It would seem that the answer lies on the surface. It is generally believed that the second Romanov was so called for his gentle kindness. Indeed, the king was a good-natured man. However, he was by no means the "quietest" in this sense of the word - neither in his nature, nor in his deeds. Consider first his character.
If the second Romanov showed some "quietness", then only in the first years of his reign, when he was young. But his natural irascibility very quickly made itself felt. The king easily lost his temper and gave free rein to his tongue and hands. So, once, having quarreled with Patriarch Nikon, he publicly scolded him as a man and a son of a bitch. In general, Alexei Mikhailovich knew how to swear in a very inventive and sophisticated way, not like the current foul-mouthed with their miserable high school vocabulary. Here, for example, is the letter the tsar sent to the treasurer of the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery, father Nikita, who, having drunk, fought with the archers stationed at the billet: “ From the king and grand duke Alexey Mikhailovich of all Russia to the enemy of God and the God-hating and Christ-seller and the destroyer of the miracle-working house and like-minded Satan, the damned enemy, unnecessary spear and evil sly villain Treasurer Mikita».
Such was the king's tongue. Let's talk about hands. Once the question of a war with Poland was discussed in the Duma, and the tsar's father-in-law, the boyar Miloslavsky, who had never been on campaigns, unexpectedly announced that if the sovereign appointed him governor, he would bring him the Polish king himself as a prisoner. This impudent boasting outraged the king so much that he gave the old man a slap in the face, pulled his beard and kicked him out of the ward. And this is the quietest king? Hardly.
Archpriest Avvakum denounces: "... And the enemy of God has overshadowed the king, and, moreover, he magnifies, flattering, on the transfer: “the most pious, quietest, most autocratic sovereign of ours, such and such, great, - more than all the saints from the age! - may the Lord God remember in his kingdom, always, and now, and forever, and forever and ever».
But the king turned out to be different, not the quietest at all: " And the tsar, to sing, in those days one hopes and imagines that he really is such, there is no holier than him! And where is the greater pride of that!" etc.
As for business, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, there was the least peace and quiet. The king demanded from his henchmen to serve tirelessly. Remembering "their incessant work", the boyar Artamon Matveev noted that " this has never happened before". And according to the recall of Archpriest Avvakum, the king " he did a lot in this life, like a goat hopping over the hills and chasing the wind". Yes, and when Alexey Mikhailovich rest, if in his reign rebellion followed rebellion, war after war. The contemporaries themselves called the 17th century the “rebellious age”.
But it is precisely this last circumstance that provides the key to the correct understanding of the nickname "The Quietest". Its origins lie in the ancient formula "peace and quiet", which symbolized a well-organized and prosperous state. Prayer for "peace and silence", for "peace and silence, and prosperity" from the time of Boris Godunov into the "sovereign's cup" (a special verbal and musical genre). Pretenders and rebels, according to the terminology of that time, were "libertines of silence."
Alexei Mikhailovich precisely “calmed down” Russia, torn apart by riots and splits. In one document of that time it is said that after death Mikhail Fedorovich Monomakhov put on a hat his noble son, the most pious, quietest, most autocratic great sovereign, tsar and grand duke Alexei Mikhailovich. Then, under his sovereign hand, in the whole kingdom, piety was firmly observed, and all Orthodox Christianity shone serenely with silence.».
This is the meaning our ancestors put into the epithet "the quietest" - it was the official title of the sovereign, which was related to the rank, and not to the character of the king. It is also found in the mourning inscription " the last voice of the most pious, quietest, most luminous Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, who sanctified in the Lord in the Lord".
And such a “quietest” sovereign, by the way, was officially not only Alexei Mikhailovich, but also his sons, successors on the throne: at first Fedor Alekseevich, then the brothers Ivan and Peter, and then for 30 years one Peter, who by no means is suspected of “quiet” behavior and excessive softness.
On June 18, 1676, on the day of the wedding to the kingdom of Fedor Alekseevich, Simeon Polotsky brought him "Gusl good-voiced" - a book dedicated to " to the newly reigning most pious, quietest, most luminous Great Sovereign".
In 1701, the professor of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, the Chudov monk Job, who compiled the Primer, Rekshe Socrates of the Christian Teaching, indicated in the preface that he worked for glory " the clearest and most sovereign ... Pyotr Alekseevich". Simply "the quietest" Peter is called in the inscription of the "Rhetorical Hand" Stefan Yavorsky- more precisely, in its Russian translation, owned by Feofan Prokopovich. In the Trilingual Lexicon, he also translated "the quietest" as serenissimus, which epithet was used in the title of Roman emperors. And this finally debunks the myth that Alexei Mikhailovich earned the nickname "the quietest" among his contemporaries due to his meekness and humility.
References:
Klyuchevsky V.O. Alexei Mikhailovich (in the course of "Lectures on Russian history").
Panchenko A. About Russian history and culture. SPb., 2000. S. 17-21.
The second tsar from the Romanov dynasty on the Russian throne was the son of Mikhail Fedorovich and his second wife Evdokia Streshneva - Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of one of the largest reformers in the history of Russia, Peter the Great. More than thirty years of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich was filled with turbulent events: numerous wars and rebellions, reunification with Ukraine and the annexation of Siberia, the uprising of Stepan Razin and a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The second half of the 17th century, which fell on the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, is of interest to historians, first of all, as the so-called. "pre-Petrine" era, preparatory to major political and economic transformations, socio-cultural innovations and borrowings from the West.
It was the time of the coexistence of two cultural currents in the life of the Russian state, which belonged to both the “old-timers” - such as the first schismatic teachers, and the innovators “Westernizers” - supporters of enlightenment, foreign borrowing, trade and diplomatic relations with Europe. A whole generation of Peter's predecessors grew up and lived amidst the struggle of old concepts with new trends, and the question of education and borrowing from the West, according to the common belief of historians, was definitely born under the father of Peter I. In this regard, the very personality of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, his psychological portrait and way of life has repeatedly become the subject of research by many famous scientists.
The outstanding Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote that Aleksey Mikhailovich “grew up with a generation that for the first time was forced by need to carefully and anxiously look at the heretical West in the hope of finding there means to get out of domestic difficulties, without renouncing the concepts, habits and beliefs of pious antiquity.”
Tsarevich Alexei was born on March 19 (29), 1629, and until the age of five he grew up in the tower of the Moscow palace, surrounded by numerous "mothers". In the sixth year, he was transferred to the care of the "uncle" - the boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, under whose supervision he completed a full course of ancient Russian education: at first he studied according to the primer specially compiled for him by the patriarchal clerk on the order of his grandfather, Patriarch Filaret; then he moved on to reading the chapel, the psalter, studied the Acts of the Apostles, at the age of seven he learned to write, and in the ninth year, with the regent of the palace choir, he began to learn “Oktoih” - a musical liturgical book, from which he moved on to the study of “terrible singing”, i.e. church hymns of Passion Week, especially difficult in their melody.
