Over the past 300-odd years, autocracy in Russia has been directly linked to the Romanov dynasty. They managed to gain a foothold on the throne during the Time of Troubles. The sudden appearance of a new dynasty on the political horizon is the largest event in the life of any state. Usually it is accompanied by a coup or revolution, but in any case, a change of power entails the removal of the old ruling elite by force.

Background

In Russia, the emergence of a new dynasty was due to the fact that the Rurikovich branch was interrupted with the death of the descendants of Ivan IV the Terrible. This state of affairs in the country gave rise not only to a profound political but also a social crisis. Ultimately, this led to foreigners beginning to interfere in the affairs of the state.

It should be noted that never before in the history of Russia have rulers changed so often, bringing with them new dynasties, as after the death of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. In those days, not only representatives of the elite, but also other social strata claimed the throne. Foreigners also tried to intervene in the power struggle.

On the throne, one after another, the descendants of the Rurikovichs appeared in the person of Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610), representatives of the untitled boyars led by Boris Godunov (1597-1605), and there were even impostors - False Dmitry I (1605-1606) and False Dmitry II (1607-1605). 1610). But none of them managed to stay in power for long. This continued until 1613, until the Russian tsars of the Romanov dynasty came.

Origin

It should be noted right away that this family as such came from the Zakharyevs. And the Romanovs are not quite the correct surname. It all started with the fact that, i.e. Zakharyev Fedor Nikolaevich, decided to change his last name. Guided by the fact that his father was Nikita Romanovich, and his grandfather was Roman Yuryevich, he came up with the surname “Romanov”. Thus the genus received a new name, which is still used today.

The royal Romanov dynasty (reigned 1613-1917) began with Mikhail Fedorovich. After him, Alexei Mikhailovich, popularly nicknamed “The Quietest,” ascended the throne. Then Alekseevna and Ivan V Alekseevich ruled.

During his reign - in 1721 - the state was finally reformed and became the Russian Empire. The kings have sunk into oblivion. Now the sovereign became the emperor. In total, the Romanovs gave Russia 19 rulers. Among them are 5 women. Here is a table that clearly shows the entire Romanov dynasty, years of reign and titles.

As mentioned above, the Russian throne was sometimes occupied by women. But the government of Paul I passed a law stating that from now on only the direct male heir could bear the title of emperor. Since then, no woman has ascended the throne again.

The Romanov dynasty, whose years of reign were not always calm times, received its official coat of arms back in 1856. It depicts a vulture holding a tarch and a golden sword in its paws. The edges of the coat of arms are decorated with eight severed lion heads.

The last Emperor

In 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power in the country and overthrew the country's government. Emperor Nicholas II was the last of the Romanov dynasty. He was given the nickname "Bloody" because thousands of people were killed on his orders during the two revolutions of 1905 and 1917.

Historians believe that the last emperor was a soft ruler, and therefore made several unforgivable mistakes in both domestic and foreign policy. It was they who led to the situation in the country escalating to the limit. Failures in the Japanese and then the First World Wars greatly undermined the authority of the emperor himself and the entire royal family.

In 1918, on the night of July 17, the royal family, which included, in addition to the emperor himself and his wife, five children, was shot by the Bolsheviks. At the same time, the only heir to the Russian throne, Nicholas’s little son, Alexei, also died.

Nowadays

The Romanovs are the oldest boyar family that gave Russia a great dynasty of kings and then emperors. They ruled the state for a little over three hundred years, starting from the 16th century. The Romanov dynasty, whose reign ended with the Bolsheviks coming to power, was interrupted, but several branches of this family still exist. All of them live abroad. About 200 of them have various titles, but not one will be able to take the Russian throne, even if the monarchy is restored.

The Romanovs are a large family of rulers and kings of Russia, an ancient boyar family. The family tree of the Romanov dynasty goes back to the 16th century. Numerous descendants of this famous family live today and continue the ancient family.

House of Romanov 4th century

At the beginning of the 17th century, there was a celebration dedicated to the accession to the throne of Moscow by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. The crowning ceremony, which took place in the Kremlin in 1613, marked the beginning of a new dynasty of kings.

The Romanov family tree gave Russia many great rulers. The family chronicle dates back to 1596.

