The Romanov dynasty in brief. Time of Troubles. the beginning of the Romanov dynasty When did the reign of the Romanov dynasty begin

In the history of the Russian state there were two long-lasting ruling dynasties: the Romanovs. In 1917, the reign of the Romanov imperial family was interrupted, and with it the monarchy in Russia collapsed. This year marks: 405 years since the accession of the Romanovs to the throne, 101 years since the “abdication” of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and the 100th anniversary of the monstrous day: .

In the article we will remember how the Romanov dynasty ascended the throne, how the first tsar was elected, who was behind it, and could a different decision have been made?

Candidates

There were many contenders for the Russian throne. The two most unpopular candidates - the Polish prince Vladislav and the son of False Dmitry II - were “weeded out” immediately. The Swedish prince Karl Philip had more supporters, among them the leader of the zemstvo army, Prince Pozharsky. Why did the patriot of the Russian land choose a foreign prince? Perhaps the antipathy of the “artistic” Pozharsky towards domestic contenders - high-born boyars, who during the Time of Troubles more than once betrayed those to whom they swore allegiance, was reflected. He feared that the “boyar tsar” would sow the seeds of new unrest in Russia, as happened during the short reign of Vasily Shuisky. Therefore, Prince Dmitry stood for the calling of the “Varangian”, but most likely this was Pozharsky’s “maneuver”, since in the end only Russian contenders – high-born princes – took part in the struggle for the royal throne. The leader of the notorious “Seven Boyars” Fyodor Mstislavsky compromised himself by collaborating with the Poles, Ivan Vorotynsky renounced his claim to the throne, Vasily Golitsyn was in Polish captivity, the militia leaders Dmitry Trubetskoy and Dmitry Pozharsky were not distinguished by nobility. But the new king was supposed to unite the country split by the Troubles. The question was: how to give preference to one clan so that a new round of boyar civil strife does not begin?

Mikhail Fedorovich did not pass the first round

The candidacy of the Romanovs as the main contenders did not arise by chance: Mikhail Romanov was the nephew of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. Mikhail's father, Patriarch Filaret, was respected among the clergy and Cossacks. Boyar Fyodor Sheremetyev actively campaigned in favor of the candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich. He assured the obstinate boyars that Mikhail “is young and will be liked by us.” In other words, he will become their puppet. But the boyars did not allow themselves to be persuaded: in the preliminary voting, Mikhail Romanov’s candidacy did not receive the required number of votes.

When electing Romanov, a problem arose: the Council demanded that the young candidate come to Moscow. The Romanov party could not allow this: an inexperienced, timid, unskilled young man in intrigue would make an unfavorable impression on the Council delegates. Sheremetyev and his supporters had to show miracles of eloquence, proving how dangerous the path from the Kostroma village of Domnino, where Mikhail was, to Moscow was. After heated debates, the “Romanovites” managed to convince the Council to cancel the decision on Mikhail’s arrival.

Where did the dynasty come from?

The Romanovs did not belong to the Rurikovichs and generally could not boast of special nobility.

Their founder is a certain Andrei Kobyla, who at the beginning of the 14th century came to Muscovy from East Prussia and entered the service of Ivan Kalita. There is no reliable information about his origins and previous occupations, and the only written mention refers to his participation in the embassy that traveled from Moscow to Tver in 1347 for a bride for Kalita’s son Simeon the Proud.

In addition to the Romanovs, the Sheremetyevs, Kolychevs and other aristocratic families descended from the sons of Andrei Kobyla.

Unlike princes, his descendants in the XIV-XV centuries were not given a surname, and in historical documents they appear with patronymics and nicknames.

The nickname "Romanovs" arose on behalf of the boyar Roman Zakharyin, who had a daughter Anastasia and a son Nikita. Anastasia Romanova became the first wife of Ivan the Terrible and bore him two sons: Ivan, who was killed by his father in a fit of rage, and Fyodor, who inherited the throne.

According to the unanimous reviews of contemporaries, Queen Anastasia had a great and purely positive influence on her husband. This marriage made Nikita Romanov and his five sons great people.

In the second generation of Romanovs, the middle brother Fyodor, the father of the future tsar, was considered the most capable. He read Latin, in his youth he was an excellent horseman and the first dandy in Moscow, so that the tailors, handing over the finished dress to the customers, said: now you will be like Fyodor Nikitich Romanov!

After the death of Fyodor Ioannovich in 1598, his cousin and namesake was considered as a candidate for king along with Boris Godunov. There was talk that Fyodor Ioannovich left a will in favor of Fyodor Romanov. No traces of the document were found, but the version of the “stolen throne” was widespread, especially among the Don Cossacks who did not like Godunov.

Godunov feared the Romanovs and in 1601 dealt harshly with them. Four brothers were exiled to cold regions, where three of them soon died (according to rumors, they were secretly killed). Fyodor was forcibly tonsured a monk under the name Filaret, and separated from his family.

The bailiff Voeikov, who was sent to the Siysky monastery to monitor him, reported that the “monk Filaret,” having learned about the movement of a pretender to the throne, whom some historians call the Pretender, and others evasively call the “named Demetrius,” perked up, began to laugh often and talk to monks about “what he will be like in the future.”

Under the said Dimitri, Fyodor Romanov found himself in favor. There was no way back from monasticism, but he was made Metropolitan of Rostov.

After the coup in May 1606, he got along well with Vasily Shuisky, then ended up in the camp of the “Tushinsky thief” and remembered him during services as “Tsar Dimitri.”

In defiance of Patriarch Hermogenes, who supported Shuisky, the “thief” declared Romanov the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Without the approval of the ecumenical patriarchs, the act was still illegitimate; the later Romanovs, for obvious reasons, did not like to remember it, so it was officially believed that Filaret became patriarch only in 1619 after returning from Polish captivity. Until his death in 1633, he actually ruled the country and was described as a “great sovereign” along with his son.

Tightening

Let us return again to the election of the king. On February 7, 1613, the rather tired delegates announced a two-week break: “for a large strengthening, they postponed February from the 7th of February to the 21st.” Messengers were sent to the cities “to inquire into all sorts of people’s thoughts.” But isn’t two weeks enough to monitor public opinion in such a large country? For example, it is not easy for a messenger to get to Siberia in two months. Most likely, the boyars were counting on the departure of Mikhail Romanov’s most active supporters – the Cossacks – from Moscow. The villagers, they say, will get bored of sitting idle in the city, and they will disperse. The Cossacks actually dispersed, so much so that the boyars didn’t think it was enough.

The role of Pozharsky

In the fall of 1612, militia captured a Swedish spy. Until January 1613, he languished in captivity, but shortly before the start of the Zemsky Sobor, Pozharsky freed the spy and sent him to Novgorod, occupied by the Swedes, with a letter to the commander Jacob Delagardie. In it, Pozharsky reports that both he himself and the majority of noble boyars want to see Karl Philip on the Russian throne. But, as subsequent events showed, Pozharsky misinformed the Swede. One of the first decisions of the Zemsky Sobor was that a foreigner should not be on the Russian throne; the sovereign should be elected “from Moscow families, God willing.” Was Pozharsky really so naive that he did not know the mood of the majority? Of course not. Prince Dmitry deliberately fooled Delagardie with “universal support” for the candidacy of Karl Philip in order to prevent Swedish interference in the election of the Tsar. The Russians had difficulty repelling the Polish onslaught; a campaign against Moscow by the Swedish army could also prove fatal. Pozharsky’s “cover operation” was successful: the Swedes did not budge. That is why on February 20, Prince Dmitry, happily forgetting about the Swedish prince, suggested that the Zemsky Sobor elect a tsar from the Romanov family, and then put his signature on the conciliar document electing Mikhail Fedorovich. During the coronation of the new sovereign, Mikhail showed Pozharsky a high honor: the prince presented him with one of the symbols of power - the royal power. Modern political strategists can only envy such a competent PR move: the savior of the Fatherland hands over the power to the new tsar. Beautiful. Looking ahead, we note that until his death (1642) Pozharsky faithfully served Mikhail Fedorovich, taking advantage of his constant favor. It is unlikely that the king would have favored someone who wanted to see not him, but some Swedish prince on the Rurik throne.

