Meeting of the Great Embassy by Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov and nun Martha at the Holy Gates of the Ipatiev Monastery on March 14, 1613. Miniature from the Book of the Election of the Great Sovereign and Grand Duke Mikhail Feodorovich of All Great Russia to the Highest Throne of the Great Russian Tsardom. 1673"
It was 1913. A jubilant crowd met the Emperor, who arrived with his family in Kostroma. The solemn procession was heading to the Ipatiev Monastery. Three hundred years ago, young Mikhail Romanov was hiding from the Polish interventionists within the walls of the monastery, here Moscow diplomats begged him to marry the kingdom. Here, in Kostroma, the history of the service of the Romanov dynasty to the Fatherland began, which tragically ended in 1917.
First Romanovs
Why was Mikhail Fedorovich, a seventeen-year-old boy, given responsibility for the fate of the state? The Romanov family was closely connected with the vanished Rurik dynasty: the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, had brothers, the first Romanovs, who received a surname on behalf of their father. The most famous of them is Nikita. Boris Godunov saw the Romanovs as serious rivals in the struggle for the throne, so all the Romanovs were exiled. Only two sons of Nikita Romanov survived - Ivan and Fedor, who was tonsured a monk (in monasticism he received the name Filaret). When the Time of Troubles, disastrous for Russia, ended, it was necessary to choose a new tsar, and the choice fell on the young son of Fedor, Mikhail.
Mikhail Fedorovich ruled from 1613 to 1645, but in fact the country was ruled by his father, Patriarch Filaret. In 1645, sixteen-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich ascended the throne. During his reign, foreigners were willingly called up for service, interest in Western culture and customs arose, and the children of Alexei Mikhailovich were influenced by European education, which largely determined the further course of Russian history.
Alexei Mikhailovich was married twice: the first wife, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, gave the king thirteen children, but only two of the five sons, Ivan and Fedor, survived their father. The children were sickly, and Ivan also suffered from dementia. From his second marriage to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the tsar had three children: two daughters and a son, Peter. Alexei Mikhailovich died in 1676, and Fyodor Alekseevich, a fourteen-year-old boy, was crowned king. The reign was short - until 1682. His brothers had not yet reached adulthood: Ivan was fifteen years old, and Peter was about ten. Both of them were proclaimed kings, but the government was in the hands of their regent, Princess Sophia Miloslavskaya. Having reached adulthood, Peter returned power. And although Ivan V also bore the royal title, only Peter ruled the state.
The era of Peter the Great
The Petrine era is one of the brightest pages in Russian history. However, it is impossible to give an unambiguous assessment of either the personality of Peter I himself or his reign: despite the progressiveness of his policy, his actions were sometimes cruel and despotic. This is confirmed by the fate of his eldest son. Peter was married twice: from the union with his first wife, Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina, a son, Alexei, was born. Eight years of marriage ended in divorce. Evdokia Lopukhina, the last Russian Empress, was sent to a monastery. Tsarevich Alexei, raised by his mother and her relatives, was hostile to his father. Opponents of Peter I and his reforms rallied around him. Alexei Petrovich was accused of treason and sentenced to death. He died in 1718 in the Peter and Paul Fortress, without waiting for the execution of the sentence. From the second marriage with Catherine I, only two children - Elizabeth and Anna - survived their father.
After the death of Peter I in 1725, the struggle for the throne began, in fact, provoked by Peter himself: he abolished the old order of succession to the throne, according to which power would have passed to his grandson Peter, the son of Alexei Petrovich, and issued a decree according to which the autocrat could appoint himself successor, but did not have time to make a will. With the support of the guards and the inner circle of the deceased emperor, Catherine I ascended the throne, becoming the first empress of the Russian state. Her reign was the first in a series of reigns of women and children and marked the beginning of the era of palace coups.
Palace coups
The reign of Catherine was short-lived: from 1725 to 1727. After her death, eleven-year-old Peter II, the grandson of Peter I, came to power. He ruled for only three years and died of smallpox in 1730. This was the last representative of the Romanov family in the male line.
The administration of the state passed into the hands of the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ivanovna, who ruled until 1740. She had no children, and according to her will, the throne passed to the grandson of her sister Ekaterina Ivanovna, Ivan Antonovich, a two-month-old baby. With the help of the guards, the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth, overthrew Ivan VI and his mother and came to power in 1741. The fate of the unfortunate child is sad: he and his parents were exiled to the north, to Kholmogory. He spent his whole life in prison, first in a remote village, then in the Shlisselburg fortress, where his life ended in 1764.
