The 17th century brought many trials to the Russian state. In 1598, the Rurik dynasty, which ruled the country for more than seven hundred years, was interrupted. A period began in the life of Russia, which is called the Time of Troubles or the Time of Troubles, when the very existence of Russian statehood came into question. Attempts to establish a new dynasty on the throne (from the boyars of the Godunovs and Shuiskys) were hampered by endless conspiracies, uprisings, and even natural disasters. The matter was also complicated by the intervention of neighboring countries: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, which at first sought to acquire adjacent territories, wanting in the future to deprive Russia of state independence altogether.
There were patriotic forces in the country that united in the struggle for the independence of their homeland. The people's militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and merchant Kuzma Minin, with the participation of people from all classes, managed to expel the invaders from the central regions of the Moscow state and liberate the capital.
The Zemsky Sobor, convened in 1613, after much debate, confirmed Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov on the throne, laying the foundation for a new dynasty.

ROMANOVS- boyar family, in 1613-1721. royal, since 1721 imperial dynasty.
The ancestor of the Romanovs is usually considered to be Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, the boyar of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan I Kalita. According to the pedigree lists, Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla had five sons, and the Kobylins, Kolychevs, Konovnitsyns, Lodynins, Neplyuevs, Sheremetevs and others descend from him.
Until the 15th century the ancestors of the Romanovs were called Koshkins (from the nickname of the fifth son of Andrei Ivanovich - Fyodor Koshka), then Zakharyins (from Zakhary Ivanovich Koshkin) and Zakharyin-Yuryevs (from Yuri Zakharyevich Koshkin-Zakharyin).
The daughter of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Yuryev (?-1543) Anastasia Romanovna (c. 1530-1560) in 1547 became the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. Her brother Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev (? -1586) became the founder of the Romanovs. This surname was borne by his son, Fyodor Nikitich Romanov (c. 1554-1633), who became patriarch (Filaret).
In 1613, at the Zemsky Sobor, Filaret's son Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1596-1645) was elected king and became the founder of the Romanov dynasty. The Romanov dynasty also included Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676, Tsar from 1645), Fyodor Alekseevich (1661-1682, Tsar from 1676), Ivan V Alekseevich (1666-1696, Tsar from 1682 g.), Peter I Alekseevich (1672-1725, Tsar from 1682, Emperor from 1721); in 1682-1689, during the childhood of Ivan and Peter, the state was ruled by Princess Sofya Alekseevna (1657-1704). The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia until Nicholas II abdicated the throne in 1917.

ZAKHARYINS- a Moscow boyar family descended from Andrei Kobyla (died in the mid-14th century), boyar of Grand Duke Semyon the Proud, and his son Fyodor Koshka (died in the 1390s), boyar of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy.
The ancestor of the Zakharyins is the grandson of Fyodor Koshka - Zakhary Ivanovich Koshkin (? - ca. 1461), boyar of Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark. His sons Yakov and Yuri, boyars of Grand Duke Ivan III, gave rise to two branches of the family - the Zakharyin-Yakovlevs (Yakovlevs) and the Zakharyin-Yuryevs.
Yakov Zakharyevich (? - ca. 1510) was the Novgorod governor from 1485; in 1487, together with his brother Yuri, he conducted a search for followers of the Novgorod-Moscow heresy; in 1494 he participated in negotiations on the matchmaking of Ivan III’s daughter Elena with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Kazimirovich, and participated in campaigns against Lithuania.
Yuri Zakharyevich (? - ca. 1503) in 1479 participated in the Novgorod campaign of Ivan III, in 1487 he replaced his brother as the Novgorod governor, carried out confiscations of the estates of the Novgorod boyars, and participated in campaigns against Lithuania. The most famous representatives of the Zakharyev-Yuryev family: Mikhail Yuryevich (? -1539) - okolnichy (1520), boyar (1525), governor, diplomat who led relations with Poland and Lithuania; in 1533-1534 was part of the boyar group that actually ruled the Russian state under the young Tsar Ivan IV, retired from business after his relative I.V. fled to Lithuania. Lyatsky-Zakharyin. Roman Yurievich (? -1543) - founder of the Romanov family. Vasily Mikhailovich (?-15b7) - okolnichy, then (1549) boyar, was a member of the Near Duma of Ivan IV, one of the initiators of the oprichnina policy.

