Tsar Fedor Alekseevich: unknown Russian tsar. Fedor Alekseevich Romanov - an outstanding and creative personality

Mother Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Fedor was the third son of the “quietest” tsar and did not claim the throne, but the death of his older brother Alexei made him heir to the throne

“Weak and sick Fedor Alekseevich ... As a boy he was extremely frail and sickly,” S. F. Platonov reported about Fedor in his lectures on Russian history. This is not entirely accurate. An accident made the king sick: (during a walk) “... with my aunts and sisters in a sleigh. They brought a zealous horse: Theodore sat on it, although he was to be a driver with his aunts and sisters. There were so many of them on the sleigh that the horse could not move, but galloped on its hind legs, knocked off the rider, and knocked him under the sleigh. Then the sleigh, with all its weight, drove over the back of Theodore, who was lying on the ground, and crushed his chest, from which he still feels constant pain in his chest and back.
At the same time, Fedor Alekseevich, while in power, was not constantly ill: “He fell ill in the first months of his reign, was ill from December 1677 to February 1678, suffered from a serious illness at the beginning of 1678, suffered in the winter of 1678/79, and a new attack of ill health carried him to his grave at dawn in 1682. But in the intervals between the deterioration of health, the king, apparently, felt fine. He loved music, poetry, horseback riding and highly appreciated good horses. Went on long pilgrimages. Finally, he received foreign ambassadors, and when you read their reviews, you don’t get the impression at all that they communicated with some kind of pale infirmity ”(D. Volodikhin“ Tsar Fedor Alekseevich, or the Poor lad ”)

Brief biography of Fedor Alekseevich

1661, May 30 - birth
1661, June 30 - baptism of the prince in the name of St. Theodore Stratilates
1669, March 3 - death of Fedor Alekseevich's mother, Empress Maria
1670 - Attachment to Tsarevich Fedor Alekseevich of the ambassadorial clerk P.T. Belyaninov "as a teacher"

“From Belyaninov, the tsarevich learned Slavic literacy, ... acquired primary knowledge in geography, history, and also the foreign policy of Russia. Especially for Belyaninov's classes with Fedor Alekseevich, other employees of the Ambassadorial Order created in 1672 a luxurious textbook of much more serious content. It has survived to this day and is now well known under the name "Titularnik". The real name of the textbook is "The Big Sovereign Book, or the Root of Russian Sovereigns"

1670, January 17 - the death of the elder brother of Fyodor Alekseevich - Tsarevich Alexei
1672 - the beginning of training sessions for Tsarevich Fedor Alekseevich with Simeon of Polotsk

“Simeon Polotsky taught Fyodor Alekseevich Latin and Polish, the skills of rhetoric and “piitika”, perhaps he touched philosophy. Fedor read classical ancient authors under his guidance.

1673 (approximately) - Tsarevich Fyodor Alekseevich was seriously injured: he was run over by a sleigh, as a result of which, apparently, his spine was damaged
1675, September - official announcement of Tsarevich Fedor Alekseevich as heir to the Russian throne
1676, January 29 - death of his father, sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich

“... as his eldest son ... Feodor Alekseevich ... by the boyars who were with the king, he was escorted to a large hall and here, in royal regalia, he was seated on the royal throne. He kissed the cross and, after that, the nobles and boyars took the oath of allegiance to the new sovereign and tsar, kissing the cross, which was held in the hands of the patriarch or forefather. All night the oath of all the nobles, stewards and various palace servants continued. Messengers were sent to all parts of the state; all foreign officers and officials who were required to take the oath were called to the palace, where they took the oath before two Moscow preachers, one Reformed and the other Lutheran. It happened at 11 o'clock at night"

1676, June 18 - the wedding of Fedor Alekseevich to the kingdom
1676, November-December - Fyodor Alekseevich's big pilgrimage: the Trinity-Sergius monastery, the monasteries of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, the Alexander settlement, and then a special weekly pilgrimage in the Savvino-Storozhevskaya monastery. From that moment on, the tsar annually, until 1681, set off in the fall for a large pilgrimage to the same places.
1678, September 5 - Sovereign Fedor Alekseevich's stay with family members in the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery
1678, December 5 - a new visit by Fyodor Alekseevich to the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery
1679, November 29 - the third trip of the sovereign Fyodor Alekseevich to the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery
1680, July 18 - the marriage of Fedor Alekseevich to Agafya Semyonovna Grushetskaya
1680, the end of the year - the weakening of the positions of the court aristocratic party of the Miloslavskys, relatives of Fyodor Alekseevich by mother. Reasons: conflict with the tsar over his marriage to Grushetskaya, as well as pressure from the court aristocratic "parties" of Khitrovo and the princes Dolgoruky.
1681, July 11 - the birth of the only son of Fedor Alekseevich - Tsarevich Ilya Fedorovich.
1681, July 14 - the death of Fedor Alekseevich's wife, Tsaritsa Agafya Semyonovna, from birth fever
1681, July 21 - death of Tsarevich Ilya Fedorovich
1681, September - Fedor Alekseevich's trip to Rostov, Yaroslavl, Suzdal and "other cities", obviously, with pious purposes.
1682, February 15 - the marriage of Fedor Alekseevich to Marfa Matveevna Apraksina.
1682, April 27 - death of the great sovereign, tsar and grand duke of Moscow and all Russia Fyodor Alekseevich

