Personal life of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov

Since ancient times, the Rurik dynasty ruled in Rus'. The dynasty got its name after the founder of the Novgorod principality - Rurik. Her reign began in 862, when Rurik was called to reign. But the decline of the reign of the great dynasty came in 1598 and is associated with the death of its last representative, Fedor Ivanovich, son of Ivan the Fourth the Terrible. Fate turned so that Fedor had no heirs, and a representative of the great royal family of the Romanovs ascended the throne.
Born in 1598 in the family of the monk Filaret, in the world of Fyodor Nikitich, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov became the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty. The father's aunt was Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva, the wife of Ivan the Terrible. It turns out that Mikhail Fedorovich was the only relative who could really ascend the Russian throne.
Michael accepted the reign at the age of sixteen, after the decision of the Zemsky Sobor on February 21, 1613. The first thing the king did was to cleanse the country of enemies. By 1616, the last of the enemies of the Russian Empire, the Lithuanian rider Lisovsky, had died.
Russia's foreign policy has not progressed so well. Mikhail Fedorovich had to conclude the Stolbovsky peace with the Swedish king Gustav Adolf, who captured Novgorod. The signing of the treaty took place in 1617. However, this decision moved Moscow away from access to the Baltic Sea. Under the treaty, the Swedes were given the lands of Pit, Oreshek, Ivangorod and Koporye. Another treaty was signed with Poland in 1618. The signing of the Deulino truce was due to the fact that the Polish prince Vladislav claimed the Russian throne. Under the treaty, Poland received the Seversky lands and Smolensk. But the truce still rendered a service to Mikhail Fedorovich. Indeed, as a result of its signing, his father Fyodor Nikitich, who was detained by the Poles back in 1610 after unsuccessful negotiations, returned to the country. From that moment on, a period of dual power began in the country, since Filaret became the Moscow patriarch - the "great sovereign." The dual power ended in 1633 with the death of Fyodor Nikitich Romanov.
In 1632, the second Polish war began, Vladislav did not renounce the throne of Moscow, he was supported by the Polish government, which did not recognize Mikhail Fedorovich on the throne. The Turkish troops, who approached the Polish border, helped Russia end the war with Poland. In 1634, the Polyanovsky peace was concluded. Under the terms of the agreement, Vladislav renounced the Russian throne, but Russia had to pay twenty thousand rubles.
Mikhail Fedorovich tried in every possible way to avoid wars, he paid more attention to the internal improvement of the state. He tried to raise the state economically. The number of Zemsky Sobors was about twelve. They assisted the king in his reign. During the reign of the king, the military forces of the state are being dismantled, this is due to the precarious external position of the country. Under Mikhail Fedorovich, a new cadastre was started. A government school is founded in Moscow, and foreign scientists are also summoned by order of the tsar.
The personal life of the king at first develops somewhat unfavorably. The first wife of Dolgorukov, Marya, left the earth in 1623, this year was also the year of the wedding with the tsar. A year later, the tsar married a second time, but already to the daughter of a little nobleman Streshneva Evdokia. He had three daughters and a son Alexei Mikhailovich. In the year of his father's death, he was sixteen years old, it was in 1645.

Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (July 12, 1596 - July 13, 1645) - the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty (ruled from March 24, 1613). After the death of Patriarch Hermogenes (Germogenes), the Russian land "beheaded". The "Third Rome" turned out to be both without a Tsar and without a Patriarch. For the first time in Russian history, the Council of the Russian Land was convened - not by the will of the supreme ecclesiastical or highest secular authorities, but by the will of the people. The Zemsky Sobor, held in Moscow in January-February 1613, was the most representative of all the Zemsky Sobors. His meetings were held in the Assumption Cathedral, since in Moscow at that time there was no other room that could accommodate such a large society. According to the historian S.F. Platonov, at least 700 "delegates" took part in the Council (when Godunov was elected, there were 476 of them). It was indeed the "Russian National Assembly", whose representatives were especially concerned that their decision expressed the will of "the whole earth." The electives, although they had broad powers, still sent their decisions to the survey of cities. Having gathered after many years of cruel events, civil strife, people were divided by the recent past. It was still alive, and at first it made itself felt with mutual reproaches and accusations, especially since among the contenders for the Russian throne there were persons and families directly involved in the political conflicts of the Time of Troubles: Prince D.T. Trubetskoy, Prince V.V. Golitsyn, Prince F.I. Mstislavsky, Prince D.M. Pozharsky and some others.