Elizabeth ruled for 20 years from 1741 to 1761. - and died childless. She was the last representative of the Romanov family in a straight line. The rest of the Russian emperors, although they bore the surname of the Romanovs, actually represented the German dynasty of Holstein-Gottorp.
According to Elizabeth's will, her nephew, the son of Anna Petrovna's sister, Karl Peter Ulrich, who received the name Peter in Orthodoxy, was crowned king. But already in 1762, his wife Catherine, relying on the guards, made a palace coup and came to power. Catherine II ruled Russia for more than thirty years. Perhaps that is why one of the first decrees of her son Paul I, who came to power in 1796 already at a mature age, was the return to the order of succession to the throne from father to son. However, his fate also had a tragic ending: he was killed by conspirators, and his eldest son Alexander I came to power in 1801.
From the Decembrist uprising to the February revolution.
Alexander I had no heirs, his brother Constantine did not want to reign. The incomprehensible situation with the succession to the throne provoked an uprising on Senate Square. It was severely suppressed by the new Emperor Nicholas I and went down in history as the Decembrist uprising.
Nicholas I had four sons, the eldest, Alexander II, ascended the throne. He ruled from 1855 to 1881. and died after an assassination attempt by the Narodnaya Volya.
In 1881, the son of Alexander II, Alexander III, ascended the throne. He was not the eldest son, but after the death of Tsarevich Nicholas in 1865, they began to prepare him for public service.
Exit of Alexander III to the people on the Red Porch after the coronation. May 15, 1883. Engraving. 1883
After Alexander III, his eldest son, Nicholas II, was crowned king. A tragic event took place at the coronation of the last Russian emperor. It was announced that gifts would be handed out at Khodynka Field: a mug with the imperial monogram, half a loaf of wheat bread, 200 grams of sausage, a gingerbread with a coat of arms, a handful of nuts. Thousands of people died and were maimed in the stampede for these gifts. Many who are inclined to mysticism see a direct connection between the Khodynka tragedy and the murder of the imperial family: in 1918, Nicholas II, his wife and five children were shot in Yekaterinburg on the orders of the Bolsheviks.
Makovsky V. Khodynka. Watercolor. 1899
With the death of the royal family, the Romanov family did not die out. Most of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses with their families managed to escape from the country. In particular, the sisters of Nicholas II - Olga and Xenia, his mother Maria Feodorovna, his uncle - Alexander III's brother Vladimir Alexandrovich. It is from him that the clan that heads the Imperial House today comes.
For more than 300 years, the Romanov dynasty was in power in Russia. There are several versions of the origin of the Romanov family. According to one of them, the Romanovs come from Novgorod. The family tradition says that the origins of the family should be sought in Prussia, from where the ancestors of the Romanovs moved to Russia at the beginning of the XIV century. The first reliably established ancestor of the family was the Moscow boyar Ivan Kobyla.
The beginning of the ruling dynasty of the Romanovs was laid by the great-nephew of the wife of Ivan the Terrible, Mikhail Fedorovich. He was elected to reign by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, after the suppression of the Moscow branch of the Rurikovich.
Since the 18th century, the Romanovs have ceased to call themselves tsars. On November 2, 1721, Peter I was declared Emperor of All Russia. He became the first emperor in the dynasty.
The reign of the dynasty ended in 1917, when Emperor Nicholas II abdicated as a result of the February Revolution from the throne. In July 1918, he was shot by the Bolsheviks along with his family (including five children) and close associates in Tobolsk.
Numerous descendants of the Romanovs now live abroad. However, none of them, from the point of view of the Russian law on succession to the throne, has the right to the Russian throne.
Below is a chronology of the reign of the Romanov family with the dating of the reign.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Reign: 1613-1645
He laid the foundation for a new dynasty, being elected at the age of 16 to reign by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. Belonged to an ancient boyar family. He restored the functioning of the economy and trade in the country, which he inherited in a deplorable state after the Time of Troubles. Concluded "perpetual peace" with Sweden (1617). At the same time, he lost access to the Baltic Sea, but returned the vast Russian territories previously conquered by Sweden. He concluded an "eternal peace" with Poland (1618), while losing Smolensk and Seversk land. Attached land along the Yaik, Baikal, Yakutia, access to the Pacific Ocean.
Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (Quiet). Reign: 1645-1676
He ascended the throne at the age of 16. He was a gentle, good-natured and very religious person. He continued the reform of the army started by his father. At the same time, he attracted a large number of foreign military specialists who were left idle after the end of the Thirty Years' War. Under him, Nikon's church reform was carried out, which affected the main church rites and books. Returned Smolensk and Seversk land. Annexed Ukraine to Russia (1654). Suppressed the uprising of Stepan Razin (1667-1671)
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov. Reign: 1676-1682
The short reign of the extremely painful tsar was marked by a war with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate and the further conclusion of the Treaty of Bakhchisaray (1681), according to which Turkey recognized Left-Bank Ukraine and Kyiv as Russia. A general census was carried out (1678). The fight against the Old Believers received a new round - Archpriest Avvakum was burned. He died at the age of twenty.
Peter I Alekseevich Romanov (the Great). Reigned: 1682-1725 (ruled independently from 1689)
The previous tsar (Fyodor Alekseevich) died without making an order regarding the succession to the throne. As a result, two tsars were crowned on the throne at the same time - the young brothers of Fyodor Alekseevich Ivan and Peter under the regency of their elder sister Sofya Alekseevna (until 1689 - Sophia's regency, until 1696 - formal co-rule with Ivan V). Since 1721, the first Emperor of All Russia.
He was an ardent supporter of the Western way of life. For all its ambiguity, it is recognized by both adherents and critics as the "Great Sovereign".
His bright reign was marked by the Azov campaigns (1695 and 1696) against the Turks, which resulted in the capture of the Azov fortress. The result of the campaigns was, among other things, the king's awareness of the need to reform the army. The old army was disbanded - the army began to be created according to a new model. From 1700 to 1721 - participation in the most difficult with Sweden, the result of which was the defeat of the hitherto invincible Charles XII and Russia's access to the Baltic Sea.
In 1722-1724, the largest foreign policy event of Peter the Great after the Northern War was the Caspian (Persian) campaign, which ended with the capture of Derbent, Baku and other cities by Russia.
During his reign, Peter founded St. Petersburg (1703), established the Senate (1711) and Colleges (1718), introduced the "Table of Ranks" (1722).
Catherine I. Years of reign: 1725-1727
The second wife of Peter I. A former maid named Marta Kruse, who was taken into captivity during the Great Northern War. Nationality not known. She was the mistress of Field Marshal Sheremetev. Later, Prince Menshikov took her to him. In 1703, Peter liked her, who made her his mistress, and later his wife. She was baptized into Orthodoxy, changing her name to Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova.
Under her, the Supreme Privy Council was created (1726) and an alliance was concluded with Austria (1726).
Peter II Alekseevich Romanov. Years of government: 1727-1730
Grandson of Peter I, son of Tsarevich Alexei. The last representative of the Romanov family in a direct male line. He ascended the throne at the age of 11. He died at the age of 14 from smallpox. In fact, the administration of the state was carried out by the Supreme Privy Council. According to contemporaries, the young emperor was distinguished by waywardness and adored entertainment. It was entertainment, fun and hunting that the young emperor devoted all his time to. Under him, Menshikov was overthrown (1727), and the capital was returned to Moscow (1728).
Anna Ioannovna Romanova. Years of government: 1730-1740
Daughter of Ivan V, granddaughter of Alexei Mikhailovich. She was invited in 1730 to the Russian throne by the Supreme Privy Council, which she later successfully dissolved. Instead of the Supreme Council, a cabinet of ministers was created (1730). The capital was returned to St. Petersburg (1732). 1735-1739 were marked by the Russian-Turkish war, which ended with a peace treaty in Belgrade. Under the terms of the Russian treaty, Azov was ceded to Russia, but it was forbidden to have a fleet on the Black Sea. The years of her reign are characterized in literature as "the era of the dominance of the Germans at court", or as "Bironism" (by the name of her favorite).
Ivan VI Antonovich Romanov. Years of government: 1740-1741
Great-grandson of Ivan V. Was proclaimed emperor at the age of two months. The baby was proclaimed emperor under the regency of the Duke of Courland Biron, but two weeks later the guards removed the duke from power. The emperor's mother, Anna Leopoldovna, became the new regent. At the age of two he was overthrown. His short reign was subject to a law condemning the name - they were withdrawn from circulation, all his portraits were destroyed, all documents containing the name of the emperor were withdrawn (or destroyed). Until the age of 23, he spent in solitary confinement, where (already half-mad) he was stabbed to death by guards.
Elizabeth I Petrovna Romanova. Years of government: 1741-1761
Daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. During her reign, the death penalty was abolished for the first time in Russia. A university was opened in Moscow (1755). In 1756-1762. Russia took part in the largest military conflict of the 18th century - the Seven Years' War. As a result of the hostilities, Russian troops captured the whole of East Prussia and even briefly took Berlin. However, the short death of the Empress and the coming to power of the pro-Prussian-minded Peter III nullified all military achievements - the conquered lands were returned to Prussia, and peace was concluded.
