Ivan V Alekseevich Romanov - senior tsar and great sovereign of all Rus'

Years of life 1666–1696

Reign 1682–1696

Father - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar

and the great sovereign of all Rus'.

Mother - Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

The future Tsar Ivan (John) V Alekseevich was born on August 27, 1666 in Moscow. When in 1682 Ivan V's elder brother, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, died without leaving an heir, 16-year-old Ivan V, as the next in seniority, was to inherit the royal crown.

But Ivan Alekseevich was a sickly person from childhood and completely incapable of governing the country. That is why the boyars and Patriarch Joachim proposed to remove him and choose his half-brother 10-year-old Peter, the youngest son of Alexei Mikhailovich, as the next king.

Both brothers, one due to ill health, the other due to age, could not participate in the struggle for power. Instead of them, their relatives fought for the throne: for Ivan - his sister, Princess Sophia, and the Miloslavskys, relatives of his mother, and for Peter - the Naryshkins, relatives of the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. As a result of this struggle there was a bloody Streltsy riot.

The Streltsy regiments with their new chosen commanders headed towards the Kremlin, followed by crowds of townspeople. The archers walking ahead shouted accusations against the boyars, who allegedly poisoned Tsar Fyodor and were already making an attempt on the life of Tsarevich Ivan.

The archers made a list in advance of the names of those boyars whom they demanded for reprisals. They did not listen to any admonitions, and showing them Ivan and Peter alive and unharmed on the royal porch did not impress the rebels. And in front of the princes’ eyes, the archers threw the bodies of their relatives and boyars, known to them from birth, onto spears from the windows of the palace. Sixteen-year-old Ivan after this forever abandoned government affairs, and Peter hated the Streltsy for the rest of his life.

Then Patriarch Joachim proposed to proclaim both kings at once: Ivan as the senior king, and Peter as the junior king, and to appoint Princess Sofya Alekseevna, Ivan’s sister, as their regent (ruler).

June 25, 1682 Ivan V Alekseevich and Peter I Alekseevich were married to the throne in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Even a special throne with two seats was built for them, currently kept in the Armory.

Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich

Although Ivan was called the senior tsar, he almost never dealt with state affairs, but was only concerned with his family. Ivan V was Russian sovereign for 14 years, but his rule was formal. He only attended palace ceremonies and signed documents without understanding their essence. The actual rulers under him were first Princess Sophia (from 1682 to 1689), and then power passed to his younger brother, Peter.

From childhood, Ivan V grew up as a frail, sickly child with poor eyesight. Sister Sophia chose a bride for him, the beautiful Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova. Marrying her in 1684 had a beneficial effect on Ivan Alekseevich: he became healthier and happier.

Children of Ivan V and Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova: Maria, Feodosia (died in infancy), Ekaterina, Anna, Praskovya.

Of the daughters of Ivan V, Anna Ivanovna later became empress (reigned 1730–1740). His granddaughter became ruler Anna Leopoldovna. The reigning descendant of Ivan V was also his great-grandson, Ivan VI Antonovich (formally listed as emperor from 1740 to 1741).

According to the memoirs of a contemporary of Ivan V, at the age of 27 he looked like a decrepit old man, had very poor vision and, according to the testimony of one foreigner, was struck by paralysis. “Indifferently, like a deathly statue, Tsar Ivan sat on his silver chair under the icons, wearing a monomache hat pulled down over his very eyes, lowered down and not looking at anyone.”

Ivan V Alekseevich died in the 30th year of his life, on January 29, 1696 in Moscow and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Silver double throne of Tsars Ivan and Peter Alekseevich

The death of Tsar Feodor in 1682 sharply raised the issue of succession to the throne in the country. Fedor was in poor health and left no children behind. According to the tradition of succession to the throne, in this case, Ivan, the younger brother of Fyodor, the son of Alexei Romanov, was to become the new tsar. Historians claim that Tsar Ivan Alekseevich Romanov had poor health and was a feeble-minded person. Realizing that a weak-minded person cannot rule the state, Patriarch Joachim and the Moscow boyars, acting with the consent of the people, declared young Peter Alekseevich heir to the reign of Feodor. This was a direct violation of the law on succession to the throne, which Ivan Alekseevich’s relatives, the Miloslavskys, took advantage of. They entered into open hostility with the Naryshkins, who defended the interests of Peter, since his mother belonged to the Naryshkin family. The Miloslavskys wanted Tsar Ivan Alekseevich Romanov to lead Russia, since this would give them a direct path to governing the country. They raised the Streltsy army against the Naryshkins. It was announced to the army that the boyars had strangled the true Tsar of Russia, Ivan. Thus began the Streltsy revolt. The rebels headed towards the Kremlin. Many of Peter's comrades were killed there. As a result of the Streltsy revolt, both heirs, Peter and Ivan, were declared kings. Since both were minors, and Ivan was also weak-minded, their older sister, Sophia, took protection over them.