The reign of Tsar Fedor Alekseevich

“... Fedor's reign was divided into two approximately equal halves, different in their orientation (from 1676 to the middle of 1679 and from the middle of 1679 to the beginning of 1682) ... In the early years, the Miloslavsky party actually came to power (relatives of the first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ), which was headed by the cousin of Fyodor Alekseevich I. M. Miloslavsky ... The second force in the government of the country was the figures of the previous period who joined Miloslavsky - Yu. A. Dolgoruky, B. I. Khitrovo and Ya. N. Odoevsky ... Figures of both groups captured in own hands managing most of the central institutions (orders), including the most profitable, that is, associated with collections of money. Miloslavsky, Khitrovo and Odoevsky led simultaneously 6-7 orders each. Under Dolgorukov’s control there were a slightly smaller number of institutions ... There was a tendency for Miloslavsky to “rub away” his other co-rulers from solving state issues, to the sole control of a sickly and weak nephew ”(Demidova, Morozova, Preobrazhensky“ The First Romanovs on the Russian Throne ”)
“(However, gradually) the Miloslavskys were replaced by the favorites of Tsar Fyodor, the bed-keeper Yazykov and the steward Likhachev, educated, capable and conscientious people. Their closeness to the king and influence on affairs were very great. The importance of Prince V.V. Golitsyn was a little less. In the most important internal affairs of the time of Fyodor Alekseevich, it is imperative to look for the initiative of these particular persons, as they were then in charge of everything in Moscow ”(S. F. Platonov)

The internal policy of the government under Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich

1676, February-March - liquidation of the Order of Secret Affairs. It was the personal office of the tsar ... The clerks of the order were sent with ambassadors to different states, went on military campaigns together with governors, had to monitor the actions of ambassadors and governors and report everything to the sovereign. In the Order of Secret Affairs, investigations were carried out on the most important state affairs, for example, on the issue of a counterfeit coin, the case of Patriarch Nikon, etc.
1676-1680 - construction of the Insar-Penza notch line

The Penza Zasechnaya line served to protect against Tatar raids and went along the following line: Lake. Long near the Sura River - Penza fortress - Ramzaevsky prison (now Ramsay) - Mokshansk (Mokshan) fortress - Mokshansky forest. Consisted of forest and field fortifications. In the forests, heaps were built from cut down and felled trees. Interforest areas were strengthened with ditches and earthen ramparts, on top of which a wooden wall was erected, low-lying and swampy places - with palisades and gouges. Towers (deaf and passing), prisons, fortified cities were placed along the notch lines. Zasechnye forests were considered reserved. They were forbidden to cut trees and build roads.

1677 - liquidation of the Monastic order. Performed financial, administrative and police functions on church affairs; collected money from church estates, Fyodor Alekseevich transferred his affairs to the Order of the Grand Palace (purchased goods, food, was in charge of the income and expenses of the royal court), and financial affairs to the Order of the New Chet (he was in charge of income from mug yards, court cases for the secret sale of wine and tobacco In 1678, Kalmyk affairs were added to this)
1678 - general census of the population (household census). The scribes, having arrived in the camps and volosts, in the monastic estates and estates, had to “in those estates and estates ... read the sovereign’s decree (on the census) ... so that the nobles and boyar children and their clerks and elders and kissers brought fairy tales to them ... ". "Fairy tales" were called reports on the number of peasants in the serf estate or townspeople in the tax yard
1679 - Introduction of household taxation everywhere

The basis of the household taxation was the census books compiled during the household census of 1678-1679. They described the labor force that paid taxes: it was not the land that was taxed, but the laborers' hands with their inventory. For each taxable district, the average household salary of the tax was assigned and the total amount of tax payments was calculated according to the number of taxable households, and the payers themselves distributed the amount between individual households, depending on the level of wealth. Household taxation saved the treasury from the losses that it suffered from the transition of peasants from large plots to smaller ones, from arable plots to wastelands.