Cossacks

The Cossacks played a special role in the election of the Tsar. A curious story about this is contained in “The Tale of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613.” It turns out that on February 21, the boyars decided to choose a tsar by casting lots, but the reliance on “maybe”, in which any forgery is possible, seriously angered the Cossacks. Cossack speakers tore to pieces the boyars’ “tricks” and solemnly proclaimed: “By God’s will, in the reigning city of Moscow and all Russia, let there be a Tsar, Sovereign and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich!” This cry was immediately picked up by Romanov supporters, not only in the Cathedral, but also among the large crowd of people in the square. It was the Cossacks who cut the “Gordian knot”, achieving the election of Mikhail. The unknown author of the “Tale” (surely an eyewitness of what was happening) does not spare any color when describing the reaction of the boyars: “The boyars at that time were possessed with fear and trembling, shaking, and their faces were changing with blood, and not a single one could utter anything.” Only Mikhail’s uncle, Ivan Romanov, nicknamed Kasha, who for some reason did not want to see his nephew on the throne, tried to object: “Mikhailo Fedorovich is still young and not fully sane.” To which the Cossack wits objected: “But you, Ivan Nikitich, are old, full of reason... you will be a strong blow to him.” Mikhail did not forget his uncle’s assessment of his mental abilities and subsequently removed Ivan Kasha from all government affairs. The Cossack demarche came as a complete surprise to Dmitry Trubetskoy: “His face turned black, and he fell into illness, and lay for many days, without leaving his yard from the steep hill that the Cossacks depleted the treasury and their knowledge was flattering in words and deceit.” The prince can be understood: it was he, the leader of the Cossack militia, who counted on the support of his comrades, generously gave them “treasury” gifts - and suddenly they found themselves on Mikhail’s side.

Little Crow on the gallows

The accession of the Romanovs was accompanied by another story.

Marina Mnishek, having given birth to a son from the “Tushinsky Thief” and having experienced adventures worthy of an adventurous novel, eventually found herself the concubine of the Cossack ataman Ivan Zarutsky. He, stunned by such prey, took refuge with her in the Astrakhan floodplains, dreaming of the Moscow throne.

In June 1614, the associates, realizing the hopelessness of resistance, handed them over to the Streltsy head Gordey Palchikov, who sent the prisoners to Moscow.

Zarutsky was impaled, Marina soon died: according to the official version, she died in prison “of illness and melancholy of her own free will,” according to the unofficial version, she was sewn into a sack and drowned in the river.

Some historians do not rule out that the authorities in this case were telling the truth: the living Marina could be exchanged for Russian prisoners and valuable testimony could be obtained from her about all the intrigues of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russia, starting in 1604.

It is not known to what extent the decision came personally from the young tsar, but Mnishek’s son, a three-year-old crow, was hanged publicly, outside the Serpukhov Gate, so that everyone could see and impostors would not appear in the future.

The boy was carried to the place of execution in his arms. He kept asking: “Where are you taking me?” and died in the noose for an unusually long time - the neck was thin.

Modern enlightened people do not recognize collective responsibility and do not believe in mystical punishment across generations, but sometimes they remind us that the reign of the Romanovs began with the murder of an innocent child and ended with the same murder in the basement of the Ipatiev House.

Conciliar charter or oath

The conciliar oath is the final document of the Zemsky Electoral Council, held on February 21, 1613. It authorizes the ascension to the throne of sixteen-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov-Yuryev and the establishment of the Romanov dynasty in Russia.

The model for drawing up the charter was the Approved Charter of Boris Godunov. This is a historical and political treatise presenting autocracy as a system consecrated by the Orthodox (Christian) Church. Its origins in Russia are proven and the official concept of the Time of Troubles as a crisis of autocracy is given. The letter contains a lengthy summary of the history of the dynasty of Russian great princes and tsars, which began with Augustus Caesar, describes the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich with praise, and outlines the events of the Time of Troubles. First of all, the Polish king and the Polish lords are blamed for the Troubles, with the help of whom Grigory Otrepiev overthrew the legitimate sovereign Fyodor Borisovich. An important role is given to Filaret Nikitich Romanov, the father of the sovereign, in the events outlined in the letter. Patriarch Hermogenes is presented as the main fighter against Polish dominance. The misadventures in Moscow and the suffering from hunger of the future Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich are described, as well as the actions of both militias to liberate the capital. The role of D.M. in these events is emphasized. Pozharsky and K. Minin. The document describes in sufficient detail the work of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613, which elected Mikhail to the throne, and the activities of the Kostroma embassy to the tsar. Mikhail Fedorovich is called not only the nephew of Tsar Fedor, but also his “close friend,” although in the year of Fedor’s death Mikhail was only two years old. Extensive quotations from the Holy Scriptures indicate that clergy took part in the preparation of the Approved Charter. The text of the letter has been edited more than once.

The collection of signatures for the charter took place from May 1613 to 1615. Not all those who signed the charter participated in the work of the Zemsky Sobor, which elected Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne. Absent from the council were Metropolitan Ephraim and Metropolitan Jonah of Krutitsa, whose signatures are on the charter. There is no signature of Kuzma Minin, who was at the cathedral. The first are the 34 signatures of the “authorities” - these are metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, archimandrites, abbots. Then come the signatures of the boyars led by F.I. Mstislavsky (17 people) Among the boyars, D.M. also signed. Pozharsky, who received the boyars during the crowning of Mikhail Fedorovich. Next are the signatures of the okolnichy, chashnik, kravchiy M. Saltykov, Duma clerk S. Vasiliev. Then follow the signatures of 24 stewards and 26 solicitors, 10 nobles, 18 clerks, a clerk, key-keepers, and representatives of 41 cities.

The approved letter was drawn up in two copies, the text of which is close. One copy (Archive) was kept in the State Archive of the former Main Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (now located in the Russian State Library), the other in the Armory Chamber. Historians suggest that one copy was intended for the king, the other for the patriarchal court. There are several lists of the Approved Charter of the 17th–18th centuries. Two editions of the monument with prefaces by S.A. were published at a high archaeographic level. Belokurova: 1904 (phototypical) and 1906

The cathedral oath and modernity

In February 2007, Bishop Diomede, in his address, accused the Russian Orthodox Church of, among other things, abandoning this oath by endorsing democracy and calling for voting for certain political leaders.

In the Orthodox iconography of the Mother of God, there is the miraculous Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, revered by the Russian Orthodox Church, the history of its acquisition and symbolism of which are associated with the Russian monarchy and which is recognized as the main shrine of Russian monarchists. It is given special importance by non-canonical Orthodox movements - the “Virgin Center” and the Tsarevozhniki. The icon was found on the day of Nicholas II's abdication from the throne. Its origin is unknown; it is assumed that it was previously located in the iconostasis of the destroyed Ascension Monastery in the Moscow Kremlin, which served as the burial place for female representatives of the Moscow grand ducal family, including queens. Interpreters point out that on the icon “the queen of heaven is depicted as the queen of earth” - holding a scepter and an orb in her hands - which is interpreted as her acceptance of royal power from Nicholas II, which the Romanov dynasty has possessed since 1613. From this it is concluded that since then no government in Russia has been truly legitimate, therefore, the laws of the Russian Empire can be considered to continue to apply. Some Orthodox interpreters speak of “God’s punishment” to the Russian people for violating the Council Oath of 1613 by allowing the murder of the Tsar and the “repentance” necessary in connection with this. In 1993, “repentance for the sin of regicide on behalf of the entire Church” was brought by Patriarch Alexy II, who wrote: “We call to repentance all our people, all their children, regardless of their political views and views on history, regardless of their ethnic origin , religious affiliation, from their attitude to the idea of ​​monarchy and to the personality of the last Russian Emperor." In the 21st century, with the blessing of the St. Petersburg Metropolitan, an annual procession of the cross from St. Petersburg to Yekaterinburg is held, symbolizing such repentance. In Catholicism, there is a doctrine of the so-called “Conversion of Russia”, necessary for the “salvation of the world”, which is closely connected with the image of the Mother of God and 1917 and is the subject of special attention of the “Virgin Center”. There are prophecies of Orthodox predictors about the return of the monarchy, for example, attributed to Lawrence of Chernigov and the monk Abel ().

The first Russian Tsar

Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov ruled from 1613 to 1645. The reign of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty lasted 32 years.

Mikhail Fedorovich’s personal participation in governing the country was very limited. Having ascended the throne at the age of 16, he had no political experience, no clear program of action. Modest and shy by nature, the tsar was at first under the strong influence of his mother, the powerful and ambitious noblewoman K. I. Shestova. She surrounded the throne with her relatives and favorites. However, a few years later, in 1619, the mother’s influence recedes before the absolute authority of Mikhail’s father, Filaret, who returned from Polish captivity. He became a patriarch. A powerful and strong man, he was actually the ruler of the country. Even in state documents two “great sovereigns” were mentioned: the tsar and the patriarch, the son and the father, Mikhail and Filaret.

During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the wars with Sweden (Peace of Stolbovo, 1617) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Truce of Deulin, 1618, later - Peace of Polyanovsky, 1634) were stopped.

Overcoming the consequences of the Time of Troubles required the centralization of power. The system of voivodeship administration grew locally, the order system was restored and developed. Since the 1620s, the activities of Zemsky Sobors have been limited to advisory functions. They gathered at the initiative of the government to resolve issues that required the approval of the estates: about war and peace, about the introduction of extraordinary taxes.