Peter III Fedorovich Romanov. Years of government: 1761-1762
Nephew of Elizabeth Petrovna, grandson of Peter I - son of his daughter Anna. Reigned 186 days. A lover of everything Prussian, he stopped the war with Sweden immediately after coming to power on extremely unfavorable terms for Russia. I spoke Russian with difficulty. During his reign, a manifesto "On the Liberty of the Nobility", an alliance of Prussia and Russia, a decree on freedom of religion (all -1762) was issued. He stopped the persecution of the Old Believers. He was overthrown by his wife and died a week later (according to the official version - from a fever).
Already during the reign of Catherine II, the leader of the peasant war, Emelyan Pugachev, in 1773, pretended to be the "miracle of the saved" Peter III.
Catherine II Alekseevna Romanova (the Great). Years of government: 1762-1796
Wife of Peter III. She enslaved the peasants to the maximum, expanding the powers of the nobility. Significantly expanded the territory of the Empire during the Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791) and the partition of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795). The reign was marked by the largest peasant uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev, who pretended to be Peter III (1773-1775). A provincial reform was carried out (1775).
Pavel I Petrovich Romanov: 1796-1801
Son of Catherine II and Peter III, 72nd Grand Master of the Order of Malta. He ascended the throne at the age of 42. Introduced compulsory succession to the throne only through the male line (1797). Significantly eased the situation of the peasants (decree on a three-day corvee, a ban on selling serfs without land (1797)). From foreign policy, the war with France (1798-1799) and the Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov (1799) are worthy of mention. Killed by the guards (not without the knowledge of Alexander's son) in his own bedroom (strangled). The official version is a stroke.
Alexander I Pavlovich Romanov. Years of government: 1801-1825
Son of Paul I. During the reign of Paul I, Russia defeated the French troops during the Patriotic War of 1812. The result of the war was a new European order, enshrined in the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. During numerous wars, he significantly expanded the territory of Russia - he annexed Eastern and Western Georgia, Mingrelia, Imeretia, Guria, Finland, Bessarabia, and most of Poland. He died suddenly in 1825 in Taganrog from a fever. For a long time there was a legend among the people that the emperor, tormented by conscience for the death of his father, did not die, but continued his life under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich.
Nicholas I Pavlovich Romanov. Years of government: 1825-1855
The third son of Paul I. The beginning of the reign was marked by the Decembrist uprising of 1825. The "Code of Laws of the Russian Empire" (1833) was created, a monetary reform was carried out, and a reform in the state village. The Crimean War (1853-1856) was started, until the devastating end of which the emperor did not live. In addition, Russia participated in the Caucasian War (1817-1864), the Russian-Persian War (1826-1828), the Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829), the Crimean War (1853-1856).
Alexander II Nikolaevich Romanov (Liberator). Years of government: 1855-1881
The son of Nicholas I. During his reign, the Crimean War was ended by the Paris Peace Treaty, humiliating for Russia (1856). In 1861 serfdom was abolished. Zemstvo and judicial reforms were carried out in 1864. Alaska was sold to the USA (1867). The financial system, education, city self-government, and the army were reformed. In 1870, the restrictive articles of the Peace of Paris were repealed. As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. returned to Russia Bessarabia, lost during the Crimean War. He died as a result of a terrorist act committed by the People's Will.
Alexander III Alexandrovich Romanov (Tsar-Peacemaker). Years of government: 1881-1894
Son of Alexander II. During his reign, Russia did not wage a single war. His reign is characterized as conservative and counter-reform. A manifesto was adopted on the inviolability of autocracy, the Regulations on the strengthening of emergency protection (1881). He pursued an active policy of Russification of the outskirts of the empire. A military-political Franco-Russian alliance with France was concluded, which laid the foundation for the foreign policy of the two states until 1917. This union preceded the creation of the triple Entente.
Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov. Years of government: 1894-1917
Son of Alexander III. The last Emperor of All Russia. A difficult and ambiguous period for Russia, accompanied by serious upheavals for the empire. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) turned out to be a heavy defeat for the country and the almost complete destruction of the Russian fleet. The defeat in the war was followed by the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907. In 1914 Russia entered the First World War (1914-1918). The emperor was not destined to live until the end of the war - in 1917 he abdicated as a result, and in 1918 he was shot with his whole family by the Bolsheviks.
Romanovs- an old Russian noble family (which bore such a surname from the middle of the 16th century), and then a dynasty of Russian tsars and emperors.
Why did the historical choice fall on the Romanov family? Where did they come from and what did they look like by the time they came to power?
