Election of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov Elected people gathered in Moscow in January 1613. From Moscow they asked the cities to send the best, strong and reasonable people for the royal choice. Cities, by the way, had to think not only about the election of the king, but also how to build

The end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries became in Russian history a period of socio-political, economic and dynastic crisis, which was called the Time of Troubles. The beginning of the Time of Troubles was laid by 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 the overthrow of Tsar Boris Godunov and the transfer of the throne to the "legitimate" sovereign, as well as the appearance of impostors of 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 let the Polish army into the capital.

Since 1611, patriotic sentiments began to grow in Russia. The First Militia, formed against the Poles, failed to drive the foreigners out of Moscow. And in Pskov, a new impostor False Dmitry III showed up. In the autumn of 1611, at the initiative of Kuzma Minin, Nizhny Novgorod led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, the formation of the Second Militia began. In August 1612, it approached Moscow and liberated it in the fall. The leadership of the Zemstvo militia began preparations for the electoral Zemsky Sobor.

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

The Zemsky Sobor began its work on January 16 (January 6, according to the old style), 1613. Representatives of "all the land" 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."

Council meetings took place in an atmosphere of fierce rivalry between various political groups that had taken shape in Russian society during the years of the Time of Troubles and sought to strengthen their position by electing their pretender to the royal throne. The participants of the council put forward more than ten pretenders to the throne. In various sources, 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 are named among the candidates.

The data of the "Report statement on estates and estates of 1613", which recorded land grants made immediately after the election of the king, 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 the Romanov boyars, but by a circle spontaneously formed in the course of the work of the Zemsky Sobor, made up of minor persons of the previously crushed boyar groups.

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

The main argument of Mikhail Romanov's supporters boiled down to the fact 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 proximity and kinship with the dynasty of Ivan IV gave the right to occupy his throne.

Many boyars joined the Romanov party, he was 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 by that time it would become clear how the people would accept the new king.

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

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

The first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was born on July 22 (July 12, according to the old style), 1596 in Moscow.

His father is Fedor Nikitich Romanov, Metropolitan (later Patriarch Filaret), his mother is Xenia Ivanovna Shestova (later nun Martha). Mikhail was the cousin-nephew of the last Russian tsar from the Moscow branch of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ivanovich.

In 1601, together with his parents, he was disgraced by Boris Godunov. Lived in exile. Since 1605 he returned to Moscow, where he was captured by the Poles, who captured the Kremlin. In 1612, freed by the militia of Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, he left for Kostroma.

On March 3 (February 21, old style), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Romanovich to reign.

On March 23 (March 13, old style), 1613, the Council's ambassadors arrived in Kostroma. In the Ipatiev Monastery, where Mikhail was with his mother, he was informed of his election to the throne.

The Poles arrive in Moscow. A small detachment went to kill Mikhail, but got lost along the way, because the peasant Ivan Susanin, agreeing to show the way, led him into a dense forest.

June 21 (June 11, old style) 1613 Mikhail Fedorovich in Moscow in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.

In the first years of Mikhail's reign (1613-1619), the real power was with his mother, as well as her relatives from the Saltykov boyars. From 1619 to 1633, the father of the tsar, Patriarch Filaret, who returned from Polish captivity, ruled the country. With the dual power that existed at that time, state letters were written on behalf of the Sovereign Tsar and His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the wars with Sweden (Stolbovsky peace, 1617) and the Commonwealth (Deulinsky truce, 1618, later - Polyanovsky peace, 1634) were stopped.

Overcoming the consequences of the Time of Troubles required the centralization of power. On the ground, the system of voivodeship administration grew, the order system was restored and developed. Since the 1620s, the activities of Zemsky Sobors have been limited to advisory functions. They met 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 (reiter, dragoon, soldier regiments) began, the rank and file of which were "eager free people" and dispossessed boyar children, the officers were foreign military specialists. At the end of the reign of Michael, 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 term for capturing fugitive peasants was increased from five to nine years. In 1641, another year was added to it. Peasants taken out by other owners were allowed to search for up to 15 years. This testified to the growth of feudal tendencies in the legislation on land and peasants.

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

In the Kremlin in 1624, the Filaret belfry was erected. 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. Everything was restored in the Kremlin royal palaces, new trading shops were built in Kitai-Gorod.

In 1632, an enterprise for training in velvet and damask craft appeared in Moscow - Velvet Yard (in mid-seventeenth centuries, its premises served as a storehouse of weapons). The center of textile production was Kadashevskaya Sloboda with the sovereign Khamovny yard.

In 1633, machines were installed in the Sviblova tower of the Kremlin to supply water from the Moscow 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, all the Kremlin cathedrals were repainted, including the Assumption Cathedral (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. Buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

First wife - Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova. The marriage was childless.

