Romanov dynasty with dates of reign. The main secrets of the Romanov dynasty
The only son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second wife, Natalya Naryshkina. Alexei Mikhailovich also had sons from his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, and when he died in - Peter was then four years old - a furious feud arose between the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys over the succession to the throne. Fyodor Alekseevich, one of the sons of Maria Miloslavskaya, ascended the throne. After the death of Fyodor, the two of them were crowned kings, Ivan - from the Miloslavskys and Peter - from the Naryshkins, and Ivan’s sister Sophia was proclaimed ruler under the young tsars. The Naryshkin supporters gained the upper hand, and Sophia was exiled to a monastery. Ivan V died in , and Peter remained the only autocrat.
Peter was brought up haphazardly; in his youth he was interested in carpentry and shipbuilding. His other hobby was training soldiers and acting out funny battles. His first experience of leading troops was the war with Turkey (–), which ruled in the Crimea and the southern Russian steppes; Peter hoped to win access to the Black Sea. Although he captured the Azov fortress at the mouth of the Don () and founded Taganrog as the base of the Russian navy on the Sea of Azov, he nevertheless realized that Russia was not yet strong enough to firmly establish itself in the south.
Peter went on a trip to England, Holland and Germany; he was the first Russian monarch to appear abroad. The king was accompanied by a large and riotous retinue, but the seriousness of his intentions was beyond doubt. He worked in shipyards in England and in the Dutch port of Saardam; In Prussia he studied artillery.
The Swedish king Charles XII fought in the depths of Europe with Saxony and Poland and neglected the threat from Russia. Peter did not waste time: fortresses were erected at the mouth of the Neva, ships were built at shipyards, the equipment for which was brought from Arkhangelsk, and soon a powerful Russian fleet arose on the Baltic Sea. Russian artillery, after its radical transformation, played a decisive role in the capture of Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia) and Narva (). In the harbor nearby new capital Dutch and English ships appeared. B - the tsar firmly consolidated Russian influence in the Duchy of Courland.
Charles XII, having made peace with Poland, made a belated attempt to crush his Russian rival. He moved the war from the Baltic states into the interior of Russia, intending to take Moscow. At first, his offensive was successful, but the retreating Russian army deceived him with a cunning maneuver and inflicted a serious defeat at Lesnaya (). Charles turned south, and his army was completely defeated in the battle of Poltava.
War with Turkey and the end of the Northern War
The second war with Turkey (-) was unsuccessful: in the Prut campaign (), Peter, along with his entire army, was surrounded and was forced to conclude a peace treaty, abandoning all previous conquests in the south. Hostilities were resumed in the north, where Swedish field marshal Magnus Gustafson Steinbock assembled a large army. Russia and its allies defeated Steinbock in , and the Nystadt Peace was signed: Russia received Livonia (with Riga), Estland (with Revel and Narva), part of Karelia, Izhora land and other territories. B - Peter led a successful campaign against Persia, capturing Baku and Derbent.
Relations with the Church
Peter and his military leaders regularly praised the Almighty from the battlefield for their victories, but the tsar’s relationship with the Orthodox Church left much to be desired. Peter closed monasteries, appropriated church property, and allowed himself to blasphemously mock church rites and customs. His church policies caused mass protests from schismatic Old Believers, who considered the tsar to be the Antichrist. Peter persecuted them cruelly. Patriarch Adrian died in , and no successor was appointed to him. The patriarchate was abolished, and the Holy Synod was established, a state governing body of the church, consisting of bishops, but led by a layman (chief prosecutor) and subordinate to the monarch.
Achievements in domestic policy
Military glory and expansion of territory by no means exhaust the significance of the reign of Peter the Great and his varied activities. Under him, industry developed, and Russia even exported weapons to Prussia. Foreign engineers were invited (about 900 specialists arrived with Peter from Europe), and many young Russians went abroad to study sciences and crafts. Under Peter's supervision, Russian ore deposits were studied; Considerable progress has been made in mining. A system of canals was designed, and one of them, connecting the Volga with the Neva, was dug in. Fleets were built, military and commercial. To finance his projects, the tsar introduced many new taxes, including the poll tax (). The system has been improved government controlled. IN
Virtual exhibition
400th anniversary of the House of Romanov
In 2013, the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty is celebrated. The celebration is timed to coincide with the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the Moscow throne on June 11, 1613 (in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin by decision of the Zemsky Sobor). The accession of Mikhail Fedorovich marked the beginning of a new ruling dynasty of the Romanovs.
In the extensive literature devoted to the history of the House of Romanov and individual reigns, there is no unambiguous interpretation of the role of autocrats - extreme, often polar points of view prevail. However, no matter how you treat the Romanov dynasty and its representatives, objectively assessing our historical path, it should be recognized that it was under the Romanovs that Russia became one of the great powers of the world; its victories and defeats, ups and downs, achievements and political and economic failures, largely due to the growing incompatibility of the social system with the challenges of the time, are associated with them. The House of Romanov is not the history of a private family, but in fact is the history of Russia.
The Romanovs are a Russian boyar family that bore such a surname since late XVI century; from 1613 - the dynasty of Russian Tsars and from 1721 - the Emperors of All Russia, and subsequently - the Tsars of Poland, the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and Finland, the Dukes of Oldenburg and Holstein-Gottorp and the Grand Masters of the Order of Malta. The direct branch of the Romanov family on the All-Russian throne was cut short after the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna; from January 5, 1762, the imperial throne passed to the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty, the son of Anna Petrovna and Duke Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp; according to a dynastic agreement, their son Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (future All-Russian Emperor Peter III) was recognized as a member of the Imperial House Romanovs. Thus, according to genealogical rules, the imperial family (dynasty) is called the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty (Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty), and the imperial house is called the Romanovs.
Start
End of the 16th century brought our Motherland a severe shock, which became the first step towards the Troubles. With the death of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (1598), the Rurik Dynasty came to an end. Even earlier, in 1591, the youngest representative of the Dynasty, St., died in Uglich. Tsarevich Dimitri. However, his rights to inherit the Throne were very controversial, because he was born from the fifth married (and actually from the seventh) marriage of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and was considered illegitimate.
For over 700 years the Rurikovichs ruled Russia. And now they are gone. It is difficult to describe the impression that the end of the Dynasty made. The Russian people were faced with an unprecedented case and it was necessary to resolve an issue on which the fate of the state depended. The House of Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars was to be inherited by the Family, which had the full legal right to do so. Of the descendants of Rurik, after the death of the Staritsky Princes, there was no one left who would have such rights. The closest relatives of the Moscow House were the Shuisky princes, but their relationship was of the 12th (!) degree. In addition, in accordance with the norms of Byzantine law accepted in Rus' at that time, close kinship (i.e., kinship through a wife) was preferred to distant blood kinship.