	MIKHAIL FEDOROVYCH reign: 1613-1645	(07/12/1596-07/13/1645) - the founder of the Tsarist-Imperial Romanov dynasty, the first Russian Tsar from the Romanov boyar family.
	ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH reign: 1645-1676	(03/19/1629-01/29/1676) - Tsar since 1645, from the Romanov dynasty.
	FEDOR ALEXEEVICH reign: 1676-1682	(05/30/1661 - 04/27/1682) - king since 1676.
	IVAN V ALEXEEVICH reign: 1682-1696	(06/27/1666 - 01/29/1696) - king since 1682.
	PETER I ALEXEEVICH reign: 1682-1725	(05/30/1672-01/28/1725) - Tsar from 1682, first Russian Emperor from 1721.
	EKATERINA I ALEKSEEVNA reign: 1725-1727	(04/05/1683-05/06/1727) - Russian empress in 1725-1727, wife of Peter I.
	PETER II ALEXEEVICH reign: 1727-1730	(10/13/1715-01/19/1730) - Russian emperor in 1727-1730.
	ANNA IVANOVNA reign: 1730-1740	(01/28/1693-10/17/1740) - Russian Empress from 1730, Duchess of Courland from 1710.
	IVAN VI ANTONOVICH reign: 1740-1741	(08/12/1740-07/05/1764) - Russian emperor from 10/17/1740 to 12/25/1741.
	ELIZAVETA PETROVNA reign: 1741-1761	(12/18/1709-12/25/1761) - Russian empress from 11/25/1741, youngest daughter of Peter I and Catherine I.
	PETER III(Karl Peter Ulrich) reign: 1761-1762	(02/10/1728-07/06/1762) - Russian emperor in the period from 12/25/1761 to 06/28/1762.
	EKATERINA II ALEKSEEVNA reign: 1762-1796	(04/21/1729-11/06/1796) - Russian Empress from 06/28/1762

In the Kremlin, in the Armory Chamber, two unsightly-looking sabers are kept. But, despite their unpresentable appearance, they are priceless relics of Russia. These sabers were the military weapons of Minin and Pozharsky. In 1612, a merchant from Nizhny Novgorod Kuzma Minin called on the Russian people to fight the Polish invaders, and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky led the people's militia.

In the autumn of the same year, the Mother See was cleared of Polish lords. After this, the Zemsky Sobor met and elected Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the throne. The Romanov family itself came from the family of Queen Anastasia (the first wife of Ivan the Terrible). The people loved and revered her for her kindness and meekness. The formidable king himself loved her and was very worried after the death of his wife.

All this was the reason that the representatives of the Russian lands, who gathered at the Zemsky Sobor, chose in favor of a 16-year-old boy, who was a descendant of Anastasia. They announced this to him at the Ipatiev Monastery in the city of Kostroma. Thus began the reign of the Romanov dynasty. It lasted 300 years and turned the Russian land into a huge and great power.

Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich (1613-1645)

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676)

Tsar Fedor Alekseevich (1676-1682)

Three Powers and Princess Sofya Alekseevna (1682-1689)

Peter I the Great (1689-1725)

Tsar and then Emperor Peter I is considered a great reformer who turned the Muscovite kingdom into the Russian Empire. His achievements include the defeat of the Swedes, access to the Baltic Sea, the construction of St. Petersburg, and the rapid growth of the metallurgical industry. Public administration, judicial proceedings and the education system were transformed. In 1721, the Russian Tsar began to be called the Emperor, and the country an Empire.
Read more in the article Peter I Romanov.

Empress Catherine I (1725-1727)

Emperor Peter II (1727-1730)

Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

Ivan VI and the Brunswick family (1740-1741)

Empress Elizabeth (1741-1761)

Emperor Peter III (1761-1762)

Empress Catherine II the Great (1762-1796)

Emperor Paul I (1796-1801)

Emperor Alexander I (1801-1825)

Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Emperor Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881)

Emperor Alexander III the Peacemaker (1881-1894)

Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917)

Nicholas II became the last emperor of the Romanov dynasty. Under him, the Khodynka tragedy and Bloody Sunday occurred. The Russo-Japanese War was conducted extremely unsuccessfully. At the same time, the economy of the Russian Empire experienced an upswing. At its peak, the First World War began, ending with a revolution and the abdication of the emperor. The renunciation manifesto was signed on March 2, 1917. Nicholas II abdicated in favor of his brother Mikhail, but he also renounced power.

Leonid Druzhnikov

The Russian Romanov dynasty began to rule in 1613. Later, its representatives ruled over Poland, Lithuania and Finland, occupied the throne of Holstein-Gottorp and Oldenburg, and were members and masters of the Order of Malta. The purebred line was suppressed after the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, but then it was restored through the female branch. The family was forced to relinquish power in 1917.

There are many controversial points in the biography of the Romanov family, most of which concern the origin of the family name. Its first bearer was Patriarch Fyodor Nikitovich, who called himself Filaret. He chose the name Roman as the basis, that was his grandfather's name. Fyodor himself was from the Zakharyin family, and it was from them that the great royal family could begin. Previously, members of the royal dynasty did not officially use surnames. They were called exclusively by their first and patronymic names; this can be read under the portraits.