The result of this coup was unique in Russian history. For the first time, the country was ruled by two kings at once, who were also under guardianship. In the throne room, where Tsar Ivan Alekseevich Romanov and Pyotr Alekseevich received visitors, two thrones were installed for each of the kings. Behind them was another throne for Sophia, who told her brothers what to say. The country was actually ruled by Sophia.

The Crimean campaigns of the Russian army date back to the reign of Ivan. In 1681, a peace agreement was signed, but both sides understood that it was not peace, but a truce that would sooner or later be broken. In 1686, Russia joined the "Holy League". This league was created as a body to counter the growing power of Turkey. This league included Poland, Hungary and Austria. The reason for Russia's entry into this union was the eternal peace with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was signed in the same 1686. Fulfilling its duties as an ally in the fight against Turkey, Russia sent campaigns to the Crimean Khanate in 1687 and 1698. The Russian army was commanded by Golitsyn. The Crimean campaigns of the Russian army did not bring military success, but these were campaigns that restored the former political weight of our country. It became clear to many that Russia had survived its crisis and every year it was becoming stronger, and its army was becoming more powerful. The Crimean Khan, who felt the security of his borders, realized that the growing power of Russia was a direct threat to him.

Tsar Ivan Alekseevich Romanov formally ruled the country until his death in 1696. But this rule was purely formal. He did not take any part in matters of governing the country. Initially, he was completely dependent on Sophia, and from 1689 on Peter, who removed Sophia and actually began governing the state independently.

Tsar John V Romanov

Ivan Alekseevich was the fifth son of Alexei Mikhailovich and his wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, born in Moscow from August 26 to 27, 1666.
News about the prince’s upbringing has not been preserved, but since he was weak, tongue-tied and had eye problems, there is no doubt that his teaching began later than his brothers. Steward Pyotr Ivanovich Prozorovsky was his uncle. Having lost his mother in the third year, the prince was inseparable from the time of Peter’s birth.

When Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died, regret for the young, good-natured tsar was mixed with fears and worries: who would rule the kingdom after him? The deceased king did not leave any will in this regard. Many boyars were afraid that bloodshed would not occur, therefore, when going to the Kremlin, they put on armor and chain mail under their clothes. When those close to the royal family gathered in the front chamber of the Kremlin palace, Patriarch Joachim came out to them with the clergy. Having blessed those gathered, the patriarch said: “Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich has passed into eternal bliss; There were no children left after him, but his brothers remained - Tsarevichs John and Peter Alekseevich. Tsarevich John is sixteen years old, but is overcome by grief and is in poor health, while Tsarevich Peter is ten years old. Of these two brothers, who will be the heir to the Russian throne, one or both will reign? I ask and demand that the truth be told according to conscience, as before the throne of God; whoever speaks according to passion, let him have the lot of the traitor Judas!”

The boyars standing in the chamber proposed to refer this important issue to the decision of the entire Orthodox people, saying “that this is a matter that should be decided by people of all ranks.” The Patriarch, together with the bishops and boyars, went to the upper platform of the Red Porch and ordered “people of all ranks” to gather in the square in front of the Church of the Savior. When everyone had gathered, the patriarch turned to the people with the question: “Which of the two princes will be the king?” Unanimous cries proclaimed Peter Alekseevich, and although individual voices “John!” were heard, they were drowned out by the cry of Peter’s supporters. Princess Sophia protested against this election: “Peter is still young and foolish,” she said, “John is of age; he must be king."