The prince was not without fun either: among the toys of the future king were the horse of the "German cause", children's armor, musical instruments, sledges and sleighs, a novelty for that time - "German printed sheets", i.e. pictures engraved in Germany, which were used as a visual educational material by Boris Morozov, one of the first Russian boyars who began to show interest in Western enlightenment. Probably, the latter introduced a more daring innovation in the Moscow sovereign's palace: he dressed Tsarevich Alexei and his brother Ivan in German dress.
By the age of 12, the prince had already formed his own small library of 13 volumes - mostly gifts from his grandfather, uncles and teachers. For the most part, these were books of Holy Scripture and liturgical books, but among them were the Lexicon and Grammar published in Lithuania, as well as Cosmography. In general, the education of Alexei Mikhailovich was of a traditional nature. However, upon graduation, he did not lose interest in books and later, at his own request, he was engaged in self-education, read a lot and constantly, so he soon joined the ranks of the then few Moscow intellectuals.
By the age of ten, the prince could read the Hours briskly in the church and, not without success, sing with the deacon on the kliros according to hook notes, stichera and canons; at the same time, he studied the rite of church services to the smallest detail, in which he could argue with any monastic and even cathedral clerk.
In the 14th year of his life, the prince was solemnly "announced" to the people and the boyars. The rite of "announcement" meant that the heir to the throne, until then carefully guarded from other people's eyes and evil intentions, appeared before the courtiers and the people as a person who had reached the age of majority and received the right to publicly participate in ceremonies and state affairs; this also served as a guarantee against imposture in any of its manifestations. And at the age of 16, after the death of his father Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich ascended the Russian throne. As soon as the young tsar was sworn in, which was to be followed by a wedding to the kingdom, a new blow fell on Alexei: having survived her husband a little, the blessed queen Evdokia Lukyanovna died.
Grigory Sedov. The choice of the bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich
At the beginning of his reign, the orphaned young tsar was under the strong influence of his former mentor boyar Morozov, who, in fact, led the entire work of the state apparatus. Subsequently, when the king matured and turned from a boy into a person with a definite and even original worldview and established political views, his reign, according to contemporaries and the general opinion of historians, was characterized by an even more autocratic rule than that of his father.
However, the realization of the autocratic power of his power was softened by pious meekness, deep humility of the king. “It is better to repair fishery with tears, zeal and meanness before God than by force and glory,” he wrote to one of his governors. In a letter to Prince Nikita Odoevsky in 1652, he reported: “And we, great sovereign, daily ask the Creator and His Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints that the Lord God grant us, the great sovereign, and you, the boyars, with us unanimously his people of light really govern everything evenly.
Alexey Mikhailovich understood his being on the throne of Russia, first of all, as a responsibility for the fate of the kingdom before God, the royal service for him was akin to a harsh hierarchal ministry.
The desire to strengthen the kingdom and protect the faith, to calm “the many sorrows of the righteous”, according to him, was explained not by the search for the unfading glory of the earthly ruler, but by a necessary condition for one’s own salvation, “the soul of sinners is introduced into the gates of fierce hell through the wide path and the soul of the righteous into the gates through the narrow path.” to the Kingdom of Heaven." “I strive ... to be not a great sun, but at least a small luminary, a small star there, and not here,” the tsar wrote.
Shortly after accession to the throne, 17-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich announced his intention to marry. According to custom, the best brides were gathered, from which the tsar chose Evfemia Feodorovna Vsevolozhskaya, the daughter of the Kasimov landowner, according to contemporaries, an extraordinary beauty. However, when she was first dressed in royal clothes, her hair was pulled too tight, and she fainted in front of the king. For the fact that they "hid" the disease, the bride and her family were exiled to distant Tyumen. The king was extremely sad, and after a while, not forgetting about his first bride, he returned her from exile.
Popular rumor explained what happened by the intrigues of the boyar Morozov, who allegedly deliberately discredited the bride in front of the sovereign out of fear that the new royal relatives would push him out of power. In any case, the boyar soon arranged for the tsar's marriage, while managing to further strengthen his position. His assistant, Ilya Miloslavsky, a man of little birth, but not devoid of agility and ability, had two beautiful daughters. Morozov praised them before the tsar and arranged so that Alexei Mikhailovich could see them. On January 16, 1648, the tsar married Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, whom he liked. Morozov himself, an old man by then, since he was 58 years old, married his younger sister, Anna Miloslavskaya, who was fit for him as a granddaughter, thus becoming the royal brother-in-law.
The marriage of the king, concluded for love, turned out to be happy. For 21 years of marriage, Maria Miloslavskaya gave birth to Alexei Mikhailovich 13 children: five princes and eight princesses. True, the princes were born weak and soon went to the grave: the first-born Dmitry did not live even a year; Alexei, with whom great hopes were connected, died before reaching the age of 16; Simeon - at the age of 5; Fedor and Ivan, who became kings, lived longer - Fedor was almost 22 years old, Ivan - up to 29. The latter, Ivan Alekseevich, co-ruler of Peter I, in addition to bodily weakness, probably also suffered from mental relaxation.
V.A. Leiben. royal bride
The daughters of Alexei Mikhailovich, on the contrary, were distinguished by good health and relative longevity, however, none of them married. As for the Morozov couple, according to the caustic remark of the court physician, the Englishman Samuel Collins, who was aware of many palace gossip, instead of children, jealousy was born, which "produced a belt whip as thick as a finger."
If there is very scarce information about Alexei Mikhailovich in his younger years, then contemporaries left numerous testimonies and verbose descriptions about the mature tsar and the Moscow court in the later period of his reign, of which the most interesting for historians, as a rule, are the reports and memoirs of foreigners - Austrian ambassador Augustine Meyerberg ("Meyerberg's Report", 1663 and "Journey to Muscovy", 1663), Secretary of the German Imperial Embassy Adolf Lisek ("Report on the Embassy", 1670), English doctor at the royal court Samuel Collins (“On the current state of Russia, 1671), the Courland traveler Yakov Reitenfels (“Tales of the Most Serene Duke of Tuscany Kozma the Third about Muscovy”, 1676). Also, extensive material is provided by the work of Grigory Kotoshikhin, an official of the Russian Ambassadorial Order, who defected to Sweden, “On Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich”.
In addition to the recollections of eyewitnesses, a significant part of the literary works of Tsar Alexei himself has come down to us - he was very fond of writing, he was equally interested in the Polish war, and the illness of the courtier, and the household of the deceased patriarch, and the question of how to sing many years in church, and gardening, and petty quarrels in his favorite monastery. In addition to a large number of letters, both business and personal, he composed poems, compiled a detailed order to his falconers “The Code of the Falconer's Way”, tried to write memoirs and, in the words of the historian S. F. Platonov, “even had the habit of correcting the text and making increases in official letters, and did not always fall into the tone of an orderly presentation.
Contemporaries describe the king as a person of very pleasant appearance, full of health, good-natured, cheerful disposition, and even prone to mischief. The appearance of the sovereign immediately disposed to himself: a rare kindness shone in his blue eyes, the look of these eyes did not frighten anyone, but encouraged and reassured.
The face of the sovereign, full and ruddy, fringed with a blond beard, was good-natured, affable and at the same time serious and important, and the full figure always maintained a dignified posture, which the king was given by awareness of the significance and sanctity of his dignity.
