereby saved the king. Frederick II promoted Peter Fedorovich to the generals of his army. Peter III accepted this rank, which caused general indignation of the nobility and the army.

All this contributed to the creation of opposition in the guard, which was headed by Catherine. She made a palace coup in St. Petersburg, taking advantage of the fact that Peter III was in Oranienbaum. Ekaterina Alekseevna, who had a mind and a strong character, with the support of the guards, got her cowardly, inconsistent and mediocre husband to sign the abdication of the Russian throne. After that, on June 28, 1762, he was taken to Ropsha, where he was kept under arrest and where he was killed (strangled) on July 6, 1762 by Count Alexei Orlov and Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky.

His body, originally buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, was reburied 34 years later at the behest of Paul I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

During the six months of the reign of Peter III, one of the few useful things for Russia was the destruction of the terrible secret office in February 1762.

Peter III from his marriage with Ekaterina Alekseevna had two children: a son, later Emperor Paul I, and a daughter, Anna, who died in infancy.

CATHERINA II ALEXEEVNA (04/21/1729 - 11/06/1796)

Since June 28, 1762, the Empress ascended the throne, overthrowing her husband, Emperor Peter III Fedorovich. Crowned 22 September 1762

Ekaterina Alekseevna (before the adoption of Orthodoxy, she bore the name Sophia-Frederick-August) was born in Stettin from the marriage of Christian-August, Duke of Anhalt-Zerbst-Benburg and Johanna-Elisabeth, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp. She was invited to Russia by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna as a bride for the heir to Peter Fedorovich in 1744. On August 21, 1745 she married him, on September 20, 1754 she gave birth to the heir Pavel, and in December 1757 she gave birth to a daughter, Anna, who died in infancy.

Catherine was naturally gifted with a great mind, strong character and determination - the exact opposite of her husband, a weak-willed person. The marriage was not concluded for love, and therefore the relationship of the spouses did not develop.

With the accession to the throne of Peter III, Catherine's position became more complicated (Peter Fedorovich wanted to send her to a monastery), and she, taking advantage of her husband's unpopularity among the developed nobility, relying on the guards, overthrew him from the throne. Having skillfully deceived the active participants in the conspiracy - Count Panin and Princess Dashkova, who wanted to transfer the throne to Paul and appoint Catherine as regent, she declared herself the ruling empress.

The main objects of Russian foreign policy were the Black Sea steppe with the Crimea and the northern Caucasus - the areas of Turkish domination and the dominance of the Commonwealth (Poland), which included Western Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian lands. Catherine II, who showed great diplomatic skill, fought two wars with Turkey, marked by major victories for Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Potemkin and Kutuzov and the assertion of Russia in the Black Sea.

The development of regions in the south of Russia was reinforced by an active resettlement policy. Interference in the affairs of Poland ended with three sections of the Commonwealth (1772, 1793, 1795), accompanied by the transfer to Russia of part of the Western Ukrainian lands, most of Belarus and Lithuania. Heraclius II, king of Georgia, recognized the protectorate of Russia. Count Valerian Zubov, appointed commander-in-chief in the campaign against Persia, conquered Derbent and Baku.

Russia owes Catherine the introduction of smallpox vaccination. On October 26, 1768, Catherine II, the first in the empire, vaccinated herself against smallpox, and a week later her son as well.

Favoritism flourished during the reign of Catherine II. If the predecessors of Catherine - Anna Ioannovna (there was one favorite - Biron) and Elizabeth (2 official favorites - Razumovsky and Shuvalov) favoritism was more of a whim, then Catherine had dozens of favorites and with her favoritism becomes something like public institution, and it cost the treasury very dearly.

The intensification of feudal oppression and prolonged wars laid a heavy burden on the masses of the people, and the growing peasant movement grew into peasant war under the leadership of E.I. Pugachev (1773-1775)

In 1775, the existence of the Zaporozhian Sich was terminated, serfdom was approved in Ukraine. "Human" principles did not prevent Catherine II from exiling A.N. Radishchev for the book Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Catherine II died on November 6, 1796. Her body was buried on December 5 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

PAVEL I PETROVICH (09/20/1754 - 03/12/1801)

Emperor since November 6, 1796. Son of Emperor Peter III and Empress Catherine II. He ascended the throne after the death of his mother. Crowned 5 April 1797

His childhood passed in unusual conditions. The palace coup, the forced abdication and the ensuing murder of his father, Peter III, as well as the seizure of power by Catherine II, bypassing the rights to the throne of Paul, left an indelible imprint on the heir's already difficult character. Paul I cooled off to others just as quickly as he became attached, began to reveal extreme pride, contempt for people and extreme irritability early, was very nervous, impressionable, suspicious and excessively quick-tempered.