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

Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (1629-1676, reigned 1645-1676) became the heir to the throne.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Born in 1596 in the family of the Moscow Romanov boyars: Fyodor Nikitich (later - Patriarch Filaret) and his wife Xenia Ivanovna. Mikhail Fedorovich was the great-nephew of Ivan the Terrible and cousin-nephew of the last Russian tsar from the Moscow branch of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ivanovich.

During the Time of Troubles, Boris Godunov considered the Romanovs as his main rivals who wanted to take the Moscow throne. Therefore, very soon the whole family fell into disgrace. In 1600, Fyodor Nikitich, together with his wife, forcibly took the tonsure and left worldly life under the names Filaret and Martha. This deprived them of their right to the crown.

In 1605, False Dmitry I came to power. In an effort to confirm his belonging to the royal family, the impostor ordered the return of the Romanovs from exile. By coincidence, the released Filaret took the main church post under False Dmitry. When the impostor was overthrown by Vasily Shuisky, Filaret, from 1608, assumed the role of the “named patriarch” of the new impostor False Dmitry II, who set up his camp in Tushino. However, before the enemies of the "Tushino thief" Filaret called himself his prisoner.

• Unknown artist. Portrait of nun Martha (Xenia Ivanovna Shestova)

After some time, Filaret flatly refused to sign the agreement drawn up by the Poles on the transfer of the Russian throne to the Polish prince, the Catholic Vladislav. For disobedience, the Poles arrested Filaret and released him only in 1619, when a truce was concluded with Poland.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Romanov spent several years in the Vladimir region on his uncle's estate. In Moscow, he found himself in the midst of the Polish-Lithuanian occupation, after Vasily Shuisky was overthrown and the Seven Boyars were established. In the winter of 1612, nun Martha and her son took refuge in their estate near Kostroma, and then fled from the Polish-Lithuanian persecution in the Ipatiev Monastery.

Only with the liberation of the capital in 1613 did the revival of Russian statehood become possible. Therefore, at the beginning of the same year, the first all-estate Zemsky Sobor was convened, in which both the townspeople and the rural inhabitants took part. A new ruler was to be elected by voting.

"Consolidating Figure"

“The accession of Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne became possible after the very difficult trials of the Time of Troubles, the self-organization of the zemstvo worlds, which formed the first and second militia for the liberation of Moscow in 1612. It was the Zemsky Council of All the Land that convened a council to elect a tsar, and after the election of Mikhail Romanov on March 3, 1613, he received power from all the ranks of the Russian state. What was important was the initial general agreement with the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov as a relative of the last legitimate tsar before the Troubles, Fyodor Ivanovich, ”the doctor said in an interview with RT historical sciences, Professor of Ryazan state university named after Sergei Yesenin Vyacheslav Kozlyakov.

• Ivanov S.V. "Zemsky Sobor" (1908)

More than ten candidates were put forward at the Zemsky Sobor, including princes Dmitry Trubetskoy and Dmitry Pozharsky. "Foreign princes" were no longer considered as contenders for the Russian throne.

“Mikhail Fedorovich turned out to be a consolidating figure for many. After the Time of Troubles, when the militias liberated Moscow, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich was perceived as the last legitimate tsar, after which the elected tsars appeared, who had no direct relation to this tradition, impostors. Mikhail was the closest relative of the last legitimate Moscow tsar from the Rurik dynasty, ”Yevgeny Pchelov, head of the department of auxiliary and special historical disciplines of the Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State University for the Humanities, said in an interview with RT.

The expert also emphasized that Mikhail Fedorovich was all the time outside the political struggle that unfolded during the Time of Troubles, he personally did not declare claims to the throne, did not take part in the meetings of the Council. But it was his figure that symbolized the continuity of power.

A heavy legacy

“After the election of the tsar, the restoration of power immediately began, which was reduced to the order “as usual”. No one took revenge on anyone, the boyars, who were sitting in Moscow during its siege by the Zemstvo militias, remained in power and again entered the Boyar Duma. Nevertheless, the first years of the reign of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich turned out to be very difficult, but at that time the priorities were correctly set: the restoration of the state, the pacification of the rebellious Cossacks, the return of the lost territories, ”says Kozlyakov.

After the conclusion of a truce with Poland, the Poles in 1619 released Filaret from captivity. It is widely believed that until the death of the patriarch in 1633, all power was in fact in his hands.

“Despite the great role of Filaret, Mikhail Fedorovich was a completely independent sovereign, but he inevitably had to rely on someone's support and help for several years of the first period of his reign. The Zemsky Sobor provided great support to Mikhail Fedorovich, ”Pchelov believes.

Experts say that the first years of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, when the new sovereign was surrounded by a kindred circle of the Romanov boyars, the princes Cherkassky, Sheremetev and Saltykov (relatives of the tsar's mother), seem to give reason to assert that the tsar was a weak and weak-willed ruler.