Based on this (husband and wife constitute “one flesh”) the brother of Irina Godunova, the wife of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, Boris Godunov, was considered at the same time His brother. It was Godunov who was then called to the Kingdom with the blessing of Patriarch Job. A ruling on this matter was made by the Zemsky Sobor in 1598.
And Tsar Boris took the Throne not by “right” of election, but by right of inheritance. The next clan in this order of succession were the Romanovs, descendants of the first brother-in-law of Ivan the Terrible - Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev.
Boris Godunov reigned relatively serenely until the first rumors about the Pretender arose in 1603. The appearance of "Tsarevich Dimitri" made the people doubt the legality of Godunov's accession to the throne. Paradoxical as it may seem, the phenomenon of impostor testifies to the spontaneous legitimism of the Russian people. In order to occupy the Throne, it was necessary to have legal rights to do so or to pass oneself off as having such rights. Otherwise, you can “elect”, “appoint” and “proclaim” the Tsar as much as you want - this could not receive any support. But “Tsarevich Dimitri” - the supposedly miraculously saved son of Ivan the Terrible - could not help but find a response in Russian hearts. And so death takes away Tsar Boris, his son Theodore is killed, and the triumphant Pretender enters Moscow, accompanied by the Poles.
Sobering up did not come immediately. Perhaps the process dragged on even longer if it were not for the reckless behavior of False Demetrius in relation to the Orthodox Church. The impostor dared to crown his wife Marina Mnishek in the Assumption Cathedral, without baptizing her, but limiting herself to anointing. The son of Ivan the Terrible, according to popular belief, would never have acted in such a way. Less than two weeks after the blasphemous wedding, the Pretender was killed. But the foundations of the Russian Kingdom were so shaken that it was no longer possible to stop the Troubles by simply eliminating False Demetrius.
Tsar Vasily Shuisky, in his own way, sought to benefit the Fatherland. But the throne of this only elected Tsar in the history of Russia could not be durable. “Shouted out” on Red Square by a random crowd, having bound himself with obligations to the boyars, Tsar Vasily never felt like a confident Autocrat. Therefore, he could not effectively resist either external or internal enemies, and the story of his - ridiculously easy - overthrow tells us about the futility of introducing alien traditions and laws. There was no end in sight for the Troubles.
It was the II Militia that was destined to save Russia, whose leaders were able to learn some lessons from previous mistakes and create a unified popular movement. Inspired by the messages of Patriarch Hermogenes, Nizhny Novgorod citizen K. Minin and Prince. D. Pozharsky united the Russian people under the banner of the struggle for the liberation and restoration of the Orthodox Kingdom. Later the prince joined them. D. Trubetskoy with the remnants of the First Militia. In October 1612, the Cossacks took Kitay-Gorod by storm, and soon the Poles besieged in the Kremlin capitulated. In the liberated capital, conditions appeared for the establishment of state life.
At the beginning of 1613, envoys from “the whole earth” came to Moscow for the Great Zemsky and Church Council, the main task of which was to determine the Legitimate Heir to the Throne.
When in Once again At the Council, a dispute about the candidacy flared up; a certain Galician nobleman submitted a note justifying the rights of Mikhail Feodorovich on his relationship with Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (Mikhail’s father, Metropolitan Philaret, was a cousin of Tsar Theodore and would have succeeded himself if not for the monastic tonsure performed on him during his reign Boris Godunov), with reference to the authority of the martyred Patriarch Hermogenes. By his act, he aroused the wrath of the boyars, who threateningly asked who dared to bring such a scripture. Then the Cossack ataman spoke and also made a written statement. To the question of the book. Pozharsky, what is being discussed, the ataman replied: “About the natural (emphasis added by me - A.Z.) Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich.” "The Tale of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613" cites the ataman’s speech, in which he definitely pointed out the illegality of the “elections” of the Tsar and justified the rights to the Throne of young Mikhail Romanov.
The final decision on the issue of succession to the throne was made on February 21, 1613. A letter sent to all corners of the Russian Land proclaimed that “the philanthropic God, according to His vision, put in the hearts of all the people of the Moscow state, from young to old and even to mere infants, unanimity in order to turn to Vladimir, both to Moscow and to all states of the Russian Kingdom by the Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov-Yuryev." The approved charter of the Council assigned the Throne to the Dynasty “for generations and generations” and anathematized any violator of the sacred oath of allegiance to the House of Romanov. The accession of the House of Romanov was a victory of order over unrest, and at the beginning of the 17th century. A new dynasty established itself in Russia, with which the state functioned for more than three hundred years, experiencing ups and downs.
The last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who was executed with his family in Yekaterinburg in 1918, is still one of the most controversial figures national history. Despite almost a century that has passed since then tragic events, the attitude towards him in society is sharply polarized. On the one hand, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized him and his family as saints, on the other hand, the “master of the Russian land” (his own definition) is perceived by public opinion as an incompetent head of state who could not save not only the country, but even own family.
It should be noted that legally, members of the royal, and then imperial, family did not bear any surnames at all (“Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich”, “Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich”, etc.). In addition, since 1761, Russia was ruled by the descendants of the son of Anna Petrovna and the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Karl-Friedrich, who in the male line were no longer descended from the Romanovs, but from the Holstein-Gottorp family (the younger branch of the Oldenburg dynasty, known since the 12th century). In genealogical literature, representatives of the dynasty, starting with Peter III, are called Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs. Despite this, the names “Romanovs” and “House of Romanov” were almost generally used to unofficially designate the Russian Imperial House, and the coat of arms of the Romanov boyars was included in official legislation.
After 1917, almost all members of the reigning house officially began to bear the Romanov surname (according to the laws of the Provisional Government, and then in exile). The exception is the descendants of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich. He was one of the Romanovs who recognized Kirill Vladimirovich as emperor in exile. The marriage of Dmitry Pavlovich to Audrey Emery was recognized by Kirill as a morganatic marriage of a member of the reigning house, and the wife and children received the title of Princes Romanovsky-Ilyinsky (now it is borne by two of Dmitry Pavlovich’s grandchildren - Dmitry and Michael/Mikhail, as well as their wives and daughters). The rest of the Romanovs also entered into morganatic (from the point of view Russian law about succession to the throne) marriages, but did not consider it necessary to change the surname. After the creation of the Association of Princes of the House of Romanov in the late 1970s, the Ilyinskys became its members on a general basis.