In the 1630s, the creation of regular military units began (Reitar, Dragoon, Soldier regiments), the rank and file of which were “willing free people” and homeless boyar children, the officers were foreign military specialists. At the end of Michael's reign, cavalry dragoon regiments arose to guard the borders.

The government also began to restore and build defensive lines - serif lines.

Under Mikhail Fedorovich, diplomatic relations were established with Holland, Austria, Denmark, Turkey, and Persia.

In 1637, the period for capturing fugitive peasants was increased from five to nine years. In 1641 another year was added to it. Peasants exported by other owners were allowed to be searched for up to 15 years. This indicated the growth of serfdom tendencies in the legislation on land and peasants.

Moscow under Mikhail Fedorovich was restored from the consequences of the intervention.

The Filaretovskaya belfry was erected in the Kremlin in 1624. In 1624-1525, a stone tent was built over the Frolovskaya (now Spasskaya) tower and a new striking clock was installed (1621).

In 1626 (after a devastating fire in Moscow), Mikhail Fedorovich issued a series of decrees appointing persons responsible for restoring buildings in the city. All the royal palaces were restored in the Kremlin, and new trading shops were built in Kitay-Gorod. According to one version, the original of the Cathedral Oath also burned down during the fire. For this reason, there are different versions of her texts. Which interpretation is reliable is still unknown.

In 1632, an enterprise for teaching velvet and damask work appeared in Moscow - Velvet Dvor (in the middle of the 17th century its premises served as a weapons warehouse). The center of textile production became Kadashevskaya Sloboda with the sovereign's Khamovny yard.

In 1633, machines were installed in the Sviblova Tower of the Kremlin to supply water from the Moskva River to the Kremlin (hence its modern name - Vodovzvodnaya).

In 1635-1937, on the site of the ceremonial chambers of the 16th century, the Terem Palace was built for Mikhail Fedorovich, and all the Kremlin cathedrals were re-painted, including the Assumption (1642), the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1644).

In 1642, construction began on the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles in the Kremlin.

On July 23 (July 13, old style), 1645, Mikhail Fedorovich died of water sickness. He was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

The first wife is Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova. The marriage turned out to be childless.

The second wife is Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva. The marriage brought Mikhail Fedorovich seven daughters (Irina, Pelageya, Anna, Martha, Sophia, Tatyana, Evdokia) and three sons (Alexey, Ivan, Vasily). Not all children even survived to adolescence. The parents experienced the death of their sons Ivan and Vasily in one year especially hard.

Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov became the heir to the throne.

In total, the Romanov dynasty ruled for 304 years and 9 days. Starting with Mikhail Fedorovich, four more kings from this family ruled in Rus': Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov, Ivan 5 (Ioann Alekseevich), Peter 1 (Peter Alekseevich).

In 1721, Rus' was finally reorganized into the Russian Empire, and the sovereign received the title of Emperor. The first emperor was Peter 1, who until recently was called Tsar. In total, the Romanov family gave Russia 14 emperors and empresses. After Peter 1 they ruled:

Ekaterina 1 (Ekaterina Alekseevna);

Peter 2 (Petr Alekseevich);

Anna Ioannovna;

Ivan 6 (Ioann Antonovich);

Elizaveta (Elizaveta Petrovna);

Peter 3 (Peter Fedorovich);

Catherine 2 the Great (Ekaterina Alekseevna);

Pavel 1 (Pavel Petrovich);

Alexander 1 (Alexander Pavlovich);

Nicholas 1 (Nikolai Pavlovich);

Alexander 2 (Alexander Nikolaevich);

Alexander 3 (Alexander Alexandrovich);

Nikolai 2 (Nikolai Alexandrovich).

After the death of Peter 1, the Russian throne was often occupied by women, but Paul 1 passed a law according to which only a direct heir, a man, could become emperor, and since then women have no longer ascended the throne ()

It was thanks to representatives of the Romanov family that Rus' finally moved away from feudalism, increased its economic, military and political power, and also turned into a huge and powerful Empire.

On Ivan IV the Terrible (†1584) The Rurik dynasty in Russia was interrupted. After his death it began Time of Troubles.

The result of the 50-year reign of Ivan the Terrible was sad. Endless wars, oprichnina, and mass executions led to unprecedented economic decline. By the 1580s, a huge part of the previously prosperous lands had become deserted: abandoned villages and villages stood all over the country, arable land was overgrown with forest and weeds. As a result of the protracted Livonian War, the country lost part of its western lands. Noble and influential aristocratic clans strove for power and waged an irreconcilable struggle among themselves. A heavy inheritance fell on the lot of the successor of Tsar Ivan IV - his son Fyodor Ivanovich and guardian Boris Godunov. (Ivan the Terrible had one more son-heir - Tsarevich Dmitry Uglichsky, who was 2 years old at that time).

Boris Godunov (1584-1605)

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, his son ascended the throne Fedor Ioannovich . The new king was unable to rule the country (according to some reports he was weak in health and mind) and was under the tutelage first of the council of boyars, then of his brother-in-law Boris Godunov. A stubborn struggle between the boyar groups of the Godunovs, Romanovs, Shuiskys, and Mstislavskys began at court. But a year later, as a result of the “undercover struggle,” Boris Godunov cleared the way for himself from his rivals (some were accused of treason and exiled, some were forcibly tonsured as monks, some “died into another world” in time). Those. The boyar became the de facto ruler of the state. During the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich, the position of Boris Godunov became so significant that overseas diplomats sought an audience with Boris Godunov, his will was the law. Fedor reigned, Boris ruled - everyone knew this both in Rus' and abroad.

S. V. Ivanov. "Boyar Duma"

After the death of Fedor (January 7, 1598), a new tsar was elected at the Zemsky Sobor - Boris Godunov (thus, he became the first Russian Tsar to receive the throne not by inheritance, but by election at the Zemsky Sobor).

(1552 - April 13, 1605) - after the death of Ivan the Terrible, he became the de facto ruler of the state as the guardian of Fyodor Ioannovich, and since 1598 - Russian Tsar .

Under Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov was first a guardsman. In 1571 he married the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov. And after the marriage of his sister Irina in 1575 (the only "Tsarina Irina" on the Russian throne) On the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Fyodor Ioannovich, he became a close person to the Tsar.

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the royal throne first went to his son Fedor (under the guardianship of Godunov), and after his death - to Boris Godunov himself.

He died in 1605 at the age of 53, at the height of the war with False Dmitry I, who had moved to Moscow. After his death, Boris’s son, Fedor, an educated and extremely intelligent young man, became king. But as a result of the rebellion in Moscow, provoked by False Dmitry, Tsar Fedor and his mother Maria Godunova were brutally killed.(The rebels left only Boris’s daughter, Ksenia, alive. She faced the bleak fate of the impostor’s concubine.)

Boris Godunov was pburied in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin. Under Tsar Vasily Shuisky, the remains of Boris, his wife and son were transferred to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and buried in a sitting position at the northwestern corner of the Assumption Cathedral. Ksenia was buried there in 1622, and Olga was buried in monasticism. In 1782, a tomb was built over their tombs.

The activities of Godunov's reign are assessed positively by historians. Under him, the comprehensive strengthening of statehood began. Thanks to his efforts, he was elected in 1589 first Russian patriarch which he became Moscow Metropolitan Job. The establishment of the patriarchate testified to the increased prestige of Russia.

Patriarch Job (1589-1605)

An unprecedented construction of cities and fortifications began. To ensure the safety of the waterway from Kazan to Astrakhan, cities were built on the Volga - Samara (1586), Tsaritsyn (1589) (future Volgograd), Saratov (1590).

In foreign policy, Godunov proved himself to be a talented diplomat - Russia regained all the lands transferred to Sweden following the unsuccessful Livonian War (1558-1583).Russia's rapprochement with the West has begun. There was never before in Rus' a sovereign who was so favorable to foreigners as Godunov. He began to invite foreigners to serve. For foreign trade, the government created the most favored nation regime. At the same time, strictly protecting Russian interests. Under Godunov, nobles began to be sent to the West to study. True, none of those who left brought any benefit to Russia: having studied, none of them wanted to return to their homeland.Tsar Boris himself really wanted to strengthen his ties with the West by becoming related to a European dynasty, and made a lot of efforts to profitably marry off his daughter Ksenia.

Having started successfully, the reign of Boris Godunov ended sadly. A series of boyar conspiracies (many boyars harbored hostility towards the “upstart”) gave rise to despondency, and soon a real catastrophe broke out. The silent opposition that accompanied Boris's reign from beginning to end was no secret to him. There is evidence that the tsar directly accused the close boyars of the fact that the appearance of the impostor False Dmitry I could not have happened without their assistance. The city population was also in opposition to the authorities, dissatisfied with the heavy exactions and arbitrariness of local officials. And the rumors circulating about Boris Godunov’s involvement in the murder of the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Dmitry Ioannovich, “heated up” the situation even more. Thus, hatred of Godunov by the end of his reign was universal.