The king was distinguished by piety, zealously observed all religious prohibitions and regulations, was not inclined to drink, and was known as an exemplary family man. He loved hunting, almost always spent the summer in the picturesque village of Kolomenskoye. Alexey Mikhailovich appreciated beauty in its old Moscow sense: he constantly built and rebuilt his wooden palace in Kolomenskoye, trying to give it a perfect look, he loved the solemn ritual of royal exits, dinners, pilgrimage.
Valdai Monastery. Moscow. Late 17th century
Throughout his life, Tsar Alexei was a model of piety and piety: he could argue with any monk in the art of praying and fasting. According to S. Collins, during the Great and Assumption Lent on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the king ate once a day, and his food consisted of cabbage, milk mushrooms and berries - all without oil; On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, during all fasts, he did not eat or drink anything.
In the church, he sometimes stood "for five and six hours in a row, laid a thousand prostrations to the earth, and on other days and a thousand and a half." Even illness could not always break the strict order.
Daily prayer exercises, severe fasting, ardent repentance, and tireless spiritual labor made up a significant part of the king's life. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, “he was a devout ancient Russian pilgrim, who harmoniously and wholeheartedly combined bodily labor with the tension of religious feeling in the feat of spiritual salvation.”
Most of his contemporaries noted the meekness and mercy of the king, gentleness of character, respect for human dignity in subjects. Thus, the Austrian ambassador Augustin Meyerberg wrote with surprise that this tsar, with his unlimited power over the people, did not encroach on anyone's property, nor on anyone's life, nor on anyone's honor. Sometimes it is even believed that it was personal qualities that earned Alexei Mikhailovich the nickname “The Quietest”, although in reality the “quietest” (lat. clementissimus) is an honorary title of Latin origin, later replaced in diplomacy by the French “most merciful” (fr. tresgracieux).
But kindness, gaiety and lightness of character really distinguished the second representative of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Alexei Mikhailovich was the first to begin to loosen the severity of the prim etiquette established at the Moscow court, which made court relations so difficult and strained. He condescended to joke with the courtiers, went to visit them easily, invited them to his evening meals, was interested in their household chores. The ability to enter into the position of others, to understand and take their grief and joy to heart was one of the best traits in the character of the king. His letters of consolation to Prince N.I. are often cited as an example of this. Odoevsky on the occasion of the death of his son and to A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin about his son's escape abroad.
The son of Prince Odoevsky, who served as governor in Kazan, died of a fever in 1652, almost in front of the king. The king reported this in a letter to his old father, detailing his unexpected death. Along with numerous words of consolation, he wrote: “And you, our boyar, should not grieve too much, but you can’t, so as not to grieve and cry, and you need to cry, only in moderation so as not to anger God.” The letter ended with a postscript: “Prince Nikita Ivanovich! Do not grieve, but trust in God and be reliable in us.
In 1660, the son of a prominent diplomat and statesman, Athanasius Ordin-Nashchokin, committed a serious crime - he fled from Russia to Poland, and then to France, taking with him important government documents and money. The father of the fugitive was terribly embarrassed and heartbroken, he himself notified the king of his misfortune and asked for his resignation. In such a situation, he could expect disgrace and even execution, but Alexei Mikhailovich sent him a sympathetic letter, comforting him in his grief: “You are asking to give you a resignation; what made you ask for this? I think that from immense sadness. And what's so surprising about your son fooling around? did so out of stupidity. He is a young man, he wanted to look at the world of God and his deeds; just as a bird flies hither and thither, and having swooped down, flies to its nest, so your son will remember his nest and his spiritual attachment, and will soon return to you.” Oddly enough, the words of the king turned out to be prophetic: the “prodigal son” returned and repented. In 1665, he received a royal charter in Riga, in which Alexei Mikhailovich notified him of permission to return and of forgiveness: Your parent, in vain our mercy, are near us. According to a number of researchers, it was these events that inspired Simeon of Polotsk to create one of the monuments of ancient Russian literature - a "school drama" for the emerging theater called "The Comedy of the Parable of the Prodigal Son", which was especially successful.
With all the responsiveness of character and natural complacency, Alexei Mikhailovich, nevertheless, was also distinguished by his temper, easily lost his temper, and often gave too much room to his tongue and hands. In all the portraits of the king there is a certain severity: knitted eyebrows, a look from under the brows. S. Collins, reporting on the exactingness and exactingness of the sovereign, writes that the tsar is sometimes angry and unkind, because he is surrounded by scammers and boyars, "who direct his good intentions to evil" and prevent him from becoming "along with the kindest sovereigns."
In his anger, Alexei Mikhailovich was easily forgiving, quickly and sincerely moving from scolding to caress. Even when the sovereign's irritation reached its highest limit, it was soon replaced by repentance and a desire for peace and tranquility. So, at one of the meetings of the Boyar Duma, flaring up from the tactless antics of his father-in-law boyar Ivan Miloslavsky, the tsar scolded him, beat him and kicked him out of the room. However, the good relations between the father-in-law and the son-in-law did not deteriorate from this: both easily forgot what had happened.
Another time, the tsar flared up when one of the courtiers, Rodion Streshnev, refused, due to old age, to "open" his own blood together with the tsar (the sovereign, feeling relieved from bloodletting, suggested that the courtiers follow his example). The refusal seemed to Alexei Mikhailovich a manifestation of arrogance and pride, for which he, flaring up, hit the old man: “Your blood is more precious than mine? Or do you think you are the best? After that, he did not know how to appease and console the venerable courtier, asked for peace and sent him rich gifts.
The court under Alexei Mikhailovich acquired an unprecedented grandeur. The life of the king was subordinated to the execution of carefully thought-out, deeply symbolic rituals.
He got up early - at four o'clock in the morning, prayed, with special care worshiping the icon of the saint whose memory was celebrated that day. Then he went on a ceremonial rendezvous with the queen. After matins, he was engaged in state affairs: he “sat” with the boyars. At a certain hour, he walked with them to mass.
If this day was a church holiday, the royal clothes changed - Alexei Mikhailovich put on a golden dress instead of a velvet one. After mass, the tsar listened to the reports of the boyars and clerks. In the afternoon, things were left - the royal dinner began, as a rule, quite a long one. After dinner, the tsar, like any Russian person, had to sleep until vespers. After dinner, he spent time with family and friends, playing chess or listening to the stories of experienced people about old times and unknown countries. Foreigners also report the tsar's inclination to work at night: “The tsar examines the protocols of his clerks at night. He checks which decisions were made and which petitions were not answered.”
Departure on a pilgrimage
Alexei Mikhailovich was in constant motion. Many weeks of his life were filled with countless movements, crossings, trips - most often, not very distant, to the palace villages near Moscow and hunting grounds of Kolomenskoye, Khoroshevo, Ostrov, Chertanovo, Vorobyevo, Preobrazhenskoye, Pokrovskoye, Izmailovo; less often - more distant pilgrimages to monasteries, where it took several days to get there. The tsar's trips were arranged with extraordinary solemnity: even if the sovereign left the Kremlin for several hours to look at the fistfights on the Moscow River, a special decree was drawn up to whom during his absence "the state was in charge."