Family tree of the Romanovs
Genealogical roots of the Romanov family (XII-XIV centuries)
EXHIBITION MATERIALS:
The royal dynasty of the Romanovs is the second and last on the Russian throne. Rules from 1613 to 1917. During her time, Rus' from a provincial state lying outside the boundaries of Western civilization turned into a huge empire influencing everything. political processes peace.The accession of the Romanovs ended in Rus'. The first tsar of the dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, was elected autocrat by the Zemsky Sobor, assembled on the initiative of Minin, Trubetskoy and Pozharsky - the leaders of the militia that liberated Moscow from the Polish invaders. Mikhail Fedorovich was 17 years old at that time; he could neither read nor write. So actually for a long time Russia was ruled by his father, Metropolitan Filaret.
Reasons for the election of the Romanovs
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Mikhail Fedorovich was the grandson of Nikita Romanovich - the brother of Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva - the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, most beloved and revered by the people, since the period of her reign was the most liberal during Ivan’s tenure, and the son
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Michael's father was a monk with the rank of patriarch, which suited the church
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The Romanov family, although not very noble, is still worthy in comparison with other Russian contenders for the throne
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The relative equidistance of the Romanovs from the political squabbles of the Time of Troubles, in contrast to the Shuiskys, Mstislavskys, Kurakins and Godunovs, who were significantly involved in them
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The boyars' hope is that Mikhail Fedorovich is inexperienced in management and, as a result, his controllability
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The Romanovs were desired by the Cossacks and the common people
The first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich (1596-1645), ruled Russia from 1613 to 1645
Royal Romanov dynasty. Years of reign
- 1613-1645
- 1645-1676
- 1676-1682
- 1682-1689
- 1682-1696
- 1682-1725
- 1725-1727
- 1727-1730
- 1730-1740
- 1740-1741
- 1740-1741
- 1741-1761
- 1761-1762
- 1762-1796
- 1796-1801
- 1801-1825
- 1825-1855
- 1855-1881
- 1881-1894
- 1894-1917
The Russian line of the Romanov dynasty was interrupted with Peter the Great. Elizaveta Petrovna was the daughter of Peter I and Marta Skavronskaya (the future Catherine I), in turn, Marta was either Estonian or Latvian. Peter III Fedorovich, actually Karl Peter Ulrich, was the Duke of Holstein, a historical region of Germany located in the southern part of Schleswig-Holstein. His wife, the future Catherine II, in fact Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, was the daughter of the ruler of the German principality of Anhalt-Zerbst (the territory of the modern German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt). The son of Catherine the Second and Peter the Third, Paul the First, had as his wife first Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, then Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg, daughter of the Duke of Württemberg. The son of Paul and Sophia Dorothea, Alexander I, was married to the daughter of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach, Louise Maria Augusta. Paul's second son, Emperor Nicholas I, was married to Frederick Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia. Their son, Emperor Alexander II - on the princess of the House of Hesse Maximilian Wilhelmina August Sophia Maria...
History of the Romanov dynasty in dates
- 1613, February 21 - Election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as Tsar by the Zemsky Sobor
- 1624 - Mikhail Fedorovich married Evdokia Streshneva, who became the mother of the second king of the dynasty - Alexei Mikhailovich (Quiet)
- 1645, July 2 - Death of Mikhail Fedorovich
- 1648, January 16 - Alexei Mikhailovich married Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, mother of the future Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich
- 1671, January 22 - Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina became the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich
- 1676, January 20 - Death of Alexei Mikhailovich
- 1682, April 17 - death of Fyodor Alekseevich, who left no heir. The boyars proclaimed Tsar Peter, the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second wife Natalya Naryshkina
- 1682, May 23 - under the influence of Sophia, the sister of Tsar Fedor, who died childless, the Boyar Duma declared the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet and Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya Ivan V Alekseevich the first tsar, and his half-brother Peter I Alekseevich the second
- 1684, January 9 - Ivan V married Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova, mother of the future Empress Anna Ioannovna
- 1689 - Peter married Evdokia Lopukhina
- 1689, September 2 - decree removing Sophia from power and exiling her to a monastery.
- 1690, February 18 - Birth of Peter the Great's son, Tsarevich Alexei
- 1696, January 26 - death of Ivan V, Peter the Great became autocrat
- 1698, September 23 - Evdokia Lopukhina, wife of Peter the Great, was exiled to a monastery, although she soon began to live as a laywoman
- 1712, February 19 - marriage of Peter the Great to Martha Skavronskaya, future Empress Catherine the First, mother of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna
- 1715, October 12 - birth of the son of Tsarevich Alexei Peter, the future Emperor Peter II
- 1716, September 20 - Tsarevich Alexei, who disagreed with his father’s policies, fled to Europe in search of political asylum, which he received in Austria
- 1717 - Under the threat of war, Austria handed over Tsarevich Alexei to Peter the Great. On September 14 he returned home
- 1718, February - trial of Tsarevich Alexei
- 1718, March - Queen Evdokia Lopukhina was accused of adultery and again exiled to the monastery
- 1719, June 15 - Tsarevich Alexei died in prison
- 1725, January 28 - death of Peter the Great. With the support of the guard, his wife Marta Skavronskaya was proclaimed Empress Catherine the First
- 1726, May 17 - Catherine the First died. The throne was taken by twelve-year-old Peter II, the son of Tsarevich Alexei
- 1729, November - betrothal of Peter II to Catherine Dolgoruka
- 1730, January 30 - Peter II died. The Supreme Privy Council proclaimed him heir, the daughter of Ivan V, the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich
- 1731 - Anna Ioannovna appointed Anna Leopoldovna, the daughter of her elder sister Ekaterina Ioannovna, who in turn was the daughter of the same Ivan V, as heir to the throne
- 1740, August 12 - Anna Leopoldovna had a son, Ivan Antonovich, the future Tsar Ivan VI, from her marriage to the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Anton Ulrich
- 1740, October 5 - Anna Ioannovna appointed the young Ivan Antonovich, the son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna, as heir to the throne
- 1740, October 17 - Death of Anna Ioannovna, Duke Biron was appointed regent for two-month-old Ivan Antonovich
- 1740, November 8 - Biron was arrested, Anna Leopoldovna was appointed regent under Ivan Antonovich
- 1741, November 25 - as a result palace coup The Russian throne was taken by the daughter of Peter the Great from his marriage to Catherine the First, Elizaveta Petrovna
- 1742, January - Anna Leopoldovna and her son were arrested
- 1742, November - Elizaveta Petrovna appointed her nephew, the son of her sister, the second daughter of Peter the Great from his marriage to Catherine the First (Martha Skavronsa) Anna Petrovna, Pyotr Fedorovich, as heir to the throne
- 1746, March - Anna Leopoldovna died in Kholmogory
- 1745, August 21 - Peter the Third married Sophia-Frederica-Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, who took the name Ekaterina Alekseevna
- 1746, March 19 - Anna Leopoldovna died in exile, in Kholmogory
- 1754, September 20 - the son of Pyotr Fedorovich and Ekaterina Alekseevna Pavel, the future Emperor Paul the First, was born
- 1761, December 25 - Elizaveta Petrovna died. Peter the Third took office
- 1762, June 28 - as a result of a coup d'etat, Russia was led by Ekaterina Alekseevna, wife of Peter the Third
- 1762, June 29 - Peter the Third abdicated the throne, was arrested and imprisoned in Ropshensky Castle near St. Petersburg
- 1762, July 17 - death of Peter the Third (died or was killed - unknown)
- 1762, September 2 - coronation of Catherine II in Moscow
- 1764, July 16 - after 23 years of being in the Shlisselburg fortress, Ivan Antonovich, Tsar Ivan VI, was killed during an attempt at liberation.