1679-1680 - assessment of the number, weapons and combat effectiveness of all the military forces of Muscovy
1679-1681 - construction of the Izyumskaya notch line against the Crimean Khanate and the Turks. Passed through the territory of modern Belgorod and Kharkov regions. The rivers Kolomak, Mzha, Seversky Donets and Oskol were chosen as a natural barrier, on the banks of which there were old settlements
1680, October 18 - Fyodor Alekseevich's decree on the establishment of a Duma Commission, also called the Punishment Chamber - a special department for conducting reprisal (i.e., judicial) cases. In the second half of the 17th century, long trips of tsars from Moscow “on campaigns” were common; according to the customs of that time, the kings were accompanied by all the boyars and duma people, which could not but respond in a harmful way to the judicial activities of the Boyar Duma and to the very order of the court, the correct course of which should have required a certain constant organization. This goal was pursued by the establishment of the Punishment Chamber
1680, October 22 - decree of Fyodor Alekseevich on a ban on wearing okhabny, chekmen and short-brimmed caftans, as well as on the introduction of long-brimmed caftans and feryazes instead of them for Moscow service people
1680, December 19 - Decree of Fyodor Alekseevich on which feryazy on holidays and solemn days to appear at the court at the sovereign's exits

Okhaben - narrow open long clothes (up to the ankle), chekmen - men's outerwear in a transitional form between a robe and a caftan, feryaz - clothes (men's and women's) with long sleeves, without a collar and interception

1681, April-May - the opening of the Greek-Slavic Typographic School at the Printing House by Fyodor Alekseevich and Patriarch Joachim. Hieromonk Timothy headed the school. The students of this school will become the core of the Academy, subsequently opened by the brothers Ioannikius and Sofroniy Likhud in the Zaikonospassky Monastery (1687)

“... the monk Timothy came to Moscow from the East, who greatly touched the tsar with a story about the disasters of the Greek Church and about the sad state of science in it, so necessary to maintain Orthodoxy in the East. This gave rise to the establishment in Moscow of a theological school for 30 people, the head of which was Timothy himself, and the teachers were two Greeks. The purpose of this enterprise was thus the maintenance of Orthodoxy. But they are not satisfied with this small school, and here comes the project of an academy, the nature of which goes far beyond the limits of a simple school. It was supposed to teach grammar, piitika, rhetoric, dialectics and philosophy "reasonable", "natural" and "right". The teachers of the academy had to be all from the East and, moreover, with the guarantee of the patriarchs. But the task of the academy was not yet exhausted by this - the academy was supposed to monitor the purity of the faith, be an instrument of struggle against the Gentiles, apologists for Orthodoxy had to come out of it, it was assigned the right to judge the Orthodoxy of everyone, both a foreigner and a Russian .... The Academy was founded after the death of Fedor, and its first teachers were the learned brothers Likhuds (Ioaniky and Safroniy) called from the East.

1681, summer - Patriarch Nikon was allowed to move to live from the distant Kirillo-Belozersky monastery to the Resurrection New Jerusalem monastery near Moscow. Nikon died during the move, August 17, 1681. They buried him in New Jerusalem with great pomp. The royal family was present at the funeral, and Fyodor Alekseevich himself sang in the church choir
1681, October 23 - Fyodor Alekseevich's decree on the encouragement of stone construction in Moscow.
1681, November 24 - Fyodor Alekseevich's decree on the creation of the "Order of Military Affairs" under the control of Prince V.V. Golitsyn to prepare the reform of the Russian army and eliminate localism
1681, December 28 - decree of Fyodor Alekseevich, regulating the ride in carriages and sleighs in Moscow.
1682, winter - Beginning of the construction of the Penza-Syzran notch line. She captured the northern parts of the Kuznetsk and Khvalynsk districts. Reducing the weight of the Moscow silver kopeck from 0.45 to 0.4 grams. Silver pennies were constantly reduced in size to cover government spending.
1681, November-1682, April - a church council, at which it was decided to toughen the fight against the Old Believers: transfer the most stubborn of them from church jurisdiction to secular
1682, January 12 - Fyodor Alekseevich's speech before Patriarch Joachim, a meeting of the highest clergy and the Boyar Duma on the need to abolish localism - the system of distribution of posts depending on the nobility of the family ... The meeting unanimously approved: “May this God-hating, hostile, fraternal and love that drives away localism and henceforth - forever "
1682, January 15 - Fyodor Alekseevich's decree on the construction of two cells in the Zaikonospassky Monastery in Moscow to house the Slavic-Latin School, under the auspices of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, the first higher educational institution in Russia
1682, January 19 - signing by Fedor Alekseevich of the "cathedral act" on the abolition of localism
1682, April 14 - burning in Pustozersk by decree of Fyodor Alekseevich of the spiritual leaders of the church schism, including Archpriest Avvakum.
1682, April 23 - the beginning of the Streltsy uprising in Moscow.
1682, April 24 - the order of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich on the severe punishment of the archery colonel Semyon Griboyedov, whose criminal activities caused an outbreak of rebellious moods among the archery. This order could stop