A. Antropov. Portrait of Queen Sophia

Princess Sophia expressed her displeasure with Peter because he left the temple without waiting for the end of the burial ceremony for Tsar Fyodor. Although Queen Natalya said that her son was a child and tired, Sophia, returning from her brother’s burial, loudly shouted to the people: “Know, Orthodox, that our brother Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich was suddenly poisoned by evil people; have pity on us orphans: we have neither father nor mother, and our brothers and relatives are being taken away. Our brother John is the eldest, but he was not elected king. If we have done anything wrong before you and the boyars, then let them send us to foreign lands, to Christian kings!”

The election of Peter gave rise to discord among the court parties, the main representatives of which were the Miloslavskys, relatives of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, mother of John, and the Matveevs and Naryshkins, relatives of Peter. The discontent of the court parties was joined by the unrest of the archers, which Sophia managed to take advantage of with the help of the Miloslavskys. On May 15, 1682, the archers rebelled, to whom the Miloslavskys informed in the morning that John had been strangled by traitors. The rifle regiments entered the Kremlin in battle formation. At the palace council, it was decided to show the archers John and Peter in order to convince them of the absence of treason. Queen Natalya led both brothers to the Red Porch, and the archers heard from John that “no one is harassing him and he has no one to complain about.” Old Matveev, who returned to Moscow on May 11, with his speech calmed the archers who wanted to disperse, but Prince Mikhail Yuryevich Dolgoruky, the son of Yuri Alekseevich, the chief of the archers, treated the crowd with abuse and rudely ordered them to disperse. The archers, incited by people from the Miloslavsky party, were offended and rushed onto the porch past Patriarch Joachim to Dolgoruky,They grabbed him, threw him down from the porch, and the prince’s corpulent body, picked up on spears, was immediately cut through by the poles. The intoxicated archers rushed to the porch of the Faceted Chamber, tore Matveev from the embrace of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna and also threw him onto spears towards the Annunciation Cathedral. Peter, who was an eyewitness to these bloody scenes of the rebellion, was surprised by the firmness that he retained at the same time; but the horrors of May 1682 were indelibly etched in his memory.

N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. Streletsky riot

Enraged by the two murders, the archers shouted: “It’s time for us to figure out who we need!” - they rushed into the palace and, running around the rooms, looked into the closets, rummaged through the mattresses and feather beds of those “who they needed.” Following Matveev, the battles Prince Romodanovsky, A.K. were captured and killed. Naryshkin and other persons. They dragged their victims onto the porch, showed them to the archers standing below, and asked: “Is it okay?” and to the crowd’s response “Any! Love!” they mercilessly threw the unfortunate people onto spears, and their mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets of the Kremlin, shouting with laughter to the people: “The boyar is coming, the Duma is coming, give way!”, then they were dragged out by the Spassky or Nikolsky Gates to Red Square, where the corpses were cut into pieces. The archers were especially looking for the hated Miloslavsky Ivan Kirillovich Naryshkin, his most capable brother. From under the altar of the palace Church of the Resurrection on Senya, at the direction of the Tsarina's dwarf, the room steward Afanasy Naryshkin was pulled out, chopped up on the porch itself and thrown from here to the Assumption Cathedral. Between the Patriarchal Court and the Chudov Monastery they seized the boyar Romodanovsky, “leading him by the hair and beard, torturing him with vehement abuse and hitting him in the face,” and against the discharge on the road, lifting him onto spears and lowering him to the ground, they chopped him up.

N. Matveev. Sagittarius on the Kremlin tower on a moonlit night

The mutiny of the Streltsy continued on May 16, and the Streltsy killed all those whom the Miloslavskys considered traitors. The Streltsy demanded that Ivan Kirillovich Naryshkin be given to them, but he cleverly hid in the palace. On the third day, the excitement continued, and the archers did not want to leave the Kremlin until Ivan Naryshkin was handed over to them. The frightened boyars, fearing for their lives, as well as Princess Sophia, convinced Queen Natalya to hand over Naryshkin, and she decided to sacrifice her beloved brother. She called him to the Church of the Savior behind the golden bars, where he confessed, received the Holy Mysteries and even received unction. Then Queen Natalya accepted the image of the Mother of God from Sophia’s hands and, blessing her unfortunate brother with it, fell to his chest with tears. The boyars hurried farewell, and Ivan Kirillovich, with the icon on his chest, cheerfully walked out of the church to the golden lattice and appeared before the archers. “They, the evil ones,” says the chronicler, “brutally picked him up, dragged him mercilessly from above the bars and tortured him with terrible torture and, taking him out of the Kremlin to Red Square, chopped him into small pieces.”