In 1761, a descendant of the son of Anna Petrovna and Karl-Friedrich, who had the title of Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, began to rule in the state. This line of the Oldenburg dynasty was considered the youngest, it became known only at the beginning of the 12th century. Therefore, in genealogy sources, all the kings descended from Peter III were called Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs. But this was not taken into account when naming the Russian Imperial House. People called it the House of Romanov. The coat of arms of the boyar family was included in official legislative acts, and in 1913 the three hundredth anniversary of the ruling dynasty was solemnly celebrated.

After the October Revolution, the Romanov surname was legally assigned to all members of the royal house. Only children and other relatives of Prince Dmitry Pavlovich were excluded. He was the only one of the entire dynasty who recognized the power of Kirill Vladimirovich, the emperor in exile. The prince married an American woman, Audrey Emery, and their descendants received the title of princes and the surname Romanovsky-Ilyinsky.

Other rulers also entered into morganatic marriages, but they did not change the surname of the imperial family.

Emperors and kings

According to history, the Romanov family appeared at the beginning of the 14th century in the state of Prussia, from where they came to Rus'. Although, according to other sources, the ancestors of the royal family were natives of Novgorod. The first representative of the nobles is Andrei Mare, he served with Prince Proud Simeon. The second branch came from Fyodor Koshka, his children received the surname Koshkin-Zakharyin, and his grandchildren bore only its second part. And Yuri laid the foundation for the Zakharyin-Yuryev family.

Anastasia Romanovna from this family married Ivan the Terrible, which brought her ancestors closer to the royal family. It was this intersection with the imperial branch that gave the Zakharyin-Yuryevs the right to inherit the throne.

Historians mark 1613 as the date of accession of the Romanov dynasty. The grandson of Anastasia’s sister, Mikhail Fedorovich, happened to reign during this period. It was his descendants who held power in their hands until 1917. There were five kings:

• Michael;
• Alexey Mikhailovich;
• Fedor Alekseevich;
• Ivan V;
• Peter I.

The latter occupied the dynastic throne from 1721. After him, the chronology of emperors began. Then Catherine I ruled, but her origins remain unclear to historians to this day. It cannot be confidently stated that she is a full member of the ruling family. When she died, the throne was taken by the grandson of her first husband, Peter II. With his death, Mikhail Fedorovich's branch completely ceased.

The rise to power of the children of Peter the Great was suspended due to palace intrigues. The throne was received by his own niece, Anna Ioannovna. Her heir was Ivan Antonovich, the only member of the Mecklenburg-Brunschweig-Romanov dynasty. During his lifetime, he was overthrown by Peter's daughter, Empress Elizabeth. She never married and had no descendants. Therefore, the woman gave the crown to her nephew, the son of Anna Petrovna. Elizabeth herself became the last representative of the royal family who did not enter into relations with foreign rulers.

Reign in the 18th-19th centuries

The wedding of Anna Petrovna with the titled Duke of Holstein-Gottorp marked the beginning of the Romanov dynasty, mixed with a foreign family. Their son Peter III was officially recognized as a member of the ruling family. This was reflected in the family and imperial coat of arms.

The ruler married Elizabeth II, and the couple had a son, Paul I. From him, power was transferred successively through one line due to the fact that he issued a decree on inheritance exclusively through the male branch. In 1797, the throne was given to his son, Alexander I, who had no offspring. His brother abandoned the throne, which was the main reason for the Decembrist uprising. Therefore, the next ruler was another son of Paul, Nicholas I. Then Catherine the Great came to power, after her all the heirs, no matter how many there were, received the title of crown prince in order.

After this, Russia was ruled by Alexander II and his descendants, of whom there were three. The first died at the age of 21 from consumption. The second son, Alexander III, handed over the throne to Nicholas II. But he renounced his right and was shot. For the next 16 hours, the state was ruled by Mikhail Alexandrovich, the titled prince. But he also abandoned the throne.

The Romanov family tree expanded greatly with the advent of the 19th century. During this period, a special law was adopted on the establishment of the royal family. He was able to regulate the rights, obligations and all benefits of the members of the dynasty, the material aspects of their reign.

For distant relatives of the family, the title of princes of imperial blood was established.

A complete list of all surnames associated with the royal family through the female line:

• Leuchtenberg;
• Oldenburgskie;
• Mecklenburg.

The first branch came from the daughter of Nicholas I - Maria, who married the Duke of Leuchtenberg. The era of the Dukes of Oldenburg began with Peter Georgievich and Ekaterina Pavlovna. And Ekaterina Mikhailovna became the wife of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, from their romance a third line arose.

Life of the Romanovs after 1917

According to historical tables, which indicate the years of reign of the Romanov dynasty, during its entire existence, 65 people were born, belonging to the royal family. Of these, 18 were destroyed by the Bolsheviks. There were 32 men in the family, 13 representatives of the dynasty were shot in Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg and Alapaevsk in 1918-1919. Only 47 people were saved, but they had to go into exile and go abroad.