On September 29, 1773, Paul married Princess Wilhelmine-Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Orthodoxy Natalya Alekseevna. She died from childbirth in April 1776. On September 26, 1776, Pavel married a second time to Princess Sophia-Dorotea-August-Louise of Württemberg, who in Orthodoxy became Maria Feodorovna. From this marriage he had 4 sons, including the future emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, and 6 daughters.

After accession to the throne on December 5, 1796, Paul I reburied the remains of his father in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, next to the body of his mother. On April 5, 1797, the coronation of Paul took place. On the same day, the Decree on the succession to the throne was promulgated, which established order in the succession to the throne - from father to eldest son.

Frightened by the great French Revolution and the incessant peasant uprisings in Russia, Paul I pursued a policy of extreme reaction. The strictest censorship was introduced, private printing houses were closed (1797), the import of foreign books was prohibited (1800), and emergency police measures were introduced to persecute advanced social thought.

In his activities, Paul I relied on favorite temporary workers Arakcheev and Kutaisov.

Paul I took part in the coalition wars against France. However, the feuds between the emperor and his allies, the hope of Paul I that the conquests french revolution will be nullified by Napoleon himself, led to a rapprochement with France.

The petty captiousness of Paul I, the imbalance of character caused discontent among the courtiers. It intensified in connection with a change in the foreign policy course, which violated the established trade relations with England.

By 1801, Paul I's constant distrust and suspicion reached a particularly strong degree. He was even going to imprison his sons Alexander and Constantine in the fortress. As a result of all these reasons, a conspiracy arose against the emperor. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, Paul I fell victim to this conspiracy in the Mikhailovsky Palace.

ALEXANDER I PAVLOVICH (12/12/1777 - 11/19/1825)

Emperor since March 12, 1801 Eldest son of Emperor Paul I and his second wife Maria Feodorovna. Crowned 15 September 1801

Alexander I ascended the throne after the assassination of his father as a result of a palace conspiracy, the existence of which he knew and agreed to the removal of Paul I from the throne.

The first half of the reign of Alexander I passed under the sign of moderate liberal reforms: granting merchants, burghers and state settlers the right to receive uninhabited lands, issuing a Decree on free cultivators, establishing ministries, the State Council, opening St. Petersburg, Kharkov and Kazan universities, Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, etc.

Alexander I repealed a number of laws introduced by his father: he announced a broad amnesty for exiles, freed prisoners, returned their positions and rights to the disgraced, restored the election of leaders of the nobility, freed priests from corporal punishment, and abolished the restrictions on civilian clothing introduced by Paul I.

In 1801 Alexander I concluded peace treaties with England and France. In 1805-1807. he participated in the 3rd and 4th coalition against Napoleonic France. The defeat at Austerlitz (1805) and Friedland (1807), England's refusal to subsidize the military expenses of the coalition led to the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 with France, which, however, did not prevent a new Russian-French clash. The successfully completed wars with Turkey (1806-1812) and Sweden (1808-1809) strengthened Russia's international position. In the reign of Alexander I, Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812) and Azerbaijan (1813) were annexed to Russia.

At the beginning Patriotic War In 1812, under pressure from public opinion, the tsar appointed M.I. Kutuzov. In 1813 - 1814. the emperor led the anti-French coalition of European powers. On March 31, 1814, he entered Paris at the head of the allied armies. Alexander I was one of the organizers and leaders Congress of Vienna(1814-1815) and the Holy Alliance (1815), a constant participant in all its congresses.

In 1821, Alexander I became aware of the existence secret society"Prosperity Union" The king did not react to this. He said: "It is not for me to punish them."

Alexander I died suddenly in Taganrog on November 19, 1825. His body was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on March 13, 1826. Alexander I was married to Princess Louise-Maria-Augusta of Baden-Baden (in Orthodoxy, Elizaveta Alekseevna), from whose marriage he had two daughters who died in infancy.

NICHOLAS I PAVLOVICH (06/25/1796 - 02/18/1855)

Emperor since December 14, 1825. The third son of Emperor Paul I and his second wife Maria Feodorovna. He was crowned in Moscow on August 22, 1826 and in Warsaw on May 12, 1829.