“At the same time, the main problems of the kingdom, connected with the war or the collection of emergency taxes, were still resolved with the help of Zemsky Sobors. With the predominance of the tsar's relatives in the Duma, representatives of other clans of the princely aristocracy also remained there. And no one in the "Romanov" party could have become strong enough to replace the tsar. Even with the return of the tsar’s father, the future Moscow Patriarch Filaret, in 1619, the concept of the primacy of tsarist power did not change, ”Kozlyakov explained.

• Patriarch Filaret
• globallookpress.com

According to the expert, historians can talk for a long time about a kind of "dual power of great sovereigns" - the king and the patriarch. But the role of Mikhail Fedorovich and the Boyar Duma in all matters remained decisive. Patriarch Filaret also supported him in this, after whose return Zemsky Sobors ceased to convene. Tsar Mikhail Romanov made compromises in order to take into account the opinion of his father, but this was not based on lack of will and fear, but on warm relations between father and son, as evidenced by the preserved correspondence between the tsar and the patriarch.

After the death of Filaret, Michael ruled independently for 12 years. And the people remembered him as a righteous and honest sovereign. Mikhail Fedorovich was not a supporter of strict rules. For example, for the management of cities, he introduced the institution of governors, but after the petitions of the townspeople, it was not difficult for him to replace them with elected representatives of the zemstvo nobility. The young ruler regulated the collection of taxes. The unit of taxation was the share of land and special enterprises (bakery, mills, craft shops). For reliable accounting, scribe books were issued, which restrained the arbitrariness of tax collectors.

Under Mikhail Fedorovich, work began on the search natural resources, iron-smelting, weapons, brick and many other factories were built. It was he who founded the German Quarter in Moscow - a place of settlement for foreign engineers and military men, who in the era of Peter I will play a big role.

“If Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich had been such a weak ruler, there would have been no transformation in the second part of his reign (after the death of his parents) in the 1630-1640s. I could not have established myself," emphasizes Kozlyakov.

But the most important thing that Mikhail Fedorovich managed to do was to bring the country out of the deepest crisis into which the Time of Troubles plunged it.

“The heyday of the Moscow kingdom of the times of Alexei Mikhailovich, his son, was laid down under Mikhail Fedorovich. The war with the Commonwealth was ended, a peace treaty was concluded with Sweden. Of course, the Smolensk War of the 1630s was not very successful. Nevertheless, the country recovered after the Time of Troubles and began to confidently move forward, ”concluded Pchelov.

Mikhail Fedorovich

The name of the first tsar from the House of Romanov is Mikhail. He was offered the royal crown by the Great Zemsky Sobor in January 1613, during the Time of Troubles, when Russia experienced severe trials for more than ten years. The royal family of Rurikovich, who ruled in Rus' for more than seven hundred years, was interrupted. On the throne, one king succeeded another. Numerous troubles fell upon Muscovy: crop failures, famine, devastation, civil strife, invasions of Poles who attempted on the royal crown. Truly a time of adversity and anarchy, in a word, Troubles ...

And so, letters were sent to the cities with an order: “the best and most reasonable” representatives of different classes to come to Moscow to choose a tsar. Gathered in the Kremlin. Several candidates were discussed. Of course, it was not without controversy and long discussions. There were even proposals to give the Moscow throne to foreign princes - Swedish, Philip, or Polish, Vladislav. But the general opinion nevertheless leaned in favor of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, as the closest relative of the former tsars. The decision of the Council was supported by the people who gathered at the walls of the Kremlin. When the boyars went to Red Square and asked whom to call for the kingdom, there was a unanimous cry: "Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov."

The surname Romanov came from the voivode Roman, who served under the Russian Tsar Ivan IV, who was nicknamed Terrible for his cruelty. The daughter of this boyar-governor, Anastasia, was chosen as the bride of the king and became his first wife. And it happened quite by accident. There was a custom in Rus': when the tsar declared that he wanted to marry, letters were sent throughout the district about the collection of girls in Moscow to select the tsar's bride. The requirements for girls were, perhaps, even stricter than at modern beauty contests: not only external beauty, high growth, stately figure, good complexion, but also meek disposition and reasonableness were valued. The choice of Tsar Ivan fell on Anastasia, who belonged to the ancient Moscow boyar family of the Romanovs, who had been well known in Moscow for a long time and gave the Moscow sovereigns many devoted and capable servants. It was one of the richest boyar families. Through the marriage of Ivan IV with Anastasia, the Romanovs became related to the royal house.

There is, however, another version, according to which the progenitor of the Romanovs on Russian soil was Glanda-Kambila Divonovich, the brother of the Prussian prince, who moved to Russia from Livonia or Prussian lands at the end of the 13th century and was named Ivan. This point of view is expounded by some German authors, who believe that perhaps this is why the Romanovs pursued a policy friendly to foreigners almost all the time of their reign.