Until the 1930s, most members of the ruling family still expected the decline of the Soviet system and the return of the monarchy. But the development of the USSR could not be completed, so they had to flee. In November 1920, the Russian princess Olga Konstantinovna was the regent of the Greek state, so she accepted almost all the surviving members of the dynasty. In 1942 they were offered to take the throne in Montenegro, but this did not happen. The Association of Members of the Romanov Family still operates today. It includes all the offspring of the sons of Nicholas I:

• Alexandrovich;
• Konstantinovich;
• Nikolaevich;
• Mikhailovich.

The Alexandrovich branch, from which three representatives still live, could have descended from Emperor Alexander II. His great-great-granddaughter Maria Vladimirovna has a descendant, Georgy Mikhailovich, and from her daughter Maria Kirillovna came her great-grandson Kirill Vladimirovich. The princes Yuryevsky and Romanovsky-Ilyinsky belong to the same line.

The establishment of the second branch began with Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich. But it stopped in the male line in 1973 with the death of Vsevolod Ioannovich, and his sister died in 2007. The Nikolaevich branch could begin from Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder. In 2016, the last men died, but the women of the clan are still alive - Elizaveta, Tatyana and Natalya. The remaining representatives of the dynasty, according to the sequence of receiving the throne, are assigned to the Mikhailovich line, the youngest was born in 2013.

Although the reign of the great family has come to an end, its descendants still live. The family tree and diagram of the Romanov dynasty with dates of reign can still be seen in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where members of the royal family are buried.

The last 300-plus years of Russian autocracy (1613-1917) are historically associated with the Romanov dynasty, which secured the Russian throne during a period known as the Time of Troubles. The emergence of a new dynasty on the throne is always a major political event and is often associated with a revolution or coup, that is, the violent removal of the old dynasty. In Russia, the change of dynasties was caused by the suppression of the ruling branch of the Rurikovichs in the descendants of Ivan the Terrible. Problems of succession to the throne gave rise to a deep socio-political crisis, accompanied by the intervention of foreigners. Never in Russia have the supreme rulers changed so often, each time bringing a new dynasty to the throne. Among the contenders for the throne were representatives from different social strata, and there were also foreign candidates from among the “natural” dynasties. The kings became either the descendants of the Rurikovichs (Vasily Shuisky, 1606-1610), or those from among the untitled boyars (Boris Godunov, 1598-1605), or impostors (False Dmitry I, 1605-1606; False Dmitry II, 1607-1610 .). No one managed to gain a foothold on the Russian throne until 1613, when Mikhail Romanov was elected to the throne, and in his person a new ruling dynasty was finally established. Why did the historical choice fall on the Romanov family? Where did they come from and what were they like by the time they came to power?
The genealogical past of the Romanovs was quite clear already in the middle of the 16th century, when the rise of their family began. In accordance with the political tradition of that time, the genealogies contained a legend about the “departure.” Having become related to the Rurikovichs (see table), the boyar family of the Romanovs also borrowed the general direction of the legend: Rurik in the 14th “tribe” was derived from the legendary Prussian, and the ancestor of the Romanovs was recognized as a native of “Prussia”. The Sheremetevs, Kolychevs, Yakovlevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins and other families known in Russian history are traditionally considered to be of the same origin as the Romanovs (from the legendary Kambila).
An original interpretation of the origin of all clans with a legend about leaving “from Prussia” (with a primary interest in the ruling house of the Romanovs) was given in the 19th century. Petrov P. N., whose work has been republished in large quantities even today. (Petrov P. N. History of the families of the Russian nobility. Vol. 1–2, St. Petersburg, - 1886. Republished: M. - 1991. - 420 pp. ; 318 pp.). He considers the ancestors of these families to be Novgorodians who broke with their homeland for political reasons at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries. and went to serve the Moscow prince. The assumption is based on the fact that at the Zagorodsky end of Novgorod there was Prusskaya Street, from which the road to Pskov began. Its inhabitants traditionally supported the opposition against the Novgorod aristocracy and were called “Prussians.” “Why should we look for foreign Prussians?...” asks P.N. Petrov, calling to “dispel the darkness of fairy tales, which have hitherto been accepted as truth and who wanted to impose non-Russian origins on the Romanov family at all costs.”

Table 1.