Nicholas I came to the throne after the death of his elder brother Alexander I and in connection with the renunciation of the throne by the second brother of the Tsarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin. He brutally suppressed the uprising on December 14, 1825, and the first action of the new emperor was the massacre of the rebels. Nicholas I executed 5 people, sent 120 people to hard labor and exile, and punished soldiers and sailors with gauntlets, then sent them to remote garrisons.

The reign of Nicholas I is the period of the highest flowering of absolute monarchy.

In an effort to strengthen the existing political system and not trusting the bureaucracy, Nicholas I significantly expanded the functions of His Own Imperial Majesty office, which controlled all the main branches of government and replaced the highest state bodies. Highest value had the “Third Branch” of this office - the secret police department. During the years of his reign, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was compiled - a code of all legislative acts that existed by 1835.

The revolutionary organizations of the Petrashevites, the Cyril and Methodius Society, and others were crushed.

Russia entered a new stage economic development: manufacturing and commercial councils were created, industrial exhibitions were organized, higher educational establishments, including technical ones.

In the field of foreign policy, the Eastern Question was the main one. Its essence was to ensure a favorable regime for Russia in the Black Sea waters, which was important both for the security of the southern borders and for the economic development of the state. However, with the exception of the Unkar-Iskelesi Treaty of 1833, this was decided by military action, by dividing the Ottoman Empire. This policy resulted in the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

An important aspect of the policy of Nicholas I was the return to the principles of the Holy Alliance, proclaimed in 1833 after he entered into an alliance with the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia to fight the revolution in Europe. Implementing the principles of this Union, in 1848 Nicholas I severed diplomatic relations with France, launched an invasion of the Danubian principalities, and suppressed the revolution of 1848-1849. in Hungary. He pursued a policy of vigorous expansion in Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

Nikolai Pavlovich married the daughter of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III, Princess Frederica Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina, who adopted the name Alexandra Feodorovna during the transition to Orthodoxy. They had seven children, including the future Emperor Alexander II.

ALEXANDER II NIKOLAEVICH (04/17/1818-03/01/1881)

Emperor since February 18, 1855. The eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. He ascended the throne after the death of his father. Crowned 26 August 1856

While still a Tsarevich, Alexander Nikolayevich was the first of the Romanovs to visit Siberia (1837), which resulted in a mitigation of the fate of the exiled Decembrists. In the last years of the reign of Nicholas II and during his travels, the crown prince repeatedly replaced the emperor. In 1848, during his stay at the Vienna, Berlin and other courts, he performed various important diplomatic missions.

Alexander II were carried out in 1860-1870. row important reforms: the abolition of serfdom, zemstvo, judicial, urban, military, etc. The most significant of these reforms was the abolition of serfdom (1861). But these reforms did not give all the results that were expected from them. An economic recession began, reaching its peak in 1880.

In the field of foreign policy, a significant place was occupied by the struggle for the abolition of the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1856 (after the defeat of Russia in the Crimea). In 1877, Alexander II, striving to strengthen Russian influence in the Balkans, began a struggle with Turkey. Assistance to the Bulgarians in liberation from the Turkish yoke brought additional territorial acquisitions of Russia - the border in Bessarabia was advanced to the confluence of the Prut with the Danube and to the Kiliya mouth of the latter. At the same time, Batum and Kars were occupied in Asia Minor.

Under Alexander II, the Caucasus was finally annexed to Russia. Under the Aigun Treaty with China, Russia ceded the Amur Territory (1858), and under the Beijing Treaty, the Ussuri Territory (1860). In 1867 Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were sold to the USA. In the steppes of Central Asia in 1850-1860. there were constant military clashes.

In domestic politics the decline of the revolutionary wave after the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. facilitated the government's transition to a reactionary course.

With his shot in the Summer Garden on April 4, 1866, Dmitry Karakozov opened an account of assassination attempts on Alexander II. Then there were several more attempts: A. Berezovsky in 1867 in Paris; A. Solovyov in April 1879; Narodnaya Volya in November 1879; S. Khalturin in February 1880 At the end of the 1870s. repressions against the revolutionaries intensified, but this did not save the emperor from martyrdom. March 1, 1881 Alexander II was killed by a bomb thrown under his feet by I. Grinevitsky.

Alexander II married in 1841 the daughter of the Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse-Darmstadt, Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Sophia-Maria (1824-1880), who in Orthodoxy took the name Maria Alexandrovna. From this marriage there were 8 children, including the future Emperor Alexander III.