In Russian historical research this version is not shown. They state that Romanov was elected tsar because he belonged to the family of Anastasia, who became the wife of the tsar and was revered by the people.

Yes, and Tsar Ivan IV himself fell in love with his first wife with tender love, and in total Ivan the Terrible had seven wives. Throughout the years of marriage, Tsarina Anastasia had a good influence on her husband. He was interested in talking with her, sharing thoughts and thoughts, listening to her wise advice. Anastasia even managed to soften her anger and curb the violent temper of her formidable husband.

The queen gave birth to two daughters, who, however, died before reaching two years. In the fifth year of marriage - and there were only thirteen of them - the queen had a son, the long-awaited heir. The joy of Tsar Ivan knew no bounds. But Dmitry, as the child was called, was not destined to take the royal throne. There was a misfortune. The king, along with his wife and the little prince, once went on a pilgrimage, and on the way to the monastery the boy caught a cold and died. Poor parents... You can imagine how they mourned their child. Their grief was muffled only by the birth of another son, named Ivan. It was him, many years later, in a fit of anger, Tsar Ivan the Terrible killed him with his staff. Fortunately, Anastasia did not witness this tragedy. She, having given birth to another son, Fedor, who then inherited the royal throne from his father, died at the age of thirty, leaving a good memory among the people.

All of Moscow buried her, many tears were shed. Meek and kind, the first Russian tsarina was sincerely loved by her subjects. And now the people remembered her, calling her great-nephew, Mikhail Romanov, the king.

Letters about the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom were sent everywhere. And an embassy was sent to the newly elected tsar, whose whereabouts there was no reliable information ... Mikhail was at that time in the Ipatiev Monastery with his mother, nun Marfa Ivanovna, away from the vain Moscow. He did not even think about the royal throne: he was then only the seventeenth year.

The fate of the family of the Romanov boyars was not easy. When Mikhail was five years old, his parents were forcibly tonsured monks and separated. This was done at the behest of Tsar Boris Godunov, who did not have direct ties with the Rurikovichs and showed distrust of the Romanovs, who were related to the former tsars. The last king of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ioannovich, was a cousin of Mikhail's father. Tsarina Anastasia was the aunt of the boyar Romanov. The boy was brought up by an aunt, and only after the death of Tsar Boris the child was returned to his mother, who at that time lived in a family estate near Kostroma. In the Ipatiev Monastery, located nearby, the mother and son settled a little later, hiding from the persecution of the Polish-Lithuanian armed groups. In the world, mother Mikhail Romanov was called Xenia Ivanovna Shestova. She was from a poor noble family, distinguished by an imperious character, she had a great influence on her son. A stern look from under thick eyebrows, a large aquiline nose, thin lips - this is how she looks in a portrait that has survived to this day.

Mikhail's father, Fyodor Nikitich, having taken the tonsure and put on monastic clothes and a klobuk, received the name Filaret. He has had many trials and tribulations. The living and active nature of this monk, of his good will, could not come to terms with the forced deprivation of liberty. Religion never attracted him, he did not prepare for the career of a clergyman, his tastes were rather secular. Before his exile, he lived in Moscow, rotated in the "higher circles", enjoyed wide fame and influence at court. The natural mind, education and secular gloss of Fyodor Romanov distinguished him among the nobility of that time. The then Moscow tailors, for example, wanting to praise the successful caftan, even said: "It sits just like the boyar Fyodor Nikitich." Tall, handsome, he was considered the first dandy in Moscow, and envy for Xenia, who became his wife, lived in many women's hearts.

And this man ended up in a monastery cell far from Moscow. However, after the death of Tsar Boris, dramatic changes took place in Filaret's life: he received the rank of metropolitan, but was soon captured by the Poles, where he remained until 1619. He could not have imagined that his only son would lead Moscow State. And even Mikhail himself, who lived far from the capital, had not only thoughts, but also no desire to take the Russian throne.

When the Moscow ambassadors arrived at the Ipatiev Monastery, mother and son, having learned about the purpose of their visit, initially refused. Concerned about how not to be exposed to new disasters, the old woman Martha did not want to let her son go. Several times the messengers left with nothing. Only after long requests and persuasion, consent was given. Having borrowed money and received the blessing of his mother, the young man, accompanied by a small detachment, went to Moscow. The mother went with her son.

Mikhail moved slowly towards the capital, with long stops, carefully looking at life in the state, which he was to lead. In early May, his solemn entry into the Kremlin took place, Moscow saw its new sovereign. They placed it in the former chamber of Queen Anastasia. Martha settled in one of the Moscow monasteries.