The genealogical roots of the Romanov family (XII – XIV centuries) are given in the interpretation of P.N. Petrov. (Petrov P.N. History of the clans of the Russian nobility. T. 1–2, – St. Petersburg, – 1886. Republished: M. – 1991. – 420 pp.; 318 pp.).
1 Ratsha (Radsha, Christian name Stefan) is the legendary founder of many noble families of Russia: Sheremetevs, Kolychevs, Neplyuevs, Kobylins, etc. A native of “Prussian descent,” according to Petrov P.N., Novgorodian, servant of Vsevolod Olgovich, and maybe Mstislav the Great; according to another version of Serbian origin
2 Yakun (Christian name Mikhail), mayor of Novgorod, died as a monk with the name Mitrofan in 1206
3 Alexa (Christian name Gorislav), monastically St. Varlaam. Khutynsky, died in 1215 or 1243.
4 Gabriel, hero of the Battle of the Neva in 1240, died in 1241
5 Ivan is a Christian name, in the Pushkin family tree it is Ivan Morkhinya. According to Petrov P.N. before baptism his name was Gland Kambila Divonovich, he came “from Prussia” in the 13th century, and is the generally accepted ancestor of the Romanovs.;
6 Petrov P.N. considers this Andrei to be Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, whose five sons became the founders of 17 families of the Russian nobility, including the Romanovs.
7 Grigory Alexandrovich Pushka - the founder of the Pushkin family, mentioned in 1380. From him the branch was called Pushkin.
8 Anastasia Romanova is the first wife of Ivan IV, the mother of the last Tsar Rurikovich - Fyodor Ivanovich, through her the genealogical relationship of the Rurikovich dynasties with the Romanovs and Pushkins is established.
9 Fyodor Nikitich Romanov (born between 1554-1560, d. 1663) from 1587 - boyar, from 1601 - tonsured a monk with the name Filaret, patriarch from 1619. Father of the first king of the new dynasty.
10 Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - the founder of the new dynasty, elected to the throne in 1613 by the Zemsky Sobor. The Romanov dynasty occupied the Russian throne until the 1917 revolution.
11 Alexei Mikhailovich - Tsar (1645-1676).
12 Maria Alekseevna Pushkina married Osip (Abram) Petrovich Hannibal, their daughter Nadezhda Osipovna is the mother of the great Russian poet. Through it is the intersection of the Pushkin and Hannibal families.

Without discarding the traditionally recognized ancestor of the Romanovs in the person of Andrei Ivanovich, but developing the idea of ​​the Novgorod origin of “those who left Prussia”, P.N. Petrov. believes that Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla is the grandson of the Novgorodian Iakinthos the Great and is related to the Ratsha family (Ratsha is a diminutive of Ratislav. (see Table 2).
In the chronicle he is mentioned in 1146 along with other Novgorodians on the side of Vsevolod Olgovich (son-in-law of Mstislav, Grand Duke of Kyiv 1125-32). At the same time, Gland Kambila Divonovich, the traditional ancestor, “a native of Prussia,” disappears from the scheme, and until the middle of the 12th century. the Novgorod roots of Andrei Kobyla are traced, who, as mentioned above, is considered the first documented ancestor of the Romanovs.
The formation of the reigning since the beginning of the 17th century. clan and the allocation of the ruling branch is presented in the form of a chain of Kobylina - Koshkina - Zakharyina - Yuryev - Romanov (see Table 3), reflecting the transformation of the family nickname into a surname. The rise of the family dates back to the second third of the 16th century. and is associated with the marriage of Ivan IV to the daughter of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin, Anastasia. (see Table 4. At that time, this was the only untitled surname that remained in the forefront of the Old Moscow boyars in the stream of new titled servants who surged to the sovereign’s Court in the second half of the 15th century - the beginning of the 16th century (princes Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Mstislavsky , Trubetskoy).
The ancestor of the Romanov branch was the third son of Roman Yuryevich Zakharin - Nikita Romanovich (d. 1586), the brother of Queen Anastasia. His descendants were already called Romanovs. Nikita Romanovich was a Moscow boyar from 1562, an active participant in the Livonian War and diplomatic negotiations, after the death of Ivan IV he headed the regency council (until the end of 1584). One of the few Moscow boyars of the 16th century who left a good memory among the people: name preserved by a folk epic depicting him as a good-natured mediator between the people and the formidable Tsar Ivan.
Of the six sons of Nikita Romanovich, the eldest was especially outstanding - Fyodor Nikitich (later Patriarch Filaret, the unofficial co-ruler of the first Russian Tsar of the Romanov family) and Ivan Nikitich, who was part of the Seven Boyars. The popularity of the Romanovs, acquired by their personal qualities, intensified from the persecution to which they were subjected by Boris Godunov, who saw in them potential rivals in the struggle for the royal throne.

Table 2 and 3.