The reign of Alexei Mikhailovich was the heyday of the court and church ceremonial of the Moscow kingdom, which acquired a special monumentality and significance. According to one of the biographers, Alexei Mikhailovich, being a man of duty and living faith, looked at his participation in church and court ceremonies as something destined for him from above, as a direct royal service, no less important than protecting borders or a fair trial. An indispensable participant in the most important secular and church ceremonies and holidays, the tsar gave them a special brilliance and solemnity, intervened in their course, composed speeches, assigned roles, and even engaged in their “decoration”. Alexey Mikhailovich most often made the "ordinary" royal exits for mass and pilgrimage exits on holidays on foot. Sometimes, in bad weather or in winter, he was given a carriage, a sleigh, on which he could return to the palace at the end of the ceremony or get to the place of the holiday if it took place far from the palace. The very vestments of the king and the number of changes of dress testified to the "rank of the event." In most cases, it is precisely from the description of secular celebrations and church services with the participation of Alexei Mikhailovich that historians can recreate the ceremonial of the Moscow court and assume what it was like in early times.
On major church holidays, on the eve of royal name days and on memorial days, there were royal outings “with the sovereign’s salary” to the poor, to almshouses and prisons. Aleksey Mikhailovich handed out money to prisoners and convicts with his own hands, and some of them were immediately set free.
Distribution usually began very early: the king got up two or three hours before dawn and, accompanied by several persons, set off with alms. The amount of funds spent and the number of people "granted by grace" at the same time reached very impressive figures. Particularly large were the distributions during Great Lent, first of all, on Holy Week, and also on Easter, when the doors of jails and prisons were opened and the inmates were announced: “Christ is risen for you too.” From the royal name, everyone was presented with Easter eggs, clothes and alms for breaking the fast.
In general, for Alexei Mikhailovich, as well as for every inhabitant of medieval Russia, the Resurrection of Christ was the brightest holiday. On the eve of the Bright Feast of the king, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, he was in high spirits, he was bright, kind and cheerful. According to tradition, Alexei Mikhailovich went to listen to the Midnight Office in the Altar Room of the Terem Palace. The festive Paschal matins ended with the christening, the tsar was the first to approach the Patriarch to congratulate and christen. Then Alexei Mikhailovich christened with the bishops and bestowed on the hand of the clergy of the lowest rank, while presenting each with Easter eggs. Further, the courtiers approached the king with a strict initiative.
The ceremony was opened by nearby boyars and finished by Moscow nobles, all dressed in golden caftans. Aleksey Mikhailovich, in accordance with the nobility, rank and personal attitude towards everyone, gave chicken, goose or even chiseled wooden eggs in different quantities. At the end of the ceremony, the tsar went to the Archangel Cathedral and "christened with his parents", i.e. bowed to the coffins of their ancestors and laid Easter eggs on the tombs. Then he went around the Kremlin cathedrals and monasteries, kissed icons and other shrines, giving eggs to the local clergy as well. Upon returning to the palace, Alexei Mikhailovich christened with his relatives.
On Bright Week, most often on Wednesday, Alexei Mikhailovich received the Patriarch in the Golden Chamber with the authorities, who came to him with an offering. The patriarch blessed the king with an image and a golden cross, offered goblets, expensive materials, and sable furs. All members of the royal family also received gifts. Those of the church hierarchs who could not participate in the ceremony, and all large monasteries, necessarily sent gifts from their regions - images of saints, Easter eggs, etc. a gift - “great day fur of honey” (fur is a vessel, such as a leather bag. Various liquid products were stored in furs in the old days - author's note) and gold. These days, the Moscow white clergy and monastic authorities came to the tsar in procession with a gift - bread and kvass. With a symbolic tribute to the tsar in gold coins, guests and merchants also appeared at Alexei Mikhailovich. In general, during the Easter days, the sovereign was visited by hundreds of people from different classes and ranks. In most cases, they hurriedly bowed, kissed their hands and received an Easter gift. According to researchers, on Easter, the king needed up to 37,000 colored eggs alone for distribution.
An important holiday for Russian subjects was the royal name day. On this day, all work was prohibited, the malls were closed, and weddings were not played in churches and the dead were not buried.
Contemporaries left several descriptions of the name day of Alexei Mikhailovich. On the day of the royal name day, the feast of St. rights. Alexy, so the morning of the king began with a trip to the Alekseevsky nunnery, where he, with the courtiers and the highest clergy, attended the festive Liturgy. The trip was distinguished by the richness of outfits and the large number of participants. Alexei Mikhailovich rode in a high black fox hat and a caftan adorned with precious stones.
The petitioners in great numbers handed out petitions to the king, which, "if he orders," were accepted by the courtiers. Upon returning to the palace, the tsar treated his loved ones to a birthday cake. Since these were the days of Great Lent, the birthday table was arranged quite rarely. As a sign of special respect, Alexei Mikhailovich sometimes went with a birthday cake to the Patriarch. Boyars and foreign court guests were given birthday cakes in the dining room or in the foyer of the Terem Palace.
The king's hunting trips were part of the court ceremonial - a colorful and bewitching action. Alexei Mikhailovich was an avid hunter, especially fond of falconry, which he was ready to go at any time. The king mastered the craft of hunting to the finer points, at a glance he guessed the quality of the bird, he knew his gyrfalconers, falconers and hawks well. The royal falconry yard in the village of Semenovskoye impressed even foreigners: there were about a hundred falconers alone, the number of birds exceeded three thousand. There were falcons, gyrfalcons, cheligs, tailbones, hawks and, apparently, even eagles. There were exotic red and white hawks in the fort. In addition to birds of prey, swans, geese, cranes, herons lived in the yard. In Semenovsky, Alexei Mikhailovich located the largest of his menageries. There were many bears, both tame and wild, kept for fighting, baiting and other amusements.
Another strong hobby of the king was farming. The place for his economic experiments was a property near Moscow in the village of Izmailovo, where Alexei Mikhailovich started exemplary fields and orchards and grew grapes, watermelons and even mulberries. In addition to field crops and horticulture, the tsar started extensive horticulture, livestock, poultry, and apiary yards in Izmailovo. The economic complex included a variety of buildings, stone rigs for storing crops, seven flour mills. For a constant pressure of water, a system of 37 ponds was created. To top it all off, the linen and glass factories worked, and the products of the latter were even sold.
Alexei Mikhailovich's hobbies were not limited to hunting and interest in managing. The king equally enjoyed reading, and chess, and even rude and uncomplicated court fun. He was very fond of listening to church hymns, he wrote the texts of chants. The total number of the royal choir, which was extremely difficult to get into, reached 180 people. The organ also sounded at the court.
In 1671, the widowed Alexei Mikhailovich married for the second time - to 19-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, who was brought up in the house of the royal close boyar Artamon Matveev, where, as it is believed, the tsar saw her. Two daughters and a son were born from this marriage, two survived: the future Tsar Peter I and daughter Natalia. Under the influence of his second wife and the boyar Matveev, the tsar allowed a novelty to be introduced at court - the “comedy mansion”. This is how the Russian theater was born. The built theater stage was a semicircle with scenery, a curtain and an orchestra consisting of an organ, pipes, a drum, flutes, a violin and a timpani. The show usually ran for several hours. The king sat on a dais, his place was upholstered in red cloth. In the spirit of Asian customs, the young tsarina Natalya Kirillovna watched the performance through the bars of the gallery, closed from prying eyes.