- 1773, October 10 - Heir to the throne Paul married Princess Augusta-Wilhelmina-Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, who took the name Natalia Alekseevna
- 1776, April 15 - Pavel's wife Natalya Alekseevna died during childbirth
- 1776, October 7 - The heir to the throne Paul married again. This time on Maria Feodorovna, Princess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg, daughter of the Duke of Württemberg
- 1777, December 23 - birth of the son of Paul the First and Maria Feodorovna Alexander, the future Emperor Alexander the First
- 1779, May 8 - birth of another son of Paul the First and Maria Feodorovna Konstantin
- 1796, July 6 - birth of the third son of Paul the First and Maria Feodorovna Nicholas, the future Emperor Nicholas the First
- 1796, November 6 - Catherine the Second died, Paul the First took the throne
- 1797, February 5 - coronation of Paul the First in Moscow
- 1801, March 12 - Coup. Pavel the First was killed by the conspirators. His son Alexander is on the throne
- 1801, September - coronation of Alexander the First in Moscow
- 1817, July 13 - marriage of Nikolai Pavlovich and Friederike Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia (Alexandra Feodorovna), mother of the future Emperor Alexander II
- 1818, April 29 - Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna had a son, Alexander, the future Emperor Alexander II
- 1823, August 28 - secret abdication of the throne by his heir, the second son of Alexander the First, Constantine
- 1825, December 1 - death of Emperor Alexander the First
- 1825, December 9 - the army and civil servants took the oath of allegiance to the new Emperor Constantine
- 1825, December - Constantine confirms his desire to abdicate the throne
- 1825, December 14 - Decembrist uprising in an attempt to swear the guard in to the new Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich. The uprising is crushed
- 1826, September 3 - coronation of Nicholas in Moscow
- 1841, April 28 - marriage of the heir to the throne Alexander (Second) with Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt (in Orthodoxy Maria Alexandrovna)
- 1845, March 10 - Alexander and Maria had a son, Alexander, the future Emperor Alexander III
- 1855, March 2 - Nicholas the First died. On the throne is his son Alexander II
- 1866, April 4 - the first, unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II
- 1866, October 28 - the son of Alexander the Second, Alexander (the third), married the Danish princess Maria Sophia Friederike Dagmar (Maria Feodorovna), the mother of the future Emperor Nicholas II.
- 1867, May 25 - second, unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II
- 1868, May 18 - Alexander (the Third) and Maria Feodorovna had a son, Nikolai, the future Emperor Nicholas II
- 1878, November 22 - Alexander (the Third) and Maria Feodorovna had a son, Mikhail, the future Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich
- 1879, April 14 - third, unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II
- 1879, November 19 - fourth, unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II
- 1880, February 17 - fifth, unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II
- 1881, April 1 - sixth, successful attempt on the life of Alexander II
- 1883, May 27 - coronation of Alexander III in Moscow
- 1894, October 20 - death of Alexander III
- 1894, October 21 - Nicholas II on the throne
- 1894, November 14 - marriage of Nicholas II with the German princess Alice of Hesse, in Orthodoxy Alexandra Fedorovna
- 1896, May 26 - coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow
- 1904, August 12 - Nikolai and Alexandra had a son, heir to the throne Alexey
- 1917, March 15 (new style) - in favor of his brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich
- 1917, March 16 - Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich abdicated the throne in favor of the Provisional Government. The history of the monarchy in Russia is over
- 1918, July 17 - Nicholas II, his family and associates
Death of the royal family
Going down internal staircase, the procession stepped into the courtyard and turned left to enter the lower floor. They were led to the opposite end of the house, into the room where the guards had previously been housed. From this room, five meters wide and six meters long, all the furniture was removed. High in the outer wall there was a single semicircular window covered with bars. Only one door was open, the other, opposite it, leading to the pantry, was locked. It was a dead end.
Alexandra Fedorovna asked why there were no chairs in the room. Yurovsky ordered two chairs to be brought, Nikolai sat Alexei on one of them, and the empress sat on the other. The rest were ordered to line up along the wall. A few minutes later, Yurovsky entered the room, accompanied by ten armed men. He himself described the scene that followed in these words: “When the team entered, the commandant (Yurovsky writes about himself in the third person) told the Romanovs that, due to the fact that their relatives in Europe were continuing to attack Soviet Russia, The Urals Executive Committee decided to shoot them.
Nikolai turned his back to the team, facing his family, then, as if coming to his senses, he turned to the commandant with the question: “What? What?" The commandant quickly repeated and ordered the team to get ready. The team was told in advance who to shoot at whom, and was ordered to aim directly at the heart in order to avoid a large amount of blood and finish it quickly. Nikolai said nothing more, turning again to the family, others uttered several incoherent exclamations, all this lasted a few seconds. Then the shooting began, which lasted two to three minutes. Nicholas was killed on the spot by the commandant himself (Richard Pipes “Russian Revolution”)"
For more than 300 years, the Romanov dynasty was in power in Russia. There are several versions of the origin of the Romanov family. According to one of them, the Romanovs came from Novgorod. The family tradition says that the origins of the family should be sought in Prussia, from where the ancestors of the Romanovs moved to Russia at the beginning of the 14th century. The first reliably established ancestor of the family is the Moscow boyar Ivan Kobyla.