All of them were distinguished by the antiquities of the family, but none of them had clear advantages for the throne. The name of the sixteen-year-old nephew of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the boyar Mikhail Romanov, was also mentioned. Avraamiy Palitsyn, the cellar of the Holy Trinity Monastery (Lavra), recalled: “And for many days all sorts of people of the entire Russian Kingdom spoke about this with great noise and weeping.” For the first time, after the fall of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, in the summer of 1610, the name of the boyar son, as the only person worthy of the royal dignity, was named by Patriarch Hermogen. But then the words of the Holy Shepherd were not heard. Now they have acquired the character of a great historical political action. The decision in favor of Mikhail Romanov turned out to be universal. As one of the authors rightly concluded, “only by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit can such a unanimous decision of a meeting of people be explained, who a year ago looked at each other as their worst enemies.” Much has been written and said about the Council of 1613, which became crucial in the history of Russia. “Various groups promoted their candidates, blocked others. The case threatened to drag on. And here a compromise was found. The Cossacks called out the name of 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov, who, after the liberation of the Kremlin, was in his estate in the Kostroma district ... The boyars also supported him, since the Romanovs were part of the elite of the Russian aristocracy, and Mikhail was the great-nephew of Anastasia Romanova, the first wife of Ivan the Terrible. In addition, the boyar group did not abandon the old idea - to put a monarch dependent on it on the Russian throne and thereby limit autocratic despotism. One of the influential boyar-electors argued: "Misha Romanov is young, he has not yet reached his mind, and he will be familiar with us." According to the ingenuous remark of the chronicler, "many are from the nobles, who want to be a king, bribe, many and give and promise many gifts." Be that as it may, but in the fact that on February 21, 1613 in the Assumption Cathedral, in front of the main altar of Rus', the name of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was unanimously approved - a sign of the special God's grace of Russia was revealed.