Thus, despite the dominance of old Russian traditions and centuries-old ceremonial in the life of the second tsar from the House of Romanov, he still lived at a time when Russian society was relentlessly moving closer to European culture. The question of what, how and to what extent should be borrowed from the West, and whether it should be borrowed at all, acquired the character of a national problem.
Under such circumstances, Alexei Mikhailovich’s unwillingness to make an unambiguous choice between antiquity and innovation, to break sharply with the former or categorically abandon the latter, was blamed on him by subsequent generations of historians and caused accusations of passivity of character, lack of talent as a statesman, inability to stand at the head of the reform movement.
On the other hand, it is undeniable that Tsar Alexei significantly contributed to the success of the reform movement, enabling the first reformers to feel free, show their strength, and opened a wide road for their activities.
In the words of V. O. Klyuchevsky, Alexei Mikhailovich, with his often erratic and inconsistent impulses for the new and his ability to smooth and settle everything, “tamed shy Russian thought to influences coming from the wrong side” and created a transformative mood.
Literature
Andreev I. L. Alexei Mikhailovich. M., 2003.
Witsen N. Journey to Muscovy 1664-1665. A diary. SPb., 1996.
Zabelin I.E. Home life of Russian tsars in the 16th and 17th centuries. T. I. Part II. M., 2000.
Zabelin I.E. Collection of letters of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. M., 1856.
Zaozersky A. I. The royal estate of the XVII century. M., 1937.
Ilovaisky D. I. History of Russia. Works. Alexei Mikhailovich and his immediate successors. M., 1905. T. 5.
Klyuchevsky V. O. Composition in nine volumes. Russian history course. Part 3. M., 1988.
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Kostomarov N. Russian foreigners. M., 1996.
Kotoshikhin G.K. About Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. SPb., 1906.
Meyerberg A. Journey to Muscovy // Approval of the dynasty. The history of Russia and the Romanov dynasty in the memoirs of contemporaries of the 17th–20th centuries. M., 1997.
Milyukov P. N. Essays on the history of Russian culture. T. 2. M., 1994.
Pavel Alepsky. Journey of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch to Moscow in the 17th century. SPb., 1898.
Platonov S. F. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (Experience of characterization) // Historical Bulletin, 1886. T. 24. No. 5.
Preobrazhensky A. A. Alexei Mikhailovich // Preobrazhensky A. A., Morozova L. E., Demidova N. F. The first Romanovs on the Russian throne. M., 2000.
Presnyakov A.E. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich // Russian autocrats. M., 1990.
Reitenfels, Jacob. Tales to the Duke of Tuscany about Muscovy // Statement of the dynasty. The history of Russia and the Romanov dynasty in the memoirs of contemporaries
XVII-XX centuries M., 1997.
The legend of Adolf Lisek about the embassy from the Emperor of Rome Leopold to the great Tsar of Moscow Alexei Mikhailovich in 1675. SPb., 1837.
Solovyov S. M. Works. M., 1991. Book. VI.
Talina G. V. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich: personality, thinker, statesman. M., 1996.
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CONTENT
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………...3
2. Main part…………………………………………………………………….5
3. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...8
List of literature used………………………………………………….9
Appendix
INTRODUCTION
It is known that many rulers of Russia received nicknames during their lifetime for their temper, exploits, and reforms. For example, Prince Vladimir the Holy - "Red Sun", Prince Dmitry Ivanovich - "Donskoy", Prince Alexander Yaroslavich - "Nevsky", Prince Ivan I - "Kalita", Tsar Ivan IV - "Terrible", Tsar Alexander I - "Winner" , Tsar Alexander II - "The Liberator".
Have these folk nicknames always been true? In our work, we conducted a study enlightened by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, namely, the nickname “Quiet One” assigned to him.
More than thirty years of the reign of the second king of the Romanov family was marked by riots, wars and rebellions, because of which the entireXVIIcentury was called the "rebellious age." However, despite this, Alexei Mikhailovich was nicknamed "The Quietest". So who is he: the “quietest” tsar, striving for peace and justice, or a tyrant who continuously fought throughout his long reign - with Poles, Swedes, Little Russian hetmans, Crimean Tatars, Turks, Stenka Razin and even with the monks of the Solovetsky Monastery?
The existence of this problem determinesrelevance our research.
Our survey of schoolchildren in grades 5-7 showed that they all associate the nickname “Quiet One” either with the personality of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, or with the fact that there were no wars during his reign. Are they right? This becameobject this study.
Objective: on the basis of various sources about the personality, board and activities, find out why Alexei Mikhailovich is called Quiet.
Tasks:
1. To study and analyze Internet resources and literature about Alexei Mikhailovich.
2. Compare the assessments of contemporaries and historians about the personality of the king.
3. Find out what the nickname of Alexei Mikhailovich is connected with.
Hypothesis: if Alexei Mikhailovich is called "The Quietest", then is this due to his personal qualities.
To achieve the goal of the study, we used the followingmethods: study and analysis of literature and documents, generalization, comparison, survey.
MAIN PART
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich remained in history with the nickname "Quiet".
It is believed that Alexei Mikhailovich was nicknamed so for his gentle kindness. Indeed, the king was a good-natured man.In the study by S.M. Solovyov "History from ancient times" the tsar, from his point of view, was distinguished by "kindness" and "gentleness", like his father, Mikhail Fedorovich. A more detailed description of the king is given by V.O. Klyuchevsky: “I am ready to see in him the best person of Ancient Russia, at least I don’t know another ancient Russian person who would make a more pleasant impression - but not on the throne.” This “best” person, according to Klyuchevsky, was passive and unstable, incapable of “defending or pursuing anything”, “easily lost self-control and gave too much room to his tongue and hands” . K.F. Valishevsky writes that "despite his gentleness and good nature, ... Alexei loved bad jokes" , in addition, he punished "severely and mercilessly for innocent offenses", however, according to the author, "it is impossible not to pay attention to him as one of the most highly moral monarchs of all times and peoples."
In this way,Alexei Mikhailovich, according to historians, was not at all the "quietest" - neither by nature, nor by deeds.
As for business, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, there was the least peace and quiet. The king demanded from his henchmen to serve tirelessly. Remembering "his unceasing work," the boyar Artamon Matveev remarked that "this has never happened before." And when did Alexei Mikhailovich have a rest, if in his reign rebellion followed rebellion, war after war? The contemporaries themselves called the 17th century the “rebellious age”. In real life, the tsar was a man of the cruel 17th century. In matters of state administration, he was an autocratic monarch who did not recognize the limitations of his power. It was the Russian feudal tsar, it was under him that many riots flared up and were very brutally suppressed - Salt, Copper, Pskov, the grandiose uprising of Stepan Razin, the enslavement of the peasants ended under him, the process of subordinating the church to the state began.