Origin of the surname

The Romanovs are an inaccurate historical surname. The first known representative of the family was the boyar Andrei Kobyla during the time of the ruling prince Ivan Kalita. The descendants of Mare were called Koshkins, then Zakharyins. It was Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin who was officially recognized as the founder of the dynasty. His daughter Anastasia married Tsar Ivan the Terrible, they had a son, Fyodor, who, in honor of his grandfather, took the surname Romanov and began to call himself Fyodor Romanov. This is how the famous surname was born.

The family tree of the Romanovs grows from the Zakharyins’ family, but from what places they came to Muscovy is unknown to historians. Some experts believe that the family were natives of Novgorod, others claim that the family came from Prussia.

Their descendants became the most famous royal dynasty in the world. The large family is called the “House of Romanov”. The family tree is extensive and huge, with branches in almost all the kingdoms of the world.

In 1856 they acquired an official coat of arms. The sign of the Romanovs depicts a vulture holding a fairytale blade and tarch in its paws; the edges were decorated with the severed heads of lions.

Ascension to the throne

In the 16th century, the boyars of Zakharyin acquired a new position by becoming related to Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Now all relatives could hope for the throne. The chance to seize the throne came quite soon. After the interruption of the Rurik dynasty, the decision to take the throne was taken up by the Zakharyins.

Fyodor Ioannovich, who, as mentioned earlier, took the surname Romanov in honor of his grandfather, was the most likely contender for the throne. However, Boris Godunov prevented him from ascending the throne, forcing him to take monastic vows. But this did not stop the smart and enterprising Fyodor Romanov. He accepted the rank of patriarch (called Filaret) and, through intrigue, elevated his son Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne. The 400-year era of the Romanovs began.

Chronology of the reign of direct representatives of the clan

• 1613-1645 - years of reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov;
• 1645-1676 - reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov;
• 1676-1682 - autocracy of Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov;
• 1682-1696 - formally in power, Ivan Alekseevich was co-ruler of his younger brother Peter Alekseevich (Peter I), but did not play any political role,
• 1682-1725 - the family tree of the Romanovs was continued by the great and authoritarian ruler Peter Alekseevich, better known in history as Peter I. In 1721 he established the title of emperor, from then on Russia began to be called the Russian Empire.

In 1725, Empress Catherine I ascended the throne as the wife of Peter I. After her death, a direct descendant of the Romanov dynasty, Peter Alekseevich Romanov, the grandson of Peter I (1727-1730), came to power again.

• 1730-1740 - The Russian Empire was ruled by Anna Ioannovna Romanova, niece of Peter I;
• 1740-1741 - formally Ivan Antonovich Romanov, the great-grandson of Ivan Alekseevich Romanov, was in power;
• 1741-1762 - as a result of a palace coup, Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova, daughter of Peter I, came to power;
• 1762 - Peter Fedorovich Romanov (Peter III), nephew of Empress Elizabeth, grandson of Peter I, reigns for six months.

Further history

1. 1762-1796 - after the overthrow of her husband Peter III, Catherine II rules the empire
2. 1796-1801 - Pavel Petrovich Romanov, son of Peter I and Catherine II, came to power. Officially, Paul I belongs to the Romanov family, but historians are still fiercely debating his origins. Many consider him an illegitimate son. If we assume this, then in fact the family tree of the Romanov dynasty ended with Peter III. Subsequent rulers may not have been blood descendants of the dynasty.

After the death of Peter I, the Russian throne was often occupied by women representing the House of Romanov. The family tree became more branchy, as descendants of kings from other states were chosen as husbands. Paul I already established a law according to which only a male blood successor has the right to become king. And from that time on, women were not married to the kingdom.

• 1801-1825 - reign of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich Romanov (Alexander I);
• 1825-1855 - reign of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich Romanov (Nicholas I);
• 1855-1881 - Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov (Alexander II) reigns;
• 1881-1894 - the years of the reign of Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov (Alexander III);
• 1894-1917 - autocracy of Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II), he and his family were shot by the Bolsheviks. The imperial family tree of the Romanovs was destroyed, and with it the monarchy in Rus' collapsed.

How the reign of the dynasty was interrupted

In July 1917, the entire royal family, including children, Nicholas, and his wife, were executed. The only successor, Nikolai's heir, was also shot. All relatives hiding in different places were identified and exterminated. Only those Romanovs who were outside Russia were saved.