In the Time of Troubles twice before, the Russian land, at the zemstvo councils of 1598 and 1606, proclaimed the tsar and was twice mistaken. These failures cost too much, and everyone knew about it. It was not about "choice", as a kind of mechanical procedure for obtaining the maximum number of votes by one or another applicant, but about establishing "worthiness". General M.K. wrote very well about the Orthodox perception of the procedure for the election of the king. Diterichs (1874 - 1937), who investigated the circumstances of the murder of the Royal Family in Yekaterinburg. He made a detailed account of the circumstances of that atrocity. At the same time, the general carried out a historical reconstruction of popular ideas about royal power, in the system of understanding of which the events of 1613 were of key importance. “To Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov,” wrote M.K. Diterichs, - it is impossible to apply the definition that he was an “elected tsar”, since the actions that took place at the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 do not at all fit the concepts of “elections” established by the rules and trends of modern “civil ideas” .. The debate at the Zemsky Sobor focused not on the question of “whom to elect,” but on the question of “who can be king in Russia,” in accordance with the ideological concepts of power that existed at that time among the Russian people of “the whole earth” ... Zemstvo people 1613 of the year, having gathered to “choose” the Sovereign, they left it to the Lord God to “choose” the Tsar, waiting for the manifestation of this election in the fact that He would put in the heart of His Anointed One “one thought and affirmation” in the heart of all people. The Lord sends a king to people, and sends them when they are worthy to earn His mercy. And the destiny of the earthly is to discern this providential gift and accept it with a prayer of thanksgiving. Such is the highest spiritual meaning of the event that took place on February 21, 1613 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Even with the most thorough documentary reconstruction of the situation in 1613, the meaning of the event, its inner meaning, cannot be comprehended without taking into account providential predestination. For all the textural evidence and logical arguments still do not clarify the main thing: why exactly did Mikhail Romanov become the tsar in Rus'. Mikhail Romanov was little known. Father Fyodor Nikitich (c. 1564–1633), who became a monk in 1601 under the name Filaret, languished in Polish captivity. The mother, who under Godunov's compulsion took the tonsure under the name of Martha, was in the monastery. All the main boyar families, who fought for their advantages, actually bowed in favor of the foreign tsar. And only the righteous Patriarch Hermogenes, in his prayerful zeal, recognized the name of the future king. The people and all the delegates of the Council, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, bowed meekly in favor of a single decision. As noted by S.F. Platonov, "according to the general idea, God himself chose the Sovereign, and the whole Russian land rejoiced and rejoiced." A participant in those events, the cellar of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (Lavra), Avraamy Palitsyn, concluded that Mikhail Fedorovich "was chosen not from a man, but truly from God." He saw the proof of this exclusivity in the fact that during the "collection of votes" at the Council there was no disagreement. This, however, could happen, as Palitsyn concluded, only “at the sight of the One Almighty God.” Already after the election of Michael, after sending letters about "to all corners of the Russian land" and after the oath and the kiss of the cross - even after all this, Moscow did not know where the new Tsar was. The embassy sent to him at the beginning of March 1613 departed for Yaroslavl, or "where he, the Sovereign, will be." The chosen one was hiding in the Kostroma family estate "Domnino", and later, together with his mother, he moved to the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery, where the delegation of the Zemsky Sobor found him. As you know, initially both the nun Martha herself and her son Mikhail flatly refused the royal fate ... "God's work is the work, not the human mind ..." In the events of 1613, it was not worldly passions that won, not "political technologies", not group interests, but a religious idea. Michael became king not by the will of the well-born and eminent, not by the will of his parents, and not by virtue of pragmatic or selfish calculations of certain forces, but, as the researcher concluded, “by the pressure of the masses.” A reflection of this national enthusiasm was the Approved Diploma on the election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the Moscow State, signed by the participants of the Council and drawn up in May 1613. The Diploma contains various episodes of the following hours, when the future fate of Rus' was being decided and when mother and son stubbornly said “no” to all the groans and pleas of the assembled people. Then Archbishop Theodorit delivered a pastoral sermon, beginning with the words: “Merciful Sovereign Mikhailo Fedorovich! Do not be repugnant to the Higher God's providence, obey His holy will; no one is righteous, contrary to the words of the judgments of God. The archpastor outlined the gospel understanding of the duty of a Christian, referred to the authority of the Holy Fathers of the Church, and cited the unanimous decision of the Council as God's chosen one. "The voice of God is the voice of the people." Vladyka did not confine himself to announcing the unshakable rules of other laws and turned to historical examples related to the history of the Second Rome. This is a very important point, which makes it possible to understand that in the Russian mind "Russian history" and "Greek history" existed in a single conceptual space. The "Greek Kingdom" gave examples of how "should" and how "should not" live and rule. Both those and others in Rus' knew and drew answers to their seemingly very local questions from a long-standing storehouse of experience. The task for Christian authority is the same at all times. That is why Theodoret referred to the examples of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, the emperors Theodosius the Great, Justinian and other Constantinople emperors and basileus, who ruled by the will of God and affirmed the Cause of Christ on earth. The same fate is prepared for Mikhail Fedorovich, and he, as a Christian, cannot evade the fulfillment of the Will of the Most High. Prayers and exhortations broke the stubbornness of nun Martha and young Michael. The mother turned to her son with the words: “God's work is the work, not the human mind; if it be the will of God, so be it, and do it.” And Michael, shedding tears, accepted the royal burden as a Christian obedience. Mikhail Romanov arrived in Moscow, and on July 11, 1613, his wedding to the kingdom took place in the Assumption Cathedral.

Mikhail Romanov became the first tsar of the new dynasty, occupying the royal throne from 1613 to 1645. Under him, an amazing union was formed between the Priesthood and the Kingdom, which had no analogues either before or after. Under Mikhail Fedorovich, the functions of "kingdom" and "priesthood" were, as it were, harmonized in favor of the Church, when the spiritual shepherd played a decisive role in worldly affairs. The Romanov dynasty will rule Russia for more than three hundred years, until it tragically ends, again in July, in the basement of the Ipatiev House ... It is known that the Romanovs are the youngest branch of one of the most ancient Moscow boyar families of the Koshkins - Zakharyins - Yuryevs. In the earliest genealogies of the 16th-17th centuries, everyone unanimously called the progenitor of the clan Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, the boyar of the Grand Duke, who lived in the 14th century. The descendants of Andrei Kobyla are well known from various documents of medieval Rus'. But in vain to look for their names there. Then there was, as they say, a three-part form of the name: a proper name - father - grandfather. Fyodor Nikitich Romanov (father of the future Tsar Mikhail), his father Nikita Romanovich Yuryev, then Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin

After the absentee election to the kingdom of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the Zemsky Sobor appointed a large delegation headed by the Ryazan Archbishop Theodorit to go to him. The delegates-petitioners included Chudovsky, Novospassky and Simonovsky archimandrites, Trinity cellar Avraamy Palitsyn, boyars F.I. Sheremetev and V.I. Bakhteyarov-Rostovsky, okolnichiy F. Golovin, as well as stewards, clerks, residents and elected from cities. Due to the fact that no one knew the exact location of the newly elected tsar, their order was as follows: “Go to the Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Rus' in Yaroslavl or wherever he, sovereign, will be.” Only on the way did the delegates find out that Mikhail and his mother were in the Ipatiev Monastery not far from Kostroma, where they arrived on March 13, 1613. The next day they were given an audience. The first reaction of the nun Martha and her sixteen-year-old son to the news of the election of Michael as king was a decisive refusal, as chronicles note, "with anger and tears." There were serious reasons behind this refusal, for there are few examples in history when a new sovereign at such a young age would take the throne in such an extremely difficult situation. The main difficulty was that the state was at war with two powers at once - Poland and Sweden, which, having occupied part of the Russian territory, put forward their candidates for the Moscow throne. Moreover, one of the opponents had the father of the newly elected Moscow Tsar, Filaret (Fyodor) Nikitich Romanov, as a prisoner, and the accession of his son to the throne could adversely affect his fate. The internal state of the Muscovite kingdom was also difficult. The Cossack ataman Ivan Zarutsky continued to pose a great danger to the state with his unmarried wife and her son “tsarevich Ivan”, who had broad support from the Cossacks and the Russian freemen, who had unbelted during the years of the Time of Troubles and kept the population of almost all regions in fear, including the Moscow suburbs. But the most terrible danger for Mikhail and his mother lay, as they said then, in the cowardice of the Moscow people, who, having sworn successively to Boris Godunov, his son Fyodor, Grishka Otrepiev, Vasily Shuisky, the Tushinsky thief, Prince Vladislav, betrayed them one by one, guided by with their selfish motives. Mother and son had every right to fear that the new king would face the same fate - treason, followed by a shameful death. Nun Martha, of course, did not want such a fate for her son. And only the embassy's threat that "God will exact upon him the final ruin of the state," if Michael refuses to obey the will of the Earth about his election to the throne, melted the ice of mistrust. Martha blessed her son, and he received from the archpastor cathedral letters and a royal staff, promising to be in Moscow soon. However, the journey from Kostroma to Moscow dragged on for almost two months. As he approached the capital, Mikhail Fedorovich became more and more clearly aware that he was naked, poor and incompetent. The state treasury was empty, as were the food supplies of the royal court. The army, due to non-payment of salaries, broke up and was engaged in robbery for its own food. The roads were dominated by robbers, their own and others. The consequences of this insight were numerous royal letters, one after another leaving for Moscow. In them, Mikhail, presumably at the suggestion of his advisers, demanded from the Zemsky Sobor that the boyars, nobles, merchants fulfill their part of the “social contract”, namely, curb the robber gangs that roamed the cities and villages; they cleared the roads of robbers and murderers who paralyzed any movement of people and goods; restored the palace villages and volosts, which were the main source of replenishment of the royal treasury with cash, food and other supplies intended not only for the “royal household”, but also for the maintenance of the servants of the sovereign people. The impoverishment of the royal treasury reached the point that the royal train did not have enough horses and carts, in connection with which some of the people accompanying the king were forced to walk. Yes, and the capital city itself, as the corresponding correspondence testifies, was not ready to receive the king, because “in chorus, what the sovereign ordered to be prepared cannot be rebuilt soon, and there is nothing: there is no money in the treasury and there are few carpenters; chambers and mansions are all without a roof. There are no bridges, shops, doors and windows, everything must be made new, and the forest will soon not be able to get it.” Nevertheless, the tsarist train was slowly but surely approaching Moscow. From March 21 to April 16, the tsar was in Yaroslavl, on April 17 he arrived in Rostov, on April 23 - in the village of Svatkovo, and on April 25 - in the village of Lyubimovo. The next day, April 26, he solemnly entered the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and on Sunday, May 2, "Moscow people of all ranks" went out of town to meet their sovereign. On the same day, his solemn entry into the capital took place, and then a thanksgiving