The beginning of the ruling Romanov dynasty was laid by the great-nephew of Ivan the Terrible’s wife, Mikhail Fedorovich. He was elected to reign by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, after the suppression of the Moscow branch of the Rurikovichs.
Since the 18th century, the Romanovs stopped calling themselves tsars. On November 2, 1721, Peter I was declared Emperor of All Russia. He became the first emperor in the dynasty.
The reign of the dynasty ended in 1917, when Emperor Nicholas II abdicated as a result February revolution from the throne. In July 1918, he was shot by the Bolsheviks along with his family (including five children) and associates in Tobolsk.
Numerous descendants of the Romanovs now live abroad. However, none of them, from the point of view of the Russian law on succession to the throne, has the right to the Russian throne.
Below is a chronology of the reign of the Romanov family with the dating of the reign.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Reign: 1613-1645
He laid the foundation for a new dynasty, being elected at the age of 16 to reign by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. He belonged to an ancient boyar family. He restored the functioning of the economy and trade in the country, which he had inherited in a deplorable state after the Time of Troubles. Concluded “perpetual peace” with Sweden (1617). At the same time, he lost access to the Baltic Sea, but returned vast Russian territories previously conquered by Sweden. Concluded an “eternal peace” with Poland (1618), while losing Smolensk and the Seversk land. Annexed the lands along the Yaik, Baikal region, Yakutia, access to the Pacific Ocean.
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov (Quiet). Reign: 1645-1676
He ascended the throne at the age of 16. He was a gentle, good-natured and very religious person. He continued the army reform begun by his father. At the same time, he attracted a large number of foreign military specialists who were left idle after the end of the Thirty Years' War. It was held in his presence church reform Nikon, which affected the main church rituals and books. He returned Smolensk and Seversk land. Annexed Ukraine to Russia (1654). Suppressed the uprising of Stepan Razin (1667-1671)
Fedor Alekseevich Romanov. Reign: 1676-1682
The short reign of the extremely painful tsar was marked by a war with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate and the further conclusion of the Bakhchisarai Peace Treaty (1681), according to which Turkey recognized Left Bank Ukraine and Kyiv as Russia. A general census of the population was carried out (1678). The fight against the Old Believers received new round- Archpriest Avvakum was burned. He died at the age of twenty.
Peter I Alekseevich Romanov (the Great). Reigned: 1682-1725 (ruled independently from 1689)
The previous tsar (Fyodor Alekseevich) died without making orders regarding the succession to the throne. As a result, two tsars were crowned on the throne at the same time - Fyodor Alekseevich’s young brothers Ivan and Peter under the regency of their older sister Sophia Alekseevna (until 1689 - Sophia’s regency, until 1696 - formal co-rule with Ivan V). Since 1721, the first All-Russian Emperor.
He was an ardent supporter of the Western way of life. For all its ambiguity, it is recognized by both adherents and critics as “The Great Sovereign”.
His bright reign was marked by the Azov campaigns (1695 and 1696) against the Turks, which resulted in the capture of the Azov fortress. The result of the campaigns was, among other things, the tsar’s awareness of the need for army reform. The old army was disbanded - the army began to be created according to a new model. From 1700 to 1721 - participation in the most difficult conflict with Sweden, the result of which was the defeat of the hitherto invincible Charles XII and Russia’s access to the Baltic Sea.
In 1722-1724, the largest foreign policy event of Peter the Great after the Northern War was the Caspian (Persian) campaign, which ended with the capture of Derbent, Baku and other cities by Russia.
During his reign, Peter founded St. Petersburg (1703), established the Senate (1711) and the Collegium (1718), and introduced the “Table of Ranks” (1722).
Catherine I. Years of reign: 1725-1727
Second wife of Peter I. A former servant named Martha Kruse, captured during the Northern War. Nationality is unknown. She was the mistress of Field Marshal Sheremetev. Later, Prince Menshikov took her to his place. In 1703, she fell in love with Peter, who made her his mistress, and later his wife. She was baptized into Orthodoxy, changing her name to Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova.
Under her, the Supreme Privy Council was created (1726) and an alliance was concluded with Austria (1726).
Peter II Alekseevich Romanov. Reign: 1727-1730
Grandson of Peter I, son of Tsarevich Alexei. The last representative of the Romanov family in the direct male line. He ascended the throne at the age of 11. He died at the age of 14 from smallpox. In fact, the government of the state was carried out by the Supreme Privy Council. According to the recollections of contemporaries, the young emperor was distinguished by his willfulness and adored entertainment. It was entertainment, fun and hunting that the young emperor devoted all his time to. Under him, Menshikov was overthrown (1727), and the capital was returned to Moscow (1728).
Anna Ioannovna Romanova. Reign: 1730-1740
Daughter of Ivan V, granddaughter of Alexei Mikhailovich. She was invited to the Russian throne in 1730 by the Supreme Privy Council, which she subsequently successfully dissolved. Instead of the Supreme Council, a cabinet of ministers was created (1730). The capital was returned to St. Petersburg (1732). 1735-1739 were marked by the Russian-Turkish war, which ended with a peace treaty in Belgrade. Under the terms of the Russian treaty, Azov was ceded to Russia, but it was forbidden to have a fleet in the Black Sea. The years of her reign are characterized in literature as “the era of German dominance at court,” or as “Bironovism” (after the name of her favorite).
Ivan VI Antonovich Romanov. Reign: 1740-1741
Great-grandson of Ivan V. Was proclaimed emperor at the age of two months. The baby was proclaimed emperor during the regency of Duke Biron of Courland, but two weeks later the guards removed the duke from power. The emperor's mother, Anna Leopoldovna, became the new regent. At the age of two he was overthrown. His short reign was subject to a law condemning the name - all his portraits were removed from circulation, all his portraits were confiscated (or destroyed) and all documents containing the name of the emperor were confiscated (or destroyed). He spent until he was 23 years old in solitary confinement, where (already half-insane) he was stabbed to death by guards.
Elizaveta I Petrovna Romanova. Reign: 1741-1761
Daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. Under her, for the first time in Russia, death penalty. A university was opened in Moscow (1755). In 1756-1762 Russia took part in the largest military conflict of the 18th century - the Seven Years' War. As a result of the fighting, Russian troops captured all of East Prussia and even briefly took Berlin. However, the fleeting death of the empress and the rise to power of the pro-Prussian Peter III nullified all military achievements - the conquered lands were returned to Prussia, and peace was concluded.