However, in everyday life, in everyday terms, it was a completely different person. Rigid in power, in everyday life, Tsar Alexei appears as an educated, very emotional, very lively character and an inquisitive person, sometimes soft, even indecisive and timid. He loved all sorts of news and curiosities, was very warm and sincere to his friends and relatives. The tsar treated various foreign things either benevolently, or at least did not interfere with them, or even did not disdain to use them himself. At the same time, he was quick-tempered and quick to anger, despite outward good nature and real kindness. Alexei Mikhailovich often gave vent to his displeasure, got angry, scolded and even fought. Moreover, the boyars also got it. In one of the meetings of the Duma, the sovereign cursed, beat and kicked his father-in-law Miloslavsky out of the room. However, Alexei Mikhailovich quickly cooled down and never kept a grudge for a long time.
There are relatively many foreign testimonies that tell about Alexei Mikhailovich: there are notes, diaries, reports of people who have visited Russia, including as part of embassies, and there are stories of Europeans who came to Muscovy on the honorary rights of specialists in various fields. His contemporaries wrote about the king - Patrick Gordon, Balthazar Coyet, Adolf Lisek, Augustin Mayerberg, Andrey Rode, Johann de Rodes.Having considered in general terms the information of contemporaries about Alexei Mikhailovich, primarily foreigners, it is hardly possible to draw up an exhaustive image of the ruler. And yet their writings provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the outstanding personality of the Russian Tsar,
to see him as a real person with his interests and hobbies, with a certain worldview, lifestyle, attitude towards himself and towards people.
The epithet "the quietest" is not used by contemporaries as a characteristic of the king. We found this epithet only with Archpriest Avvakum, but not as a nickname, but as part of an unofficial title, which he considers inappropriate for the personal qualities of Alexei Mikhailovich. Habakkuk accuses: “And the enemy of God darkened the king, and besides, he magnifies, flattering, on the transfer:“ the most pious,the quietest , our most autocratic sovereign - more than all the saints from the age! - may the Lord God remember in his kingdom, always, and now, and forever, and forever and ever ...But it is precisely this statement that gives the key to the correct understanding of the nickname "The Quietest". Its origins lie in the ancient formula "peace and quiet", which symbolizes a well-organized and prosperous state. Alexei Mikhailovich precisely “calmed down” Russia, torn apart by riots and splits. In one document of that time it is said that after the death of Mikhail Fedorovich Monomakhov, the hat was put on by “his noble son, the most pious,quietest , the most autocratic great sovereign, tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich. Then, under his sovereign hand, piety was firmly observed throughout the kingdom, and all Orthodox Christianity shone with serene silence.
This is the meaning our ancestors put into the epithet "the quietest" - it was the official title of the sovereign, which was related to the rank, and not to the character of the king. And such a “quietest” sovereign, by the way, was officially not only Alexei Mikhailovich, but also his sons, successors on the throne: first Fedor Alekseevich, then the brothers Ivan and Peter, and then for 30 years only Peter, who by no means is suspected of "quiet" behavior and excessive softness.
Opinions of historians about Alexei Mikhailovich -
CONCLUSION
In the course of the study, we got acquainted with the characteristics of the king, the documents of that era, his main acts, in order to agree or doubt the nickname “The Quietest” given to Tsar Alexei. Working on this topic, we came to the conclusion that Alexei Mikhailovich was not the quietest either by nature or by his affairs. He was quick-tempered, sometimes lost his temper and even gave free rein to his hands. He loved speed both in thoughts and in deeds, he loved energetic and active people. Why was he called the quietest, that is, humble and meek? The fact is that Alexei Mikhailovich was the giver of "silence", that is, he knew how to maintain order, there was no confusion with him, and the word "quietest" was one of the royal titles of that time. Thus, our hypothesis was not confirmed. The nickname "The Quietest" is only partly related to the personal qualities of Alexei Mikhailovich and to a greater extent refers to his unofficial title, which testifies to his state policy.
We hope that our research will help schoolchildren get rid of stereotypes and take a fresh look at the personality of Alexei Mikhailovich, think about his role in the history of Russia.
REFERENCES AND SOURCES
1. Valishevsky K. First Romanovs, Moscow, "Soviet Writer", 1990, p. 25, 116
2. History of Russia from ancient times to the endXVIIcentury / A.P. Novoseltsev, A.N. Sakharov, V.I. Buganov, K.F. Valishevsky 1990, p. 270-298
3. Klyuchevsky V.O. historical portraits. M., 1991, p. 151-170
4. Klyuchevsky V.O. On Russian history (Compiled by V.V. Artyomov), M., 1998
5. Ozersky V.V. Russian rulers. From Rurik to Putin. History in portraits. Rostov n\D: Phoenix, 2004.
6. Ryzhkov K.V. 100 great Russians - M .: Veche, 2008.- p.177-178
7. Encyclopedia "Avanta +" Great people of the world, M., 2005, p. 167-178
8. I get to know the world "History". (F. Platonov, V.O. Klyuchevsky). Author compiler N.V. Chudakov. Publishing house "AST" Moscow, 2001.
List of Internet resources used:
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov (The Quietest) (born March 17 (27), 1629 - death January 29 (February 8), 1676) Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia 1645 - 1676
Childhood
Alexei Mikhailovich was born in 1629, he was the eldest son of the tsar and his wife Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva.
From the age of five, the young Tsarevich Alexei, under the supervision of B.I. Morozova began to learn to read and write using the primer, after which he began to read books. At the age of 7 he began to study writing, and at 9 - church singing. By the age of 12, the boy had a small library of books that belonged to him. Among them are mentioned, among other things, a lexicon and grammar published in Lithuania, as well as "Cosmography".
Among the items of "children's fun" of the prince there are musical instruments, German maps and "printed sheets" (pictures). Thus, along with the previous educational means, innovations are also visible, made not without the direct influence of the boyar B.I. Morozov.
Accession to the throne
After the death of his father, 16-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich on July 17, 1645 became the second tsar from. With his accession to the throne, he came face to face with a number of troubling issues that agitated Russian life in the 17th century. Too little prepared to resolve such cases, he at first submitted to the influence of his former uncle Morozov. However, he soon began to make independent decisions.
Alexei Mikhailovich, as can be seen from his own letters, and the reviews of foreigners and Russian subjects, had a remarkably mild, good-natured character; was, according to the clerk of the Ambassadorial order Grigory Kotoshikhin, "much quiet", for which he received the nickname Quietest.
The character of the king
The spiritual atmosphere in which the sovereign lived, his upbringing, character and reading of church books developed religiosity in him. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, during all fasts, he did not drink or eat anything, and in general zealously performed church rites. The veneration of the external rite was joined by an inner religious feeling, which developed Alexei Mikhailovich's Christian humility. “And to me, a sinner,” he writes, “this honor is like dust.”
Royal good nature and humility at times, however, gave way to short-term outbursts of anger. Once, the tsar, who was bled by the German "dokhtur", ordered the boyars to try the same remedy. R. Streshnev refused. Alexei Mikhailovich personally "humbled" the old man, but after that he did not know what gifts to appease him.
In general, the sovereign knew how to respond to someone else's grief and joy. Remarkable in this respect are his letters. Few dark sides can be noted in the royal character. He had a contemplative, passive rather than a practical, active nature; stood at the crossroads between two directions, the old Russian and the Western, reconciled them in his worldview, but did not indulge in either one or the other with passionate energy.