service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. July 11, 1613 is considered the birthday of the new dynasty. On this day, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was crowned king. Before the wedding, two stewards - Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky, a relative of the tsar, and the leader-liberator Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Pozharsky - were elevated to boyar dignity. After that, in the Assumption Cathedral, Metropolitan Ephraim of Kazan held an exciting ceremony of anointing and crowning the king. He was assisted by Prince Mstislavsky, who showered the tsar with gold coins, Ivan Nikitich Romanov, who held Monomakh's hat, the boyar, Prince Dmitry Timofeevich Trubetskoy, with a scepter, and the new boyar, Prince Pozharsky, with an apple (power). The next day, on the occasion of the royal name day, the new Duma nobleman Kuzma Minin was honored. The new tsar, unlike his predecessors, could not give any other awards, benefits, favors, gifts to the common people and noble people: the treasury was empty. The difficulty of the position of the new tsar was aggravated by the fact that, according to the researchers, there were no people in his inner circle, if not equal, then at least remotely resembling Metropolitan Alexy, Sylvester, Alexei Adashev or Boris Godunov. There were no people in his team who were able to formulate and consistently implement a state program that would meet the national requirements of the Russian people, exhausted by half a century of “strength tests” by the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, the natural disasters of Borisov’s reign, foreign invasion and internal unrest. As foreign observers noted, “all the tsar's close associates are ignorant youths; dexterous and business clerks - greedy wolves; all without distinction plunder and ruin the people. No one brings the truth to the king; there is no access to the king without great expense; Petitions cannot be submitted without huge money, and then it is still not known how the matter will end ... ". The first violin in this "orchestra" was played by the relatives of Mikhail's mother - Boris and Mikhail Saltykov, who cared exclusively about their official position and their enrichment, while the heroes of the First and Second People's Militias were relegated to the background or completely left the historical stage. Moreover, at every opportunity, new favorites, under various pretexts, tried to humiliate and infringe on them. Thus, Prince Pozharsky, who for parochial reasons refused to declare boyars to the newly granted boyar Boris Saltykov, was subjected to a humiliating procedure - “extradition in the head”. Issuance of the head is a rite of satisfaction of claims. In this case, the deacon brought Prince Pozharsky on foot to Saltykov's courtyard, placed him on the lower porch, and announced to Saltykov that the tsar was betraying Pozharsky to him with his head. Saltykov voiced Pozharsky his guilt before him and released him with the words: "The sword does not cut a guilty head." The only thing that saved the Muscovite kingdom from the resumption of turmoil was the active position and active role of the Zemsky Sobor and the Boyar Duma, which did everything in their power to bring the fatherland out of the crisis. After all, in essence, Mikhail Fedorovich, accepting the royal crown, seemed to be doing a favor to the Zemstvo. The Council, begging him to take responsibility for the fate of the state, for its part, undertook the obligation to restore order in the country: to stop civil strife, robbery and robbery, to create acceptable conditions for the exercise of sovereign functions, to fill the royal treasury with everything necessary for a worthy "everyday life" of the royal court and maintenance of the troops. The popularly elected Zemsky Sobor began to fulfill its obligations immediately, as evidenced by his correspondence with Mikhail. Here is an extract from his report to the tsar, who was still on the way: “To collect supplies, it was sent and it was written to the collectors that they hastily go to Moscow with supplies ... A strong order was made about robberies and thefts, we are looking for thieves and robbers and order them to be punished. Nobles and children of the boyars without the sovereign's decree from Moscow, we did not let anyone go, and who went home, they were all ordered to be at the sovereign's arrival in Moscow. The Council sent an embassy to the Polish king with a proposal for a truce and an exchange of prisoners, and letters were sent to the "stolen" Cossacks and numerous gangs of "walking people" with a proposal to stop "fratricide" and go to serve the newly elected tsar against the Swedish king, who captured Veliky Novgorod and its environs. ... Having learned about the election of Mikhail Romanov as tsar, the Poles tried to prevent him from taking the throne. A small detachment of Poles went to the Ipatiev Monastery in order to kill Mikhail, but got lost along the way. A simple peasant Ivan Susanin, having given "consent" to show the way, led them into a dense forest. After torture, Susanin was hacked to death, without showing the way to the monastery, the Poles also died - the attempt failed.