Nicholas II, who acquired the name "Bloody" due to the thousands killed during the revolutions, became the last emperor to represent the House of Romanov. The family tree of the descendants of Peter I was interrupted. Descendants of the Romanovs from other branches continue to live outside Russia.

Results of the board

During the 3 centuries of the dynasty, many bloodsheds and uprisings took place. However, the Romanov family, whose family tree covered half of Europe in shadow, brought benefits to Russia:

• complete separation from feudalism;
• the family increased the financial, political, and military power of the Russian Empire;
• the country was transformed into a large and powerful State, which became on an equal footing with developed European countries.

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 the throne as a result of the February Revolution. In July 1918, he was shot by the Bolsheviks along with his family (including five children) and associates in Yekaterinburg.

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 graduation. Under him, Nikon's church reform was carried out, affecting the main church rituals and books. He returned Smolensk and Seversk land. Annexed Ukraine to Russia (1654). Suppressed Stepan's uprising (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 took a new turn - 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 king’s awareness of the need. 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 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 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 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, the death penalty was abolished for the first time in Russia. 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 the 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. , 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 reign was marked by the largest peasant uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, posing as 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 Alexander 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, and most of 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. The Crimean War (1853-1856) began, the emperor did not live to see its devastating end. In addition, Russia participated in the Caucasian War (1817-1864), the Russian-Persian War (1826-1828), the Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829), and the 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. 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 of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878. returned Bessarabia, lost during the Crimean War, to Russia. Died as a result of a terrorist act committed by 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 entered 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.

The first known ancestor of the Romanovs was Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla. Until the beginning of the 16th century, the Romanovs were called Koshkins, then Zakharyins-Koshkins and Zakharyins-Yuryevs.

Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva was the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. The ancestor of the family is the boyar Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev. From the house of Romanov, Alexei Mikhailovich and Fyodor Alekseevich reigned; During the childhood of Tsars Ivan V and Peter I, their sister Sofya Alekseevna was the ruler. In 1721, Peter I was proclaimed emperor, and his wife Catherine I became the first Russian empress.

With the death of Peter II, the Romanov dynasty ended in direct male generation. With the death of Elizaveta Petrovna, the Romanov dynasty came to an end in the direct female line. However, the surname Romanov was borne by Peter III and his wife Catherine II, their son Paul I and his descendants.

In 1918, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov and members of his family were shot in Yekaterinburg, other Romanovs were killed in 1918-1919, some emigrated.

https://ria.ru/history_infografika/20100303/211984454.html

It just so happens that our Motherland has an unusually rich and varied history, a huge milestone in which we can confidently consider the dynasty of Russian emperors who bore the name Romanov. This rather ancient boyar family actually left a significant mark, because it was the Romanovs who ruled the country for three hundred years, until the Great October Revolution of 1917, after which their family was practically interrupted. The Romanov dynasty, whose family tree we will definitely consider in detail and closely, has become iconic, reflected in the cultural as well as economic aspect of the life of Russians.

The first Romanovs: family tree with years of reign

According to a well-known legend in the Romanov family, their ancestors came to Russia around the beginning of the fourteenth century from Prussia, but these are only rumors. One of the famous historians of the twentieth century, academician and archaeographer Stepan Borisovich Veselovsky, believes that this family traces its roots to Novgorod, but this information is also quite unreliable.

The first known ancestor of the Romanov dynasty, the family tree with photos is worth considering in detail and thoroughly, was a boyar named Andrei Kobyla, who “went under” the prince of Moscow Simeon the Proud. His son, Fyodor Koshka, gave the family the surname Koshkin, and his grandchildren received a double surname - Zakharyin-Koshkin.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, it happened that the Zakharyin family rose significantly and began to claim its rights to the Russian throne. The fact is that the notorious Ivan the Terrible married Anastasia Zakharyina, and when the Rurik family was finally left without offspring, their children began to be aspired to the throne, and not in vain. However, the Romanov family tree as Russian rulers began a little later, when Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected to the throne, perhaps this is where we need to start our rather lengthy story.

Magnificent Romanovs: the tree of the royal dynasty began with disgrace

The first tsar of the Romanov dynasty was born in 1596 into the family of a noble and rather wealthy boyar Fyodor Nikitich, who later took the rank and began to be called Patriarch Filaret. His wife was born Shestakova, named Ksenia. The boy grew up strong, savvy, grasped everything on the fly, and on top of everything else, he was also practically a direct cousin of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, which made him the first contender for the throne when the Rurik family, due to degeneration, simply died out. This is precisely where the Romanov dynasty begins, whose tree we view through the prism of the past tense.