A. I. Korzukhin. Streltsy mutiny in 1682. Streltsy drag Ivan Naryshkin out of the palace. While Peter I consoles his mother, Princess Sophia watches with satisfaction. (1882)

After such reprisals, the archers on May 18, continuing their rampages and murders, proclaimed Ivan Alekseevich Tsar, and Princess Sophia the ruler of the state. On May 26, the Boyar Duma recognized this election so that John Alekseevich, being called the first tsar, would co-reign with his brother Peter Alekseevich. On June 25, both kings were crowned kings. The sacred rite of this double coronation was performed by Patriarch Joachim in the Assumption Cathedral, where a drawing place was built opposite the altar under a canopy, on which a double throne was placed on the right hand, with a closed place behind it, in which a window was made in the list of Peter's chair Alekseevich, covered from the outside with the same shawl with which the place was upholstered inside. Princess Sophia hid in this hidden room during audiences with ambassadors. This throne is still preserved in the Armory Chamber. Sophia treated the rebellious but faithful archers in the palace.

Ruler Sofya Alekseevna (monastic name Susanna)

There was no one left around Peter and his mother; all their supporters were killed, and those who survived hid. The Miloslavskys became the bosses, and Sophia became the representative of the authorities. All the places occupied by people close to the Naryshkins went to Sophia’s supporters. Prince V.V. Golitsyn became the head of the Ambassadorial Order; Prince Ivan Andreevich Khovansky with his son Andrei - Streletsky order, and Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky - Foreign and Reitar orders.
Queen Natalya and her son Peter retired to Tsar Alexei’s favorite village near Moscow - Preobrazhensky, where, removed from any participation in government, according to contemporary Prince B.I. Kurakina, “lived on what was given from the hands of Princess Sophia,” needed and had to secretly accept financial help from the Patriarch, the Trinity Monastery and the Rostov Metropolitan.

Tsar Peter I in childhood

The archers, smashing the Serf Order, tore up and scattered bondages and other fortresses across the square, called on the serfs to take their side, promising them freedom. But the slaves calmed the rebels, telling them: “Lie your heads in the square, how much you will get into rebellion. The Russian land is great, you cannot cope with it.” Fearing punishment in the future, the archers themselves demanded guarantees of their safety. And the new government recognized that the archers did not rebel, but only eradicated treason. This was publicly witnessed in the form of inscriptions on a stone pillar, which was erected on Red Square in memory of the May events.

The schismatics decided to take advantage of this recognized force, that is, the archers, and restore the “old piety” in the Russian Church. For this purpose, the dissenters conducted active and successful campaigning in the Streltsy settlements. Its result was a new unrest among the archers, who, through their boss Khovansky, demanded a reconsideration of the religious issue.
The government scheduled a debate between the Orthodox hierarchy and the schismatic teachers for July 5 in the Palace of Facets. Crowds of schismatics poured into the Kremlin; their mentors walked ahead with books, images, lecterns, lighted candles, singing spiritual hymns in nasal voices. Many had stones in their bosoms. The Old Believers filled the area in front of the Faceted Chamber, laid out their lecterns, unfolded their books, arranged their icons and announced that they would not leave until a decision was announced to them. Through the Red Porch, elected representatives from the Streltsy and many schismatics entered the Faceted Chamber. Present at the debate were Princess Sophia, both kings and the old Patriarch Joachim. Athanasius, Archbishop of Kholmogory, began to object to the defrocked priest Nikita, nicknamed the Empty Saint. The latter rushed at the bishop, grabbed his beard, so that the chosen archers could hardly drag Nikita away. The debate continued, but the ringing of vespers stopped these disputes. The princess and the kings left the Faceted Chamber, followed by the clergy into the chambers of the patriarch. Nikita and the schismatics, going out onto the Red Porch, shouted to the people: “We won, we won! In our opinion, pray and believe!”