Upon his return to Moscow, Filaret agreed to be patriarch. From that moment (1619) there were actually two sovereigns in Rus': Mikhail - the son, Filaret - the father. State affairs were decided by both, the relationship between them, according to the chronicles, was friendly, although the patriarch had a large share in the government. With the arrival of Filaret, the troubled and powerless time ended. Under Mikhail Fedorovich, a war was waged with Sweden, as a result of which, according to the Stolbovsky Peace of 1617, the Novgorod lands returned to Russia, and the shores of the Baltic Sea remained with Sweden. It was not possible to win back Smolensk and a number of Russian territories from Poland during the war of 1632-1634. The colonization of Siberia and the construction of the notch lines - defensive structures on the southern outskirts of the state - were successfully continued.

The first Russian ruler from the new Romanov dynasty was Mikhail Romanov, elected by the vote of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, whose parents were Xenia Ioannovna Shestova and Fyodor Nikitich Romanov. Thus, Michael himself turned out to be the closest relative to the former Russian tsars. It should be noted that the Polish prince Vladislav and the Swedish prince Carl-Philip also acted as contenders.

After the liberation of the city of Moscow by Pozharsky and Minin, the future tsar and his mother settled in the Ipatiev Monastery. The father of the future ruler, after his accession to his son, became a patriarch, and in fact he managed the state until 1633.

Having learned about the election of the king, the Poles tried to prevent this. So, a small detachment advanced to the monastery in order to eliminate Mikhail, but thanks to Ivan Susanin, the detachment died without finding the right path, and Ivan himself was cut down by the Poles.

The economy of the state, which was in decline after the failures of the seventeenth century, began to gradually recover. For example, in 1617 a peace treaty is concluded with Sweden, followed by the return of the previously captured Novgorod region. After the signing of an agreement with the government of Poland in 1618, Polish troops completely left the Russian land. However, Chernigov, Smolensk and Seversk territories were lost. At the same time, Prince Vladislav did not recognize the legal rights of Tsar Mikhail Romanov and claimed that he himself was the Russian Tsar. The frequent raids of the Tatars, which were provoked by Turkey, led to the creation during the reign of Mikhail of serif lines, which were used by the Don Cossacks to fight. Also, in the same period, friendly relations were established with Persia, and the Russian territories of the state were significantly increased due to the conquest of Siberia. Under Mikhail, the taxation of the so-called townspeople was significantly increased.

During the reign of Romanov, there was an attempt to form a regular army, and the officers at the head of the new regiments were foreigners. Already in the last years of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, dragoon regiments were formed that guarded the external borders of the country.

The biography of this ruler ended with his death in 1645, and his power passed to his son

Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1596-1645) - the first Russian tsar from the Romanov family. He ruled the Moscow kingdom from 1613 to 1645. The Romanovs themselves were the most ancient family of the Moscow boyars. Known since the first half of the 14th century. But at first they were called Zakharyins-Yurievs. From this family came the first and beloved wife of Ivan the Terrible Anastasia. She was revered for her kindness, meekness, and among the people she was lovingly called Dove.

Patriarch Filaret, who came from this boyar family, was also the first to take the surname Romanov in honor of his grandfather Roman. Mikhail was Filaret's son. In the difficult years of the Time of Troubles, the future tsar found himself in exile along with his uncles, father and mother at the behest of Boris Godunov. Then the representatives of the disgraced family returned to Moscow. In 1612, the boy settled with his mother Xenia Ivanovna in the village of Domnino near Galich, where the family estate was located.

However, soon the fate of the young man changed dramatically. In Moscow, the Zemsky Sobor was held, at which young Mikhail was elected king on February 21, 1613. Upon learning of this, the Poles sent a detachment to Galich to capture the new king. The peasant Ivan Susanin became the conductor of the detachment. His Polish invaders met him on the way to the village of Domnino and demanded that he show the way.

Ivan Susanin and the Poles

Susanin sent his son-in-law to the Romanovs to warn of the danger, and he himself led the Polish detachment in a completely different direction. He led the enemies into the forest thicket and was cut down by them. But by his feat, a simple peasant saved the future sovereign and founder of a new dynasty for Russia.