Sovereign Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus'(ruled from 1613 to 1645) was not elected by chance. The time was troubled, there was talk of an invitation to the nobility, boyars and kingdom of the English king James the First, but the Great Russian Cossacks became enraged, fearing a lack of grain allowance, which is what they received. At the age of sixteen, Michael ascended the throne, but gradually his health deteriorated, he was constantly “mournful on his feet,” and died of natural causes at the age of forty-nine.

Following his father, his heir, the first and eldest son, ascended the throne Alexey Mikhailovich, by nickname The quietest(1645-1676), continuing the Romanov family, whose tree turned out to be branched and impressive. Two years before his father’s death, he was “presented” to the people as an heir, and two years later, when he died, Mikhail took the scepter in his hands. During his reign, a lot happened, but the main achievements are considered to be reunification with Ukraine, the return of Smolensk and Northern Land to the state, as well as the final formation of the institution of serfdom. It is also worth mentioning that it was under Alexei that the famous peasant revolt of Stenka Razin took place.

After Alexey the Quiet, a man by nature of weak health, fell ill and died, his blood brother took his placeFedor III Alekseevich(ruled from 1676 to 1682), who from early childhood showed signs of scurvy, or as they said then, scurvy, either from a lack of vitamins, or from an unhealthy lifestyle. In fact, the country was ruled by various families at that time, and nothing good came of the tsar’s three marriages; he died at the age of twenty, without leaving a will regarding the succession to the throne.

After the death of Fedor, strife began, and the throne was given to the first oldest brother Ivan V(1682-1696), who had just turned fifteen years old. However, he was simply not capable of ruling such a huge power, so many believed that his ten-year-old brother Peter should take the throne. Therefore, both were appointed kings, and for the sake of order, their sister Sophia, who was smarter and more experienced, was assigned to them as regent. By the age of thirty, Ivan died, leaving his brother as the legal heir to the throne.

Thus, the Romanov family tree gave history exactly five kings, after which the anemone Clio took a new turn, and a fresh turn brought a new product, the kings began to be called emperors, and one of the greatest people in world history entered the arena.

Imperial tree of the Romanovs with years of reign: diagram of the post-Petrine period

He became the first All-Russian Emperor and Autocrat in the history of the state, and in fact, its last tsar.Peter I Alekseevich, who received his great merits and honorable deeds, the Great (years of reign from 1672 until 1725). The boy received a rather weak education, which is why he had great respect for the sciences and learned people, hence the passion for the foreign lifestyle. He ascended the throne at the age of ten, but actually began to rule the country only after the death of his brother, as well as the imprisonment of his sister in the Novodevichy Convent.

Peter’s services to the state and people are countless, and even a cursory review of them would take at least three pages of dense typewritten text, so it’s worth doing it yourself. In terms of our interests, the Romanov family, whose tree with portraits is definitely worth studying in more detail, continued, and the state became an Empire, strengthening all positions on the world stage by two hundred percent, if not more. However, a banal urolithiasis felled the emperor who seemed so indestructible.

After the death of Peter, power was taken by force by his second legal wife,Ekaterina I Alekseevna, whose real name is Marta Skavronskaya, and her years of reign stretched from 1684 to 1727. In fact, the real power at that time was held by the notorious Count Menshikov, as well as the Supreme Privy Council, created by the empress.

Catherine’s wild and unhealthy life bore its terrible fruits, and after her, Peter’s grandson, born in his first marriage, was elevated to the throne.Peter II. He began to reign in the year 27 of the eighteenth century, when he was barely ten, and by the age of fourteen he was struck down by smallpox. The Privy Council continued to rule the country, and after it fell, the boyars Dolgorukovs continued to rule.

After the untimely death of the young king, something had to be decided and she ascended the throneAnna Ivanovna(reign years from 1693 to 1740), disgraced daughter of Ivan V Alekseevich, Duchess of Courland, widowed at the age of seventeen. The huge country was then ruled by her lover E.I. Biron.

