Alexei Mikhailovich the Quietest is the second Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty, who ruled from 1645 to 1676, the son of Mikhail Fedorovich, and the father of Peter I. Behind the names of Peter the Great and other significant figures in Russian history, the figure of Alexei Mikhailovich often remains in the shadows. He did not seek to radically reform the political system, as his active descendant. However, he did everything to save the country after the difficult and crisis Time of Troubles. The reign of Alexei Romanov (from 1645 to 1676) became part of the so-called "Rebellious Age". The new historical milestone got its name due to the large number of uprisings throughout the country. The newly-made sovereign coped with his task. The period of his reign ensured the strengthening of statehood, the succession of power from the old dynasty to the new one. With all this, according to the recollections of the descendants, the king had a meek and rather good-natured disposition. He was a devout, religious man. Although sometimes he broke down and suffered from fits of anger. During the reign of the new tsar from the Romanov dynasty, complex internal events occur. Including several riots, an uprising led by Stepan Razin. The issues of restoring the state system, the socio-economic situation fell on the shoulders of the sovereign.
Childhood[]
Alexei Romanov was born on March 19, 1629 in Moscow, in the family of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the first Russian tsar of the Romanov dynasty and Evdokia Romanova (nee Streshneva), who represented the Streshnev family of small estates.
They baptized the heir to the throne in the Miracle Monastery, in the presence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Filaret Nikitich. The godfather of Alexei Mikhailovich is Alexander, the cellarer of the Trinity Church. The boy was named Alexei, because according to the calendar on March 17, the day of this saint was honored. Until the age of five, Alexei was in the care of the royal "mothers", then the boyar Boris Morozov was engaged in his upbringing, who taught him to read and write.
By the age of eleven, Alexey began to master writing and church singing. His desk books were the Book of Hours, the Acts of the Holy Apostles and the Psalter. He was very fond of reading, and at the age of thirteen he already owned a decent library, where among other books were "Grammar" and "Lexicon", published in Lithuania, and "Cosmography".
The young Tsarevich not only studied hard, he also knew how to relax. He was fond of music, loved horses. It was the boyar Morozov who played a big role in his upbringing and formation. Among other things, he was also engaged in the wardrobe of the heir to the throne, for the first time he tried on German robes on him. The public first saw the crown prince when he turned 14. Two years later, his father dies, and the 16-year-old boy is on the throne. His biography develops in the same way as that of his father, who inherited the throne at the same age. Romanov established his official residence in Kolomenskoye.
Beginning of the board[]
Alexei was taught rather one-sidedly, so after ascending the throne, he had a lot of problems that he was not ready to solve. For this reason, Romanov is even closer to the boyar Morozov. For the first three years, he carefully listened to everything that the boyar advised, but then he got his own view of what was happening in the state.
The character of the young man gradually grew stronger, became tougher. According to the recollections of foreign guests - A. Meyerberg, S. Collins, G. Kotoshikhin, Romanov was a good-natured, gentle and quiet ruler, observing church rituals. Three times a week he did not drink or eat. Because of the peculiarities of his character and piety, he was nicknamed the Quietest.
Boris Morozov still enjoyed great prestige with the young tsar. When Alexei decided to marry at the age of eighteen the daughter of Raf Vsevolzhsky, it was Morozov who prevented this marriage. Less than a year later, the tsar married Maria Miloslavskaya, and Morozov soon followed his example. He married her sister Anna.
This turn of events further strengthened Morozov's already enormous influence on the royal court. Only now Miloslavsky joined him. However, this did not prevent Alexei from revealing all the blunders in the internal government of the state, to which Morozov was directly involved. The Quietest decides to impose a duty on salt. Thanks to the introduction of a new tax, the salt duty, yamsk and streltsy money were abolished. However, the people did not like the innovation. The situation escalated even more due to Miloslavsky's abuse of his powers. The last straw was the talk that the king literally bows to foreign customs.
This state of affairs provoked the beginning of the Salt Riot, which flared up not only in Moscow, but also in several other Russian cities. Citizens demanded that Morozov be extradited to them, but this was denied to them. Then they broke into his house, and as a result, two people died - the devious Pleshcheev and the Duma clerk Chisty. The tsar had to look for a way out, and he came up with the idea of hiding the boyar Morozov in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery.