Alert of the danger, Ksenia Ivanovna and her son Mikhail took refuge in the Ipatiev Monastery, located in the city of Kostroma. It was there that representatives of the Zemsky Sobor arrived. On March 14, 1613, they solemnly announced to Mikhail Fedorovich that he had been elected to the kingdom. And the Ipatiev Monastery from that time began to be considered the cradle of the Romanov dynasty. In it, in 1913, the 300th anniversary of the great dynasty was solemnly celebrated.

The reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613-1645)

The solemn wedding to the kingdom took place in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on June 11, 1613. They placed the cap of Monomakh on the head of the young sovereign, and he became the sovereign ruler of the Russian land. But given his young years, the young king did not rule independently. The real power was in the hands of Xenia Ivanovna (nun Martha) and her relatives.

In 1619, the father of the young sovereign, Patriarch Filaret (Fyodor Romanov), returned from Polish captivity. When he entered Moscow, the son met his father, kneeling at the city gates. Filaret was a strong and strong-willed person. He lived a hard, full of trials life, so he had no experience. Until his death in 1633, he ruled with his son and bore the title of Grand Sovereign.

When Patriarch Filaret entered Moscow,
Mikhail met his father on his knees

The tasks facing the Romanovs were extremely difficult. After the Time of Troubles, the country was poor and defenseless against numerous enemies. Therefore, Filaret put the ability to negotiate with his subjects and foreign states at the forefront. But above all, the patriarch decided to strengthen the position of the new dynasty. And for this, it was necessary to urgently marry Mikhail so that heirs would appear.

Around the choice of the bride at the royal court, the struggle was always in full swing, as the queen's relatives received high positions and material benefits. For a long time, Marya Khlopova was listed as the bride of the young tsar. However, one day the girl overate sweets and got sick. She was immediately slandered in front of the groom, telling him that Marya was terminally ill. Michael immediately refused the bride.

Of the many young girls, he chose Mary Dolgoruky. But soon the new bride died. Apparently she was poisoned out of envy. Then the enviable groom chose a new bride. She became Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva. She was a beautiful girl, but came from an humble noble family.

Wife of Mikhail Fedorovich Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva

The wedding was played in 1626. The queen bore the sovereign 10 children. Of these, six died in infancy. 3 daughters and 1 son Alexei survived to adulthood. It was he who became the second tsar of the Romanov family after the death of his father in 1645.

As for political activity, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov managed to overcome the difficult consequences of the Time of Troubles and restored normal economy and trade in the country.

In 1617, the Stolbovsky Peace ended the war with Sweden. Russia received back the lands of Veliky Novgorod.

In 1634, the Polyanovsky Peace was concluded with the Commonwealth and relations with the Western powers were resumed. Foreign embassies again settled in Moscow.

The activities of the orders were restored and the collection of taxes was established, which was of great importance for the state treasury. The local authorities managed to destroy the gangs of robbers, which formed a lot during the Time of Troubles.

Coins that were in circulation under Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov

In the early 1930s, the army was reformed. Soldiers, reytarsky and dragoon regiments appeared. Arms factories were built near Tula, iron-smelting production began to develop actively.

The German Sloboda was founded on the territory of Moscow. Foreign specialists began to settle in it. As the century passed, these people played a big role in the reforms of the last Moscow tsar and the first emperor of the Russian state, Peter I.

The first tsar of the Romanov dynasty died on July 13, 1645 at the age of 49. It is assumed that he died of peritoneal dropsy. A month later, Queen Evdokia also died. The new tsar, Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, ascended the throne.

Alexey Starikov

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 king's son Karl-Philip had more supporters, among them - the leader of the Zemstvo army, Prince Pozharsky. Why did the patriot of the Russian land opt for a foreign prince? Perhaps the antipathy of the "thin" Pozharsky to domestic applicants - the well-born boyars, who in the Time of Troubles more than once betrayed those to whom they swore allegiance, had an effect. He feared that the “boyar tsar” would sow the seeds of a 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 it was Pozharsky's "maneuver", since in the end only Russian applicants, noble princes, participated in the struggle for the royal throne. The head of the infamous "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 leaders of the militia Dmitry Trubetskoy and Dmitry Pozharsky did not differ in nobility. But the new king must unite the country split by the Time of Troubles. The question was: how to give preference to one family, so that a new round of boyar civil strife would 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. In favor of the candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich, the boyar Fyodor Sheremetyev actively campaigned. He assured the obstinate boyars that Mikhail "is young and will be familiar to us." In other words, become their puppet. But the boyars did not allow themselves to be persuaded: in the preliminary vote, the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov did not get the required number of votes.