Before her death, Anna Ionovna managed to write a will, according to it, the grandson of Ivan the Fifth, an infant, ascended the throneIvan VI, or simply Ivan Antonovich, who managed to be emperor from 1740 to 1741. At first, the same Biron handled state affairs for him, then his mother Anna Leopoldovna took over the initiative. Deprived of power, he spent his entire life in prison, where he would later be killed on the secret orders of Catherine II.

Then the illegitimate daughter of Peter the Great came to power, Elizaveta Petrovna(reigned 1742-1762), who ascended the throne literally on the shoulders of the brave warriors of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. After her accession, the entire Brunswick family was arrested, and the favorites of the former empress were executed.

The last empress was completely barren, so she left no heirs, and transferred her power to the son of her sister Anna Petrovna. That is, we can say that at that time it again turned out that there were only five emperors, of whom only three had the opportunity to be called Romanovs by blood and origin. After the death of Elizabeth, there were absolutely no male followers left, and the direct male line, one might say, was completely cut off.

The permanent Romanovs: the tree of the dynasty was reborn from the ashes

After Anna Petrovna married Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the Romanov family had to end. However, he was saved by a dynastic treaty, according to which the son from this unionPeter III(1762), and the clan itself now became known as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. He managed to sit on the throne for only 186 days and died under completely mysterious and unclear circumstances to this day, and even then without a coronation, and he was crowned after his death by Paul, as they now say, retroactively. It is remarkable that this unfortunate emperor left behind a whole heap of “False Peters”, which appeared here and there, like mushrooms after rain.

After the short reign of the previous sovereign, the real German princess Sophia Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, better known as the Empress, made her way to power through an armed coup.Catherine II, the Great (from 1762 until 1796), the wife of that very unpopular and stupid Peter the Third. During her reign, Russia became much more powerful, her influence on the world community was significantly strengthened, and she did a lot of work within the country, reuniting the lands, and so on. It was during her reign that the peasant war of Emelka Pugachev broke out and was suppressed with noticeable effort.

Emperor Paul I, Catherine’s unloved son from a hated man, ascended the throne after the death of his mother in the cold autumn of 1796, and reigned for exactly five years, minus several months. He carried out many reforms useful for the country and the people, as if in spite of his mother, and also interrupted the series of palace coups, abolishing the female inheritance of the throne, which from now on could be passed exclusively from father to son. He was killed in March 1801 by an officer in his own bedroom, without even having time to really wake up.

After his father's death, his eldest son ascended the throneAlexander I(1801-1825), liberal and lover of the silence and charm of rural life, and also intended to give the people a constitution, so that he could rest on his laurels until the end of his days. At the age of forty-seven years, all he received in life in general was an epitaph from the great Pushkin himself: “I spent my whole life on the road, caught a cold and died in Taganrog.” It is remarkable that the first memorial museum in Russia was created in his honor, which existed for more than a hundred years, after which it was liquidated by the Bolsheviks. After his death, brother Constantine was appointed to the throne, but he immediately refused, not “wanting to take part in this pandemonium of ugliness and murder.”

Thus, Paul's third son ascended the throne -Nicholas I(reign from 1825 to 1855), direct grandson of Catherine, who was born during her lifetime and memory. It was under him that the Decembrist uprising was suppressed, the Code of Laws of the Empire was finalized, new censorship laws were introduced, and many very serious military campaigns were won. According to the official version, it is believed that he died of pneumonia, but it was rumored that the king committed suicide.

A leader of large-scale reforms and a great asceticAlexander II Nikolaevich, nicknamed the Liberator, came to power in 1855. In March 1881, Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky threw a bomb at the feet of the sovereign. Soon after this, he died from his injuries, which turned out to be incompatible with life.

After the death of his predecessor, his own younger brother was anointed to the throneAlexander III Alexandrovich(from 1845 to 1894). During his time on the throne, the country did not enter into a single war, thanks to a uniquely faithful policy, for which he received the legitimate nickname Tsar-Peacemaker.

The most honest and responsible of the Russian emperors died after the crash of the royal train, when for several hours he held in his hands a roof that threatened to collapse on his family and friends.

An hour and a half after the death of his father, right in the Livadia Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, without waiting for a memorial service, the last emperor of the Russian Empire was anointed on the throne,Nicholas II Alexandrovich(1894-1917).

After the coup in the country, he abdicated the throne, handing it over to his half-brother Mikhail, as his mother had wished, but nothing could be corrected, and both were executed by the Revolution, along with their descendants.