Alexei Mikhailovich and Nikon in front of the tomb of St. Philip
Marriage
Having decided to marry, Alexei Mikhailovich in 1647 chose the daughter of Raf Vsevolozhsky as his wife. However, I had to give up my choice because of the intrigues in which Morozov may have been involved. 1648 - the tsar married Marya Ilyinishna Miloslavskaya. Soon Morozov married her sister Anna. As a result, B.I. Morozov and his father-in-law I.D. Miloslavsky acquired paramount importance at the royal court. Sons were born from this marriage - the future tsars Fedor Alekseevich and Ivan V and a daughter Sophia.
salt riot
However, by this time, the results of Morozov's poor internal management were already clearly revealed. 1646, February 7 - on his initiative, by a royal decree and a boyar verdict, a new duty on salt was established. It was about one and a half times higher than the market price of salt - one of the main commodities for the entire population - and caused strong discontent among the people. To this was added Miloslavsky's abuses and rumors about the sovereign's predilection for foreign customs. All these reasons caused the Salt Riot in Moscow on June 2–4, 1648, and riots in other cities.
The new duty on salt was abolished in the same year. Morozov continued to enjoy the tsarist disposition, but no longer had a leading role in the management of the state. Alexei Mikhailovich matured and no longer needed guardianship. He wrote in 1661 that "his word became good and terrible in the palace."
Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon
Patriarch Nikon
But the soft, sociable nature of the king needed an adviser and friend. Bishop Nikon became such a "sobinny", beloved friend. As a metropolitan in Novgorod, where, with his characteristic energy, he pacified the rebels in March 1650, Nikon gained the confidence of the tsar, was ordained patriarch on July 25, 1652, and began to exert direct influence on the affairs of the state.
1653, October 1 - Zemsky Sobor in Moscow decided to admit Ukraine to Russia. As a result of this, on October 23 of the same year, Russia declared war on the Commonwealth, which oppressed the Ukrainians.
During the wars of 1654–1658 Alexei Mikhailovich was often absent from the capital, was, therefore, away from Nikon and by his presence did not restrain the patriarch's lust for power. Returning from military campaigns, he began to be weighed down by his influence. Nikon's enemies took advantage of the tsar's cooling towards him and began to disrespect the patriarch. The proud soul of the archpastor could not bear the insult. 1658, July 10 - he renounced his dignity and left for the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery founded by him. The king, however, did not soon decide to put an end to this matter. Only in 1666, at the Church Council, chaired by the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch Nikon, they were deprived of the bishopric and imprisoned in the Belozersky Ferapontov Monastery.
During military campaigns, Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov visited western cities - Vitebsk, Polotsk, Mogilev, Kovno, Grodno, Vilna. There he met with a similar to the European way of life. Returning to Moscow, the sovereign made changes in the court environment. Wallpaper (golden skins) and furniture in German and Polish designs appeared inside the palace. Gradually, the life of ordinary citizens also changed.
Zemsky Sobor
church schism
After the elimination of Nikon, his main innovations were not destroyed - the correction of church books and changes in some religious rites (the form of church bows, baptism with three fingers, the use of only Greek icons for worship). Many of the priests and monasteries did not agree to accept these innovations. They began to call themselves Old Believers, and the official Russian Orthodox Church began to call them schismatics. 1666, May 13 - in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, one of the leaders of the Old Believers was anathematized -.
Internal unrest
Particularly stubborn resistance was offered by the Solovetsky Monastery; besieged since 1668 by government troops, it was taken by the governor Meshcherinov on January 22, 1676, the rebels were hanged.
Meanwhile, the Don Cossack revolted in the south. Having robbed the caravan of Shorin's guest in 1667, Razin moved to Yaik, took the Yaitsky town, plundered Persian ships, but in Astrakhan he brought guilt. In May 1670, he again went to the Volga, took Tsaritsyn, Cherny Yar, Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara and raised the Cheremis, Chuvashs, Mordovians, and Tatars to revolt. Razin's army near Simbirsk was defeated by Prince Yu. Baryatinsky. Razin fled to the Don and, betrayed there by ataman Kornil Yakovlev, was executed in Moscow on May 27, 1671.
Soon after the execution of Razin, a war began with Turkey over Little Russia. The war ended with a 20-year peace only in 1681.
The results of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich
Of the internal orders under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the foundation of new central institutions (orders) is remarkable: Secret Affairs (not later than 1658), Khlebny (not later than 1663), Reitarsky (since 1651), Accounting Affairs, busy checking the parish, expenses and cash balances (since 1657), Little Russian (since 1649), Lithuanian (in 1656–1667), Monastic (in 1648–1677)
Financially, several changes have also been made. In 1646 and in subsequent years, a census of tax yards was carried out with their adult and minor male population. A decree of April 30, 1654, prohibited the collection of small customs duties (myt, travel duties and anniversary) or farm them out.
Due to the lack of funds, copper money was issued in large numbers. Since the 1660s, the copper ruble began to be valued 20–25 times cheaper than the silver one. As a result, the terrible high cost caused a popular uprising on July 25, 1662, called the Copper Riot. The rebellion was pacified by the expulsion of the streltsy army against the rebellious people.
By decree of June 19, 1667, it was ordered to start building ships in the village of Dedinovo on the Oka.
In the field of legislation, the Council Code was compiled and published - a code of laws of the Russian state (printed for the first time on May 7–20, 1649). It was supplemented in some respects by the New Trade Charter of 1667, the New Decree Articles on Robbery and Murderous Cases of 1669, and the New Decree Articles on Estates of 1676.
During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the colonization movement to Siberia continued. Famous in this regard: A.Bulygin, O.Stepanov, E.Khabarov and others. The cities of Nerchinsk (1658), Irkutsk (1659), Selenginsk (1666) were founded.
Last years of government. Death
In the last years of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, A.S. Matveev. 2 years after the death of M.I. The sovereign of Miloslavskaya married a relative of Matveev, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (January 22, 1671). From this marriage, Alexei Mikhailovich had a son - the future emperor.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov died on January 29, 1676 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
”, however, this, when applied to Alexei, is a not weak lulz.
historical portrait
The friendly, affectionate Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich cherished the greatness of his royal power, his autocratic dignity: it captivated and satiated him. He was amused by his high-profile titles and was ready to shed blood for them. The slightest accidental failure to keep titles correct was considered an important criminal offence.
— Kostomarov. Russian history..., p.423. According to the 2004 edition.
To modern people, before whose eyes an unprecedented number of wars, revolutions, changes of power, genocides and other entertainments of Mother History have passed, the seventeenth century seems to be a quiet, peaceful and absolutely uninteresting time. Probably, most of the readers of this article, who were at least a little amused at school by studying the life of their own fatherland, happily skipped this period and hastily leafed through their textbook to the next paragraph, where Peter I and his violent undertakings were waiting for them.