Tsar Ivan Alekseevich

The Moscow population was seduced by a series of scandals and the government's lack of firm authority. The latter saw with his own eyes how unreliable the Streltsy army was. As a result, Sophia decided, firstly, to deprive the schismatics of the support of the archers, and secondly, to curb Khovansky. Sophia achieved the first with handouts and persuaded the archers to lag behind the dissenters. Nikita Pustosvyat was executed, and others were exiled.
But Sophia was afraid to remove Khovansky, since there was a rumor that he dreamed of taking over the kingdom. On August 20, the entire royal family left Moscow, considering themselves unsafe in the Kremlin. After frequent moving from village to village, on September 17, Sophia celebrated her name day in the village of Vozdvi-zhenskoye, where after mass the kings and boyars “sat” about the Khovansky case, and the Boyar Duma sentenced Khovansky and his son Andrei to execution, which was carried out on the same day, about which Sophia notified the archers with a letter, in which it was said that there was no royal wrath against the archers themselves.

The execution of the Khovansky princes served as a reason for new indignation of the archers, who, expecting punishment for themselves, brought Moscow into a state of siege and prepared for armed defense. This state of affairs forced the court to take refuge in the Trinity Lavra (a first-class fortress of that time) and call upon the noble militia from the cities. The formidable militia, gathered to defend the kings, forced the frightened rebels to turn to the intercession of the patriarch with a promise to be obedient in the future. The elected archers appeared with their guilty heads before the Trinity Lavra and fell to the ground, leaving the kings to execute them. Sophia granted them forgiveness on one condition: the archers must obey their superiors and not interfere in matters other than their own. On October 8, the archers took an oath and asked permission to destroy the pillar erected in their memory on Red Square. Thus the time of troubles ended and the “reign of Princess Sophia” began (1682-1689), who wanted to become a complete “autocrat”.

Princess Sophia

With Sophia's permission, on November 6, both kings returned with her to Moscow amid the joyful cries of the population who came out of the city to meet them. The next year, 1684, on January 9, Tsar John Alekseevich, in his 18th year, married Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova, the daughter of the Yenisei commandant, who was specially summoned from Siberia by Princess Sophia for this purpose. The king's bride was distinguished by her beauty and spiritual qualities, so that John really fell in love with her. After the death of John, the widow-Tsarina Praskovya lived in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow, where she set up her court in the old-fashioned way, to which she was very committed, which is why she always had holy fools, fools, wandering monks and cripples in her palace. Peter was lenient about this, since John and his family were completely submissive to his will.

Unknown artist. Portrait of Tsar John V Romanov

Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova, wife of Tsar John V Romanov

In marriage they had five daughters:
Maria, Theodosia (both died in infancy), Ekaterina Ioannovna (married Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, mother of Anna Leopoldovna):

Anna Ioannovna (later empress):

And Praskovya Ioannovna:

Tsar Peter Alekseevich began his game of “funny games” in the village of Preobrazhenskoye in 1683, which was also a school of self-education for him. Among the court nobility, young Peter's peers were assigned to serve as guards and sleeping bags and became his “room people.” After the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the falconers and stable keepers had little to do, since the sick Tsars Fyodor and John rarely had to leave the palace. Meanwhile, in the stable department there were more than 40,000 horses and 600 people who “drank and ate the king’s food.” It was these idle courtyard grooms, falconers and falconers that Peter began to recruit into his service, forming two companies from them, which soon expanded into two battalions of 300 people each, which received the name “amusing villages” , in which they were settled. The amusing ones were recruited in an official manner. So, in 1686, the Stable Order was ordered to send seven court grooms to the village of Preobrazhenskoye to the guns, among whom was the groom’s son, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, and later (in 1687) they began to join the amusements noble young people. For example, I.I. Buturlin and Prince M.M. Golitsyn, later a field marshal, who, due to his youth, enrolled in “drum science,” as the palace record says.
To teach amusing soldiers how to siege and storm fortresses, a “regular amusing fortification”, the town of Presburg, was built on the Yauza River. Not far from the village of Preobrazhenskoye there was a German settlement, populated under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by military men discharged from abroad to serve as command in Russian regiments of a foreign system. It was to these officers that Peter turned for military tricks.

F. Solntsev. Royal clothing of the 17th century

The foreign master Sommer showed Peter grenade shooting in 1684. Foreign officers were called up to
service in the amusing battalions, which deployed in the early 1690s into two regiments, settled in the villages of Preobrazhenskoye and Semenovskoye, from which they received their names. The main commander of both regiments was Avtamon Golovin, according to Semeyovets B.I. Kurakin, “a much stupid man, but he knew the soldier’s exercise.”

