Tsar Of Russiarussian In Full Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov

Main tsar of RussiaRussian in full Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov born July 22 [July 12, old style], 1596died July 23 [July 13, O.S.], 1645, Moscow

tsar of Russia from 1613 to 1645 and founder of the Romanov dynasty, which ruled Russia until 1917. Son of Fyodor Nikitich Romanov (later the Orthodox patriarch Philaret), Michael was related to the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor I (reigned 1584–98) through his grandfather Nikita Romanov, who was Fyodor’s maternal uncle. When the zemsky sobor (assembly of the land) met in 1613 to elect a new tsar after the Time of Troubles— a period of chaotic internal disorders, foreign invasions, and a rapid succession of rulers following the death of Fyodor I—it chose Michael Romanov as tsar (February 1613). Emissaries came from Moscow to the monastery near Kostroma where Michael was living with his mother—who had been compelled to become a nun during the reign of Boris Godunov (ruled 1598–1605)—and in March he accepted the offer of the throne with great reluctance. Only 16 years old and poorly educated at the time of his coronation on July 21 (July 11, O.S.), 1613, Michael at first allowed his mother’s relatives to gain control of governmental affairs. Although they promoted their personal interests, they also restored order to Russia, suppressed internal uprisings, and made peace both with Sweden (Treaty of Stolbovo, 1617) and with Poland (Truce of Deulino, 1618). In 1619 Michael’s father, who had been forced to become a monk under the name Philaret (Filaret) in 1601 and had later been taken to Poland, was released from captivity. Upon his return to Russia, he was installed as patriarch of the church and Michael’s co-ruler. From then until his death in 1633, he dominated Michael’s government, which increased diplomatic, commercial, and cultural contact with western Europe, made extensive use of the zemski sobor as a popular consultative body, employed a variety of means to solve Russia’s continuing financial dilemmas, reformed the structure of local government to increase the authority of the central administration, and strengthened the institution of serfdom. When his father died, Michael’s maternal relatives again played prominent roles in his government until he died and left his throne to his son Alexis.

Main tsar of Russiain full Fyodor Alekseyevich born May 30 [June 9, New Style], 1661, Moscow, Russiadied April 27 [May 7], 1682, Moscow

tsar of Russia (reigned 1676–82) who fostered the development of Western culture in Russia, thereby making it easier for his successor, Peter I the Great (reigned 1682–1725), to enact widespread reforms based on Western models. The eldest son of Alexis (reigned 1645–76), Fyodor not only was educated in the traditional subjects of Russian and Church Slavonic but also was tutored in Polish and Latin by Simeon Polotsky, a noted theologian who had studied in Kiev and Poland. When Alexis died, Fyodor ascended the throne (Jan. 19 [Jan. 29], 1676), but his youth and poor health prevented him from actively participating in the conduct of government affairs. His uncle Ivan B. Miloslavsky assumed the dominant position in Fyodor’s government at first, but he was soon displaced by two courtiers, I.M. Yazykov and A.T. Likhachev, who shared Fyodor’s educational background and who, in spite of objections from the Russian Orthodox clergy, promoted the spread of Polish customs, Roman Catholic religious doctrines, and Latin books among the Russian aristocracy. After 1681 Vasily V. Golitsyn became the most significant figure in Fyodor’s administration; under his influence vast military reforms were undertaken, and the system of mestnichestvo, by which a noble was appointed to a service position on the basis of his family’s rank in the hierarchy of boyars, was abolished (1682). When Fyodor died childless, he was succeeded, after some dispute, by both his brother, Ivan V (coruled 1682–96), and his half-brother, Peter I (coruled 1682–96; reigned alone 1696–1725); his sister Sophia Alekseyevna served as regent for the two young tsars (1682–89).

Main

regent of RussiaRussian in full Sofya Alekseyevna

born September 17 [September 27, New Style], 1657, Moscowdied July 3 [July 14], 1704, Moscow

regent of Russia from 1682 to 1689. The eldest daughter of Tsar Alexis (ruled 1645–76) and his first wife, Mariya Miloslavskaya, Sophia was tutored by the Belorussian monk Simeon Polotsky, from whom she received an exceptionally good education. When her brother Fyodor III died (April 27 [May 7], 1682), her half brother Peter, son of Alexis and his second wife, Natalya Naryshkina, was proclaimed tsar. Sophia, as leader of the Miloslavsky family, however, objected to a government dominated by the Naryshkins and incited the discontented streltsy(household troops) to riot. After several members of the Naryshkin family were murdered, Sophia calmed the streltsy by arranging for her younger brotherIvan V to be proclaimed coruler with Peter; she assumed the role of regent (May 29 [June 8], 1682). Ruling under the guidance of her chief adviser and lover, Prince Vasily V. Golitsyn, Sophia took steps to consolidate her regime. To prevent the unreliablestreltsy from reversing their position and removing her, she replaced their commander, Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (who was executed for treason), with one of her favourites, Fyodor Leontyevich Shaklovity. In addition, she transferred 12 of the 19 Moscow regiments from the city to guard the frontier and revoked many of the privileges she had granted the troops when she seized power. Sophia also promoted the development of industry and encouraged foreign craftsmen to settle in Russia. Despite Golitsyn’s numerous plans for domestic reform, however, the regent failed to meet discontent among the peasants and religious dissidents. She also overruled several of her advisers and approved Golitsyn’s plan to conclude a permanent peace with Poland (1686; which confirmed a truce of 1667), by which Russia obtained Kiev and the territory east of the Dnieper River in exchange for a promise to join a European coalition against the Turks; in 1687 and 1689 she sponsored two disastrous military campaigns, led by Golitsyn, against the vassals of the Turks, the Crimean Tatars. Although her government also concluded the favourable Treaty of Nerchinsk with China (1689), setting Russia’s eastern border at the Amur River, Golitsyn’s failures reinforced the increasing dissatisfaction among both the Naryshkins and the general population with her rule. Recognizing this and hoping to eliminate Peter, the figurehead of her rivals, Sophia tried once more to incite the streltsy against the Naryshkins (August 1689); many of the streltsy colonels, however, supported Peter, who overthrew Sophia and forced her to enter the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow (September 1689). In 1698 an unsuccessful attempt was made by her supporters among the streltsy to restore her to the throne; although Sophia did not initiate the plot, she was afterward tried by a special tribunal and compelled to take the veil (October 1698).