The Romanovs are an old Russian noble family. The dynasty that ruled in Russia from 1613 to the 1917 revolution.
1613 - the most representative and largest of all that were convened in the XVI-XVII centuries, the Zemsky Sobor, was convened. It was attended by elected representatives of the nobility, posad, white clergy and, presumably, the black-haired peasantry. The main issue was the election of the king.
Why exactly the Romanovs
After intense disputes, the most suitable was the candidacy of 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. He became a real contender for the royal throne, not because he was better, but because, by and large, he arranged for everyone.
In comparison with other contenders, Mikhail Fedorovich was relatively neutral: not having time to prove himself in anything, he made it possible to connect with his reign all the aspirations and dreams of overcoming the Time of Troubles. M. Romanov was the personification of the dream of returning to "antiquity and peace", reconciliation and compromise of all social forces on the basis of serfdom and autocracy. By his kinship with the former Rurik dynasty, Mikhail Romanov most of all embodied the idea of returning to antiquity.
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Genus history
The history of the Romanov family also contributed to the choice. For the aristocrats, they were their own - the venerable old Moscow boyar family. The Romanov family comes from Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, an approximate Moscow Grand Duke Simeon the Proud, who had five sons. Until the beginning of the 16th century, his descendants were called the Koshkins, until the end of the 16th century - Zakharyins. After the Zakharyins split into two branches: the Zakharyins-Yakovlevs and the Zakharyins-Yuryevs. From the latter came the Romanovs.
They were closely related to the Rurikovichs. Nikita Romanovich was the brother of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia Romanovich. The son of Anastasia Fyodor Ioannovich was the last Russian tsar from the Rurik dynasty. During the reign of Boris Fedorovich Godunov, the Romanov family was accused of witchcraft. Four sons of Nikita Romanovich were disgraced. One of the sons - Fyodor Nikitich - was forcibly tonsured into a monk under the name of Filaret.
The decisive factor in the choice of the new tsar was the pressure of the free Cossacks, which prevailed during the election in Moscow and which, in fact, forced the aristocracy and clergy to hurry up with the choice. The Romanovs were popular among the free Cossacks thanks to the Tushino patriarchate of Filaret. So, his son Michael was elected to the kingdom, and the consequences of the Troubles were the first to overcome the Romanovs. Mikhail Fedorovich (1613 - 1645), his son Alexei Mikhailovich (1645 - 1676) and Peter 1 (1682 - 1725) are ranked among the first Romanovs.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov.
First Romanov
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov received a completely ruined state. There were Swedes in Novgorod. Poles occupied 20 Russian cities. The Tatars were constantly plundering the southern Russian lands. A lot of beggars and bandits roamed the country. The state treasury was empty. The Poles did not recognize the elections of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613 valid. 1617 - the prince of Poland, Vladislav, organized a campaign against Moscow, stood at the walls of the Kremlin, demanding that the Russians choose him their sovereign.
The position of the first of the Romanovs on the throne was desperate. However, the society, which was tired of the calamities of the Time of Troubles, rallied around its young sovereign and provided him with all kinds of assistance. In the beginning, the Tsar's mother and her relatives, the Boyar Duma, played an important role in governing the state. During the first decade of his reign, Zemsky Sobors gathered continuously. 1619 - the sovereign's father returned from captivity in Poland. In Moscow he was proclaimed patriarch. Proceeding from state interests, Filaret removed his wife and all her relatives from the throne. Intelligent, domineering, experienced, he, together with his son, confidently began to rule the state until his death in 1633. Then Mikhail himself very successfully coped with state affairs.
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov.
Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov (born March 19, 1629, died January 29, 1676), received the royal throne by right of inheritance. He professed faith in the king's chosenness and power. Distinguished, like his father, by gentleness, meekness of character, he at times could show irascibility and anger. Contemporaries described his appearance as follows: fullness, even obesity of the figure, low forehead and white face, plump and ruddy cheeks, fair-haired and beautiful beard; finally, a soft look. His "much quiet" disposition, piety and fear of God, love for church singing and falconry were intertwined with a penchant for innovation and knowledge. At the beginning of his reign, an important role in the affairs of the state was played by his "uncle" (educator) boyar B. I. Morozov, who became the king's brother-in-law (they were married to their own sisters), and relatives in their first wife - Miloslavskys.
Alexei Mikhailovich had a chance to go through a turbulent era of "riots" and wars, rapprochement and discord with Patriarch Nikon. During his reign, Russia's possessions expanded in the east, in Siberia, and in the west. Active diplomatic activity was carried out. He did a lot in the field of domestic policy as well. A course was carried out to centralize government and strengthen the autocracy. The backwardness of the state dictated the invitation of foreign specialists in manufacturing, military affairs, the first experiments, attempts at transformations (the establishment of schools, regiments of the new system, etc.).
From the first wife of M. I. Miloslavskaya, Alexei Mikhailovich had 13 children; from the second - N. K. Naryshkina - three children. Many of whom died early. Three of his sons became tsars (Fedor, Ivan and Peter), daughter Sophia - was the regent under the juvenile czars-brothers (Ivan and Peter).
Peter I the Great.
Peter I the Great
Peter 1, Russian tsar since 1682 (ruled since 1689), the first Russian emperor (since 1721), the youngest son of Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage to Naryshkina.
Briefly characterizing the reign of Peter I, one should pay attention to the following merits of the tsar. He carried out reforms of public administration (the Senate, collegia, bodies of supreme state control and political investigation were created; the church was subordinated to the state; the country was divided into provinces, and a new capital, St. Petersburg, was erected). Peter I began to use the experience of Western European states in the development of industry, trade, culture, pursued a policy of mercantilism (creation of manufactories, metallurgical, mining and other factories, shipyards, marinas, canals). The sovereign led the construction of the fleet and the creation of a regular army and led the troops in the Azov campaigns, the Northern War, the Prut and Persian campaigns; and also commanded an army during the capture of Noteburg, in battles at the village of Lesnoy and near Poltava.
Peter's activities contributed to the consolidation of the economic and political position of the nobility. On his initiative, many educational institutions, the Academy of Sciences were opened, and the civil alphabet was adopted. The reforms of Peter I were carried out by brutal methods, by extreme straining of material and human forces (per capita tax), which was the cause of the uprisings (Streletskoye in 1698, Astrakhan in 1705-1706, Bulavin's uprising in 1707-1709), which were ruthlessly suppressed by the government. As the creator of a powerful absolutist state, Peter I was able to achieve recognition of the authority of a great power in Russia.