Genealogical roots of the Romanov family (XII - XIV centuries)
The boyar is considered the ancestor of the Romanovs and a number of other noble families. Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla (†1347), who was in the service of the Grand Prince of Vladimir and Moscow Semyon Ivanovich Proud (the eldest son of Grand Duke Ivan Kalita).
The dark origin of the Mare gave freedom for fantasies of bloodlines. According to the family tradition, the ancestors of the Romanovs "left for Russia from Lithuania" or "from the Prussians" at the beginning of the XIV century. However, many historians believe that the Romanovs came from Novgorod.
They wrote that his father Kambila Divonovich Gland was a prince of Zhmud and fled from Prussia under the onslaught of the German crusaders. It is quite possible that Kambila, converted into a Russian style in Kobyla, having suffered a defeat in his homeland, left for the service of Grand Duke Dmitry Alexandrovich, the son of Alexander Nevsky. According to legend, he was baptized in 1287 under the name Ivan - after all, the Prussians were pagans - and his son received the name Andrei at baptism.
Glanda, through the efforts of genealogists, led his family from a certain ratshi(Radsha, Christian name Stefan) - a native of "Prussian", according to others, a Novgorodian, a servant of Vsevolod Olgovich, and maybe Mstislav the Great; according to another version of Serbian origin.
The name is also known from the genealogical chainAlexa(Christian name Gorislav), in monasticism Varlaam St. Khutynsky, died in 1215 or 1243.
No matter how amusing the legend, the real relationship of the Romanovs is observed only with Andrei Kobyla.
Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla had five sons: Semyon Zherebets, Alexander Yolka, Vasily Ivantai, Gavriil Gavsha and Fedor Koshka, who were the founders of 17 Russian noble houses. Sheremetevs, Kolychevs, Yakovlevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins and other famous families in Russian history are traditionally considered to be of the same origin with the Romanovs (from the legendary Kambila).
The eldest son of Andrei Kobyla Semyon, nicknamed Stallion, became the ancestor of the Blue, Lodygin, Konovnitsyn, Oblyazev, Obraztsov and Kokorev.
second son, Alexander Yolka, gave birth to the Kolychevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins, Sterbeevs, Khludnevs and Neplyuevs.
third son, Vasily Ivantey, died childless, and the fourth - Gavriil Gavsha- laid the foundation for only one family - Bobarykin.
Younger son, Fedor Koshka (†1393), was a boyar under Dmitry Donskoy and Vasily I; left six children (including one daughter). From him came the families of the Koshkins, Zakharyins, Yakovlevs, Lyatskys (or Lyatskys), Yuryev-Romanovs, Bezzubtsevs and Sheremetevs.
The eldest son of Fyodor Koshka Ivan Fedorovich Koshkin (†1427) served as governor under Vasily I and Vasily II, and the grandson,Zachary Ivanovich Koshkin (†1461), was a boyar under Vasily II.
The children of Zakhary Ivanovich Koshkin became the Koshkin-Zakharyins, and the grandchildren became simply the Zakharyins. From Yuri Zakharyevich came the Zakharyins-Yuryevs, and from his brother Yakov, the Zakharyins-Yakovlevs.
It should be noted that numerous descendants of Andrei Kobyla married princely and boyar daughters. Their daughters were also in great demand among noble families. As a result, in a couple of centuries they intermarried with almost the entire aristocracy.
Rise of the Romanov family
Tsarina Anastasia - the first wife of Ivan the Terrible
The rise of the Romanov family occurred after the marriage in 1547 of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible to Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva, who bore him a son - the future heir to the throne and the last of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ioannovich. Under Fyodor Ioannovich, the Romanovs occupied a prominent position at court.
Brother of Empress Anastasia Nikita Romanovich (†1586)
Brother of Queen Anastasia Nikita Romanovich Romanov (†1586) is considered the ancestor of the dynasty - his descendants were already called the Romanovs.
Nikita Romanovich himself was an influential Moscow boyar, an active participant in the Livonian War and diplomatic negotiations. Of course, survival at the court of Ivan the Terrible was a pretty terrible thing. And Nikita not only survived, but steadily rose, and after the sudden death of the sovereign (1584), he entered the near Duma of his nephew, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, along with Mstislavsky, Shuisky, Belsky and Godunov. But soon Nikita Romanovich shared his power with Boris Godunov and took the tonsure under the name of Nifont. Peacefully died in 1586. He was buried in the family tomb in the Moscow Novospassky Monastery.
Nikita Romanovich had 6 sons, but only two went down in history: the eldest - Fedor Nikitich(later - Patriarch Filaret and father of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty) and Ivan Nikitich, which was part of the Seven Boyars.