In fact, the century in which the hero of our article happened to rule, despite its apparent inertia, was so rich. Russia was just beginning to recover from the mess of the Time of Troubles, the guns of the Polish gentry had not yet fallen silent, and new powerful states were rising in the north and south. At the same time, the people, who were between Scylla and Charybdis of devastation, taxes, as well as the arbitrariness of governors, still remembered what “freedom” was, and often rebelled. The slightest mistake - and your state will collapse into hell, where both internal and external forces will help it go. We urgently needed a hand that could hit hard and at the same time stroke softly.
Alexei Mikhailovich became this hand.
He became king very early - at the age of 16. Of course, for that time the boy Alyosha was quite enlightened, he loved to read books, he was thoughtful and peaceful, he was well developed physically, which, compared with his weak-willed and almost holy fool father Mikhail Fedorovich, was an undoubted plus. But, of course, he could not govern the state alone. He was helped in this difficult task by his uncle, the boyar Boris Morozov, who initially ruled for him and even acted as a matchmaker, arranging an all-Russian beauty contest and personally choosing a good bride for the tsar. After a dirty story with salt, the help of a beloved uncle had to be abandoned, and Patriarch Nikon took his place. Initially, he and Alyosha were in the same bond, but soon the power-hungry patriarch began to pull the blanket over himself, arguing that “the priesthood is higher than the kingdom,” as it should have been canonically. By that time, the tsar had already grown up, got stronger, went on military campaigns, personally pacified uprisings, shot a billion Russian people. In general, he began to get used to holding the reins in his hands. He no longer needed any helpers, and soon Nikon went into exile. But you will read about all these ups and downs in much more detail below, but here we will tell you specifically about the king himself.
As already mentioned, Alexei Mikhailovich was a strong man. Particularly striking were the dimensions of his belly, which, however, according to the then standards of beauty, was considered very sexy for both men and women. His strength was also impressive - in his youth, the king alone went to a bear with a knife and a horn, and, moreover, successfully, although once the bear crushed him. In general, he loved hunting, and especially falconry, which, in his words, “rejoices the hearts of the sad and amuses with joyful fun.” He even wrote a collection of rules for falconry, in which the immortal “Time for business is an hour for fun” was listed.
Best of all, Alexei Mikhailovich is characterized by a portrait made by a visiting Dutch artist ... of his cat. Yes, yes, it's not a typo, it's a cat. It was just that the monarch himself was not very Christian to draw, so they portrayed him in the then fashion allegorically, in Aesopian language. One glance at the drawing is enough to understand that the king had a difficult character. The cat's face is stern and does not encourage cozy stroking, the sharpness of the mustache burns, the ears are like those of a bull enraged by a bullfight, ready to simply pierce the offender. Interestingly, his son Peter was also called a cat for his mustache. Moreover, the nickname of his great-grandfather was Koshkin. So it is quite possible that we could have a dynasty not of the Romanovs, but of the Koshkins.
In general, the image of Alexei Mikhailovich among the people remained quite positive. After all, it was with him that all the parables about the “Tsar-Father, Under Whom the Milk Rivers and Kiselnye Shores” were associated. How else, after all, despite all the repressions, the breakdown of consciousness, church schisms, and so on, he was the first to pursue a policy of paternalism (from Latin paternus - paternal), in which the king thinks for his subjects. And outwardly, he looked exactly like the one whom we call the King with a capital letter. Is not it?
What did you do?
In short, it is Alexei who is responsible for the heavy blame for turning Russia into a terrible, terrible super-centralized empire. In fact, absolutism was a natural historical stage of any European state.
But this, of course, was not within the competence of Mikhailovich. He knew his task quite well and was a completely Orthodox tyrant: all the years of his reign he was mainly engaged in anal domination of his subjects and expansion of borders. He even created the first real secret service in Russia - the Order of Secret Affairs, which was supposed to keep track of all sorts of unreliable boyars, warriors, officials, and conduct an investigation that was pleasing to the king in the affairs of the boyars. However, thanks to the love for the effects of his youngest son, who already sowed on plowed soil and eclipsed his father in the face of grateful descendants, the latter is now often remembered almost as a rag king. And in vain, because it was his doing ...
Sawing out democracy
Khmelnitsky did not have time to catch himself - he died. And the psheks hung on the Swedes and decided to figure out what they are doing there in the east. Khmelnytsky's successor Vyhovsky (whose legitimacy was strongly questioned) quickly realized that the Commonwealth could help him retain power (Moscow would not let him do this unambiguously), and decided to defect back, but no such luck - the Muscovites did not let him go, moving to pacify the Ukrainians, a decent army, which suffered one of the most serious defeats in the entire seventeenth century from the Ukrainian-Tatar-Pshek team, the color of the Russian nobility almost completely fell (here, from source to source, the number of participants in the event and losses differ tenfold). It was almost the only victory of the ukrov over Moscow, this victory is still mentioned by Svidomo with or without reason. But as a result, Ukrainian society was deeply split, the Psheks could not establish a vertical of power, the help of the Psheks did not really fit the hetman either, and he was slightly rebelled, a strong pro-Moscow force appeared. After that, the Ukrainians trolled the Muscovites with the help of the Poles in the Battle of Chudnov, where the Russian professional army died. However, the tsar quickly distributed life-giving cunts to the guilty and began to act more subtly: by bribery, promises, agitation. As a result, the ukrovs were torn apart by the epic, but little-known civil war Ruin, which lasted thirty years (1657-1687), where two (and sometimes even three) Ukrainian states fought, proving that only one of them was true, while the others were fucking traitors, and sawing each other under the supervision of the Poles, Turks and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. But the Crimean Tatars robbed and killed as much as they wanted, for them all this turned into fierce wine.
Curing the Church
Death
The king died before reaching the age of 47, which was somewhat unexpected. Now interesting versions are being expressed about this, connected with the lead water supply in Moscow in the seventeenth century. Allegedly, Alexei and all his children, besides Petya, drank water from this water supply and therefore had serious health problems. Peter, exiled together with the Naryshkins outside Moscow from an early age, was spared this fate and retained good physical health (although this did not save him from a serious illness on his head).
the holivar between the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys, which followed the death of Alexei, at first glance looked like loosening screws. But in fact, the System simply waited until it had a worthy main cog - and waited until Pyotr Alekseevich grew up. Then the loose nuts were tightened until the thread was broken.
Under him, the borders of Russia grew significantly due to the Ukraine, Eastern Siberia, the Far East and other territories that became part of it.
And why is the Quietest?
So smart as hell. This son could be swaggering to the fullest - moreover, they even expected it from him. Alexei, on the other hand, had to repeatedly break the resistance of various strata of society, and therefore it was vital for him to portray himself as a kind uncle at least in front of someone. And indeed, he tried not to repress “his own”, but at most he broke into their personal cunts with his hands and feet, which at that time could be called paternal affection. And then he made amends with gifts.
In addition, as already mentioned, outwardly the king showed fierce piety. This was also necessary in order to show oneself before the people not only as the Owner, but also as a real authority in matters of faith - in order to somehow reconcile with the fucked up committed over the apologists of this very faith.
It should be recognized that Alexei not only achieved his main goal - securing unlimited power for the Romanovs for two hundred years with dick and building a super-powerful empire - but also managed to fuck the brains of everyone in general.
Let's clap while standing.