Troubles (1598-1613)

Famine (1601 - 1603)

IN 1601-1603 erupted in the country catastrophic famine , which lasted 3 years. The price of bread increased 100 times. Boris prohibited the sale of bread above a certain limit, even resorting to persecution of those who inflated prices, but did not achieve success. In an effort to help the hungry, he spared no expense, widely distributing money to the poor. But bread became more expensive, and money lost value. Boris ordered the royal barns to be opened for the hungry. However, even their reserves were not enough for all the hungry, especially since, having learned about the distribution, people from all over the country flocked to Moscow, abandoning the meager supplies that they still had at home. In Moscow alone, 127,000 people died of hunger, and not everyone had time to bury them. Cases of cannibalism appeared. People began to think that this was God's punishment. The conviction arose that Boris's reign was not blessed by God, because it was lawless, achieved through untruth. Therefore, it cannot end well.

A sharp deterioration in the situation of all segments of the population led to mass unrest under the slogan of overthrowing Tsar Boris Godunov and transferring the throne to the “legitimate” sovereign. The stage was ready for the appearance of an impostor.

False Dmitry I (1 (11) June 1605 - 17 (27) May 1606)

Rumors began to circulate throughout the country that the “born sovereign,” Tsarevich Dmitry, miraculously escaped and was alive.

Tsarevich Dmitry (†1591) , the son of Ivan the Terrible from the Tsar’s last wife, Maria Feodorovna Nagaya (monastically Martha), died under circumstances that have not yet been clarified - from a knife wound to the throat.

Death of Tsarevich Dmitry (Uglichsky)

Little Dmitry suffered from mental disorders, more than once fell into causeless anger, threw his fists even at his mother, and suffered from epilepsy. All this, however, did not negate the fact that he was a prince and after the death of Fyodor Ioannovich (†1598) he had to ascend to his father’s throne. Dmitry posed a real threat to many: the boyar nobility had suffered enough from Ivan the Terrible, so they watched the violent heir with alarm. But most of all, the prince was dangerous, of course, to those forces that relied on Godunov. That is why, when news of his strange death came from Uglich, where 8-year-old Dmitry was sent with his mother, popular rumor immediately, without any doubt that it was right, pointed to Boris Godunov as the mastermind of the crime. The official conclusion that the prince killed himself: while playing with a knife, he allegedly had an epileptic fit, and in convulsions he stabbed himself in the throat, few people were convinced.

The death of Dmitry in Uglich and the subsequent death of the childless Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich led to a crisis of power.

It was not possible to put an end to the rumors, and Godunov tried to do this by force. The more actively the king fought against people’s rumors, the wider and louder it became.

In 1601, a man appeared on the scene posing as Tsarevich Dmitry, and went down in history under the name False Dmitry I . He, the only one of all Russian impostors, managed to seize the throne for a while.

- an impostor who pretended to be the miraculously saved youngest son of Ivan IV the Terrible - Tsarevich Dmitry. The first of three impostors who called themselves the son of Ivan the Terrible and claimed the Russian throne (False Dmitry II and False Dmitry III). From June 1 (11), 1605 to May 17 (27), 1606 - Tsar of Russia.

According to the most common version, False Dmitry is someone Grigory Otrepiev , fugitive monk of the Chudov Monastery (which is why the people received the nickname Rasstriga - deprived of clergy, i.e. the degree of priesthood). Before becoming a monk, he served in the service of Mikhail Nikitich Romanov (brother of Patriarch Filaret and uncle of the first tsar of the Romanov family, Mikhail Fedorovich). After the persecution of the Romanov family by Boris Godunov began in 1600, he fled to the Zheleznoborkovsky Monastery (Kostroma) and became a monk. But soon he moved to the Euthymius Monastery in the city of Suzdal, and then to the Moscow Miracle Monastery (in the Moscow Kremlin). There he quickly becomes a “deacon of the cross”: he is engaged in copying books and is present as a scribe in the “sovereign Duma”. ABOUTTrepiev becomes quite familiar with Patriarch Job and many of the Duma boyars. However, the life of a monk did not attract him. Around 1601, he fled to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), where he declared himself a “miraculously saved prince.” Further, his traces are lost in Poland until 1603.

Otrepyev in Poland declares himself Tsarevich Dmitry

According to some sources, Otrepievconverted to Catholicism and proclaimed himself prince. Although the impostor treated questions of faith lightly, being indifferent to both Orthodox and Catholic traditions. There in Poland, Otrepiev saw and fell in love with the beautiful and proud lady Marina Mnishek.

Poland actively supported the impostor. In exchange for support, False Dmitry promised, after ascending the throne, to return half of the Smolensk land to the Polish crown along with the city of Smolensk and the Chernigov-Seversk land, to support the Catholic faith in Russia - in particular, to open churches and allow Jesuits into Muscovy, to support the Polish king Sigismund III in his claims to the Swedish crown and promote rapprochement - and ultimately, merger - between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the same time, False Dmitry turns to the Pope with a letter promising favor and help.

Oath of False Dmitry I to the Polish King Sigismund III for the introduction of Catholicism in Russia

After a private audience in Krakow with the King of Poland, Sigismund III, False Dmitry began to form a detachment for a campaign against Moscow. According to some reports, he managed to gather more than 15,000 people.

On October 16, 1604, False Dmitry I with detachments of Poles and Cossacks moved towards Moscow. When the news of the attack of False Dmitry reached Moscow, the boyar elite, dissatisfied with Godunov, was willingly ready to recognize a new contender for the throne. Even the curses of the Moscow Patriarch did not cool the people’s enthusiasm on the path of “Tsarevich Dmitry.”

The success of False Dmitry I was caused not so much by the military factor as by the unpopularity of the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov. Ordinary Russian warriors were reluctant to fight against someone who, in their opinion, could be the “true” prince; some governors even said out loud that it was “not right” to fight against the true sovereign.

On April 13, 1605, Boris Godunov unexpectedly died. The boyars swore allegiance to the kingdom to his son Fedor, but on June 1 there was an uprising in Moscow, and Fedor Borisovich Godunov was overthrown. And on June 10, he and his mother were killed. The people wanted to see the “God-given” Dmitry as king.

Convinced of the support of the nobles and the people, on June 20, 1605, to the festive ringing of bells and the welcoming cries of the crowds crowded on both sides of the road, False Dmitry I solemnly entered the Kremlin. The new king was accompanied by the Poles. On July 18, False Dmitry was recognized by Tsarina Maria, the wife of Ivan the Terrible and the mother of Tsarevich Dmitry. On July 30, False Dmitry was crowned king by the new Patriarch Ignatius.

For the first time in Russian history, Western foreigners came to Moscow not by invitation and not as dependent people, but as the main characters. The impostor brought with him a huge retinue that occupied the entire city center. For the first time, Moscow was filled with Catholics; for the first time, the Moscow court began to live not according to Russian, but according to Western, or more precisely, Polish laws. For the first time, foreigners began to push Russians around as if they were their slaves, demonstratively showing them that they were second-class citizens.The history of the Poles' stay in Moscow is full of bullying by uninvited guests against the owners of the house.

False Dmitry removed obstacles to leaving the state and moving within it. The British, who were in Moscow at that time, noted that no European state had ever known such freedom. In most of his actions, some modern historians recognize False Dmitry as an innovator who sought to Europeanize the state. At the same time, he began to look for allies in the West, especially the Pope and the Polish king; the proposed alliance was also supposed to include the German emperor, the French king and the Venetians.

One of the weaknesses of False Dmitry was women, including the wives and daughters of boyars, who actually became the tsar’s free or involuntary concubines. Among them was even the daughter of Boris Godunov, Ksenia, whom, because of her beauty, the impostor spared during the extermination of the Godunov family, and then kept with him for several months. In May 1606, False Dmitry married the daughter of a Polish governor Marina Mnishek , who was crowned as a Russian queen without observing Orthodox rites. The new queen reigned in Moscow for exactly a week.

At the same time, a dual situation arose: on the one hand, the people loved False Dmitry, and on the other, they suspected him of being an impostor. In the winter of 1605, the Chudov monk was captured, publicly declaring that Grishka Otrepyev was sitting on the throne, whom “he himself taught to read and write.” The monk was tortured, but without achieving anything, he was drowned in the Moscow River along with several of his comrades.