Fedor Alekseevich was born on May 30, 1661 in Moscow. Father - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, mother - Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Simeon Polotsky, who was known in Russia as an educator and who paid great attention to the education of the future tsar, took an active part in the upbringing of Fedor Alekseevich. Despite the fact that Fedor was not in good health, he was fond of the sciences, arts, horse breeding and archery. He spoke excellent Polish and knew Latin. The problem was that Fedor was very much subject to all sorts of influences.

This feature was actively used by the enemies of the second wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Natalya Kirillovna. The whole reign of Fyodor Alekseevich passed under the sign of a fierce struggle of some boyar groups against others for proximity to the tsar.

Nevertheless, the heir showed independence in choosing his wives. Initially, he himself chose Agafya Semyonovna Grushetskaya, the daughter of a Smolensk gentry, as his wife, and after her death during childbirth, his choice settled on the humble beauty Marfa Matveevna Apraksina.

Domestic policy of Fedor Alekseevich

Despite the active influence of close associates and relatives, the king independently brought significant changes to the internal life of the country. Initially, he conducted a general census of the population and, on its basis, began a tax reform, replacing many of the taxes that existed at that time with a single household taxation (1679). All state institutions received a unified work schedule, and the state apparatus grew.

Expanding it, Fedor Alekseevich unified the tasks of departments-orders. The reforms also affected local authorities. Local governors strengthened their power, but lost their financial functions. The "feeding" system, which was the main pretext for all abuses on the ground, was eliminated.

1679 was the year of the reorganization of the army. In fact, a regular army appeared, and all the nobles had to serve in the regiments. Only the Cossacks remained outside the regular army.

Innovations affected social and cultural life. A secular upper printing house appeared in Moscow. A charity home for the disabled was created, and an orphanage appeared for orphans, in which they taught literacy and crafts. During his short reign, the tsar signed the document “Privileges of the Moscow Academy”, which outlined the principles for organizing the future first higher educational institution of the Russian kingdom - the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Long before he tried to introduce European clothes at court, he favorably treated new trends in literature and painting.

Foreign policy of Fedor Alekseevich

For a short period of reign, Fedor Alekseevich managed to make peace after the war of 1672-1681 with Turkey. This peace provided that Turkey recognizes the Left-bank Ukraine as a possession of Russia.

Fedor Alekseevich Romanov died on April 27, 1682 in Moscow. The death of the king was received ambiguously. Unrest began in the capital. The subjects had a very good attitude towards the king, and the rebels accused the courtiers of killing him. It was probably the only such case in national history.

Fedor III Alekseevich born May 30, 1661. Russian tsar since 1676, from the Romanov dynasty, son of the tsar Alexey Mikhailovich and queens Maria Ilyinichna , the elder brother of Tsar Ivan V and the half-brother of Peter I. One of the most educated rulers of Russia.

Biography
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov was born in Moscow on May 30, 1661. During the reign Alexey Mikhailovich more than once the question of succession to the throne arose. The prince died at the age of sixteen Alexey Alekseevich . The second tsar's son Fedor was then nine years old. Fedor succeeded to the throne at the age of fourteen. They were crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on June 18, 1676. His ideas about royal power were largely formed under the influence of one of the philosophers of that time, Simeon of Polotsk, who was the tutor and spiritual mentor of the prince. Fedor Alekseevich Romanov was well educated. He knew Latin well and spoke Polish fluently. His teacher was the famous theologian, scientist, writer and poet Simeon of Polotsk. Unfortunately, Fedor Alekseevich was not in good health, from childhood he was weak and sickly. He ruled the country for only six years.
With health to the king Fedor Alekseevich bad luck. As a child, Fyodor Alekseevich was run over by sledges, he also suffered from scurvy. But God rewarded him with a clear mind, a bright soul and a kind heart. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, guessing that the age of Fedor would be short, but gave him, like other children, an excellent education, for which Simeon Polotsky, a monk from White Russia, was responsible. Tsarevich Fedor is credited with rhymed translations of psalms into Russian. Poetry for him could become a matter of life, but his business was different. September 1, 1674 Alexei Mikhailovich brought his son to the Execution Ground and declared him heir to the throne. Fedor Alekseevich delivered a speech, but his health did not allow him to spoil the public with his art for a long time. It was difficult for him to walk, stand, sit. Boyarin F.F. Kurakin and okolnichiy I.B. Khitrovo, responsible for the upbringing of the heir, stood nearby. Before his death, the tsar called Fedor, without a shadow of a doubt handed over the holy cross and scepter into his fragile hands and said: “I bless you, son, to the kingdom!”.