Prince Ya.F. Dolgoruky brought from France, at Peter’s request, an astrolabe, the use of which was demonstrated by the Dutchman Timmerman, from whom Peter studied arithmetic, geometry, artillery and fortification, as evidenced by the text books that have come down to us for Peter’s sake. With this Timmerman, Peter, while inspecting the barns of the village of Izmailov, the grandfather of Nikita Romanovich Romanov, found an English boat, which, according to Peter himself, served as the ancestor of the Russian fleet.
In this way, the moral growth of Peter was accomplished, on whom the “May days” of 1682 had a great influence; he was so greatly shocked by them that the fear left him with convulsive movements of his head and face for the rest of his life. But in these days he understood more than his age might suggest, and harbored a feeling of hostility towards the Miloslavskys, calling the Streltsy, whom he hated, “the seed of Ivan Mikhailovich.”
A year after the events of 1682, 11-year-old Peter, in his development, seemed to the foreign ambassador to be a 16-year-old youth, and six years spent in the village of Preobrazhenskoye showed Peter old Rus' with its work and fruits.

Portraits of Tsars John and Peter Alekseevich

Passion for swimming forced Peter (1688) to transfer his fun to Lake Pereyaslavl, where he began to build a frigate with the help of the Dutch. He was already 17 years old, but Peter did not think of paying attention to state affairs. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, in order to settle down her son, married him (January 27, 1689) to Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina. This was, however, a matter of intrigue between the Naryshkins and Tikhon Streshnev. But the superstitious and absurd Evdokia turned out to be no match for her husband, and the agreement lasted only until they understood each other, and Tsarina Natalya, who disliked her daughter-in-law, accelerated the inevitable breakup. A month after the wedding, Peter left for Pereyaslavl from his mother and wife to his ships. Other persons undertook to protect his interests as a king, who guided Peter in his struggle with Sophia.

Tsar Peter I in his youth

Queen Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina (in monastic life Elena)

The main accomplices in Sophia’s reign were: the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Prince V.V. Golitsyn and the chief of the Streltsov Duma clerk Shaklovity. The first not only served the princess, but was loved by her. According to the testimony of foreigners, Prince Golitsyn was a very educated man; Moscow owes his diplomatic abilities the conclusion of peace with Poland in 1686, according to which Jan Sobieski agreed to eternal peace, ceding to Moscow everything that Poland had conquered in the 17th century, and even Kyiv. Under the terms of the concluded peace, Moscow was obliged to declare war on Turkey and Crimea. It was decided to go on a campaign to the Crimea, and Prince Golitsyn, appointed to command the army, made two campaigns (in 1687-1689). Both of these campaigns were unsuccessful and aroused the grumbling of the army and Peter’s accusation of negligence. Peter’s party, headed by Lev Naryshkin and his “uncle” Prince B. Golitsyn, who was its main leader, took advantage of this favorable moment to abolish Sophia’s regency. From being a ruler, Sophia wanted to become an “autocrat,” that is, to be crowned king, which she and Shaklovity dreamed of achieving in 1687 with the help of the Streltsy. Summoned from Pereyaslavl by Tsarina Natalya to Moscow, Peter in July 1689 forbade Sophia to participate in the procession, and when she did not listen, he himself left the procession. By the beginning of August, the relationship between Peter and Sophia became strained, and the breakup occurred on the 7th. Sophia, as they say, was frightened by the rumor that on the night of August 7-8, Peter and his companions would appear in Moscow and deprive her of power. Seeing military preparations in the Kremlin, Peter’s followers let him know that the archers were “going in revolt” against him and his mother and were plotting “murder” against them. At midnight, suddenly awakened, Peter galloped off into the forest, and from there to the Trinity, leaving his mother and pregnant wife. On August 8, all the Naryshkins came to the Lavra, and the Sukharev Streltsy Regiment, in whose memory Peter later built the Sukharev Tower in Moscow, came, amused.

I. Repin. Arrival of Tsar John and Peter

At this decisive moment, Sophia, under the pretext of the death of the fatherland, persuaded Ivan Alekseevich, who remained in Moscow, to give the archers an order so that none of them, under pain of death, would leave Moscow, even if there were orders from Peter from Trinity Lavra; the latter is confirmed by a daily entry from 1689, which says: “The Great Sovereign, Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich sent steward Vashkogagin to Moscow, to his brother Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, so that he deigned to be an elected streltsy from all the regiments, and also from himself to the streltsy He sent his Sovereign decree to the regiments so that there would be elected ones to him, the Sovereign, for a genuine search, and with them colonels, as well as hundreds of guests and guests, townspeople and Chernoslobod residents. And, by decree of the Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, there were no people from Moscow and by that sending of any ranks to the Trinity Monastery.”