Almost from the first day, a wave of discontent swept through the capital due to the tsar’s failure to observe church fasts and violation of Russian customs in clothing and life, his disposition towards foreigners, his promise to marry a Polish woman and the planned war with Turkey and Sweden. At the head of the dissatisfied were Vasily Shuisky, Vasily Golitsyn, Prince Kurakin and the most conservative representatives of the clergy - Kazan Metropolitan Hermogenes and Kolomna Bishop Joseph.

What irritated the people was that the tsar, the more clearly he mocked Muscovite prejudices, dressed in foreign clothes and seemed to deliberately tease the boyars, ordering them to serve veal, which the Russians did not eat.

Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610)

17 May 1606 as a result of a coup led by Shuisky's people False Dmitry was killed . The mutilated corpse was thrown onto the Execution Ground, with a buffoonish cap put on its head and bagpipes placed on its chest. Subsequently, the body was burned, and the ashes were loaded into a cannon and fired from it towards Poland.

1 9 May 1606 Vasily Shuisky became king (was crowned by Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin as Tsar Vasily IV on June 1, 1606). Such an election was illegal, but this did not bother any of the boyars.

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky , from the family of Suzdal princes Shuisky, who descended from Alexander Nevsky, was born in 1552. Since 1584 he was a boyar and head of the Moscow Court Chamber.

In 1587 he led the opposition to Boris Godunov. As a result, he fell into disgrace, but managed to regain the king’s favor and was forgiven.

After the death of Godunov, Vasily Shuisky tried to carry out a coup, but was arrested and exiled along with his brothers. But False Dmitry needed boyar support, and at the end of 1605 the Shuiskys returned to Moscow.

After the murder of False Dmitry I, organized by Vasily Shuisky, the boyars and the crowd bribed by them, gathered on Red Square in Moscow, elected Shuisky to the throne on May 19, 1606.

However, 4 years later, in the summer of 1610, the same boyars and nobles overthrew him from the throne and forced him and his wife to become monks. In September 1610, the former “boyar” tsar was handed over to the Polish hetman (commander-in-chief) Zholkiewski, who took Shuiski to Poland. In Warsaw, the Tsar and his brothers were presented as prisoners to King Sigismund III.

Vasily Shuisky died on September 12, 1612, in custody in Gostyninsky Castle, in Poland, 130 versts from Warsaw. In 1635, at the request of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the remains of Vasily Shuisky were returned by the Poles to Russia. Vasily was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

With the accession of Vasily Shuisky to the throne, the Troubles did not end, but entered an even more complex phase. Tsar Vasily was not popular among the people. The legitimacy of the new king was not recognized by a significant number of the population, who were awaiting the new coming of the “true king.” Unlike False Dmitry, Shuisky could not pretend to be a descendant of the Ruriks and appeal to the hereditary right to the throne. Unlike Godunov, the conspirator was not legally elected by the council, which means he could not, like Tsar Boris, claim the legitimacy of his power. He relied only on a narrow circle of supporters and could not resist the elements that were already raging in the country.

In August 1607 a new contender for the throne has appeared, reanimated” by the same Poland -.

This second impostor received the nickname in Russian history Tushino thief . In his army there were up to 20 thousand multilingual rabble. This whole mass scoured the Russian soil and behaved as occupiers usually behave, that is, they robbed, killed and raped. In the summer of 1608, False Dmitry II approached Moscow and camped near its walls in the village of Tushino. Tsar Vasily Shuisky and his government were locked up in Moscow; An alternative capital with its own government hierarchy arose under its walls.

The Polish governor Mniszek and his daughter soon arrived at the camp. Oddly enough, Marina Mnishek “recognized” her ex-fiancé in the impostor and secretly married False Dmitry II.

False Dmitry II actually ruled Russia - he distributed land to nobles, considered complaints, and met foreign ambassadors.By the end of 1608, a significant part of Russia came under the rule of the Tushins, and Shuisky no longer controlled the regions of the country. The Moscow state seemed to cease to exist forever.

In September 1608 it began siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery , and inFamine struck besieged Moscow. Trying to save the situation, Vasily Shuisky decided to call on mercenaries for help and turned to the Swedes.

Siege of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra by the troops of False Dmitry II and the Polish hetman Jan Sapieha

In December 1609, due to the advance of a 15,000-strong Swedish army and the betrayal of Polish military leaders who began to swear allegiance to King Sigismund III, False Dmitry II was forced to flee from Tushin to Kaluga, where a year later he was killed.

Interregnum (1610-1613)

Russia's situation worsened day by day. The Russian land was torn apart by civil strife, the Swedes threatened war in the north, the Tatars constantly rebelled in the south, and the Poles threatened from the west. During the Time of Troubles, the Russian people tried anarchy, military dictatorship, thieves' law, tried to introduce a constitutional monarchy, and offer the throne to foreigners. But nothing helped. At that time, many Russians agreed to recognize any sovereign, if only there would finally be peace in the tormented country.

In England, in turn, the project of an English protectorate over all Russian land not yet occupied by the Poles and Swedes was seriously considered. According to the documents, King James I of England “was carried away by the plan to send an army to Russia to govern it through his delegate.”

However, on July 27, 1610, as a result of a boyar conspiracy, Russian Tsar Vasily Shuisky was removed from the throne. A period of rule has begun in Russia "Seven Boyars" .

"Seven Boyars" - a “temporary” boyar government formed in Russia after the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky (died in Polish captivity) in July 1610 and formally existed until the election of Tsar Mikhail Romanov to the throne.

Consisted of 7 members of the Boyar Duma - princes F.I. Mstislavsky, I.M. Vorotynsky, A.V. Trubetskoy, A.V. Golitsyna, B.M. Lykov-Obolensky, I.N. Romanov (uncle of the future Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and younger brother of the future Patriarch Filaret) and F.I. Sheremetyev. The prince, boyar, governor, and influential member of the Boyar Duma, Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, was elected head of the Seven Boyars.

One of the tasks of the new government was to prepare for the election of a new king. However, “military conditions” required immediate decisions.
In the west of Moscow, in the immediate vicinity of Poklonnaya Hill near the village of Dorogomilov, the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, led by Hetman Zholkiewski, stood up, and in the southeast, in Kolomenskoye, False Dmitry II, with whom was the Lithuanian detachment of Sapieha. The boyars were especially afraid of False Dmitry because he had many supporters in Moscow and was at least more popular than them. In order to avoid the struggle of boyar clans for power, it was decided not to elect representatives of Russian clans as tsar.

As a result, the so-called “Semibyarshchina” entered into an agreement with the Poles on the election of the 15-year-old Polish prince Vladislav IV to the Russian throne (son of Sigismund III) on the terms of his conversion to Orthodoxy.

Fearing False Dmitry II, the boyars went even further and on the night of September 21, 1610 secretly allowed the Polish troops of Hetman Zholkiewski into the Kremlin (in Russian history this fact is considered an act of national treason).

Thus, real power in the capital and beyond was concentrated in the hands of the governor, Władysław Pan Gonsiewski, and the military leaders of the Polish garrison.

Disregarding the Russian government, they generously distributed lands to supporters of Poland, confiscating them from those who remained loyal to the country.

Meanwhile, King Sigismund III had no intention of letting his son Vladislav go to Moscow, especially since he did not want to allow him to convert to Orthodoxy. Sigismund himself dreamed of taking the Moscow throne and becoming king of Muscovite Rus'. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Polish king conquered the western and southeastern regions of the Moscow state and began to consider himself the sovereign of all Rus'.

This changed the attitude of the members of the government of the Seven Boyars themselves towards the Poles they called. Taking advantage of the growing discontent, Patriarch Hermogenes began sending letters to the cities of Russia, calling for resistance to the new government. For this he was taken into custody and subsequently executed. All this served as a signal for the unification of almost all Russians with the goal of expelling the Polish invaders from Moscow and electing a new Russian Tsar not only by the boyars and princes, but “by the will of the whole earth.”

People's militia of Dmitry Pozharsky (1611-1612)

Seeing the atrocities of foreigners, the robbery of churches, monasteries and the episcopal treasury, the residents began to fight for the faith, for their spiritual salvation. The siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery by Sapieha and Lisovsky and its defense played a huge role in strengthening patriotism.

Defense of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which lasted almost 16 months - from September 23, 1608 to January 12, 1610

The patriotic movement under the slogan of electing the “original” sovereign led to the formation in the Ryazan cities First Militia (1611) who began the liberation of the country. In October 1612, troops Second Militia (1611-1612) Led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, they liberated the capital, forcing the Polish garrison to surrender.

After the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow, thanks to the feat of the Second People's Militia led by Minin and Pozharsky, the country was ruled for several months by a provisional government led by princes Dmitry Pozharsky and Dmitry Trubetskoy.

At the very end of December 1612, Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent letters to the cities in which they summoned the best and most intelligent elected people from all cities and from every rank to Moscow, “for the zemstvo council and for state election.” These elected people were to elect a new king in Rus'. The Zemsky Militia Government (“Council of the Whole Land”) began preparations for the Zemsky Sobor.