Thanks to this rebellion, the new duty on salt was abolished. The dissatisfaction of the citizens came to naught, and Morozov was able to move to the palace again. Now the boyar no longer climbed into government, although he enjoyed the favor of the king. The paramount importance finally completely passed to Romanov.
Domestic policy[]
In matters of domestic policy, the king was guided solely by his own knowledge and skills. He made several important orders that affected the lives of citizens. Aleksey the Quietest forbade Belomestsk residents to own land, establishments, both commercial and industrial. The peasants did not have the right to change the owner, the same rule applied to their families.
According to historians, the internal life of the state changed in accordance with several basic orders of the king. Among them are the most important - the Reitarsky and Khlebny orders, Accounting and Secret Affairs, the Monastic, Lithuanian and Little Russian decrees.
The tsar paid great attention to the financial affairs of the state. According to his order, all tax yards were rewritten, in order to count the male representatives. Romanov again tried to introduce a salt duty, updated and refined, but again failed.
The tsar signed a decree on the elimination of small customs duties. He left only one option for settlements - the transfer to the farm. The treasury revealed a lack of money, so they began to issue additional funds, namely copper coins. The result of such decisions was the depreciation of copper money in comparison with silver money. This not very successful decision of Romanov provoked a new rebellion, called Copper.
In 1667, Alexei the Quietest made another incomprehensible decision, namely, to build several sea vessels. For this, a shipyard was organized on the Oka, near the village of Dedinovo. No one understood why Romanov needed ships, because they didn’t really need them. Only one of them left the port and managed to get to Astrakhan.
Alexey Romanov did not introduce global changes to the legislation. According to his order, the Council Code appeared, consisting of a military charter, a New Trade Decree, New Decree Articles on robberies and murders, as well as estates.
Foreign policy[]
All the forces of the monarch were thrown to protect the western borders. It was for this reason that he fought with the states located in the west. Russia considered the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to be its most important opponent. For almost a century, Russian rulers defended their territories and tried to win back others.
But Romanov, even with the help of military operations, did not advance towards the Baltic Sea, although he still managed to achieve positive stages in the development of foreign policy. The territory of Russia was replenished with Chernihiv and Smolensk lands, which were disconnected in Troubled times. Alexey the Quietest fought with the Crimean Tatars, stopped their raids, and even managed to push back the southern borders.
During the reign of the second representative of the Romanov dynasty, part of the Ukrainian lands were located on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Local residents suffered from serfdom, so the local authorities soon felt the full force of their discontent. The Zaporozhian Cossacks also opposed the troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Cossacks won, and the rulers sat down at the negotiating table. Ukraine acquired autonomy, although the Poles were not satisfied with this decision. The Cossacks had to admit defeat, and their leader was forced to look for a stronger ally. Only a few years later, after numerous attempts to enlist the support of Russia, the Cossacks achieved their goal. By the order of the Zemsky Sobor, Russian troops united with the Cossacks, and made a united front against the hated Poles.
The 1654th became a landmark for both Ukraine and Russia. The states have united into a single whole. The power over the Ukrainian lands belonged to the hetman, who led a large Cossack army. This state of affairs did not suit the Polish-Lithuanian side, and war broke out again. During the first months, Romanov won solid victories, managed to capture three dozen cities, among which was Smolensk.
And then the Commonwealth suffered from the invasion of the Swedish king. The Poles had no way to repulse the Western troops, so a number of lands, and the city of Warsaw, went to Sweden. Romanov was not going to give in and took a forced measure - the conclusion of a temporary peace with the Polish-Lithuanian authorities. Then it turned out that strategically it was a very wrong decision.
After the death of Hetman Bogdan Khmelnytsky, his successor went over to the side of the Poles and launched a war against Russia. Romanov was unable to hold the defense against two opponents at the same time - the Poles and the Swedes. This confrontation claimed many lives, and only after that the countries began negotiations on a truce. The result of the signing of the peace treaty was the loss of the Baltic lands by Russia.
Death[]
Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov died on February 9, 1676. And for everyone it was a big surprise, because he was only 46 years old. The Quietest died of a heart attack.
But he managed to leave behind the heir to the throne. Romanov, two years before the tragedy, appointed his son Fyodor as ruler.