Fedor Nikitich Romanov (Patriarch Filaret)
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boyar Fyodor Nikitich (1554-1633) the first of the family began to bear the name "Romanov". Being a cousin of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (son of Ivan IV the Terrible), he was considered a rival of Boris Godunov in the struggle for power after the death of Fyodor Ioannovich in 1598. He married for love a poor girl from an ancient Kostroma family, Ksenia Ivanovna Shestova, and lived soul to soul with her, having given birth to five sons and a daughter.
The years of the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich (1584-1598) were the happiest in the life of the future patriarch. Unburdened by the duties of government and secret intrigues, not devoured by ambition, like Boris Godunov or the despondent envious Vasily Shuisky, he lived for his own pleasure, at the same time laying the foundation for an even greater exaltation of the Romanov family. Over the years, the rapid rise of Romanov began to concern Godunov more and more. Fyodor Nikitich continued to play the role of a carefree young man who takes his position for granted, but he was too close to the throne, which sooner or later had to be empty.
With the coming to power of Boris Godunov, together with other Romanovs, he was disgraced and exiled in 1600 to the Antoniev-Siya Monastery, located 160 km from Arkhangelsk. His brothers, Alexander, Mikhail, Ivan and Vasily were tonsured monks and exiled to Siberia, where most of them died. In 1601, he and his wife Xenia Ivanovna Shestova were forcibly tonsured monks under the names "Filaret" and "Martha", which was supposed to deprive them of their rights to the throne. But, having appeared on the Russian throne, False Dmitry I (who, before accession, was the serf of Grishka Otrepyev among the Romanovs), wanting to prove in practice his kinship with the Romanovs, in 1605 returned Filaret from exile and elevated him to the rank of Metropolitan of Rostov. And False Dmitry II, in whose Tushino headquarters Filaret was, made him a patriarch. True, Filaret presented himself as a "prisoner" of an impostor and did not insist on his patriarchal rank...
In 1613, the son of Filaret was elected king by the Zemsky Sobor. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. His mother, nun Martha, blessed him with the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God for the kingdom, and from that moment the icon became one of the shrines of the Romanov dynasty. And in 1619, the former boyar Fyodor Nikitich, with the light hand of his son, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, became the "official" Patriarch Filaret. But by his nature he was a secular person and had little understanding of church-theological matters proper. Being the parent of the sovereign, until the end of his life he was officially his co-ruler. He used the title "Great Sovereign" and a completely unusual combination of the monastic name "Filaret" with the patronymic "Nikitich"; actually led the Moscow policy.
The subsequent fate of the Romanovs is the history of Russia.
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-born” 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, having safely forgotten 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: “The Bolyar at that time was obsessed with fear and trembling trembling, and their faces were changing with blood, and no one could say anything.” Only Mikhailo'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, Mikhail Fedorovich restored relations with the British "Moscow Company" after the Time of Troubles, and although he curtailed the freedom of action of English merchants, he nevertheless put them on preferential terms not only with other foreigners, but also with representatives of the Russian "big business".
More and more people are talking about the Romanov dynasty today. Her story can be read like a detective story. And its origin, and the history of the coat of arms, and the circumstances of accession to the throne: all this still causes ambiguous interpretations.
Prussian origin of the dynasty
The ancestor of the Romanov dynasty is considered to be the boyar Andrei Kobyla at the court of Ivan Kalita and his son Simeon the Proud. We know almost nothing about his life and origins. Chronicles mention him only once: in 1347 he was sent to Tver for the bride of Grand Duke Simeon the Proud, daughter of Alexander Mikhailovich, Prince of Tver.
Having found himself at the time of the unification of the Russian state with a new center in Moscow in the service of the Moscow branch of the princely dynasty, he thus chose the “golden ticket” for himself and his family. Genealogists mention his numerous descendants, who became the ancestors of many noble Russian families: Semyon Zherebets (Lodygins, Konovnitsyns), Alexander Elka (Kolychevs), Gavriil Gavsha (Bobrykins), Childless Vasily Vantei and Fyodor Koshka - the ancestor of the Romanovs, Sheremetevs, Yakovlevs, Goltyaevs and Bezzubtsev. But the origin of the Mare itself remains a mystery. According to the Romanov family legend, he traced his lineage to the Prussian kings.