After the death of his wife in 1880, Alexander II almost immediately entered into a morganatic marriage with Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, from whom he had three children during the life of the Empress. After the consecration of the marriage, his wife received the title of the Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya. Their son George and daughters Olga and Ekaterina inherited their mother's surname.

ALEXANDER III ALEKSANDROVICH (26.02.1845-20.10.1894)

Emperor since March 2, 1881 The second son of Emperor Alexander II and his wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. He ascended the throne after the murder of his father Alexander II by the Narodnaya Volya. Crowned 15 May 1883

The elder brother of Alexander III, Nicholas, died in 1865, and only after his death Alexander Alexandrovich was declared Tsarevich.

In the first months of the reign of Alexander III, the policy of his cabinet was determined by the struggle of groups within the government camp (M.T. Loris-Melikov, A.A. Abaza, D.A. Milyutin - on the one hand, K.P. Pobedonostsev - on the other). On April 29, 1881, when the weakness of the revolutionary forces was revealed, Alexander III issued a manifesto on the establishment of autocracy, which meant a transition to a reactionary course in domestic politics. However, in the first half of the 1880s. under the influence of economic development and the prevailing political situation, the government of Alexander III carried out a number of reforms (the abolition of the poll tax, the introduction of mandatory redemption, lowering redemption payments). With the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs N.I. Ignatiev (1882) and the appointment of Count D.A. Tolstoy to this post, a period of open reaction began. In the late 80s - early 90s. 19th century the so-called counter-reforms were carried out (the introduction of the institution of zemstvo chiefs, the revision of zemstvo and city regulations, etc.). During the reign of Alexander III, administrative arbitrariness increased significantly. Since the 1880s there was a gradual deterioration of Russian-German relations and rapprochement with France, which ended with the conclusion of the French-Russian alliance (1891-1893).

Alexander III died relatively young (49 years old). He suffered from nephritis for many years. The disease was aggravated by bruises received during a railway accident near Kharkov.

After the death in 1865 of his elder brother, heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich received, along with the title of heir to the Tsarevich, the hand of his bride, Princess Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmara (in Orthodoxy Maria Feodorovna), daughter of the Danish King Christian IX and his wife Queen Louise. Their wedding took place in 1866. Six children were born from this marriage, including Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich.

NICHOLAS II ALEKSANDROVICH (03/06/1868 - ?)

The last Russian emperor from October 21, 1894 to March 2, 1917, the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich. Crowned 14 May 1895

The beginning of the reign of Nicholas II coincided with the beginning of the rapid growth of capitalism in Russia. In order to preserve and strengthen the power of the nobility, whose interests he remained the spokesman, the tsar pursued a policy of adaptation to the bourgeois development of the country, which manifested itself in the desire to seek ways of rapprochement with the big bourgeoisie, in an attempt to create support in the wealthy peasantry (“Stolypin agrarian reform”) and the establishment State Duma (1906).

In January 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began, which soon ended in the defeat of Russia. The war cost our state 400 thousand people killed, wounded and taken prisoner and 2.5 billion rubles in gold.

Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the Revolution of 1905-1907 sharply weakened the influence of Russia in the international arena. In 1914, as part of the Entente, Russia entered the First World War.

Failures at the front, huge losses in people and equipment, devastation and decay in the rear, rasputinism, ministerial leapfrog, etc. caused sharp dissatisfaction with the autocracy in all circles of Russian society. The number of strikers in Petrograd reached 200,000. The situation in the country is out of control. On March 2 (15), 1917, at 11:30 p.m., Nicholas II signed the Manifesto on the abdication and transfer of the throne to his brother Mikhail.

In June 1918, a meeting was held at which Trotsky proposed an open trial of the former Russian emperor. Lenin, on the other hand, considered that in the atmosphere of chaos that reigned at that time, this step was clearly inappropriate. Therefore, the commander J. Berzin was ordered to take imperial family under strict supervision. And the royal family survived.

This is confirmed by the fact that the heads of the diplomatic department Soviet Russia G. Chicherin, M. Litvinov and K. Radek during 1918-22. repeatedly offered to extradite certain members of the royal family. At first they wanted to sign in this way Brest Peace, then on September 10, 1918 (two months after the events in the Ipatiev House), the Soviet ambassador in Berlin, Ioffe, officially addressed the German Foreign Ministry with a proposal to exchange the "former queen" for K. Liebknecht, etc.

And if the revolutionary authorities really wanted to destroy any possibility of restoring the monarchy in Russia, they would have presented the corpses to the whole world. Here, they say, make sure that there is no more king or heir, and there is no need to break spears. However, there was nothing to show. Because a performance was staged in Yekaterinburg.