Zemsky Sobor of 1613 and the election of a new tsar

Before the start of the Zemsky Sobor, a 3-day strict fast was announced everywhere. Many prayer services were held in churches so that God would enlighten the elected people, and the matter of election to the kingdom would be accomplished not by human desire, but by the will of God.

On January 6 (19), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor began in Moscow , at which the issue of electing a Russian Tsar was decided. This was the first indisputably all-class Zemsky Sobor with the participation of townspeople and even rural representatives. All segments of the population were represented, with the exception of slaves and serfs. The number of “council people” gathered in Moscow exceeded 800 people, representing at least 58 cities.

The conciliar meetings took place in an atmosphere of fierce rivalry between various political groups that had taken shape in Russian society during the ten-year Troubles and sought to strengthen their position by electing their contender to the royal throne. The Council participants nominated more than ten candidates for the throne.

At first, the Polish prince Vladislav and the Swedish prince Karl Philip were named as contenders for the throne. However, these candidates met with opposition from the vast majority of the Council. The Zemsky Sobor annulled the decision of the Seven Boyars to elect Prince Vladislav to the Russian throne and decreed: “Foreign princes and Tatar princes should not be invited to the Russian throne.”

Candidates from old princely families also did not receive support. Various sources name Fyodor Mstislavsky, Ivan Vorotynsky, Fyodor Sheremetev, Dmitry Trubetskoy, Dmitry Mamstrukovich and Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky, Ivan Golitsyn, Ivan Nikitich and Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov and Pyotr Pronsky among the candidates. Dmitry Pozharsky was also proposed as king. But he decisively rejected his candidacy and was one of the first to point out the ancient family of Romanov boyars. Pozharsky said: “According to the nobility of the family, and the amount of services to the fatherland, Metropolitan Filaret from the Romanov family would have been suitable for king. But this good servant of God is now in Polish captivity and cannot become king. But he has a sixteen-year-old son, and he, by the right of the antiquity of his family and by the right of his pious upbringing by his nun mother, should become king.”(In the world, Metropolitan Filaret was a boyar - Fyodor Nikitich Romanov. Boris Godunov forced him to become a monk, fearing that he might displace Godunov and sit on the royal throne.)

Moscow nobles, supported by the townspeople, proposed to elevate 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the son of Patriarch Filaret, to the throne. According to a number of historians, the decisive role in the election of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom was played by the Cossacks, who during this period became an influential social force. A movement arose among service people and Cossacks, the center of which was the Moscow courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and its active inspirer was the cellarer of this monastery, Avraamy Palitsyn, a very influential person among both the militias and Muscovites. At meetings with the participation of cellarer Abraham, it was decided to proclaim Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov Yuryev, the son of Rostov Metropolitan Filaret captured by the Poles, as Tsar.The main argument of Mikhail Romanov’s supporters was that, unlike elected tsars, he was elected not by people, but by God, since he comes from a noble royal root. Not kinship with Rurik, but closeness and kinship with the dynasty of Ivan IV gave the right to occupy his throne. Many boyars joined the Romanov party, and he was also supported by the highest Orthodox clergy - Consecrated Cathedral.

On February 21 (March 3), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom, laying the foundation for a new dynasty.

In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor swore allegiance to 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich

Letters were sent to the cities and districts of the country with the news of the election of a king and the oath of allegiance to the new dynasty.

On March 13, 1613, the ambassadors of the Council arrived in Kostroma. At the Ipatiev Monastery, where Mikhail was with his mother, he was informed of his election to the throne.

The Poles tried to prevent the new Tsar from arriving in Moscow. A small detachment of them went to the Ipatiev Monastery to kill Michael, but got lost along the way, because the peasant Ivan Susanin , agreeing to show the way, led him into a dense forest.

On June 11, 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. The celebrations lasted 3 days.

The election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom put an end to the Troubles and gave rise to the Romanov dynasty.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

The end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries became a period of socio-political, economic and dynastic crisis in Russian history, which was called the Time of Troubles. The Time of Troubles began with the catastrophic famine of 1601-1603. A sharp deterioration in the situation of all segments of the population led to mass unrest under the slogan of overthrowing Tsar Boris Godunov and transferring the throne to the “legitimate” sovereign, as well as to the emergence of impostors False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II as a result of the dynastic crisis.

"Seven Boyars" - the government formed in Moscow after the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky in July 1610, concluded an agreement on the election of the Polish prince Vladislav to the Russian throne and in September 1610 allowed the Polish army into the capital.

Since 1611, patriotic sentiments began to grow in Russia. The First Militia, formed against the Poles, never managed to drive the foreigners out of Moscow. And a new impostor, False Dmitry III, appeared in Pskov. In the fall of 1611, on the initiative of Kuzma Minin, the formation of the Second Militia began in Nizhny Novgorod, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. In August 1612, it approached Moscow and liberated it in the fall. The leadership of the Zemsky militia began preparing for the electoral Zemsky Sobor.

At the beginning of 1613, elected officials from “the whole earth” began to gather in Moscow. This was the first indisputably all-class Zemsky Sobor with the participation of townspeople and even rural representatives. The number of “council people” gathered in Moscow exceeded 800 people, representing at least 58 cities.

The Zemsky Sobor began its work on January 16 (January 6, old style) 1613. Representatives of “the whole earth” annulled the decision of the previous council on the election of Prince Vladislav to the Russian throne and decided: “Foreign princes and Tatar princes should not be invited to the Russian throne.”

The conciliar meetings took place in an atmosphere of fierce rivalry between various political groups that took shape in Russian society during the years of the Troubles and sought to strengthen their position by electing their contender to the royal throne. The council participants nominated more than ten candidates for the throne. Various sources name Fyodor Mstislavsky, Ivan Vorotynsky, Fyodor Sheremetev, Dmitry Trubetskoy, Dmitry Mamstrukovich and Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky, Ivan Golitsyn, Ivan Nikitich and Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, Pyotr Pronsky and Dmitry Pozharsky among the candidates.

Data from the “Report on Patrimonies and Estates of 1613,” which records land grants made immediately after the election of the Tsar, make it possible to identify the most active members of the “Romanov” circle. The candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1613 was supported not by the influential clan of Romanov boyars, but by a circle that spontaneously formed during the work of the Zemsky Sobor, composed of minor figures from the previously defeated boyar groups.

According to a number of historians, the decisive role in the election of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom was played by the Cossacks, who during this period became an influential social force. A movement arose among service people and Cossacks, the center of which was the Moscow courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and its active inspirer was the cellarer of this monastery, Abraham Palitsyn, a very influential person among both the militias and Muscovites. At meetings with the participation of cellarer Abraham, it was decided to proclaim 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich, the son of Rostov Metropolitan Philaret captured by the Poles, as tsar.

The main argument of Mikhail Romanov’s supporters was that, unlike elected tsars, he was elected not by people, but by God, since he comes from a noble royal root. Not kinship with Rurik, but closeness and kinship with the dynasty of Ivan IV gave the right to occupy his throne.

Many boyars joined the Romanov party, and he was also supported by the highest Orthodox clergy - the Consecrated Cathedral.

The election took place on February 17 (February 7, old style) 1613, but the official announcement was postponed until March 3 (February 21, old style), so that during this time it would become clear how the people would accept the new king.

Letters were sent to the cities and districts of the country with the news of the election of a king and the oath of allegiance to the new dynasty.

On March 23 (13, according to other sources, March 14, old style), 1613, the ambassadors of the Council arrived in Kostroma. At the Ipatiev Monastery, where Mikhail was with his mother, he was informed of his election to the throne.