A few weeks later, Mikhail Romanov was crowned king. The coronation ceremony took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin and was very splendidly furnished. The Metropolitan of Moscow solemnly announced that, by right of affinity with Tsar Fedor - the son of Ivan the Terrible - and in accordance with the popular election, the clergy bless Mikhail Fedorovich and crown him king. Then the lord placed the crown on the head of the young king and, taking him by the right hand, seated him on the throne. The fragile figure of the first Romanov Tsar in golden robes seemed unable to withstand the weight of the sparkling dress and crown, studded with precious stones. However, his hand confidently held a scepter - a symbol of royal power.

On the same day, a feast was held in the Faceted Chamber, which was attended by the highest ranks of the spiritual and secular authorities. During the meal, all the guests received rich royal gifts. For the poor, dinners were arranged on the square near the Kremlin. For three days the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Tsar Michael continued, and for a long time this was remembered by the people.

The reign of the Romanovs began...

Russian historians write that Mikhail Fedorovich was elected to the throne with some restrictions on the board, since the most serious matters were decided not by the tsar personally, but at the Zemsky Sobors, albeit on behalf of the tsar. Usually, the most important cases were dealt with by the Boyar Duma at the tsar's proposal to "think", and the decision began with the words: "The tsar indicated and the boyars were sentenced." So it was easier for the youngest sovereign, a man who was cautious and not decisive enough. At first, Mikhail did not make a single decision on his own at all, and then, in the sixth year of his reign, Filaret, who returned to Moscow from Polish captivity, began to lead him. Fyodor Romanov was still very popular in Moscow. Ambition and life experience allowed him to take almost all power into his own hands: to manage both the Church - he was elevated to the rank of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' - and the state. He was a strong-willed man, very strict, but fair. The son treated his father with tenderness and great respect, saw in him his mentor and faithful assistant.

The participation of Romanov Sr. in the affairs of the state was established as follows: the affairs were reported to the son and father, and if any decision did not meet with the consent of the patriarch-father, it was either canceled or corrected, while the son tried not to argue with anything. In essence, there was a dual power in the country. In state charters of that time, they usually wrote: “The Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Rus' and the great Sovereign, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret Nikitich of Moscow and All Rus' indicated ... ”And the foreign envoys presented their credentials to both. The strong and bright personality of Filaret gradually pushed the Tsar-son, soft in character and in poor health, into the background - at the age of thirty, his legs began to hurt badly, so that sometimes he could hardly move independently.

Filaret's influence on his son was so great that even Xenia, Mikhail's mother, who in the early years provided strong impact on the young king, completely removed herself from the affairs of the state and lived out her days in a monastery, keeping with the court only connections, so to speak, of a personal nature.

When Mikhail was in his twentieth year, Ksenia Ivanovna decided to marry him. The daughter of the nobleman Ivan Khlopov, a girl with a pleasant appearance and a stately figure, was chosen as the bride. As the future wife of the sovereign, she was settled in the palace and informed the whole state about the upcoming marriage of the king. According to the then prevailing custom, the future tsarina changed her name to the name Anastasia, which reminded the inhabitants of the Moscow State of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, whose memory was dear to them. However, intrigues began at the court against the Khlopovs - after all, those who wanted to give their daughter for the king among boyar families there were a lot. As a result, the poor bride was slandered: she was declared sick and unfit to continue the Romanov family. The tsar's mother believed the evil slander, and the unfortunate girl was exiled to Siberia with her family. In order to keep the throne for the Romanov family, the tsar should have had an heir, so the father, who returned to Moscow, also decided to marry his son as soon as possible.

First, Filaret decided to find a bride for Mikhail among foreign princesses and established a connection with the Danish and German courts for this. However, due to the obligatory condition for the princesses to change their faith after marrying the Russian Tsar, these negotiations were unsuccessful. A year later, ambassadors were sent to Sweden to King Gustav Adolf to woo the sister of his brother-in-law, the Elector of Brandenburg, Catherine. But the agreement did not take place again, since the king did not agree to change the religion of his relative. Then the ambassadors turned to the Danish king Christian IV, with a request to give one of his nieces to the Russian Tsar. But even here it was rejected. So the first Tsar Romanov was not destined to marry a foreigner. This was then to be his grandson, Peter the Great...

But what about Michael himself? He still had tender feelings for the bride exiled to Siberia. Therefore, Filaret ordered to interrogate all the doctors who allegedly treated Maria Khlopova, as a result of which it was found out that the girl was completely healthy, and her relatives Xenia Ivanovna, who predicted their daughter to be queen, slandered her. Taking advantage of a simple indigestion that arose from a rich meal, they spread a rumor about the illness of the bride. The Khlopov family was returned from exile ... It was then that the mother of the young sovereign showed her strong character. When it was announced that the wedding of her son with the maiden Khlopova would nevertheless take place, she announced that she would leave Russia - nun Martha feared for her relatives, who were guilty of spreading slander. The obedient son again did not go against the will of his mother, and the marriage was upset.