Peter III Fedorovich Romanov. Reign: 1761-1762
Nephew of Elizaveta Petrovna, grandson of Peter I - son of his daughter Anna. Reigned for 186 days. A lover of everything Prussian, he stopped the war with Sweden immediately after coming to power on conditions that were extremely unfavorable for Russia. I had difficulty speaking Russian. During his reign, the manifesto “On the Freedom of the Nobility”, the union of Prussia and Russia, and a decree on freedom of religion were issued (all in 1762). Stopped the persecution of Old Believers. He was overthrown by his wife and died a week later (according to official version- from fever).
Already during the reign of Catherine II, the leader of the peasant war, Emelyan Pugachev, in 1773 pretended to be the “miracle survivor” of Peter III.
Catherine II Alekseevna Romanova (Great). Reign: 1762-1796
Wife of Peter III. It enslaved the peasants as much as possible, expanding the powers of the nobility. Significantly expanded the territory of the Empire during the Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791) and the partition of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795). The board was marked by the largest peasant uprising Emelyan Pugachev, who pretended to be Peter III (1773-1775). A provincial reform was carried out (1775).
Pavel I Petrovich Romanov: 1796-1801
Son of Catherine II and Peter III, 72nd Grand Master of the Order of Malta. He ascended the throne at the age of 42. Introduced compulsory succession to the throne only through the male line (1797). Significantly eased the situation of the peasants (decree on three-day corvee, ban on selling serfs without land (1797)). From foreign policy, the war with France (1798-1799) and the Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov (1799) are worthy of mention. Killed by guards (not without the knowledge of his son Alexander) in his own bedroom (strangled). The official version is a stroke.
Alexander I Pavlovich Romanov. Reign: 1801-1825
Son of Paul I. During the reign of Paul I, Russia defeated French troops during the Patriotic War of 1812. The result of the war was a new European order, consolidated by the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. During numerous wars, he significantly expanded the territory of Russia - he annexed Eastern and Western Georgia, Mingrelia, Imereti, Guria, Finland, Bessarabia, most Poland. He died suddenly in 1825 in Taganrog from fever. For a long time, there was a legend among the people that the emperor, tormented by conscience for the death of his father, did not die, but continued to live under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich.
Nicholas I Pavlovich Romanov. Reign: 1825-1855
The third son of Paul I. The beginning of his reign was marked by the Decembrist uprising of 1825. The Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was created (1833), monetary reform was carried out, and reform was carried out in the state village. Was started Crimean War(1853-1856), the emperor did not live to see its devastating end. In addition, Russia participated in Caucasian War(1817-1864), Russian-Persian War (1826-1828), Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829), Crimean War (1853-1856).
Alexander II Nikolaevich Romanov (Liberator). Reign: 1855-1881
Son of Nicholas I. During his reign, the Crimean War was ended by the Paris Peace Treaty (1856), humiliating for Russia. It was abolished in 1861 serfdom. In 1864, zemstvo and judicial reforms were carried out. Alaska was sold to the United States (1867). The financial system, education, city government, and the army were subject to reform. In 1870, the restrictive articles of the Peace of Paris were repealed. As a result Russian-Turkish war 1877–1878 returned Bessarabia, lost during the Crimean War, to Russia. Died as a result terrorist attack, committed Narodnaya Volya.
Alexander III Alexandrovich Romanov (Tsar the Peacemaker). Reign: 1881-1894
Son of Alexander II. During his reign, Russia did not wage a single war. His reign is characterized as conservative and counter-reformist. A manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy, the Regulations on Strengthening Emergency Security (1881), was adopted. He pursued an active policy of Russification of the outskirts of the empire. A military-political Franco-Russian alliance was concluded with France, which laid the foundation for the foreign policy of the two states until 1917. This alliance preceded the creation of the Triple Entente.
Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov. Reign: 1894-1917
Son of Alexander III. The Last Emperor of All Russia. A difficult and controversial period for Russia, accompanied by serious upheavals for the empire. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) resulted in a severe defeat for the country and the almost complete destruction of the Russian fleet. The defeat in the war was followed by the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907. In 1914, Russia joined the First world war(1914-1918). The emperor was not destined to live to see the end of the war - in 1917 he abdicated the throne as a result, and in 1918 he was shot with his entire family by the Bolsheviks.
400 years ago Russia chose a king for itself. On February 21 (March 3, new style), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the first representative of the dynasty that ruled Russia for more than three centuries, to reign. This event put an end to the horrors of the Time of Troubles. But what did the Romanov era itself turn out to be for our country?...
Roots of the family
The Romanov family has ancient origin and came from the Moscow boyar of the times of Ivan Kalita, Andrei Kobyla. The sons of Andrei Kobyla became the founders of many boyar and noble families, including the Sheremetevs, Konovnitsyns, Kolychevs, Ladygins, Yakovlevs, Boborykins and others.
The Romanovs came from the son of Kobyla, Fyodor Koshka. His descendants were first called Koshkins, then Koshkins-Zakharyins, and then Zakharyins.
Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina was the first wife of Ivan IV the Terrible. She alone knew how to pacify the temper of Ivan the Terrible, and after she was poisoned and died at the age of 30, Ivan the Terrible compared each of his subsequent wives to Anastasia.
Anastasia's brother, boyar Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin began to be called Romanov after his father Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Koshkin.
So, the first Russian Tsar from the Romanov family, Mikhail Romanov, was the son of the boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov and the noblewoman Ksenia Ivanovna Romanova.
Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1596-1645) - the first Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty.
Accession of the Romanovs: versions
Since the Romanovs, thanks to Anastasia’s marriage, were related to the Rurik dynasty, they fell into disgrace during the reign of Boris Godunov. Mikhail's father and mother were forcibly tonsured monks. He himself and all his relatives were exiled to Siberia, but were later returned.
After the end of the Time of Troubles in 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich as the new sovereign. He was only 16 years old then. In addition to him, the Polish prince Vladislav (the future Vladislav IV), the Swedish prince Carl Philip, as well as representatives of many noble boyar families claimed the throne.
At the same time, the Mstislavskys and Kurakins collaborated with the Poles during the Time of Troubles; the Godunovs and Shuiskys were relatives of the recently overthrown rulers. The representative of the Vorotynsky family, member of the “Seven Boyars”, Ivan Vorotynsky, according to the official version, recused himself.
According to one version, the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov was considered a compromise; in addition, the Romanov family did not tarnish itself so much in Time of Troubles, like other noble families. However, not all historians adhere to this version - they believe that the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov was imposed Zemsky Sobor, and the cathedral did not represent all Russian lands at that time, and the Cossack troops had a great influence on the course of the meetings.