Election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne. The rise to power of a new dynasty

In October 1612, as a result of the successful actions of the second militia under the command of Prince Pozharsky and the merchant Minin, Moscow was liberated from the Poles. A Provisional Government was created and elections to the Zemsky Sobor were announced, the convening of which was planned for the beginning of 1613. There was one, but extremely pressing issue on the agenda - the election of a new dynasty. They unanimously decided not to choose from foreign royal houses, but there was no unity regarding domestic candidates. Among the noble candidates for the throne (princes Golitsyn, Mstislavsky, Pozharsky, Trubetskoy) was 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov from a long-standing boyar, but untitled family. On his own, he had little chance of winning, but the interests of the nobility and the Cossacks, who played a certain role during the Time of Troubles, converged on his candidacy. The boyars hoped for his inexperience and intended to maintain their political positions, strengthened during the years of the Seven Boyars. The political past of the Romanov family also played into its favor, as discussed above. They wanted to choose not the most capable, but the most convenient. There was active campaigning among the people in favor of Michael, which also played an important role in his establishment on the throne. The final decision was made on February 21, 1613. Michael was chosen by the Council and approved by “the whole earth.” The outcome of the case was decided by a note from an unknown chieftain, who stated that Mikhail Romanov was the closest relative to the previous dynasty and could be considered a “natural” Russian tsar.
Thus, autocracy of a legitimate nature (by right of birth) was restored in his person. The opportunities for alternative political development of Russia, laid down during the Time of Troubles, or rather, in the then established tradition of electing (and therefore replacing) monarchs, were lost.
Behind Tsar Mikhail for 14 years stood his father, Fyodor Nikitich, better known as Philaret, patriarch of the Russian Church (officially since 1619). The case is unique not only in Russian history: the son occupies the highest government position, the father the highest church position. This is hardly a coincidence. Some interesting facts suggest some interesting facts about the role of the Romanov family during the Time of Troubles. For example, it is known that Grigory Otrepiev, who appeared on the Russian throne under the name of False Dmitry I, was a slave of the Romanovs before being exiled to a monastery, and he, having become a self-proclaimed tsar, returned Filaret from exile and elevated him to the rank of metropolitan. False Dmitry II, in whose Tushino headquarters Filaret was, promoted him to patriarch. But be that as it may, 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.

Tables 4 and 5.

Dynastic marriages of the Romanovs, their role in Russian history

During the 18th century. Genealogical connections of the House of Romanov with other dynasties were intensively established, which expanded to such an extent that, figuratively speaking, the Romanovs themselves disappeared into them. These connections were formed mainly through the system of dynastic marriages that had been established in Russia since the time of Peter I (see Tables 7-9). The tradition of equal marriages in the conditions of dynastic crises, so characteristic of Russia in the 20-60s of the 18th century, led to the transfer of the Russian throne into the hands of another dynasty, the representative of which acted on behalf of the extinct Romanov dynasty (in male offspring - after death in 1730 Peter II).
During the 18th century. the transition from one dynasty to another was carried out both through the line of Ivan V - to representatives of the Mecklenburg and Brunswick dynasties (see table 6), and through the line of Peter I - to members of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty (see table 6), whose descendants occupied the Russian throne on behalf of the Romanovs from Peter III to Nicholas II (see Table 5). The Holstein-Gottorp dynasty, in turn, was a junior branch of the Danish Oldenburg dynasty. In the 19th century the tradition of dynastic marriages continued, genealogical connections multiplied (see Table 9), giving rise to the desire to “hide” the foreign roots of the first Romanovs, so traditional for the Russian centralized state and burdensome for the second half of the 18th – 19th centuries. The political need to emphasize the Slavic roots of the ruling dynasty was reflected in the interpretation of P.N. Petrov.

Table 6.

Table 7.

Ivan V was on the Russian throne for 14 years (1682-96) together with Peter I (1682-1726), initially under the regency of his elder sister Sophia (1682-89). He did not take an active part in governing the country, had no male descendants, his two daughters (Anna and Ekaterina) were married off based on the state interests of Russia at the beginning of the 18th century (see Table 6). In the conditions of the dynastic crisis of 1730, when the male descendants of the line of Peter I were cut off, the descendants of Ivan V established themselves on the Russian throne: daughter Anna Ioannovna (1730-40), great-grandson Ivan VI (1740-41) under the regency of mother Anna Leopoldovna , in whose person the representatives of the Brunswick dynasty actually ended up on the Russian throne. The coup of 1741 returned the throne into the hands of the descendants of Peter I. However, having no direct heirs, Elizaveta Petrovna transferred the Russian throne to her nephew Peter III, whose father belonged to the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty. The Oldenburg dynasty (via the Holstein-Gottorp branch) is united with the House of Romanov in the person of Peter III and his descendants.

Table 8.

1 Peter II is the grandson of Peter I, the last male representative of the Romanov family (on his mother’s side, a representative of the Blankenburg-Wolfenbüttel dynasty).

2 Paul I and his descendants, who ruled Russia until 1917, in terms of origin, did not belong to the Romanov family (Paul I was a representative of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty on his father’s side, and an Anhalt-Zerbt dynasty on his mother’s side).

Table 9.