The tsar married only in the eleventh year of his reign to the Russian hawthorn Maria Dolgoruky. She was chosen as the royal bride by Martha herself. Not for long, however, the young wife shared the royal bed with the sovereign. Soon after the wedding, Maria fell ill and died a few months later.

And again the question arose: whom to marry the son?

Less than a year later, girls from the most noble families were invited to Moscow to select the royal bride. They were accompanied by their mothers or close relatives. First, the girls had to appear before the sovereign's mother. Those whom she pointed out were ordered to spend the night in the palace chambers (each with her maid). The rest had to return home.

At midnight, when everyone was asleep, Tsar Michael went to look at the sleeping girls in order to choose a bride for himself. At the end of the review, the old woman Martha asked her son: whom does he want to take as his wife? Imagine her surprise when Mikhail pointed to the maid of one of the hawks. The mother began to beg her son to change his mind, saying: how all the princes and boyars, whose daughters you rejected, will be offended by the choice. However, this time the king remained adamant, the stern mother was forced to give in.

The girl chosen by the sovereign, Evdokia Streshneva, was the daughter of a Mozhaisk nobleman of humble origin. She became the new queen.

Mikhail lived with his wife for about twenty years and seemed to be happy in his married life. This marriage was overshadowed only by the fact that six out of ten children whom Evdokia gave birth to died during the life of their parents. The death of each child was perceived as a great family grief.

And the position of the queen at court was not easy. The first five years of marriage passed under the vigilant control of Mother Michael. She accompanied her daughter-in-law everywhere: on pilgrimage trips to monasteries, at church services and other outings, she herself chose educators for her grandchildren, taught in everything.

So Evdokia was completely dependent on her mother-in-law. After the death of the old woman Martha in 1631, the wife of Tsar Michael continued to remain in the "shadow", she did not exert any influence on state affairs, regularly fulfilling only her main purpose - the continuation of the Romanov family.

The Muscovite state, where anarchy and arbitrariness reigned for so many years, under the first tsar Romanov began to recover from the difficult Time of Troubles. Order was gradually established in the country, people's lives improved noticeably.

Particular attention of the tsar and the patriarch was drawn to the composition of officials who were in the sovereign's service, both in Moscow and in the provinces. For this purpose, an office was even established under the sovereign to receive and analyze complaints about the insults of service people. This has never happened in Rus' before... The first steps were taken to renew Russian life in a foreign way, the need to master the sciences and crafts was openly recognized, the Western orientation of Russia was clearly defined.

This trend continued throughout the three hundred years of the reign of the Romanov dynasty, but the beginning was laid in the reign of Michael. Masters of various crafts began to be invited to Russia from abroad. And they were mostly Germans. They opened their own business, taught Russian skills and for the most part were not going to leave Russia in the future - life here turned out to be free, because foreigners were given great privileges. It was also beneficial for ordinary Russian people, because new enterprises provided income. Hans Falk, who came from Nuremberg, organized a foundry in Moscow where cannons and bells were made. There were manufactories for the production of gunpowder and saltpeter, glass factories, one of which existed at the personal expense of the sovereign, and the Frenchman Mignot managed the factory. In the vicinity of Tula, new forges appeared, which eventually turned into weapons factories. Scientists and teachers began to arrive. And in general, only people who came from abroad were engaged in medicine and pharmacy.

The first Tsar Romanov also resorted to the help of foreigners for the development of external relations. The Russian ambassadors did not yet have sufficient experience. Mikhail Fedorovich often entrusted important matters at European courts to Peter Marselis, a Dutchman by origin, who represented the interests of Holstein in Moscow. The flow of merchants increased especially after the visit to Muscovy by envoys from Holstein, which took place in the twentieth year of Michael's reign.

Gradually, a fairly large foreign colony was created in Moscow, which began to flourish, naturally attracting the attention of city dwellers. Some began to imitate appearance foreigners, shave their beards, cut their hair, and even flaunt German coats. However, the old customs were still observed with all strictness. For example, for the use of tobacco, which had become widespread in the West by that time, noses were cut off in Russia ...

Knowledge in the West about the distant Moscow kingdom at that time was very scarce. The first source of information about Russia is the work of Baron Sigismund Herberstein, a German diplomat who twice visited Muscovy. It was written in the middle of the 16th century. And at the beginning of the next century, the German scientist Gerard Gerrite produced the first printed map of the Russian state.