When a gap is formed in the genealogies, it provides an opportunity for their falsification. In the case of noble families, this is usually done with the aim of either legitimizing their power or gaining extra privileges. As in this case. The blank spot in the genealogies of the Romanovs was filled in the 17th century under Peter I by the first Russian King of Arms, Stepan Andreyevich Kolychev. The new history corresponded to the “Prussian legend” fashionable even under the Rurikovichs, which was aimed at confirming the position of Moscow as the successor of Byzantium. Since the Varangian origin of Rurik did not fit into this ideology, the founder of the princely dynasty became the 14th descendant of a certain Prus, the ruler of ancient Prussia, a relative of Emperor Augustus himself. Following them, the Romanovs "rewrote" their history.
A family tradition, later recorded in the “General Armorial of the Noble Families of the All-Russian Empire,” says that in the year 305 from the birth of Christ, the Prussian king Pruteno gave the kingdom to his brother Veydevut, and he himself became the high priest of his pagan tribe in the city of Romanov, where an evergreen sacred oak grew.
Before his death, Veidewut divided his kingdom among his twelve sons. One of them was Nedron, whose clan owned a part of modern Lithuania (Samogit lands). His descendants were the brothers Russingen and Glanda Kambila, who were baptized in 1280, and in 1283 Kambila came to Russia to serve the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich. After baptism, he began to be called Mare.
Who fed False Dmitry?
The personality of False Dmitry is one of the biggest mysteries of Russian history. Apart from the unresolvable question of the identity of the impostor, his "shadow" accomplices remain a problem. According to one version, the Romanovs, who fell into disgrace under Godunov, had a hand in the plot of False Dmitry, and the eldest descendant of the Romanovs, Fedor, the pretender to the throne, was tonsured a monk.
Adherents of this version believe that the Romanovs, Shuiskys and Golitsins, dreaming of the "Monomakh's hat", organized a conspiracy against Godunov, using the mysterious death of the young Tsarevich Dmitry. They prepared their pretender to the royal throne, known to us as False Dmitry, and led the coup on June 10, 1605. After, having dealt with their main rival, they themselves joined the struggle for the throne. Subsequently, after the accession of the Romanovs, their historians did everything to connect the massacre of the Godunov family exclusively with the personality of False Dmitry, and leave the hands of the Romanovs clean.
The Secret of the Zemsky Sobor 1613
The election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom was simply doomed to be covered with a thick layer of myths. How did it happen that in a country torn by turmoil, a young, inexperienced youth was elected to the kingdom, who at the age of 16 was not distinguished by either military talent or a sharp political mind? Of course, the future tsar had an influential father, Patriarch Filaret, who himself once aimed for the tsar's throne. But during the Zemsky Sobor, he was a prisoner of the Poles and could hardly have somehow influenced the process. According to the generally accepted version, the decisive role was played by the Cossacks, who at that time represented a powerful force to be reckoned with. Firstly, under False Dmitry II, they and the Romanovs ended up in “the same camp”, and secondly, they were certainly satisfied with the young and inexperienced prince, who did not pose a danger to their liberties, which they inherited during times of unrest.
The bellicose cries of the Cossacks forced Pozharsky's adherents to propose a two-week break. During this time, a wide agitation in favor of Mikhail unfolded. For many boyars, he also represented an ideal candidate, which would allow them to keep power in their hands. The main argument put forward was that the allegedly deceased Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, before his death, wanted to transfer the throne to his relative Fyodor Romanov (Patriarch Filaret). And since he languished in Polish captivity, the crown passed to his only son, Michael. As the historian Klyuchevsky later wrote, "they wanted to choose not the most capable, but the most convenient."
Defunct coat of arms
In the history of the dynastic coat of arms of the Romanovs, there are no less white spots than in the history of the dynasty itself. For some reason, for a long time, the Romanovs did not have their own coat of arms at all, they used the state emblem, with the image of a double-headed eagle, as a personal one. Their own family coat of arms was created only under Alexander II. By that time, the heraldry of the Russian nobility had practically taken shape, and only the ruling dynasty did not have its own coat of arms. It would be inappropriate to say that the dynasty did not have much interest in heraldry: even under Alexei Mikhailovich, the “Tsar's Titular” was published - a manuscript containing portraits of Russian monarchs with the emblems of the Russian lands.
Perhaps such loyalty to the double-headed eagle is due to the need for the Romanovs to show the legitimate succession from the Rurikids and, most importantly, from the Byzantine emperors. As you know, starting with Ivan III, they begin to talk about Russia as the successor of Byzantium. Moreover, the king married Sophia Paleolog, the granddaughter of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine. They adopted the symbol of the Byzantine double-headed eagle as their family crest.
In any case, this is just one of many versions. It is not known for certain why the ruling branch of the vast empire, which was related to the noblest houses of Europe, so stubbornly ignored the heraldic orders that had been developing over the centuries.