At this time, there are quite a lot of descendants of the imperial Romanov dynasty who could lay claim to the throne. It’s clear that there is no longer any smell of the purity of the family there, because the “brave new world” dictates its own rules. However, the fact remains that if necessary, a new tsar can be found quite easily, and the Romanov tree in the scheme today looks quite branched.

The House of Romanov, who ruled Russia for more than 300 years, has been thoroughly studied. Only God knows how many books, monographs and brochures were published on this topic in the post-perestroika era... Moreover, some of them seemed to emerge from oblivion, after almost a century of oblivion, being reproduced as reprints from publications published in Russia in 1913 for the Tercentenary anniversary Houses of the Romanovs.

But no, there are still events and facts in this genealogy (as in any other noble family tree) that are unknown to the general public. After all, few people think about the fact that, in addition to his parents, the first Tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, had grandfathers and great-grandfathers, as well as great-great-grandfathers... etc. In a word, ancestors, ancestors. And his descendants, especially those of them whom official history refers to the Holstein-Gottorp line (from the great-granddaughter of Mikhail Fedorovich, Tsarevna Anna Petrovna), are also of unconditional interest to us. And, probably, even greater than our ancestors." Romanov family».

So, the very first most reliable ancestor of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich is considered to be the Moscow boyar Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla (d. ca. 1350/1351), who served the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow Simeon Ivanovich, nicknamed Proud. Such a strange nickname - Mare - was subsequently attributed to the incorrectly transcribed name of Kambila or Glanda Kambila, a legendary (in the sense of a mythical) prince who allegedly came to Rus' from the “German”, i.e. from Prussian land, in the 13th century. In any case, this is how the beginning of the noble family of the Kolychevs, who were also descendants of Andrei Kobyla, was presented in family legends of the 17th century. However, the beginning of this unlikely legend was laid back in the 15th century, when, when compiling the famous Velvet Book, many Moscow boyars suddenly decided to trace their origins to certain high-ranking immigrants (of course, also mythical) from the West. The latter, by the way, is quite understandable, because their sovereigns, the great Moscow princes-Rurikovich (again, completely unreasonably) traced their origins back to the Roman Caesar Augustus!

In a word, the origins of Andrei Kobyla are shrouded in darkness. But it is known for certain that from three of his five sons and their descendants came the Russian noble families of the Lodygins, Konovnitsyns, Kokorevs, Obraztsovs, Sheremetevs, Yakovlevs, Goltyaevs, Bezzubtsevs, etc., totaling about twenty.

Here are the first interesting facts. Famous publicist and revolutionary A.I. Herzen (1812-1870) was the illegitimate son of I.A. Yakovlev and, therefore, without knowing it, was a relative of the ruling dynasty in Russia. Among the no less famous and famous descendants of Andrei Kobyla and relatives of the Romanovs we meet A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin (1817-1903), honorary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, philosopher, playwright and translator. Here and S.V. Sukhovo-Kobylina (1825-1867), the first officially recognized female artist in Russia. Among the most famous descendants of Andrei Kobyla we see Metropolitan Philip (Kolychev) (1507-1569), who gained fame primarily for his fiery denunciations of the oprichnina of the Terrible Tsar and, by the way, was subsequently glorified among the saints. Etc.

The family of Romanov boyars descended from the boyar Yuri Zakharyin Koshkin (d. about 1503/1504), the great-great-grandson of Andrei Kobyla, who served the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III and participated in his campaigns against Kazan (in 1485 and 1499). A the ancestor of the family name The Romanovs are considered to be the deviant under Vasily III Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin (1503/1505-1543), the fourth son of the boyar Yuri Zakharyin Koshkin. Like once his father, Roman Yuryevich, the great-grandfather of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty, participated in military campaigns (in 1531/1532 and 1536/1537), and his daughter Anastasia, great-aunt of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, became the first wife of Ivan the Terrible. By the way, according to legend, this crowned marriage was predicted to Anastasia’s mother Ulyana Fedorovna by Saint Gennady of Kostroma (d. 1565), who once visited her Moscow house. By the way, historians tend to associate the best years of his reign with the name of Ivan the Terrible’s first wife, Anastasia. Thus, it turns out that the children of Ivan the Terrible from his marriage with Anastasia Romanovna, including Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich and his older brother Ivan, known to the general public, primarily from the famous painting by I.E. Repin "Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son", were cousins ​​of the father of the first Tsar from Romanov dynasty. Perhaps it was precisely this circumstance that played a decisive role in the fact that the choice of the Zemsky Council of 1613, which put an end to the dynastic crisis in the Moscow state, devastated by the Swedish-Polish intervention and the predatory raids of supporters of the two False Dmitries, fell precisely on the sixteen-year-old youth Michael, the son of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Filaret Nikitich Romanov.