The reign and reforms of the king
Part of the reignFedor Alekseevich occupied the war with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate over Ukraine. Only in 1681, in Bakhchisarai, the parties officially recognized the reunification with Russia, the Left-Bank Ukraine and Kyiv. Russia received Kyiv under an agreement with Poland in 1678 in exchange for Nevel, Sebezh and Velizh. In matters of internal government of the country, Fedor Alekseevich is best known for two innovations. In 1681, a project was developed to create the subsequently famous Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Many figures of science, culture and politics came out of its walls. It was in it in the XVIII century. the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov. And in 1682 Boyar Duma abolished the so-called localism. In Russia, by tradition, state and military people were appointed to various positions not in accordance with their merits, experience or abilities, but in accordance with the place that the ancestors of the appointed person occupied in the state apparatus. The son of a man who once occupied a lower position could never rise above the son of an official who once occupied a higher position, no matter what merit. This state of affairs annoyed many and hindered the effective administration of the state.
The short reign of Fyodor Alekseevich was marked by important actions and reforms. In 1678 a general census of the population was carried out, and in 1679 household direct taxes were introduced, which increased the tax burden. In military affairs, in 1682 localism, which paralyzed command in the army, was abolished; in connection with this, digit books were burned. Thus, an end was put to the dangerous custom of the boyars and nobles to reckon with the merits of their ancestors when occupying a position. Genealogical books were introduced to preserve the memory of ancestors. In order to centralize state administration, some related orders were combined under the leadership of one person. The regiments of the foreign system received a new development.
The main of the internal political reforms was the destruction of the “extraordinary seat” of the Zemsky Sobor on January 12, 1682, localism - the rules according to which everyone received ranks in accordance with the place occupied in the state apparatus by the ancestors of the appointee. At the same time, category books with lists of positions were burned as the “main culprits” of local disputes and claims. Instead of bits, it was ordered to have a genealogical book. All well-born and noble people were entered into it, but already without indicating their place in the Duma.

Foreign policy of Fedor Alekseevich
In foreign policy, he tried to return to Russia access to the Baltic Sea, lost during the years of the Livonian War. Much more attention than Alexei Mikhailovich paid to the regiments of the "new system", staffed and trained in the Western manner. However, the solution of the "Baltic problem" was hampered by the raids of the Crimean and Tatars and Turks from the south. Therefore, Fedor's major foreign policy action was the successful Russian-Turkish war of 1676-1681, which ended with the Bakhchisaray peace treaty, which secured the unification of the Left-Bank Ukraine with Russia. Russia received Kyiv even earlier under an agreement with Poland in 1678 in exchange for Nevel, Sebezh and Velizh. During the war of 1676-1681 in the south of the country, the Izyumskaya notch line (400 versts) was created, connected with Belgorodskaya.

Internal management
In matters of internal government of the country Fedor Alekseevich left a mark in the history of Russia with two innovations. In 1681, a project was developed to create the subsequently famous, Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy , which opened after the death of the king. It was in it that the Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov studied in the 18th century. Moreover, representatives of all classes were supposed to be allowed to study at the academy, and scholarships were awarded to the poor. The tsar was going to transfer the entire palace library to the Academy. Patriarch Joachim was categorically against the opening of the academy, he was generally against secular education in Russia. The king tried to defend his decision. Fedor Alekseevich ordered to build special shelters for orphans and teach them various sciences and crafts. The sovereign wanted to arrange all the disabled in almshouses, which he built at his own expense. In 1682, the Boyar Duma once and for all abolished the so-called localism. According to the tradition that existed in Russia, state and military people were appointed to various positions not in accordance with their merits, experience or abilities, but in accordance with localism, that is, with the place that the ancestors of the appointed person occupied in the state apparatus.