The long-awaited appearance of the Romanovs' own coat of arms under Alexander II only added to the questions. The then King of Arms Baron B.V. took up the development of the imperial order. Ken. The ensign of the governor Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, who at one time was the main oppositionist Alexei Mikhailovich, was taken as the basis. More precisely, its description, since the banner itself had already been lost by that time. It depicted a golden griffin on a silver background with a small black eagle with raised wings and lion heads on its tail. Perhaps Nikita Romanov borrowed it in Livonia during the Livonian War.
The new coat of arms of the Romanovs was a red griffin on a silver background, holding a golden sword and a tarch topped with a small eagle; on a black border are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver. First, the changed color of the griffin is striking. Historians of heraldry believe that Quesnay decided not to go against the rules established at that time, which forbade placing a golden figure on a silver background, with the exception of the coats of arms of such highest persons as the Pope. Thus, by changing the color of the griffin, he lowered the status of the family coat of arms. Or the “Livonian version” played a role, according to which Kene emphasized the Livonian origin of the coat of arms, since in Livonia from the 16th century there was a reverse combination of coat of arms colors: a silver griffin on a red background.
There is still a lot of controversy about the symbolism of the Romanov coat of arms. Why is so much attention paid to lion heads, and not to the figure of an eagle, which, according to historical logic, should be in the center of the composition? Why is it with lowered wings, and what, in the end, is the historical background of the Romanov coat of arms?
Peter III - the last Romanov?
As you know, the Romanov family was interrupted by the family of Nicholas II. However, some believe that the last ruler of the Romanov dynasty was Peter III. The young infantile emperor did not have a relationship with his wife at all. Catherine told in her diaries how anxiously she waited for her husband on their wedding night, and he came and fell asleep. This continued further - Peter III did not have any feelings for his wife, preferring her to his favorite. But the son, Pavel, was still born, many years after the marriage.
Rumors about illegitimate heirs are not uncommon in the history of world dynasties, especially in times of trouble for the country. So here the question arose: is Paul really the son of Peter III? Or the first favorite of Catherine, Sergei Saltykov, took part in this.
A significant argument in favor of these rumors was that the imperial couple had not had children for many years. Therefore, many believed that this union was completely fruitless, which the empress herself hinted at, mentioning in her memoirs that her husband suffered from phimosis.
Information that Sergei Saltykov could be Pavel's father is also present in Catherine's diaries: I could not compare with him at court ... He was 25 years old, in general and by birth, and in many other qualities he was an outstanding gentleman ... I did not give in all spring and part of the summer. The result was not long in coming. September 20, 1754 Catherine gave birth to a son. Only from whom: from her husband Romanov, or from Saltykov?
The choice of the name of the members of the ruling dynasty has always played an important role in the political life of the country. Firstly, with the help of names, intra-dynastic relations were often emphasized. So, for example, the names of the children of Alexei Mikhailovich were supposed to emphasize the connection of the Romanovs with the Rurik dynasty. Under Peter and his daughters, they showed a close relationship within the ruling branch (despite the fact that this did not correspond at all to the real situation in the imperial family). But under Catherine the Great, a completely new order of names was introduced. The former tribal affiliation gave way to another factor, among which political played a significant role. Her choice was based on the semantics of the names, going back to the Greek words: “people” and “victory”.
Let's start with Alexander. The name of the eldest son of Paul was given in honor of Alexander Nevsky, although another invincible commander, Alexander the Great, was also implied. About her choice, she wrote the following: “You say: Catherine wrote to Baron F. M. Grimm, that he will have to choose who to imitate: a hero (Alexander the Great) or a saint (Alexander Nevsky). You don't seem to know that our saint was a hero. He was a courageous warrior, a firm ruler and a clever politician and surpassed all other specific princes, his contemporaries ... So, I agree that Mr. Alexander has only one choice, and it depends on his personal talents which path he will take - holiness or heroism ".
The reasons for choosing the name Konstantin, unusual for Russian tsars, are even more interesting. They are connected with the idea of Catherine's "Greek project", which meant the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the restoration of the Byzantine state, headed by her second grandson.
It is not clear, however, why the third son of Paul received the name Nicholas. Obviously, he was named after the most revered saint in Russia - Nicholas the Wonderworker. But this is just a version, since there is no explanation for this choice in the sources.
Catherine had nothing to do only with the choice of a name for the youngest son of Paul - Michael, who was born after her death. Here the father's long-standing passion for chivalry has already played a role. Mikhail Pavlovich was named in honor of the Archangel Michael, the leader of the heavenly host, the patron of the emperor-knight.
Four names: Alexander, Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail - formed the basis of the new imperial names of the Romanovs.