In connection with what has just been said, I recall another no less curious fact, which also probably has the most direct relation to the choice of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as Tsar and “Grand Duke of All Great and Little and White Russia” in 1613.

The point is that with Intermarried with the Rurikovichs also the grandson of Andrei Kobyla, boyar Fyodor Fedorovich Koshkin, nicknamed Goltya, the ancestor of the Russian nobles Goltyaev. The latter’s daughter Maria was married to the appanage prince of Borovsk Yaroslav Vladimirovich (1389–1426), a cousin of the famous Dmitry Donskoy. In turn, one of the three daughters of Yaroslav Vladimirovich from his second marriage to Maria Feodorovna, also Maria, in 1433 was married to the passion-bearer Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Dark One in Russian history, and was named Grand Duchess of Moscow. The second child in this marriage was the future Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, nicknamed the Great, grandfather of Ivan the Terrible.

Thus, it turns out that the Terrible Tsar and his first wife Anastasia Romanovna were distant relatives. More precisely, Anastasia Romanovna’s grandfather, Vasily III’s okolnichy, was the second cousin of the latter’s mother, Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna of Moscow, great-grandmother of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich.

However, let's go back to the end of the Russian Troubles of the 17th century. It is clear that all this time, while there was a behind-the-scenes struggle for the Moscow throne, which had been empty for several years in a row, there were more than enough gentlemen wanting to sit on it. And many of them had much more rights to the throne than the Romanovs. We are talking, first of all, about those Moscow boyar families, who considered their ancestor the legendary Rurik, the same one who was revered as the founder of the dynasty of Moscow sovereigns, which died out with the death of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. These are the Vorotynsky, Odoyevsky, Pozharsky, Shuisky and “other, etc., etc.” - ancient Russian princely families that had a more ancient, distinct, and most importantly noble origin than the Romanovs or any Saltykovs and Morozovs.

In general, the circumstances that led to the Moscow throne were precisely Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, are still the subject of debate among historians, many of whom are inclined to connect this event with the political intrigues of Michael’s father, Patriarch Philaret, who until 1619 was a hostage to the Poles, but had his own agents of influence in Moscow. As the venerable Russian historian Professor V.O. later wrote. Klyuchevsky (1841-1911), in the winter of 1613, choosing “your natural Russian sovereign was not easy.” In fairness, however, it should be noted that almost all of its more or less eminent participants were intriguing then, at the Zemsky Sobor of 1613. And there was a reason for it. was at stake Russian Throne. The same V.O. Klyuchevsky, referring to some late news, talks about the parties into which the mentioned Council broke up, and among the contenders who were supported by one or another party he names princes Golitsyn, Mstislavsky, Vorotynsky, Trubetskoy and, finally, the “winner of the race” M .F. Romanova. He also mentions Prince Pozharsky, “modest in his fatherland and character,” who “sought the throne and spent a lot of money on intrigues.” By and large, as it now appears, the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 resulted in an ordinary vanity fair. “The Moscow state emerged from the terrible Time of Troubles without heroes,” wrote V.O. Klyuchevsky, “kind but mediocre people helped him out of trouble.” But be that as it may, on February 21 (March 3), 1613, Mikhail Romanov was elected to the throne, and thus the beginning of a new royal dynasty was laid.

When considering a situation in which Mikhail Romanov was elected Tsar, it cannot be ruled out that the Romanovs, who fell into disgrace and were subjected to the most severe repressions during the reign of Boris Godunov, who was so unpopular among the people, had a reputation for being unjustly victims. And, therefore, their establishment on the Russian throne in the eyes of ordinary members of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 had the character of an affirmation of Truth, the triumph of Truth. In addition, the Romanovs, due to their large numbers, had extensive family ties with other boyar families, which, quite obviously, also could not help but ultimately contribute to their establishment on the Russian throne.