Russo-Turkish War
In the 1670s there was Russo-Turkish War, which was caused by Turkey's desire to subjugate Left-bank Ukraine. In 1681, the Bucharest Peace Treaty was concluded between Russia and Turkey, according to which the border between these countries was established along the Dnieper. The cities of Kyiv, Vasilkov, Trypillya, Staiki, located in the Dnieper Right Bank, remained with Russia. Russians received the right to fish in the Dnieper, as well as to extract salt and hunt in the lands adjacent to the Dnieper. During this war, in the south of the country, the Izyumskaya serif line, about 400 versts long, was created, which covered Sloboda Ukraine from the attacks of the Turks and Tatars. Later, this defensive line was extended and connected to the Belgorod zasechnaya line.

The wedding and first wife of Fedor Alekseevich Romanov
In the summer of 1680 the king Fedor Alekseevich I saw a girl at the procession that he liked. He instructed Yazykov to find out who she was, and Yazykov told him that she was the daughter Semyon Fedorovich Grushetsky, by the name Agafya. The king, without violating grandfather's customs, ordered to convene a crowd of girls and chose Agafya from them. Boyar Miloslavsky tried to upset this marriage, blackening the royal bride, but did not achieve the goal and he himself lost influence at court. On July 18, 1680, the tsar married her. The new queen was of an humble family and, as they say, was of Polish origin. At the Moscow court, Polish customs began to enter, they began to wear kuntushi, cut their hair in Polish and learn the Polish language. The tsar himself, brought up by Simeon Sitiyanovich, knew Polish and read Polish books.
But soon, among the cares of the government, the queen died Agafya (July 14, 1681) from childbirth, and after her a newborn baby, baptized under the name of Elijah.

The second wedding of the king
Meanwhile, the king was weakening day by day, but his neighbors supported in him the hope of recovery, and he entered into a new marriage with Marfa Matveevna Apraksina, a relative of Yazykov. The first consequence of this union was the forgiveness of Matveev.
The exiled boyar several times wrote petitions to the tsar from exile, justifying himself from the false accusations leveled against him, asked for the patriarch's petition, turned to various boyars and even to his enemies. Matveev, as a form of relief, was transferred to Mezen with his son, with his son's teacher, the gentry Poborsky, and servants, up to 30 people in total, and they gave him 156 rubles in salary, and, in addition, they released grain, rye, oats, and barley. But that didn't make things any easier for him. Begging again the sovereign to grant him freedom, Matveev wrote that in this way "it will be for a day for us your serfs and our orphans three coins each ..." "Church opponents," Matveev wrote in the same letter, "Avakum's wife and children receive a penny per person, and small three coins, and we, your serfs, are not opponents of either the church or your royal command. However, the Mezen governor Tukhachevsky loved Matveev and tried in every way he could to alleviate the fate of the exiled boyar. The main disadvantage was that it was difficult to get bread in Mezen. The inhabitants ate game and fish, which were there in great abundance, but scurvy raged there from lack of bread. In January 1682, as soon as the tsar declared Marfa Apraksina his bride, the captain of the stirrup regiment Ivan Lishukov was sent to Mezen with a decree to announce to the boyar Artamon Sergeevich Matveev and his son that the sovereign, recognizing their innocence, ordered them to be returned from exile, to return the court to them in Moscow, Moscow region and other estates and belongings left for distribution and sale; granted them the patrimony from the palace villages of Upper Landekh with villages and ordered the boyar and his son to be freely released to the city of Lukh, giving them road and pit carts, and in Lukh to wait for a new royal decree. Matveev owed this favor to the request of the royal bride, who was his goddaughter. Although the tsar announced that he recognized Matveev as completely innocent and falsely slandered, although before the release of Matveev he ordered one of his slanderers, doctor David Berlov, to be sent into exile, he did not dare, however, to return the boyar to Moscow - apparently, the royal sisters who hated Matveev prevented , and the young queen did not yet have enough strength to lead the king to such an act that would irritate the princesses to the extreme. Nevertheless, the young tsarina in a short time gained so much strength that she reconciled the tsar with Natalya Kirillovna and Tsarevich Peter, with whom, in the words of a contemporary, he had "indomitable disagreements." But the king did not have long to live with his young wife. A little over two months after his wedding, on April 27, 1682, he died before he was 21 years old.