Tsar Ivan Alekseevich

Soon Tsar Ivan Alekseevich learned all the lies of Princess Sophia’s slander and took Peter’s side. In vain did Sophia and the archers convince him to reign as a sovereign; he replied that he was conceding the rule of the state to his brother as a worthy autocrat, and was entrusting everything to him.
When boyar Peter Vasilyevich Sheremetev Jr. and Lieutenant Colonel Nechaev, sent by Peter from the Lavra to demand Shaklovity, whom Sophia did not want to extradite, brought Peter’s report to Tsar John, John immediately sent the boyar to his sister. Rina of Prince Peter Ivanovich Prozorovsky with a decisive order that she hand over Shaklovity and his archer accomplices to those sent from Peter, saying “that he is not only a thief, but there is no reason for her, the princess, to quarrel with her brother.” won't." After the extradition of Shaklovity, Prince V.V. came to the Lavra voluntarily. Golitsyn, who was exiled to Kargopol, and later to Pinega for arbitrariness in governance and negligence in the Crimean campaign.

F. Solntsev. Diamond hat of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich

Shaklovity was tortured and executed along with the archers close to him on September 11th. With the sad fate of Sophia's devoted friends, her fate was also decided. She, as a “shameful third person,” according to Peter’s letter to his brother, was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent, in front of which a strong guard from the amusing Preobrazhensky Regiment was placed.
Thus ended the three-power rule, and Peter, under the sick Tsar John, ruled himself. Tsar Ivan Alekseevich died on January 29, 1696, and from that day the autocracy of Peter Alekseevich began.

Tsar Ivan Alekseevich

Romanov, each of whom at one time or another was Sovereign of All Rus'. Moreover, the mother of the first two was Maria Miloslavskaya (Alexei’s first wife), and Peter’s mother was Natalya Naryshkina (second wife).

Fedor III Alekseevich.

Fedor Alekseevich born on May 30, 1661, was crowned king at an even earlier age than his father - at the age of 14. Tsar Fedor was very educated and erudite, but was distinguished by extremely poor health.

Achievements:

• conducting a general census in 1678;
• introduction of direct taxes and reduction of indirect ones;
• military reform: abolition of localism, that is, now only the personal achievements of a military man were considered, and not the merits of all his ancestors;
• some administrative reforms;
• improvement of foreign regiments;
• Russian-Turkish war 1676-1681, as a result of which the Bakhchisaray peace, according to which the Crimean Khanate, like the Ottoman Empire itself, were forced to recognize Left Bank Ruthenia (that is, eastern Ukraine, including Kyiv itself) as Russian lands ( Chigirin campaigns this Russian-Turkish war became the only manifestation of the foreign policy of Feodor III);
• base Typographical school.

Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov died on April 27, 1682 (he was only 20 years old), leaving no heirs (his only son died at the age of 10 days) or any orders regarding succession to the throne.

Ivan V and Peter I.

Ivan was 6 years older than Peter (August 27, 1666 and May 30, 1672 - dates of birth, respectively), so he should have become the heir to the throne. When Fyodor died, Ivan was 15 years old, and Peter was only 9. And everything would have been clear and understandable if Ivan Alekseevich had not been weak-minded.

A struggle for the throne broke out in Moscow. Of course, neither Peter nor Ivan took part in it for obvious reasons (the lack of interest of one and the minority of the other). A confrontation broke out between the mothers' relatives: the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins.

May 15, 1682 occurred Streletsky riot, when the Miloslavskys won over the Streletsky army to their side. During the uprising, two of Peter's uncles and some other Naryshkin supporters were killed. In the end, reason prevailed over emotions, and on May 26 both brothers were crowned kings in the Assumption Cathedral. The most interesting thing is that not one of them was involved in the board, but their older sister - Sofya Alekseevna as regent.

The reign of Sofia Alekseevna was not remembered for anything special in history, except that she planned to be crowned and become queen. She was not afraid of Ivan as a rival, but Peter worried her. It so happened that by the end of the 80s of the 17th century, Pyotr Alekseevich saw through his sister, won his brother over to his side, and in 1689 they both removed his sister from power.