In 1633, the connections of the Moscow Kremlin with the Duchy of Holstein began to strengthen. A whole expedition, consisting of thirty-four people, went to Moscow. These were diplomats, musicians, artisans, doctors, artists, poets. It included Adam Olearius, a philosopher and mathematician, who then described this difficult journey in great detail. The expedition was financed by the Duke of Holstein Friedrich III, who was distinguished by humanistic views and a broad outlook. Between Tsar Michael and the envoys, negotiations were to take place on the passage through the territory of Russia to Persia to buy silk fabrics there and export grain from Russia to Europe, groaning from the devastation that the Thirty Years' War had inflicted on it.

The delegation traveled from Schleswig to Moscow exactly nine months. After a three-day rest, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich gave the guests an audience. The king was presented with rich gifts. Among them is a large mirror in a silver frame - and at that time a small mirror was already considered a luxury - a grandfather clock made of rare ebony, magnificent horses of the Holstein breed, which brought the sovereign and his entourage into indescribable delight. The Holsteiners were shocked by the luxury of the royal reception rooms and the triumph of the ceremonial. Adam Olearius described the reception at the king in great detail and colorfully in his book: “His Majesty the Tsar sat on the throne in a robe embroidered with precious stones and pearls. On the crown, worn over a dark sable hat, large diamonds sparkled, in his hand was a golden rod, which he took from one hand to the other, because it was probably very heavy. Four tall young princes stood in front of the king's throne, two on each side, in white satin caftans, lynx hats and white boots. Gold chains are crossed on the chest, each has a silver hatchet on the shoulder. Near the wall on both sides of the king sat the most eminent princes, boyars and state advisers in high hats made of foxes, in very expensive robes - about fifty people ... ”The king’s throne stood on golden eagles - its creator was the jeweler Esias Zinkgraf from Nuremberg. The translator was the German Hans Helme, who served with the tsar and enjoyed great prestige among the Russians.

The Tsar extended cordial hospitality to the German delegation. The news of this spread far beyond the borders of the Russian state.

Mikhail met with Olearius several times and was amazed by his versatile knowledge and abilities. He even invited him to stay in Moscow as a court astronomer and build an observatory. But Olearius rejected this offer, returned to his Schleswig and wrote a book about Moscow, about the Russian people. Thanks to him, Russia from the boundless far away somewhat approached the West, although they also learned a lot of unflattering things about Muscovy. First of all, this concerned the life and behavior of Russian residents: taverns overflowing with drunks, fights in the streets, frequent fires that were not even extinguished, but only smashed with axes neighboring houses so that the fire could not spread further. And at home! They were just shacks, surrounded by gardens, in which one could hardly see traces of rural culture - no flowers, no vegetables. The king alone had several feet of land with roses brought from Gottorp, lettuce and asparagus, just introduced by the Dutch.

Russians learned a lot of interesting things about people living in a country between two seas - the North and the Baltic. But how could anyone then imagine that the grandson of Tsar Mikhail would marry his daughter to a Holstein prince and that the child from this marriage would become the Russian Tsar?

Despite the fact that Mikhail Romanov sat on the Russian throne as a young and inexperienced youth, he gradually gained strength, and the people fell in love with him. The last twelve years of his reign, after the death of Philaret in 1633, he was already the sovereign sovereign. All foreign envoys reported that, despite the exceptional friendliness of the first Tsar Romanov, a serious expression did not leave his face. He was never seen smiling at official receptions. However, in everyday life he was completely different, he loved music and singing, especially folk songs, willingly listened to all sorts of stories, laughed heartily at the merry tricks of the jesters, whom he kept at court. Contemporaries emphasized the sovereign's special predilection for pleasant smells and all kinds of incense. Perfumes and fragrant water from India and Turkey were specially ordered for him, and court pharmacists made special soap for the king, which only he could use. The composition of this soap necessarily included rose water and fragrant cloves, the aroma of which was especially pleasing to the sovereign. Contemporaries also noted the great hospitality of Mikhail Romanov. Although he himself was exceptionally moderate in eating and drinking alcoholic beverages, his meals were distinguished by the abundance and variety of dishes.

The sovereign lived in chambers that were not particularly luxurious. The wife and children lived in a part of the palace specially reserved for them, in a tower, and were not allowed into the room occupied by the king. Mikhail himself visited his family every day, enjoyed talking with his children, carefully choosing toys for them, many of which were brought from Nuremberg. But he could share a bed with his wife only on special days, strictly defined by the church. That was the tradition.

Of the ten children that Evdokia Streshneva gave birth to, only four survived to adulthood: the eldest daughter Irina, the son and heir Alexei and two more daughters: Anna and Tatyana. Daughters grew up in the tower, nurses and nannies were assigned to them, the hawthorns of well-born families entertained them with games and all sorts of fun. Girls were taught literacy and needlework.

Sometimes they, together with their parents, traveled to churches and monasteries on a pilgrimage. Summer royal family spent in villages near Moscow, where Mikhail indulged in his favorite pastime - falconry or bear hunting.