Marriage and children
Wives:
1) from July 18, 1680 Agafia Semyonovna Grushetskaya(died 14 July 1681);
2) from February 15, 1682 Marfa Matveevna Apraksina(died 31 Dec. 1715). + 27 Apr. 1682

Having become king, Fyodor exalted his favorites - the bed-keeper Ivan Maksimovich Yazykov and the room attendant Alexei Timofeevich Likhachev. These were people of no nobility, they arranged the marriage of the king. They say that Fedor saw a girl who he really liked. He instructed Yazykov to inquire about her, and he reported that this was Agafya Semenovna Grushetskaya, the niece of the Duma clerk Zaborovsky. The deacon was given to know that he would not give his niece in marriage until the decree, and soon Fyodor married her. All five sons of Alexei Mikhailovich, born to him by his first wife, Maria Ilinichnaya Miloslavskaya, were weak and sickly people. Three died during the life of his father, and the youngest, Ivan, added mental underdevelopment to physical weakness. The eldest, Fedor, suffered from severe scurvy, could hardly walk, leaning on a stick, and was forced to spend most of his time in the palace. He received a sufficient education: he spoke Polish well, knew Latin, learned to compose verses, and even helped his mentor Simeon of Polotsk to translate psalms. Being 14 years old, in 1674 Fedor was solemnly declared heir to the throne, and only two years later he was supposed to take the place of the suddenly deceased Alexei Mikhailovich.

death of the king
The last months of the tsar's life were overshadowed by great grief: his wife died of childbirth, whom he married for love, contrary to the advice of the boyars. Together with his mother, the newborn heir also died. When it became obvious that Fedor Alekseevich will not live long, yesterday's favorites began to seek friendship from the younger brothers of the king and their relatives. After the death of Fyodor Alekseevich, both brothers came to the throne - Ivan and Peter. Ivan Alekseevich was a sickly person and could not actively help his younger brother, but he always supported him. And Peter I was able to create the Russian Empire from the Muscovite state.

The name of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov is not as widely known today as the names of his father Alexei Mikhailovich and younger brother Peter Alekseevich. And in vain.

Having received from his father a country strengthened and perked up after unrest and civil wars, Fedor Alekseevich became the forerunner of many reforms and transformations that we today associate with the name of Peter. Everyone knows that history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. And, nevertheless, it can be assumed that if Fedor Alekseevich had not died so early, today we would be talking about the great reformer and reformer of Russia, Tsar Fedor III.

Short life and short reign

Fedor was the second son of Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. In a marriage with Miloslavskaya, Alexei Mikhailovich had 13 children, four of them were sons. Almost all the daughters of Maria Ilyinichna were strong and healthy, but the sons were born weak. The eldest son Alexei died at the age of 15, Simeon lived only to the age of three. Two sons of Mary reigned: Ivan Alekseevich, who was co-ruler of Peter I, and was not distinguished by either health or intelligence, and Fedor, who, although he was as in poor health as his brothers, had all the makings of a statesman.

He was born on May 30, 1661. His teacher was the monk Simeon of Polotsk, one of the most educated people of his time, a spiritual writer, theologian, poet and translator. He instilled in Fedor an interest in Western culture in its Polish version. Under the guidance of Simeon of Polotsk, the prince learned Polish, Latin, and was able to get acquainted with the works of European scientists and philosophers.

Fedor's reign began in 1676, after Alexei Mikhailovich died. The first months of his reign, Fedor was seriously ill, he suffered from "scrobut" - scurvy. The state was actually ruled by a friend of the late Alexei Mikhailovich Artamon Matveev - the godfather of the second wife of the late sovereign Natalya Naryshkina, a relative of the first wife Ivan Miloslavsky and Patriarch Joachim. However, having risen to his feet, Fedor firmly took power into his own hands and began by sending Matveev, who was too sympathetic to little Peter Alekseevich, into exile.

The short reign of Fedor lasted only 6 years, in 1682 he died. But during this time the young sovereign managed to do quite a lot.

The main transformations of Fedor Alekseevich

Among the main merits of the young king should be attributed the abolition of parochialism - the procedure for occupying positions, based not on the personal qualities of the applicant, but on what position his ancestors held. Localism was a real burden for the Russian state, which prevented the appointment of truly capable people, and drowned any undertaking in disputes over who should obey whom. Fedor ordered to burn all the category books, which indicated the positions held by representatives of noble families. Instead, he introduced genealogical books, where only genealogy was recorded.

The next important step was to take care of the enlightenment of Russia. A printing house was opened at the Printing Yard, where they began to publish books: liturgical literature, scientific works, secular works, translations from Latin. Fedor Alekseevich developed a project for an educational institution, which was opened after his death, and was called the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy.