However, Mikhail Romanov was elected to the throne and became Mikhail I Fedorovich. He lived for 49 years, during the years of his reign (1613 - 1645) the king managed to overcome the consequences of the Time of Troubles and restore centralized power in the country. New territories were annexed in the east, and peace was concluded with Poland, as a result of which the Polish king ceased to claim the Russian throne.
Figures and facts
Most of the Russian tsars and emperors from the Romanov dynasty lived long enough short life. Only Peter I, Elizaveta I Petrovna, Nicholas I and Nicholas II lived more than 50 years, and Catherine II and Alexander II lived more than 60 years. No one lived to be 70 years old
Peter I the Great.
Catherine II lived the longest life and died at the age of 67. Moreover, she did not belong to the Romanov dynasty by birth, but was German. Peter II lived the shortest of all - he died at the age of 14.
The direct line of succession to the throne of the Romanovs was stopped in the 18th century; all Russian emperors, starting with Peter III, belonged to the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty. The Holstein-Gottorps were a German ducal dynasty and at some point in history became related to the Romanovs.
Catherine II ruled the country the longest (34 years), 34 years. Peter III ruled the least - 6 months.
Ivan VI (Ioann Antonovich) was a baby on the throne. He became emperor when he was only 2 months and 5 days old, and his regents ruled in his place.
Most of the impostors pretended to be Peter III. After he was overthrown, he died under unclear circumstances. The most famous impostor is considered to be Emelyan Pugachev, who led the peasant war in 1773-1775.
Of all the rulers, most liberal reforms carried out by Alexander II, and at the same time the most attempts were made on him. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, the terrorists still managed to kill the Tsar - he died from the explosion of a bomb that Narodnaya Volya members threw at his feet on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg.
Shot by the Bolsheviks the last Emperor Nicholas II, as well as his wife and children were considered Russian Orthodox Church to the ranks of the saints as passion-bearers.
Romanov dynasty in faces
Mikhail I Fedorovich
The first Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty
Years of life: 1596 – 1645 (49 years)
Reign: 1613 – 1645
overcoming the consequences of the Time of Troubles; restoration of centralized
authorities in the country; annexation of new territories in the east; peace with Poland, in
as a result of which the Polish king ceased to claim the Russian throne.
Alexey I Mikhailovich
Son of Fyodor Mikhailovich. For the absence of major upheavals in the country during his years
reign was called the Quietest
Years of life: 1629 – 1676 (46 years)
Reign: 1645 – 1676
Achievements and government initiatives:
military reform; a new set of laws - the Council Code of 1649; church
reform of Patriarch Nikon, which caused a split in the church.
Fedor III Alekseevich
Son of Alexei Mikhailovich. He had poor health, which is why he died early
Years of life: 1661 – 1682 (20 years)
Reign: 1676 – 1682
Achievements and government initiatives:
census of the country in 1678; abolition of localism - distribution
official places, taking into account the origin and official position of ancestors; introduction
household taxation with direct taxes; fight against schismatics.
Sofya Alekseevna
Regent over Ivan V and Peter I, who were both recognized as tsars. After
displacement became a nun
Years of life: 1657 – 1704 (46 years)
Reign: 1682 – 1689
Achievements and government initiatives:
signing of the “Eternal Peace” with Poland, according to which Kyiv was recognized as part of
Russian kingdom; - fight against schismatics.
Ivan V
The son of Alexei Mikhailovich and the elder brother of Peter I. He had poor health and did not
interested in government affairs
Years of life: 1666 – 1696 (29 years)
Years of reign: 1682 – 1696 (co-ruler Peter I)
Peter I
The last Russian Tsar and the first Emperor of the Russian Empire (since 1721).
One of the most famous rulers of Russia, who radically changed
historical fate of the country
Years of life: 1672 – 1725 (52 years)
Reign: 1682 – 1725
Achievements and government initiatives:
large-scale reforms to radically restructure the state and public
way of life; creation of the Russian Empire; creation of the Senate - supreme body
state power subordinate to the emperor; victory in Northern War with
Sweden; creation of a navy and a regular army; construction
St. Petersburg and the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg from Moscow; spreading
education, creation secular schools; publication of the first newspaper in Russia;
annexation of new territories to Russia.
Catherine I
Wife of Peter I. She took little part in government affairs
Years of life: 1684 – 1727 (43 years)
Years of reign: 1725 – 1727
Achievements and government initiatives:
creation of the Supreme Privy Council, with the help of which those close to
the empresses actually ruled the state; opening of the Academy of Sciences, creation
which was conceived under Peter I.
Peter II
Grandson of Peter I, the last direct descendant of the Romanov dynasty in the male line. IN
Due to his young age, he did not take part in government affairs and indulged in
entertainment, his confidants ruled instead of him
Years of life: 1715 - 1730 (14 years)
Years of reign: 1727 - 1730
Anna Ioanovna
Daughter of Ivan V. During her reign, favoritism flourished.
Years of life: 1693 - 1740 (47 years)
Years of reign: 1730 – 1740
Achievements and government initiatives:
dissolution of the Supreme Privy Council and creation of a cabinet of ministers; establishment
Office of Secret Investigation Cases; transformations in the army: restriction of service for
nobles for 25 years, the creation of new guards regiments, the establishment of the Gentry Cadet Corps.
Ivan VI (Ioann Antonovich)
Great-grandson of Ivan V. Was emperor in infancy during the regency of Anna's favorite
Ioannovna Ernst Biron and his mother Anna Leopoldovna, was overthrown, his
spent his childhood and the rest of his life in prisons
Years of life: 1740 - 1764 (23 years)
Years of reign: 1740 – 1741
Elizaveta I Petrovna
Daughter of Peter I, last heir to the throne from the Romanov dynasty
direct female line.
Years of life: 1709 - 1761 (52 years)
Years of reign: 1741 – 1761
Achievements and government initiatives:
abolition of the cabinet of ministers and restoration of the role of the Senate; reform
taxation, elimination of internal customs duties and fees; expansion of the rights of the nobility; creation of the first Russian banks; annexation of new territories in Central Asia to Russia.
Peter III
Grandson of Peter I and son of his eldest daughter Anna Petrovna. Due to unpopular measures
in foreign policy and in the army lost the support of the ruling circles and soon after
accession to the throne was overthrown by his own wife Catherine, who also
was his second cousin
Years of life: 1728 - 1762 (34 years)
Years of reign: 1761 – 1762
Achievements and government initiatives:
abolition of the Secret Chancellery; the beginning of the secularization of church lands; publication of the “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility,” which expanded the privileges of this class; ending the persecution of Old Believers.