The last 300-plus years of Russian autocracy (1613-1917) are historically associated with the Romanov dynasty, which secured the Russian throne during a period known as the Time of Troubles. The emergence of a new dynasty on the throne is always a major political event and is often associated with a revolution or coup, that is, the violent removal of the old dynasty. In Russia, the change of dynasties was caused by the suppression of the ruling branch of the Rurikovichs in the descendants of Ivan the Terrible. Problems of succession to the throne gave rise to a deep socio-political crisis, accompanied by the intervention of foreigners. Never in Russia have the supreme rulers changed so often, each time bringing a new dynasty to the throne. Among the contenders for the throne were representatives from different social strata, and there were also foreign candidates from among the “natural” dynasties. The kings became either the descendants of the Rurikovichs (Vasily Shuisky, 1606-1610), or those from among the untitled boyars (Boris Godunov, 1598-1605), or impostors (False Dmitry I, 1605-1606; False Dmitry II, 1607-1610 .). No one managed to gain a foothold on the Russian throne until 1613, when Mikhail Romanov was elected to the throne, and in his person a new ruling dynasty was finally established. Why did the historical choice fall on the Romanov family? Where did they come from and what were they like by the time they came to power?
The genealogical past of the Romanovs was quite clear already in the middle of the 16th century, when the rise of their family began. In accordance with the political tradition of that time, the genealogies contained a legend about the “departure.” Having become related to the Rurikovichs (see table), the boyar family of the Romanovs also borrowed the general direction of the legend: Rurik in the 14th “tribe” was derived from the legendary Prussian, and the ancestor of the Romanovs was recognized as a native of “Prussia”. The Sheremetevs, Kolychevs, Yakovlevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins and other families known in Russian history are traditionally considered to be of the same origin as the Romanovs (from the legendary Kambila).
An original interpretation of the origin of all clans with a legend about leaving “from Prussia” (with a primary interest in the ruling house of the Romanovs) was given in the 19th century. Petrov P. N., whose work has been republished in large quantities even today. (Petrov P. N. History of the families of the Russian nobility. Vol. 1–2, St. Petersburg, - 1886. Republished: M. - 1991. - 420 pp. ; 318 pp.). He considers the ancestors of these families to be Novgorodians who broke with their homeland for political reasons at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries. and went to serve the Moscow prince. The assumption is based on the fact that at the Zagorodsky end of Novgorod there was Prusskaya Street, from which the road to Pskov began. Its inhabitants traditionally supported the opposition against the Novgorod aristocracy and were called “Prussians.” “Why should we look for foreign Prussians?...” asks P.N. Petrov, calling to “dispel the darkness of fairy tales, which have hitherto been accepted as truth and who wanted to impose non-Russian origins on the Romanov family at all costs.”

Table 1.

The genealogical roots of the Romanov family (XII – XIV centuries) are given in the interpretation of P.N. Petrov. (Petrov P.N. History of the clans of the Russian nobility. T. 1–2, - St. Petersburg, - 1886. Republished: M. - 1991. - 420 pp.; 318 pp.).
1 Ratsha (Radsha, Christian name Stefan) is the legendary founder of many noble families of Russia: Sheremetevs, Kolychevs, Neplyuevs, Kobylins, etc. A native of “Prussian descent,” according to Petrov P.N., Novgorodian, servant of Vsevolod Olgovich, and maybe Mstislav the Great; according to another version of Serbian origin
2 Yakun (Christian name Mikhail), mayor of Novgorod, died as a monk with the name Mitrofan in 1206
3 Alexa (Christian name Gorislav), monastically St. Varlaam. Khutynsky, died in 1215 or 1243.
4 Gabriel, hero of the Battle of the Neva in 1240, died in 1241
5 Ivan is a Christian name, in the Pushkin family tree it is Ivan Morkhinya. According to Petrov P.N. before baptism his name was Gland Kambila Divonovich, he came “from Prussia” in the 13th century, and is the generally accepted ancestor of the Romanovs.;
6 Petrov P.N. considers this Andrei to be Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, whose five sons became the founders of 17 families of the Russian nobility, including the Romanovs.
7 Grigory Alexandrovich Pushka - the founder of the Pushkin family, mentioned in 1380. From him the branch was called Pushkin.
8 Anastasia Romanova is the first wife of Ivan IV, the mother of the last Tsar Rurikovich - Fyodor Ivanovich, through her the genealogical relationship of the Rurikovich dynasties with the Romanovs and Pushkins is established.
9 Fyodor Nikitich Romanov (born between 1554-1560, d. 1663) from 1587 - boyar, from 1601 - tonsured a monk with the name Filaret, patriarch from 1619. Father of the first king of the new dynasty.
10 Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - the founder of the new dynasty, elected to the throne in 1613 by the Zemsky Sobor. The Romanov dynasty occupied the Russian throne until the 1917 revolution.
11 Alexei Mikhailovich - Tsar (1645-1676).
12 Maria Alekseevna Pushkina married Osip (Abram) Petrovich Hannibal, their daughter Nadezhda Osipovna is the mother of the great Russian poet. Through it is the intersection of the Pushkin and Hannibal families.

Without discarding the traditionally recognized ancestor of the Romanovs in the person of Andrei Ivanovich, but developing the idea of ​​the Novgorod origin of “those who left Prussia”, P.N. Petrov. believes that Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla is the grandson of the Novgorodian Iakinthos the Great and is related to the Ratsha family (Ratsha is a diminutive of Ratislav. (see Table 2).
In the chronicle he is mentioned in 1146 along with other Novgorodians on the side of Vsevolod Olgovich (son-in-law of Mstislav, Grand Duke of Kyiv 1125-32). At the same time, Gland Kambila Divonovich, the traditional ancestor, “a native of Prussia,” disappears from the scheme, and until the middle of the 12th century. the Novgorod roots of Andrei Kobyla are traced, who, as mentioned above, is considered the first documented ancestor of the Romanovs.
The formation of the reigning since the beginning of the 17th century. clan and the allocation of the ruling branch is presented in the form of a chain of Kobylina – Koshkina – Zakharyina – Yuryevs – Romanovs (see Table 3), reflecting the transformation of the clan nickname into a surname. The rise of the family dates back to the second third of the 16th century. and is associated with the marriage of Ivan IV to the daughter of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin, Anastasia. (see Table 4. At that time, this was the only untitled surname that remained in the forefront of the Old Moscow boyars in the stream of new titled servants who surged to the sovereign’s Court in the second half of the 15th century - the beginning of the 16th century (princes Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Mstislavsky , Trubetskoy).
The ancestor of the Romanov branch was the third son of Roman Yuryevich Za-Kharin - Nikita Romanovich (d. 1586), the brother of Queen Anastasia. His descendants were already called Romanovs. Nikita Romanovich was a Moscow boyar from 1562, an active participant in the Livonian War and diplomatic negotiations, after the death of Ivan IV he headed the regency council (until the end of 1584). One of the few Moscow boyars of the 16th century who left a good memory among the people: name preserved by a folk epic depicting him as a good-natured mediator between the people and the formidable Tsar Ivan.
Of the six sons of Nikita Romanovich, the eldest was especially outstanding - Fyodor Nikitich (later Patriarch Filaret, the unofficial co-ruler of the first Russian Tsar of the Romanov family) and Ivan Nikitich, who was part of the Seven Boyars. The popularity of the Romanovs, acquired by their personal qualities, increased from the persecution they were subjected to by Boris Godunov, who saw them as potential rivals in the struggle for the royal throne.

Table 2 and 3.

Election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne. The rise to power of a new dynasty

In October 1612, as a result of the successful actions of the second militia under the command of Prince Pozharsky and the merchant Minin, Moscow was liberated from the Poles. A Provisional Government was created and elections to the Zemsky Sobor were announced, the convening of which was planned for the beginning of 1613. There was one, but extremely pressing issue on the agenda - the election of a new dynasty. They unanimously decided not to choose from foreign royal houses, but there was no unity regarding domestic candidates. Among the noble candidates for the throne (princes Golitsyn, Mstislavsky, Pozharsky, Trubetskoy) was 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov from a long-standing boyar, but untitled family. On his own, he had little chance of winning, but the interests of the nobility and the Cossacks, who played a certain role during the Time of Troubles, converged on his candidacy. The boyars hoped for his inexperience and intended to maintain their political positions, strengthened during the years of the Seven Boyars. The political past of the Romanov family also played into its favor, as discussed above. They wanted to choose not the most capable, but the most convenient. There was active campaigning among the people in favor of Michael, which also played an important role in his establishment on the throne. The final decision was made on February 21, 1613. Michael was chosen by the Council and approved by “the whole earth.” The outcome of the case was decided by a note from an unknown chieftain, who stated that Mikhail Romanov was the closest relative to the previous dynasty and could be considered a “natural” Russian tsar.
Thus, autocracy of a legitimate nature (by right of birth) was restored in his person. The opportunities for alternative political development of Russia, laid down during the Time of Troubles, or rather, in the then established tradition of electing (and therefore replacing) monarchs, were lost.
Behind Tsar Mikhail for 14 years stood his father, Fyodor Nikitich, better known as Philaret, patriarch of the Russian Church (officially since 1619). The case is unique not only in Russian history: the son occupies the highest government position, the father the highest church position. This is hardly a coincidence. Some interesting facts suggest some interesting facts about the role of the Romanov family during the Time of Troubles. For example, it is known that Grigory Otrepiev, who appeared on the Russian throne under the name of False Dmitry I, was a slave of the Romanovs before being exiled to a monastery, and he, having become a self-proclaimed tsar, returned Filaret from exile and elevated him to the rank of metropolitan. False Dmitry II, in whose Tushino headquarters Filaret was, promoted him to patriarch. But be that as it may, at the beginning of the 17th century. A new dynasty established itself in Russia, with which the state functioned for more than three hundred years, experiencing ups and downs.