Ivan V Alekseevich, like all the children of Alexei Mikhailovich from Maria Miloslavskaya, did not have strong health, and already at the age of 27 he was paralyzed and looked, according to the descriptions of his contemporaries, like an old man. At the age of 30 (January 29, 1696) he died and Peter I became the sole ruler.

John (Ivan) V Alekseevich(September 6, 1666, Moscow - February 8, 1696, ibid.) - Russian Tsar in 1682-1696 from the Romanov dynasty. Son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet and Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Elder half-brother and co-ruler of Peter I. Father of Anna Ioannovna, Empress of All Russia.

When in 1682 his elder brother, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, died without leaving an heir, 15-year-old Ivan Alekseevich, as the next in seniority, was to inherit the throne.

Ivan Alekseevich was sickly and incapable of governing the country since childhood. Therefore, it was proposed to remove him and choose his half-brother 10-year-old Peter, the youngest son of Alexei Mikhailovich, as the next king.

They said about Ivan Alekseevich that he was weak-minded, which may have been a consequence of illness (epilepsy, aggravated by scurvy, a chronic illness of the children of Maria Miloslavskaya) and the libel of the Naryshkins, which they spread during the period of a fierce struggle for power with the Miloslavskys. It is known for certain that, being at the very center of this struggle, Ivan Alekseevich never tried to take an active part in it and did not show interest in government activities. Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev, who was a younger contemporary of Ivan and one of the associates of Peter I, wrote about him as “a man of a contented mind.”

Rise to power

Both brothers, one due to ill health, the other due to age, could not participate in the struggle for power. Instead of them, their relatives fought: for Ivan - his sister, Princess Sophia, and their Miloslavsky relatives, relatives of his mother; for Peter - the Naryshkins, relatives of Alexei Mikhailovich’s second wife. The matter did not happen without a bloody mutiny of the archers.

As a result, Patriarch Joachim proposed to proclaim both kings at once: Ivan as the senior king, Peter as the junior king, and to appoint Princess Sofya Alekseevna as regent for them.

On June 25, 1682, Ivan V Alekseevich and Peter I Alekseevich were crowned kings in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Moreover, the “senior” king was crowned with an authentic Monomakh hat and a large outfit, and copies were made for the “junior” one. A special throne with two seats was built for them, currently kept in the Armory.

Until 1689, the reigns of both Ivan and Peter were nominal; in fact, power was exercised by Princess Sofia Alekseevna, who relied on the Miloslavsky clan and her favorites - V.V. Golitsyn and F.L. Shaklovity.

In 1689, the confrontation between Sophia and Peter came to a head, as a result of which Sophia was removed from power. At this time, Peter sends a message to Ivan from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in which he writes:

And now, sir brother, the time has come for both of our persons to rule the kingdom entrusted to us by God themselves, since we have come to the extent of our age, and we do not deign to have a third shameful person, our sister, with our two male persons in titles and in the dispensation of affairs; That’s why your will, my brother’s sovereign, would have bowed, because it taught you to enter into affairs and write your own title without our permission; Moreover, she also wanted to get married with a royal crown, to further offend us. It’s shameful, sir, at our perfect age, for that shameful person to own the state bypassing us! To you, the sovereign brother, I declare and ask: allow me, sir, by my fatherly will, for our better benefit and for the peace of the people, without being sent to you, the sovereign, to carry out the orders of truthful judges, and to change the indecent ones, so as to calm our state and make you happy soon. And how, sir, brother, let’s happen together, and then we will put everything on the measure; and I, the sovereign brother, are ready to honor you like a father.

At that time, it was very important for Peter to enlist the support of his brother, or at least his non-interference.

Participation in government affairs

Although Ivan was called the “senior tsar,” he was almost never directly involved in state affairs, except for ritual ceremonies that required the participation of the tsar, and devoted himself entirely to his family.

From 1682 to 1689, Sophia ruled; in 1689, actual power passed to the Naryshkin clan, nominally headed by Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, after whose death in 1694 power was concentrated in the hands of Peter.

Ivan Alekseevich lived longer than all the male offspring of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, but by the age of 27 he was completely decrepit, had poor vision and was stricken with paralysis.

At the age of 30, on January 29 (February 8), 1696, he died suddenly in Moscow and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.