The next few decades of Russian history in terms of dynasticism and for the genealogy of the Romanovs do not seem to be so interesting, and therefore let’s move straight to the times of Peter I. Having conceived, as they would say now, the full-scale and comprehensive integration of Russia into the “European community,” he married his eldest son Alexei on the third-rate German princess from the medieval Welf dynasty, Charlotte Christina Sophia (in Orthodoxy, Natalya Petrovna) of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who, however, had a good half of Europe among her royal relatives, including the Austrian Habsburgs. This marriage took place in October 1711 in Torgau, now in the district of Leipzig in Germany. A year earlier, in 1710, again at the request of Peter, the marriage of his half-niece, the future Empress of All Russia, Anna Ioannovna, took place with the ruling Duke of Courland, Friedrich Wilhelm from the Kettler dynasty.

The founder of this dynasty was the last master of the Livonian Order, Gotthart Ketler (1517 - 1587). And in 1716, in Danzig (now Gdansk in Poland), Peter “dumped” his second into the hands of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Karl Leopold niece Ekaterina Ioannovna. This marriage was the third marriage of Karl Leopold and promised Peter only political dividends - he needed the seaports of Mecklenburg as stops for the Russian navy. Thus, the Russian navy could protect sea trade routes in the Baltic. However, already in the same 1716, the rascal Karl Leopold, a great admirer of Peter’s eternal rival Charles XII, who was also considered an eccentric, left the trust of the Russian Tsar, and in 1722 Ekaterina Ioannovna fled from her cruel and rude husband from Mecklenburg home to Russia , taking with him his three-year-old daughter.

Further more. On November 24, 1724, shortly before Peter’s death, a marriage contract was signed for the not so rich, but rather poor, Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp and Peter's illegitimate daughter from his mistress Marta Skavronskaya (soon to be Empress Catherine I). By the way, the mentioned Duke was dear nephew Peter's political counterpart and long-time rival, Charles XII (such a grin from History!), and his father died during the Northern War. Marriage of Karl Friedrich and Tsarevna Anna took place after the death of the first Russian Emperor (Peter died on January 28/February 8, 1725) in May 1725.

On February 21, 1727, in the marriage of Karl Friedrich and Tsarevna Anna Petrovna in the port of Kiel, the future slandered Russian Emperor Peter III was born, named Karl Peter Ulrich at birth. His mother soon died, and when the boy was 11 years old, his father also died. Thus, the heir to the Swedish throne (he became such by the fact of his birth) remained a complete orphan. Omitting the details of the upbringing and education of the future autocrat of All Russia, we will only say that they were not at all as deplorable as his august wife (a widow of her own free will), Empress Catherine II, later indicated in her memoirs.

In 1742, during her coronation, the unmarried and childless Empress Elizabeth Petrovna declared Karl's nephew Peter Ulrich as her heir. And then the former heir to the Swedish crown was revealed direct road to the Russian Empire. And here he was awaited by a new title and name (Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich) and a marriage with his sixteen-year-old second cousin, Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, who, upon accepting Orthodoxy, received the Russian name Ekaterina Alekseevna with the title of Grand Duchess. This marriage took place on August 21 (September 1), 1745. By the way, Elizabeth Petrovna herself, when she was still Tsesarevna, was intended to be the groom of the French Dauphin himself, the future Louis XV. But this marriage, for many reasons, never took place. By the way, Elizabeth’s childlessness was questioned even before the revolution. But this question goes beyond the scope of this essay, and therefore we address everyone who wants to join in its discussion to the story about the famous heroine of the film by K.D. Flavitsky (1830-1866) “Princess Tarakanova” and the no less famous, glorified saint, nun of the Moscow Ivanovo Monastery Dosifee.

On September 20 (October 1), 1754, in the marriage of the Heir Tsarevich Peter Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Catherine, a son was born, whom the Empress immediately took from the couple to raise. The baby (the future Emperor) was named Paul. By the way, the question of Peter’s paternity still remains open. But be that as it may, however, Romanov dynasty, or rather the Holstein-Gottorp branch of this family, was continued by Emperor Paul I (he, we recall, was the great-grandson of Peter I) and his descendants, right up to Nicholas II and his children, as well as numerous “Konstantinovichs” and “Nikolaeviches” - members of the Imperial Family, who had as ancestors the sons of Nicholas I, the Grand Dukes Nicholas and Konstantin Nikolaevich, many of whom are alive and well to this day.