Catherine II
Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst, daughter
Prussian general-field marshal and wife of Peter III. Overthrew her husband in 6
months after he ascended the throne
Years of life: 1729 - 1796 (67 years)
Reign: 1762 – 1796
Achievements and government initiatives:
provincial reform, which determined the territorial structure of the country until
revolution of 1917; maximum enslavement of the peasantry and its deterioration
provisions; further expansion of the privileges of the nobles (“Charter of Grant
nobility"); annexation of new lands to Russia - Crimea, the Black Sea region,
parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; introduction of paper money - banknotes; development
education and science, including the creation of the Russian Academy; renewal
persecution of Old Believers; secularization of church lands.
Paul I
Son of Peter III and Catherine II. He was killed by officers as a result of a conspiracy, about which
was not known to the general public until the beginning of the twentieth century
Years of life: 1754 - 1801 (46 years)
Years of reign: 1796 – 1801
Achievements and government initiatives:
improving the situation of the peasantry; creation of the State Treasury;
abolition of some of the privileges of the nobility granted by Catherine II military
reform.
Alexander I
Son of Paul I and beloved grandson of Catherine II. It was during his reign that Russia
won the Patriotic War 1812 with Napoleon
Years of life: 1777 – 1825 (47 years)
Years of reign: 1801 – 1825
Achievements and government initiatives:
restoration of the “Charter of Grant to the Nobility”; establishment
ministries instead of boards; “Decree on free cultivators”, thanks to which
landowners received the right to free the peasants; creation of military settlements for
recruitment of the army; annexation of new territories, including Georgia,
Finland, Poland, etc.
Nicholas I
Brother of Alexander I. Ascended to the throne after the abdication of his second eldest
brother Constantine, at the same time the Decembrist uprising took place
Years of life: 1796 – 1855 (58 years)
Years of reign: 1825 – 1855
Achievements and government initiatives:
suppression of the Decembrist uprising; increased censorship; creation of the Third
departments of the office for political investigation; war in the Caucasus; improvement
the position of the peasants - they were forbidden to be sent to hard labor and sold individually
and without land; annexation of the mouth of the Danube and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus to Russia
and Transcaucasia; unsuccessful Crimean War.
Alexander II
The son of Nicholas I, actively carried out political reforms and was killed as a result
Narodnaya Volya terrorist attack
Years of life: 1818 – 1881 (62 years)
Years of reign: 1855 – 1881
Achievements and government initiatives:
abolition of serfdom in 1861; zemstvo reform - management issues
Zemstvos began to work locally; creation of a unified system of courts; Creation
city councils in cities; military reform and the emergence of new types of weapons; joining the empire of Central Asia, North Caucasus, Far East; sale of Alaska to the USA.
Alexander III
Son of Alexander II. After killing his father, he nullified many of his
liberal reforms
Years of life: 1845 – 1894 (49 years)
Years of reign: 1881 – 1894
Achievements and government initiatives:
curtailment of many reforms in the area local government, judicial
systems, education; strengthening supervision over peasants; rapid growth
industry; restriction of factory work of minors and night work
teenagers and women.
Nicholas II
The last Russian emperor, son of Alexander III. During his reign
all three Russian revolutions occurred; after the revolution of 1917, he renounced
throne and was killed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg along with his family
Years of life: 1868 – 1918 (50 years)
Years of reign: 1894 – 1917
Achievements and government initiatives:
general census of 1897; monetary reform that established gold
ruble standard; unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War; limitation of working hours on
enterprises; publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, granting the entire population
countries basic civil rights and freedoms; Creation State Duma;
entry into the First World War.
Facts and myths
The worst secret of the Romanovs was the “Russian iron mask" - failed Russian Emperor Ivan Antonovich. According to the will of the childless Anna Ioannovna (died in 1740), her niece’s son was to become her heir. At the age of one, the boy was overthrown from the throne by the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth. Ivan spent his entire life in captivity and was killed by guards in 1764 while trying to be released by the conspirators.
Princess Tarakanova is an impostor who pretended to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. While in Europe, she declared her claim to the throne in 1774. She was kidnapped by order of Catherine II and brought to Russia. During the investigation, she did not admit guilt and did not reveal her origin. She died in custody in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Strictly speaking, the direct branch of the Romanov family was cut short after the death of Elizaveta Petrovna in 1761. Since then, it is more correct to call the dynasty Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. There was practically no Slavic blood among its representatives, which did not prevent some of them from being deeply Russian people.
The most counterfeited “brand” in the history of the Romanovs is Emperor Peter III, overthrown in 1762. More than 40 impostors are known to hide behind his name. The most famous false Peter is Emelyan Pugachev.
According to legend, Alexander I did not die in 1825 in Taganrog, but faked his death and lived in Siberia for another half a century under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich. Whether this is true or not is unknown.
By the way…
After the revolution of 1917, the Russian Imperial House lost political power, but retained its role as a historical institution.
“The status of the current Russian Imperial House is recognized by all modern royal houses. Its head is the Empress Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (b. 1953), great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II.
Her grandfather Kirill was a cousin of Nicholas II and led the dynasty after the death of the tsar, his son Alexei and his brother Mikhail, said Kirill Nemirovich-Danchenko, adviser to the Chancellery of H.I.H. on interaction with public organizations and government bodies of the Russian Federation. - The second member of the House is the heir Tsarevich and Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich (b. 1981), her son.
All other descendants of members of the dynasty, in accordance with dynastic laws, do not have rights to the throne and do not belong to the Imperial House (the supremacy of Maria Vladimirovna is disputed by Nikolai Romanov, the son of the prince of the imperial blood Roman Petrovich. He is the president of the organization “Union of the Romanov Family.” - Ed.) . The total number of people in whose veins the blood of the Romanovs flows is more than 100 throughout the world. Those who rightfully bear this surname are about 15.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich
Maria Vladimirovna lives in Spain. Since 2003, the dynasty has been represented in its homeland by the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House, the purpose of which is to promote the integration of the House into social life Russia. Maria Vladimirovna has visited Russia several times and has known Vladimir Putin personally since 1992. After his election to the presidency, there were brief meetings, but no detailed conversation yet.
The Grand Duchess and her son are citizens Russian Federation, declare their complete loyalty to the Constitution and the existing government, firmly oppose restitution and believe that the development of cooperation between the Imperial House and modern state has a future."