Under Fyodor Alekseevich, units of the army received a new development, which were manned and armed according to the European model and were called "regiments of a foreign system."

The young tsar was also engaged in reforming the state apparatus: he abolished a number of orders, combining orders that were similar in function.

In 1678, a general census of the population was carried out, and a year later, household taxes were introduced. This increased the tax burden, but it caused an influx of funds into the state treasury.

Fedor achieved considerable success in foreign policy: another war against the Ottoman port and the Crimean Khanate ended with victory. Turkey and Poland were forced to recognize Left-Bank Ukraine and Kyiv for Russia. Fyodor Alekseevich also tried to return access to the Baltic Sea, but to no avail. This task was able to realize his younger brother Peter.

Fedor did a lot for the improvement of Moscow. Here they began to pave the streets, laid the first sewage system, and the shopping malls were removed from Red Square. In addition, the sovereign created a system of loans for Muscovites who lost their homes as a result of fires, which were very frequent in the wooden capital.

Finally, it was under Fyodor Alekseevich that Russian aristocrats began to wear European clothes. Young boyars began to shave their beards, cut their hair in the Polish manner, and dress in the Polish fashion. It was forbidden to appear at the court in single rows and okhabnys. Under Fyodor Alekseevich, the first periodical publication, Chimes, appeared in Russia. It was a handwritten "digest" of news from European newspapers, which was read to the tsar and the boyar duma by the clerks of the Ambassadorial order. At this time, foreign fashions also penetrated into painting, artists began to paint portraits in the European style, they were called "parsuns".

Fyodor Alekseevich abolished crippling executions, such as cutting off hands, ears, cutting off the tongue, and in general, he thought about humanizing punishments. This, however, did not prevent him from ordering the burning of the main ideologist of the Old Believers, Archpriest Avvakum Petrov. They say that the reason for this decision was the fact that Avvakum spoke insultingly about his father in letters to his supporters.

Fedor took care of the education of his younger brothers - Ivan and Peter, ordered books, globes, ship models and other manuals for them.

A lot was done, but even more projects remained projects, since Fedor Alekseevich died in 1682.

Question of succession

Fedor Alekseevich was married twice. His first wife, a Pole from the Smolensk nobles, Agafya Grushetskaya, gave birth to his son in 1681, who was named Ilya. The boy died on the 10th day of his life, and Queen Agafya soon died. The second marriage with Marfa Apraksina lasted a little more than two months. The sovereign died at the age of 20.

He did not have time to give any orders regarding the heir, so a dynastic crisis arose, which caused an aggravation of the struggle between the supporters of Tsarevich Ivan and Tsarevich Peter. The unrest ended with a compromise decision: to make the brothers co-rulers, appointing Princess Sophia as regents under them.

Fedor Alekseevich (1661-1682), Russian Tsar (since 1676) from the Romanov dynasty.

Born June 9, 1661 in Moscow. The son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. An enlightened reformer, a student of Simeon of Polotsk, was fond of the sciences, arts, horse breeding and archery. He suffered from hereditary beriberi, which for a couple of months a year chained him to the palace chambers.

Fedor Alekseevich married, of his own choice, Agafya Simeonovna Gruzhevskaya, the daughter of a Smolensk gentry (1680), and after her death from childbirth, the equally humble beauty Marfa Matveevna Apraksina (1682).

Based on the general census (1678), the tsar carried out a tax reform, replacing many taxes with a single household taxation (1679). Approved a unified system of measures and a unified work schedule for all state institutions. He doubled the central state apparatus, unified the functions of departments-orders and created a permanent government - the Punishment Chamber (1680). On the ground, the voivode established autocracy, taking away financial functions from them. Eliminated "feeding" - a system by which the governor received a salary ("fed") at the expense of local residents.

In 1679, he began to create a regular army, leaving only the Cossacks outside it, and obliged all the nobles to serve in the regiments.

In the autumn of 1681 - in the winter of 1682 he abolished localism - the custom according to which ranks in the state were given in accordance with the degree of nobility.

He opened a secular Upper Printing House in Moscow, charity homes for the disabled, an orphanage with literacy and crafts. He signed the “Privilei of the Moscow Academy” - the principles of organizing an all-class educational institution for the formation of cadres of enlightened government officials.

He tried to introduce European clothes at the court, encouraged new trends in literature and painting.

Concluded after the war of 1673-1681. peace with Turkey, according to which the latter recognized the Left-Bank Ukraine as a possession of Russia. He died on May 7, 1682 in Moscow.

His death caused popular unrest in the capital - the rebels accused the courtiers of killing the king.

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