1 Paul I had seven children, of whom: Anna - the wife of Prince William, later King of the Netherlands (1840-49); Catherine - since 1809 the prince's wife
George of Oldenburg, married from 1816 to Prince William of Württemburg, who later became king; Alexandra’s first marriage was with Gustav IV of Sweden (before 1796), her second marriage was with Archduke Joseph, Hungarian stole, in 1799.
2 Daughters of Nicholas I: Maria - since 1839, the wife of Maximilian, Duke of Leitenberg; Olga has been the wife of the Württemberg Crown Prince since 1846, then of King Charles I.
3 Other children of Alexander II: Maria - since 1874, married to Alfred Albert, Duke of Edinburgh, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; Sergei - married to Elizaveta Fedorovna, daughter of the Duke of Hesse; Pavel has been married to the Greek royal Alexandra Georgievna since 1889.

On February 27, 1917, a revolution took place in Russia, during which the autocracy was overthrown. On March 3, 1917, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II signed his abdication in a military trailer near Mogilev, where Headquarters was located at that time. This was the end of the history of monarchical Russia, which was declared a republic on September 1, 1917. The family of the overthrown emperor was arrested and exiled to Yekaterinburg, and in the summer of 1918, when there was a threat of the city being captured by the army of A.V. Kolchak, they were shot on the orders of the Bolsheviks. Together with the emperor, his heir, his minor son Alexei, was liquidated. The younger brother Mikhail Alexandrovich, the heir of the second circle, in whose favor Nicholas II abdicated the throne, was killed a few days earlier near Perm. This is where the story of the Romanov family should end. However, excluding any legends and versions, we can reliably say that this family has not died out. The lateral branch, in relation to the last emperors, survived - the descendants of Alexander II (see table 9, continued). Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1876 - 1938) was next in line of succession to the throne after Mikhail Alexandrovich, the younger brother of the last emperor. In 1922, after the end of the civil war in Russia and the final confirmation of information about the death of the entire imperial family, Kirill Vladimirovich declared himself Guardian of the Throne, and in 1924 accepted the title of Emperor of All Russia, Head of the Russian Imperial House abroad. His seven-year-old son Vladimir Kirillovich was proclaimed heir to the throne with the title Grand Duke Heir Tsarevich. He succeeded his father in 1938 and was the Head of the Russian Imperial House abroad until his death in 1992 (see Table 9, continued.) He was buried on May 29, 1992 under the arches of the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The head of the Russian Imperial House (abroad) was his daughter Maria Vladimirovna.

Milevich S.V. - Methodological guide for studying the genealogy course. Odessa, 2000.

Candidates

There were many contenders for the Russian throne. The two most unpopular candidates - the Polish prince Vladislav and the son of False Dmitry II - were “weeded out” immediately. The Swedish prince Karl Philip had more supporters, among them the leader of the zemstvo army, Prince Pozharsky. Why did the patriot of the Russian land choose a foreign prince? Perhaps the antipathy of the “artistic” Pozharsky towards domestic contenders - high-born boyars, who during the Time of Troubles more than once betrayed those to whom they swore allegiance, was reflected. He feared that the “boyar tsar” would sow the seeds of new unrest in Russia, as happened during the short reign of Vasily Shuisky. Therefore, Prince Dmitry stood for the calling of the “Varangian”, but most likely this was Pozharsky’s “maneuver”, since in the end only Russian contenders – high-born princes – took part in the struggle for the royal throne. The leader of the notorious “Seven Boyars” Fyodor Mstislavsky compromised himself by collaborating with the Poles, Ivan Vorotynsky renounced his claim to the throne, Vasily Golitsyn was in Polish captivity, the militia leaders Dmitry Trubetskoy and Dmitry Pozharsky were not distinguished by nobility. But the new king must unite the country divided by the Troubles. The question was: how to give preference to one clan so that a new round of boyar civil strife does not begin?

Mikhail Fedorovich did not pass the first round

The candidacy of the Romanovs as the main contenders did not arise by chance: Mikhail Romanov was the nephew of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. Mikhail's father, Patriarch Filaret, was respected among the clergy and Cossacks. Boyar Fyodor Sheremetyev actively campaigned in favor of the candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich. He assured the obstinate boyars that Mikhail “is young and will be liked by us.” In other words, he will become their puppet. But the boyars did not allow themselves to be persuaded: in the preliminary voting, Mikhail Romanov’s candidacy did not receive the required number of votes.

No-show

When electing Romanov, a problem arose: the Council demanded that the young candidate come to Moscow. The Romanov party could not allow this: an inexperienced, timid, unskilled young man in intrigue would make an unfavorable impression on the Council delegates. Sheremetyev and his supporters had to show miracles of eloquence, proving how dangerous the path from the Kostroma village of Domnino, where Mikhail was, to Moscow was. Was it not then that the legend about the feat of Ivan Susanin, who saved the life of the future tsar, arose? After heated debates, the Romanovites managed to convince the Council to cancel the decision on Mikhail’s arrival.