And the investigation appointed in hot pursuit on the fact of the execution of the royal family came to precisely this conclusion: “an imitation of the execution of the royal family was carried out in the Ipatiev house.” However, the investigator Nametkin was immediately dismissed and killed a week later. The new investigator Sergeev came to exactly the same conclusion and was also removed. Subsequently, the third investigator, Sokolov, also died in Paris, who first gave the conclusion required of him, but then tried to publish the true results of the investigation. In addition, as you know, very soon not a single person was left alive even from those who took part in the "execution of the royal family." The house was destroyed.

But if royal family were not shot until 1922, then there was no need at all for their physical destruction. Moreover, the heir to Alexei Nikolaevich was even especially patronized. He was taken to Tibet to be treated for hemophilia, as a result of which, by the way, it turned out that his illness existed only thanks to the suspicious confidence of his mother, who had a strong psychological influence on the boy. Otherwise, of course, he would not have been able to live so long. So, we can state with complete clarity that the son of Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei, not only was not shot in 1918, but also survived until 1965 under the special patronage of the Soviet authorities. Moreover, his son Nikolai Alekseevich, who was born in 1942, was able to become a rear admiral without joining the CPSU. And then, in 1996, in compliance with the full ceremonial that is due in such cases, he was declared the Legitimate Sovereign of Russia. God protects Russia, which means that he also protects his anointed one. And if you don't believe in that yet, then you don't believe in God either.

How many tsars were there in Russia?

Tsarist power finally took shape in Russia in the middle of the 16th century, when in 1547 Grand Duke of all Russia, Ivan IY Vasilievich the Terrible was the first to officially take the title of tsar. A hat was solemnly laid on the first Russian Tsar
Monomakh, a sign of royal power, put on a golden chain and handed a heavy golden apple, which personified the Russian state. So Russia received its first tsar. He was from the dynasty of Grand Duke Rurik. Royal power was inherited by the eldest son.
Ivan the Terrible had three sons. The elder Ivan, his father's favorite, the middle Fedor, a weak and sickly young man, and the younger Dmitry, still quite a little boy. The throne was to be inherited by Ivan, but in royal family a tragedy happened. In November 1581, Tsar Ivan the Terrible quarreled with his eldest son and, in a fit of anger, beat him. From a terrible nervous shock and severe beatings, Tsarevich Ivan fell ill and soon died. After this tragedy, Tsar Ivan the Terrible also did not live long and died in March 1584, and in May Moscow solemnly celebrated the coronation of the new tsar. They became the middle son of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor Ioannovich. He could not govern Russia on his own, so all issues were decided by his wife's brother Boris Godunov, who became tsar after the death of Fyodor Ivanovich in 1598. Boris Godunov left the throne to his son Fyodor Godunov, who did not have to reign for long. In 1605, he ascended the throne and in the same year was killed by supporters of False Dmitry, who pretended to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, who died in Uglich in early childhood. False Dmitry managed to seize the Moscow throne, but he did not stay on it for a long time. Less than a year later, he, too, was killed by conspirators, headed by Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky. From 1606, he became the next Russian tsar and ruled until 1610, when he and his wife were tonsured monks and imprisoned in the Joseph-Volokolamsky monastery.
After the deposition of Tsar Basil in Russia, the period of interregnum continued for three years. The boyars thought and wondered who to offer the royal crown to, sorted out one candidate after another, and this continued until 1613, when Mikhail Romanov became king. This was the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty, whose representatives ruled in Russia until 1917, when the last tsar from the same dynasty, Nicholas II, abdicated and was shot.
Mikhail Romanov was the son of Patriarch Filaret (Fyodor Nikitich Romanov) and Xenia Ivanovna Shestova, who were tonsured into a monastery in 1601 by order of Boris Godunov. After the death of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1645, his son Alexei Mikhailovich became king. He had
many children, among whom in the future the struggle for the royal throne flared up. At first, after the death of his father Alexei Mikhailovich, his son Fyodor Alekseevich was the king, and when he died in 1682, two kings, 16-year-old John V Alekseevich and his brother, ten-year-old Peter, were on the throne at once. They had different mothers. Due to the infancy of the children, besides, the eldest Ivan, as historians write, was weak-minded, Russia was ruled by their elder sister Sophia, John's sister. In 1696, after the death of his brother Ivan, Peter I began to reign alone, imprisoning Sophia in a monastery.
Subsequently, Peter I took the title of emperor.