Tables 4 and 5.

Dynastic marriages of the Romanovs, their role in Russian history

During the 18th century. Genealogical connections of the House of Romanov with other dynasties were intensively established, which expanded to such an extent that, figuratively speaking, the Romanovs themselves disappeared into them. These connections were formed mainly through the system of dynastic marriages that had been established in Russia since the time of Peter I (see Tables 7-9). The tradition of equal marriages in the conditions of dynastic crises, so characteristic of Russia in the 20-60s of the 18th century, led to the transfer of the Russian throne into the hands of another dynasty, the representative of which acted on behalf of the extinct Romanov dynasty (in male offspring - after death in 1730 Peter II).
During the 18th century. the transition from one dynasty to another was carried out both through the line of Ivan V - to representatives of the Mecklenburg and Brunswick dynasties (see table 6), and through the line of Peter I - to members of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty (see table 6), whose descendants occupied the Russian throne on behalf of the Romanovs from Peter III to Nicholas II (see Table 5). The Holstein-Gottorp dynasty, in turn, was a junior branch of the Danish Oldenburg dynasty. In the 19th century the tradition of dynastic marriages continued, genealogical connections multiplied (see Table 9), giving rise to the desire to “hide” the foreign roots of the first Romanovs, so traditional for the Russian centralized state and burdensome for the second half of the 18th – 19th centuries. The political need to emphasize the Slavic roots of the ruling dynasty was reflected in the interpretation of P.N. Petrov.

Table 6.

Table 7.

Ivan V was on the Russian throne for 14 years (1682-96) together with Peter I (1682-1726), initially under the regency of his elder sister Sophia (1682-89). He did not take an active part in governing the country, had no male descendants, his two daughters (Anna and Ekaterina) were married off based on the state interests of Russia at the beginning of the 18th century (see Table 6). In the conditions of the dynastic crisis of 1730, when the male descendants of the line of Peter I were extinguished, the descendants of Ivan V established themselves on the Russian throne: daughter Anna Ioannovna (1730-40), great-grandson Ivan VI (1740-41) under the regency of mother Anna Leopoldovna , in whose person the representatives of the Brunswick dynasty actually ended up on the Russian throne. The coup of 1741 returned the throne into the hands of the descendants of Peter I. However, having no direct heirs, Elizaveta Petrovna transferred the Russian throne to her nephew Peter III, whose father belonged to the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty. The Oldenburg dynasty (via the Holstein-Gottorp branch) is united with the House of Romanov in the person of Peter III and his descendants.

Table 8.

1 Peter II is the grandson of Peter I, the last male representative of the Romanov family (on his mother’s side, a representative of the Blankenburg-Wolfenbüttel dynasty).

2 Paul I and his descendants, who ruled Russia until 1917, in terms of origin, did not belong to the Romanov family (Paul I was a representative of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty on his father’s side, and an Anhalt-Zerbt dynasty on his mother’s side).

Table 9.

1 Paul I had seven children, of whom: Anna - the wife of Prince William, later King of the Netherlands (1840-49); Catherine - since 1809 the prince's wife
George of Oldenburg, married from 1816 to Prince William of Württemburg, who later became king; Alexandra’s first marriage was with Gustav IV of Sweden (before 1796), her second marriage was with Archduke Joseph, Hungarian stole, in 1799.
2 Daughters of Nicholas I: Maria - since 1839, the wife of Maximilian, Duke of Leitenberg; Olga has been the wife of the Württemberg Crown Prince since 1846, then of King Charles I.
3 Other children of Alexander II: Maria - since 1874, married to Alfred Albert, Duke of Edinburgh, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; Sergei - married to Elizaveta Fedorovna, daughter of the Duke of Hesse; Pavel has been married to the Greek royal Alexandra Georgievna since 1889.

On February 27, 1917, a revolution took place in Russia, during which the autocracy was overthrown. On March 3, 1917, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II signed his abdication in a military trailer near Mogilev, where Headquarters was located at that time. This was the end of the history of monarchical Russia, which was declared a republic on September 1, 1917. The family of the overthrown emperor was arrested and exiled to Yekaterinburg, and in the summer of 1918, when there was a threat of the city being captured by the army of A.V. Kolchak, they were shot on the orders of the Bolsheviks. Together with the emperor, his heir, his minor son Alexei, was liquidated. The younger brother Mikhail Alexandrovich, the heir of the second circle, in whose favor Nicholas II abdicated the throne, was killed a few days earlier near Perm. This is where the story of the Romanov family should end. However, excluding any legends and versions, we can reliably say that this family has not died out. The lateral branch, in relation to the last emperors, survived - the descendants of Alexander II (see table 9, continued). Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1876 - 1938) was next in line of succession to the throne after Mikhail Alexandrovich, the younger brother of the last emperor. In 1922, after the end of the civil war in Russia and the final confirmation of information about the death of the entire imperial family, Kirill Vladimirovich declared himself Guardian of the Throne, and in 1924 accepted the title of Emperor of All Russia, Head of the Russian Imperial House abroad. His seven-year-old son Vladimir Kirillovich was proclaimed heir to the throne with the title Grand Duke Heir Tsarevich. He succeeded his father in 1938 and was the Head of the Russian Imperial House abroad until his death in 1992 (see Table 9, continued.) He was buried on May 29, 1992 under the arches of the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg. The head of the Russian Imperial House (abroad) was his daughter Maria Vladimirovna.

Milevich S.V. - Methodological guide for studying the genealogy course. Odessa, 2000.

The Romanovs are a Russian boyar family that began its existence in the 16th century and gave rise to the great dynasty of Russian tsars and emperors who ruled until 1917.

For the first time, the surname “Romanov” was used by Fyodor Nikitich (Patriarch Filaret), who named himself so in honor of his grandfather Roman Yuryevich and father Nikita Romanovich Zakharyev, he is considered the first Romanov

The first royal representative of the dynasty was Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the last was Nikolai 2 Alexandrovich Romanov.

In 1856, the coat of arms of the Romanov family was approved; it depicts a vulture holding a golden sword and a tarch, and at the edges there are eight cut off lion heads.

“House of Romanov” is a designation for the totality of all the descendants of the different branches of the Romanovs.

Since 1761, the descendants of the Romanovs in the female line reigned in Russia, and with the death of Nicholas 2 and his family, there were no direct heirs left who could lay claim to the throne. However, despite this, today there are dozens of descendants of the royal family living all over the world, of varying degrees of kinship, and all of them officially belong to the House of Romanov. The family tree of the modern Romanovs is very extensive and has many branches.

Background to the Romanov reign

There is no consensus among scientists about where the Romanov family came from. Today, two versions are widespread: according to one, the ancestors of the Romanovs arrived in Rus' from Prussia, and according to the other, from Novgorod.

In the 16th century, the Romanov family became close to the king and could lay claim to the throne. This happened thanks to the fact that Ivan the Terrible married Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, and her entire family now became relatives of the sovereign. After the suppression of the Rurikovich family, the Romanovs (formerly the Zakharyevs) became the main contenders for the state throne.

In 1613, one of the Romanov representatives, Mikhail Fedorovich, was elected to the throne, which marked the beginning of the long reign of the Romanov dynasty in Russia.

Tsars from the Romanov dynasty

• Fedor Alekseevich;
• Ivan 5;

In 1721, Russia became an Empire, and all its rulers became emperors.

Emperors from the Romanov dynasty

The end of the Romanov dynasty and the last Romanov

Despite the fact that there were empresses in Russia, Paul 1 adopted a decree according to which the Russian throne could only be transferred to a boy - a direct descendant of the family. From that moment until the very end of the dynasty, Russia was ruled exclusively by men.

The last emperor was Nicholas 2. During his reign, the political situation in Russia became very tense. The Japanese War, as well as the First World War, greatly undermined the people's faith in the sovereign. As a result, in 1905, after the revolution, Nicholas signed a manifesto that gave the people extensive civil rights, but this did not help much either. In 1917, a new revolution broke out, as a result of which the tsar was overthrown. On the night of July 16-17, 1917, the entire royal family, including Nicholas's five children, was shot. Other relatives of Nicholas, who were in the royal residence in Tsarskoye Selo and other places, were also caught and killed. Only those who were abroad survived.

The Russian throne was left without a direct heir, and the political system in the country changed - the monarchy was overthrown, the Empire was destroyed.

Results of the Romanov reign

During the reign of the Romanov dynasty, Russia reached real prosperity. Rus' finally ceased to be a fragmented state, civil strife ended, and the country gradually began to gain military and economic power, which allowed it to defend its own independence and resist invaders.

Despite the difficulties that periodically occurred in the history of Russia, by the 19th century the country had turned into a huge, powerful Empire, which owned vast territories. In 1861, serfdom was completely abolished, and the country switched to a new type of economy and economy.