no-show

When Romanov was elected, an overlay arose: the Cathedral demanded the arrival of the young applicant in Moscow. The Romanov party could not allow this: an inexperienced, timid, inexperienced young man in intrigues would have made an unfavorable impression on the delegates of the Council. 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 it not then that the legend about the feat of Ivan Susanin, who saved the life of the future tsar, arose? After a heated debate, the Romanovs succeeded in persuading the Council to cancel the decision on Michael's arrival.

tightening

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 see through their thoughts in all sorts of people." The voice of the people, of course, is the voice of God, but isn't two weeks not enough to monitor the public opinion of a large country? It is not easy for a messenger to get to Siberia, for example, even in two months. Most likely, the boyars counted on the departure from Moscow of the most active supporters of Mikhail Romanov - the Cossacks. If the stanitsa get bored, they say, to sit idle in the city, they will disperse. The Cossacks really dispersed, so much so that the boyars did not seem a little ...

The role of Pozharsky

Let's return to Pozharsky and his lobbying for the Swedish candidate for the Russian throne. In the autumn of 1612, the militia captured a Swedish spy. Until January 1613, he languished in captivity, but shortly before the beginning 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 most of the 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 there should not be a foreigner on the Russian throne, the sovereign should be elected "from Moscow families, which God wills." 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 Charles Philip, in order to prevent Swedish interference in the election of the king. The Russians hardly repelled the Polish onslaught, and a campaign against Moscow by the Swedish army could also turn out to be fatal. Pozharsky's "cover operation" was successful: the Swedes did not move. That is why on February 20, Prince Dmitry, safely forgetting about the Swedish prince, proposed to the Zemsky Sobor to choose a tsar from the Romanov family, and then he put his signature on the conciliar charter on the election of Mikhail Fedorovich. During the coronation of the new sovereign, it was Pozharsky who was given a high honor by Mikhail: the prince presented him with one of the symbols of power - the royal power. Modern political technologists can only envy such a competent PR move: the savior of the Fatherland hands the state to the new tsar. Beautiful. Looking ahead, we note that until his death (1642) Pozharsky faithfully served Mikhail Fedorovich, taking advantage of his unchanging location. It is unlikely that the tsar would have favored someone who wanted to see not him, but some Swedish prince on the throne of the Ruriks.

Cossacks

A special role in the selection of the king belongs to the Cossacks. An interesting 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 the king by casting lots, but the hope for "maybe", in which any forgery is possible, seriously angered the Cossacks. Cossack orators smashed the boyar "tricks" to smithereens 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 supporters of the Romanovs, and 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", having achieved the election of Mikhail. The unknown author of the Tale (probably an eyewitness of what is happening) does not spare colors, describing the reaction of the boyars: “At that time, the Bolyar was obsessed with fear and trembling, and their faces were changing with blood, and not a single one could say 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 in full mind." To which the Cossack wits objected: “But you, Ivan Nikitich, are an old verst, in full mind ... you will be a strong potor to him.” Mikhail did not forget Uncle's assessment of his mental abilities and subsequently removed Ivan Kasha from all state affairs. The Cossack demarche came as a complete surprise to Dmitry Trubetskoy: “His face is black, and falling into an ailment, and lying for many days, without leaving his courtyard from the mountain, that the Cossacks exhausted the treasury and recognized them as 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-in-arms, generously endowed them with a "treasury" - and suddenly they were on the side of Mikhail. Perhaps the Romanov party paid more?

British recognition

On February 21 (March 3), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor made a historic decision: to elect Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom. The first country to recognize the new sovereign was England: in the same year, 1613, the embassy of John Metric arrived in Moscow. Thus began the history of the second and last royal dynasty of Russia. It is significant that throughout his reign, Mikhail Fedorovich showed a special attitude towards the British. So, after the Time of Troubles, Mikhail Fedorovich restored relations with the British "Moscow Company" and although he curtailed the freedom of action of English merchants, he nevertheless put them on favorable terms not only with other foreigners, but also with representatives of the Russian "big business".