When the eldest daughter Irina was thirteen years old, her parents began to look for her groom among foreign princes. The choice fell on the illegitimate son of the Danish king Christian IV Voldemar, who bore the title of Count of Schleswig-Holstein. At this time, the king's son was twenty years old. “Russian with hair, not small in height, thin, gray eyes, good, handsome face, healthy and reasonable, knows Latin, French, Italian, knows German, is skilled in military affairs,” the Russians described the young man. ambassadors sent to the Danish court to negotiate. In the summer of 1641, Prince Voldemar himself appeared in Moscow. He was not allowed to see his bride, since no one in the Muscovite state, except for the closest boyars, and servants, was supposed to see the princesses. A husband can see his betrothed for the first time only after crossing the threshold of the marriage bedroom - this is how this refusal was explained to him.

Having received rich gifts, Voldemar returned to Denmark with his embassy, ​​but after two and a half years he again arrived in Moscow, this time with a retinue of three hundred people. The purpose of the visit was to marry Princess Irina. The king's son was warmly welcomed. The king received him in the Faceted Chamber and even left his place to give his daughter's fiancé a hand and ask about his health. All that was left was to seal the marriage contract. In the position of the groom, Prince Voldemar settled in the Kremlin.

But a condition was set before the future husband of the royal daughter: to be baptized according to the rite of the Orthodox faith. This was a complete surprise for the Danish prince. After all, during the preliminary negotiations on marriage, the king agreed that even after the marriage, Voldemar would remain a Protestant. For the conversion to Orthodoxy and marriage with Irina, the oldest Russian cities of Suzdal and Yaroslavl were given to the prince for eternity, and they also gave a large dowry for the bride.

Prince Voldemar refused to convert to Orthodoxy, despite any persuasion he remained adamant and demanded that he and his retinue be allowed to return to their homeland. The king did not give his consent, hoping that the prince would change his mind. However, this did not happen, and Voldemar became in fact a prisoner of Moscow: although he was treated further as the groom of the royal daughter, he could not leave the Russian capital. This went on for almost a year and a half, a year and a half of the honorary captivity of the Danish prince.

Burdened by his position as a captive groom, Voldemar even made an attempt to secretly escape from Moscow, but at the Tver Gates (now it is the square near the Belorussky railway station connecting Moscow with Berlin and other Western cities), he was captured and brought to the Kremlin. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation, the prince even decided to agree that his children become Orthodox, and promised to observe Orthodox fasts to the extent "as far as his health would allow him." The father of the bride did not go for it either. The release of Voldemar came only after the death of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

Well, what about Princess Irina? She didn't even get to see her fiancé. Like her sisters Anna and Tatiana, she remained in virginity. The daughters of the first Tsar Romanov were not married. Irina lived all her life in the tower and died at the age of fifty-two, and her younger sisters finished their life path in the monastery. Anna, in monasticism Anfisa, accepted the schema and died shortly after her sixtieth birthday; and Tatyana lived to be 70 years old and maintained close family ties with all the Romanovs all her life.

Tsar Michael was often ill in the last months of his life. Walking and riding tired him, his body weakened from a sedentary lifestyle. Apparently, the failure in arranging the fate of his eldest daughter also had an effect on him: the refusal of the Danish prince dealt him a heavy blow.

On July 12, 1645, on the day of his name day, the tsar, having overcome his indisposition, got out of bed and went to church. But there he had an attack of suffocation. The sovereign was transferred to the chambers. However, by evening he got worse. He groaned, complaining of severe pain in his heart. He ordered to call the queen and his son, sixteen-year-old Alexei. He blessed him for the kingdom, confessed to the patriarch, and died quietly at three o'clock in the morning.

Foreign doctors who treated the Moscow tsar explained that his illness came from “a lot of sitting”, from cold drinking and melancholy ... Now we would say that the cause of death of the first Romanov on the Russian throne was a heart attack.

Tsaritsa Evdokia outlived her husband by only a few months. The successor of the Romanov family was the only son of Tsar Mikhail, sixteen-year-old Alexei: a year before his death, the sovereign declared him publicly the heir to the royal throne.

So, the reign of the first tsar from the House of Romanov ended. Tsar Michael, the founder of the dynasty, who shared power for fourteen years with his father, an involuntary monk and an "improvised" patriarch, came to power in a completely democratic way and laid the foundation for the long dynastic path of the Romanovs. During his reign, the Muscovite state managed to heal the severe wounds caused by Time of Troubles, so much so that the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich could become quite successful for Russia both in internal and external affairs.

Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich There are few examples in history when a new sovereign would take the throne under such extremely sad circumstances, under which sixteen-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich was elected. With two states - Poland and Sweden - were not finished