Tightening

On February 7, 1613, the rather tired delegates announced a two-week break: “for a large strengthening, they postponed February from the 7th of February to the 21st.” Messengers were sent to the cities “to inquire into all sorts of people’s thoughts.” The voice of the people, of course, is the voice of God, but isn’t two weeks enough to monitor the public opinion of a large country? For example, it is not easy for a messenger to get to Siberia in two months. Most likely, the boyars were counting on the departure of Mikhail Romanov’s most active supporters, the Cossacks, from Moscow. The villagers, they say, will get bored of sitting idle in the city, and they will disperse. The Cossacks actually dispersed, so much so that the boyars didn’t think it was enough...

The role of Pozharsky

Let's return to Pozharsky and his lobbying of the Swedish pretender to the Russian throne. In the fall of 1612, militia captured a Swedish spy. Until January 1613, he languished in captivity, but shortly before the start of the Zemsky Sobor, Pozharsky freed the spy and sent him to Novgorod, occupied by the Swedes, with a letter to the commander Jacob Delagardie. In it, Pozharsky reports that both he himself and the majority of noble boyars want to see Karl Philip on the Russian throne. But, as subsequent events showed, Pozharsky misinformed the Swede. One of the first decisions of the Zemsky Sobor was that a foreigner should not be on the Russian throne; the sovereign should be elected “from the Moscow clans, God willing.” Was Pozharsky really so naive that he did not know the mood of the majority? Of course not. Prince Dmitry deliberately fooled Delagardie with “universal support” for the candidacy of Karl Philip in order to prevent Swedish interference in the election of the Tsar. The Russians had difficulty repelling the Polish onslaught; a campaign against Moscow by the Swedish army could also prove fatal. Pozharsky’s “cover operation” was successful: the Swedes did not budge. That is why on February 20, Prince Dmitry, happily forgetting about the Swedish prince, suggested that the Zemsky Sobor elect a tsar from the Romanov family, and then put his signature on the conciliar document electing Mikhail Fedorovich. During the coronation of the new sovereign, Mikhail showed Pozharsky a high honor: the prince presented him with one of the symbols of power - the royal power. Modern political strategists can only envy such a competent PR move: the savior of the Fatherland hands over the power to the new tsar. Beautiful. Looking ahead, we note that until his death (1642) Pozharsky faithfully served Mikhail Fedorovich, taking advantage of his constant favor. It is unlikely that the tsar would have favored someone who wanted to see not him, but some Swedish prince on the Rurik throne.

Cossacks

The Cossacks played a special role in the election of the Tsar. A curious story about this is contained in “The Tale of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613.” It turns out that on February 21, the boyars decided to choose a tsar by casting lots, but relying on “maybe”, in which any forgery is possible, seriously angered the Cossacks. Cossack speakers tore to pieces the boyars’ “tricks” and solemnly proclaimed: “By God’s will, in the reigning city of Moscow and all Russia, let there be a Tsar, Sovereign and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich!” This cry was immediately picked up by Romanov supporters, not only in the Cathedral, but also among the large crowd of people in the square. It was the Cossacks who cut the “Gordian knot”, achieving the election of Mikhail. The unknown author of the “Tale” (surely an eyewitness of what was happening) does not spare any color when describing the reaction of the boyars: “The boyars at that time were possessed by fear and trembling, shaking, and their faces were changing with blood, and not a single one could utter anything.” Only Mikhail’s uncle, Ivan Romanov, nicknamed Kasha, who for some reason did not want to see his nephew on the throne, tried to object: “Mikhailo Fedorovich is still young and not fully sane.” To which the Cossack wits objected: “But you, Ivan Nikitich, are an old man, full of reason... you will be a strong blow to him.” Mikhail did not forget his uncle’s assessment of his mental abilities and subsequently removed Ivan Kasha from all government affairs. The Cossack demarche came as a complete surprise to Dmitry Trubetskoy: “His face turned black, and he fell into illness, and lay for many days, without leaving his yard from the steep hill that the Cossacks depleted the treasury and their knowledge was flattering in words and deceit.” The prince can be understood: it was he, the leader of the Cossack militia, who counted on the support of his comrades, generously gave them “treasury” gifts - and suddenly they found themselves on Mikhail’s side. Perhaps the Romanov party paid more?

British recognition

On February 21 (March 3), 1613, the Zemsky Sobor made a historic decision: to elect Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom. The first country to recognize the new sovereign was England: in the same year, 1613, the embassy of John Metrick arrived in Moscow. Thus began the history of the second and last royal dynasty of Russia. It is significant that throughout his reign, Mikhail Fedorovich showed a special attitude towards the British. Thus, Mikhail Fedorovich restored relations with the British “Moscow Company” after the Time of Troubles, and although he curtailed the freedom of action of English merchants, he still put them on preferential terms not only with other foreigners, but also with representatives of Russian “big business”.